Aristocracy (Social class) -- England -- Juvenile fiction; Great Britain -- History -- Anne, 1702-1714 -- Juvenile fiction
Grey had heard of some of these men, and that they performed wonderful
cures; and he cared not what he paid, at that moment, so that his master
and friend might be relieved and healed.
With no small trouble he got him up the stairs to their attic, and put
him to bed. But more than once the hacking cough brought back the
dreaded bleeding; and by the time that the leech arrived, pompous and
haughty, and none too well pleased at being summoned from the convivial
gathering of friends whither he had betaken himself, he looked more like
a corpse than a living man.
Grey was in a fever of anxiety, and listened with earnest heed to the
words of the leech, and his instructions for the relief of the patient.
He bought every suggested medicament, regardless of the cost, and made
no hesitation in handing the exorbitant fee demanded by the great man
for his valuable services. He cared for nothing, so that his master
should recover; and the leech, finding that gold was plentiful in this
humble abode, and rather interested in the discovery that he was
attending the actor whose Father Time had made such talk in the town,
really began to take some interest in the case, and to put forth his
best skill; so that before very long the death-like hue of the patient’s
face changed to something more natural, and the hemorrhage was for the
time being checked.
"He must be kept perfectly quiet. On no account must he exert his
voice, or leave his bed, or take any liberties. Nature must be
humoured, my dear sir; nature must be helped and aided. She is a kind
mother to her obedient and reasonable children, but she has many a rod
for the backs of those who despise her warnings. Our worthy friend has
been tendering a deaf ear to her counsels; therefore has she chastened
him somewhat severely. But let him show himself mild and docile under
her rod, and it may be that she will restore him to favour again, and
that the world will once more pay to him its tribute of admiration and
praise."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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