"Hold your tongue, ye flyting fools," said the Doctor; "and you, ye idle
rascals, if I come out among you." So saying, he smacked his long-lashed
whip with great emphasis, producing much the effect of the celebrated
_Quos ego_ of Neptune in the first AEneid.--"And now," said the Doctor,
"where, or who, is this lady?"
The question was scarce necessary; for a plain carriage, with four
horses, came at a foot's pace towards the door of the Doctor's house,
and the old women, now more at their ease, gave the Doctor to
understand, that the gentleman thought the accommodation of the Swan Inn
totally unfit for his lady's rank and condition, and had, by their
advice, (each claiming the merit of the suggestion,) brought her here,
to experience the hospitality of the _west room;_--a spare apartment, in
which Doctor Gray occasionally accommodated such patients, as he desired
to keep for a space of time under his own eye.
There were two persons only in the vehicle. The one, a gentleman in a
riding dress, sprung out, and having received from the Doctor an
assurance that the lady would receive tolerable accommodation in his
house, he lent assistance to his companion to leave the carriage, and
with great apparent satisfaction, saw her safely deposited in a decent
sleeping apartment, and under the respectable charge of the Doctor and
his lady, who assured him once more of every species of attention.
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