The Surgeon's Daughter

it seemed, whe

of all d

LT

sea to Newcastle, where Hillary had also some regimental affairs to transact, before he joined his regiment. At Newcastle the Captain had the good luck to find a small brig, commanded by an old acquaintance and school-fellow, which was just about to sail fo

to stay at the Isle of Wight all the tim

you too; whatever business you have in London, I can d

y own business myself, Capt

nlisted recruit of the Honourable East India Company; I am your officer, and should you hesita

thers, talked to him with an air of command or superiority, difficult to be endured, and yet so closely allied to the freedom often exercised betwixt two intimates, that he could not find any

the ground. But he altered his purpose of intrusting his comrade with his little fortune, to lay out as his occasions might require, and resolved himself to overlook the expenditure of his money, which, in

ough whatever part of the world his future path may lead him, the vessel was soon anchored off the little town of Ryde; and, as the waves were uncom

rather that, as he facetiously said, there had been some dryness between them, which good liquor would be sovereign in removing. He renewed, with additional splendours, the various panoramic scenes of India and Indian adventures, which had first excited the ambition of Middlemas, and assured him, that even if he should not be able to get him a commission instantly, yet a short delay would only give him time to become better acquainted with his military duties; and Middlemas was too much elevated by the liquor he had drank to see any difficulty whi

ngth broken his slumbers, were of the most horrible, as well as the most melancholy description. They came from the ranges of pallet-beds, which were closely packed together in a species of military hospital, where a burning fever was the prevalent complaint. Many of the patients were under the influence of a high delirium, during which they shouted, shrieked, laughed, blasphemed, and uttered the most horrible imp

ed by two unhappy beings. He saw no one who appeared to attend to the wants, or to heed the complaints, of the wretches around him, or to whom he could offer any appeal against his present situation. He looked for his cl

e breach of trust in the Town-Clerk's service. But that he should have trepanned the friend who had reposed his whole confidence in him-that he should have plundered him of his fortune,

e stretched upon the pallets nearest him, he could not discern some one likely to enter into conversation with him, and give him some information about the nature and customs of this horrid place. But the bed nearest him was occupied by two fellows, who, although to judge from their gaunt cheeks, hollow eyes, and ghastly looks, they were apparently recovering from the disease, and just rescu

two bodies, but only one of which was living-the oth

dead!" said the

ered one of the players, "and then ther

e poor wretch-"the dead is no bed-fellow for the l

as may be the case with, yourself, friend-f

ostulated the poor convalescent-"But help me to take the body out of the bed,

st your head round till your eyes look at the drummer's handwriting on your back. Hold your pe

hideous companion, and the usual jargon of the gam

the happy and peaceful home, which he might have called his own, rose before his over-heated fancy, with a vividness of perception that bordered upon insanity. He saw before him the rivulet which wanders through the burgh-muir of Middlemas, where he

s a surgeon, and, after all, should not have the extreme fear for the interior of a military hospital, which its horrors might inspire into strangers to the profession. But though he strove, by such recollections, to rally

oan in the presence of Captain Seelencooper. This official was the superintendent, or, as the miserable inhabitants termed him, the Governor of the Hospital. He had all the air of having been originally a turnkey in some ill-regulated jail-a stout, short, bandy-legged man, with one eye, and a double portion of ferocity in that which remained. He wore an old-fashioned tarnished uniform, which did not seem to ha

the flourish of the bamboo, which he bore in his hand, seemed powerfu

d, for a set of lubbers, that lie shamming Abraham, and consuming the Right Honourable Company

while he was thus answering the low and humble complaints of those by whose bed-side he p

him his single eye of fire, while a sneer gathered on his

here by some strange mistake. I am neither a private soldier, n

to ask you is, whether you a

t Edinburgh," sai

-the Captain and the Doctor sent you here-surely they kno

said Middlemas, "pro

s has promised something to himself. This is the land of promise, my smart fellow, but you know it is India that must be

t-one moment only-I

am the luckiest fellow in Europe-other people in my line have only thieves and blackguards upon th

ghtly, sir," said Middlemas; "I hav

e patients, either because they wished to curry favour with the superintendent, or from the feeling

of a cherry-why, there is not a cull in the ken that pretends to have lost more than a few hoggs, and here is a servant to the Honourable Company that

ation, refused its office. "Water, water!" he said, laying hold, at the same time, of one of the assistants who followed Seelencooper by the sleeve. The

aimed, contained something better than the pure element. In fact, a large proportion of it was gin. The jug was broken in the struggle, and the liquor spilt. Middlemas dealt a blow to the assailant, which was amply and heartily repaid, and a combat would have ensued, but for the interference of the superintendent and

esire to imitate and reply to the groans, oaths, and ribaldry, which, as soon as the superintendent quitted the hospital, echoed around him. He longed, though he struggled against the impulse, to vie in curses with the reprobate, and i