of a certain class must be humored rather than coerced. So he
administered a double dose of Dover's Powders, and prohibited the
drinking of cold water. His report was, on the whole, reassuring to Mary
Potter. Provided his directions were strictly followed, he said, her son
would be up in two or three days; but there _might_ be a turn for the
worse, as the shock to the system had been very great, and she ought to
have assistance.

"There's no one I can call upon," said she, "without it's Betsy
Lavender, and I must ask you to tell her for me, if you think she can
come."

"I'll oblige thee, certainly," the Doctor answered. "Betsy _is_ with us,
just now, and I don't doubt but she can spare a day or two. She may be a
little headstrong in her ways, but thee'll find her a safe nurse."

It was really not necessary, as the event proved. Rest and warmth were
what Gilbert most needed. But Dr. Deane always exaggerated his patient's
condition a little, in order that the credit of the latter's recovery
might be greater. The present case was a very welcome one, not only
because it enabled him to recite a most astonishing narrative at
second-hand, but also because it suggested a condition far more
dangerous than that which the patient actually suffered. He was the
first person to bear the news to Kennett Square, where it threw the
village into a state of great excitement, which rapidly spread over the
neighborhood.

He related it at his own tea-table that evening, to Martha and Miss
Betsy Lavender. The former could with difficulty conceal her agitation;
she turned red and pale, until the Doctor finally remarked,--