“I hope you are not suffering so severely from bodily pain? 177 What distresses you, my good woman? Perhaps, if I knew the cause, I might be able to render you some service.”
“It is not my body,—that, you know, is numb, and gives me no pain,—but my mind! Doctor, I am suffering in mind, and you have no medicine that can ease that.”
“Possibly I may accomplish more than you imagine is within reach of my remedies. Of one thing you may rest assured,—you will never have reason to regret any confidence you may repose in me.”
“Dr. Grey, I believe you are a Christian; at least, I have heard so; and, since my affliction, I have been watching you very closely, and begin to think I can trust you. Are you a member of the church?”
“I am; although that fact alone should not entitle me to your confidence. We are all erring, and full of faults, but I endeavor to live in such a manner that I shall not bring disgrace upon the holy faith I profess.”
“Shut the door, and come back to me.”
He bolted the door, which stood ajar, and resumed his seat.
“Dr. Grey, I know as well as you do that I can’t last a great while, and I ought to prepare for what may overtake me any day. I have tried to live in accordance with the law of God, and I am not afraid to die; but I am afraid to leave my mistress behind me. When I am gone there will be no one to watch over and plead with her, and I dread lest her precious soul may be lost. She won’t go to God for herself, or by herself, and who will pray for her salvation when I am in my shroud? Oh, I can not die in peace, leaving her alone in the world she hates and despises! What will become of my poor, bonnie bairn?”
Elsie sobbed aloud, and Dr. Grey asked,—
“Has Mrs. Gerome no living relatives?”