neglected fountain had overflowed, to the door of the house. It was

not opened immediately, in answer to the ringing of the bell, and

one of my two conductors struck the man who opened it, with his

heavy riding-glove, across the face.

“There was nothing in this action to attract my particular

attention, for I had seen common people struck more commonly

than dogs. But, the other of the two, being angry likewise, struck

the man in like manner with his arm; the look and bearing of the

brothers were then so exactly alike, that I then first perceived

them to be twin brothers.

“From the time of our alighting at the outer gate (which we

found locked, and which one of the brothers had opened to admit

us, and had relocked), I had heard cries proceeding from an upper

Charles Dickens ElecBook Classics

chamber. I was conducted to this chamber straight, the cries

growing louder as we ascended the stairs, and I found a patient in

a high fever of the brain, lying on a bed.

“The patient was a woman of great beauty, and young;

assuredly not much past twenty. Her hair was torn and ragged,

and her arms were bound to her sides with sashes and

handkerchiefs. I noticed that these bonds were all portions of a

gentleman’s dress. On one of them, which was a fringed scarf for a

dress ceremony, I saw the armorial bearings of a Noble, and the

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.’

“‘She has a husband, a father, and a brother?’

“‘A brother.’

“‘I do not address her brother?’