Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1892-12-08
then, thank God thought of the

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and as doctor, felt, more strong
" perhaps than / otherwise should,
that il was my duty to 60 back and
assist him If possible.
There was gas-lamp in the en-.
trance to the court, and by it | was
enabled to see that the prostrate
figure was that of a singularlv tall
and powerfully built man; and on
= closeF inspection was surprised
20 dnd TIT his dress was that of a
gentleman. At once / thought he
had been robbed, and perhaps muir
dered; but, taking his hand to feel
- i,nlsc. sav tlsst be had ! re-
markably handsome diamond ring
on his finger; and the beating OF
his pulse, though very faint, showed
that he was not dead.
Then thought, with something
of contempt, that / had a case of
mere drunkenness to deal with; but
yet, on careful examination, / could
detect no fume of spirits, and the
faint action of his heart at length
convinced me that the man was in a
state of complete exhaustion, prob
ably from want of food.
With considerable labor, in my
weak condition, / managed-half
lifting, half dragging him-to con-
vey him into the covered passage,
and determined to stay with him
until some passer-by would assist
me. / had not waited long when a
half-tipsy woman, walking past,
looked into the passage, and came
over to see what was the matter.
She looked keenly at me and my
unconscious patient, and l noticed
her eye CLEAN as she caught sight
of massive gold chain on his vest.
| asked her to 60 at once and fetch
but she Immediately re-
piled that I need not trouble myself
any further.
81 know him we'll; he's Rooney,
that owns the public house close by.
I'll get him home all right"
At first her assurance almost i'm
posed upon me, but when | looked
at the pale, aristocratic face that /
supported on my knee. l felt con-
vinced that she had invented the
story, with view to plundering the
helpless man. | told her sternly
that if she did not go for a police
man would do so myself. She
went off hurriedly-as / thought.
for that purposc-but came back
no more; and now | was once more
alone with my strange patient, and
as the minutes went by l knew not
what to do.
Help, however, was near. / no.
ticed poor girl-she did not look
more than sixteen-walking slowly
on the other side of the street;
called to her, and after moments
hesitation she came over. briefly
explained 20 her the circumstances,
and asked her, if she possibly could a,
to get me drop Of cordial, or the
man would die.
81 have only got fourpencs," she
said, in kindly Irish voice, "and
! was going to pay for my bed with
that at the kitchen in Fulwood's 3
Rents. But, sure, I'll get some
thing from the chemist instead, and
I'll trust to God for nights lodg-
ing-I've slept out before now. .
And away she went, surely not the
worst of Good Samaritans.
Very soon she returned with the
medicine, and / sent her again to
fetch a policeman. / forced lit
tie between the mans teeth, and
presently he came to and opened
his eyes. / asked him how he came
there; he said, "Tired and starv
ing" And then l asked him where
he came from, ard he suddenly
frightened up, and looking keenly
at me for moment, said, "Edin'
burg; but from the way he said il
i felt convinced he was deceiyine
me, and shortly after asked ths
same question again, and he, Will
the same look, said, "Glasgow."
In his weak state, however, / for
bore questioning him further, and
a policeman presently coming up
we got him into a cab, and took hin
TO the hospital, where l waited un
til he was put to bed. Before lef
l asked the house-surgeon to give
shilling to the poor girl-Mary Ken
nedy was her name. He readily
did so, and she went OF to sleep il