MR. VIMPANY ON INTOXICATION

THERE was no unsteadiness in the doctor's walk, and no flush on his
face. He certainly did strut when he entered the room; and he held up
his head with dignity, when he discovered Mountjoy. But he seemed to
preserve his self-control. Was the man sober again already?

His wife approached him with her set smile; the appearance of her lord
and master filled Mrs. Vimpany with perfectly-assumed emotions of
agreeable surprise.

"This is an unexpected pleasure," she said. "You seldom favour us with
your company, my dear, so early in the evening! Are there fewer
patients in want of your advice than usual?"

"You are mistaken, Arabella. I am here in the performance of a painful
duty."

The doctor's language, and the doctor's manner, presented him to Iris
in a character that was new to her. What effect had he produced on Mrs.
Vimpany? That excellent friend to travellers in distress lowered her
eyes to the floor, and modestly preserved silence. Mr. Vimpany
proceeded to the performance of his duty; his painful responsibility
seemed to strike him at first from a medical point of view.

"If there is a poison which undermines the sources of life," he
remarked, "it is alcohol. If there is a vice that degrades humanity, it
is intoxication. Mr. Mountjoy, are you aware that I am looking at you?"