The nervous system was
almost shattered to pieces. Both my memory and my hearing failed me. Sudden
dizziness seized my head. A confused singing in the ears followed me,
wherever I went. On going to bed the very stairs seemed to dance up and
down under me, so that, misplacing my foot, I sometimes fell. Talking too,
if it continued but half an hour, exhausted me, so that profuse
perspirations followed; and the same effect was produced even by an active
exertion of the mind for the like time. These disorders had been brought on
by degrees in consequence of the severe labours necessarily attached to the
promotion of the cause. For seven years I had a correspondence to maintain
with four hundred persons with my own hand. I had some book or other
annually to write in behalf of the cause. In this time I had travelled more
than thirty-five thousand miles in search of evidence, and a great part of
these journeys in the night. All this time my mind had been on the stretch.
It had been bent too to this one subject; for I had not even leisure to
attend to my own concerns. The various instances of barbarity, which had
come successively to my knowledge within this period, had vexed, harassed,
and afflicted it.
Pages:
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419