which was somewhat inclined to the
left of the armchair, seemed to indicate that he was asleep. "Who can it
be?" I asked myself. I could not see clearly, as the room was rather
dark, so I put out my hand to touch him on the shoulder, and it came in
contact with the back of the chair. There was nobody there; the seat was
empty.

I fairly jumped with fright. For a moment I drew back as if confronted by
some terrible danger; then I turned round again, impelled by an imperious
standing upright, panting with fear, so upset that I could not collect my
thoughts, and ready to faint.

But I am a cool man, and soon recovered myself. I thought: "It is a mere
hallucination, that is all," and I immediately began to reflect on this
phenomenon. Thoughts fly quickly at such moments.

I had been suffering from an hallucination, that was an incontestable
fact. My mind had been perfectly lucid and had acted regularly and
logically, so there was nothing the matter with the brain. It was only my
eyes that had been deceived; they had had a vision, one of those visions
which lead simple folk to believe in miracles. It was a nervous seizure
of the optical apparatus, nothing more; the eyes were rather congested,
perhaps.

I lit my candle, and when I stooped down to the fire in doing so I
noticed that I was trembling, and I raised myself up with a jump, as if
somebody had touched me from behind.

I was certainly not by any means calm.

I walked up and down a little, and hummed a tune or two. Then I
double-locked the door and felt rather reassured; now, at any rate,
nobody could come in.

I sat down again and thought over my adventure for a long time; then I
went to bed and blew out my light.

For some minutes all went well; I lay quietly on my back, but presently
an irresistible desire seized me to look round the room, and I turned
over on my side.

My fire was nearly out, and the few glowing embers threw a faint light on
the floor by the chair, where I fancied I saw the man sitting again.

I quickly struck a match, but I had been mistaken; there was nothing
there. I got up, however, and hid the chair behind my bed, and tried to
get to sleep, as the room was now dark; but I had not forgotten myself
for more than five minutes, when in my dream I saw all the scene which I
had previously witnessed as clearly as if it were reality. I woke up with
a start, and having lit the candle, sat up in bed, without venturing even
to try to go to s