Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. V, October, 1850, Volume I.
General
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. V, October, 1850, Volume I.
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
chamber-door quickly after me and staggered into the next apartment.
Powerless and overcome, I fell to the ground.
When I recovered, it was day. The light was streaming into the chamber,
and the storm had subsided. Fresh marvels were to be revealed. I was no
longer in the room in which I had been on the preceding night. I was in
bed, in the chamber where I had hitherto slept! How came I hither? I knew
not. I pressed my hand to my brow, and strove to collect my scattered
senses. I was bewildered and confused, and could only account for the
marvelous transition to which I had been exposed, by some remarkable
agency, altogether intangible to my senses, and utterly beyond the power
of my understanding to comprehend.
I descended, as soon as I was dressed, to breakfast, of which I sparingly
partook. I was pale and agitated. My sitting-room was in its usual state
of order. I did not venture into the other apartment, neither did I speak
to the woman touching the spectacles I had witnessed.
Hoffmeister returned in the evening, some days sooner than he expected. He
observed my altered appearance, and said—
“_Was fehlt dir? Du bist krank, nicht wahr?_”
“_Nein; ich bin recht wohl, Gott sei dank_.”
I could not, however, convince Hoffmeister that nothing had happened. I
was not disposed to reveal to him what I had witnessed, for I knew he
would treat the matter with unbecoming levity. His opinions were very
different from mine upon these subjects.
Hoffmeister appeared much depressed in spirits himself. I inquired the
cause, but he evaded the question. I concluded that his journey to Berlin
had not been attended with satisfactory results, for I could conjecture no
other cause for his unhappiness. We retired to rest early, for Hoffmeister
appeared fatigued. I proposed that we should sleep together, which my
friend gladly assented to.
I was much surprised, when I awoke on the following morning, to find
myself alone. What had become of Hoffmeister? Had he, too, been under the
domination of some evil power? I knew he was not an early riser, and his
absence, therefore, astonished and agitated me. I dressed myself hastily,
and immediately went in search of him. I wandered about the adjacent
grounds, but he was not there. I could not rest till I had found him. I
had known him for many years, and had always loved and esteemed him. He
was, till lately, my constant companion—my bosom-friend—in a word, my
_alter ego_.
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