'I could not keep her down,' said the nurse. 'She would
spring up in bed, throw off the clothes and sit listening, with a
look of anxiety and dread on her face. The wind came in through
every chink and crevice, chilling the room in spite of all I could
do to keep it warm. I soon saw, from the color that began coming
into her face and from the brightness in her eyes, that fever had
set in. I was alarmed, and sent for the doctor.'"
"And did this go on all night?" asked Dr. Hillhouse.
"Yes. She never closed her eyes except in intervals of feverish
stupor, from which she would start up and cry out for her husband,
who was, she imagined, in some dreadful peril."
"Bad! bad!" muttered Dr. Hillhouse. "There'll be a death, I fear,
laid at Mr. Birtwell's door."
"I don't understand you," said his companion, in a tone of surprise.
"Mr. Ridley, as I have been informed," returned Dr. Hillhouse, has
been an intemperate man. After falling very low, he made an earnest
effort to reform, and so far got the mastery of his appetite as to
hold it in subjection. Such men are always in danger, as you and I
very well know. In nine cases out of ten--or, I might say, in
ninety-nine cases in a hundred--to taste again is to fall. It is
like cutting the chain that holds a wild beast. The bound but not
dead appetite springs into full vigor again, and surprised
resolution is beaten down and conquered.
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