A RAILWAY ACCIDENT?
A few years ago, and about fifteen miles from London, a gentleman namedFreeling, returning from the village of A---- to the village of B----, adistance of only four miles, had to cross one of the two trunk lines ofrailway which runs northward from the great metropolis and interceptspopulous districts of England. To tell the exact truth about thisgentleman, he had been visiting a friend--a man of substance, andlikewise in the horticultural, floricultural, and agricultural lines, inwhich Mr. Freeling's mind had an inclination to run. To tell a littlemore of the truth, as it is desirable to tell the whole, afterexamining, approving, and admiring the skill of his friend and itsresults, Mr. Freeling was invited by Mr. Goodwin to dinner; and Ibelieve that the guest imbibed rather excessively of his host'sspiritual stores and wines. Yet he was not insensible to sights andsounds; and if he had been, he would not have figured as a character inthis narrative.
The way of Mr. Freeling from his friend's house to his own home lay,after crossing the railway, through a narrow lane not far from astation. Happily for him however, perhaps, he was not aware that, nearthe footpath across the line (that is, the railway-line), there had beena great smash about the time that the two rustic amateurs had beendiscussing the good cheer of the host--somewhere about four hours beforethe incidents I am about to describe. The _debris_ had been, however,cleared up before our friend passed the scene of the catastrophe, andnone of its relics were visible in the moonlight. He had not proceededfar beyond the rails, when he thought he heard a low sound very like agroan; and if he were any judge of such things (he reasoned), it was themoaning of a man or woman in pain. He paused; he listened. All wassilent. He moved on a pace or two; listened again; and the wind broughthim something like a repetition of the moan. Could he be mistaken? heasked himself. No; that was a human voice; perhaps some drunken wretch.If so, the first thought which suggested itself was, that he should turnback and see that the man was not lying in the track of the iron horseor its carriages. Second thoughts are said to be the best,--and, ifselfishness be better than disinterestedness, Mr. Freeling's secondthoughts were better than his first. What did it matter to him, heargued with himself, if people got drunk? They must suffer for it, wasthe second thought of the half-drunken man. So he trudged along again;but the sound, louder this time, overtook him once more. He was notessentially an unkind man; and although home had peculiar attractionsfor him in his then condition, he was obliged by the force of his humannature to pause.
Another groan. There could be no mistake about it. A poor wretch waslying somewhere near him in evident pain. He shouted:
"Holloa! what is the matter?"
A feeble groan responded.
"Where are you?" he cried.
Again a moan.
It was more than decent, although half-drunken, humanity could resist.He turned back in the direction of the railway a few steps. Then hepaused, and once more a dismal sound greeted his ear.
"Some poor fellow," the traveller said to himself, "must be lying on therailway in a dying state. What can I do? The nearest station, B----, is_two_ miles away; the nearest house is two miles. Still, I must findwhere he is lying, and what is the matter with him, and do what I can tohelp him."
This resolution taken, he walked back, ever and anon pausing to listen,and now and then guided by the plaintive cry of agony.
At length, after reaching the gate which abutted on the railway, hepaused and listened for another cry to guide him in turning right orleft. A moment supplied the indication he required. He turned to theleft, and proceeded rapidly a distance of three hundred yards, when hemet an obstruction to his course, against which he stumbled. A shriek,or something like it, followed. It was that of a prostrate man whosevoice he had so frequently heard.
Mr. Freeling bent over the poor sufferer, and learnt enough to satisfyhimself that an accident had happened to this man on the railway, andthat medical assistance and attention were required.
The situation and its incidents had a beneficial effect upon theintoxicated man,--they roused his senses. In five minutes he was assober as he had ever been in his life. Carefully removing the limbs ofthe prostrate body out of the way of further immediate danger, he ranalong the course of the railway until he reached a station, where helearnt the particulars of a collision; but was informed that all thepassengers had been removed, most of them, if not all, being well enoughto proceed on their journey to their respective homes. He insisted thatthere must have been at least one exception to this rule, which theofficials at the station had not observed; and they did not require anyfurther proof of their oversight than that he supplied.
With lanterns, and with the means of removing the wounded passenger, twoporters, and two other men who were pressed into the service, walkedwith our friend to the spot where he had found the injured man.
He was still lying there, moaning and groaning with greater vigour thanbefore. He was lifted with all the gentleness the four bearers werecapable of, and carried by stages along the line back again to thestation.
It was fortunate that, closely adjacent to this station, there was anhotel--a small, unpretentious establishment, which nobody who wasperfectly master of his own actions would think of selecting for atemporary abode if he had the means of paying for his entertainment andrefreshment elsewhere. Such as it was, however, it was deemed expedientto rest the burden under its shelter. The poor man was carried into thehostelry, and placed on a cosy bed, that formed the leading part of thefurniture of a best bedroom.
He now rallied. He called for brandy, and was supplied with a smallportion of a liquor probably distilled from potatoes in London, butretailed as the finest cognac.
The liquor seemed to have a good effect on the wounded traveller. Aftera few minutes' consciousness, articulation was restored under its genialinfluence. He asked one of the people in attendance to take from hisbreast-pocket a pocket-book, and from that pocket-book to take out aletter, the envelope of which gave his address:
"_Mr. Ephraham Sweetman_,
"19 ---- _Street, Pimlico_."
The injured traveller was able to sustain a brief conversation.
"Is this your address, my good man?"
"Yes," was the feeble reply.
"Are you very much injured?"
"Yes," was again slowly and faintly articulated.
"Are these your name and address?" was asked by another person; and theinterrogator held before the eyes of the wounded passenger the envelopeof the letter extracted from his pocket.
A smile was accepted as a reply in the affirmative.
"We had better send for Dr. Scalpel," observed a railway-porter to anagricultural labourer.
The poor fellow's face betrayed signs of evident dissatisfaction. Hedropped his head, as if fainting.
"We had better send for the doctor."
"No," escaped from the lips of the man upon the bed.
"What can we do?" exclaimed another of the party.
"Dr. Jones," the wounded man hurriedly but faintly exclaimed.
"Can you tell us where he lives?"
No reply was immediately given; and as the poor fellow seemed unable tobear the weight of his own chest and brain, they laid his head upon thepillow.
The station-master, who had been awakened from his natural sleep, nowentered the room; and having been informed what had taken place, heasked for the London Directory, which, by another happy circumstance,formed part of the furniture of the hotel. It was so discovered that inthe street in which the poor fellow had been ascertained to dwell, one"Anthony Jones, M.R.C.S.," also had a local habitation--about twentydoors from his own patient's residence.
Dr. Jones was accordingly telegraphed for, and informed when the nextdown-train started from London.
Dr. Jones was an attentive man, and on receipt of the message he lost notime in repairing to the station where his neighbour was deposited.
On his arrival the patient revived a little, and on seeing th
e face ofhis own medical man he recovered sufficiently to indicate that the painproceeded from the neighbourhood of his ribs.
The surgeon desired the men to leave, and asked for the assistance of awoman until morning. Again the beneficent telegraph was made use of. Amessage sent to London requested Mrs. Brandyface, who lived somewherein Pimlico, to come down to the B---- Station Hotel, informing her atwhat time the next train started from London in the morning.
These directions having been given, and the clothes of the unfortunatepatient having been cut and torn off his body, he was put to bed, andmade as comfortable as might be--the doctor administering something in atumbler of water from a bottle which he carried in his pocket. He thentold the woman of the house that she might retire after supplying himwith some more of the London cognac before mentioned, for his own useduring the night. The doctor sat up with his patient until Mrs.Brandyface arrived in the morning, when he handed him over to the careand attention of his own nurse.
Next morning Dr. Attrabilious, chief medical officer and surgeonextraordinary to the railway company, also came down by express train tosee what he could do in the way of restoring the patient's health,patching up his wounds, and--most important of all--making anarrangement for compensation by the company, whom he served in the dualcapacity of doctor and compensation negotiator, when the negligence oftheir servants had caused any mischief.
Dr. Attrabilious was of course admitted to the patient's bedside, to theevident dissatisfaction of his faithful nurse. The patient, however,would have nothing to say to him when he had explained that he came onbehalf of the railway company. The poor fellow declared that nobodyshould attend him but his own regular medical man or surgeon. In vainDr. Attrabilious pressed his services. The damaged passenger manifestedan aversion to receive his attentions; and the nurse said she thought itwas not right to force himself on the helpless gentleman when he was notwanted, as Dr. Jones was known to all Pimlico, if not all the world, asa very clever man.
This scene tended to disturb the patient's equanimity. The outrage ofthe nurse's feelings, or it might be prejudices, led to the discomfitureof Dr. Attrabilious, who was pushed out of the room amid a torrent ofabuse for trying to kill the sufferer by impertinent officiousness. Dr.Attrabilious left the place in dudgeon, with all the humility of one whofelt himself snubbed to the last extent and very nearly extinguished.
Dr. Jones telegraphed about mid-day to state that pressing engagementswould not permit him to reach the village again until towards evening;but that in the mean time he would send--and he did send by the nexttrain--a small parcel of medicine.
The patient was attended with all possible care by Mrs. Brandyface andDr. Jones for several days, when, on request to the company, a specialtrain was provided, and in a carriage well supplied with all that couldgive ease to the invalid traveller he was removed to London and taken tohis own house.
After some time, perhaps about a month, the patient was sufficientlyrestored to health to go about his ordinary business, whatever that mayhave been. A letter was sent by his solicitor to the company demandinga good round sum as compensation for three broken ribs, sundrycontusions, permanent damage to the animal economy of the sufferer, andhis past and future detriment in business. The company made an offer of25_l._ in settlement, which was declined. A writ was issued out of theCourt of Queen's Bench. The company defended the proceedings which weretaken, and the action was ultimately set down for trial.
At the trial, Mr. Capulet Attic, Q.C., appeared as the leading counselfor the plaintiff, and in the course of his opening speech very clearlystated the facts already narrated. He dwelt with considerable emphasisupon the negligence of the company's servants, not only in allowing theaccident to occur, which he said arose from the most patent and thegrossest carelessness, but also for the, if possible, still greater andstill more unpardonable negligence in allowing his unfortunate clientthe plaintiff to remain upon the ground for so many hours withoutattendance. He referred to the accidental detention of Mr. Freeling overhis friend's dinner-table, and his journey homewards across the railway,which the eloquent lawyer called a special interposition of Providence,and without which his unfortunate client, the plaintiff, would in allprobability have died a lingering death from cold, damp, and hunger. Hebitterly censured the company for the employment of Dr. Attrabilious,not alone as a medical attendant, in order to dispense mercy to thewounded or injured plaintiff, but also no doubt for a purpose that he,Dr. Attrabilious, had frequently been employed to serve,--namely,effecting a compromise between the plaintiff and the company. Hefurther condemned, in bitter terms, the shabby and mean offer ofcompromise which, since the action had been threatened, was made by thedirectors through their solicitor. Lastly, he confidently appealed tothe jury to bestow upon his unfortunate client substantial damages; andsat down smiling confidently to the jurymen, as if he expected to obtainall that he had asked.
Of the evidence it is needless to speak at length. The gentleman whofound the unfortunate plaintiff described, like a perfectly honest andworthy man, the condition in which he was at the time. Thecross-examination of this witness was almost a matter of form. How couldany thing be expected from him in that way that would not strengthen theplaintiff's case? He was a perfectly honest and impartial man. He wasindeed the witness of the truth as far as in him lay. The doctor and thenurse in attendance upon the plaintiff also gave their evidence veryclearly, although endeavours were made somewhat to shake theirtestimony, and to prove that the injuries had not been so severe as wasrepresented. Still not much was done by the defence, and it may be saidthat the plaintiff made out his case.
The defendants' counsel, Mr. Pompous Blower, Q.C., made an energeticappeal to the court and jury; but what could he make out on their behalfin such a case? The most he could do was to throw back the taunts of hislearned friend Mr. Capulet Attic, and proclaim, in sonorous and roundperiods, the philanthropic character of the corporation he represented.He defended Dr. Attrabilious, or at least inveighed against thecondemnation of that scientific gentleman in his absence. The learnedcounsel denied that Dr. Attrabilious had ever been so employed as wasrepresented, and contended that the company had no other object insending him to the bedside of the smashed or mutilated traveller ontheir line, than to relieve his pain and do the best he could for thesufferer. Dr. Attrabilious was not, however, called as a witness for thedefence, and the plaintiff of course did not want him; so theallegation, that the doctor had on former occasions played the part ofnegotiator in the settlement of claims against his masters, did notreceive such a contradiction as it might have had, and it might havebeen desirable for them to render.
The judge summed up, and said that it appeared to him very like anundefended cause; but he urged the jury not to suffer their judgment tobe led captive by the eloquence of Mr. Capulet Attic, who had, however,acted in all respects very properly for the plaintiff, in so trying torun away with their senses. The plaintiff seemed to be entitled, almoston the admission of the company, to fair and reasonable compensation;but that was all. The presumed wealth of a great corporation likethe ---- Railway Company was not a fact that should lay them open toextortion, and he would tell the jury that excessive damages might bearthe complexion of meditated or of unconscious injustice.
The jury rose in their box, turned round face to face, had a little tosay to one another during perhaps two or three minutes' time, and thenreturned a verdict for the plaintiff, with 500_l._ damages.
The company was somewhat taken aback by the largeness of these damages.The truth is, their case had not been got up so patiently and carefullyas it might have been. A proper investigation into the antecedents andmode of life of the plaintiff, by any moderately intelligent lawyer'sclerk, would have enabled them to lay such facts before the jury as musthave reduced his claim to less than one-fifth of the amount he got,--ifsuch inquiry had not led the investigator into a track for entirelyexploding the plaintiff's case.
The defendants, as a random experiment, determined to move f
or a newtrial in this case. A rule absolute for a new trial was granted, uponcondition that they brought into court enough money to abide the eventof such new trial--that is to say, to cover damages and costs. Therailway company had before now derived immense advantages by delay, andwere hopeful that time would bring some advantage in this case--as itdid.
The success which had attended my investigations on former occasions ina somewhat similar case or two, led to my being employed on the present.
I had not much difficulty in effecting my object. I had several clues tothe parties. I almost suspected, from the nature of the case, that theaffair was altogether a conspiracy to defraud the company--and I wasright in my suspicions.
The plaintiff had not been injured. The collision had taken place sometime before his arrival on the spot. The principal guard of the train inwhich the collision took place was in the swindle. He professed totelegraph on behalf of a passenger who had been somewhat bruised to afriend in London, which message (in order to divert suspicion) ran thus:"Collision at B----. I am not hurt. All right." Upon this hint theplaintiff hastily communicated with one or two of his companions in suchfrauds, and hastened down to the spot in a gig hired from a liverystable. The vehicle deposited him about a mile from the place where theaccident occurred, which had, in the mean time, been ascertained withprecision. The gig was then driven back by a companion, and theplaintiff slunk off to the margin of the line, and waited for anopportunity to sigh and groan with advantage.
The return home of Mr. Freeling, who had been seen by the watchfulswindler, supplied the opportunity he wanted; and the plaintiffaccordingly made the noises already described, which attracted theattention of that gentleman. Of course the scoundrel knew that therailway company would, as usual, send their doctor. He knew how to getover that little difficulty. He had his confederates, and he knew how tomake the most of the unscrupulous tactics of the company in dealing withthe real victims of railway collisions. He saw that he could turn Dr.Attrabilious's visit to good account by supplying it to Mr. CapuletAttic as one of the pegs for an oratorical display. The Dr. Jones whowas sent for was a confederate. He belonged to the gang, and of coursewould have shared the spoil. The nurse was also in the swindle. Thearrangement for the division of the spoil remunerated her more liberallythan nurses are generally paid for their services. In fact the wholething was a conspiracy.
I laid all these circumstances before the company's solicitors in myreport. It was, however, resolved, as we had the whole set clearly inour grasp, not to arrest them immediately, but to await the progress ofevents, and see if the next combination of the gang for a like purposedid not reveal to us a few more of its members. It did so. I discoveredthat the doctor in attendance upon a damaged railway traveller inLancashire, about two months afterwards, and the plaintiff in the firstcase, visited as friends the intended plaintiff in the second place.Just as our plans were ripe for execution, we were, however, forestalledby the arrest of five members of the dangerous confederacy on twogigantic cases--one for forgery, and the rest for a great railwayrobbery, which had been suddenly disclosed to the police authorities bya wretch who craved vengeance upon an associate in the gang because hehad been successful in carrying off the affections of "a lady" with whomthe informer had cohabited. Of these men captured, all were found guiltyon the strongest testimony, got at through the informer by officers wholaid traps under his guidance, and by surrounding circumstances to whichhe had assisted them. One of the parties to my action--that is, thedoctor--made good his escape. I believe he went to America.