“Doyouhearthat？“saidSirPatrick，lookingatGeoffrey。
Geoffreycarelesslynoddedhishead。Hisirritationhadhadtimetosubside；thestolidindifferencehadgotpossessionofhimagain。Hehadresumedhischair——hesat，withoutstretchedlegs，staringstupidlyatthepatternonthecarpet。“WhatdoesitmattertoMe？“wasthesentimentexpressedalloverhim，fromheadtofoot。
Thesurgeonwenton。
“Icanseenoremedyforthissadstateofthings，“hesaid，“aslongasthepublicfeelingremainswhatthepublicfeelingisnow。Afinehealthy-lookingyoungman，withasuperbmusculardevelopment，longsnaturallyenoughtodistinguishhimselflikeothers。Thetraining-authoritiesathiscollege，orelsewhere，takehiminhandnaturallyenoughagainonthestrengthofoutwardappearances。Andwhethertheyhavebeenrightorwronginchoosinghimismorethantheycansay，untiltheexperimenthasbeentried，andthemischiefhasbeen，inmanycases，irretrievablydone。Howmanyofthemareawareoftheimportantphysiologicaltruth，thatthemuscularpowerofamanisnofairguaranteeofhisvitalpower？HowmanyofthemknowthatweallhaveasagreatFrenchwriterputsittwolivesinus——thesurfacelifeofthemuscles，andtheinnerlifeoftheheart，lungs，andbrain？Eveniftheydidknowthis——evenwithmedicalmentohelpthem——itwouldbeinthelastdegreedoubtful，inmostcases，whetheranypreviousexaminationwouldresultinanyreliablediscoveryofthevitalfitnessofthemantoundergothestressofmuscularexertionlaidonhim。Applytoanyofmybrethren；andtheywilltellyou，astheresultoftheirownprofessionalobservation，thatIam，innosense，overstatingthisseriousevil，orexaggeratingthedeplorableanddangerousconsequencestowhichitleads。Ihaveapatientatthismoment，whoisayoungmanoftwenty，andwhopossessesoneofthefinestmusculardevelopmentsIeversawinmylife。Ifthatyoungmanhadconsultedme，beforehefollowedtheexampleoftheotheryoungmenabouthim，IcannothonestlysaythatIcouldhaveforeseentheresults。Asthingsare，aftergoingthroughacertainamountofmusculartraining，afterperformingacertainnumberofmuscularfeats，hesuddenlyfaintedoneday，totheastonishmentofhisfamilyandfriends。IwascalledinandI
havewatchedthecasesince。Hewillprobablylive，buthewillneverrecover。IamobligedtotakeprecautionswiththisyouthoftwentywhichIshouldtakewithanoldmanofeighty。HeisbigenoughandmuscularenoughtosittoapainterasamodelforSamson——andonlylastweekIsawhimswoonawaylikeayounggirl，inhismother’sarms。“