Do not cover
yourself up too warmly when you have done; let nature have a rest. I
shall be round between eight and nine, and no doubt you will have had
another bath before I come. Do not sleep in the room, Wilkes; he is
sure to go off soundly to sleep, and there is no use your running any
needless risk. Let his window stand open; indeed, it should always be
open, except when he gets out of his blankets, or is fumigating the
room. Let him have a chair by the open window, so as to get as much
fresh air as possible; but be sure that he is warmly wrapped up with
blankets, so as to avoid getting a chill. You might place a hand-bell
by the side of his bed to-night, so that he can summons you should he
have occasion."
When the doctor came next morning he nodded approvingly as soon as he
felt Cyril's hand.
"Nothing could be better," he said; "your pulse is even quieter than
last night. Now let me look at those spots."
"They are fainter," Cyril said.
"A great deal," Dr. Hodges said, in a tone of the greatest pleasure.
"Thank God, my lad, it is dying out. Not above three or four times
since the Plague began have I been able to say so. I shall go about
my work with a lighter heart today, and shall order your treatment in
every case where I see the least chance of its being carried out, but
I cannot hope that it will often prove as successful as it has with
you. You have had everything in your favour--youth, a good
constitution, a tranquil mind, an absence of fear, and a faith in
God.
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