Then a pause in which all is blank. Then again sound, and
motion, and touch --a tingling sensation pervading my frame. Then
the mere consciousness of existence, without thought --a condition
which lasted long. Then, very suddenly, thought, and shuddering
terror, and earnest endeavor to comprehend my true state. Then a
strong desire to lapse into insensibility. Then a rushing revival of
soul and a successful effort to move. And now a full memory of the
trial, of the judges, of the sable draperies, of the sentence, of
the sickness, of the swoon. Then entire forgetfulness of all that
followed; of all that a later day and much earnestness of endeavor
have enabled me vaguely to recall.
So far, I had not opened my eyes. I felt that I lay upon my back,
unbound. I reached out my hand, and it fell heavily upon something
damp and hard. There I suffered it to remain for many minutes, while I
strove to imagine where and what I could be. I longed, yet dared not
to employ my vision. I dreaded the first glance at objects around
me. It was not that I feared to look upon things horrible, but that
I grew aghast lest there should be nothing to see. At length, with a
wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes.
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