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When you were a child, I suppose?’
He went on with his fluent explanations. The students
leaned over and looked at the foot. Two or three examined
it minutely when Jacobs let it go.
‘When you’ve quite done,’ said Philip, with a smile, ironi-
cally.
He could have killed them all. He thought how jolly it
would be to jab a chisel (he didn’t know why that particu-
lar instrument came into his mind) into their necks. What
beasts men were! He wished he could believe in hell so as
to comfort himself with the thought of the horrible tortures
which would be theirs. Mr. Jacobs turned his attention to
treatment. He talked partly to the boy’s father and partly to
the students. Philip put on his sock and laced his boot. At
last the surgeon finished. But he seemed to have an after-
thought and turned to Philip.
‘You know, I think it might be worth your while to have
an operation. Of course I couldn’t give you a normal foot,
but I think I can do something. You might think about it,
and when you want a holiday you can just come into the
hospital for a bit.’
Philip had often asked himself whether anything could
be done, but his distaste for any reference to the subject
had prevented him from consulting any of the surgeons
at the hospital. His reading told him that whatever might
have been done when he was a small boy, and then treat-
ment of talipes was not as skilful as in the present day, there
was small chance now of any great benefit. Still it would be
worth while if an operation made it possible for him to wear

Of Human Bondage