"You rascal!" I said. "Off home with you!"
At the right time and place, gentlemen, I can be very severe.
It was striking half-past four as I got back to Ilgenstein.
I was beastly tired. My legs were hanging from my body like pieces of dead wood. Everything was quiet, as I had sent the whole household to bed before going.
Walking along the corridor, where the lights were still burning, I saw a door decorated with wreaths. It led to the bridal chamber which my sister had kept locked up till then as a surprise.
Moved by curiosity I opened the door and looked in. I beheld a purple sepulchral vault, a mixture of strange scents almost choked me. Everything was hung with curtains and draperies, and from the ceiling swung a real lighted church lamp. In the background, on a raised dais, there had been erected a sort of catafalque with golden ornaments and silken covers.
It was there that I should have had to sleep!
"B-r-r-r!" I said and shut the door and ran away as quickly as my limping legs would carry me.
And then I came to my own room and lit my lovely bright students' lamp. It smiled at me like the sun itself.