pulse, sounded the lungs, and looked at the tongue
of the patient. Helen's eye was fixed on the strange doctor, and her
color rose, and her eye sparkled when he got up cheerfully, and said in
a pleasant voice. "You may have a little tea."

"Tea!" growled the homoeopathist--"barbarian!"

"He is better, then, sir?" said Helen, creeping to the allopathist.

"Oh, yes, my dear--certainly; and we shall do very well, I hope."

The two doctors then withdrew.

"Last about a week!" said Dr. Dosewell, smiling pleasantly, and showing
a very white set of teeth.

"I should have said a month; but our systems are different," replied Dr.
Morgan, drily.

_Dr. Dosewell_, (courteously).--"We country doctors bow to our
metropolitan superiors; what would you advise? You would venture,
perhaps, the experiment of bleeding."

_Dr. Morgan_, (spluttering and growing Welsh, which he never did but in
excitement). "Pleed! Cott in heaven! do you think I am a butcher--an
executioner? Pleed! Never."

_Dr. Dosewell._--"I don't find it answer, myself, when both lungs are
gone! But perhaps you are for inhaling."

_Dr. Morgan._--"Fiddledee!"

_Dr. Dosewell_, (with some displeasure).--"What would you advise, then,
in order to prolong our patient's life for a month?"

_Dr. Morgan._--"Stop the haemoptysis--give him _rhus_!"

_Dr. Dosewell._--"Rhus, sir! _Rhus!_ I don't know that medicine.
_Rhus!_"

_Dr. Morgan._--"_Rhus toxicodendron._"

The length of the last word excited Dr. Dosewell's respect. A word of
five syllables--this was something like! He bowed deferentially, but
still looked puzzled. At last he said, smiling frankly, "You great
London practitioners have so many new medicines; may I ask what Rhus
toxico--toxico--

"Dendron."

"Is?"

"The juice of the Upas--vulgarly called the Poison-Tree."

Dr. Dosewell started.

"Upas--poison-tree--little birds that come under the shade fall down
dead! You give upas juice in haemoptysis--what's the dose?"

Dr. Morgan grinned maliciously, and produced a globule the size of a
small pin's head.

Dr. Dosewell recoiled in disgust.

"Oh!" said he very coldly, and assuming at once an air of superb
superiority, "I see--a homoeopathist, sir!"

"A homoeopathist!"

"Um!"

"Um!"

"A strange system, Dr. Morgan," said Dr. Dosewell, recovering his
cheerful smile, but with a curl of contempt in it, "and would soon do
for the druggists."

"Serve 'em right. The druggists soon do for the patie