$ 



PRACTICE OF SURGERY ABANDONED. 117 



as I did into that young lady's one eye in particular. 

 When the doctor drew out the instrument, I certain- 

 ly could have taken her in my arms, but her imagi- 

 nation had been too powerful; her eyes closed, a 

 slight shudder seized her, and she fainted. That 

 passed off, and she rose with her eyes all right. A 

 young gentleman was in attendance to escort her 

 to her home, and the smile had again returned to 

 her cheek as he told her that now her lover would 

 not know her. 



This case had occupied a great deal of time ; the 

 doctor's labours were doubled by the want of regu- 

 lar surgical aid, he was fatigued with the excitement, 

 and I was worn out ; my head was actually swim- 

 ming with visions of bleeding and mutilated eyes, 

 and I almost felt doubtful about my own. The rep- 

 etition of the operations had not accustomed me to 

 them ; indeed, the last was more painful to me than 

 the first, and I felt willing to abandon forever the 

 practice of surgery. Doctor Cabot had explained 

 the modus operandi fully to the medical gentlemen, 

 had offered to procure them instruments, and consid- 

 ering the thing fairly introduced into the country, we 

 determined to stop. But this was not so easy ; the 

 crowd out of doors had their opinion on the subject; 

 the biscos considered that we were treating them 

 outrageously, and became as clamorous as a mob in 

 a western city about to administer Lynch law. One 

 would not be kept back. He was a strapping youth, 

 with cast enough in his eye to carry everything be- 



