After babbling
childishly for an hour or so he fell silent altogether, and it was not
till next morning that he recovered full powers of speech. Wild horses,
he then announced, would not drag form his lips what had passed at the
interview.
As a last resource it was decided to inaugurate a sanatorium on the
island for her especial benefit, with a trained nurse permanently in
attendance; during her ever-decreasing spells of sobriety the place,
together with the nurse, could be utilized for needle-classes and so
forth. Money was required. A committee of ladies and gentlemen
collected a certain small amount, but their hopes did not rise high
till the day when the Duchess broached the subject to her countryman,
Mr. van Koppen, after inveigling him into what she called "a friendly
teat-a-teat." Surfeited to bursting-point with his favourite tea-cakes,
the millionaire was in a lovely humour. He declared his readiness, then
and there, to subscribe half a million francs to the scheme if--if his
good friend Mr.
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