This time, be it noted, there was no sanguinary result of the spell cast upon him. Sir William Macpherson, in the work already alluded to, guardedly called attention to the symptoms of bleeding at the nose and ears, and came to the conclusion that Karl presented a hitherto unrecorded phase of hypertrophy of the brain. There were periodical expansions of the encephalon, or, in simple language, the nerve-cells, nerve-tubes, and the rest of the marvelous apparatus which constitute the mental and govern the physical equipment of man, increased in number and power, and, consequently, to a slight extent, in size. All cases previously noted had revealed deficiency of intellect. Either the skull could not accommodate its unwieldy tenant, or the heart could not nourish it. Grier, exercising unknown faculties in childhood, received the requisite nutriment without effort, and growth was permitted by the occasional bursting of a distended membrane. Obviously, a full scientific explanation of the phenomenon is impossible here. Not one scientist in ten thousand would even admit its existence, and the few who do believe would demand a bulky tome to set forth their reasons. Karl, untroubled by such considerations, overslept himself, was late for chapel, and was reprimanded for his somnolence! He retained the liveliest impression of all that had taken place, and, being convinced that he had seen some well-known seaside resort in North America, invited to his rooms a young New Yorker, who was taking a degree at Oxford. He merely described the scene, without any explanation of its significance, and his friend recognized it at once. “That is Manhattan Beach,” he cried, “one of the places where New York dines when the weather is hot. Society goes to the Beach, the crowd to Coney Island. They are not far apart, as the crow flies, but miles asunder in every other respect. Say, I thought you had never been to the States?” “Nor have I, to my present knowledge,” said Karl with a smile. “I have, so to speak, constructed the picture, by force of imagination, let us say.” “I congratulate you. Personally, I never fail to ‘construct’ places I have not seen, but I find invariably that the reality differs from the conception as greatly--well, as radically as my version of that cat’s plaintive remarks might differ from their true inwardness.” It was night again, and the two were sitting near the open window. Somewhere beneath in the quad a seemingly disconsolate feline was mewing its aspirations. There was a moment’s silence while they listened, the American blithely unconscious that he had done aught save utter a harmless pleasantry. “Tell me what you think the cat is saying,” said Karl, quietly.