“What do you think,” said I, “is the matter with me, doctor?”
“I am afraid,” said he, “that you have a very serious trouble—what we call Addison’s disease.”
“What’s that?” said I.
“I do not think you would comprehend it,” he replied; “it is an affection of the suprarenal capsules.”
I dimly remembered that there were such organs, and that nobody knew what they were meant for. It seemed that doctors had found a use for them at last.
“Is it a dangerous disease?” I said.
“I fear so,” he answered.
“Don’t you really know,” I asked, “what’s the truth about it?”
“Well,” he returned gravely, “I’m sorry to tell you it is a very dangerous malady.”
“Nonsense!” said I; “I don’t believe it”; for I thought it was only a doctor’s trick, and one I had tried often enough myself.