1 8 THE DARWIN FAMILY. 



long as you possibly can, hope to any near relative nursing a 

 patient. You made me despair, and from that moment I lost 

 strength.' My father said that he had often since seen the 

 paramount importance, for the sake of the patient, of keeping 

 up the hope and with it the strength of the nurse in charge. 

 This he sometimes found difficult to do compatibly with 

 truth. One old gentleman, however, caused him no such 



perplexity. He was sent for by Mr. P , who said, ' From 



all that I have seen and heard of you I believe that you are 

 the sort of man who will speak the truth, and if I ask, you 

 will tell me when I am dying. Now I much desire that you 

 should attend me if you will promise, whatever I may say, 

 always to declare that I am not going to die.' My father 

 acquiesced on the understanding that his words should in fact 

 have no meaning. 



" My father possessed an extraordinary memory, especially 

 for dates, so that he knew, when he was very old, the day of 

 the birth, marriage, and death of a multitude of persons in 

 Shropshire ; and he once told me that this power annoyed 

 him ; for if he once heard a date, he could not forget it ; and 

 thus the deaths of many friends were often recalled to his 

 mind. Owing to his strong memory he knew an extraordinary 

 number of curious stories, which he liked to tell, as he was a 

 great talker. He was generally in high spirits, and laughed 

 and joked with every one often with his servants with the 

 utmost freedom ; yet he had the art of making every one obey 

 him to the letter. Many persons were much afraid of him. I 

 remember my father telling us one day, with a laugh, that several 



persons had asked him whether Miss , a grand old lady in 



Shropshire, had called on him, so that at last he enquired 



why they asked him ; and was told that Miss , whom 



my father had somehow mortally offended, was telling every- 

 body that she would call and tell ' that fat old doctor very 

 plainly what she thought of him.' She had already called, 

 but her courage had failed, and no one could have been more 



