ng study so long as she
was under the influence of a dominating idea. Her case might now
degenerate into one of common apathy such as Cutter had seen hundreds of
times. There would be nothing to be done but to try the usual methods,
with the usual unsatisfactory results, abandoning her at last to the
care of her relations and nurses as a hopeless idiot.

But Professor Cutter was not destined to such a disappointment. His
patient recovered in a way which was new to him, and he realized that in
losing his former case he had found one even more interesting. She was
apathetic, indeed, in a certain degree, and did not appear to understand
everything that was said to her, but this was the only sign of any
degeneracy. She never again addressed by name either the professor or
her maid, and never spoke except to express her wants, which she did in
few words, and very concisely and correctly. Nothing would induce her,
in conversation, to make any answer save a simple yes or no, and Cutter
was struck by the fact that her color ceased to change when he spoke of
Alexander. This, he thought, showed that she no longer associated any
painful idea with the name of her lost son. But there were none of the
signs of a softening brain,--no foolish ravings, nor any expressed
desire to do anything not perfectly rational. She accomplished the
journey with evident comfort, and was evidently delighted at the
beautiful sights she saw on the way, though she said nothing, but only
smiled and looked pleased. Her habitual expression was one of calm
melancholy. Her features wore a sad but placid expression, and she
appeared to thrive in health, and to be better than when the professor
had first known her. She was more scrupulous than ever about her
appearance, and there was an almost unnatural perfection in her dress
and in her calm and graceful manner. Cutter was puzzled. With these
symptoms he would have expected some apparent delusion on one point. But
he could detect nothing of the kind, and he exhausted his theories in
trying to find out what particular form of insanity afflicted her. He
could see nothing and define nothing, save her absolute refusal to talk.
She asked for what she wanted, or got it for herself, and she answered
readily yes and no to direct questions. Gradually, as they traveled by
short stages, drawing near to their destination, Cutter altogether lost
the habit of talking to her, and almost ceased to notice her one
peculiarity.