Prev | Current Page 80 | Next

Ainsworth, William Harrison, 1805-1882

"Old Saint Paul's A Tale of the Plague and the Fire"

But he wond let me
examine id."
"That's a bad sign," observed Hodges, shaking his head. "I am afraid
it's not all fancy, as I at first supposed. Have you felt sick of late,
young man?"
"Not of late," replied Blaize, becoming as white as ashes; "but I do
now."
"Another bad symptom," rejoined the doctor. "Take off your doublet and
open your shirt."
"Do as the doctor bids you," said Leonard, seeing that Blaize hesitated,
"or I apply the cudgel."
"Ah! bless my life! what's this?" cried Hodges, running his hand down
the left side of the porter, and meeting with a large lump. "Can it be a
carbuncle?"
"Yes, it's a terrible carbuncle," replied Blaize; "but don't cauterize
it, doctor."
"Let me look at it," cried Hodges, "and I shall then know how to
proceed."
And as he spoke, he tore open the porter's shirt, and a silver ball,
about as large as a pigeon's egg, fell to the ground. Leonard picked it
up, and found it so hot that he could scarcely hold it.
"Here is the terrible carbuncle," he cried, with a laugh, in which all
the party, except Blaize, joined.
"It's my pomander-box," said the latter. "I filled it with a mixture of
citron-peel, angelica seed, zedoary, yellow saunders, aloes, benzoin,
camphor, and gum-tragacanth, moistened with spirit of roses; and after
placing it on the chafing-dish to heat it, hung it by a string round my
neck, next my dried toad.


Pages:
68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92