The Echo at Rooke Court by Harriet Smart

Author:Harriet Smart [Smart, Harriet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781907873508
Publisher: Anthemion
Published: 2018-02-20T22:00:00+00:00

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Wharne was not an easy man to convince, even when events had come to such a pass. Felix felt his energy would be better doing something for the sick than trying to make a stubborn old man see that he was a fool, but he could do nothing without Wharne’s capitulation. The nurses were clearly terrified of him, but they were only simple, ignorant creatures, little more than children and entirely unprepared for the work that had been forced on them. So they stood arguing about the best way to proceed over the bed of a man having violent convulsions; whose skin had turned a leaden blue and who seemed so lost to help that Felix felt that do to anything other than make him as calm and as comfortable as the circumstances permitted was a cruelty. But Wharne had his theories and his ideas of a cure.

“There is no cure,” Felix said. “I have read extensively on this over the last few weeks and the conclusion is quite clear. There can only be relief, not –”

“Calomel,” said Dr Wharne. “Calomel!”

“Dear Lord, no!” Felix said. “There was a paper in the Lancet only last month, sent from Bengal, which stated that calomel had nothing but the most disastrous effect when administered. They have discontinued it entirely there.”

“In a conservative doses it does nothing, I will concede that,” said Dr Wharne. “But when an adequate dose is prescribed –”

“And how much is adequate, sir, in your opinion?”

“Thirty grains in hot brandy.”

“And poison the patient?” said Felix, going to his medical bag and fetching out his notebook. “I have all the references here if you would care to study the literature for yourself, sir!”

Wharne snatched the notebook from his hand and threw it to the floor.

“This is my hospital, sir,” he said, “and I will determine what is done!”

Felix glanced despairingly over to Major Vernon. He was at the bedside of a young man and was gently washing his face and shoulders. He carefully finished the task and came over to them.

“I regret to say that may not entirely be the case, Dr Wharne,” he said. “Now that two medical men have confirmed the presence of cholera, the situation is quite altered. The recently passed statute on infectious diseases places the management of a cholera epidemic into the hands of the Constabulary of the district. It was decided that given the legal powers required to hold in check an epidemic that a senior officer of the Constabulary, superintendent or above, would be better placed to manage such a situation. The outbreak in 1834 in Upper Canada proved the utility of this approach. They reduced the mortality by as much as sixty-five percent – is that not correct, Mr Carswell?”

Felix realised he was witnessing a bravura display of invention, for he was certain from his reading that there had been no recent legislation on the subject. So he nodded and said, “Actually it was only sixty-two percent.”

“Over sixty percent, at any rate,” said Major Vernon.

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