“I told you I was a bit of a crank. I am even hand-in-glove with Arthur
Gernham.”
At the mention of this name, Deeming moved, and I saw his eyes flash.
“The prominent anti-vivisectionist?” he said.
“Yes.”
“And you share his views?”
“To a considerable extent, though I don’t always approve of what he
writes or of what he says.”
“I’m glad of that. We doctors, you know, ab—well, we don’t love
that eager gentleman. If he had his way humanity would undoubtedly
suffer far more in the future than it will. For I don’t think his
sentimentalities and wild exaggerations will ever gain over our
legislators to his views.”
“Perhaps not. But I sometimes wonder whether anyone has the right,
whether anyone was intended by the Creator to have the right, to avoid
suffering at the cost of inflicting it, even to save life by causing
death. However, the vivisection question is hardly a pleasant one for
the dinner-table, eh!”