Year: 1862

in the little village of B., during the
month of May of the present year. For
a week I had been suffering much from an
infammatory disease, which would allow
me to eat nothing, and, consequently, left
me quite feeble and weak One evening.
feeling more than usually unwell, and
anxious to divert my attention from my
self in some way, / found an attentive
audience in the little family circle, and
read aloud to them strange, sad story,
in the Home Journal, that was weird
enough to have come from the pen of Ed
gar A. Poe. The story, as you know, re-
lated to noble, who, becoming jealous of
his wife, murdered her; and afterward,
finding that she was innocent, imagined
that single drop of blood which oozed
from her lips as he strangled her, had
burned into his hand. He suffered the
intensest agony. Twice within a few
weeks the spot in his hand was cut out
by skillful surgeon but each time the
terrible pain came again as soon as the
wound healed, and finally, unable to en-
dure it longer, the unhappy victim shot
himself.


At first we all laughed at the utter ex-
travagance of this story. But from ridi-
culing, we were led to quite long dis
cussion, and, finally, came to the conclu-
sion that, judging from our limited knowl-
edge of the power of Imagination, it was
not only possibly, but probably, founded
on fact.


At ten o'clock, l bade my friends good
night, and retired but, tortured by Sc
we're pain, it was two hours before l sank
into a troubled and uneasy sleep. AS
the clock was striking three, l seemed to
wake very suddenly, and heard some one
step from the stairs at the top of the en-
try into which my room opened, pass by
my open door on tiptoe, and go down into
the dining-room beneath me. The young
est daughter of my host, to whom | was
much attached, slept over me in the third
story. And this must be She


| wondered if she were sick. When /
left her in the evening, she seemed per-
fectly we'll. I listened, and heard her
step lightly across the floor, take match
from the box on the shelf, and light a
candle. Then l heard her 60 down into
the cellar and return, and then she OPEN
ed the backdoor, and went out. Here l
began to be anxious. l had made up my
mind that it was S., that she was ILL.,,
and that she was seeking for medicine |;
or, possibly, being too i'll to sleep, had
determined to sit up until morning. But
what possible reason could there be for
her going out Of doors at this hour of the
night? / was alarmed. l listened attent-
lively to hear her return, but everything
was terribly still. Presently / heard
footsteps in the door, yard-up and down,
now near, now far. / heard every step
distinctly. Surely this was strange. l
had known my friend for years, but nev-
er as somnambulist. Was it possible
that she had been stricken by that fear
full disease? | listened still more in
tently, with every sense strained to its
utmost, my head raised from my pillow,
my eyes wide open, and still / heard the
light step under my window, seeming to
move up and down with mechanical pre-
cision.


I spraug from my bed, unable to en-
dure the anxiety longer. 1t was not
dark, and l could see everything in he
yard very plainly from my window; but
the footsteps were heard no more; no hu-
man being was in sight; there was not
the slightest sound to break the stiffness.
The silence was terribly oppressive. i
trembled violently. What had become Of
S.? For five minutes, l think, / sup
ported myself by the window-sill, and
kept my eyes riveted upon the yard but
my watch was in vain, and too weak to
stand it moment longer, | crept into bed
again. At this stage began to analyse
my sensations carefully and thoroughly