The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-03-07

It was to try this untried experiment
| that l shut myself up in the Schloss
| Schwinkenschwank.
Excepting little Hans, the innkeepers
son, who climbed the mountain three
times a week from the village to bring
me bread and cheese and white wine,
aud afterward Hans's sitter, my only
visitor during the period of my retire
ment was Professor Calcarius. He came
over from Bonn twice to cheer and en-
courage me.
On the occasion of the first visit night
fell while we were still talking of Pytha-
goras and metempsychosis. The pro-
found metaphysician was a corpulent
man and very short-sighted.
can never get down the hill alive, !"
he cried, wringing his hands anxiously.
:" should stumb e, and, Gott in Him
mel, precipitate myself peradventure
upon some jagged rock"
"You must stay all night, professor, u
said /, "and sleep with me in my wire
cage. 1 should like you to meet my
roommate, the monk"
Subjective entirely, my dear young
friend" he said. "Your apparition is
a creature of the optic nerve, and shall
A
comes philosopher"
| / put my herr professor to bed in the
wire cage, and with extreme difficulty
crowded myself in by his side. At his
| especial request / left the lantern burn
inx. mot that / have any ap' rehen-
sion of your subjective specters,' he ex-
planned. "Mere fgments of the brain
they are. But in the dark might roll
over and crush you"
Chow progresses the self-suppres-
sionT' he asked at length" the sub
ordination of the individual soul? Eli /!
what was thatp'
ga rat, trying to get in at us" 1 re-
piled. BE calm; you are in no peril.
My experiment proceeds satisfactorily.
I have quite eliminated all interest in
the outside world. Love, gratitude,
fir endsh D, care for my own welfare, and
the welfare of my friends, have nearly
disappeared. Soon, l hope, memory will
also fade away, and with memory my
individual past"
You are doing splendidly," he ex-
claimed with enthusiasm, "and render
ing to psychologist science an inestimable
service. Soon your psychic nature will
be blank, vacuum, ready to receive
l-Gott preserve mel What was thatF
"Only the screech of an owl" said
reassuringly, as the great gray bird with
which / had become familiar futtered
noiselessly down through an aperture il
the roof and lit upon the top of our wire
cage.
Calcarius regarded the owl with in
terest, and the owl blinked gravely a
Calcarius.
"Who knows" said the herr pro
fessor, "but what that owl is animated
! by the soul of some great philosopher
Perhaps Pythagoras, perhaps Plotinus
: perhaps the spirit of Socrates himself
abides temporarily beneath those feath
ers."
: / confessed that some such idea hat
, already occurred to me.
"And in that case," continued tn
professor, "you have only to NEGATIVE
! your own nature, to nullify your owl
: individuality in order to receive int,
your body this great soul, which, as m,
intuitions tell me, is that of Socrates
and is lowering around your physica
organization, hoping to effect an en-
8 trance. Persist, my worthy youn,
1 student, in your most laudable expert
ment. and metaphysical science-merci
full heaven! is that the devil3''
1t was the huge gray rat, my night,
visitor. This hideous creature ha'
grown in this life, perhaps of a century
: to the size of small terrier. Hi
!. y whiskers were perfectly white and YER
thick. His immense tushes had becom
so long that they curved over till tn
points almost impaled his skull. Hi
7 7 eyes were big and blood red. The corr
! ers of his upper lip were so shriveled an
drawn up that his countenance wore al
y expression of diabolical maiignity, rarel
seen except in some human faces. FL
was too old and knowing to gnaw at tn
wires; but he satoutside on his haunche
and gazed in at us with an indescribabl
look of hatred. My companion shi,
7 cred. After awhile the rat turned ava,
y ratified his callous tale across the viii
% netting, and disappeared in the darl
, ness. Professor Calcarius breathed
y deep sigh of relief, and was soon sno
= ! ing SO profoundly that neither owl
y rats, nor specters ventured near us tt
morning.
4 had so far succeeded in merging m
!. intellectual and moral qualities in tt
II routine of mere animal existence tina
T when it was time for Calcarius to con
a again, as he had promised, l felt lit
= interest in his approaching visit. Ha
= sci, who constituted my commissaria
a had been taken sick of the measles, ar
~ l was dependent for my food and viii
a upon the coming of his pretty siste
: Emma, a faxen-haired maiden of eig
a teen, who climbed the steep path vii
ii the grace and agility of a gazelle. 81
70 was an artless little thing, and told n
q. of her own accord the story of her simp
love. Fritz was soldier in the Emper
ar Wilhelm's army. He was now in ga
rison at Cologne. They hoped that
~ would soon get lieutenancy, for he W
~ brave and faithful, and then he wou
To come home and marry her. She h,
Mt saved up her dairy money till
"a amounted to quite little purse, whi,
- she had sent that it might help purcha
n. his commission. Had ever seen FIR t
r. No? He was handsome and good, al
10 she loved him more than she could te
be l listened to this prattle with t
n same amount of romantic interest thai
,c- proposition in Euclid would excite, al
a. Congratulated myself that my old so
~ had SO nearly disappeared. Every mig
IN the gray owl perched above me. Ikne
ba that Socrates was waiting to take pt
re session of my body, and yearned
open nv bosom and receive that graz
NJ soul. Every night the detestable grI
at rat came and peered through the wire
His cool, contemptuous malice exaspe
in ated me strangely. I longed to rea'
70 out from benea h my cage and seize al
.st throttle him, but I was afraid of t
~ venom of his bite
in My own soul had by this time near
en- wasted away, so to speak, through d
to ciplined disuse. The owl looked doy
lie lovingly at me with his great plac
ly eyes. A noble spirit seemed to shi
ly through them and 10 say, az will cor
to when you are ready" And would To-
us back into their lustrous depths and e
ic- claim with. infinite yearning, "Cor
IL soon, o Socrates, for am almost ready
or Then / would turn and meet the devili
ed gaze of the monstrous beast; sneeri