 P. has possibly lost his sanity and, despite not leaving his room, has met a wide variety of famous 19th century figures who he describes.Some of the people he meets were already dead and P. confuses past and present.Among those he encounters in his imagination or claims friendship with are Lord Byron, Napoleon, John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Charles Brockden Brown, and Joel Barlow.