thinking prescriptions for the soul all day long. Within him there
dwelt a double mind, the mind of a great doctor and the mind of a great
priest, and these two minds linked hands and lived as friends. The one
never strove against the other. There was never a moment of estrangement.
And if there were frequent arguments and discussions between the two,
they were the arguments and discussions that make friendship firmer,
not enmity more bitter. And, as Dr. Levillier very well knew, it was
often the mind of the priest within him that gave to him his healing
power over the body. It was the mind of the priest that had won him
testimonial clocks and silver salvers from grateful patients. Often as
he sat with some dingy-faced complainant, listening to a recital of
sickness or uttering directions about avoidance of green meat, sauces,
pastry, and liquids, till the atmosphere seemed that of a hospital, a
pastry-cook's shop and a bar combined, he was silently examining the
patient's soul, facing its probable vagaries, mapping out the tours it
had taken, scheming for its welfare. And, perhaps, after the dietary was
arranged and the prescription was written, he would say carelessly:

"Do you read much? What do you read? Ah! such and such books. Yes, very
interesting. Do you know this book which has struck me greatly? No? Allow
me to lend it to you. Good-bye."

And the patient departed, ignorant that he had received a pill for his
soul from the priest as well as a pill for his body from the doctor.

In appearance Dr. Levillier was small, slight, and delicate looking.
His complexion was clear and white. His eyes were blue. What hair he
possessed was rather soft, fluffy and reddish, with a dash of light
brown in it. He wore neither beard nor moustache, was always very neatly
and simply dressed, and was remarkable for his polished boots, said to be
the most perfectly varnished in London. Although he must have been nearly
fifty-five, he had never married, and some people declared that he had
the intention of starting a new "order" of medical celibates, who would
be father-confessors as well as physicians, and who would pray for the
souls of their patients after tending their bodily needs.

For some years Valentine had been very intimate with the doctor, whom he
admired for his intellect and loved for his nature. So now he resolved to
lay the case of the sittings with Julian before him and hear his opinion
of the matter. In all their c