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VALDEMAR
I received this note within half an hour after it was written, and in
fifteen minutes more I was in the dying man's chamber. I had not seen
him for ten days, and was appalled by the fearful alteration which the
brief interval had wrought in him. His face wore a leaden hue; the eyes
were utterly lustreless; and the emaciation was so extreme that the
skin had been broken through by the cheek-bones. His expectoration was
excessive. The pulse was barely perceptible. He retained, nevertheless,
in a very remarkable manner, both his mental power and a certain degree
of physical strength. He spoke with distinctness--took some palliative
medicines without aid--and, when I entered the room, was occupied in
penciling memoranda in a pocket-book. He was propped up in the bed by
pillows. Doctors D---- and F---- were in attendance.
After pressing Valdemar's hand, I took these gentlemen aside, and
obtained from them a minute account of the patient's condition. The left
lung had been for eighteen months in a semi-osseous or cartilaginous
state, and was, of course, entirely useless for all purposes of
vitality. The right, in its upper portion, was also partially, if
not thoroughly, ossified, while the lower region was merely a mass
of purulent tubercles, running one into another. Several extensive
perforations existed; and, at one point, permanent adhesion to the
ribs had taken place. These appearances in the right lobe were of
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