Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-06-18

,I o'sent' Out sa1d nothing, and prepared to
come down, putting her plaid aside and rising.
| Had Solomon, In all his glory, been handing
oown the Queen Of Sheba at his palace gate, he
could not have done 1t more daintily. more ten
oeriy, more like gentleman, than did James.
| the Howgate carrier when he lifted down Allie
| his wife
The contrast of his small, swarthy. weather
! beaten, keen, worldly face to hers, pale, sub
dued. and beautiful, was something wonderful.
Rab looked on concerned and puzzled: but
| ready for anything that might turn up-were it
to strangle the nurse. the porter or even me.
Allie and he seemed great friends.
LAS was sayin', she's got kind o trouble in
| her breest, doctor: wull We TAX a look at TT"
| We walked into the consulting ROOM all four;
Rab grim and comic. willing to be happy and
confidential II cause could be shown, willing
| also to be the reverse on the same terms. Allie
| sat down, undid her open gown and her lawn
| handkerchief round her neck. and without a
| word. showed me her right breast. looked at
and examined it carefully; she and James watch
| Ing me, and Rab cycling all three. What could
| say! There it was. that had once been so soft
SO shapely. so white. so bountiful. so full Of all
blessed conditions, hard as a stone a center Of
horrid pain, making that pale face with its gray
! lucid. reasonable eyes, and its sweet resolved
mouth, express the full measure of suffering
overcome. Why was that gentle. modest. sweet
woman, clean and loyabe. condemned by God
| to bear such burden. got her away to bed.
| May Rab and me bide:" said James.
self"
Use warrant he's do that, doctor" And in
| skunk the faithful beast
| l wish you could have seen him. There are
: no such dogs now. He belonged to q lost tribe
! As have said. he was brnded and gray like
| Rubislaw granite; his hair short hard and close
| like lions: his body thck-set, like little
bull-a sort OF compressed Hercules Of dog
| He must have been ninety pounds weight. at
/ the least, he had a large blunt head; his muzzle
| black as night, his mouth blacker than any
m trht foot IN 4r1-1 hato, oIl L. I,,I
/ ing out of his jaws OF darkness. His head was
| SCARED with the records of old wounds. sort of
series of fields of battle all over it, one eye out
| one ear cropped as close as was Archbishop
| LeightOns fathers; the remaining eye had the
power OF two; and above it. and in constant
! communication with it, was a tattered rag of
/ an ear, which was forever unfurling itself like
an old flag; and then that bud of tail, about
i one inch long-t it could in any sense be said
| to be long, being as broad as lOng-the mobility
| the instantaneousness. of that bud were very
! funny and surprising. and its expressive twink
| lings and winnings, the inter-communication
/ between the eye, the ear, and it, were of the
oldest and swiftest.
Rab had the dignity and simplicity of great
| size: and having fought his way all along the
road to absolute supremacy he was as mighty in
! his own line as Julius Caesar or the Duke of
| Wellington, and had the gravity OF all great
| fighters.
| You must have observed the likeness Of GER
| tain men to certain animals, and of certain dogs
| to men. Now | never looked at Rab without
| thinking of the great Baptist preacher, Andrew
Fuller. The same large, heavy. menacing, COM
| Datlve. sonbre, honest countenance, the same
/ deep inevitable eye. the same ioOk-as of thun-
| der asleep. but readv-neither dog nor a man
| to be trifled with.
| Next day my master. the surgeon, examined
| Allie. There was no doubt it must kill her and
| soon. 1t could be removed; it might never re-
turn; it would give her speedy relief; she should
| have it done
She cOurtesied, looked at James, and said,
| ''When?'
TO morrow" said the kind surgeon. man
| Of few words
! She and James and Rab and retired NO.
ticed that he and she spoke little, but seemed to
| anticipate everything in each other. The fol-
| lowing day at noon the students came in. hurry
ing up the great stair. At the first landing
| place, on small. well-knOwn blackboard was
| a bit of paper fastened with WATERS and many
remains of old waters beside it. On the paper
were the words, IAN operation to-day. J. b.,
/ Clerk"
| Up ran the youths. eager to secure good
! places: in they crowded full of interest and talk
| What's the case?" (which side is it?''
| DOntthnk them heartless; they are neither bet
/ ter nor worse than you or l. they get over their
professional horrors and into their proper work:
and In them pity. as an emotion. ending in itself
or at best in tears and long drawn BREATH les
sens; While pity as DlOtiUe is quickened, and
gains power and purpose. 1t is we'll tor poor
human nature that it is so.
Ill
The operating theater is crowded; much talk
and fun and all the cordially and stir OF youth
The surgeon with his staff of assistants is there
In comes Allie; one look at her uuiets and
aGates the eager students. That beautiful old
woman is TOO much for them: they sit down,
and are dumb, and gaze at her. These rough
boys feel the power of her presence She walks
in quickly, but without haste; dressed in her
mn hnp nl-nrn obi .f hnr
gown. her black bombazine petticoat showing
her white stockings and her carpet shoes. Be-
hind ner was James with Rab. James sat down
in the distance. and took that huge and noble
head between his knees Rab looked perplexed
and dangerous, forever cooking his ear and
dropping it as fast
Allie stepped up on seat and laid herself on
the table, as her friend, the surgeon,
told her; arranged herself gave rapid
look at James, shut her eyes rested her
self On me, and took my hand. The
operation was at once begun; it was necessarily
| slow; and chlOrOform-One of Gods best gifts
to his suffering children-was then unknown
The surgeon did his work. The pale face showed
its pain but was still and silent. Rab's soul
was working within him; he saw that something
strange was going on-blood flowing from his
mistress and she suffering; his ragged ear was
up and impOrtunate; he grOwled and gave now
and then sharp, impatient yelp; he would
have liked to do something to that man. But
James had him firm, and gave him a glover
from time to time, and an intimation of posi-
bic kick: all the better tor James it kept his
eye and his mind off Allie
1t is over: she is dressed. steps gently and de-
Gently down from the table, looks TOR james;
/ then, turning to the surgeon and the students
she courtesies. and in a low clear voice hegs
their pardon if she has behaved ill. The stu
dents-all of us-wept like children; the sur
geOn mapped her up carefully; and, resting On
James and me, Allie went to her room Rab
following We put her to bed.
James took off his heavy shoes, crammed with
Jackets, heel-capped, and put them carefully
under the table, saying. "Maister John, I'm
for name O. yer strange nurse bodies for Allie
I'll be her nurse, aud I'll gang ABBOTT on my
stOckin' sOles as canny as pussy" And SO he
did; and handy and clever, and swift and ten
der any woman was that horny-handed
smell. peremptory little man. Everything she
got. he gave her; he seldom slept; and often
saw his small shrewd eyes out of the darkness
fixed on her, AS before, they spoke little.
Isab behaved well, never moving, showing us
how meek and gentle he could be. and occa-
sionally, in his sleep, letting us know that
he was demOliShing some adversary
| He took walk with me every day. gem
orally to the Candlemaker Row. but he was
sombre and mild; declined doing battle though
some fit cases offered, and indeed submitted to
| sundry indignties; and was always very ready
! to turn. and came faster back and trOtted up the
stair with much lightness, and went straight to
| that door
| Jess. the mare, had been sent. with her wealth
er-wOrn cart. to HOwgate and had doubtless her
/ own dim and placid meditatiOlS and COMMISSIONS