Francis Parkman 249 



of the extremities ceased, the light of the sun be- 

 came insupportable, and a wild whirl possessed his 

 brain, joined to a universal turmoil of the nervous 

 system which put his philosophy to the sharpest test 

 it had hitherto known. All collapsed, in short, 

 but the tenacious strength of muscles hardened by 

 long activity." In 1851, whether due or not to 

 disordered circulation, there came an effusion of 

 water on the left knee, which for the next two 

 years prevented walking. 



It was between 1848 and 1851 that Parkman 

 was engaged in writing " The Conspiracy of Pon- 

 tiac." He felt that no regimen could be worse for 

 him than idleness, and that no tonic could be more 

 bracing than work in pursuance of the lofty purpose 

 which had now attained maturity in his mind. He 

 had to contend with a " triple-headed monster : 

 first, the weakness of the eyes, which had come to 

 be such that he could not keep them open to the 

 light while writing his own name ; secondly, the 

 incapacity for sustained attention ; and thirdly, 

 the indisposition to putting forth mental effort. 

 Evidently, the true name of this triple-headed mon- 

 ster was nervous exhaustion ; there was too much 

 soul for the body to which it was yoked. 



" To be made with impunity, the attempt must 

 be made with the most watchful caution. He 



