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INCIDENT OF DR . LANYON Time ran on ; thousands of pounds were offered in reward , for the death of Sir Danvers was resented as a public injury ; but Mr . Hyde had disappeared out of the ken of the police as though he had never existed . Much of his past was unearthed , indeed , and all disreputable : tales came out of the man’s cruelty , at once so callous and violent ; of his vile life , of his strange associates , of the hatred that seemed to have surrounded his career ; but of his present whereabouts , not a whisper . From the time he had left the house in Soho on the morning of the murder , he was simply blotted out ; and gradually , as time drew on , Mr . Utterson began to recover from the hotness of his alarm , and to grow more at quiet with himself . The death of Sir Danvers was , to his way of thinking , more than paid for by the disappearance of Mr . Hyde . Now that that evil influence had been withdrawn , a new life began for Dr . Jekyll . He came out of his seclusion , renewed relations with his friends , became once more their familiar guest and entertainer ; and whilst he had always been known for charities , he was now no less distinguished for religion . He was busy , he was much in the open air , he did good ; his face seemed to open and brighten , as if with an inward consciousness of service ; and for more than two months , the doctor was at peace . On the 8th of January Utterson had dined at the doctor’s with a small party ; Lanyon had been there ; and the face of the host had looked from one to the other as in the old days when the trio were inseparable friends . On the 12th , and again on the 14th , the door was shut against the lawyer . “ The doctor was confined to the house , ” Poole said , “ and saw no one . ” On the 15th , he tried again , and was again refused ; and having now been used for the last two months to see his friend almost daily , he found this return of solitude to weigh upon his spirits . The fifth night he had in Guest to dine with him ; and the sixth he betook himself to Dr . Lanyon’s . There at least he was not denied admittance ; but when he came in , he was shocked at the change which had taken place in the doctor’s appearance . He had his death - warrant written legibly upon his face . The rosy man had grown pale ; his flesh had fallen away ; he was visibly balder and older ; and yet it was not so much these tokens of a swift physical decay that arrested the lawyer’s notice , as a look in the eye and quality of manner that seemed to testify to some deep - seated terror of the mind . It was unlikely that the doctor should fear death ; and yet that was what Utterson was tempted to suspect . “ Yes , ” he thought ; “ he is a doctor , he must know his own state and that his days are counted ; and the knowledge is more than he can bear . ” And yet when Utterson remarked on his ill looks , it was with an air of great firmness that Lanyon declared himself a doomed man . “ I have had a shock , ” he said , “ and I shall never recover . It is a question of weeks . Well , life has been pleasant ; I liked it ; yes , sir , I used to like it . I sometimes think if we knew all , we should be more glad to get away . ”
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