I came into this room, and the sight of the empty chair and fireless hearth chilled me.

For some time after I went to bed, I could not sleep--a sense of anxious excitement distressed me.

The gale still rising, seemed to my ear to muffle a mournful under-sound; whether in the house or abroad I could not at first tell, but it recurred, doubtful yet doleful at every lull; at last I made out it must be some dog howling at a distance.

I was glad when it ceased.

On sleeping, I continued in dreams the idea of a dark and gusty night.