第22章

“Well；canIdoanythingelse？”askedhe。

“Thedoctorsaysthetreeoughttobecutdown。”

“Oh——you’vehadthedoctor？”

“Ididn’tsendforhimMrs。Charmond，beforesheleft，heardthatfatherwasill，andtoldhimtoattendhimatherexpense。”

“Thatwasverygoodofher。Andhesaysitoughttobecutdown。

Wemustn’tcutitdownwithoutherknowledge，Isuppose。”

Hewentup-stairs。Theretheoldmansat，staringatthenowgaunttreeasifhisgazewerefrozenontoitstrunk。Unluckilythetreewavedafreshbythistime，awindhavingsprungupandblownthefogaway，andhiseyesturnedwithitswavings。

Theyheardfootsteps——aman’s，butofalightertypethanusual。

“ThereisDoctorFitzpiersagain。”shesaid，anddescended。

Presentlyhistreadwasheardonthenakedstairs。

Mr。Fitzpiersenteredthesick-chamberjustasadoctorismoreorlesswonttodoonsuchoccasions，andpre-eminentlywhentheroomisthatofahumblecottager，lookingroundtowardsthepatientwiththatpreoccupiedgazewhichsoplainlyrevealsthathehaswellnighforgottenallaboutthecaseandthewholecircumstancessincehedismissedthemfromhismindathislastexitfromthesameapartment。HenoddedtoWinterborne，withwhomhewasalreadyalittleacquainted，recalledthecasetohisthoughts，andwentleisurelyontowhereSouthsat。

Fitzpierswas，onthewhole，afinelyformed，handsomeman。Hiseyesweredarkandimpressive，andbeamedwiththelighteitherofenergyorofsusceptivity——itwasdifficulttosaywhich；itmighthavebeenalittleofboth。Thatquick，glittering，practicaleye，sharpforthesurfaceofthingsandfornothingbeneathit，hehadnot。Butwhetherhisapparentdepthofvisionwasreal，oronlyanartisticaccidentofhiscorporealmoulding，nothingbuthisdeedscouldreveal。

Hisfacewasrathersoftthanstern，charmingthangrand，palethanflushed；hisnose——ifasketchofhisfeaturesbederigueurforapersonofhispretensions——wasartisticallybeautifulenoughtohavebeenworthdoinginmarblebyanysculptornotover-busy，andwashencedevoidofthoseknottyirregularitieswhichoftenmeanpower；whilethedouble-cymaorclassicalcurveofhismouthwasnotwithoutaloosenessinitsclose。Nevertheless，eitherfromhisreadilyappreciativemien，orhisreflectivemanner，ortheinstincttowardsprofoundthingswhichwassaidtopossesshim，hispresencebespokethephilosopherratherthanthedandyormacaroni——aneffectwhichwashelpedbytheabsenceoftrinketsorothertrivialitiesfromhisattire，thoughthiswasmorefinishedanduptodatethanisusuallythecaseamongruralpractitioners。

Strictpeopleofthehighlyrespectableclass，knowingalittleabouthimbyreport，mighthavesaidthatheseemedlikelytoerrratherinthepossessionoftoomanyideasthantoofew；tobeadreamy’istofsomesort，ortoodeeplysteepedinsomefalsekindof’ism。Howeverthismaybe，itwillbeseenthathewasundoubtedlyasomewhatrarekindofgentlemananddoctortohavedescended，asfromtheclouds，uponLittleHintock。

“Thisisanextraordinarycase。”hesaidatlasttoWinterborne，afterexaminingSouthbyconversation，look，andtouch，andlearningthat