exacerbations of his wound (like that on his groin) he never dropt one fretful or discontented word⸺he blamed neither heaven nor earth⸺or thought or spoke an injurious thing of anybody, or any part of it; he sat solitary and pensive with his pipe⸺looking at his lame leg⸺then whiffing out a sentimental heigh ho! which mixing with the smoke, incommoded no one mortal.
He took it like a lamb⸺I say.
In truth he had mistook it at first; for having taken a ride with my father, that very morning, to save if possible a beautiful wood, which the dean and chapter were hewing down to give to the poor; which said wood being in full view of my uncle Toby’s house, and of singular service to him in his description of the battle of Wynnendale —by trotting on too hastily to save it⸺upon an uneasy saddle⸺worse horse, etc. etc … it had so happened, that the serous part of the blood had got betwixt the two skins, in the nethermost part of my uncle Toby ⸺the first shootings of which (as my uncle Toby had no experience of love) he had taken for a part of the passion—till the blister breaking in the one case—and the other remaining—my uncle Toby was presently convinced, that his wound was not a skin-deep wound⸺but that it had gone to his heart.