of my intention, endeavoured to do so,
when the superincumbent weight, resting
upon a very slight base, swayed the coach
over on the off-side, and it fell with a
loud noise, that reminded me of my own
overturn in the Bere Forest.
It was early in the evening, and moon-
light. We all jumped down to assist. For-
tunately, no one was hurt, and the only
cries we heard were those of a woman wail-
ing for her child. It had been in her arms
fast asleep, and she had been sitting on the
off-side of the roof when the coach went
over, but now it could not be found. Fear-
ing it might be under the coach, we
made every exertion to get her up, but
LOST CHILD. 201
first had to undo the luggage-straps and
get the loading off the roof. This, toge-
ther with getting the coach on her legs,
we soon accomplished ; but, luckily, no
child for, had it been there, it must
have been literally crushed. Presently,
I thought I heard the feeble cry of
an infant, and looking behind me I saw
it, or the white garments in which it
was enveloped, lying under the fence or
hedge. The rush of the hitherto dis-
tracted mother, and the rapture with
which she clasped her child to her bosom,
formed a scene the pen of Sterne only could
describe ; and such as it was, it has never
been erased from my memory. Seeing
there was no further harm done, and
that they had but to reload the coach, I
wished them good-night, and proceeded
on my way to London.
The other accident, that of the " Liver-
pool Umpire," was under very different
202 ACCIDENT.
circumstances. Owing to an obstruction in
the road below Dunstable, occasioned by
a heavy fall of snow, four or five of
us had started from Redbourn together.
We all went at a pretty good pace,
though not racing, and passing each
other only at the different changes.
So we proceeded to the " Green Man "
in Finchley Bottom, where we pulled
up, and, to make use of a flash expres-
sion, took a drain. Then I fancied my
friend on the "Umpire" had had one
or two too many, for he was full of
his slang, and very noisy. I took no
notice of him, as he was the same in-
dividual who had heretofore occupied my
seat, and whom I have spoken of in a
preceding chapter. The two Manchester
coaches started first, and my friend
Humpy, as he was called (whether from
the name of the coach or the hump on
his back I do not know) followed, shout-
HUMPY. 203
ing and hallooing at the top of his
voice, as he had done all the way from
St. Albans. I certainly had a presenti-
ment that something would occur, or I
should not have determined to keep
behind. However, this I did ; and, on
rising the hill out of the bottom, I could
just discern one of the three close to the
fence opposite the "Bald-face Stag," and
presently, on reaching that Public, I ob-
served a coach lying on her broadside,
the luggage strewed on the road, the
fore-carriage broken and otherwise a per-
fect wreck ; and the horses standing
quiet, apparently astounded with their
strange position. I pulled up, and pro-
ceeded to the spot, but a few yards on
foot, accompanied by some people from
the house.
I need not say it was the " Liver-
pool Umpire." The passengers were some
of them bewailing their bruises, and
204 LIVERPOOL UMPIRE.
others swearing and condemning the
conduct of their coachman, who lay on
his back in the road perfectly helpless,
like a large black beetle moaning and
groaning most hideously, and certainly
more injured than anyone else. He not
being able to stand, we had him carried
into the inn before mentioned. A doctor
was soon in attendance, who, in accord-
ance with his own wish, considered it
best that he should be taken home as soon
as possible. Therefore, as I passed his
domicile in St. John's Street, I had him
put into my coach, and leaving his horses
and the debris of his drag to the care
of the guard some of his passengers
riding with me I deposited him safe
at his home. Although I thought
perhaps exclaimed " For life is
Hugh of Lambert lame," he ultimately
recovered, and resumed his seat on the
box, despite his gross misconduct, but
WRONG REIN. 205
went ever after hopping to his grave.
Some part of the coach had fallen
upon him, and had dislocated or mate-
rially injured the hip-joint. The real
cause of the accident, I believe, was
his having his leader's reins wrong be-
tween his fingers, which was done
when he took them in his hurry to
start, from his box companion, with-
out properly adjusting them. In going
round the corner or bend by the " Bald-
faced Stag," when he found himself too
near the fence, he pulled the wrong
rein, which caused his leaders to hug
the fence, and, the fore-carriage strik-
ing against it, overthrew the coach into
the road. He thus committed an act
of gross carelessness, or, to say the least,
displayed a want of knowledge of the
rudiments of his profession.
I remember a gentleman, now long
since deceased, whom I would class as
206 COUNTRY GENTLEMAN.
A 1, among many of the same rank who
one and all so liberally and so kindly
patronized me on my last stage. This
most excellent specimen of a country
gentleman* frequently honoured me with
his company on the box, and was always
most particular in giving me the reins
after I had remounted, always separating
them, and saying, " There are your leaders,
sir, and there your wheel-horses;" rather
overstrained caution, perhaps, and ap-
proaching a little to what might be
called the pedantic, but caution not to
be despised, and, as has been seen, not
at all times injudicious.
But the most serious accident of this
description on that road at the time I
speak of, was the overturn of the Holyhead
mail, by which one of the passengers was
killed. An inquest was held at the " Pea-
hen,' 7 St. Albans, as it occurred just on the de-
* Tyssen, Esq., of Narborough.
RACING. 207
scent, before you come on what is called the
New Road, and a verdict of manslaughter
was returned against the drivers of the
Holyhead mail, and of the Chester. They,
it appeared, had been racing; and one,
in endeavouring to pass the other on the
wrong side, was driven up the bank,
and consequently overturned into the
road. They were both committed to jail at
St. Albans, to await their trial at the next
Hertford assizes; and as they were both
old servants of my father's or mine one of
them, too, having married a servant of my
mother's I felt interested in their fate,
and walked one morning from Redbourn to
see them.
I found them ironed like felons; of
this indignity they both complained, and
one wept bitterly. It struck me as being
very strange that men should be degraded
as felons, when their utmost punishment, if
convicted, could not exceed a twelvemonths'
208 FETTERS.
imprisonment. I remonstrated with the
jailer against the ornaments that then
adorned their limbs. He replied that it
was so ordered by the Mayor. I then
waited on his worship, whom I knew, as
he had migrated from my native county,
and was in full practice at St. Albans
as a surgeon. From him I got no re-
dress, as he could only in such a case
refer me to his legal adviser, the town-
clerk, but he believed the practice was
quite correct. The town-clerk soon con-
vinced me, by taking down a book and
turning to the statute, that such a de-
gradation was sanctioned by the Eng-
lish law. Consequently the men retained
those inconvenient appurtenances to their
dress for six months, when they were tried
at Hertford, and received as their sen-
tence the utmost extent of punishment
for their offence viz., twelvemonths fur-
ther incarceration in the county jail ; but
DOCTOK. 209
were, as our friend Dibdin would say, re-
lieved of their bilboes.
As I have before stated, the long day
I had at Redbourn sometimes taxed my
patience and equanimity to the utmost,
particularly in the winter months; and it
became irksome both to mind and body.
I could not always be reading; and the
inhabitants, consisting, as I have already
said, of publicans and little shopkeepers, I
could derive but little amusement from
a daily intercourse with them. Neverthe-
less, there was an exception, and that was
the doctor, whose acquaintance I had made
in the early part of my temporary sojourn.
This gentleman had settled here at the
termination of the war; but his nature
and associations were so opposite to those
of the community among whom he had
pitched his tent, it was no wonder that
they knew nothing of him beyond his pro-
fession nothing of his country, his family,
VOL. II. P
210 SHIP-DOCTOB.
or connections; only that he had been a
ship-doctor. This of itself was sufficient
to raise my curiosity, and justify, as I
thought, my intrusion. Accordingly, one
hot summer's morning I called, intending
to introduce myself.
After knocking at the door, and waiting
some little time, beyond what I thought
was necessary, I was about to raise the
knocker a second time, when I heard a
heavy tread approaching. The door was
next opened wide, and an object presented
itself to my view that I shall not easily
forget a huge specimen of the genus homo,
in his shirt and trousers the former with
the sleeves tucked up and the collar un-
buttoned and thrown back, exhibited a
chest and pair of shoulders that reminded
me of the boatswain, whose extraordinary
feat I have related in the second chapter.
His throat and neck were like the mutilated
statue of Hercules in the Disney collec-
A CHARACTER. 211
tion at Cambridge; and were surmounted
by a head that resembled very much the
portrait painted on the hind boot of the
Liverpool coach, intended to represent a
Saracen ; indeed, a cast of his bust, as ex-
posed to me that morning, would have
done very well for the sign on Snow Hill.
His inflated cheeks shone like burnished
copper ; his large prominent eyes were red
with the effects of recent indulgence.
Huge drops of perspiration stood upon
his expansive brow, as he held out his
hand, which in shape and size was like a
shoulder of mutton, and said, in a voice
not the most musical in the world,
"How are ye?" calling me by name.
" Walk in I'm d glad to see ye
it's d hot, ain't it ;" then turning
round and sending out a puff, that I
can only compare to the expiring blast
of a blacksmith's bellows, he led the
way into the parlour. Surprised at his
P2
212 NAVAL DOCTOR.
address, as well as his figure, I scarcely
knew what to say ; and he, by way of
apologising for his undress, stroked his
chin, and told me that he was just going
to shave, an operation that he had not
undergone very lately.
" But, how's your brother ? " he asked.
" I was not aware," I replied, " that
you knew me or my brother/'
" I knew you," he replied, " the first
time I saw you, and heard your name,
from your likeness to him."
"What brother?" I said.
" Why, the lieutenant, to be sure, Bob
where is he now ? "
When I had satisfied him on that
head, I asked him how it was that he
had not made himself known to me
before ?
"Why," he said, "to tell you the
truth, I thought you were too great a
horse."
POPULARITY. 213
This, I should tell my readers, is a
common phrase with sailors, when speak-
ing of a person whom they think a little
lofty; but, I thought, very inapplicable
at that time, when used by an enlight-
ened disciple of Esculapius, to one
who had become a humble follower of
Jehu.
" But where, may I ask, did you
know my brother ? "
" In the < Cyane,' with Sir Thomas
Staines ; we were messmates in her
when he was a middy, and I a doctor's
mate and a fine noble fellow he was.
I should very much like to see him
again; he and I were always great cro-
nies ; everybody in the ship liked him,"
he said, " from Tommy" as he familiarly
designated the Captain "down to the
loblolly-boy."
He then ran on in a purely nautical
strain, smacking a little of the Irish ac-
214 COLLOQUY.
cent, in praise of my brother, whom he
described as a thoroughbred sailor, and a
brave lad ; one who was sure to rise in
the service, for he could assume the officer
and the gentleman, as well as any of 'em,
and he again expressed the pleasure he
should have on seeing him.
"Well," I said, "I am sure the plea-
sure would be reciprocal. I will write
to him, and tell him of the discovery
I have made."
" Do," he said, " and bring him
down with ye, I shall be delighted to see
him again."
With this short and elegant colloquy,
I rose to leave ; but this the doctor
would not allow till I had tasted his
home-brewed. He set the example, by
helping himself from the foaming pitcher,
and swallowing two tumblers full in
such quick time, that I almost fancied I
could hear the liquid hiss as it went down.
EULOGY. 215
The copper's hot this morning, I thought,
as I deliberately drank mine, and then
made my exit, not a little gratified at
hearing such an eulogy on one united to
me by ties of unbroken affection, although
from the lips of one of the most unpolished
orators I had ever heard.
I did as I promised, and it was not
long before my brother, attending to
my summons, came from Hampshire, and
joyfully took his seat by my side. He
had always entertained a better opinion
of both my heart and understanding than
I did myself, perhaps far better than
I deserved ; and never suffered the re-
gard and esteem we had for each other
to be damaged by any word or deed of
his, much less by any change in my
fortune.
On our way down to Redbourn he
told me this doctor was a very extra-
ordinary character; that when on board
216 WOUNDS.
the " Cyane," after the action with the
French frigate in the Bay of Naples,
having so many men wounded, as well
as the Captain, the surgeon of the ship
required assistance; consequently, a signal
was made to " FEspoir," a small brig in
company, to send their doctor on board,
which they speedily did in the person
I have already described ; he was then
only assistant-surgeon, or doctor's mate,
as small vessels are not allowed a full
surgeon ; indeed, that was a degree, I
believe, our friend never attained, how-
ever his abilities may have deserved it.
On his coming on board, his attention
was drawn by his superior to the Captain,
who lay in his cot in the cabin, with his
shoulder dreadfully smashed, to all appear-
ance suffering the greatest agony, and
drifting fast into the vast and fathomless
ocean of eternity.
After examining the fracture with as
OPERATION. 217
much care and tenderness as the seat
of the wound and his own rough nature
would allow, he gave it as his opinion
that the injured limb might with safety
be removed ; and being asked by the other
how he proposed to do it, he replied, by
taking it out of the socket.
The patient overhearing this conversa-
tion, said he would not submit to any
experiment, as he was convinced the
wound was mortal, and he wished to
await his end in peace. Our Hibernian
friend, upon this, calling to his aid a little
of that persuasive eloquence so peculiar to
his countrymen, assured the Captain it
was no experiment at all, for the ope-
ration had already been performed with
success by Sir Astley Cooper, an account
of which he was in possession of, and
would, with his permission, read it to
him. Having done so, the Captain asked
him if he were prepared to perform the
218 CLEVER SURGEON.
operation himself, to which he answered
confidently in the affirmative ; his own
surgeon at the same time disclaiming all
responsibility.
With very little more persuasion the
Captain, assured of the self-possession of
the man, and the strong nerve denoted in
his countenance and manner, at once pre-
pared himself for the knife, which the ope-
rator, as it proved, knew well how to use ;
for the shattered limb was quickly removed.
The patient was preserved from a painful
death, and in due time restored to the
service, of which he proved himself so
distinguished a member.
My brother continued to tell me that
this was the second time only the operation
had been attempted, and performed with
success; therefore did the operator get the
greater praise, and the fame of it soon re-
echoed from the patient's cabin through
every man-of-war on the station, and thence
through every hospital in London.
DRUNKENNESS. 219
But there was something the Doctor
liked better than fame, or his fame might
have led on to fortune. He was in the
habit of sacrificing largely to Bacchus ;
and though the first week he refrained,
and was careful and particular in his
attention to his patient, who would not
suffer anyone else to dress the wound;
yet after that time the Doctor frequently
showed symptoms of indulging in pota-
tions pottle-deep, which did not escape
the Captain's observation. Nevertheless,
with an abnegation and magnanimity which
formed part of his noble nature, this gal-
lant omcer overlooked from time to time
those repeated acts of insubordination
acts that amounted sometimes to inca-
pacity of performing his task of replacing
the necessary dressings. Gratitude for
having preserved his life seemed to be
uppermost in the hero's heart, till, find-
ing he was likely to suffer from his
220 JOLLY MEETING.
Bacchanalian habits, and that advice and
remonstrance were equally vain, he was
obliged to call in the services of his
own surgeon; and on the arrival of the
ship at Spithead, the Doctor was ordered
to return to his own brig, since which
time my brother had not seen him.
Their meeting, as might be antici-
pated, was a very jolly one. The two
friends seemed to vie with each other
in their gratulations, and in asking and
answering questions as to their mutual
wanderings. The Doctor's did not amount
to much, as he left the service at Ports-
mouth, had formed a matrimonial con-
nection with a sister of one of their
messmates, had settled at Redbourn as
a medical practitioner, and was at that
time a widower.
I could but observe the marked deference
he paid to my brother's staid and gentle-
manlike deportment, as well as the restraint
SMOLLETT. 221
he at first put on his inclinations ; and as
he was possessed of good conversational
powers, and had a general knowledge of
worldly affairs, the fairer side of the
Doctor's portrait was developed. Open
and ingenuous, with a good natural capa-
city, he had studied anatomy and surgery
with ardour and advantage ; but had failed
to discover, that to ensure success in its
practice, a study of the amenities of life,
and the possession of a polish a little
beyond what he was likely to acquire
in the cockpit of a man-of-war, were ab-
solutely necessary before he could attain
that rank in his profession which men
of far less pretensions then occupied.
Indeed the Doctor's character, as ex-
hibited that day, interlarded as his con-
versation was with scenes from the cock-
pit, reminded me forcibly of the faithful
resemblances inimitably depicted by the
pen of Smollett; and in him I thought
222 SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
I could recognize Rory's messmate, Mor-
gan, who, with the same goodness of
heart and proficiency in the art of heal-
ing, the same disregard of worldly and
personal accomplishments, had sat himself
down, as this man had, in a country-
town as an* apothecary.
I left them together early in the even-
ing to attend to my duty; and so im-
pressed was I with the good qualities
of him who had played the host, and
of the evil of his besetting sin for the
Doctor had just proposed a North-wester
that I went away muttering, " Oh,
that man should put an enemy in his
mouth to steal away his brains!"
However, our intimacy did not end
here ; and one day the Doctor asked
me to ride with him to Gadesbridge, the
seat of that great benefactor of his species,
Sir Astley Cooper. Upon the road I
found by his conversation that this ex-
BUCK. 223
alted member of the profession had been
a great friend to him, and, perhaps, was
the cause and the means of his prac-
tising in that locality. On our return
he asked me to do him a favour, to
which I readily assented. I learned
that it was to get him a buck, or car-
case of venison, from Whittlebury Forest,
as he said he wished to make his kind
friend and patron a present of a haunch,
though I afterwards had reason to believe
the whole of it was intended for that
great chirurgical professor.
Accordingly, I deputed my brother
whip, who* passed through Stoney Strat-
ford, to procure me one from the stew-
ward or gamekeeper of the Duke of
Grafton, the hereditary ranger of that
royal domain. In due time it arrived;
and the man, knowing for whom I had
bespoke it, demanded immediate pay-
ment of the cost viz., 71 10s. With
224 FLIGHT.
this I complied, though a little surprised
at his peremptory manner, and directed
the horsekeeper to take the hamper down
to the Doctor's house.
Some few weeks after this, during which
time I continued my friendship with the
Doctor, on my arrival with the coach at
Redbourn in the morning, I observed rather
an unusual number of the inhabitants in
the road opposite the Inn where I pulled
up, apparently conversing upon some re-
cent occurrence that very much inte-
rested them. On my throwing down the
reins, getting off the box, and making
my way through the crowd, one of them,
who was acquainted with the Doctor as
well as myself, held out his hand, and,
with particular emphasis, said, "How are
ye, my hearty buck ? " which caused an
unwilling smile upon some of their
gloomy countenances. It did not re-
quire much further explanation to en-
ST. ALBANS. 225
lighten me as to the subject of their
discourse ; which was, the Doctor had
suddenly taken flight, leaving this little
community to mourn the loss of one
who had come among them to heal their
infirmities ; and in return to partake of
their kind donations of the three great
necessaries of life shelter, food, and
raiment.
Thus did I lose sight, for a time, of this
singular character, who was himself a
compound of intellectual capacity and
the wants and weaknesses of our nature.
His sudden departure preceded mine but
a few months, and he afterwards turned
up at a beautiful little spot in Hert-
fordshire, that lay in the way of my
frequent peregrinations to the shrine of
the Saint to whom I was afterwards so
much indebted. I seldom passed it with-
out calling, and was pleased to find the
Doctor had once more entered into the
VOL. II. Q
226 BEAGLES.
bonds of matrimony, had abated much
of his original propensity, and appeared
to be in the enjoyment of all the com-
forts of life.
About this time I became acquainted
with a gentleman at St. Albans, who
had something in common with myself,
in regard to out-door amusement or em-
ployment. Occupying a farm a short
distance from the town, he managed to
keep two or three couple of beagles;
and I would frequently ride back from
Redbourn on one of the up-coaches,
after my journey down, to accompany
him on foot to his farm, and regale
my ears with the music his little pack
would develop when they got upon the
track of a rabbit or a hare.
It was not long after this that St. Al-
bans had a far greater attraction in an
object pointed out to me by my friend
in the Abbey Church, whither I had
EASTER SUNDAY. 227
accompanied him to attend divine service
an observance, from my coach travelling
on a Sunday, I had, to my shame be
it spoken, almost discontinued, of which
neglect some inward monitor now and
then reminded me ; and therefore did I
readily accept my friend's invitation, more
particularly as it was Easter Sunday,
and I had never seen the interior of
that venerable pile.
There was something always in the
return of this day that affected me in
a way I did not thoroughly compre-
hend, and therefore cannot properly ex-
press something it was, that divested
the mind of all thoughts of the common
occurrences of daily life, and impressed
the heart with a joyful sentiment, ex-
ceeding all that could be derived from
any sensual or social enjoyment. Whether
it be that young Spring is then ad-
vancing, arrayed in that beauteous gar-
228 ABBEY CHURCH.
ment Nature has so tastefully provided
for her, pouring forth her delightful
carols, and bearing in her lap sweet
perfumed emblems of her bounty; or
whether it be the commemoration of the
promises made by the God of Nature,
of an eternal Spring to those responsible
beings who have faith in His revealed
will, hope in His most merciful dispen-
sation, and-good will towards their fellow-
creatures either one or the other, or
both, will dispose the senses to the purer