one o'clock in the morning
Herestauss , Doctor of Philosophy and Theogony , wrote the history and the manifestation of all those invisible beings which hover around man , or of whom he dreams . He describes their origin , their domains , their power ; but none of them resembles the one which haunts me . One might say that man , ever since he has thought , has had a foreboding and a fear of a new being , stronger than himself , his successor in this world , and that , feeling him near , and not being able to foretell the nature of the unseen one , he has , in his terror , created the whole race of hidden beings , vague phantoms born of fear . Having , therefore , read until one o'clock in the morning , I went and sat down at the open window , in order to cool my forehead and my thoughts in the calm night air . It was very pleasant and warm ! How I should have enjoyed such a night formerly ! There was no moon , but the stars darted out their rays in the dark heavens .