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 



