"When a man has periodical attacks of petit mal, would it not be possible, by observation of him between the attacks, or when he was suffering from the attacks, to tell whether he had a tendency to them?" "No, only in a very few and exceptional cases." "In your opinion epilepsy is an hereditary disease?" "Undoubtedly." "Are you aware that certain eminent French specialists, including Marie, are of the opinion that hereditary influences play a very small part in epilepsy?" "That may be." Sir Henry dismissed the views of the French specialists with a condescending wave of his fat white hand. "That does not alter your own opinion?" "Certainly not." "And do you say that because this man's mother suffered from epilepsy the chances are that he is suffering from it?" "Pardon me, I said nothing of the kind. I think the chances are that he would have a highly organised nervous system, and would probably suffer from some nervous disease. In the case of the prisoner, I should say that shell-shock increased his predisposition to epilepsy." "Do you suggest that shell-shock leads to epilepsy?" "In general, no; in this particular case, possibly. A man may have shell-shock, and injury to the brain, which is not necessarily epileptic." "It is possible for shell-shock alone to lead to a subsequent attack of insanity?" asked the judge. "It is possible--certainly." "How often do these attacks of petit mal occur?" asked Sir Herbert. "They vary considerably according to the patient--sometimes once a week, sometimes monthly, and there have been cases in which the attacks are separated by months." "Are not two attacks in twenty-four hours unprecedented?" "Unusual, but not unprecedented. The excitement of going from one place to another, and walking miles to get there, would be a predisposing factor. Prisoner would have been suffering from the effects of the first attack when he left the Durrington hotel, and the excitement of the change and the fatigue of walking all day would have been very prejudicial to him, and account for the second and more violent attack." "How long do the after effects last--of an attack of petit mal, I mean." "It depends on the violence of the attack. Sometimes as long as five or six hours. The recovery is generally attended with general lassitude." "There is no evidence to show that the prisoner displayed any symptoms of epilepsy before the attack which you witnessed at the Durrington hotel. Is it not unusual for a person to reach the age of twenty-eight or thereabouts without showing any previous signs of a disease like epilepsy?" "There must be a first attack--that goes without saying," interposed the judge testily. That concluded the cross-examination. Mr. Middleheath, in re-examination, asked Sir Henry whether foam at the lips was a distinguishing mark of epilepsy. "It generally indicates an epileptic tendency," replied Sir Henry Durwood.