To his last hour his conscience smote him at the triple wrong he had
inflicted on his children, his natural daughter, and his confiding
wife.
CHAPTER III.
The Bag Baby.
Madame Charbonneau gave such entire satisfaction as _Maitresse
d'Hopital_ that I purchased her interest in the lease of the house, and
employed her permanently as my aide-de-camp. In a short time we
established quite a reputation, and applications for accommodation
poured in from all quarters.
One bitter cold day towards the end of March a lady and gentleman
arrived by the morning train from the United States. The lady was
apparently about thirty-five years of age, while the gentleman might
have been from five to ten years her senior, and, although plainly
attired, they had the appearance of belonging to the better class of
society. The gentleman informed me that they had just arrived from
New York, and had put up at the St. Lawrence Hall; but that his wife
had taken ill unexpectedly, and, hearing that she would be better
cared for in my house than at the Hall, he wished, if possible, to
secure rooms and professional attendance. The house being rather
full at the time, Madame Charbonneau was obliged to give her the
nurse's room (which contained two beds) till some of the other rooms
should become vacant; this her husband readily assented to, and
arranged to call in the afternoon and bring the necessary funds,
which I always made it a point to collect in advance.
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