Poor
Matilda was cheerful, though shivering, and, turning round to her boy,
said; "It is a good thing, Monty, that we lit the fire when we did, for
it would be very hard to light one now;" to which the lad answered, "I
hain't a goin' to light no more fires no more." Sylvanus and the veteran
had been telling him what a bad thing it was to set houses on fire, and
the hypnotized boy, freed apparently from the mesmeric bond by the death
of his unnatural father, responded to the counsels of his new friends.
The influence lasted longer with Matilda, for as, in spite of the
absorbing rain, her companions were able to make a study of her talk,
they observed that it was controlled by one or two overmastering ideas,
which were evidently the imposition of a superior will. In his
dog-Latin, which he presumed the poor woman could not understand, Mr.
Bangs said to the lawyer: "_Oportet dicere ad Doctorem dehypnotizere
illem feminem._" To this elegant sentence Mr. Coristine briefly
answered, "_Etiam_," but soon afterwards he asked: "Where did you pick
up your Latin, Mr. Bangs."
"I wes at school, you know where, with pore Nesh; _mulier nescit
nomen_.
Pages:
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505