Fillgrave. He's worth six thousand pounds, I suppose; now that's a good deal of money to put by in a little town like Barchester.'
'Yes, indeed.'
'What I say to Fillgrave is this—keep your eyes open; one should never be too old to learn—there's always something new worth picking up. But, no—he won't believe that. He can't believe that any new ideas can be worth anything. You know a man must go to the wall in that way—eh, doctor?'
And then again they were called to their patient. 'He's doing finely, finely,' said Mr. Rerechild to Lady Scatcherd. 'There's fair ground to hope he'll rally; fair ground, is there not, doctor?'
'Yes, he'll rally; but how long that may last, that we can hardly say.'
'Oh, no, certainly not, certainly not—that is not with any certainty; but still he's doing finely, Lady Scatcherd, considering everything.'
'How long will you give him, doctor?' said Mr. Rerechild to his new friend when they were again alone. 'Ten days? I say ten days, or from that to a fortnight, not more; but I think he'll struggle on ten days.'
'Perhaps so,' said the doctor. 'I should not like to say exactly to a day.'
'No, certainly not. We cannot say exactly to a day; but I say ten days; as for anything like a recovery, that you know—'
'Is out of the question,' said Dr. Thorne, gravely.
'Quite so, quite so; coating of the stomach clean gone, you know; brain destroyed: did you observe the periporollida? I never saw them so swelled before: now when the periporollida are swollen like that—'
'Yes, very much; it's always the case when paralysis has been brought about by intemperance.'
'Always, always; I have remarked that always; the periporollida in such cases are always extended; most interesting case, isn't it? I do wish Fillgrave could have seen it. But, I believe you and Fillgrave don't quite—eh?'
'No, not quite,' said Dr. Thorne; who, as he thought of his last interview with Dr. Fillgrave, and of that gentleman's exceeding anger as he stood in the hall below, could not keep himself from smiling, sad as the occasion was.
Nothing would induce Lady Scatcherd to go to bed; but the two doctors agreed to lie down, each in a room on one side of the patient. How was it possible that anything but good should come to him, being so guarded? 'He is going on finely, Lady
