Part 9 (2/2)
He was sitting one evening, trying to post up his books, amid continued interruptions, such as, ”Little Lucy's eyes are worse to-night, sir.”
”Let me see. She must go into the hospital. Send the sore-eye nurse to me. Take this little girl to your room--keep her eyes well washed with cold water, and use that ointment. Report to me to-morrow. Go.”
”That is a fine-looking woman.”
”Yes, and an excellent nurse. She lived last year in one of those Centre street cellars. She came here with both eyes nearly out of her head; gouged by a drunken husband. We put her into the sore eye hospital, and soon found she would make a good nurse for the afflicted children.”
”Mr. Pease, is it the powder once and the pills every hour, or is it t'other way?”
”Exactly. The other way. You have hit it. The powder is Dover's Powder, to allay fever. The pills are cathartic. Go.”
”Cathartic. I never heard of that pill-maker before. Wonder if he will make as many as Brandreth has,” says this interrupter as she goes away.
”Susan Apsley says you promised her she might go out this evening.”
”Did she come in all right when she was out before?”
”All right, sir.”
”Let her go.”
”Please, sir, may I go with her?”
”Who is this.”
”Juliana, sir. I want to go and see my cousin Madalina, sir.”
”Oh, yes, I remember. You are the little Italian tambourine girl. Yes, you may go. See if you can get that pretty cousin of yours to come and live here.”
”She would like to, sir, but her mother won't let her.”
”Very well. Go.”
And he resumed his work. ”7 and 5 are 12, and 8 are 20; two 1's are 2--”
”Yes, but two ones want to be made one.”
”How is that--what do you want?”
Reader, will you just turn to the ill.u.s.tration of the couple that now presented themselves as candidates for matrimony. The delineator and engraver have made one of the most perfect daguerreian pictures ever got up from description.
”What do you want of me?”
”We want to be married, sir.”
”Want to be married--what for?”
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