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The dinner-party was at the great Physician's Bar was there, and in

full force Ferdinand Barnacle was there, and in his

state

Feays of life were hidden from Physician, and he was oftener

in its darkest places than even Bishop There were brilliant ladies

about London who perfectly doted on hihtful person, ould have been shocked to

find thehts

those thoughtful eyes of his had rested within an hour or two, and near

to whose beds, and under what roofs, his coure had stood

But Physician was a composed man, who performed neither on his own trumpet,

nor on the trus did he see

and hear, and much irreconcilable ; yet his equality of compassion was nowas He went, like the rain,

aood he could, and neither

proclaiues nor at the corner of streets

As no e experience of humanity, however quietly carried

it may be, can fail to be invested with an interest peculiar to the

possession of such knowledge, Physician was an attractive entlemen and ladies who had no idea of his secret, and

ould have been startled out of more wits than they had, by the

to them 'Come and see what I

see!' confessed his attraction Where he was, sorain of reality, like the smallest portion of some other scarce

natural productions, will flavour an enormous quantity of diluent

It came to pass, therefore, that Physician's little dinners always

presented people in their least conventional lights The guests said to

themselves, whether they were conscious of it or no, 'Here is a man who

really has an acquaintance with us as we are, who is ads and paint off, who hears the wanderings of

our uised expression of our faces, when both

are past our control; we may as well ot the better of us and is too strong for us'

Therefore, Physician's guests caly at his round

table that they were allomeration of jurymen which is called

huenerally

convenient instruh far

less keen, was adaptable to far wider purposes Bar knew all about the

gullibility and knavery of people; but Physician could have given hiht into their tendernesses and affections, in one week of

his rounds, than Westether,

in threescore years and ten Bar always had a suspicion of this, and

perhaps was glad to encourage it (for, if the world were really a great

Law Court, one would think that the last day of Term could not too soon

arrive); and so he liked and respected Physician quite as much as any

other kind of man did

Mr Merdle's default left a Banquo's chair at the table; but, if he had

been there, he would have merely made the difference of Banquo in it,

and consequently he was no loss Bar, who picked up all sorts of odds

and ends about Westminster Hall, much as a raven would have done if he

had passed as reatthem about, to try which way the Merdle wind

blew He now had a little talk on the subject with Mrs Merdle herself;

sidling up to that lady, of course, with his double eye-glass and his

jury droop

'A certain bird,' said Bar; and he looked as if it could have been no

other bird than aus lawyers lately,

that there is to be an addition to the titled personages of this realm'

'Really?' said Mrs Merdle

'Yes,' said Bar 'Has not the bird been whispering in very different

ears from ours--in lovely ears?' He looked expressively at Mrs Merdle's

nearest ear-ring

'Do you mean mine?' asked Mrs Merdle

'When I say lovely,' said Bar, 'I always , I think,' returned Mrs Merdle (not

displeased)

'Oh, cruelly unjust!' said Bar 'But, the bird'

'I am the last person in the world to hear news,' observed Mrs Merdle,

carelessly arranging her stronghold 'Who is it?'

'What an admirable witness you would make!' said Bar 'No jury (unless

we could empanel one of blind men) could resist you, if you were ever so

bad a one; but you would be such a good one!'

'Why, you ridiculous lass three or four ti answer, and inquired in his ant, acco of women,

a feeeks, or it may be a few days, hence?'

'Didn't your bird tell you what to call her?' answered Mrs Merdle 'Do

ask it to-morrow, and tell me the next ties of similar pleasantry between the two; but

Bar, with all his sharpness, got nothing out of the Mrs Merdle down to her carriage and attending on her

as she put on her cloak, inquired into the symptoms with his usual calm

directness

'May I ask,' he said, 'is this true about Merdle?'

'My dear doctor,' she returned, 'you ask me the very question that I was

half disposed to ask you' 'To ask reater confidence in you

than in any one'

'On the contrary, he tells , even professionally

You have heard the talk, of course?'

'Of course I have But you knohat Mr Merdle is; you kno

taciturn and reserved he is I assure you I have no idea what foundation

for it there may be I should like it to be true; why should I deny that

to you? You would know better, if I did!'

'Just so,' said Physician

'But whether it is all true, or partly true, or entirely false, I a situation, a most absurd

situation; but you know Mr Merdle, and are not surprised'

Physician was not surprised, handed her into her carriage, and bade her

Good Night He stood for a ant equipage as it rattled away On his return up-stairs, the

rest of the guests soon dispersed, and he was left alone Being a great

reader of all kinds of literature (and never at all apologetic for that

weakness), he sat down comfortably to read

The clock upon his study table pointed to a few minutes short of twelve,

when his attention was called to it by a ringing at the door bell A man

of plain habits, he had sent his servants to bed and o down

to open the door He went down, and there found a man without hat or

coat, whose shirt sleeves were rolled up tight to his shoulders For a

: the rather, as he was itated and out of breath A second look, however, showed him that

the man was particularly clean, and not otherwise discomposed as to his

dress than as it answered this description

'I co street'

'And what is the matter at the warm-baths?'

'Would you please to co on the

table'

He put into the physician's hand a scrap of paper Physician looked at

it, and read his own na , looked at the , put the key of his door in his pocket, and they hurried away

together

When they ca to that

establish up and

down the passages 'Request everybody else to keep back, if you please,'

said the physician aloud to the ht to

the place, er hurried before hi into one at the end of the grove, looked round the door

Physician was close upon him, and looked round the door too

There was a bath in that corner, fro in it, as in a grave or sarcophagus, with a hurried

drapery of sheet and blanket thrown across it, was the body of a

heavily-made man, with an obtuse head, and coarse, ht had been opened to release the stea, condensed into water-drops,

heavily upon the walls, and heavily upon the face and figure in the

bath The room was still hot, and the ure were clammy to the touch The white marble at the

bottoe at

the side, were an empty laudanum-bottle and a tortoise-shell handled

penknife--soiled, but not with ink

'Separation of jugular vein--death rapid--been dead at least half an

hour' This echo of the physician's words ran through the passages

and little roo

hi bent down to reach to the botto his hands in water; redly veining it as the

led into one tint

He turned his eyes to the dress upon the sofa, and to the watch, money,

and pocket-book on the table A folded note half buckled up in the

pocket-book, and half protruding frolance

He looked at it, touched it, pulled it a little further out fro

the leaves, said quietly, 'This is addressed to me,' and opened and read

it

There were no directions for hiive The people of the house knehat to do; the proper authorities were soon brought; and they took an

equable business-like possession of the deceased, and of what had been

his property, with no greater disturbance of -up of a clock Physician was glad to walk