The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1851-04-16
The Haunted Mind.
BY NATHANIEL HAWTUORNE

What n singular moment Is the first one,
when YOU have hardly begun 10 recollcct
yourself, after starting from midnight s!um,
Der! BY uhcosing your eyes so suddenly,
YOU seem 10 have surprised the personagcs
of YOUR dream in full conyoca,ion round
your he'd, and catch one broad glance al
them before they can fit into obscuriIy Or
To- vary the metaphor, you find yourself, for
a single instant, wide awake in that realm
of illusions, whittier sleep has been The pass
port, and behold It's glossy inhabitants and
wondrous scenery with perception of their
siranecncs>, snch =. YOU never attain while
the dream il undis,urbcd. The distant sound
of church clock is borne family on the
| wind. You question with yourself, half Sc
riously, whether it has stolen TO your waking
| ear rom some gray tower. that stood within
the precincts Of your dream. Willie Vet in
suspense, another clock Sings il. heavy clnne
over the sunbering town, with so full and
distinct sound, and such long murmur in
the neighborng mir, that you are certain il
must proceed liom the slcepc At the nearest
corner. You count the stiokrs-onv-lwo,
and there ihey cease, with booming sound
ike the gathering of third stroke within
the bell.
If you could choose an houl of wakeful-
ness out Of the whole night, it would be this
Since your sober bedtime, at eleven, you
have had rest enough 10 tako of the pres
sure Of Yesterdays fatigue while bclor c
you, TIL the sun comes from : far Ca
ihay TO brighten Your window, there is al
most The space of sunim-r night one hour
to be spent in thought, with the minds eye
half shut, and two in pleasant dreams, and
two in that strangcst Of enjoyments, the for
seliuluess alike Of JOY and woe. The mo-
menr of rising belongs to another period OF
time, and appears so distant, that the plunge
out of II warm bed into the frosty air cannoi
yet be anticipated with dismay. Yesterday
has already vanished among the shadows Of
the past tomorrow has not yet emerged
from the future. You have found an inter,
mediate space, where The business of life
does not intrude where the passing nome nj
fingers, and becomes truly the present; i
spot where Father Time, when hn think.
nobody ID watching him, sits down by the
wayside 10 take breath. Oh, that he wout
fall asleep, and let moi lals live on without
! growing older
y Hitherto you have lain perfectly still be
!. cause the slightest motion would dissipai,
c The fragments of your slumber Now, bein!
I irre'orably awake, you peep through III,
4 half drawn window curtain, and observe iha
4 the. glass Is ornamenicd with fanciful de,i
: ees in fl ost work, and that each pane pre-
sents something like frozen dream. Their,
} will be lime enough 10 trace out the analogy
5 whle waiting the summons to breakfast
: Seen through the clear portion of the glass
where the slvcry mountain peaks Of the fros
scenery do not ascend, the most consl icuou
object is the stesple the white spre Of whic
e directs you 10 the wntry luslre of the frma
: ment. You may almost distinguish the fig
{. ures Oh the clock ihat has just told the hour
o Such frosty sky, and the snow-covere
y roofs. and the long vista of The frozen stree
: all white, and the distant water hardened in
TO rock, might make you shivcr, even unde
q four blankets and a woo'en comforter. Ye
II look at that one Curious star Its beam
\ are disIinguishable from all the rest, and nc
! iually cast the shadow of the easement o
T. the bed, with radiance of deeper hue tina
moonlight, though not so accurate an outlin,
Z You sink down and mufile your head i
e the clothes, shiverirg all tho WHILE but ls.
r from bodily chill, than the bare idea of pc
lar atmosphere. II is too cold even for th