Evening journal., 1891-07-21
NUMBER TWENTY-NINE'

set face of a man inside was visible by the
light OF portable lamp. 10 was the face
Of a man whose mind is not at ease There
wore irritable folds at the corners Of the
mouth, restless look in the keen eyes,
even as they Travelled over the page he was
reading. Sir Kenneth Brandon only shut
his book as he stepped out and entered the
Whitechapel hospital. The doctor always
read az he drove about London from one
consultation 10 another. It was his habit
TO allow himself no leisure for idle
thoughts
Sir Kenneth Brandon was one of the few
London doctors whose names are familiar
abroad He had made one big discovery,
he had done great deal of useful work,
and at fifty he was already making n large
income. His recent knighthood was popu-
lar-not only among his patients but
among his professional brethren-and his
dinners were among the incest in town.
And yet many people-and, who knows2
perhaps Sir Kenneth himself-missed a
hostess smile, a woman's winning phrases,
at his brilliant dinner table in Wimpole
street. Sometmes-if ever he had had
time to think-perhaps the great physician
might have regretted the pretty, bad tenn
pered, foolish wife, whom he had scolded
and neglected in the old days; the child
for she was little more-who had finally
left their dingy suburban villa for good;
the girl he might have saved before il was
too late-for at first she had left his house
after one Of their miserable, sordid SQUAD.
bles. and had gone back TO her father, and
it was only after a humiliating scene with
her husband that she had finally disap
peared.
She had disappeared, and she had never
come back. Tho police had been unable
to find a trace Of her, beyond that she had
at first gone to Spain with some man who
was unknown to him. After that all was
a blank. To all intents and purposes his
wife was as one who is dead Yet the EN-
bittering quarrels of those early years; his
severity when he should have been lenient;
his carelessness when he ought to have
watched over the foolish young life that he
had sworn to cherish and protect--were
facts which, though he seldom allowed
himself to think OF them, had left their
! trace written on the great physicians face.
Inside the large hall, where a marble
statue of the queen loomed chilly out Of
Z the vague half light, a lady was already
waiting for him-a fair high bred face,
I with something Of the look Of a student
modernized by a slightly bored air. such as
is often seen in cultivated woman Of the
/ world Lady Sibthorpe was a widow ol
/ leisure, and was Internationally interested
in variety of questions. She occasion
ally wrote a short article for one of the
monty reviews, preferring such topics a.
do not usually commend themselves to the
more tender hearted sex, for she by n,
means posed as philanthropist, and wa
understood TO have views little in ad
vance Of those OF the British matron Jusi
now, for instance, she was interested il
the hospital question, and at a Dime
party the night before Sir Kenneth ha'
volunteered TO explain the internal work
ing of the "Whitechapeln The docto
never missed an opportunity of being use
ful to Lady Sibthorpe. She was just tn
woman he would have asked TO be hi
wife, If only
They met as people meet who are NOR
than interested in each other. For som
time past Lady SiDthorpe had known tina
he liked her, aud for some time past sh
had almost made up her mind that sh
might accept him. But there was no hurry
they were both Of a certain age; they bot
} had their occupations, their affairs. An
now they turned mp the stone staircase /,
gether on their way to the women's ward
I Lady Sibthorpe paused for an instant
! they passed the operating theater. III
! doors were closed. Outside two pOrte
were waiting with a stretcher. Sudden
| the door was pushed aiar, and then the
! was vision Of anxious, interested face
Z lit up by "A strong glare Of gas; Of a nurse
a back bending forward and Of surgeon
!. face blowing spray on TO something th
WAS invisible Over all an intense silenc
.
I pOrters with the stretcher, wondering no
|. long they would have TO wait.
y Lady Sihthorpe was not emotional, b
I she shiyered little as she passed on.
In the Catherine ward the fifty bl
, coverleted beds eifaced themselves in {
gloom OF the long room. Here and the
y the freight illumined the bland, unem
e tional features OF nurse under her smoo
g hair and white cap-the sexless features
a woman who has learned TO witness 81
n fering without a sign.
D. On seeing Sir Kenneth Brandon Sist
~ Catherine, a long nosed woman with brig
70 eyes, hurried forward as superintendent
the ward
Ia The doctor introduced the two women
&c each other, and for while Lady Sibthor
IL notebook IN hand. was absorbed with S
ed tistics.
"Now take me round TO your patieu
a., Sir Kenneth, she said when she had do
Sister Catherine moved forward, p
lxe fessional look on her bright face. II
or stopped at every bed. Lady Sibthol
~ asked questions in business like W
and Sir Kenneth, whose hospital mannl
was proverbial, addressed the patients
the same tone he would have employed
nj a duchess. His way with women was
IN of the things for which he was Justly
M nous. They had come to the end Of
nd line Of beds, and were now turning up
other side Of the room.
"We have a new patient there, Sir X
}. meth, said the sister. Number twen
rad nine. A hopeless case--the last stage
an consumption, aggravated by want
~, dirt. They brought her in from one of
.ha common lodging houses. Poor creatl
~ she was in a terrible state when she cau
"Indeedw eiaculated the great physiC
.o,, in his sympathetic soice.
-. All three approached the bed The
-. tents back was turned TO them, but
steps approached, she tossed over and
=, on her back. her weakly vicious face, Y
its flush Of color on each check bone, !,
~ ing sharply emaciated against the wi
ness Of the pillow. There were streak
~ gray in the dark hair. aud the eyes-c