Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-06-15
THE MAGNltICENT.

liz the ancient Roman city Of Bath,
alb ,ut he end Of the last Cen 'ury, while IL
still retained much of the fashion and
celebrity II mad reached la the days Of
Beau NASH. the frrquenters Of the pump
room AID the balls were divided into two
rival factions, and long and fierce were
their quarrels over the topic Of dlssension.
This WAS either more nor less than the
not inappropriate one Of the merits Of 40
rival doctors, who divided between them
the smiles and guineas Of the eltte of Bath.
DIR Heathcote, the senior Of the two, long
ruled over the internal economy Of the
upper cIass Of patients with undisputed
sway He was = handsome, dapper, dig
ni6cd. we'll dressed and well-spoken little
gentleman, with undeniable naBners, silk
stockings AID rhirt frill Among the dow
ayers his word was law. At whist or
piQnet he was an oracle, and not unfre-
Quently the younger ladies would confde
70 his safe ear and kindly cOunsels mala-
dies Of the heart II he did bow little
low To baronet, and still lower u coro
MT, It was his only foible; and ~ this was
part Of his professional manner, Is was
FASHIONABLE and not unpopular.
The reigu of this E-cnlapian pOtentate
was AT last rudely disturbed by the ar
rival Of pretendcr IT, the throne. Where
DR.. Lenoir came from, who no WAS, or
where he had previously practiced, no one
knew, or, to tell the truth, had ever ven
tured 10 ask He was q man Of immense
frame, over six T. ct In height, with large
head, black eyes, and q RoOd.tempcred,
sanguine complexion He had commenced
his Bath career by becoming the tenant Of
O ,rge house on the outskirts Of the town,
which rumor said was used ~ lunatic
ASYLUM. But no made his appearance In
the pump roorn and the evening recrea.
lions. and, rs he proved n he man OF
wit and information, soon became favor
tie wi h the lounging society Of the place.
Even In his most familiar moods, how
ever, he had something formida Die about
him No coxcOmb ventured IN ak him
questions and he assumed quiet supe-
riOrity which was only not Calling be
Cause II was 80 thoroughly good-tempered.
With his patients he WAS exactly the re-
verse of the reigninx sovereign He was
grutf to the great, kindly 70 the poor, to
children gentle ~ woman. Rules OF
practic, he set entirely At defiance, and
was said by his en- mi. u toss up for each
case whether he could kill or cure. Cure,
however, NJ did many cases apparently
hopeless, and by devoting much care, and
sOO, hing the suffering he could not cure,
and making the approaches OF death less
ag"nizing, he earned the gratitude Of sur
viving relatives. such W, re the rivals,
for whom the card tables Of Bath waged
war
The rivals themselves were sworn
brothers. DR. l,athcOte at first was
&C ,rniul, and then WAS testy; but he could
not. resist the spell which DR. Lenoir
&c, med 10 WELD |; and although At consul.
tatiOn aud IN professional visits he wore
his dignifed sneer with due propliety,
many n hat ut piquet did he hold with
brother physician, n d WHEN non was by
To see or hear would make his old consult
ing room ring with laughter Ut the exuber-
ant h. NOR of his conn anton. Lenoir, on
the other hand. bowed Ia ublic, with the
mudesty If younger man, To the more
mature pactitioner. and ASSUMED his place
with 80 much kind hearhd def, rence that
the other Was entirely distrmed But n
kind Of unlehaei p mp followed his ,ot
steps. IN the pump room and at the balls
he ha I n chosen pl C which no one ever
usurppd AID he went BY the nam- OF
D.,clor NJ gniicns. which, contracted
by the uniearned Into Tho Magnificent, was
his ordinary ,iIle.
Dr.. Lennlr hal been about three wears at
Bath, when tae events happ-ned { ~hich
! am about 10 speak Little mere was
known oi him thea than when he first mr.
rived. T. was known he W y unmarried :
but he wa ptaiuly MT marrying man
He fl.r,ed II his good. humord Way with
all tn pretty pi'la, but IL was evidently
Hrtatio.. socie,y, lot Of the heart II
also c,it,in. by his Vie OF, livi G.
wasi easy circumstances, and that
20 ur,es ether than his pr { ssion
;sia zee win, n he ever unbent
sth iemeanor was when In
Ms ID Grey, Nm exceeding
aitractive man. who
Nd two young children