(The nurse slept also in my room, behind the screen, which
stood against my head.) By the light of this lamp I could
now distinctly see that the person who had entered, and
who was now standing on the left side of my bed, was my



68 SPIRITS BEFORE OUR EYES.
brother-in-law Sengireef, in a costume quite strange to me
— a long, black, monastic-looking garment, with long black
liair hanging down on his shoulders, and a large, round
beard, such as I had never seen him wear. I tried to shut
my eyes, but could not, and I felt my body become com-
pletely rigid, and incapable of the slightest movement ;
even my voice failed me, that I could not call for help ;
at the same time my hearing, sight, and the power to
understand all that was happening, remained so fully under
my control, that I was able on the following day to recall
precisely at what hour the nurse had got up to quiet the
babv, and other details.
