said Doctor Todd, who, having discovered that his patient was
far from being a man of importance, felt much emboldened to perform the duty. -
»The strong light of these candles is favourable to the operation, and it is
seldom that we hard students enjoy good eyesight.«
    While speaking, Elnathan placed a pair of large, iron-rimmed spectacles on
his face, where they dropped, as it were by long practice, to the extremity of
his slim, pug nose; and if they were of no service as assistants to his eyes,
neither were they any impediment to his vision; for his little, gray organs were
twinkling above them, like two stars emerging from the envious cover of a cloud.
The action was unheeded by all but Remarkable, who observed to Benjamin -
    »Doctor Todd is a comely man to look on, and disp'ut pretty. How well he
seems in spectacles. I declare, they give a grand look to a body's face. I have
quite a great mind to try them myself.«
    The speech of the stranger recalled the recollection of Miss Temple, who
started, as if from deep abstraction, and, colouring excessively, she motioned
to a young woman, who served in the capacity of maid, and retired, with an air
of womanly reserve.
    The field was now left to the physician and his patient, while the different
personages who remained, gathered around the latter, with faces expressing the
various degrees of interest, that each one felt in his condition. Major Hartmann
alone retained his seat, where he continued to throw out vast quantities of
smoke, now rolling his eyes up to the ceiling, as if musing on the uncertainty
of life, and now bending them on the wounded man, with an expression, that
bespoke some consciousness of his situation.
    In the mean time, Elnathan, to whom the sight of a gunshot wound was a
perfect novelty, commenced his preparations, with a solemnity and care that were
worthy of the occasion. An old shirt was procured by Benjamin, and placed in the
hands of the other, who tore divers bandages from it, with an exactitude, that
marked both his own skill, and the importance of the operation.
    When this preparatory measure was taken, Dr. Todd selected a piece of the
shirt with great care, and, handing it to Mr. Jones, without moving a muscle,
said -
    »Here, Squire Jones, you are well acquainted with these things; will you
please to scrape the lint? It should be fine, and soft, you know,