r to the
other, made his appearance; again the doctor was forced to wipe his
shoes, and for the third time he was conducted into a room, where
carpets, chairs, sofas, and bed were all as white as snow. A tall figure
dressed in a white dressing-gown and nightcap, and having its face
covered by a white mask, sat by the fire. The moment this ghostly object
perceived Besse, he observed, "My body is possessed by the devil," and
then was silent. For three-quarters of an hour they remained thus, the
white figure occupying himself with incessantly putting on and taking
off six pairs of white gloves, which were placed on a white table beside
him. The strangeness of the whole affair made Besse feel very
uncomfortable, but when his eyes fell on a variety of firearms in one
corner of the room he became so frightened that he was obliged to sit
down, lest his legs should give way.

[Illustration: 'Saw reflected in the mirror the white figure']

'At last the dead silence grew more than he could bear, and he turned to
the white figure and asked what they wanted of him, and begged that his
orders might be given him as soon as possible, as his time belonged to
the public and he was needed elsewhere. To this the white figure only
answered coldly, "What does that matter, as long as you are well paid?"
and again was silent. Another quarter of an hour passed, and then the
white figure suddenly pulled one of the white bell-ropes. When the
summons was answered by the two white lackeys, the figure desired them
to bring some bandages, and commanded Besse to bleed him, and to take
from him five pounds of blood. The surgeon, amazed at the quantity,
inquired what doctor had ordered such extensive blood-letting. "I
myself," replied the white figure. Besse felt that he was too much upset
by all he had gone through to trust himself to bleed in the arm without
great risk of injury, so he decided to perform the operation on the
foot, which is far less dangerous. Hot water was brought, and the white
phantom removed a pair of white thread stockings of wonderful beauty,
then another and another, up to six, and took off a slipper of beaver
lined with white. The leg and foot thus left bare were the prettiest in
the world; and Besse began to think that the figure before him must be
that of a woman. At the second basinful the patient showed signs of
fainting, and Besse wished to loosen the mask, in order to give him more
air. This was, however, prevented by t