Poor Miss Finch

by Wilkie Collins

  CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FIRST

  "Who Shall Decide when Doctors disagree?"

  WE had certainly not been more than ten minutes in the garden, when wewere startled by an extraordinary outbreak of shouting in broken English,proceeding from the window of the sitting-room. "Hi-hi-hoi! hoi-hi!hoi-hi!" We looked up, and discovered Herr Grosse, frantically waving ahuge red silk handkerchief at the window. "Lonch! lonch!" cried theGerman surgeon. "The consultations is done. Come begin-begin."

  Obedient to this peremptory summons, Lucilla, Nugent, and I returned tothe sitting-room. We had, as I had foreseen, found Oscar wandering alonein the garden. He had entreated me, by a sign, not to reveal ourdiscovery of him to Lucilla, and had hurried away to hide himself in oneof the side-walks. His agitation was pitiable to see. He was totallyunfit to be trusted in Lucilla's presence at that anxious moment.

  When we had left the oculists together, I had sent Zillah with a littlewritten message to Reverend Finch; entreating him (if it was only forform's sake) to reconsider his resolution, and be present on theall-important occasion to his daughter of the delivery of the medicalopinions on her case. At the bottom of the stairs (on our return), myanswer was handed to me on a slip of sermon-paper. "Mr. Finch declined tosubmit a question of principle to any considerations dictated by mereexpediency. He desired seriously to remind Madame Pratolungo of what hehad already told her. In other words, he would repeat, and he would begher to remember this time, that his Foot was down."

  On re-entering the room, we found the eminent oculists seated as farapart as possible one from the other. Both gentlemen were engaged inreading. Mr. Sebright was reading a book. Herr Grosse was reading theMayonnaise.

  I placed Lucilla close by me, and took her hand. It was as cold as ice.My poor dear trembled pitiably. For her, what moments of unutterablesuffering were those moments of suspense, before the surgeons deliveredtheir sentence! I pressed her little cold hand in mine, and whispered"Courage!" Truly I can say it (though I am not usually one of thesentimental sort), my heart bled for her.

  "Well, gentlemen," said Nugent, "what is the result? Are you bothagreed?"

  "No," said Mr. Sebright, putting aside his book.

  "No," said Herr Grosse, ogling the Mayonnaise. Lucilla turned her facetowards me; her color shifting and changing, her bosom rising and fallingmore and more rapidly. I whispered to her to compose herself. "One ofthem, at any rate," I said, "thinks you will recover your sight." Sheunderstood me, and became quieter directly. Nugent went on with hisquestions, addressed to the two oculists.

  "What do you differ about?" he asked. "Will you let us hear youropinions?"

  The wearisome contest of courtesy was renewed between our medicaladvisers. Mr. Sebright bowed to Herr Grosse:

  "You first." Herr Grosse bowed to Mr. Sebright: "No--you!" My impatiencebroke through this cruel and ridiculous professional restraint. "Speakboth together, gentlemen, if you like!" I said sharply. "Do anything, forGod's sake, but keep us in suspense. Is it, or is it not, possible torestore her sight?"

  "Yes," said Herr Grosse.

  Lucilla sprang to her feet, with a cry of joy.

  "No," said Mr. Sebright.

  Lucilla dropped back again into her chair, and silently laid her head onmy shoulder.

  "Are you agreed about the cause of her blindness?" asked Nugent.

  "Cataracts is the cause," answered Herr Grosse.

  "So far, I agree," said Mr. Sebright. "Cataract is the cause.

  "Cataracts is curable," pursued the German.

  "I agree again," continued the Englishman--"with a reservation. Cataractis _sometimes_ curable."

  "This cataracts is curable!" cried Herr Grosse.

  "With all possible deference," said Mr. Sebright, "I dispute thatconclusion. The cataract, in Miss Finch's case, is _not_ curable."

  "Can you give us your reasons, sir, for saying that?" I inquired.

  "My reasons are based on surgical considerations which it requires aprofessional training to understand," Mr. Sebright replied. "I can onlytell you that I am convinced--after the most minute and carefulexamination--that Miss Finch's sight is irrevocably gone. Any attempt torestore it by an operation, would be, in my opinion, an unwarrantableproceeding. The young lady would not only have the operation to undergo,she would be kept secluded afterwards, for at least six weeks or twomonths, in a darkened room. During that time, it is needless for me toremind you that she would inevitably form the most confident hope of herrestoration to sight. Remembering this, and believing as I do that thesacrifice demanded of her would end in failure, I think it mostundesirable to expose our patient to the moral consequences of adisappointment which must seriously try her. She has been resigned fromchildhood to her blindness. As an honest man, who feels bound to speakout and to speak strongly, I advise you not further to disturb thatresignation. I declare it to be, in my opinion, certainly useless, andpossibly dangerous, to allow her to be operated on for the restoration ofher sight."

  In those uncompromising words, the Englishman delivered his opinion.

  Lucilla's hand closed fast on mine. "Cruel! cruel!" she whispered toherself angrily. I gave her a little squeeze, recommending patience--andlooked in silent expectation (just as Nugent was looking too) at HerrGrosse. The German rose deliberately to his feet, and waddled to theplace in which Lucilla and I were sitting together.

  "Has goot Mr. Sebrights done?" he asked.

  Mr. Sebright only replied by his everlasting never-changing bow.

  "Goot! I have now my own word to put in," said Herr Grosse. "It shall beone little word--no more. With my best compliments to Mr. Sebrights, Iset up against what he only thinks, what I--Grosse--with these hands ofmine have done. The cataracts of Miss there, is a cataracts that I havecut into before, a cataracts that I have cured before. Now look!" Hesuddenly wheeled round to Lucilla, tucked up his cuffs, laid a forefingerof each hand on either side of her forehead, and softly turned down hereyelids with his two big thumbs. "I pledge you my word as surgeon-optic,"he resumed, "my knife shall let the light in here. This lofable-nicegirls shall be more lofable-nicer than ever. My pretty Feench must befirst in her best goot health. She must next gif me my own ways withher--and then one, two, three--ping! my pretty Feench shall see!" Helifted Lucilla's eyelids again as he said the last word--glared fiercelyat her through his spectacles--gave her the loudest kiss, on theforehead, that I ever heard given in my life--laughed till the room rangagain--and returned to his post as sentinel on guard over the Mayonnaise."Now," cried Herr Grosse cheerfully, "the talkings is all done. Gott bethanked, the eatings may begin!"

  Lucilla left her chair for the second time.

  "Herr Grosse," she said, "where are you?"

  "Here, my dears!"

  She crossed the room to the table at which he was sitting, alreadyoccupied in carving his favorite dish.

  "Did you say you must use a knife to make me see?" she asked quitecalmly.

  "Yes, yes. Don't you be frightened of that. Not much pains to bear--notmuch pains."

  She tapped him smartly on the shoulder with her hand.

  "Get up, Herr Grosse," she said. "If you have your knife about you, heream I--do it at once!"

  Nugent started. Mr. Sebright started. Her daring amazed them both. As forme, I am the greatest coward living, in the matter of surgical operationsperformed on myself or on others. Lucilla terrified me. I ran headlongacross the room to her. I was even fool enough to scream.

  Before I could reach her, Herr Grosse had risen, obedient to command,with a choice morsel of chicken on the end of his fork. "You charminglittle fools," he said, "I don't cut into cataracts in such a hurry asthat. I perform but one operations on you to-day. It is this!" Heunceremoniously popped the morsel of chicken into Lucilla's mouth. "Aha!Bite him well. He is nice-goot! Now then! Sit down all of you. Lonch!lonch!"

  He was irresistible. We all sat down at table.

  The rest of us ate. Herr Grosse gobbled. From Mayonnaise to marmaladetart. From marmalade
tart back again to Mayonnaise. From Mayonnaise,forward again to ham sandwiches and blancmange; and then back once more(on the word of an honest woman) to Mayonnaise! His drinking was on thesame scale as his eating. Beer, wine, brandy--nothing came amiss to him;he mixed them all. As for the lighter elements in the feast--the almondsand raisins, the preserved ginger and the crystallized fruits, he atethem as accompaniments to everything. A dish of olives especially won hisfavor. He plunged both hands into it, and deposited his fists-full ofolives in the pockets of his trousers. "In this ways," he explained, "Ishall trouble nobody to pass the dish--I shall have by me continually allthe olives that I want." When he could eat and drink no more, he rolledup his napkin into a ball, and became devoutly thankful. "How goot ofGott," he remarked, "when he invented the worlds to invent eatings anddrinkings too! Ah!" sighed Herr Grosse, gently laying his outspreadfingers on the pit of his stomach, "what immense happiness there is inThis!"

  Mr. Sebright looked at his watch.

  "If there is anything more to be said on the question of the operation,"he announced, "it must be said at once. We have barely five minutes moreto spare. You have heard my opinion. I hold to it."

  Herr Grosse took a pinch of snuff. "I also," he said, "hold to mine."

  Lucilla turned towards the place from which Mr. Sebright had spoken.

  "I am obliged to you, sir, for your opinion," she said, very quietly andfirmly. "I am determined to try the operation. If it does fail, it willonly leave me what I am now. If it succeeds, it gives me a new life. Iwill bear anything, and risk anything, on the chance that I may see."

  So, she announced her decision. In those memorable words, she cleared theway for the coming Event in her life and in our lives, which it is thepurpose of these pages to record.

  Mr. Sebright answered her, in Mr. Sebright's discreet way.

  "I cannot affect to be surprised at your decision," he said. "Howeversincerely I may regret it, I admit that it is the natural decision, inyour case."

  Lucilla addressed herself next to Herr Grosse.

  "Choose your own day," she said. "The sooner, the better. To-morrow, ifyou can."

  "Answer me one little thing, Miss," rejoined the German, with a suddengravity of tone and manner which was quite new in our experience of him."Do you mean what you say?"

  She answered him gravely on her side. "I mean what I say."

  "Goot. There is times, my lofe, to be funny. There is also times to begrave. It is grave-times now. I have my last word to say to you before Igo."

  With his wild black eyes staring through his owlish spectacles atLucilla's face, speaking earnestly in his strange broken English, he nowimpressed on his patient the necessity of gravely considering, andpreparing for, the operation which he had undertaken to perform.

  I was greatly relieved by the tone he took with her. He spoke withauthority: she would be obliged to listen to him.

  In the first place, he warned Lucilla, if the operation failed, thatthere would be no possibility of returning to it, and trying it again.Once done, be the results what they might, it was done for good.

  In the second place, before he would consent to operate, he must insiston certain conditions, essential to success, being rigidly complied with,on the part of the patient and her friends. Mr. Sebright had by no meansexaggerated the length of the time of trial which would follow theoperation, in the darkened room. Under no circumstances could she hope tohave her eyes uncovered, even for a few moments, to the light, after ashorter interval than six weeks. During the whole of that time, andprobably during another six weeks to follow, it was absolutely necessarythat she should be kept in such a state of health as would assist her,constitutionally, in her gradual progress towards complete restoration ofsight. If body and mind both were not preserved in their best andsteadiest condition, all that his skill could do might be done in vain.Nothing to excite or to agitate her, must be allowed to find its way intothe quiet daily routine of her life, until her medical attendant wassatisfied that her sight was safe. The success of Herr Grosse'sprofessional career had been due, in no small degree, to his rigidenforcement of these rules: founded on his own experience of theinfluence which a patient's general health, moral as well as physical,exercised on that patient's chance of profiting under an operation--moreespecially under an operation on an organ so delicate as the organ ofsight.

  Having spoken to this effect, he appealed to Lucilla's own good sense torecognize the necessity of taking time to consider her decision, and toconsult on it with relatives and friends. In plain words, for at leastthree months the family arrangements must be so shaped, as to enable thesurgeon in attendance on her to hold the absolute power of regulating herlife, and of deciding on any changes introduced into it. When she and themembers of her family circle were sure of being able to comply with theseconditions, Lucilla had only to write to him at his hotel in London. Onthe next day he would undertake to be at Dimchurch. And then and there(if he was satisfied with the state of her health at the time), he wouldperform the operation.

  After pledging himself in those terms, Herr Grosse puffed out hisremaining breath in one deep guttural "Hah!"--and got briskly on hisshort legs. At the same moment, Zillah knocked at the door, and announcedthat the chaise was waiting for the two gentlemen at the rectory-gate.

  Mr. Sebright rose--in some doubt, apparently, whether his colleague haddone talking. "Don't let me hurry you," he said. "I have business inLondon; and I must positively catch the next train."

  "Soh! I have my business in London, too," answered hisbrother-oculist--"the business of pleasure." (Mr. Sebright lookedscandalized at the frankness of this confession, coming from aprofessional man). "I am so passion-fond of musics," Herr Grosse wenton--"I want to be in goot times for the opera. Ach Gott! musics isexpensive in England! I climb to the gallery, and pay my five silvershillingses even there. For five copper pences, in my own country, I canget the same thing--only better done. From the deep bottoms of my heart,"proceeded this curious man, taking a cordial leave of me, "I thank you,dear madam, for the Mayonnaise. When I come again, I pray you more ofthat lofely dish." He turned to Lucilla, and popped his thumb on hereyelids for the last time at parting. "My sweet-Feench, remember whatyour surgeon-optic has said to you. I shall let the light in here--but inmy own way, at my own time. Pretty lofe! Ah, how infinitely much prettiershe will be, when she can see!" He took Lucilla's hand, and put itsentimentally inside the collar of his waistcoat, over the region of theheart; laying his other hand upon it as if he was keeping it warm. Inthis tender attitude, he blew a prodigious sigh; recovered himself, witha shake of his shock-head; winked at me through his spectacles, andwaddled out after Mr. Sebright, who was already at the bottom of thestairs. Who would have guessed that this man held the key which was toopen for my blind Lucilla the gates of a new life!