of the most malignant character--not a doubt of it. Come up, and
look at him."

I saw Mr. Bernard start, and glance quickly at my brother. Ralph fixed
his eyes searchingly on his friend's face; exclaimed: "Victoria Ward!
why you mentioned that--;" and then stopped, with a very strange and
sudden alteration in his expression. The next moment he drew Mr. Bernard
aside, saying: "I want to ask you whether the bed in Victoria Ward,
occupied by this man whose fever has turned to typhus, is the same bed,
or near the bed which--" The rest of the sentence was lost to me as they
walked away.

After talking together in whispers for a few moments, they rejoined me.
Mr. Bernard was explaining the different theories of infection to Ralph.

_"My_ notion," he said, "is, that infection is taken through the lungs;
one breath inhaled from the infected atmosphere hanging immediately
around the diseased person, and generally extending about a foot from
him, being enough to communicate his malady to the breather--provided
there exists, at the time, in the individual exposed to catch
the malady, a constitutional predisposition to infection. This
predisposition we know to be greatly increased by mental agitation, or
bodily weakness; but, in the case we have been talking of," (he looked
at me,) "the chances of infection or non-infection may be equally
balanced. At any rate, I can predict nothing about them at this stage of
the discovery."

"You will write the moment you hear anything?" said Ralph, shaking hands
with him.

"The very moment. I have your brother's address safe in my pocket."

We separated. Ralph was unusually silent and serious on our way back.
He took leave of me at the door of my lodging, very abruptly; without
referring again to our visit to the hospital.

A week passed away, and I heard nothing from Mr. Bernard. During this
interval, I saw little of my brother; he was occupied in moving into
his new house. Towards the latter part of the week, he came to inform
me that he was about to leave London for a few days. My father had asked
him to go to the family house, in the country, on business connected
with the local management of the estates. Ralph still retained all his
old dislike of the steward's accounts and the lawyer's consultations;
but he felt bound, out of gratitude for my father's special kindness
to him since his return to England, to put a constraint on his own
inclinations, and go to the country as he was d