The Mysteries of London, Vol. IV — page 345: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

3-£0 TI; MYSTENIES OF LONDON. 2 Oe cn raia eee eae ee eae ea arrogant air, ‘a man vot knows hevery hin and hout | lield out, { unhesitatingly gavo him a draft far of tho human constitootion. No von knows s0 vel] | the amount demanded. THe thon oponed a drawer, and drew forth a small case containing six bottles. as myself wot consumption raly is.— ‘Then you have made consumption your particular study, sir?’ | ‘ This hero is tho rale clixir of life,’ ho said, ina tone of solemn mystery: ‘it inwigorates the constitootion in 'T obsorved, seeing that he paused, in order to elicit no time, and puts a reglar stopper on the adwanco seme remark from me,— Rayther !’ was bis Inconic answer. ‘The fact is, ho continued, ‘foo mediklo | of consumption, The Grand Turk has a cneo sent men is aveer what consumption is, nor in vot part | cvery rook to him through his Hambassador, and all ' the crowned heads in Europe is patients of mine, I of tho framo it begins. Vy, I vonce knowed a gen- i tloman, sir, which had a rapid dectino begin in the | may say. Takeo a bottle of this bootiful balm dally5 and ven it’s all gone, come back again to me, The groat toc of his left foot, and travel up’ards, till it , gon spread itself over tho hentire system. Tho doctors | price of them six is fifteen guineas; and you can write me out another cheque at ronco '—TI hastened had all give him up, and the undertaker was ac- tiwally thinking of the good job he should soon havo to comply with this demand; and Mr. Surtecs bowed me ont of tho surgory. putt into his hand, ven I ros consulted, I made : 7 him tako seventcon bottles of my bootiful Balm of But hero I must leave off writing ; for Tam weuried—my brain begins to grow confused—and Zura, and he rekivered in less than a fortnit? “Weak, narvous, and attenuated ag JI wae, this | my memory fails me. Ohl what o fool—what an idiot I was, not to have seen through tho man and anecdote made s deepimpression upon me, I for- | i got the bad grammar—I fost sight of the arrogance bis quackery on the oceasion of that visIt, tho par- ticulars of which I have detailed at such length. and self-sufficient vulgarity: I saw and heard only tho man who solemnly assured me that he had e ¢ » Fd Cd redeemed a fellow-creature from the jaws of death, ® ? » r 2 when all other members of the faculty had piven up ; gs the caso as hopeless. Mr. Surtees doubtless per- “June 18th, 1846. celred that he had worked me up to the pitch auitable to his purposes; and he accoraingty said, ‘Vell, my good sir, vil] you bo so goad ns toexplatin sot it Is that yon’re come to consult mo for?’ Y then frankly and candidly confessed that J had ex- pended four-fifths of a large fortune ina enreer of anbroken dissipation—that my constitution was gricronsly impaired, if not absolutely ruined—that since I had given up drinking and all ather sources of unnatural excitement, I was subject to such fsequent fits of despondency tl.at the ides of sul- cido was almost constantly in my inagination—that J loved and was beloved by a beautiful girl who was possessed of property—but that J feltafraid to con- tractthe matrimonial engagement, lest [should Jeave heranunprotccted widowin the courscofashorttime. Mr. Surtees listened with great attention; and when I had concluded, he sppeared to reflect profoundly. At length ho eald, * Vell, lot’s fec} yer pulse.’—J cx- tended my hand towards him; and’ho applied his thumb to a part of my wrist whoro I did not sup- pose that a pulse Iny: but I coneluded at tho timo that his great proficiency In medicine had led him to discover o new poise, and that tha best mode to testit was with tho thumb.—‘t Wery venk pulse in- deed !’ ho said, shaking his head with as much s0- lemnity 24 the Chinese Joss up in his drawing. room might have been expceted to display. ‘ But don't go for to giro vay to despair, my doar sir; tho case is o bad ‘un, I admit—-a wery, wery bad ’un; nod J can’t sayas how that I ever knowed a wusser, Pray, who's the young Indy which you Intends to marry? I'von motiro in azing.’—I thought that as the learned gentleman was already nequainted with my namo and address, thero could bo no harm in answering this now question, the moro especially as aren if I refused to reply, he conld easily institute thoso onquirics that would lead toa knowledgo of the fact: I accordingly satisfied him on that head. ‘Ah! I don’t know her,’ ho observed, carclessly: then, after a foxy momonts’ reflection. ho sald, Vol], IJ undertake to cure you; but tho business vill bo s hexpensire ron. Vou must write me s ohequo for s hundred guinosas, my consulta- tion feo; and then IL’) toll you wot you must do noxt,’—Jicansured by the promises ho thus *T again resumo my narrative, Five days havo elnpsed sinco J last put pen to paper; and that interral has been one of darkness. Yes—tho fit was upon me: but it hss passed—nand Iam now calm and collected onco again, Ihave just read over all that I have written abore; and I havo laughed heartily at the fidelity and minutencss of my description of tho first visit that I paid to the quack-doctor, Tot mo now continuo my nar- rative; for the incidents aro once moro all fresh and vivid in my inemory. “To am well aware that the imagination has much to do with our diseases and our cures. Pos- sessed of what I deemed to ben galutary medicino, my spirits rose; and at the close of cach of tho six dara during which the supply of balin lasted, I sald to myelf ‘J certainly feel stronger and better.’ Tho fits of despondency were far less frequent, and Icss intense: my appetite improred—and tho colour came partinily back to my cheeks. This change was no doubt effected principally by tho steady lifo which I adopted, and by tho increased mental tranquilifty which I experleneed, I was morcorer filled with hope that a complete restora- tion to health would bo accomplished; and thus, while at tho timo I attributed orerything to tho medicine, I have not tho least doubt that the stuff was utterly valuciess in itself. Editha was rejoiced to find my spirits so much Improving; sud her nother expressed her deliphit at the regular habits which I had adopted, I du not mention toa soul my visit to Mr. Surtees: thét was my secret—and a Bonéo of shame made mo cherish it religiously. At the cxpiration of the weck I enlled upon him sgain, and on this occnsion was at onco of n hundred guinoas—another six bottles of medi- cino prescribed, and another chequo piven for the amount thereof. Ile asked mo if I had read his book yet; and I was compelled to reply in the ne- gative, ‘Voll, never mind,’ he said; ‘I nin’t of- fended; but you shall havo a hopportunity of pe- rooging it before you come agon, I'll jest step up into the drawing-room and get you ron.’ Ho me. cordingly quitted tho surgery; and during his tem- porary absence an irresistible feeling of ouriosity admitted Into his rurgery. There was another feo,,/ EConnicloooks (CO)