As soon as she comes, bring her in here, into
this room--d'ye mind?--and go across that instant minute--d'ye see
now?--straight to Dr. Toole, and ask him to send me the peppermint drops
he promised me.'
Then she cross-questioned Biddy, to ascertain that she perfectly
understood and clearly remembered; and, finally, she promised her
half-a-crown if she peformed this very simple commission to her
mistress's satisfaction and held her tongue religiously on the subject.
She had apprised Toole the evening before, and now poor 'Mrs. Mack's
sufferings, she hoped, were about to be brought to a happy termination
by the doctor's ingenuity. She was, however, very nervous indeed, as the
crisis approached; for such a beast as Mary Matchwell at bay was a
spectacle to excite a little tremor even in a person of more nerve than
fat Mrs. Macnamara.
And what could Mary Matchwell want of a conjuring conference, of all
persons in the world, with poor little Mrs. Nutter? Mrs. Mack had done
in this respect simply as she was bid. She had indeed no difficulty to
persuade Mrs. Nutter to grant the interview. That harmless little
giggling creature could not resist the mere mention of a fortune-teller.
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