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One of my favorite memories of scaring myself as a
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child was getting a compilation book of Edgar Allan Poe's
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stories from my elementary school library. It brought me so
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much fear and so much excitement. I remember running home
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from school with that book in my backpack as the
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sky was dark and a storm was coming. I was
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in my childhood living room, but I wasn't alone. I
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had a pizza and the books of Poe. Every so
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often I'll bring you a tale of Poe, and I
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hope it gives you that scary fun sense, just the
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same as it does for me. When the clock strikes midnight,
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the story will begin. The facts in the Case of M.
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Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe. Of course, I shall not
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pretend to consider it any matter for wonder that the
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extraordinary case of M. Valdemar has excited discussion. It would
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have been a miracle had it not, especially under the circumstances,
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through the desire of all parties concerned to keep the
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affair from the public, at least for the present, or
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until we had farther opportunities for investigation. Through our endeavors
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to effect this a garbled or exaggerated account made its
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way into society, and became the source of many unpleasant misrepresentations,
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and very naturally of a great deal of disbelief. It
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is now rendered necessary that I give the facts, as
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far as I comprehend them myself. They are succinctly these.
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My attention for the last three years has been repeatedly
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drawn to the subject of mesmerism, and about nine months
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ago it occurred to me quite suddenly that in the
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series of experiments made hitherto there had been a very
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remarkable and most unaccountable omission. No person has as yet
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been mesmerized in arcticulo mortis. It remained to be seen,
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first whether in such condition there existed in the patient
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any susceptibility to the magnetic influence. Secondly, whether if any existed,
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it was impaired or increased by the condition. Thirdly, to
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what extent, or for how long a period the encroachments
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of death might be arrested by the process. There were
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other points to be ascertained, but these most excited my curiosity,
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the last in especial from the immensely important character of
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its consequences in looking around me for some subject by
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whose means I might test these particulars. I was brought
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to think of my friend m Ernest Valdemar, the well
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known compiler of the Biblioteca Forensica and author under the
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gnome de plume of Isaacar Marx of the Polish version
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of Wallenstein and Gargantua. M. Valdemar, who has resided principally
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at Harlem, New York since the year eighteen thirty nine,
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is or was particularly noticeable for the extreme spareness of
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his person, his lower limbs much resembling those of John Randall,
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and also for the whiteness of his whiskers in violent
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contrast to the blackness of his hair, the latter, in
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consequence being very generally mistaken for a whig. His temperament
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was markedly nervous, and rendered him a good subject for
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mesmeric experiment. On two or three occasions I had put
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him to sleep with little difficulty, but was disappointed in
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other results which his peculiar constitution had naturally led me
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to anticipate. His will was at no period positively or
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thoroughly under my control, and in regard to clairvoyance I
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could accomplish with him. Nothing to be relied upon. I
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also attributed my failure at these points to the disordered
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state of his health. For some months previous to my
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becoming acquainted with him, his physicians had declared him in
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a confirmed thesis. It was his custom, indeed, to speak
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calmly of his approaching dissolution as of a matter neither
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to be avoided nor regretted. When the ideas to which
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I have alluded first occurred to me, it was of
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course very natural that I should think of M. Valdemar.
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I knew the steady philosophy of the man too well
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to apprehend any scruples from him, and he had no
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relatives in America who would be likely to interfere. I
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spoke to him frankly upon the subject, and to my
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surprise his interest seemed vividly excited. I say to my surprise,
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for although he had always yielded his person freely to
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my experiments, he had never before given me any tokens
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of sympathy with what I did. His disease was that
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character which would admit of exact calculation in respect to
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the epoch of its termination in death. And it was
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finally arranged between us that he would send me about
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twenty four hours before the period announced by his physicians
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as that of his decease. It is now rather more
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than seven months since I received from M. Valdemar himself
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the subjoint note Dear mister P, you may as well
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come now. D and F are agreed that I cannot
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hold out beyond tomorrow midnight. And I think they have
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hit the time very nearly. Valdemar. I received this note
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within half an hour after it was written, and in
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fifteen minutes more I was in the dying man's chamber.
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I had not seen him for ten days, and was
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appalled by the fearful alteration which the brief interval had
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wrought in him. His face wore a leaden hue, the
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eyes were utterly lustreless, and the emaciation was so extreme
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that the skin had been broken through by the cheek bones.
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His expectoration was excessive, the pulse was barely perceptible. He retained, nevertheless,
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in a very remarkable manner, both his mental power and
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a certain degree of physical strength. He spoke with distinctness,
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took some palliative medicines without aid, and when I entered
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the room was occupied in penciling memoranda in a pocket book.
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He was propped up in the bed by pillows. Doctors
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D and F were in attendance. After pressing Valdemar's hand,
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I took these gentlemen aside and obtained from them a
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minute account of the patient's condition. The left lung had
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been for eighteen months in a semi osseous or cartilaginous state,
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and was of course entirely useless for all purposes of vitality.
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The right in its upper portion was also partially, if
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not thoroughly, ossified, while the lower region was merely a
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mass of purulent tubercles running one into another. Several extensive
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perforations existed, and at one point permanent adhesion to the
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ribs had taken place. These appearances in the right lobe
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were of comparatively recent date. The ossification had proceeded with
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very unusual rapidity. No sign of it had discovered a
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month before, and the adhesion had only been observed during
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the three previous days. Independently of the thesis, the patient
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was suspected of aneurism of the aorta, but on this
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point the osseous symptoms rendered an exact diagnosis impossible. It
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was the opinion of both physicians that M. Valdemar would
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die about midnight on the morrow Sunday. It was then
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seven o'clock on Saturday evening. On quitting the invalid's bedside
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to hold conversation with myself, Doctors D and F had
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bidden him a final farewell. It had not been their
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intention to return, but at my request they agreed to
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look in upon the patient about ten the next night.
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When they had gone, I spoke freely with M. Valdemar
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on the subject of his approaching disillusion, as well as
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more particularly of the experiment proposed. He still professed himself
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quite willing and even anxious to have it made, and
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urged me to commence it at once. A male and
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a female nurse were in attendance. But I did not
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feel myself altogether at liberty to engage in a task
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of this character with no more reliable witnesses than these people,
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in case of sudden accident might prove. I therefore postponed
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operations until about eight the next night, when the arrival
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of a medical student with whom I had some acquaintance,
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mister Theodore L, relieved me from farther embarrassment. It had
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been my design originally to wait for the physicians, but
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I was induced to proceed, first by the urgent entreaties
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of m. Valdemar, and secondly by my conviction that I
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had not a moment to lose, as he was evidently
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sinking fast. Mister L was so kind as to accede
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to my desire that he would take notes of all
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that occurred, And it is from his memoranda that what
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I now have to relate is, for the most part,
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either condensed or copied verbatim. It wanted about five minutes
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of eight. When taking the patient's hand, I begged him
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to state as distinctly as he could to mister L
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whether he m Valdemar was entirely willing that I should
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make the experiment of mesmerizing him in his then condition.
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He replied, feebly, yet quite audibly, Yes, I wish to
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be mesmerized, adding immediately afterwards, I fear you have deferred
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it too long. While he spoke. Thus, I commenced the
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passes which I had already found most effectual in subduing him.
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He was evidently influenced with the first lateral stroke of
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my hand across his forehead. But although I exerted all
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my powers, no farther perceptible effect was induced until some
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minutes after ten o'clock, when doctors D and F called
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according to a point. I explained to them in a
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few words what I designed, and as they opposed no objection,
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saying that the patient was already in the death agony,
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I proceeded without hesitation, exchanging however, the lateral passes for
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downward ones, and directing my gaze entirely into the right
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eye of the sufferer. By this time his pulse was imperceptible,
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and his breathing was statoris, and at intervals of half
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a minute. This condition was nearly unaltered for a quarter
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of an hour. At the expiration of this period, however,
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a natural, although a very deep sigh, escaped the bosom
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of the dying man. The statoris breathing ceased, that is
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to say, its steretorousness was no no longer apparent. The
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intervals were undiminished. The patient's extremities were of an icy coldness.
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At five minutes before eleven, I perceived unequivocal signs of
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the mesmeric influence. The glassy roll of the eye was
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changed for that expression of uneasy inward examination, which is
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never seen except in cases of sleep walking, and which
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it is quite impossible to mistake. With a few rapid
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lateral passes, I made the lids quiver as in incipient sleep,
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and with a few more I closed them altogether. I
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was not satisfied, however, with this, but continued the manipulations
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vigorously and with the fullest exertion of the will, until
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I had completely stiffened the limbs of the slumberer. After
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placing them in a seemingly easy position. The legs were
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at full length, the arms were nearly so, and reposed
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on the bed at a moderate distance from the loins.
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The head was very slightly elevated. When I had accomplished this,
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it was fully midnight, and I requested the gentleman present
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to examine m. Valdemar's condition. After a few experiments, they
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admitted him to be in an unusually perfect state of
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mesmeric trance. The curiosity of both the physicians was greatly excited.
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Doctor D resolved at once to remain with the patient
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all night, while doctor F took leave with a promise
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to return at daybreak. Mister L and the nurses remained.
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We left m. Voldemont entirely undisturbed until about three o'clock
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in the morning, when I approached him and found him
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in precisely the same condition as when doctor f went away.
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That is to say, he lay in the same position.
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The pulse was imperceptible, the breathing was gentle, scarcely noticeable
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unless through the application of a mirror to the lips.
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The eyes were closed naturally, and the limbs were as
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rigid and as cold as marble. Still, the general appearance
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was certainly not that of death. As I approached m. Valdemar,
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I made a kind of half effort to influence his
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right arm into pursuit of my own, as I passed
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the latter gently to and fro above his person. In
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such experiments with this patient I had never perfectly succeeded before,
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and assuredly I had little thought of succeeding now. But
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to my astonishment, his arm very readily, although feebly, followed
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every direction I assigned it with mine. I determined to
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hazard a few words of conversation m Valdemar, I said,
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are you asleep? He made no answer, but I perceived
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a tremor about the lips, and was thus induced to
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repeat the question again and again. At its third repetition,
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his whole frame was agitated by a very slight shivering.
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The eyelids unclosed themselves so far as to display a
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white line of a ball. The lips moved sluggishly, and
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from between them, in a barely audible whisper, issued the.
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Words yes, asleep, now, do not wake me, Let me die.
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So I here felt the limbs and found them as
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rigid as ever. The right arm, as before, obeyed the
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direction of my hand. I questioned the sleep waker again,
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do you still feel pain in the breast? M valdemar.
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The answer was now immediate, but even less audible than before.
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No pain, I am dying.
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I did not think it advisable to disturb him farther
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just then, and nothing more was said or done until
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the arrival of doctor F who came a little before
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sunrise and expressed unbounded astonishment at finding the patient still alive.
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After feeling the pulse and applying a mirror to the lips,
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he requested me to speak to the sleep waker again.
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I did so, saying, M. Valdemar, do you still sleep
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as before. Some minutes elapsed. Ere a reply was made,
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and during the interval the dying man seemed to be
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collecting his energies to speak. At my fourth repetition of
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the question, he said, very faintly, almost inaudibly, Yes, still asleep, dying.
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It was now the opinion, or rather the wish, of
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the physicians, that M. Valdemar should be suffered to remain
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undisturbed in his present apparently tranquil condition until death should supervene,
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and this, it was generally agreed, must now take place
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within a few minutes. I concluded, however, to speak to
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him once more, and merely repeated my previous question. While
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I spoke, there came a marked change over the countenance
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of the sleep waker. The eyes rolled themselves slowly open,
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the pupils disappearing upwardly. The skin generally assumed a cadaverous hue,
237
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resembling not so much parchment as white paper, and the
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circular hectic spots which hitherto had been strongly defined in
239
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the center of each cheek, went out at once. I
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used this expression because the suddenness of their departure put
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me in mine and of nothing so much as the
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extinguishment of a candle by a puff of the breath.
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The upper lip, at the same time writhed itself away