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Reade, Charles, 1814-1884

"A Terrible Temptation A Story of To-Day"

"
"Oh, sir, I am so glad of that!"
"Far from that: you will act defensively. Mr. Bassett has one chance;
you must be the person to extinguish it. Injudicious treatment in the
asylum might retard Sir Charles's cure; their leeches and their
sedatives, administered by sucking apothecaries, who reason it _a
priori,_ instead of watching the effect of these things on the patient,
might seriously injure your husband, for his disorder is connected with
a weak circulation of blood in the vessels of the brain. We must
therefore guard against that at once. To work, then. Who keeps this
famous asylum?"
"Dr. Suaby."
"Suaby? I know that name. He has been here, I think. I must look in my
Index rerum et hominum. Suaby? Not down. Try Asyla.--Asyla; 'Suaby: see
letter-book for the year--, p. 368.' An old letter-book. I must go
elsewhere for that."
He went out, and after some time returned with a folio letter-book.
"Here are two letters to me from Dr. Suaby, detailing his system and
inviting me to spend a week at his asylum. Come, come; Sir Charles is
with a man who does not fear inspection; for at this date I was bitter
against private asylums--rather indiscriminately so, I fear. Stay! he
visited me; I thought so. Here's a description of him: 'A pale,
thoughtful man, with a remarkably mild eye: is against restraint of
lunatics, and against all punishment of them--Quixotically so.


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