The company was my mistress’s niece, and the back bedroom on the first floor was got ready for her.  My mistress mentioned to me that Lady Glyde (that was her name) was in poor health, and that I must be particular in my cooking accordingly.  She was to come that day, as well as I can remember—­but whatever you do, don’t trust my memory in the matter.  I am sorry to say it’s no use asking me about days of the month, and such-like.  Except Sundays, half my time I take no heed of them, being a hard-working woman and no scholar.  All I know is Lady Glyde came, and when she did come, a fine fright she gave us all surely.  I don’t know how master brought her to the house, being hard at work at the time.  But he did bring her in the afternoon, I think, and the housemaid opened the door to them, and showed them into the parlour.  Before she had been long down in the kitchen again with me, we heard a hurry-skurry upstairs, and the parlour bell ringing like mad, and my mistress’s voice calling out for help.

We both ran up, and there we saw the lady laid on the sofa, with her face ghastly white, and her hands fast clenched, and her head drawn down to one side.  She had been taken with a sudden fright, my mistress said, and master he told us she was in a fit of convulsions.  I ran out, knowing the neighbourhood a little better than the rest of them, to fetch the nearest doctor’s help.  The nearest help was at Goodricke’s and Garth’s, who worked together as partners, and had a good name and connection, as I have heard, all round St. John’s Wood.  Mr. Goodricke was in, and he came back with me directly.

It was some time before he could make himself of much use.  The poor unfortunate lady fell out of one fit into another, and went on so till she was quite wearied out, and as helpless as a new-born babe.  We then got her to bed.  Mr. Goodricke went away to his house for medicine, and came back again in a quarter of an hour or less.  Besides the medicine he brought a bit of hollow mahogany wood with him, shaped like a kind of trumpet, and after waiting a little while, he put one end over the lady’s heart and the other to his ear, and listened carefully.

When he had done he says to my mistress, who was in the room, “This is a very serious case,” he says, “I recommend you to write to Lady Glyde’s friends directly.”  My mistress says to him, “Is it heart-disease?” And he says, “Yes, heart-disease of a most dangerous kind.”  He told her exactly what he thought was the matter, which I was not clever enough to understand.  But I know this, he ended by saying that he was afraid neither his help nor any other doctor’s help was likely to be of much service.