“Then,” said Mr. Palmer, with a sigh still deeper than the first--for the first was for himself, and the second for his country--“then England, Old England! farewell for ever! All my judges pronounce sentence of transportation upon me!” Mr. Beaumont and Amelia, in eager and persuasive tones of remonstrance and expostulation, at once addressed the doctor, to obtain a mitigation or suspension of his sentence. Dr. Wheeler, albeit unused to the imperative mood, reiterated his _dictum_. Though little accustomed to hold his opinion against the arguments or the wishes of the rich and fair, he, upon this occasion, stood his ground against Miss and Mr. Beaumont wonderfully well for nearly five minutes; till, to his utter perplexity and dismay, he saw Mrs. Beaumont appear amongst his assailants. “Well, I said I would submit, and not say a word, if Dr. Wheeler was against me,” she began; “but I cannot sit by silent: I must protest against this cruel, cruel decree, so contrary too to what I hoped and expected would be Dr. Wheeler’s opinion.” Poor Dr. Wheeler twinkled and seemed as if he would have rubbed his eyes, not sure whether he was awake or in a dream. In his perplexity, he apprehended that he had misunderstood Mrs. Beaumont’s note, and he now prepared to make his way round again through the solids and the fluids, and the whole nervous system, till, by favour of _idiosyncrasy_, he hoped to get out of his difficulty, and to allow Mr. Palmer to remain on British ground. Mrs. Beaumont’s face, in spite of her powers of simulation, lengthened and lengthened, and darkened and darkened, as he proceeded in his recantation; but, when the exception to the general axiom was fairly made out, and a clear permit to remain in England granted, by such high medical authority, she forced a smile, and joined loudly in the general congratulations. Whilst her son was triumphing and shaking hands with Mr. Palmer, she slipped down stairs after Dr. Wheeler. “Ah, doctor! What have you done! Ruined me! ruined me! Didn’t you read my note? Didn’t you _understand_ it?--I thought a word to the wise was enough.” “Why!--then it was as I understood it at first? So I thought; but then I fancied I must be mistaken afterwards; for when I expected support, my dear madam, you opposed my opinion in favour of Jamaica more warmly than any one, and what was I to think?” “To think! Oh, my dear doctor, you might have guessed that was only a sham opposition.” “But, my dear ma’am,” cried Dr. Wheeler, who, though the mildest of men, was now worked up to something like indignation, “my dear ma’am--sham upon sham is too much for any man!” The doctor went down stairs murmuring. Thus, by excess of hypocrisy, our heroine disgusted even her own adherents, in which she has the honour to resemble some of the most wily politicians famous in English history. But she was too wise ever to let any one who could serve or injure her go discontented out of her presence.