Introduction and Notes
by Dr David Rogers, Kingston University.
'There he lay looking as if youth had been half-renewed, for the white
hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-grey, the cheeks were
fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath; the mouth was
redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which
trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the chin and neck.
Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst the swollen flesh, for
the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole
awful creature were simply gorged with blood; he lay like a filthy
leech, exhausted with his repletion.'