“No,” said he. “I am sick
of all that rubbish!” He certainly is a wonderfully
interesting study. I wish I could get some glimpse
of his mind or of the cause of his sudden passion.
Stop. There may be a clue after all, if we
can find why today his paroxysms came on at high noon
and at sunset. Can it be that there is a malign
influence of the sun at periods which affects certain
natures, as at times the moon does others? We
shall see.
“4 September.—Patient still better
today.”
“5 September.—Patient greatly improved.
Good appetite, sleeps naturally, good spirits, colour
coming back.”
“6 September.—Terrible change for
the worse. Come at once. Do not lose an
hour. I hold over telegram to Holmwood till
have seen you.”
LETTER, DR. SEWARD TO HON. ARTHUR HOLMWOOD
6 September
“My dear Art,
“My news today is not so good. Lucy this
morning had gone back a bit. There is, however,
one good thing which has arisen from it. Mrs.
Westenra was naturally anxious concerning Lucy, and
has consulted me professionally about her. I
took advantage of the opportunity, and told her that
my old master, Van Helsing, the great specialist,
was coming to stay with me, and that I would put her
in his charge conjointly with myself. So now
we can come and go without alarming her unduly, for
a shock to her would mean sudden death, and this,
in Lucy’s weak condition, might be disastrous
to her. We are hedged in with difficulties,
all of us, my poor fellow, but, please God, we shall
come through them all right. If any need I shall
write, so that, if you do not hear from me, take it
for granted that I am simply waiting for news, In
haste,
“Yours ever,”
John Seward
7 September.—The first thing Van Helsing
said to me when we met at Liverpool Street was, “Have
you said anything to our young friend, to lover of
her?”
“No,” I said. “I waited till
I had seen you, as I said in my telegram. I
wrote him a letter simply telling him that you were
coming, as Miss Westenra was not so well, and that
I should let him know if need be.”
