3 ° 
PROFESSOR OWEN 
CH. Il- 
in my pocket. The sense of desolation which I 
experienced In walking up Holborn towards St. 
Bartholomew’s Hospital, where the letter was to 
be presented, was something indescribable, and 
the numbers of strange faces which kept passing 
by only Increased that feeling.’ 
When he arrived at the hospital Abernethy 
had just finished lecturing, and was evidently in 
anything but the best of tempers, being surrounded 
by a small crowd of students waiting about to ask 
him questions. Owen was just screwing up his 
courage to attack this formidable personage and 
state his business, when Abernethy suddenly 
turned upon him and said, ‘ And what may you 
v/ant ? ’ After presenting the letter, Abernethy 
glanced at it for a moment, stuffed it into his 
pocket, and vouchsafed the gracious reply of ‘ Oh ! ’ 
As this did not seem to point to anything very 
definite, Owen, after waiting for further remarks 
and enlightenment, was turning away to go when 
Abernethy called after him, ‘ Here ; come to break- 
fast to-morrow morning at eight ; ’ and, presenting 
him with his card, added : ‘ That’s my address.’ 
What were the terms in which Dr. Barclay had 
spoken of him Owen never knew, but he thought 
they must have been favourable, for when he pre- 
sented himself the next morning at Abernethy’s 
residence, and was anticipating anything but an 
agreeable tHe-a-tite with the great doctor, he found 
him, to his surprise, considerably smoothed down, 
