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From Blackwood’s Jtf.i.'uzine lor July.
PASSAGES FROM 1'HL DIARY OF
A LATE PHYSICIAN-
The ruined JMerchant.
(Continued.)
About a fortnight after Mr. Dud-
leigli bad Informed Mrs. Dudleigh of
thy now lodgment he had made ut his
banker’s, she gave a very large even
ing party at her house, in——Square.
She had been very sussesslul in her
guests on the occasiou, having engag
ed ihe attendance of my Lords This,
and mv Ladies That, innumerable.
Even the high and haughty Duke of
had deigned to look ill lor a few
moments, on his way to a parly at
Carlton House, for the purpose of
sneering ut the --splendid eit,” and
extracting topics of laughter for his
royal host. The whole of -Square,
and one or two of the adjoining steels
were absolutely choked with car-{itough, truly!
gages—the carriages of her guests!
jinn you octet ed her magnificent
meets, and had made your way
gh the soft crush and flutter of
|»< eraey, you might see the lady
of the house throbbing and panting
f ifth excitement—a perfect blaze of
Iwellery — flunked by her very kind
friends, old Lady ,und the well
known Miss .engaged, as usual
at titdimil- d loo. The good humor
wiTh which Mrs. Dudleigh' lost, was
declared to be -quite charming”—
‘-deserving of better fortune;” and in-
fl.unod by the cozened compliments
tbeVjJorccd upon her, she was jus*
uttering some sneering and insolent
nllu8toit tc’™ that odious city." while
old L‘dy 's withered talons were
extended to <-lut»-li her winnings, when
there was perceived a sudden stir
ab^ut the (Wdonr -then a general
liusie— and ypt moment or two, a gen*
and disordered dress
Witu lirenvHph, rushed through the
astnnihtted"crowd, and made his way
towards the card table at which Mrs
Dudleigh was seated, and stood con
fi lming her, extending towards her
his t ight hand, in which was a thin
slip it paper, ft was Mr. Dudleigh!
“There—there, madam.” he gasp.'*- 1
in a hoarse voice,—--there woman! -
vvliat have you done? R.lined—ruined
nu, madam, you've ruined me! Mv
'credit is destroyed forever!—my name
is United'.-Here s the first dishonored
bill that ever bore Henry Dudicigh’s
name upon it! Yes, madam it is you
whb have done it.” lie coiiiiuuod with
jjjvehement tone and gesture, utterly
Pregarrtiess of the breathless throng
around liim, and con inning to extend
towards ucr tite protested bill ol ex
change.
• My dear!—my dear—my—my--
iny dear Mr. Dudleigh,” sunnrmred
drawn out 4000k odd, to pay her
coach-maker’s, confectioners, and
milliner’s bills, and supply herself
with cash for the evening’s spoliation.
The remaining 7000k had been drawn-
out during the preceding fortnight to
pay her various clamorous creditors,
and keep her in readiness for the
gaming-table.—Mr. Dudleigh, on
hearing of the dishonor of his bill—
the news of which was brought him
by a clerk, for he was staying at a
friend’s house in the country-came up
instantly to town, paid the bill, and
then hurried, half beside himself, to
his bouse in square. It is not at
all wonderful, that though Mr. Dud-
leigh’s name was well known as an
eminent and responsible mercantile
man, his bankers, with whom he had
but recently opened an account,
should decline paying his hill, after so
large a sum as 20,000k had been
drawn out of their hands by Mr9.
Dudleigh. It looked suRpisious e-
“Mrs. Dudleigh!—‘where--wiiF.su;
is my 20,000?”—-he shouted almost
at the top of his voice; hut Mrs
Dudleigh heard him not; for she had
fallen fainting into the arms of Lady
. Numbers rushed forward to her
assistance.-The confusion and agita
tion that ensued it would he impossi
ble to describe; and, in the midst of
it, Mr. Dudleigh strode at a furious
pace out of the room, and left the
house. Fur the next three or four
days he behaved like a madman. His
apprehensions magnified the tempora
ry and very trilling injury his crcJit
bad sustained, till he fancied himself
on the eve of becoming bankrupt.
And indeed, where is the merchant
of any eminence, whom such a eir
cumstance as the dishonor of a hill
for 4009 (however afterwards ac
counted for) would not exasperate?
For several flays Air. Dudleigh would
not go near square, and did not
once enquirp nfier Mrs. Dudleigh.
My professional services were nut in-
tn requisition on her behalf. Ttage,
shame, and agony, at the thought of
the disgraceful exposure she. had met
with, in the eyes of all her assembled
guests, of those respecting whose
opinions she was most exquisitely
eeiigiittYC, It?d tiestly driven her <tis-
mercliant and his family. It was
fixed that his daughter was to become
lady ,as soon as young lord——-
should have returned from the contin
ent; and a dazzling dowry was spoken
of as her? on the day of her marriage.
Pleased with his wife’s good beha
viour, Mr. Dudleigh’s confidence and
good-nature revived, mid he held the
reigns with a rapidly-slackening grasp.
In proportion as he allowed her funds,
her scared “friends” flocked again
around her; and by and by she was
seen flouncing about in fashion as
heretofore, with small “let or hin
drance” from her husband. The world
—the sagacious world—called Mr.
Dudleigh a happy man; and the city
swelled at the mention of his name
and doings. The mercantile world
laid its highest honors at his feet.
The Mayoralty—Bank—-an East In
dia Directorship- -a seat for the city
in Parliament- all glittered within his
grasp—but be would not stretch forth
his hand. Me was content, he would
say, to be “plain Henry Dudleigh,
whose, word was as good as his bond”
—a leading man on ‘Change—and,
above all, “who could look every one
full in the face with whom he had
ever had to do.” He was indeed a
worthy man-n rich and racy spcci
men of one of those glories of our na
tion- a true English merchant. The
proudest moments of his life were
those, when an accompanying friend
could estimate his consequence, by
witnessing the mandolin movements
that ebe.ry where met him—the obse
quious obeisances of eve his closest
rivals—as he hurried to and lor about
the central regions of ‘Change, his
hands struck into the worn pockets o(
his plain snuff-colored coat. The
merest glance nt Mr. Dudleigh. It is
hurried, fidgety, anxious gestures,
the keen, cautious expression of his
glittering gray eves, his mouth screw
ed up like'a shut purse—all, all told
of the “man of a million” There
was, in a manner, a “plum” in every
tread of his foot, in every twinke of
his eye. He could rt< ver he said to
breath freely, really to lire, but in hie
congenial atmosphere, his native el
ement—ihe City!
Once every year he gave a capital
(dinner, at a tavern, to all his ng;'!' la .
his wife, without rising from hoi cltai
“vviat is the matter, love? "
- matter, madam? —why, by —
that you ve ruinfd me-1 hat’s
Whole’s the 20,000k I pla<
alli
ed
Messrs.
— VVwerc—where is it, Mrs. Dud-
leij^if” he continued almost shouting,
pud advancing nearer to Iter, with his
fiSt blenched.
“Henry! dear Henry !—meroy,
ttvercy! ’’murmured his wife faint-
'I
-’s hands a few days ago?
Hlenry. indeed! Mercy?—Silence
irfidam! How dear you deny me
answer? Ho
dear you swindle me
out of my fortune in this way?” he
continued fiercely, wiping the perspi
ration from his forehead; “Here’s my
bill for 4000,/. made payable
Messrs. , my new bankers; and
Wtten it was presented this morning,
madam, by ! the reply was ‘no
effects!’-—and my hill has been dis
honored!--Wretch! ii'hat have you
traded. She continued so all for a-
hout a week, and exhibited such fre
quent glimpses of deli rum, that I was
i (impelled to resort to very active
treatment to avert a brain fever.
Mote than once, I heard her utter the
words or something like them’—“be
renat^ed on Inin yet!” hut whether or
not she was at at the time sensible of
ihe import of what she said, I did hot
know.
The incident above recorded—-
which I had from the iips of Mr. Dud
leiglt himself, as well as from o'.heis
—made ,i good deal of noise in what
are called “the fashionable circles,
and was obscurely hinted at in one ol
the daily papers. I was much amus
ed at hearing, in the various circles
l visited, the conflicting and exagger
ated accounts of it. One old lady
(old me she “had it on the best au
thority. that Mr. Dudleigh actually
struck his wife, and wrenched her
purse out of her hand!” I recom
mended Mrs. Dudleigh to withdraw
for a few weeks 1o a watering place,
and she followed my advice; taking
with her Miss Dudleigh, whose health
and spirits had snffered materially
though the event which has been
mentioned. Poor girl! site was of a
very different mould /rout her mother,
at | and suffered ncutcly, though silently,
at witnessing the niter contempt in
which she was held by the very peo
ple she made such prodigious efforts
io court and con'-iliate. Can any
situation be conceived more painful?
Her few and gentle remonstrances,
done with my money? Where’s it all
gone?—Pm the town’s talk about this j however, met invariably with a harsh
—-jigt-Thera’II bo a run upon | and cruel recept ion; and at last she
t pon
w there will—aye—this
*my hard earned wealth is
sqiiatrawxFd, you vile, yon unprincip
led speOTlhrift!” he continued, turn
ing round and pointing to the astund-
ed guests, none of whom had uttered
a syllable. The music had ceased—
the dancers left their places—-the
card tables were deserted. In a
word, all was blank consternation.
The fact,was, that old Lady r, who
TVas ihattBaoment seated, trembling
lik^ an aiH^leaf, at Mrs. Dudleigh’s
right hnnajHfck had won from her,
during thff in^nonth, a series of sums
Amounting to little short of 9000/.
which Mrs. Dudleigh had paid the
day before by. a cheque on Her bank
er; and that very morning she had
was compelled to hold her peace, and
bewail in mortified silence her mo
tile- 's ohtuseness.
They continued nt about a
month; and on their return to town,
found the affair quite “blown over;”
and soon afterwards, through the
mediation of mutual friends, the angry
couple were reconciled to each other.
For twelve long months Mrs.* Dud-
leiglt led a comparatively quiet and
secluded life, abstaining, with but a
poor grace it is true, from company
and cards—from the latter compul
sorily; for no one chose to sit down
at play with her, who had witnessed
or heard of rhe event which had taken
place last season. In short, every
thing seemed going on well with our
clerks, and people in any way con
nected with him in business; and none
but i-.iinseii knew the quiet ecstacy
with which lie took his seat at the
head of them II - joined in their tim
id jokes, echo, d their modest laugh-
ter, made speeches, and was be*
speechified in turn! How he sate
while great things were saying of him,
on the occasion of his health being
drunk! On one of these occasions,
his health had boeu proposed by his
sleek head-clerk, in a most neat and
appropriate speech, and drunk with
uproarious enthusiasm; and good Mr-
Dudleigh was on his legs, energeti
cally making his annual avowal llial
‘that was the proudest moment ol
his life,” when one ol the waiter?
came and interrupted him, by saying
that a gentleman was without, wait
ing to speak with him on most im
portant business. Mr. Dudleigh
hurriedly whispered that he would
attend to the stranger in a few min
utes, and the waiter withdrew; but
ret unod in a second or two, and put
a card into his hand. Mr. Dudleigh
was electrified at the name it bore--
that of the great loan contractor-the
city Ctocsus, whose wealth was re
ported to ho incalculably! lie hast
ily called on some one to supply his
place; and had hardly passed the
door, before lie was hastily shaken
by the hands by , who told him
at once, that he had called to propose
to Mr. Dudleigh to take part with
him in negotiating a very large loan
on account of the government!
After a flurried pause, Mr. Dudleigh,
scarcely knowing what he was say
ing. assented. In a day or two the
transaction was duly blazoned in the
leading papers of the day; and every
one in the city spoke of him as otto
likely to double or even treble his
already ample fortune. Again he
was praised again censured, again en
vied! • It was considered advisable
that he should repair to the continent,
during the course of ihe negotiation,
in order that he might personally su
perintend some important collateral
transactions: and, when there, he was
most unexpectedly detained, nearly
»wo months. Alas! that he ever left
England! During his absence, his in
fatuated wife betook Herself— - “like
the dog to hie vomit, like the' sow to
her wallowing in the mire”-to her
former rumours courses of extrava
gance and dissipation, but on a fear
fully larger scale. Her house was
more like an hotel than a private
dwelling; and blazed away, night af
ter night, with light and company, till
the whole neighborhood complained
ol the incessant uproar occasioned by
the mere arrival and departure of her
guests. To her other d eadfulbeset-
ments, Mrs. Dudleigh now added
the odious and vulgar vice of intox
ication! She complained of the de
ficiency of her antiutd spirits; and said
she look liquor as a medicine! She
required stimulus, and excitement
she said, to sustain her mind under the
perpelua 1 run of ill-luck she had at
cards! It was in vain that her poor
daughter remonstrated, and ulmost
cried herself into fils, on seeing Iter
mother return home, frequently in the
du'l stupor of absolute intoxication!
“Mother, my heart is breaking!” said
she one evening.
“So—so is mine” hiccuped her
parent—“so gel me the decanter!”
Young Harry Dudieigh (rode em-
ulously in the footsteps of his mother;
and ran riot to an extent that was
before unknown to Oxford! The sons
of very few of the highest nobility had
handsomer allowances than he, yet
was he constantly over head and ears
in debt. He was a backer of the ring
ruffians; a great mail at cock and dog
fights; a racer: m short a b ackguard
of the first qarter. During the re
cess he had come up to town, and
taken up his quarters, not at his fa
ther's house, hut at one of the distant
hotels—where might pursue his ptolii-
gate courses withiout fear of interrup
tion. He had repeatedly bullied ms
mother oul of large sums ol money lo
sujport his infamous extravagances
and at length become so insolent and
exorbitant in his demands, that, they
qiarrelled. One eveenmg, about 9
ocloek, jMis. and Miss Dudleigh hap
pened to he sitting in the drawing room
alone, and the latter was pale with
(lie agitation consequent on some re
cent quarrel with her mother; for the
poor girl had In en passionately re
proaching her mother for itet increas
ing attachment to liquor, under tue
influence of which site evidently was
at that moment. Suddenly a voice
w-nS heard in the hall, and on the
stairs, sir.gii.g, dr father bawling,
snatcher of some comic song or oth
er; the drawing room door was pres
ently pushed open, and young uud-
leigli. more than half intoxicated,
made his appearance, in a slovenly
cvenining dress.
‘Madame ina mere—!” said he,
staggering towards the sofa where his
mother and sister were sitting, -‘1 —
I must be supplied, 1 must, mother! 1
he hiccuped, stretching towards her
his right hand, and tapping the palm
of it significantly with his left fin
gers.
Pho, nonsense! off to—to bed,
young scape-grace!” replied his mo-
her, drowsily; for the stupor of wine
lay heavily on her,
“Tis useless, madam, quite, 1 -as
sure you! money, money I must and
will have!” said her son, striving to
steady himself against a chair.
“Why, Harry, dear! where’s the
fifty pounds I gave you a cheque for
only a day or two ago?”
“Gone! gone! the way of all mo
ney, madam, as you know pretty well!
I—I must have 300/. by to-morrow
“ Three hundred pounds, Henry 1 ”
exclaimed his mother, angrily.
“Yes, nta atn! Sir Charles won’t
be put off any longer, he says. Has
my—my—word-‘good as my bond—
as the old governor says/ Mother,”
he continued in a louder tone, flinging
his hat violently on the floor, “I must
and will have money!”
“Henry, it’s disgraceful, infamous,
most infamous!” exclaimed Miss Dud-
leigli, with a shocked atr; 3nd raising
liar handkerchief to her eyes, she rose
Irotn the sofa, and walked hurriedly
to the opposite end of the room, and
sot down in tears. Poor girl! whata
mother! what a brother! The young
man took the place she had occupied
by her mother’s side, and in a wheed
ling coaxing way, threw his arm round
Mrs. Dudleigh, hiccuping, “mother-
give me a cheque! do, please!—’tis
the last time I’ll askyou-for a twelve
month to come!—and I otve 600/. that
must be paid in a day or two!”
“How can I, Harry?—dear Harry
—don’t be unreasonable! recollect I
am a kind mother to you,” kissing
him, “and don’t distress me; for I
owe three or four time§ ai much my.
self, and cannot pay it.”
“Eli!—ehl-cannot pay ill-stuff,
ma’am !-why-is the bank run dry ?” ;
he continued with an apprehensive
stare.
“Yes, love, long ago!” replied his
mother, with a sigh.
“Whoo-wboo!” he exclaimed; and
rising, lie walked, or rather staggered
a few steps to and fro, ns if attemp
ting to collect his faculties-and
think!—
“Ah-ah, ah!—eureka, ma’am!” he
exclnirncd suddenly alter a pause,
snapping his fingers, “Tv* got it, I
have! the plate, mother, the plate!
—him! raising the wind, you under*'
stand me!”
“Oh! shocking, shocking!” sobbed
Miss Dudleigh, hurrying towards
them, wringing her hands bitterly,
“oh, mother! Henry, oh, Henry!
would you ruin my poor father, and
break his heart?”
“Ah, the plate, mother! the plate!”
he continued, addressing his mother,
then turning to his sister, “away, you
little puss—puss! what do you under
stand about business, eh?” and he
attempted to kiss her, but she thrust
him away with indignation and horror
in her gesture.
“Come, mother!—will it do—a
lucky thought! the plate!—Mr.-——
is a rare hand nt this hind of thing!—
a thousand or two would set you and
me to rigids in a twinkling! come,
what say you?”
“Impossible, Harry!”—replied his
mother, turning pale,—“’tis quite—
’tis—’(is—out of the question!,’
“Pho! no such thing! It must be
done I—why cannot it, ma’am?”
enquired the young man earnest
ly-
“Why, because—if you must know,
sirrah! because it is already pawn
ed!”—replied his mother, in a loud
voice, shaking her hand at biro with
passion- Their attention was attract
ed at tint moment towards ihe door,
which had been standing a-jar—for
there was the sound of some one
suddenly fallen down. Alter an in
stant’s pause, they al) the three walk
ed to the door, and stood gazing hor
ror-struck at the prostrate figure of
Mr Dudleigh!
He had been standing unperccivcd
in the door-way—having entered tho
house only a moment or two after
his son—during the whole of the dis
graceful scene just described, almost
petrified with grief, amazement, and
horror—till he could bear it no lon
ger, and fell down in an apoplectic
fit. He had hut that evening.return
ed from abroad, exhausted, with
physical fatigue, and despirited in
mind — for while abroad, he had
made a most disastrous move in the
foreign funds, by which ho lost up
wards of sixlv or seventy thousand
pounds, and his negotiation scheme^
also turned out very unfortunately,*
and left him minus nearly as much
more. He had hurrieAj^ne, half
dead with vexation nntnjjfcety, to
make instant arrangemenft^r-meet
ing the most pressing of his pectinioi)
engagements in England, apprehen
sive, from the gloomy tenor of his-
agent's letter to him while abroad,
that his affairs were falling into con
fusion. Oh! what a heart-breaking
s'-ene had he to encounter—instead-
the comforts and welcome of home! .
This incident brought me again
into contact with this devoted family;
for I was summoned by the distracted
daughter to her father’s bedside,
wbicli I found surrounded by his wife
and children. The shock of his pre
sence bad completely sobered both
mother and son, who hung horror-
stricken over him, on each 8 j^£^"
the bo,d. endeavoring in vain to recall
him to sensibility. I liftd 8 9 ar ®® . *
tered Ihe room, before Mrs. Duairi^i
was carried away swooning in the
arms of a servant. Mr. Dudleigh
was in a fit of apoplexy. He lay in,
a state of profound stupor, breathing
sfentorinusly—more like snorting.—
I had him raised- into nearly an up
right position, and’ immediately bled
him largely from the jugular vein.
While the blood was flowing, my
attention was arrested by the appear
ance of young Dudleigh; who war
kneeling down by thawed side, his
hands clasps convulsively together,
and his swoolcn blood-shot eyer fixed
on his father. “Father! father! fa»
ther!” were the onfy words bo utter
ed, and these fell quivering from his
lips unconsciously. Miss Dudleigh,
who had stood leaning against the
f See fourth column third page.’]