Mr. Quincey Morris, of Texas; Mr. Renfield.« He shook hands with each
of them, saying in turn: -
    »Lord Godalming, I had the honour of seconding your father at the Windham; I
grieve to know, by your holding the title, that he is no more. He was a man
loved and honoured by all who knew him; and in his youth was, I have heard, the
inventor of a burnt rum punch, much patronised on Derby night. Mr. Morris, you
should be proud of your great state. Its reception into the Union was a
precedent which may have far-reaching effects hereafter, when the Pole and the
Tropics may hold allegiance to the Stars and Stripes. The power of Treaty may
yet prove a vast engine of enlargement, when the Monroe doctrine takes its true
place as a political fable. What shall any man say of his pleasure at meeting
Van Helsing? Sir, I make no apology for dropping all forms of conventional
prefix. When an individual has revolutionised therapeutics by his discovery of
the continuous evolution of brain-matter, conventional forms are unfitting,
since they would seem to limit him to one of a class. You gentlemen, who by
nationality, by heredity, or by the possession of natural gifts, are fitted to
hold your respective places in the moving world, I take to witness that I am as
sane as at least the majority of men who are in full possession of their
liberties. And I am sure that you, Dr. Seward, humanitarian and medico-jurist as
well as scientist, will deem it a moral duty to deal with me as one to be
considered as under exceptional circumstances.« He made this last appeal with a
courtly air of conviction which was not without its own charm.
    I think we were all staggered. For my own part, I was under the conviction,
despite my knowledge of the man's character and history, that his reason had
been restored; and I felt under a strong impulse to tell him that I was
satisfied as to his sanity, and would see about the necessary formalities for
his release in the morning. I thought it better to wait, however, before making
so grave a statement, for of old I knew the sudden changes to which this
particular patient was liable. So I contented myself with making a general
statement that he appeared to be improving very rapidly; that I would have a
longer chat with him in the morning, and would then see what I could do in the
direction of meeting his wishes. This did not at all