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80 be abrupt and impatient, yet he was naturally of a kind and benevolent disposition, and always sympathised with his patients, also that he was considered to be one of the ablest physicians in Tehana. She now asked me if I should care to read. I answered in the affirmative, saying that I thought I would like to see the late newspapers, whereupon she went away and soon returned with an armful, which she placed on the table, and began to sort, saying that she was selecting those containing paragraphs concerning myself. She also remarked that very probably many of those she laid aside contained references to me, as she as yet had found time only to look over them in a casual manner. I begged her to read the passages aloud, for I loved to listen to her sweet voice.

She began—“The Journal Debanabanna: ‘It gives us extreme pleasure to be able to announce a wonderful improvement in the health of Captain Periwinkle, who, as our readers are already aware, came to our shores from the Great Divisions of land lying beyond the icefields. We say divisions, for we understand that Captain Periwinkle has travelled extensively, having actually circumnavigated our planet on more than one occasion, a privilege, by the way, not extended to us, on account