For some months previous to my becoming acquainted with
him, his physicians had declared him in a confirmed phthisis. It was
his custom, indeed, to speak calmly of his approaching dissolution, as
of a matter neither to be avoided nor regretted.
When the ideas to which I have alluded first occurred to me, it
was of course very natural that I should think of M. Valdemar. I
knew the steady philosophy of the man too well to apprehend any
scruples from him; and he had no relatives in America who would be
likely to interfere. I spoke to him frankly upon the subject; and,
to my surprise, his interest seemed vividly excited. I say to my
surprise, for, although he had always yielded his person freely to
my experiments, he had never before given me any tokens of sympathy
with what I did. His disease was if that character which would admit
of exact calculation in respect to the epoch of its termination in
death; and it was finally arranged between us that he would send for
me about twenty-four hours before the period announced by his
physicians as that of his decease.
It is now rather more than seven months since I received, from M.
Valdemar himself, the subjoined note:
My DEAR P--,
You may as well come now. D-- and F-- are agreed that I cannot hold
out beyond to-morrow midnight; and I think they have hit the time very
nearly.
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