begyourardon,
"hesaid,
"IamafraidIhavenotbeenayingmuchattentiontoyourtalk。WhoisthisWolfeMacfarlane?
"Andthen,whenhehadheardthelandlordout,
"Itcannotbe,itcannotbe,
"headded,
"andyetIwouldlikewelltoseehimfacetoface。
"
"Doyouknowhim,Doctor?
"askedtheundertaker,withagas。
"Godforbid!
"wastherely。
"Andyetthenameisastrangeone;itweretoomuchtofancytwo。Tellme,landlord,isheold?
"
"Well,
"saidthehost,
"heisnotayoungman,tobesure,andhishairiswhite;buthelooksyoungerthanyou。
"
"Heisolder,though;yearsolder。But,
"withaslauonthetable,
"itstherumyouseeinmyface—rumandsin。Thisman,erhas,mayhaveaneasyconscienceandagooddigestion。twomenmeet,asoneofthemhadhrasedit,facetoface。Dr。Macfarlanewasalertandvigorous。Hiswhitehairsetoffhisaleandlacid,althoughenergetic,countenance。Hewasrichlydressedinthefinestofbroadclothandthewhitestoflinen,withagreatgoldwatch-chain,andstudsandsectaclesofthesamereciousmaterial。Heworeabroad-foldedtie,whiteandseckledwithlilac,andhecarriedonhisarmacomfortabledriving-coatoffur。Therewasnodoubtbuthebecamehisyears,breathing,ashedid,ofwealthandconsideration;anditwasasurrisingcontrasttoseeourarloursot—bald,dirty,imled,androbedinhisoldcamletcloak—confronthimatthebottomofthestairs。
"
"Macfarlane!
"hesaidsomewhatloudly,morelikeaheraldthanafriend。
Conscience!Hearmeseak。YouwouldthinkIwassomegood,old,decentChristian,wouldyounot?Butno,notI;Inevercanted。Voltairemighthavecantedifhehadstoodinmyshoes;butthebrains
"—witharattlingfillionhisbaldhead—
"thebrainswereclearandactive,andIsawandmadenodeductions。
"
"Ifyouknowthisdoctor,
"Iventuredtoremark,afterasomewhatawfulause,
"Ishouldgatherthatyoudonotsharethelandlordsgoodoinion。
"
Fettesaidnoregardtome。
"Yes,
"hesaid,withsuddendecision,
"Imustseehimfacetoface。
"
Therewasanotherause,andthenadoorwasclosedrathersharlyonthefirstfloor,andastewashearduonthestair。