hman's little boy, while Annaple hopefully
agreed with him that Alwyn would be on its back in another week.

He still maintained his opinion, outwardly at least, when he was met on
his return by Nuttie with a pale, almost thunderstruck face. Dr.
Brownlow had called her from trying to soothe away the fright and
suffering of the examination, to break to her that both he and his
colleague thought very seriously of the injury and its consequences,
and deemed it very doubtful whether the poor little fellow could be
pulled through.

Mr. Egremont was again angry, declared that she had misunderstood, and
made the worst of it; that Dr. Brownlow was a conceited young ass; that
his friend played into his hands; with other amenities of the same
kind, to which she listened with mingled irritation and pity for his
unreasonableness, and even at the sympathy which he found in Annaple's
hopeful nature.

The young mother never dreaded nor expected what she could not bear to
think possible, such as the death-warrant of that beautiful child,
while Nuttie's nature always expected the worst, and indeed had read
the doom in the doctor's eyes and voice rather than in his words. So
Annaple backed Mr. Egremont up when he made his daughter write to
desire Dr. Brownlow to call in the first advice in London; and among
them they made so sure that this would be effective that they actually
raised Nuttie's hopes so as to buoy her through the feverish early
hours of the night when the pain was aggravated, the terrors returned,
the boy was tormented by his duality with Fan, and the past miseries
were acted over again. Even nurse and sister did not suffice, and
Mithter Button had to be fetched by Mark before he could feel quite
secure that he was Alwyn and not Fan. Indeed, in these light-headed
moments, a better notion was gained of what he must have endured than
in the day-time, when all seemed put aside or forgotten. After a time
he became capable of being soothed by hymns, though still asking why
his sister could not sing like that vision of his mother which had
comforted him in his previous miseries, and craving for her return.
Then at last he fell quietly asleep, and Nuttie was left with a few
sustaining words and a pressure from Mr. Dutton's hand.

Alas! the new consultation could only ratify the first opinion. The
injury need not have been necessarily fatal, though dangerous to any
young child, and here it had been aggravated by previous