No one knew exactly when or how the house was taken again. The
proprietor, hoping to get another school-keeper for a tenant, the
house being too large for ordinary domestic purposes, had bought Mrs.
Trimmer's furniture--the iron bedsteads and school fittings--for a
song, and had placed an old woman in charge. One day this old woman put
her luggage, consisting of a blue bundle, and herself into a cab, and
went away. A few carpenters had arrived from town in the morning, and
had occupied themselves in fitting iron bars to the interior of some of
the windows. During the greater portion of that night carriages were
heard rolling up the lane in which the back entrance to the house was
situated, and the next day smoke was seen issuing from the chimneys;
a big brass plate with the name of "Dr. Bulph" was screwed on to the
iron gates of the carriage-drive, and two or three strong-built men
were noticed going in and out of the premises. Gradually it became
known that Dr. Bulph was a physician celebrated for his treatment of
the insane, a "mad-doctor," as the neighbours called him; and women and
children used to skurry past the old red garden-walls as though they
thought the inmates were climbing over to get at them. But the house
was so thoroughly well-conducted, so quietly and with such excellent
discipline, that people soon thought nothing of it, any more than of
any other of the big mansions in the neighbourhood; and when Dr. Bulph
retired, and Dr. Wainwright succeeded him, the door-plate had actually
been changed for some days before the neighbours noticed it.
Dr. Wainwright made many changes in the establishment. He was a man of
great fame for several specialities, and was constantly being called
away to patients in the country. He considerably enlarged the old
house, and brought to it a better and wealthier class of patients, who
were attended, under his supervision, by two resident surgeons. Dr.
Wainwright did not live in the house. In addition to his practice he
worked very hard with his pen, contributing largely to the principal
medical Scientific reviews and journals, and corresponding with
many continental _savans_. For all this work he required solitude
and silence; and, as he was a widower, he was able to enjoy both in
a set of chambers in the Albany, where he could go in and out as
he liked, and where no unwelcome visitor could get at him. He had
consulting-rooms in Grosvenor Square; and when in town, was to be found
there between ten and one; but after those hours it was impossible to
know where to catch him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account