CURIOS A_ANNOYING. 
297 
to ascertain the actual disease I was compelled to go into the 
garden to him. Fortunately, he was naturally a quiet fellow.— 
I examine him, and satisfy myself that he is rabid. I return, and 
inquire what possible mischief may have been done. I find that 
the lives of three persons are at stake. He has, far within the 
time when the disease becomes contagious, fawned upon and 
licked the mistress of the house, her daughter, and the servant. 
The young lady and the servant have chaps and small scratches 
upon their hands and wrists,—they have more than sufficient 
abraded surface to admit of fatal inoculation. The lady has a 
pimpled eruption on her face, which in too many cases has likewise 
proved to be fatal. 
The dog was rabid: I stake my professional reputation on the 
fact. I inquire who is their medical man, that 1 may privately 
communicate with him. I am told that they have lately come 
here, and have no medical attendant. Then, fully aware of their 
fearful situation, I offer to apply the caustic to the abraded 
parts, and thus avert the evil that hangs over them. I do so—I 
apply the caustic to the hands of the young lady and the ser¬ 
vant—I touch some spots on the face of the lady. I am there 
an hour and a half. J promise to call the next morning and exa¬ 
mine whether the application is likely to be effectual; and for all 
this I charo;e the sum of one sovereis^n. 
O ^ O ^ , 
I call on the following morning, and I am met with a denial 
that the dog was rabid, and a refusal to pay my demand, and 
with an insulting offer of five shillings ! ! 
Now, Sir, have you used me well? Apply to your own sur¬ 
geon—state the situation of the dog—the saliva running from 
the mouth—the /ic///closed mouth—the squinting—the staggering 
gait—the difficulty of swallowing ; and ask him whether these 
things are or are not characteristic of rabies. 
State what I did, and the circumstances under which I did 
it; and inquire of him whether my demanded fee was exorbi¬ 
tant, or whether it ought not to have been double, treble what I 
askedo 
On these things I rest the paltry fee. You may have mis¬ 
conceived the matter; but you will not persist in acting unjustly. 
And now. Sir, for another and more painful part of the sub¬ 
ject. The dog was rabid. The three persons whom I saw had 
more than sufficient abrasions to give reasons for fear—Mrs. 
-’s hands were not sound. I said that I called the second 
time to examine the state of those who had been exposed to 
danger—I was not permitted to see them. IMy calling again is 
out of the question : but let me urge you not to let the matter 
rest here. By the sympathy which you ought to feel for those in 
VOL. viii. s s 
