The day following, Mr. Wilkes, imagining himself in great danger, returned to Mr. Martin his letter, that no evidence might appear against him, and insisted upon it, with his own relatives, that in case of his death, no trouble should be given to Mr. Martin, for he had behaved as a man of honour. The ball was extracted by Mr. Graves, a surgeon. It had struck Mr. Wilkes’s coat-button, entered his belly half an inch below the navel, and sunk obliquely on the right side towards the groin; but it had not penetrated the cavity of the abdomen. It was extracted behind. When he was able to write, he sent notice by letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons of the condition of his health; and on Friday, the 16th, the House made the following order:—“That Dr. Heberden, physician, and Mr. Cæsar Hawkins, one of His Majesty’s sergeant-surgeons, be desired to attend John Wilkes, Esq., to observe the progress of his cure; and that they, together with Dr. Brocklesby and Mr. Graves, do attend this House to report their opinion thereupon, on the 19th of January next, in case the said John Wilkes, Esq. be not then able to attend in his place.” The order being sent to Dr. Heberden, by order of the Speaker, he sent it to Dr. Brocklesby, with a letter, desiring to know when he might attend Dr. Brocklesby to Mr. Wilkes. Dr. Brocklesby sent the order of the House and Dr. Heberden’s letter to Mr. Wilkes, who immediately showed his delicacy of feeling on the subject by sending a polite card to Dr. Heberden, saying, that he was well satisfied with the attention and skill of Dr. Brocklesby and Mr. Graves; that he did not wish to see Dr. Heberden for some weeks. He sent a similar card to Mr. Hawkins.[6] Mr. Martin immediately proceeded to Paris; and on Mr. Wilkes’s arrival in that city, notes, and a friendly visit, were exchanged between them. Mr. Martin’s conduct in this transaction had been highly honourable; but the public was so much exasperated at the danger to which Wilkes had been exposed, that no credit was given to the spirit which his antagonist had displayed. On the contrary, it was remarked, that Mr. Martin had taken no notice of the objectionable passage in the North Briton until about eight months after the publication, and that in so public and official a manner before the House, as almost to demand an interference. He was also accused of having during that period practised every day at a target, Sundays not excepted; and also with not having returned Mr. Wilkes’s letter till a month after the duel, with a view, as it was suggested, had Mr. Wilkes speedily recovered, of making use of it in evidence of his being concerned in the North Briton.