Passages from the diary of a late physician / by Samuel Warren, author of 'Ten thousand a-year'.

  • Samuel Warren
Date:
[1890]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Passages from the diary of a late physician / by Samuel Warren, author of 'Ten thousand a-year'. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    ' What (io you mean ?' said lie, turn- ing towards me witli exciteniunt, 'have I, tlien'— ' You liave described it exactly as it happened !' 'No! Do you really say so 7 How do you know it, niy dear doctor?' said he. 'Because I was present. Sir Henry ; I communicated the intelligence,' I re- plied. ' Great God, doctor! Are you in ear- nest ?' 'As I live, Sir Henry,' I replied, as solemnly as my voice would let me, i fixing my eye upon his. He gave a start, and remained staring at me with an expression I cannot describe. ' Why, did you see that flash of light- aing, doctor?' he stammered. 'Lightning, Sir Henry!' I faltered, on the verge of shouting for his keeper. 'Oh—poh !' he exclaimed, ' I—I beg your pardon ! How nervous you have made me ! Ha, ha, ha !' attempting a laugh that mocked him ; ' but yiui do tell me such horrid tales, and look so expressive while telling them that— upon my soul, I canncit bear it! Pnh ! how hot the room is ! Let us tlimw open tlie window ami let in fresh air 1' He rose, and I with him. Thank God, he coidd not succeed, and I began to breathe freely. He attempted to .smile at nie, but it was in vain ; lie liecame paler, his limbs seemed to stagger under him, and I had scarcely time to drop him into a cliair, before he fainted. I sum- nmned his keeper to my assistance, and we soon restored Sir Henry to con- sciousness. ' Ah ! is that you ?' he exclaimed, as his eye fell upon the keeper. 'I thought we had parted lung ago ! Where have you, or where have I been ?' At length with the aid of wine and water, he recovered liis self-possession. ' Heigh-ho ! 1 shall be Ht for mitliing all the day, I am afraid ! So I shall go and play at chess with the king. Is his majesty at liberty ?' I took my leave : but it was several hours liefure I recovered from the ef- fects of the most agitating scene I ever encountered. Snjidav, Xnv. dtli.— l determined to call on Sir Henry tp-day, to see the ef- fect produced by our yesterday's con- versation. He had .just returned from hearing Dr. Y- reail prayers, and was i)erfeetly calm. There was no al- teration in his manner ; and one of the observations he in.-ide wa.s, ' Ah doc- tor, how vim deceived me yesterday ! What could I be thinking of, not to know that you were rei}eating the leading incident in—absolutely !—ha, ha ! my own tale of ' The Pedigree 1' 'Tis inconceivable how I could have forgotten it as you went on; but I have gained some hints! I shall now have it at press as soon as possible. I hope it will be thought worthy by the world cif the compliments you paid me yester- day '.' i took my leave of him, in despair. On reaching Hall in the evening, I louiid that the news, with the delivery of which I fancied myself exclusively charged, had found its way to her lady- ship at an early hour in tlie afleruoou of the preceding day. She had been but slightly agitated on hearing it; and the first words she murmured were a prayer that the Almighty would make the intelligence the means of her hus- band's restoraiion to reason; but she expressed resignation to the Divine will, and hoped that the consolations of religion might not he withdrawn from her during the interval that lay be- tween her and the hereafter. Lady Anne was far worn with her tnmbles, and she was dying under bit- ter circumstances, as far as earthly considerations were concerned ; but was it hard to die, surrounded by such an atmosphere of 'peace that passeth un- derstanding ?' I found my patient surrounded by her sisters, and one or two other ladies, and propped with pillows on a couch, drawn before the fire, whose light fell on her face, and showed me whathavoc grief had made of her beautiful fea- tures. She was scarcely eight-and- twenty ; and yet you might have guess- ed her nearly forty ! The light with which her eyes once sparkled had passed away, and left them sunk in the sockets, laden with the gloom of death. Her cheeks were hollow, and the bor- dering of her cap adiled to their sliranken appearance. One of her sis- ters was sitting besiile.her, and had al- ways been considered her image, what a woelul disparity was now visible ! Lady Sarah, my iiatienl.'s youngest sister, was stooping down on tlie floor, when I entered, in searcli of her sister's wediliiig-riiig, which bad fallen from a linger no lunger capable of lilliiig it. ' You had better wind a little silk about it,' whispereil Lady Anne, as her sister was placing it cm tlie attenuated finger from wliicii it had dn']ipeil. ' I do not wisli it ever to be rennived again. Do it love !' Her sister leit the room with the ring, wdiile I seated myself in the chair slic had quilted by her sister's side. I had time to ask only a few of the questions, when Lady Sarah reap- peared at the door, and beckmied out one of her sisters lo comuuinieate the