He said to the prince:
"I have had a dream, have I not?"
"No."
"How do you mean, no?" And, suddenly recollecting, "Oh, that's true, I remember. . . . I meant to kill myself . . . and I even . . ." Bending forward anxiously, "But the rest, the vision . . ."
"What vision?"
"The man . . . the rope . . . was that a dream? . . ."
"No," said Sernine. "That also was real."
"What are you saying? What are you saying? . . . Oh, no, no! . . . I entreat you! . . . Wake me, if I am asleep . . . or else let me die! . . . But I am dead, am I not? And this is the nightmare of a corpse! . . . Oh, I feel my brain going! . . . I entreat you. . . ."
Sernine placed his hand gently on the young man's head and, bending over him:
"Listen to me . . . listen to me carefully and understand what I say. You a
