letter E.

“I saw this, within the first minute of my contemplation of the

patient; for, in her restless strivings she had turned over on her

face on the edge of the bed, had drawn the end of the scarf into

her mouth, and was in danger of suffocation. My first act was to

put out my hand to relieve her breathing; and in moving the scarf

aside, the embroidery in the corner caught my sight.

“I turned her gently over, placed my hands upon her breast to

calm her and keep her down, and looked into her face. Her eyes

were dilated and wild, and she constantly uttered piercing shrieks,

and repeated the words, ‘My husband, my father, and my brother!’

and then counted up to twelve, and said, ‘Hush!’ For an instant,

and no more, she would pause to listen, and then the piercing

shrieks would begin again, and she would repeat the cry, ‘My

husband, my father, and my brother!’ and would count up to

twelve, and say ‘Hush!’ There was no variation in the order, or the

manner. There was no cessation, but the regular moment’s pause,

in the utterance of these sounds.

“‘How long,’ I asked, ‘has this lasted?’

“To distinguish the brothers, I will call them the elder and the

Charles Dickens ElecBook Classics

younger; by the elder, I mean, him who exercised the most

authority. It was the elder who replied, ‘Since about this hour last

night.’