imself to many fanciful speculations. He marvelled why it was that the
concurrence of all ages and nations, enlightened or ignorant, savage or
civilized, should have so uniformly led to the belief in good and evil
spirits wandering at large on the earth, not subject to the laws of
matter, save in the sensation of sight and hearing. The creditable phalanx
of names of distinguished persons who had placed their veracity on the
side of believers, as having themselves been visited by the inhabitants of
the other world, was opposed by his own experience; for although he had
frequently thought he had been so honored, yet upon investigating the
cause, he had invariably found it to be a mere delusion.

It was not long however that he was suffered thus to enjoy himself; for
hearing a slight noise near the fire-place, he turned his head, and saw a
deformed, dwarfish body emerge from the shadowy part of the room, proceed
stealthily toward the fire, over which he rubbed his thin, attenuated
hands, and then placing them under their opposite arms, he hugged himself
in evident comfort. The fire had by this time so far dwindled away as to
be only a handful of smouldering embers, which cast but an exceedingly
feeble and uncertain light, sufficient only to reveal the general outline
of the pigmy spectre. The old gentleman, with strained eyes, attentively
observed his motions, till from very weariness, caused by looking through
a light so dim, he began to doubt whether he saw truly: he reasoned with
himself, but with no satisfactory result; till at last, desirous of
'making assurance doubly sure,' he gently enlarged his look-out in the
slightly-opened curtains in order that he might more attentively observe
the room; but all was darkness, save in the immediate vicinity of the
fire. The removal of the curtain however had made a rustling noise, which
had given the alarm to the spectre-imp, who immediately vanished into the
gloom of the apartment on the side of the fire-place.

This was no sooner observed by the wide-awake old gentleman, than he
jumped out of bed, resolved to give chase; but although stout gentlemen
are generally no-wise active, not a second had elapsed before he reached
the hearth, and scattering the embers in order to obtain more light, he
looked carefully around, but no trace of the phantom could be seen. A few
seconds more, and one of the candles was lighted, when the room was again
subjected to a more rigid scrutiny; but