Detective and mystery stories; English fiction -- 19th century
I was in attendance on the late Mrs. Anderton during the illness which
terminated fatally on the 12th October, 1856. I was first sent for
by Mr. Anderton, on the night of the 5th of April[1] in that year.
I found her suffering apparently from a slight attack of English
cholera, but was unable to ascertain any cause to which it might be
attributed. There was nothing to lead to any suspicion of poisoning,
indeed this seemed to be rendered almost impossible by the length of
time that had elapsed since the last time of taking food and that at
which the attack commenced. This was at least three or four hours;
whereas, had the symptoms arisen from the action of any poisonous
substance, they would have shown themselves much earlier. This is only
my impression from after consideration. No idea of poison occurred
to me at the time, nor should I now entertain any were I called in
to a similar case. I prescribed the usual remedies for the complaint
under which I supposed Mrs. Anderton to be suffering. They appeared to
have their effect, though not so rapidly as I should have expected.
The symptoms appeared rather to wear themselves out. I visited her
several times, as the debility which ensued seemed greater than, under
ordinary circumstances, should have followed on such an attack. About
a fortnight later she had a fresh seizure, of a very similar kind.
This time, however, the symptoms were aggravated, and accompanied by
others of a more alarming character. Of these the most conspicuous
were nausea, vomiting, violent perspiration, and increasing tendency
to diarrhoea. The patient also complained of great sinking of the
heart, and of a terrible lowness of spirits, almost amounting to a
conviction that death was at hand. In the course of another fortnight
or three weeks there was a fresh recurrence of the symptoms. The
tongue, which in the former attacks had been clammy and dry, was now
covered thickly with dirty mucus, and there was a greatly increased
flow of saliva. The condition of the tongue became greatly aggravated
as the disease progressed, the mouth and throat becoming ultimately
very sore, with great constriction of the latter. The abdomen was
distended, and very tender to the touch, the liver also being very
full and tender. Pulse low and rapid, decreasing in fulness as the
disease progressed, and reaching finally to 130 or 140; and the
depression of spirits and sinking at the heart considerably increased.
The patient appeared to be daily losing strength, and at each attack,
which seemed to return periodically at intervals of about a fortnight,
the same symptoms appeared more severely than before. Mr. Anderton
seemed to be in the deepest distress. From the time when the symptoms
first became serious, he hardly ever left her side, administering
both food and medicine with his own hand. So far as I am aware, Mrs.
Anderton took nothing of any kind from any other person throughout the
greater portion of her illness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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