303 plaf...reventa.‖ He later dreams that the aneurysm has, in fact, burst with catastrophic loss of blood (Fortunata II 220-1). This represents another nod to readers with medical knowledge since Galdós refers here to the aneurysmal dilatation of the aorta in late syphilis that, though first described in 1728 by Giovani Lancisi, only became widely appreciated after its thorough documentation by Francis Welch in 1875 (Welch 769, Crissey & Parish 220). Writing only 10 years after this rediscovery, Galdós indicates that not only did Maxi know of a serious complication of his debilitating disease, but also knew of its fatal termination, that of rupture. Galdós provides a hint that not only Maxi knows the nature of his condition but that his oldest brother, Juan Pablo, is also aware of it. In a last-ditch effort to keep his brother out of a lunatic asylum, Juan Pablo reviews with doña Lupe the therapeutic resources still open to them,
No se habían probado las duchas, ni el sacarle de paseo al campo, ni el bromuro de sodio que estaba dando tan buen resultado contra la periencephalitis, difusa y contra la meningo-encephalitis, y siguió echando términos de medicina por aquella boca, pues entonces le daba por leer libros de esta ciencia. (Fortunata II 399)
Why, might one ask, should Juan Pablo be considering for his mad brother a medication reputed to be effective in the treatment of a syphilitic condition of the brain 463 if he was not also aware of his brother‘s tragic condition? In the 1870s,
medication [...] syphilitic condition of the brain: it is possible that Galdós intends us to understand that Ballester is also in the know, since he counsels Maxi, ―tenemos que volver a las duchas y al bromuro de sodio. Es lo mejor para echar virtud y filosofìa‖ (Fortunata II 537). Much earlier, doña Lupe tells us, ―me ha dicho esta mañana Ballester que [Maxi] tiene algo de reblandecimiento cerebral‖ (Fortunata II 259), which suggests that the knowledgeable 463