DR. R. W. DARWIN. 



13 



sessed was that of reading the characters, and even the 

 thoughts of those whom he saw even for a short time. We 

 had many instances of the power, some of which seemed 

 ahnost supernatural. It saved my father from ever making 

 (with one exception, and the character of this man was soon 

 discovered) an unworthy friend. A strange clergyman came 

 to Shrewsbury, and seemed to be a rich man ; everybody 

 called on him, and he was invited to many houses. My 

 father called, and on his return home told my sisters on no 

 account to invite him or his family to our house ; for he felt 

 sure that the man was not to be trusted. After a few months 

 he suddenly bolted, being heavily in debt, and was found out 

 to be little better than an habitual swindler. Here is a case 

 of trustfulness which not many men would have ventured on. 

 An Irish gentleman, a complete stranger, called on my father 

 one day, and said that he had lost his purse, and that it 

 would be a serious inconvenience to him to wait in Shrews- 

 bury until he could receive a remittance from Ireland. He 

 then asked my father to lend him ^20, which was immedi- 

 ately done, as my father felt certain that the story was a true 

 one. As soon as a letter could arrive from Ireland, one came 

 with the most profuse thanks, and enclosing, as he said, a 

 ;^2o Bank of England note, but no note was enclosed. I 

 asked my father whether this did not stagger him, but he an- 

 swered 'not in the least.' On the next day another letter 

 came with many apologies for having forgotten (like a true 

 Irishman) to put the note into his letter of the day before. 

 ... [A gentleman] brought his nephew, who was insane but 

 quite gentle, to my father ; and the young man's insanity led 

 him to accuse himself of all the crimes under heaven. When 

 my father afterwards talked over the matter with the uncle, 

 he said, ' I am sure that your nephew is really guilty of . . . 

 a heinous crime.' Whereupon [the gentleman] said, ' Good 

 God, Dr. Darwin, who told you ; we thought that no human 

 being knew the fact except ourselves ! ' My father told me 

 the story many years after the event, and I asked him how 

 he distinguished the true from the false self-accusations ; and 



