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1、【英文文学】Doctor IzardPART I. A MIDNIGHT VISITANT. I. NO. THIRTEEN, WARD THIRTEEN.IT was after midnight. Quiet had settled over the hospital, and in Ward 13 there was no sound and scarcely a movement. The nurse, a strong and beautiful figure, had fallen into a reverie, and the two patients, which were a
2、ll the ward contained, lay in a sleep so deep that it seemed to foreshadow the death which was hovering over them both.They were both men. The one on the right of the nurse was middle-aged; the one on the left somewhat older. Both were gaunt, both were hollow-eyed, both had been given up by the doct
3、ors and attendants. Yet there was one point of difference between them. He on the left, the older of the two, had an incurable complaint for which no remedy was possible, while he on the right, though seemingly as ill as his fellow, was less seriously affected, and stood some chance of being saved i
4、f only he would arouse from his apathy and exert his will toward living. But nothing had as yet been found to interest him, and he seemed likely to die from sheer inanition. It is through this mans eyes that we must observe the scene which presently took place in this quiet room.He had been lying, a
5、s I have said, in a dreamless sleep, when somethinghe never knew whatmade him conscious of himself and partially awake to his surroundings. He found himself listening, but there was no sound; and his eyes, which he had not unclosed for hours, slowly opened, and through the shadows which encompassed
6、him broke a dim vision of the silent ward and the sitting figure of the weary nurse. It was an accustomed sight, and his eyes were softly re-closing when a sudden movement on the part of the nurse roused him again to something like interest, and though his apathy was yet too great for him to make a
7、movement or utter a sound, he perceived, though with dim eyes at first, that the door at the other end of the ward had slowly opened, and that two men were advancing down the room to the place where the nurse stood waiting in evident surprise to greet them. One was the hospital doctor, and on him th
8、e sick man cast but a single glance; but the person with him was a stranger, and upon him the attention of the silent watcher became presently concentrated, for his appearance was singular and his errand one of evident mystery.There was but one light in the room, and this was burning low, so that th
9、e impression received was general rather than particular. He saw before him a medium-sized man who sought to hide his face from observation, though this face was already sufficiently shielded by the semi-darkness and by the brim of a large hat which for some reason he had omitted to remove. Around h
10、is shoulders there hung a cloak of an old-fashioned type, and as he approached the spot where the nurse stood, his form, which had shown some dignity while he was advancing, contracted itself in such a fashion that he looked smaller than he really was.The physician who accompanied him was the first
11、to speak.“Is No. Twelve asleep?” he asked.The nurse bowed slightly, half turning her head as she did so.The watching man was No. Thirteen, not No. Twelve, but his eyes shut at the question, perhaps because he was still overcome by his apathy, perhaps because his curiosity had been aroused and he fea
12、red to stop events by betraying his interest in them.“I am afraid we shall have to wake him,” pursued the attendant physician. “This gentleman here, who declines to give his name, but who has brought letters which sufficiently recommend him to our regard, professes to have business with this patient
13、 which will not keep till morning. Has the patient shown any further signs of sinking?”She answered in a cheerful tone that he had slept since ten without waking, and the two men began to approach. As they did so both turned toward the bed of the second sick man, and one of them, the stranger, remar
14、ked with something like doubt in his tones, “Is this man as low as he looks? Is he dying, too?”The answer was a qualified one, and the stranger appeared to turn his back, but presently the strained ears of the seemingly unconscious man heard a breath panting near his own, and was conscious of some p
15、erson bending over his cot. Next minute the question was whispered in his hearing:“Are you sure this man is asleep?”The doctor, who was standing close by, murmured an affirmative, and the nurse to whom the questioner had apparently turned, observed without any hesitation in her slightly mystified to
16、ne:“I have not seen him move since eight oclock; besides, if he were awake, he would show no consciousness. He is dying from sheer hopelessness, and a cannon fired at his side would not rouse him.”The “humph” which this assurance called forth from the stranger had a peculiar sound in it, but the att
17、ention which had been directed to No. Thirteen now passed to his neighbor, and the former, feeling himself for the instant unobserved, partially opened his eyes to see how that neighbor was affected by it. A few whispered words had accomplished what a cannon had been thought unable to do, and he was
18、 beginning to realize an interest in life, or at least in what was going on in reference to his fellow patient. The words were these:“This is a hopeless case, is it?”“Yes, sir.”“How long a time do you give him?”The tone was professional, though not entirely unsympathetic.“Dr. Sweet says a week; I sa
19、y three days.”The stranger bent over the patient, and it was at this point that the watchers eyes opened.“Three days is nearer the mark,” the visitor at last declared.At which the attending physician bowed.“I should be glad to have a few moments conversation with your patient,” the stranger now purs
20、ued. “If he is unhappy, I think I can bring him comfort. He has relatives, you say.”“Yes, a daughter, over whose helpless position he constantly grieves.”“He is poor, then?”“Very.”“Good! I have pleasant news for him. Will you allow me to rouse him?”“Certainly, if you have a communication justifying
21、the slight shock.”The stranger, whose head had sunk upon his breast, cast a keen look around. “I beg your pardon,” said he, “but I must speak to the man alone; he himself would choose it, but neither you nor the nurse need leave the room.”The doctor bowed and withdrew with marked respect; the nurse
22、lingered a moment, during which both of the sick men lay equally quiet and death-like; then she also stepped aside. The stranger was left standing between the two beds.Soon the sensitive ears of the watchful one heard these words: “Your little daughter sends her love.”Opening his eyes a trifle, he s
23、aw the stranger bending over the others pillow. A sigh which was not new to his ears rose from his dying companion, at sound of which the stranger added softly:“You fear to leave the child, but God is merciful. He makes it possible for you to provide for her; do you want to hear how?”A low cry, then
24、 a sudden feeble move, and No. Twelve was speaking in hurried, startled words:“Who are you, sir? What do you want with me, and what are you saying about my child? I dont know you.”“No? And yet I am likely to be your greatest benefactor. But first take these few drops; they will help you to understan
25、d me. You are afraid? You need not be. I am” He whispered a name into the sick mans ear which his companion could not catch. “That is our secret,” he added, “and one which I charge you to preserve.”No. Thirteen, unable to restrain his curiosity at this, stole another glance at the adjoining cot from
26、 under his scarcely lifted lids. His moribund neighbor had risen partially on his pillow and was gazing with burning intensity at the man who was leaning toward him.“O sir,” came from the pale and working lips, as he tried to raise a feeble hand. “You mean to help my little one, you? But why should
27、you do it? What claim has my misfortune or her innocence on you that you should concern yourself with our desperate condition?”“No claim,” came in the strangers calm but impressive tones. “It is not charity I seek to bestow on you, but payment for a service you can render me. A perfectly legitimate,
28、 though somewhat unusual one,” he hastened to add, as the mans face showed doubt.“Whatwhat is it?” faltered from the sick mans lips in mingled doubt and hope. “What can a poor and wretched being, doomed to speedy death, do for a man like you? I fear you are mocking me, sir.”“You can be the medium” t
29、he words came slowly and with some hesitation“for the payment of a debt I dare not liquidate in my own person. I owe someonea large amountof money. If I give it to you” (he leaned closer and spoke lower, but the ears that were listening were very sharp, and not a syllable was lost) “will you give it
30、 to the person whom I will name?”“But how? When? I am dying, they say, and”“Do not worry about the whens and hows. I will make all that easy. The question is, will you, for the sum of five thousand dollars, which I here show you in ten five-hundred-dollar bills, consent to sign a will, bequeathing t
31、his other little package of money to a certain young woman whom I will name?”“Five thousand dollars? O sir, do not mislead a dying man. Five thousand dollars? Why, it would be a fortune to Lucy!”“A fortune that she shall have,” the other assured him.“Just for signing my name?”“Just for signing your
32、name to a will which will bequeath the rest of your belongings, namely, this little package, to an equally young and equally unfortunate girl.”“It seems right. I do not see anything wrong in it,” murmured the dying father in a voice that had strangely strengthened. “Will you assure me that it is all
33、 right, and that no one will suffer by my action?”“Did I not tell you who I was?” asked the stranger, “and cannot you trust one of my reputation? You will be doing a good act, a retributive act; one that will have the blessing of Providence upon it.”“But why this secrecy? Why do you come to me inste
34、ad of paying the debt yourself? Is she”“She is who she is,” was the somewhat stern interruption. “You do not know her; no one here knows her. Will you do what I ask or must I turn to your companion who seems as ill as yourself?”“II want to do it, sir. Five thousand dollars! Let me feel of the bills
35、that represent so much.”There was a movement, and the sick and feeble voice rose again in a tone of ecstatic delight. “And I need not worry any more about her feet without shoes and her pretty head without shelter. She will be a lady and go to school, and by and by can learn a trade and live respect
36、ably. Oh, thank God, sir! I know who I would like to have made her guardian.”“Then you consent?” cried the stranger, with a thrill of some strong feeling in his voice.“I do, sir, and thank you; only you must be quick, for there is no knowing how soon the end may come.” The stranger, who seemed to be
37、 equally apprehensive of the results of this strong excitement, raised himself upright and motioned to the doctor and the nurse.“You will say nothing of our compact,” he enjoined in a final whisper, as the two summoned ones approached. “Nor will you express surprise at the wording of the will or, in
38、deed, at anything I may say.”“No,” came in an almost undistinguishable murmur, and then there was silence, till the doctor and the nurse were within hearing, when the stranger said:“Our friend here has a small matter of business on his mind. It has been my pleasure, as I perhaps intimated to you, to
39、 bring him a considerable sum of money which he had quite despaired of ever having paid him; and as for reasons he is not willing to communicate, he desires to bequeath a portion of it to a person not related to him, he naturally finds it necessary to leave a will. Foreseeing this, I had the draft o
40、f one drawn up, which, if agreeable to you, I will read to him in your presence.”The amazement in the nurses eye gave way to a look of deference, and she bowed slightly. The doctor nodded his head, and both took their stand at the foot of the small cot. The man in the adjoining bed neither murmured
41、nor moved. Had they looked at him, they would have doubtless thought his sleep was doing him but little good, for his pallor had increased and an icy sweat glistened on his forehead.“Mr. Hazlitts property,” continued the stranger in a low and mechanical tone, “consists entirely of money. Is that not
42、 so?” he asked, smiling upon the dazed but yet strangely happy face of the patient lying before him. “Namely, this roll of bills, amounting as you see to five thousand dollars, and this small package of banknotes, of which the amount is not stated, but of whose value he is probably aware. Are you wi
43、lling,” and he turned to the doctor, “to take charge of these valuables, and see that they are forthcoming at the proper time?”The doctor bowed, glanced at his patient, and meeting his eager eye, took the roll of bills and the package, and putting them into his breast pocket, remarked, “I will have
44、them placed in the safe deposit vaults to-morrow.”“Very well,” cried the stranger; “that will be all right, will it not?” he asked, consulting in his turn the man before him.Mr. Hazlitt, as they called him, gave him a short look, smiled again, and said: “You know best; anything, so that my Lucy gets
45、 her five thousand.”The stranger, straightening himself, asked if he could not have more light, at which the nurse brought a candle. Immediately the stranger took a paper from under his cloak and opened it. The nurse held the candle and the stranger began to read:The last will and testament of Abram
46、 Hazlitt of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois.First: I direct all my just debts and funeral expenses to be paid.Second: I give, devise, and bequeath to“Is your daughters name Lucy, and is the sum you wish given her five thousand dollars exact?” asked the stranger, sitting down at the small table near b
47、y and taking out a pen from his pocket.“Yes,” was the feeble response, “five thousand dollars to Lucy Ellen, my only and much-beloved child.”The stranger rapidly wrote in the words, adding, “she lives in Chicago, I suppose.”It was the nurse who answered:“She is in this hospital, too, sir; but not fo
48、r any mortal complaint. Time and care will restore her.”The stranger went on reading:I give, devise, and bequeath to my only and much-loved child, Lucy Ellen of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, the sum of five thousand dollars.Second: I give, devise, and bequeath to“Did you say the name was Mary Earle, and that she lived in Hamilton, county, Massachusetts?” he interjected, looking inquiringly at the man whose sagacity he thus trusted.“Yes, yes,” was the hurried, almost faint answer. “You know, you know; go on quickly, for Im feeling ve