DR. R. W. DARWIN. 19 



courteous and friendly. As a boy, I went to stay at the house 



of , whose wife was insane ; and the poor creature, as 



soon as she saw me, was in the most abject state of terror 

 that I ever saw, weeping bitterly and asking me over and over 

 again, c Is your father coming ? ' but was soon pacified. On 

 my return home, I asked my father why she was so fright- 

 ened, and he answered he was very glad to hear it, as he had 

 frightened her on purpose, feeling sure that she would be kept 

 in safety and much happier without any restraint, if her husband 

 could influence her, whenever she became at all violent, by 

 proposing to send for Dr. Darwin ; and these words succeeded 

 perfectly during the rest of her long life. 



" My father was very sensitive, so that many small events 

 annoyed him or pained him much. I once asked him, when 

 he was old and could not walk, why he did not drive out for 

 exercise ; and he answered, ( Every road out of Shrewsbury is 

 associated in my mind with some painful event.' Yet he was 

 generally in high spirits. He was easily made very angry, 

 but his kindness was unbounded. He was widely and deeply 

 loved. 



" He was a cautious and good man of business, so that he 

 hardly ever lost money by any investment, and left to his 

 children a very large property. I remember a story showing- 

 how easily utterly false beliefs originate and spread. Mr. E , 



a squire of one of the oldest families in Shropshire, and head 

 partner in a bank, committed suicide. My father was sent for 

 as a matter of form, and found him dead. I may mention, by 

 the way, to show how matters were managed in those old days, 



that because Mr. E was a rather great man, and universally 



respected, no inquest was held over his body. My father, in 

 returning home, thought it proper to call at the bank (where 

 he had an account) to tell the managing partners of the event, 

 as it was not improbable that it would cause a run on the 

 bank. Well, the story was spread far and wide, that my 

 father went into the bank, drew out all his money, left the 



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