I used to fancy that life was a positive and perpetual entity, and that by consuming a multitude of live things, no matter how low in the scale of creation, one might indefinitely prolong life.

At times I held the belief so strongly that I actually tried to take human life.

The doctor here will bear me out that on one occasion I tried to kill him for the purpose of strengthening my vital powers by the assimilation with my own body of his life through the medium of his blood, relying of course, upon the Scriptural phrase, 'For the blood is the life.' Though, indeed, the vendor of a certain nostrum has vulgarized the truism to the very point of contempt.

Isn't that true, doctor ?" I nodded assent, for I was so amazed that I hardly knew what to either think or say, it was hard to imagine that I had seen him eat up his spiders and flies not five minutes before.

Looking at my watch, I saw that I should go to the station to meet Van Helsing, so I told Mrs.
Harker that it was time to leave.
She came at once, after saying pleasantly to Mr.Renfield, "Goodbye, and I hope I may see you often, under auspices pleasanter to yourself." To which, to my astonishment, he replied, "Goodbye, my dear.