The Argosy — page 90: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Doctor’s Story. 1, to see him more closely, he’s not unlike what his father was at the same age, only quieter. Do you know he almost strikes me as being a little dull. Have you found him so, madam?” ‘‘T have been too sad a companion for him, sir. I know—TI feel it zow,” sighed the poor mother, her eyes wandering from her own boy to follow the antics of the other, who astride a stick, was career- ing merrily about the room. ‘‘ That can be soon remedied,” said Lord Welbury, putting Charlie off his knee; “let the two youngsters romp together. 1 warrant they’ll make friends if let alone.” And in order to try the experiment, we three sat apart and kept up some desultory talk. This lasted but a short time, however. It was broken in upon by a startled cry from the younger boy, Georgie, who, apparently terror stricken, rushed across the room. ‘Naughty boy, naughty boy! Send him away. He’s making faces at me,” cried the spoilt child in an outburst of passion, pointing with outstretched finger at his little companion. The nurse dropped her knitting, and rose instantly. ‘I have seen it from the first,” she said, calmly confronting us. ‘The child is half an idiot, my lord.” . All eyes were turned as poor Charlie, who stood among some broken toys, his features distorted into the ghastly semblance of a smile. Mrs. Wilton, running to her boy, shielded him with her arms. “My darling, my darling! Has God no pity ?” she cried, and bore him from the room. She had prayed day and night—this unhappy mother—to see either a smile on her baby’s lips or a tear in his eye, and hitherto her prayer had been denied. It was granted now. The poor dulled senses of the child, roused into something like activity by the antics of his little lively playfellow, had caused the lips to smile. But whata smile! Lord Welbury turned pale. A look of disgust, not unmixed with anger, settled on his face. ‘‘ There is no doubt the boy is imbecile,” he said, as I was about to follow Mrs. Wilton from the room. ‘ Dr, Gray, were you aware of this when you allowed him to be brought here?” ‘‘] was not aware of it,” I replied readily. For the sad foreboding that first assailed me on the lawn at Croft House had received no confirmation hitherto. ‘“ But even if the case is as we fear,” I added earnestly, ‘‘it may be curable.” ** Excuse me, doctor,” he interrupted. ‘‘No man who has seen that child as we have seen him can have the slightest doubt but that he is an idiot for life.” “On the contrary, my lord, we must regard the matter from another point. Kemember the shadow that rested on his mother before his birth. Where there is no hereditary taint . “What then? On the mere chance of the child being curable, GEOG ooo @ SS (C(O)