pened.'

And now the story. I left myself indulging in reveries concerning the
expected sight of my invisible charmer. The appointed hour came. I was
quite excited. I knew that the land was already full of people who
claimed to see the sights of the other world as spirits see them, and
fully expected to have my clairvoyant faculty opened. But I saw no
'sudden Ianthe;' and to this day have never seen even a kobold, a
wraith, or a doeppelganger! This was doubtless fortunate; for I was
nearly driven into lunacy by the things I _heard_ before I reached the
end of this 'youthful adventure.' I should have gone 'clean daft' if the
bugaboo had been permitted to show me the sights they presently
promised.

Soon came again my collocutor with explanations.

'You were in such a state of excitement that the united efforts of more
than forty of your spirit friends were utterly unavailing for the
opening of your sight. We, too, became so excited that we lost all
control of ourselves, and could only weep to hear your mournful appeals
followed by your surrender of all claims upon me.' ... 'Do not think
that I could ever hope to bask beneath the sunshine of your smile after
having intentionally deceived you.'

Then followed much similar feminine beguilement; the faculty for which
seems to be rather increased by the Jordan bath.

It began to be a noticeable fact that their magnetic power over me was
such that they could cast me down to the borders of despair, and raise
me thence to rapture at will. Thus a few moments of such ordinary
blandishments as the following were the only apparent means of raising
my usually slow-moving spirits from a very low to a very high pitch. I
was complaining of the waste of paper, in writing words of letters three
or four inches high; did not think any law, even a law of nature,
justified the imposition of such an expenditure upon a spouse in a
separate sphere. 'She' promised to tone down the expressions of
attachment until she could talk as largely as she pleased; and to some
further suggestions, replied:

'Really, you are quite impertinent, considering the short time we have
been married.' ...

Slightly singular as it may seem to those who think that this narration
is 'all gammon,' I had gone through the usual course of acquaintanceship
with this airy nothing; was first distant and reserved; then slightly
thawed, though still horrified at the thought of having all my thoughts
read; and finally, af