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 were very ludicrous. They were anxious to know, among other things, whether the head which had appeared to him, resembled that of a corpse or a living being.

“It most probably belongs to a corpse,” he replied. “I was so thunderstruck with the horrible effect of it, that I cannot remember minutiæ. Imagine an only son, with the point of a sword which he holds in his hand, piercing his father’s skull! The bare idea is sufficient to deprive one of one’s senses.”

“I did not believe,” answered the colonel, after having for some time considered Calzolaro, “that the conscience of a man, who like you has rambled the world over, could still be so much overcome by the powers of imagination.”

“What! monsieur, do you still doubt the reality of the apparition, though I am ready to attest it by the most sacred oaths?”

“Your assertion contradicts itself. We have also our eyes to see what really exists; and nobody, excepting yourself, saw any other than a simple skull.”

“That is what I cannot explain: but this I can add, that I am firmly persuaded, although even now I cannot account for my so thinking, that as sure as I exist, that head is actually and truly the head of my father: I am ready to attest it by my most solemn oath.”