Had my father been asking after the amputation of the tail of a puppy-dog--he could not have done it in a more careless air: the system which Dr. _Slop_ had laid down, to treat the accident by, no way allowed of such a mode of enquiry. 
Had my father been asking about the amputation of a puppy-dog's tail, he could not have done it more carelessly. Dr. Slop did not care for this mode of enquiry