I take no special credit for
effecting this recovery, but the maharajah himself deemed me to be a
veritable worker of miracles, and, dismissing all his other doctors,
kept me thenceforth constantly by his side. From the first I knew, by
his trembling limbs and enfeebled condition, that death had marked him
for its own; but I could, at least, prepare aromatic drinks to mitigate
his pains and saffron meats to drive out the evil spirits that possessed
him.
"Thus did it come about that I gained the confidence of the maharajah,
and when it happened that one of his favourite wives had fallen into a
decline, and had begged for the services of a physician, the honourable
trust of ministering to her needs was confided to me. My examination of
the invalid was in accordance with the usual restrictions. Accompanied
by the feeble old maharajah himself, I was conducted to an apartment
across which a heavy curtain was suspended. After an interval of
waiting, the rustle of silken garments behind the purdah, followed by
the gentle sigh of a woman, told me that my patient had arrived. It was
the husband himself who bade her thrust her tongue through an orifice in
the curtain. My inspection of this member revealed no internal disorder,
and I requested from my master permission to touch the lady's hand so
that I might feel the pulsing of the blood in her veins.
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