“Madame Dupont,” he began, “I have prescribed a course of treatment for the child. I hope to be able to improve its condition, and to prevent any new developments. But my duty and yours does not stop there; if there is still time, it is necessary to protect the health of the nurse.”
“Tell us what it is necessary to do, Doctor?” said she.
“The woman must stop nursing the child.”
“You mean we have to change the nurse?”
“Madame, the child can no longer be brought up at the breast, either by that nurse or by any other nurse.”
“But why, sir?”
“Because the child would give her disease to the woman who gave her milk.”
“But, Doctor, if we put her on the bottle—our little one—she will die!”
And suddenly George burst out into sobs. “Oh, my poor little daughter! My God, my God!”
Said the doctor, “If the feeding is well attended to, with sterilized milk—”