gree of insensibility took place. I seized this
opportunity to examine the region of the heart, which had not been
done before, from fear of alarming the active and irritable mind of
the patient. The heart was perceived palpitating, obscurely, about the
7th and 8th ribs; its movements were very irregular, and consisted in
one full stroke, followed by two or three indistinct strokes, and
sometimes by an intermission, corresponding with the pulse at each
wrist. The pulsation was felt more distinctly in the epigastric
region. During this paroxysm a recumbent posture was very uneasy, and
the patient uniformly preferred sitting in a chair. When the recumbent
posture was assumed, the head was much raised, inclined to the right
side, and supported by the hand; the knees were drawn up as much as
possible. He could not bear an horizontal posture; nor did he ever
lie on the left side, except a short time after the application of a
blister. At the end of the fifth day his sufferings abated, but the
sudden affusion of a small portion of a cold liquid on the head
produced a severe fit of epilepsy. This was followed by a return of
the symptoms equally distressing, and more durable, than in the first
attack[2].

[Footnote 2: During this time it was thought adviseable to
acquaint his friends, that an organic disease of the heart
existed, which doubtless consisted in an ossification of the
semilunar valves of the aorta, attended, perhaps, by
enlargement of the heart; that the disease was beyond the
reach of art, and would prove fatal within three months,
possibly very soon; that if it lasted so long, it would be
attended by frequent recurrences of those distressing
symptoms, general dropsical affections, and an impaired state
of the mental faculties.]

This violent agitation gradually subsided, and was followed by a
pleasant calm. The natural functions resumed their ordinary course;
his appetite returned; his enjoyment of social intercourse was
unusually great; and he amused and instructed his friends by the
immense treasures of information, which his talents and observations
had afforded him, and which, he seemed to feel, would soon be lost. At
the end of September the feet began to swell, and after some time the
enlargement extended up to the legs and thighs, and increased to an
extraordinary degree; the abdomen next swelled, and, after it, the
face. Toward the end of October there were some