"
"To the House," said Lord Rivercourt. "I shall be sitting out a debate
on our eternal Irish question."
Lefevre was left seriously discomposed, but at once he sent for the
house-physician, summoned the Sister and the nurse, and set about his
third attempt to revive his patient. He got the bed turned north and
south. He carefully explained to the two women what was demanded of
them, and applied them to their task; but, whatever the cause, the
failure was completer than before: there was not even a tremor of muscle
in the unconscious lady, and the doctor was suffused with alarm and
humiliation. Failure!--failure!--failure! Such a concatenation had never
happened to him before!
But failure only nerves the brave and capable man to a supreme effort
for success. Still self-contained, and apparently unmoved, the doctor
gave directions for some liquid nourishment to be artificially
administered to his patient, said he would return after dinner, and went
his way. The society of friends or acquaintances was distasteful to him
then; the thought even of seeing his own familiar dining-room and his
familiar man in black, whose silent obsequiousness he felt would be a
reproach, was disagreeable.
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