| He made this last appeal with a courtly air of... 78 |
[Jan. 30th, 2010|02:32 am] |
He made this last appeal with a courtly air of conviction which was not without its own charm
I think we were all staggeredFor my own part, I was under the conviction, despite my knowledge of the man's character and history, that his reason had been restored, and I felt under a strong impulse to tell him that I was satisfied as to his sanity, and would see about the necessary formalities for his release in the morningI thought it better to wait, however, before making so grave a statement, for of old I knew the sudden changes to which this particular patient was liableSo I contented myself with making a general statement that he appeared to be improving very rapidly, that I would have a longer chat with him in the morning, and would then see what I could do in the direction of meeting his wishes
This did not at all satisfy him, for he said quickly, "But I fear, DrSeward, that you hardly apprehend my wishI desire to go at once, here, now, this very hour, this very moment, if I mayTime presses, and in our implied agreement with the old scytheman it is of the essence of the contractI am sure it is only necessary to put before so admirable a practitioner as DrSeward so simple, yet so momentous a wish, to ensure its fulfilment
He looked at me keenly, and seeing the negative in my face, turned to the others, and scrutinized them closelyNot meeting any sufficient response, he went on, "Is it possible that I have erred in my supposition?"
"You have," I said frankly, but at the same time, as I felt, brutally
There was a considerable pause, and then he said slowly, "Then I suppose I must only shift my ground of requestLet me ask for this concession, boon, privilege, what you willI am content to implore in such a case, not on personal grounds, but for the sake of othersI am not at liberty to give you the whole of my reasons, but you may, I assure you, take it from me that they are good ones, sound and unselfish, and spring from the highest sense of duty
"Could you look, sir, into my heart, you would approve to the full the sentiments which animate meNay, more, you would count me amongst the best and truest of your friends
Again he looked at us all keenlyI had a growing conviction that this sudden change of his entire intellectual method was but yet another phase of his madness, and so determined to let him go on a little longer, knowing from experience that he would, like all lunatics, give himself away in the endVan Helsing was gazing at him with a look of utmost intensity, his bushy eyebrows almost meeting with the fixed concentration of his lookHe said to Renfield in a tone which did not surprise me at the time, but only when I thought of it afterwards, for it was as of one addressing an equal, "Can you not tell frankly your real reason for wishing to be free tonight? I will undertake that if you will satisfy even me, a stranger, without prejudice, and with the habit of keeping an open mind, DrSeward will give you, at his own risk and on his own responsibility, the privilege you seek
He shook his head sadly, and with a look of poignant regret on his faceThe Professor went on, "Come, sir, bethink yourselfYou claim the privilege of reason in the highest degree, since you seek to impress us with your complete reasonablenessYou do this, whose sanity we have reason to doubt, since you are not yet released from medical treatment for this very defectIf you will not help us in our effort to choose the wisest course, how can we perform the duty which you yourself put upon us? Be wise, and help us, and if we can we shall aid you to achieve your wish
He still shook his head as he said, "DrVan Helsing, I have nothing to sayYour argument is complete, and if I were free to speak I should not hesitate a moment, but I am not my own master in the matterI can only ask you to trust meIf I am refused, the responsibility does not rest with me
I thought it was now time to end the scene, which was becoming too comically grave, so I went towards the door, simply saying, "Come, my friends, we have work to do
As, however, I got near the door, a new change came over the patientHe moved towards me so quickly that for the moment I feared that he was about to make another homicidal attackMy fears, however, were groundless, for he held up his two hands imploringly, and made his petition in a moving mannerAs he saw that the very excess of his emotion was militating against him, by restoring us more to our old relations, he became still more demonstrativeI glanced at Van Helsing, and saw my conviction reflected in his eyes, so I became a little more fixed in my manner, if not more stern, and motioned to him that his efforts were |
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