The record-union., 1896-09-20


hearth rug. Hearing me enter, he got
up, shook and stretched himself, and
came across the room to greet his
master. But when he saw me, again
that fearful look came into his eyes,
and once again that cry of terror,
seeming to gather into one all the pain
and agony of the brute creation,
swept through the house. Knowing as
1 did the cause of his fear, and hail
ing it as a sure token Of my success,
yet that terrible sound unnerved me.
I opened the door Of my room with
an unsteady hand, and the poor brute
rushed, or rather tumbled, past me,
and l saw him no more l heard after
ward that he found his way into the
garden, and into a thicket, whence
no persuasion Of voice or offer Of food
could tempt him, and where he per-
ished miserably from fear and famine
/ pass over the confusion and panic
which were caused in the house by
the dogs cry of agony. Once more
had shut myself in my laboratory, and
was preparing to try the experiment
on my own eyes. Arrogant fool that
l was, the dogs terror had no warning
for me- 1t was true that I noticed
|
more lasting than knowledge of the
ingredients used had led me to antici-
pate. 1 had looked for merely tran
sient influence on the sight. The ami
mails eyes had retained the effects Of
the application for a considerable num-
Der Of hours. 1t occurred to me as
possible that the last attack of panic
was only the result of the remem-
L s--l-x
before. However this might be, no
thought of applying the lesson to my
own case and of holding my hand came
into my mind. I was satisfied that
had made one of the most wonderful
discoveries of modern times and that
by it's publication my name would be
made famous. By means practically
as simple as that by which the surgeon
dilates the pupil of his patient, I
could now make the eye susceptible to
those subtle rays or emanationS to
which few, perhaps none, of the OBJ
jects surrounding us are dense or
Opaque. 1 was determined without de-
lay to make the experiment on my own
sight. Nor would anything have
avaied then to deter me, not even If
could have foreseen the suffering /
was condemning myself to endure.
had in my grasp talisman that would
unlock for me the secrets Of the uni
verse. The fruit of the tree of knowl-
edge hung within my reach. Ambition,
desire, curiosity, tempted me. I must
eat of it, even if the penalty were
death, or worse.
AS 1 have said, I had shut the door
of my laboratory and was alone. 1 took
the phial which contained the liquid 1
had applied to the dogs eyes, and
carefully painted with it the insides
OF my eyelids. Then / sat down in my
easy chair, with closed eyes, to give
the drug fair chance Of showing it's
power.
l had sat thus for a considerable
time, my mind full of the great dis
covery I had made, and dwelling on
all its possible consequences, immense
in their results, endless in their varia-
tons when it occurred to me to write
at once to Professor ", with whom
I was in correspondence on the sub
ject Of my researches, to tell him how
far they had gone, and the extraOrdi-
nary phenomena in the case of the
dog. l turned to my writing table for
this purpose. For moment 1 thought
my brain must have given way and
that my imagination was playing me a
trick
1 could see nothing like a table. The
whole room had taken a fantastic and
ghOstly' appearance. Instead Of the
mahogany bureau which held my writ
ing materials, there was a misty and
barely visible outline, which I can only
compare to that of ship looming
through a dense fog. Upon the surface
of this mist, floating, or rather upheld
in their places by some magical and
invisible support, were the brass ham
dies, ornaments locks, and keyholes
OF the drawers. There was nothing else
to be seen with a distinct and defined
outline, except here and there screw
or an angle iron which had been used
in the joining, and a bunch of keys
and some gold seals which l had kept
in one of the drawers.
Pens or paper. although I knew there
was plenty Of them about, l could see
none. 1 put out my hand to feel for
them, and a shudder passed through
me when / saw it was skeleton hand.
However, by the sense of touch l found
some paper and pen; but 1 could see
neither, ,and after attempting to write
a letter in ink, which / could not see,
on paper / could not see, on an invis-
ible table and with an invisible pen
in a skeleton hand, I gave it up in
despair, and threw myself back in my
chair. l began now to realize what
had done, and to feel that knowledge
might be too perfect.
Up to this time 1 had not paid much
attention to anything beyond my table
and my own hands and arms. Rising
now from my chair / saw that to my
eyes I was a skeleton, with metal
| buttons and a watch and chain be-
longing to it in some mysterious way
without touching it. 1 could see that
my legs were nothing but bones with
out either clothes or flesh, although !
: was strangely conscious Of the pres
ence of both. 1t was a ghastly and
sickening sight to look down at my
: legs and body and see the bare bones
OF my own skeleton, and watch the
motions of the uncovered, of apparent
ly uncovered joints Between ex-
citement and over worry and the neg
lect to take proper food, rest and ex-
ercise my nerves were no better than
those of a drunkard. / could hardly
endure the sights which / had imposed
upon myself. 1t seemed to me that it
was near our breakfast hour, and ]
took out my watch to see the time.
I could see the hands, but the dial was
invisible. while the works below it
We're clearly seem The feeling of ex-
istence and reality conveyed by the