Читать книгу Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters - Daniel Stashower, Исмаил Шихлы - Страница 140

We have both been misjudging Budd in accusing him of romancing. His income may not be exactly 3000, but it certainly cannot be very far off it. He has, as I think I told you, an extraordinary manner, unlike any man that ever was born, and is uncommonly clever too, treating all his cases in an entirely original manner. He managed when he came first to get a few cases which had been discharged from the Infirmary as incurable, and managed to make good jobs of them all; this got into the papers and began to attract people. Then the other medicals began to get jealous; Budd has always had a curious objection to putting his name in the Directory. These fellows noticed the omission and at once published a report that he was an American herbalist. Budd of course at once responded by a notice in the papers that he would show any man his diplomas who called between certain hours—from that day to this his surgery has been crammed. This place is his private residence now & all the business is done at Durnford Street. I know how the thing is done now as I was along there this morning. He went at eleven, and there were three very large waiting rooms chock full of patients—these patients each had a ticket with the number of his turn to see Budd upon it. If any man wanted to go out of his turn he had to pay 10/6, when he had the privilege of passing over the heads of all the people before him. The first seven people who came up to see him this morning all paid their 10/6. Budd says he will be busy with the rest until 6 o’clock tonight taking shillings and half crowns as hard as he can go. Then he comes home to dinner and is free for the remainder of the evening. He does absolutely no work upon either Saturday or Sunday so that he has an uncommonly easy time. Mrs Budd, a pretty slim little girl, does all the dispensing (and very well too). His idea for me now is that we should join and charge families 2 guineas a year for all medical expenses. He says he could get 15000 families to join giving £30,000 per annum, but it strikes me as being rather thin, though really after his extraordinary success hitherto it is hard to say what is possible and what is not.

A letter to his mother was even more effusive: