Mr. Losberne and Oliver

Mr. Losberne, the surgeon of Chertsey, enters Oliver Twist's life at the boy's most desperate moment and becomes, within hours, his most energetic medical defender and a lifelong friend. Known throughout a circuit of ten miles as "the doctor," he is a fat, good-humored, and eccentric old bachelor whose impulsive kindness and professional authority prove decisive in saving Oliver from both death and the gallows. From the moment he is summoned to the Maylie house after the burglary, he acts not merely as a physician but as a strategist, a bully of frightened servants, and a fierce advocate for the wounded child, forging a bond that lasts well into Oliver's happy adulthood.

Medical Rescue and the Invention of a Cover Story

When Mr. Giles and Brittles bring the bleeding, unconscious Oliver into the Maylie house, it is Mr. Losberne who takes charge. He examines the boy, finds a bullet wound, and immediately sets the broken arm, binding and splintering it. The doctor is absent much longer than expected, sending for a large flat box from his gig and ringing the bedroom bell repeatedly, causing the servants to run up and down in agitation. When he finally returns to the anxious ladies, he closes the door carefully and declares the case "a very extraordinary thing." He insists that Mrs. Maylie and Rose see the patient, leading them upstairs with ceremony. When they behold not a hardened ruffian but a mere child, worn and asleep, the doctor replaces the curtain and delivers a grave warning: "Vice takes up her abode in many temples; and who can say that a fair outside shell not enshrine her?" Yet he immediately devises a plan to save the boy. He bullies Mr. Giles and Brittles into doubting their own identification, extracting from them a confession that they cannot swear Oliver is the thief. He then presents the officers Blathers and Duff with a fabricated story: that Oliver was accidentally wounded by a spring-gun while trespassing on a neighbor's grounds and came to the house for help. To make the story stick, he has secretly removed the ball from the pistol Giles fired, so that when the officers examine the fellow weapon, it proves to contain only gunpowder and brown paper. This discovery makes a profound impression on everyone but the doctor, who has already drawn the ball. His quick thinking and willingness to bend the truth—acting on impulse, as he always does—secure Oliver's release into the custody of Mrs. Maylie and himself.

The Journey to London and a Disappointment

Once Oliver is strong enough to travel, Mr. Losberne accompanies him on an expedition to London to find Mr. Brownlow. As their carriage crosses Chertsey Bridge, Oliver turns pale and points to a house—the very one where the thieves had taken him. The doctor, acting on his characteristic impulse, tumbles out of the coach before it has stopped and begins kicking at the door like a madman. A little ugly hump-backed man opens it, and the doctor collars him, demanding to know where Sikes is. The hump-backed man, after a violent struggle, proves to be a stranger who has lived there alone for twenty-five years; the interior bears no resemblance to Oliver's description. The doctor, realizing his mistake, mutters "Stupid enough, this" and flings the man a piece of money. On the drive back, he calls himself an ass and reflects that even if he had found the right place, he could have done nothing alone except expose his own hushing-up of the burglary. Yet this failure does not shake his belief in Oliver; finding that the boy's answers remain consistent and sincere, he makes up his mind to attach full credence to them from that time forth. When they reach Mr. Brownlow's street and discover the house empty—the old gentleman has gone to the West Indies—Oliver is crushed. The doctor, seeing the boy's grief, turns the carriage homeward and refuses to let him visit the book-stall keeper, saying, "My poor boy, this is disappointment enough for one day."

Defender in the Crisis of Rose's Illness

When Rose Maylie falls dangerously ill with a high fever, Mr. Losberne is summoned from Chertsey. He arrives late at night and, after examining her, turns away with the words, "It is hard; so young; so much beloved; but there is very little hope." Yet he does not abandon the case. He remains in constant attendance, and when the crisis finally passes and Rose begins to recover, it is the doctor who brings the joyful news to the anxious household. He tells Mrs. Maylie, with passionate conviction, "As He is good and merciful, she will live to bless us all, for years to come." Throughout the ordeal, he supports the family with his characteristic good humor, telling jokes and sharing professional recollections that make even the worried Harry Maylie laugh. His presence provides a steadying influence during the most harrowing days of the household's life.

The Council and the Final Resolution

After Nancy's secret interview with Rose, Mr. Losberne is brought into the conspiracy. When he learns Nancy's story, his first impulse is to pour forth threats and execrations, and he actually puts on his hat to go and fetch Blathers and Duff. Only the combined restraint of Mr. Brownlow and the arguments of the others prevent him from acting on this hot-headed plan. He is persuaded to wait, and when the council of friends is formed to pursue the mystery of Oliver's parentage, the doctor is a full participant. He later accompanies the party to Oliver's native town, where the final revelations are made. After the happy resolution—the marriage of Harry Maylie and Rose, the adoption of Oliver by Mr. Brownlow—the doctor returns to Chertsey. But he finds the place no longer what it was without his friends, so he settles his business on his assistant, takes a bachelor's cottage outside the village where Harry is pastor, and instantly recovers his spirits. He takes up gardening, planting, fishing, and carpentering with characteristic impetuosity, becoming famous throughout the neighborhood as a most profound authority in each. He also forms a strong friendship with Mr. Grimwig, who visits him often, and the two engage in all manner of singular projects. On Sundays, Mr. Grimwig never fails to criticize the young clergyman's sermon to his face, while privately telling the doctor it is excellent. The doctor thus ends his days in contented proximity to the family he helped to save, a permanent and beloved member of the little society that approaches "as nearly to one of perfect happiness as can ever be known in this changing world."