'After the first week or so I became tired of reading aloud to George [husband, suffering from disorders of eyes], so we fortunately, obtained the services of a lady who, for several hours daily, fed the appetite of the disabled student through the ear in default of the visual organs. 'The book we were employed to read to him was a treatise by a profound physiologist, M. Claude Bernard, on the nervous system. I remember halting now and then, as I read out passages inconceivably scientific and abtruse, when I would enquire: "George, do you understand what I am reading to you?" -- "Perfectly." -- "Oh! very well, then I will go on; for my part it is quite above [italics]my[end italics] comprehension." A bland smile would be all he had to give in reply to this confession.'