Dr Lanyon's Narrative
On the ninth of January, now four days ago, I received by the evening delivery a registered envelope,
addressed in the hand of my colleague and old school-companion, Henry Jekyll. I was a good deal
surprised by this; for we were by no means in the habit of correspondence; I had seen the man, dined
with him, indeed, the night before; and I could imagine nothing in our intercourse that should justify the
formality of registration. The contents increased my wonder; for this is how the letter ran:
10th December 18 - Dear Lanyon, -
You are one of my oldest friends; and although we may have differed at times on scientific questions, I
cannot remember, at least on my side, any break in our affection. There was never a day when, if you
had said to me, `Jekyll, my life, my honour, my reason, depend upon you,' I would not have sacrificed
my fortune or my left hand to help you. Lanyon, my life, my honour, my reason, are all at your merry; if
you fail me to-night, I am lost. You might suppose, after this preface, that I am going to ask you for
something dishonourable to grant. Judge for yourself.
I want you to postpone all other engagements for to-night - ay, even if you were summoned to the bedside
of an emperor; to take a cab, unless your carriage should be actually at the door; and, with this letter in
your hand for consultation, to drive straight to my house. Poole, my butler, has his orders; you will find
him waiting your arrival with a locksmith. The door of my cabinet is then to be forced; and you are to go
in alone; to open the glazed press (letter E) on the left hand, breaking the lock if it be shut; and to draw
out, with all its contents as the stand, the fourth drawer from the top or (which is the same thing) the
third from the bottom. In my extreme distress of mind, I have a morbid fear of misdirecting you; but even
if I am in error, you may know the right drawer by its contents: some powders, a phial, and a paper book.
This drawer I beg of you to carry back with you to Cavendish Square exactly as it stands.
That is the first part of the service: now for the second. You should be back, if you set out at once on
the receipt of this, long before midnight; but I will leave you that amount of margin, not only in the fear
of one of those obstacles that can neither be prevented nor foreseen, but because an hour when your
servants are in bed is to be preferred for what will then remain to do. At midnight, then, I have to ask
you to be alone in your consulting-room, to admit with your own hand into the house a man who will
present himself in my name, and to place in his hands the drawer that you will have brought with you
from my cabinet. Then you will have played your part and earned my gratitude completely. Five minutes
afterwards, if you insist upon an explanation, you will have understood that these arrangements are of
capital importance; and that by the neglect of one of them, fantastic as they must appear, you might
have charged your conscience with my death or the shipwreck of my reason.
Confident as I am that you will not trifle with this appeal, my heart sinks and my hand trembles at the
bare thought of such a possibility. Think of me at this hour, in a strange place, labouring under a blackness
of distress that no fancy can exaggerate, and yet well aware that, if you will but punctually serve me, my
troubles will roll away like a story that is told. Serve me, my dear Canyon, and save
Your friend,
H.J.
PS. - I had already sealed this up when a fresh terror struck upon my soul. It is possible that the post
office may fail me, and this letter not come into your hands until to-morrow morning. In that case, dear
Canyon, do my errand when it shall be most convenient for you in the course of the day; and once more
expect my messenger at midnight. It may then already be too late; and if that night passes without event,
you will know that you have seen the last of Henry Jekyll.
Upon the reading of this letter, I made sure my colleague was insane; but till that was proved beyond the
possibility of doubt, I felt bound to do as he requested. The less I understood of this farrago, the less