The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1897-09-04

'N."Nt ~ HIVE SUCH IanC1eS.
"otill, them are the symptoms, - she
answered do2gedly, land 1 want a pre-
scription." And she held out her hand,
with Is pence in it. Such is not the fee
IN Wimpole street, but in the east end
we are less exacting, and we have the
same excuse for taking less as the bar
rister gave for taking half a crown in
clients have i'll the world.
Il don't wan your money, Rebecca,
any more than you want my prescrip-
ton" | said.
For mercy's sake give it mel" she
cried imploringly. "It's not for me, sir;
it's for my sister"
"For your sister? l did not know you
had a sister. How is it possible for me
to prescribe for a patient l have never
SEEM"
"She is i'll, sir, deadly ill.," she
pleaded.
1.-The more reason | should see her.. ~
But she will not see you, sir. She
made me promise that 1 would not bring
you. She has seen no one but me for
years. She's an invalid"
well, of course, and has an invalid's
fancies no doubt. Come, take me to
her" And / took up my hat.
Then, to my amazement, the big,
strong woman burst into tears. ooh,
sir, you don't underestimate she sobbed.
"She is not accustomed to be seen like
this. You will break her heart"
pooh, pooh!' l said. ION the con-
trary. it is my business to mend it,"
Not that l had the least belief in
what she said, for, indeed, 1 began to
think that her sister might be a lusus
nature, of which | had seen more than
n in my east end practice-poor crea.
lures that were not good enough or bao
enough for a show; two headed night
ingales who had just missed their
chance, as it were, by half a head; ele-
plant men with imperfectly developed
trunk. When poverty goes hand in hand
with Disagreement, it cannot close door
and windows or hide in secluded
grounds, " but still it will shrink from
observation all it can, like some shy
creature on the seashore whose she'll is
too small for it,
Seeing it was useless to argue with
me, Rebecca led the way to Star court.
Dry, dusty, airless and without sun
shine, because the tall black houses are
huddled too close together, it was in
deed a cherries spot for the sound, far
more for the sick, to dwell in. A few
ragged children were dancing in the
center of it round a barrel organ, to the
superficial eye an example of how hap
piness is found in every spot, but we'll I
knew that i'll more han one of thes>
abodes lay women and children down
with fever, to each of whom every note
of the instrument was torture, but there
was no liveried footman there Il warn
the unwelcome musician or policemen
to bid him "Move on" The police in
that neighborhood had their hands full
of more serious matters. Up three
flights of stairs we went, steep enough
to suggest the aid of the banisters had
they been less grimy and Shiny, and
then into an attic with a sloping roof.
At the first glance l thought a sun.
beam had found its way there, but it
was only a head of golden hair upon a
coarse pillow. The face was turned to
the wall, and Rebecca held her finger
up, stained with toll and rough with
work, to warn me that the invalid was
sleeping. Why l noted the finger was
because of the contrast it exhibited to
the thin, white, delicate hand that lay
outside the blanket, for counterpart
there was none. There was a marriage
ring on the hand, and it was the only
article in the DOL which could have
fetched a shilling at the pawnbroker's.
There was a chair, but it had no back,
and a deal table, one leg of which.
much shorter than the others, was sup
plemented by a brick. Upon it stood q
mug with wall flowers on it, the only
decoration the apartment could boast.
Yet all was sc~rupulously clean, down
to the bare boards unrelieved by a shred
of carpet. l had seen hundreds of homes
before shorn of every comfort, but never
one so cared for in it's last extremity by
hand and eye. Even the brick on which
the table stood was washed and resem-
bled one from a child's toy box.
THAT is q good sign, her sleeping, is
it not, sir?" whispered Rebecca eager
ly. We had entered very softly, and
doubtless the ear of the invalid had
only caught the footstep she expected,
but when her sister spoke she answered
in faint, reproachful tones:
II am not asleep. and you have broken
your word, Rebecca."
at was not my fault, my darling;
indeed it wasn't. Oh, did I not tell you,
doctor, how it would be?" And the
great, gaunt woman wrung her hands
distressfully.
at was not your sisters fault that
am here" l i~nterposed gently. "She
would have had me believe that she
came to consult me on her own account.
but ] saw through her. 1t was my duty
to come, and it will be a pleasure to me
if / can do YOU any good"