1849. third story. He was immediately attended by Dr. Delafield and his partner, Dr. Markoe, and by Dr. Johnston as consulting physician. Purgatives and cupping to the temples and head were applied. i. 624, 627, 685, 731.

By this blow, which rendered him unconscious, his mind, of course, was buried. The question is, what degree of resurrection did it afterward attain?

He soon began to exhibit confused consciousness, and was found to be paralyzed on the right side; his life was in danger. Ib.

ii. 681.

The disease proceeded from the brain, and the extent of the disease can be measured by its effects-he was speechless, and, in colloquial language, had lost his mind: in other words, all that made Henry Parish what he had been, beyond his physical existence, died on that day. Ib.

July 20.

i. 632, 739, 742. ii. 681, 687, 719.

If Mrs. Parish had previously known the contents of his will, it is clear that she had not been able to induce a codicil to it giving her the Union Square property. His secrecy in regard to the contents of his will, and her slight acquaintance with his affairs, render it probable that she knew nothing of its contents. Seeing that he might die at any moment, and anxious about the condition in which his death would place her, it is probable she searched among his papers and found his duplicate will, because the duplicate was in her possession immediately after the attack. She then made the discovery, that if that was his last will, and he had made no codicil to it, Daniel and James Parish would stand between her and the property she coveted-the property on Union Square.

Two courses were then open before her: one, friendly and becoming—the other, hostile and dangerous. She might send for the brothers, state to them the effect of her husband's will upon her and upon them (ante, 26), and her desire that she should have the dwelling and conservatory for her residence for life. James, a farmer, would not have taken it for a gift. Daniel, a domestic man, would like it even less than Henry-and no one can reasonably doubt that both would have acquiesced cheerfully in her request. But her Evil Genius-the passions she had nurtured in her fashionable life-would brook no such condescension. She would take the

1849. whole property by force, and accept no part of it by favor. She will accomplish her object now-but the same Evil Genius will lead her on, step by step, by sure and easy descents, into larger and yet larger invasions of her husband's Will, until the mere extent of her grasp will provoke an opposition, which otherwise would have slept, and thereby defeat all her expected acquisitions.

On the very next day after the attack, Mrs. Parish orders Quin, the waiter, not to admit Daniel Parish or any of his sons, or his son-in-law, Mr. Dillon. No mention was made of James, who never came to the city, being nearly blind at home. i. 550. i. 248, 249.

They called frequently, and, being refused, supposed it was all right, a necessary precaution for the benefit of the patient. Ib.

But Henry Delafield saw him every day, and Richard Delafield on the third day.

August 1.

iii. 11. ii. 606.

Dr. Delafield, considering Mr. Parish no longer to be in any immediate or serious danger of death, left town upon his usual vacation of a fortnight. i. 624, 685.

Mr. Kernochan had previously called with Mr. Sherman, but saw him for the first time about the 1st of August. i. 229.

August 2.

Mrs. Parish opens a bank account in her own name with the Phoenix Bank; first deposit, $2,195, obtained from Mr. Folsom or Mr. Kernochan, who proceed, as usual, in the collection of Mr. Parish's revenues, applying them to the reduction of his two notes at the bank (ante, 24).

August 12.

i. 311, 375. iii. 167, 190.

William or Henry Delafield (twins, so alike that neither could well be told from the other) called at the office of Mr. Parish, and told Mr. Folsom that "Mrs. Parish wished him to send up Mr. Parish's trunk to the house, as he wanted it."

Mr. Folsom replied that "Mr. Parish's will and all the evidences of his property are in that trunk, and I don't know that I ought to

1849. give it up." Finally he said, that if Mr. Delafield would give a written order for it, he could have it; which he declined to do. Mr. Folsom's suspicions began to rise.

i. 312.

Mrs. Parish wanted this trunk to see whether it contained a last will, subsequent to the duplicate, then in her possession, or any codicil to it. It might be, that a codicil had been made by Mr. Parish, giving her the Union Square property in fee or for lifeor he might have made a new will since the date of the duplicate. Mr. Parish had lost his mind, and she could not get the information from him. Her brothers, as yet, were slow to enter into her designs. Thus ended her first attempt to get the Will.

August 14.

Mrs. Parish wrote a letter-quite remarkable—to the sisters at Newburg. She had then determined upon her policy-to assert the intelligence of Mr. Parish, and to claim to be the interpreter of the speechless man, specially inspired.

She says: "To those always with him, his mind is clear, and I can generally understand him; but to you, or to any one not accustomed to him since this awful dispensation, perhaps it might be thought it was my mind at fault-so difficult is it to comprehend his language-at first, of course, just as unintelligible to me; but now, thank God, I seem inspired with understanding, and really do comprehend him!"

She closes her letter with the intimation that these sisters, nor Mr. Sherman, can yet see Mr. Parish; but that "when Mr. Sherman comes next to town, she will see him."

August 15.

Dr. Delafield returned to town.

iii. 542.

i. 625.

Mr. Parish was slowly improving in strength, and began to give indications or movements of animal life. These were construed to be evidence of his "anxiety to communicate something," but what they were, or how this "anxiety " was indicated, Dr. Delafield cannot state.

(This was the first step toward the establishment of the plan of attributing to any and every movement of Mr. Parish the desire to communicate something; and that something was always interpreted or found to be just what Mrs. Parish wanted.)

1849.

As Dr. Delafield could not understand his movements, whatever they were, he "tried the experiment whether he could write." (Why, unless he knew the mind was impaired, did he consider it an experiment?) In the presence of Mrs. Parish, he held a book with the fly-leaf open before Mr. Parish, lying in bed, having very little strength, and, in that position, with a lead-pencil in his left hand, he made certain characters on the paper.

"Upon Mrs. Parish seeing them, she somewhat suddenly exclaimed,' WILLS,' with a good deal of emotion, as if it were an unexpected, startling thing to her," says Dr. Delafield; whereas, his Wills were the very thing she wanted, and had been endeavoring to get.

Three or four other trials were then made on separate pieces of paper. The charaters were all of about the same size, threefourths of an inch to an inch long.

(Why were these trials made after the first trial had revealed what Mr. Parish wanted?)

On the next day this experiment was repeated with a slate and slate-pencil. Two trials were made, and he made characters of the same appearance. i. 652, 633, 654, 720-724.

These characters, at which Mrs. Parish exclaimed “ Wills,” are produced upon notice, though Dr. Delafield cannot identify them. They are wholly unintelligible-nothing but mere scrawls -none but a person "inspired" could construe them to be Wills," or any other word whatever. i. 722. iii. 329-701.

66

August 18.

Mrs. Parish, having thus ascertained that "his anxiety to communicate something" meant that he wanted his will, made a second attempt to obtain it. Having failed with Mr. Folsom, she thought, she could do better if there were a new agent appointed for the charge and custody of Mr. Parish's trunk. She told Mr. Kernochan that he wanted him to take his power-of-attorney and act for him until he should be restored. Mr. Kernochan asked him, and he nodded his head. Mr. Kernochan then inquired of Dr. Johnston whether Mr. Parish had mind to do business understandingly. He replied that it was very doubtful, and Dr. Markoe coincided. Mr. Kernochan then declined to take the power, and gave Mrs. Parish the opinion of Dr. Johnston, as the reason of his refusal. i. 230.

1849.

At some time about this date, but on what day does not appear, Daniel Parish, having hitherto unsuspiciously supposed that the refusals of admission on his frequent calls to inquire of his brother arose from the medical regimen, and having now become aware that the brothers of his wife and many strangers were permitted to see him, calls at the house in Union Square, and the waiter, Quin, comes to the door.

Quin, having that morning heard the doctor say, "Mr. Parish was very low, he was afraid he would do no good," "thought he wouldn't live," and "wanted to let one brother see the other;" knowing that "Daniel had never wished, had not made any attempt to come in," he told him (in disobedience to his instructions), as soon as he asked him how his brother was, that he should " go right up and see his brother now; that when he would call again he would not see him alive." He showed him up and pointed out the room. This was the front room, used as a sitting-room, having a passage connecting it with the back room, being his bed-room. Quin goes down stairs, and Daniel Parish enters and meets Mrs. Parish. She objected to his going into his brother's room, upon the ground that "he was not in a condition to be seen." He pressed by her and entered the room. She rang the bell, and when Quin came, she asked him, "how Mr. Parish got in?" He told her that "he opened the door, asked no questions, but passed right on, and he did not like to stop him." She sent him into the bed-room, "to see what Mr. Daniel Parish was doing." He saw him "having hold of his brother in the bed, by the hand," and then went down stairs, going through Mrs. Parish's room. In 10, 15, or 20 minutes, Mr. Daniel Parish came down and went away. Mrs. Parish told Quin" to be particular not to let him in again;" she felt angry for letting him up. Thus ended the first visit of Daniel i. 550, 551, 563, 565, 567. i. 44, 236.

Parish.

The probability is, that this visit occurred before the first codicil, though the appellants aim to fix a severe illness in October as the period, by way of justification. Quin says, it was "about a month; between a month and five weeks," after the attack of 19th July. Mr. Kernochan says she told him of it "in the summer of 1849, soon after the attack; it could not have been long afterward." i. 236, 551.

When Daniel left his brother's room and came into the front room, Mrs. Parish, as she subsequently told Mr. Lord, requested