Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXX, No. 6, June 1847Various
General
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXX, No. 6, June 1847
Various
Literature -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals
My own detection of the “dead candle” arose in this way. On the third
night of its appearance, the beam of light was as clearly defined to my
sight as it had been on the two preceding nights, but it was now passing
across the bed clothes more _quickly_, and was accompanied by a faint
_rustle_, and that sound flashed the truth upon my mind in a moment. It
was my own sister crossing the hall, and the ray of light from her
_live_ candle shining through the key-hole of the door!
I had formed a boyish admiration for the young lady who was ill, and
apprehension for her fate, and thoughts of her, kept me much longer
awake than usual. On the two first nights my sister crossed the hall
slowly and noiselessly, in order that she might not disturb the dying
sufferer, but now that the sad catastrophe was over, she moved quicker,
and I could _hear_ her!
* * * * *
The ANGEL—whose radiant effulgence had excited such fearful emotion in
the mind of Henry Fuseli, was neither more nor less than the white dress
of an Italian lady, which his hostess, not expecting his return from
Frascati before the following day, had hung up on a cord stretched
across the room, to dry, and its slow floating movements were occasioned
by the air from the window, which was left open to facilitate the
drying.
Fatigued by his long walk, he undressed the moment he gained his own
apartment, and retired to rest without observing the signora’s robe, or
that the window was open. The moon had risen whilst he was asleep, and
was faintly shining on the white drapery when he awoke, and the effect,
to an imaginative mind like his, gave it the appearance of animation.
The whole story, as related by him, was glorious—but who _could_ relate
a ghost story, or _any_ story, like Fuseli? His choice and powerful
language, and his _acting_ of the scene, were inimitable. He was equally
successful in any comic story, although in a dryer way; even his
description of the manner in which the present Lady Jersey catches a
flea! was irresistible. What action, what emphasis, what a look. You
could have almost sworn you saw the indignant flash of her ladyship’s
bold, brazen eye, and her long nose, when she discovered the little
blood-sucker upon her cream-colored skin. The recollection of it is so
perfect at this moment that I cannot resist a laugh as I write; but the
_manner_ of the thing I must defer until I give my Reminiscences of
Harry Fuseli, in which I shall try to detail some of his literary
combats at the table of Joseph Johnson, where he vanquished the great
Porson, with his, Porson’s, own chosen weapon, Greek.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account