bring it nearly in contact with the abdomen, and then, straightening the

limb with inconceivable force, bestowed a kick upon Doctor Ponnonner,

which had the effect of discharging that gentleman, like an arrow from a

catapult, through a window into the street below.

We rushed out en masse to bring in the mangled remains of the victim,

but had the happiness to meet him upon the staircase, coming up in an

unaccountable hurry, brimful of the most ardent philosophy, and more

than ever impressed with the necessity of prosecuting our experiment

with vigor and with zeal.

It was by his advice, accordingly, that we made, upon the spot, a

profound incision into the tip of the subject's nose, while the Doctor

himself, laying violent hands upon it, pulled it into vehement contact

with the wire.

Morally and physically--figuratively and literally--was the effect

electric. In the first place, the corpse opened its eyes and winked very

rapidly for several minutes, as does Mr. Barnes in the pantomime, in the

second place, it sneezed; in the third, it sat upon end; in the fourth,

it shook its fist in Doctor Ponnonner's face; in the fifth, turning to

Messieurs Gliddon and Buckingham, it addressed them, in very capital

Egyptian, thus:

I must say, gentlemen, that I am as much surprised as I am mortified at

your behavior. Of Doctor Ponnonner nothing better was to be expected. He

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume 5