I only remember that I was
very careful not to do anything that I thought would be likely to
offend them; yet otherwise their presence caused me no uneasiness, and
was not at all disagreeable to me.
"The first incident of which I have a distinct recollection was the
following:--
"One night, as I was lying alone in my chamber with my little dog
Brutus snoring beside my bed, there came out of the closet a very
large Indian woman and a very small Indian man, with a huge bass-viol
between them. The woman was dressed in a large, loose, black gown,
secured around her waist by a belt of the same material, and on her
head she wore a high, dark gray fur cap, shaped somewhat like a lady's
muff, ornamented with a row of covered buttons in front, and open
towards the bottom, showing a red lining. The man was dressed in a
shabby, black-colored overcoat and a little round, black hat that
fitted closely to his head. They took no notice of me, but were rather
ill-natured towards each other, and seemed to be disputing for the
possession of the bass-viol. The man snatched it away and struck upon
it a few harsh, hollow notes, which I distinctly heard, and which
seemed to vibrate through my whole body, with a strange, stinging
sensation The woman then took it and appeared to play very intently
and much to her own satisfaction, but without producing any sound that
was perceptible by me.
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