all to no purpose; for the door
remained locked, and the closet-doors were equally secure; nothing was
under the bed, nor behind the table; the easy-chair could afford no
shelter; in the front of every lower tier of pannels was some article of
furniture, which effectually prevented their being used suddenly; beside,
how could the furniture be reaedjusted? The upper ones were too high to be
at all likely to afford the means of such quick concealment. Hence he was
completely mystified, amazed, perplexed. His mental powers were in a
whirl; until at length he became perfectly bewildered, and concluded that
he had been dreaming, or had been taking a short trot on a night-mare;
and with this latter idea he returned, shivering like an ague, to his cold
bed. The candle was now suffered to burn, and pillowing his head high, so
as to see all around, the curtains having been previously withdrawn, he
determined to keep vigilant watch. At length becoming composed and
comfortably warm, he distinctly recalled the whole train of thought which
had preceded the appearance of the strange phantom. Finally, he concluded
that if it were all a dream, an illusion, never was a dream or an illusion
so like reality. He must from henceforth doubt the evidence of his senses.
Thus he reasoned and doubted, doubted and reasoned, until the candle's
light and all around had faded into dimness. Slumber gradually usurped its
sway, and he slept till late next morning. On awaking, the whole affair
was too vividly remembered, for him to settle down into a belief that he
had dreamed. He was determined to satisfy himself. It was not long before
his feet were in his slippers; and throwing on his dressing-gown, he went
the round of another and still another examination, with no more
satisfactory result than before; until at last, tired with conjecture, he
dismissed it from his mind, and completed his toilet.

At the breakfast-table, he simply remarked, in reply to the inquiry if he
had slept well, that he had dreamed the room was haunted by a dwarfish
ghost, but he pretended to believe that it was only a dream.

'There!' rejoined the auditor; '_others_ have dreamed the same thing!'

The discussion of the creature-comforts on the table was too interesting
to permit a discussion of discomforts, and inquiry was silenced.

The morning sun was shining brightly, tempting the healthful to enjoy his
cheerful beams. It was not long therefore before our traveller was see