ly: all the perceptions gather to
that point, and the suffering is in consequence tenfold more acute. Such
were Lucy's sensations, though she was perhaps scarcely conscious of them
herself; while at every demonstration of her father's tenderness, the
feelings which she knew to be rebels to his dearest wishes would seem to
spring up and accuse her of ingratitude. This struggle could not last; at
length the fond father became suddenly aware that some strange blight had
fallen upon his darling, and his whole soul was convulsed at the thought
that evil might possibly threaten her; he felt ready to send a
proclamation through the world to summon all its skill to spend itself for
her restoration. Upon second thoughts he made up his mind that there was
but one man in the world to whom he would confide the precious trust; yes,
he was fully assured that in the brain of Dr. Kent, the only lineal
descendant of Esculapius, were to be found all the best resources of the
art of healing; _he_ must always and on all occasions, be more right than
any one else. Why? But why ask why, when he had formed this opinion ever
since Dr. Kent first assumed the M. D., and had always held it firmly. Dr.
Kent was summoned and soon appeared; the startled girl, sorely against her
will, was called into the room; all the usual ceremony gone through; the
pulse tested, the tongue examined, etc., and then suffered to slip out of
the room. Mr. Lee listened with a beating heart for the doctor's decision:
this last did not deny that the young lady's appearance was strangely
altered since he had last seen her, which indeed was not since the evening
above alluded to, of Mr. Lee's violent irritation against his old friend.
But the cause; the next thing for the doctor to do was to discover the
cause. Now Dr. Kent, although some people did say that he was no student,
had a considerable portion of what is called _mother-wit_; and if he did
not possess the stores of learning which might have been amassed by poring
over his books, he was at least without the abstraction which much
scientific research is thought to occasion; he looked around him with a
shrewd eye, and simply by putting two and two together, often made very
successful calculations. He hesitated, reflected and recollected; 'perhaps
she wanted excitement,' he said; 'perhaps there was too little variety in
her life for one so young.' Mr. Lee assured him that she had always
appeared very indifferent to societ