‘Won’t you take a seat by the fire?’ I said, ‘for you must be very cold and wet such a night as this.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ he replied; ‘I am too wet to sit down. I had better tell you at once the cause of this unseasonable visit. I have been attending in my capacity as a Christian minister a young lady who has been very ill, and is now, I believe, dying. She sent for me to-night about ten o’clock, and when I went to her, she entreated me to go for a solicitor. I had heard of you, sir, as a man of standing in that profession, and I have accordingly come to ask you to drive over with me to her.’
I suggested that the lady very probably wanted to make her will, and wished for professional assistance.
‘I cannot tell,’ he replied. ‘I asked her if no one but a solicitor would do, and she said not. She said she must see a solicitor before she died. She seemed terribly distressed, and pressed her request so earnestly upon me that I felt I dare not neglect it.’
‘How far is the young lady’s residence from this?’ I asked, wishing to bring the matter to a practical issue.
‘About ten miles,’ replied the clergyman.
‘Ten miles on a night such as this is no joke!’
‘It is, sir, a long drive, and I know that the night is very severe; but I would take it as a great favour if you would come with me. I know not where to go or what to do, if you decline. I will drive you there, and send my car back with you; and you will of course hold me responsible for your fees.’
The last sentence decided my wavering resolve and gained the clergyman’s object; for what attorney ever remained inactive where he had a good mark for costs? So shrugging my shoulders, I said: ‘Well, I suppose I had better go with you, though I should much prefer going to bed.’
‘Thank you,’ he replied; ‘it is very good of you to consent.’