Morning found me with unsteady nerves. But this was not all. From
the moment I left my bed until within half an hour of the time when
the operation was to begin, I was under much excitement and deeply
anxious about two of my patients, Mrs. Voss and Mrs. Ridley, both
dangerously ill, Mrs. Voss, as you know, in consequence of her alarm
about her son, and Mrs. Ridley--But you have heard all about her
case and its fatal termination, and understand in what way it was
connected with the party at Mr. and Mrs. Birtwell's. The consequence
of that night's excesses met me at every turn. The unusual calls,
the imminent danger in which I found Mrs. Ridley and the almost
insane demands made upon me by her despairing husband, all conspired
to break down my unsteady nerves and unfit me for the work I had to
do. When the time came, there was only one desperate expedient left,
and that was the use of a strong stimulant, under the effect of
which I was able to extract the tumor from Mrs. Carlton's neck.
"'Alas for the too temporary support of my stimulant! It failed me
at the last moment. My sight was not clear nor my hand steady as I
tied the small arteries which had been cut during the operation. One
of these, ligated imperfectly, commenced bleeding soon after I left
the house. A hurried summons reached me almost immediately on my
return home, and before I had steadied my exhausted nerves with a
glass of wine.
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