“What remains of the present affair to be told, may, with what has already been related (and the truth of which may be ascertained most readily by correspondence with the parties named), be implicitly relied on as correct in all essential particulars; and yet, the occurrences that took place on that eventful night are of a kind so horrible, so utterly monstrous, that, at times, I almost believe that we all--twelve healthful men, and six women--were laboring under some strong delusion. I should still cling to this belief, with the pertinacity of a miser to his golden god, the bigot to his creed, or the drowning wretch to the narrow plank that promises a renewal of life’s tenure, were it not that facts, appalling in themselves, forever and utterly _preclude_ the possibility that I--that _we_--were mistaken and deceived. What these facts were, will be most clearly shown in the sequel.” CHAPTER V. SÉANCE AT THE BARON’S--DIABLERIE EXTRAORDINAIRE. “With features horribler than Hell e’er traced On its own brood; no Demon of the waste, No church-yard ghoul, caught lingering in the light Of the blest sun, e’er blasted human sight With lineaments so foul, so fierce as those The Impostor now, in grinning mockery shows.” “When I reached the house I found the company above enumerated seated in the parlor, and all most anxiously awaiting the appearance of the individual who was to afford us entertainment, and, if possible, some instruction also. For awhile it appeared that we were doomed to be disappointed. The expected party had promised to attend at thirty minutes to eight, and it was nearly that time already, and still there were no signs of his coming; but, as St. Eustache tolled out the half hour, a ring at the door-bell announced his arrival. “The man was a tall and comely personage, apparently of Irish extraction, and had nothing whatever about him at all remarkable; indeed, he was a very so-soish sort of individual, who at first refused his name to everybody, because, to quote his own words: ‘If I remain _incog._ I shall not be lionized, which in other terms means “bored,” and pestered by persons seeking to gratify a morbid and impertinent curiosity--people who look for full-grown miracles, and expect to find them, instead of studying arts and sciences, and therewith increasing their knowledge and enriching their experience by a more intimate acquaintance with philosophic truths, and the recondite mysteries of mighty Nature.’