Was very rough and harsh in manner. He said to a patient, to whom
he had been very rude, "_Sir, it is my way_."--"Then," replied the
patient, pointing to the door, "I beg you will make _that your way_."
Sir Richard was not very nice in his mode of expression, and would
frequently astonish a patient with a volley of oaths. Nothing used to
make him swear more than the eternal question, "What may I eat? Pray,
Sir Richard, may I eat a muffin?"--"Yes, Madam, the _best thing_ you
can take."--"O dear! I am glad of that. But, Sir Richard, you told
me the other day that it was the _worst_ thing I could eat!"--"What
would be proper for me to eat to-day?" says another lady.--"Boiled
turnips."--"Boiled turnips! you forget, Sir Richard, I told you I
could not bear boiled turnips."--"Then, Madam, you must have
a--vitiated appetite."
Sir Richard, being called to see a patient who fancied himself very
ill, told him ingenuously what he thought, and declined prescribing,
thinking it unnecessary. "Now you are here," said the patient, "I
shall be obliged to you, Sir Richard, if you will tell me how I must
live, what I may eat, and what not."--"My directions as to that
point," replied Sir Richard, "will be few and simple. You must not eat
the poker, shovel, or tongs, for they are hard of digestion; nor the
bellows, because they are windy; but any thing else you please!"
He was first cousin to Dr. John Jebb, who had been a dissenting
minister, well known for his political opinions and writings. His
Majesty George III. used sometimes to talk to Sir Richard concerning
his cousin; and once, more particularly, spoke of his restless,
reforming spirit in the church, in the university, physic, &c. "And
please your Majesty," replied Sir Richard, "if my cousin were in
heaven he would be a reformer!"--_Wadd's Memoirs._
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