DURINGthefalloftheyear1827，whileresidingnearCharlottesville，Virginia，IcasuallymadetheacquaintanceofMr。
AugustusBedloe。Thisyounggentlemanwasremarkableineveryrespect，andexcitedinmeaprofoundinterestandcuriosity。Ifounditimpossibletocomprehendhimeitherinhismoralorhisphysicalrelations。OfhisfamilyIcouldobtainnosatisfactoryaccount。
Whencehecame，Ineverascertained。EvenabouthisagealthoughI
callhimayounggentlemantherewassomethingwhichperplexedmeinnolittledegree。HecertainlyseemedyoungandhemadeapointofspeakingabouthisyouthyetthereweremomentswhenIshouldhavehadlittletroubleinimagininghimahundredyearsofage。Butinnoregardwashemorepeculiarthaninhispersonalappearance。Hewassingularlytallandthin。Hestoopedmuch。Hislimbswereexceedinglylongandemaciated。Hisforeheadwasbroadandlow。Hiscomplexionwasabsolutelybloodless。Hismouthwaslargeandflexible，andhisteethweremorewildlyuneven，althoughsound，thanIhadeverbeforeseenteethinahumanhead。Theexpressionofhissmile，however，wasbynomeansunpleasing，asmightbesupposed；butithadnovariationwhatever。Itwasoneofprofoundmelancholyofaphaselessandunceasinggloom。Hiseyeswereabnormallylarge，androundlikethoseofacat。Thepupils，too，uponanyaccessionordiminutionoflight，underwentcontractionordilation，justsuchasisobservedinthefelinetribe。Inmomentsofexcitementtheorbsgrewbrighttoadegreealmostinconceivable；seemingtoemitluminousrays，notofareflectedbutofanintrinsiclustre，asdoesacandleorthesun；yettheirordinaryconditionwassototallyvapid，filmy，anddullastoconveytheideaoftheeyesofalong-interredcorpse。
Thesepeculiaritiesofpersonappearedtocausehimmuchannoyance，andhewascontinuallyalludingtotheminasortofhalfexplanatory，halfapologeticstrain，which，whenIfirstheardit，impressedmeverypainfully。Isoon，however，grewaccustomedtoit，andmyuneasinessworeoff。Itseemedtobehisdesignrathertoinsinuatethandirectlytoassertthat，physically，hehadnotalwaysbeenwhathewasthatalongseriesofneuralgicattackshadreducedhimfromaconditionofmorethanusualpersonalbeauty，tothatwhichIsaw。Formanyyearspasthehadbeenattendedbyaphysician，namedTempletonanoldgentleman，perhapsseventyyearsofagewhomhehadfirstencounteredatSaratoga，andfromwhoseattention，whilethere，heeitherreceived，orfanciedthathereceived，greatbenefit。TheresultwasthatBedloe，whowaswealthy，hadmadeanarrangementwithDr。Templeton，bywhichthelatter，inconsiderationofaliberalannualallowance，hadconsentedtodevotehistimeandmedicalexperienceexclusivelytothecareoftheinvalid。
DoctorTempletonhadbeenatravellerinhisyoungerdays，andatParishadbecomeaconvert，ingreatmeasure，tothedoctrinesofMesmer。Itwasaltogetherbymeansofmagneticremediesthathehadsucceededinalleviatingtheacutepainsofhispatient；andthissuccesshadverynaturallyinspiredthelatterwithacertaindegreeofconfidenceintheopinionsfromwhichtheremedieshadbeeneduced。TheDoctor，however，likeallenthusiasts，hadstruggledhardtomakeathoroughconvertofhispupil，andfinallysofargainedhispointastoinducethesufferertosubmittonumerousexperiments。Byafrequentrepetitionofthese，aresulthadarisen，whichoflatedayshasbecomesocommonastoattractlittleornoattention，butwhich，attheperiodofwhichIwrite，hadveryrarelybeenknowninAmerica。Imeantosay，thatbetweenDoctorTempletonandBedloetherehadgrownup，littlebylittle，averydistinctandstronglymarkedrapport，ormagneticrelation。Iamnotpreparedtoassert，however，thatthisrapportextendedbeyondthelimitsofthesimplesleep-producingpower，butthispoweritselfhadattainedgreatintensity。Atthefirstattempttoinducethemagneticsomnolency，themesmeristentirelyfailed。Inthefifthorsixthhesucceededverypartially，andafterlongcontinuedeffort。Onlyatthetwelfthwasthetriumphcomplete。Afterthisthewillofthepatientsuccumbedrapidlytothatofthephysician，sothat，whenI
firstbecameacquaintedwiththetwo，sleepwasbroughtaboutalmostinstantaneouslybythemerevolitionoftheoperator，evenwhentheinvalidwasunawareofhispresence。Itisonlynow，intheyear1845，whensimilarmiraclesarewitnesseddailybythousands，thatI
dareventuretorecordthisapparentimpossibilityasamatterofseriousfact。
ThetemperatureofBedloewas，inthehighestdegreesensitive，excitable，enthusiastic。Hisimaginationwassingularlyvigorousandcreative；andnodoubtitderivedadditionalforcefromthehabitualuseofmorphine，whichheswallowedingreatquantity，andwithoutwhichhewouldhavefounditimpossibletoexist。Itwashispracticetotakeaverylargedoseofitimmediatelyafterbreakfasteachmorningor，rather，immediatelyafteracupofstrongcoffee，forheatenothingintheforenoonandthensetforthalone，orattendedonlybyadog，uponalongrambleamongthechainofwildanddrearyhillsthatliewestwardandsouthwardofCharlottesville，andaretheredignifiedbythetitleoftheRaggedMountains。
Uponadim，warm，mistyday，towardthecloseofNovember，andduringthestrangeinterregnumoftheseasonswhichinAmericaistermedtheIndianSummer，Mr。Bedloedepartedasusualforthehills。Thedaypassed，andstillhedidnotreturn。
Abouteighto’clockatnight，havingbecomeseriouslyalarmedathisprotractedabsence，wewereaboutsettingoutinsearchofhim，whenheunexpectedlymadehisappearance，inhealthnoworsethanusual，andinrathermorethanordinaryspirits。Theaccountwhichhegaveofhisexpedition，andoftheeventswhichhaddetainedhim，wasasingularoneindeed。
“Youwillremember。”saidhe，“thatitwasaboutnineinthemorningwhenIleftCharlottesville。Ibentmystepsimmediatelytothemountains，and，aboutten，enteredagorgewhichwasentirelynewtome。Ifollowedthewindingsofthispasswithmuchinterest。Thescenerywhichpresenteditselfonallsides，althoughscarcelyentitledtobecalledgrand，hadaboutitanindescribableandtomeadeliciousaspectofdrearydesolation。Thesolitudeseemedabsolutelyvirgin。IcouldnothelpbelievingthatthegreensodsandthegrayrocksuponwhichItrodhadbeentroddenneverbeforebythefootofahumanbeing。Soentirelysecluded，andinfactinaccessible，exceptthroughaseriesofaccidents，istheentranceoftheravine，thatitisbynomeansimpossiblethatIwasindeedthefirstadventurertheveryfirstandsoleadventurerwhohadeverpenetrateditsrecesses。
“Thethickandpeculiarmist，orsmoke，whichdistinguishestheIndianSummer，andwhichnowhungheavilyoverallobjects，served，nodoubt，todeepenthevagueimpressionswhichtheseobjectscreated。SodensewasthispleasantfogthatIcouldatnotimeseemorethanadozenyardsofthepathbeforeme。Thispathwasexcessivelysinuous，andasthesuncouldnotbeseen，IsoonlostallideaofthedirectioninwhichIjourneyed。Inthemeantimethemorphinehaditscustomaryeffectthatofenduingalltheexternalworldwithanintensityofinterest。Inthequiveringofaleafinthehueofabladeofgrassintheshapeofatrefoilinthehummingofabeeinthegleamingofadew-dropinthebreathingofthewindinthefaintodorsthatcamefromtheforesttherecameawholeuniverseofsuggestionagayandmotleytrainofrhapsodicalandimmethodicalthought。
“Busiedinthis，Iwalkedonforseveralhours，duringwhichthemistdeepenedaroundmetosogreatanextentthatatlengthIwasreducedtoanabsolutegropingoftheway。Andnowanindescribableuneasinesspossessedmeaspeciesofnervoushesitationandtremor。Ifearedtotread，lestIshouldbeprecipitatedintosomeabyss。Iremembered，too，strangestoriestoldabouttheseRaggedHills，andoftheuncouthandfierceracesofmenwhotenantedtheirgrovesandcaverns。Athousandvaguefanciesoppressedanddisconcertedme-fanciesthemoredistressingbecausevague。Verysuddenlymyattentionwasarrestedbytheloudbeatingofadrum。
“Myamazementwas，ofcourse，extreme。Adruminthesehillswasathingunknown。IcouldnothavebeenmoresurprisedatthesoundofthetrumpoftheArchangel。Butanewandstillmoreastoundingsourceofinterestandperplexityarose。Therecameawildrattlingorjinglingsound，asifofabunchoflargekeys，andupontheinstantadusky-visagedandhalf-nakedmanrushedpastmewithashriek。HecamesoclosetomypersonthatIfelthishotbreathuponmyface。Heboreinonehandaninstrumentcomposedofanassemblageofsteelrings，andshookthemvigorouslyasheran。Scarcelyhadhedisappearedinthemistbefore，pantingafterhim，withopenmouthandglaringeyes，theredartedahugebeast。Icouldnotbemistakeninitscharacter。Itwasahyena。
“ThesightofthismonsterratherrelievedthanheightenedmyterrorsforInowmadesurethatIdreamed，andendeavoredtoarousemyselftowakingconsciousness。Isteppedboldlyandbrisklyforward。
Irubbedmyeyes。Icalledaloud。Ipinchedmylimbs。Asmallspringofwaterpresenteditselftomyview，andhere，stooping，Ibathedmyhandsandmyheadandneck。Thisseemedtodissipatetheequivocalsensationswhichhadhithertoannoyedme。Iarose，asIthought，anewman，andproceededsteadilyandcomplacentlyonmyunknownway。
“Atlength，quiteovercomebyexertion，andbyacertainoppressiveclosenessoftheatmosphere，Iseatedmyselfbeneathatree。
Presentlytherecameafeeblegleamofsunshine，andtheshadowoftheleavesofthetreefellfaintlybutdefinitelyuponthegrass。AtthisshadowIgazedwonderinglyformanyminutes。Itscharacterstupefiedmewithastonishment。Ilookedupward。Thetreewasapalm。
“Inowarosehurriedly，andinastateoffearfulagitationforthefancythatIdreamedwouldservemenolonger。IsawIfeltthatIhadperfectcommandofmysensesandthesesensesnowbroughttomysoulaworldofnovelandsingularsensation。Theheatbecameallatonceintolerable。Astrangeodorloadedthebreeze。A
low，continuousmurmur，likethatarisingfromafull，butgentlyflowingriver，cametomyears，intermingledwiththepeculiarhumofmultitudinoushumanvoices。
“WhileIlistenedinanextremityofastonishmentwhichIneednotattempttodescribe，astrongandbriefgustofwindboreofftheincumbentfogasifbythewandofanenchanter。
“Ifoundmyselfatthefootofahighmountain，andlookingdownintoavastplain，throughwhichwoundamajesticriver。OnthemarginofthisriverstoodanEastern-lookingcity，suchaswereadofintheArabianTales，butofacharacterevenmoresingularthananytheredescribed。Frommyposition，whichwasfarabovethelevelofthetown，Icouldperceiveitseverynookandcorner，asifdelineatedonamap。Thestreetsseemedinnumerable，andcrossedeachotherirregularlyinalldirections，butwereratherlongwindingalleysthanstreets，andabsolutelyswarmedwithinhabitants。Thehouseswerewildlypicturesque。Oneveryhandwasawildernessofbalconies，ofverandas，ofminarets，ofshrines，andfantasticallycarvedoriels。Bazaarsabounded；andintheseweredisplayedrichwaresininfinitevarietyandprofusionsilks，muslins，themostdazzlingcutlery，themostmagnificentjewelsandgems。Besidesthesethings，wereseen，onallsides，bannersandpalanquins，litterswithstatelydamescloseveiled，elephantsgorgeouslycaparisoned，idolsgrotesquelyhewn，drums，banners，andgongs，spears，silverandgildedmaces。Andamidthecrowd，andtheclamor，andthegeneralintricacyandconfusion-amidthemillionofblackandyellowmen，turbanedandrobed，andofflowingbeard，thereroamedacountlessmultitudeofholyfilletedbulls，whilevastlegionsofthefilthybutsacredapeclambered，chatteringandshrieking，aboutthecornicesofthemosques，orclungtotheminaretsandoriels。Fromtheswarmingstreetstothebanksoftheriver，theredescendedinnumerableflightsofstepsleadingtobathingplaces，whiletheriveritselfseemedtoforceapassagewithdifficultythroughthevastfleetsofdeeplyburthenedshipsthatfarandwideencountereditssurface。Beyondthelimitsofthecityarose，infrequentmajesticgroups，thepalmandthecocoa，withothergiganticandweirdtreesofvastage，andhereandtheremightbeseenafieldofrice，thethatchedhutofapeasant，atank，astraytemple，agypsycamp，orasolitarygracefulmaidentakingherway，withapitcheruponherhead，tothebanksofthemagnificentriver。