Sentence:  Can he do nothing for his Burns but make a Gauger of him; lionise him, bedinner him, for a foolish while: then <WSD>whistle</WSD> him <WSD>down the wind</WSD>, to desperation and bitter death? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To set (someone) free, allowing them to go their own way and do what they choose.