In consequence of his former abstemiousness, the quantity which
he now swallowed nearly strangled him. He was about to take his
last draught with many wry faces, when the timely arms of the two
cousins, by no very sparing application of force withdrew him from
the grasp of the damsel; and without very well understanding the
process, or any particulars of his extrication, he found himself
stretched upon the banks over which he had lately wandered, never
dreaming of any such catastrophe; discharging from his stomach by
no effort of his own, a large quantity of foreign ingredients--the
ordinary effect, we are given to understand, of every inordinate
indulgence in strong waters.
Our excellent old friend, Mr. Calvert, was soon upon the spot, and
while Ned Hinkley was despatched to the village for assistance,
he took himself the charge of recovering the unconscious maiden.
Half-forgetting his hostility, William Hinkley undertook the same
good service to Stevens, who really seemed to need succor much more
than his fair companion. While William Hinkley busied himself by
rolling, friction, fanning, and other practices, employed in such
cases, to bring his patient back to life, he could not forbear an
occasional glance to the spot where, at a little distance, lay the
object of his affections.
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