XIX.
The baroness did not die. They recalled her to life. But the right side of her body was, and remained, paralyzed. Memory and will returned to her slowly; but her condition was pitiable in the extreme, and it would have been better for her if she had expired immediately after the first attack. She could still see well, but heard badly, and spoke so inarticulately that only a word here and there of what she said could be understood. And even that little no one was able to make out but Mundy, who never left her, but had even his bed moved into her room, and nursed her day and night with truly filial affection. Physicians had been summoned, too, from Prague and other places, but none of them could give any hope of recovery, and they all approved of the measures taken by the castle doctor.
Only one single person in Labutín Castle cherished hopes of a better future, and that was the baroness herself. Her strong mind and will rose up day by day, and hour by hour, in spite of the passive resistance of the helpless diseased body. The state of her mind was a continual torture to her. She felt, thought, and desired; but she could not make her feelings, thoughts, or desires known to the outside world. If she only could speak,
