Well, Jonas had thought on these
things till he could not rest, but walked up and down continually
like a wild beast in his cage. At last he bethought him on a way to
help a bit, and he got the chaplain to send for me; and he telled me
this; and that th' man were lying in the Infirmary, and he bade me
go (to-day's the day as folk may be admitted into th' Infirmary) and
get his silver watch, as was his mother's, and sell it as well as I
could, and take the money, and bid the poor knob-stick send it to
his friends beyond Burnley; and I were to take him Jonas's kind
regards, and he humbly axed him to forgive him. So I did what Jonas
wished. But, bless your life, none on us would ever throw vitriol
again (at least at a knob-stick) if they could see the sight I saw
to-day. The man lay, his face all wrapped in cloths, so I didn't
see that: but not a limb, nor a bit of a limb, could keep from
quivering with pain. He would ha' bitten his hand to keep down his
moans, but couldn't, his face hurt him so if he moved it e'er so
little. He could scarce mind me when I telled him about Jonas; he
did squeeze my hand when I jingled the money, but when I axed his
wife's name, he shrieked out, 'Mary, Mary, shall I never see you
again? Mary, my darling, they've made me blind because I wanted to
work for you and our own baby; O Mary, Mary!' Then the nurse came,
and said he were raving, and that I had made him worse.
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