"Certainly not."
"And do you say that because this man's mother suffered from epilepsy the chances are that he is suffering from it?"
"Pardon me, I said nothing of the kind. I think the chances are that he would have a highly organised nervous system, and would probably suffer from some nervous disease. In the case of the prisoner, I should say that shell-shock increased his predisposition to epilepsy."
"Do you suggest that shell-shock leads to epilepsy?"
"In general, no; in this particular case, possibly. A man may have shell-shock, and injury to the brain, which is not necessarily epileptic."
"It is possible for shell-shock alone to lead to a subsequent attack of insanity?" asked the judge.
"It is possible—certainly."
"How often do these attacks of petit mal occur?" asked Sir Herbert.
"They vary considerably according to the patient—sometimes once a week, sometimes monthly, and there have been cases in which the attacks are separated by months."
"Are not two attacks in twenty-four hours unprecedented?"