第47章

“Doyouhearthat？“saidSirPatrick，lookingatGeoffrey。

Geoffreycarelesslynoddedhishead。Hisirritationhadhadtimetosubside；thestolidindifferencehadgotpossessionofhimagain。Hehadresumedhischair——hesat，withoutstretchedlegs，staringstupidlyatthepatternonthecarpet。“WhatdoesitmattertoMe？“wasthesentimentexpressedalloverhim，fromheadtofoot。

Thesurgeonwenton。

“Icanseenoremedyforthissadstateofthings，“hesaid，“aslongasthepublicfeelingremainswhatthepublicfeelingisnow。Afinehealthy-lookingyoungman，withasuperbmusculardevelopment，longs(naturallyenough)todistinguishhimselflikeothers。Thetraining-authoritiesathiscollege，orelsewhere，takehiminhand(naturallyenoughagain)onthestrengthofoutwardappearances。Andwhethertheyhavebeenrightorwronginchoosinghimismorethantheycansay，untiltheexperimenthasbeentried，andthemischiefhasbeen，inmanycases，irretrievablydone。Howmanyofthemareawareoftheimportantphysiologicaltruth，thatthemuscularpowerofamanisnofairguaranteeofhisvitalpower？Howmanyofthemknowthatweallhave(asagreatFrenchwriterputsit)twolivesinus——thesurfacelifeofthemuscles，andtheinnerlifeoftheheart，lungs，andbrain？Eveniftheydidknowthis——evenwithmedicalmentohelpthem——itwouldbeinthelastdegreedoubtful，inmostcases，whetheranypreviousexaminationwouldresultinanyreliablediscoveryofthevitalfitnessofthemantoundergothestressofmuscularexertionlaidonhim。Applytoanyofmybrethren；andtheywilltellyou，astheresultoftheirownprofessionalobservation，thatIam，innosense，overstatingthisseriousevil，orexaggeratingthedeplorableanddangerousconsequencestowhichitleads。Ihaveapatientatthismoment，whoisayoungmanoftwenty，andwhopossessesoneofthefinestmusculardevelopmentsIeversawinmylife。Ifthatyoungmanhadconsultedme，beforehefollowedtheexampleoftheotheryoungmenabouthim，IcannothonestlysaythatIcouldhaveforeseentheresults。Asthingsare，aftergoingthroughacertainamountofmusculartraining，afterperformingacertainnumberofmuscularfeats，hesuddenlyfaintedoneday，totheastonishmentofhisfamilyandfriends。IwascalledinandI

havewatchedthecasesince。Hewillprobablylive，buthewillneverrecover。IamobligedtotakeprecautionswiththisyouthoftwentywhichIshouldtakewithanoldmanofeighty。HeisbigenoughandmuscularenoughtosittoapainterasamodelforSamson——andonlylastweekIsawhimswoonawaylikeayounggirl，inhismother’sarms。“

“Name!“criedGeoffrey’sadmirers，stillfightingthebattleontheirside，intheabsenceofanyencouragementfromGeoffreyhimself。

“Iamnotinthehabitofmentioningmypatients’names，“repliedthesurgeon。“Butifyouinsistonmyproducinganexampleofamanbrokenbyathleticexercises，Icandoit。“

“Doit!Whoishe？“