I Was To Leave Town The Next Day
For A Fortnight's Absence, And Whom Had They To See To Them?
The
mother named her landlord, - she knew no one else able to do much
for them.
It was the name of a physician of wealth and high
social position, well known in the city as the owner of many small
tenements, and of whom hard things had been said as to his strictness
in collecting what he thought his dues. Be that as it may, my memory
associates him only with ready and active beneficence. His name has
since been known the civilized world over, from his having been the
victim of one of the most painful tragedies in the records of the
criminal law. I tried the experiment of calling upon him; and,
having drawn him away from the cheerful fire, sofa, and curtains
of a luxurious parlor, I told him the simple tale of woe, of one
of his tenants, unknown to him even by name. He did not hesitate;
and I well remember how, in that biting, eager air, at a late hour,
he drew his cloak about his thin and bent form, and walked off
with me across the Common, and to the South End, nearly two miles
of an exposed walk, to the scene of misery. He gave his full
share, and more, of kindness and material aid; and, as George's
mother told me, on my return, had with medical aid and stores,
and a clergyman, made the boy's end as comfortable and hopeful
as possible.
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