Edgar Huntly; or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker
Read along with the full chapter text on screen while you listen. The first chapter is free, no account needed. A 7-day free trial unlocks the whole library; $5/month after, cancel anytime.
Chapters
- 1. Introduction 1:31 Free
- 2. Chapter 1: I sit down, my friend, to comply with thy request 15:00
- 3. Chapter 2: I had food enough for the longest contemplation 17:01
- 4. Chapter 3: The ensuing day was spent partly in sleep, and partl... 25:02
- 5. Chapter 4: You call upon me for a confession of my offences 17:55
- 6. Chapter 5: Mrs. Lorimer had a twin-brother 24:55
- 7. Chapter 6: How propitious, how incredible, was this event 9:58
- 8. Chapter 7: Clarice, meanwhile, was absent 17:30
- 9. Chapter 8: Till now my mind had been swayed by the urgencies of... 35:22
- 10. Chapter 9: There ended his narrative 17:12
- 11. Chapter 10: With these determinations, I proceeded 16:50
- 12. Chapter 11: Next morning I stored a small bag with meat and brea... 15:44
- 13. Chapter 12: I surveyed it with the utmost attention 23:33
- 14. Chapter 13: Since my return home, my mind had been fully occupie... 17:51
- 15. Chapter 14: While sitting alone by the parlour-fire, marking the... 19:07
- 16. Chapter 15: "I came hither with a heart desponding of success 14:27
- 17. Chapter 16: Here, my friend, thou must permit me to pause 25:28
- 18. Chapter 17: Thus was I delivered from my prison, and restored to... 17:22
- 19. Chapter 18: Never was any delight worthy of comparison with the... 22:37
- 20. Chapter 19: Think not that I relate these things with exultation... 21:33
- 21. Chapter 20: I moved forward with as quick a pace as my feeble li... 16:18
- 22. Chapter 21: I likewise burned with impatience to know the condit... 18:46
- 23. Chapter 22: I reached without difficulty the opposite bank, but... 17:11
- 24. Chapter 23: The road was intricate and long 16:45
- 25. Chapter 24: My deportment, at an interview so much desired and s... 18:55
- 26. Chapter 25: "It was noonday before we reached the theatre of action 18:38
- 27. Chapter 26: Here ended the tale of Sarsefield 15:08
- 28. Chapter 27: I hung over the unhappy wretch, whose emaciated form... 25:44
- 29. Letter 2: To the Same 13:19
- 30. Letter 3: To Edgar Huntly 5:01
Read chapter 1
The flattering reception that has been given, by the public, to Arthur Mervyn, has prompted the writer to solicit a continuance of the same favour, and to offer to the world a new performance.
America has opened new views to the naturalist and politician, but has seldom furnished themes to the moral painter. That new springs of action and new motives to curiosity should operate,—that the field of investigation, opened to us by our own country, should differ essentially from those which exist in Europe,—may be readily conceived. The sources of amusement to the fancy and instruction to the heart, that are peculiar to ourselves, are equally numerous and inexhaustible. It is the purpose of this work to profit by some of these sources; to exhibit a series of adventures, growing out of the condition of our country, and connected with one of the most common and most wonderful diseases or affections of the human frame.
One merit the writer may at least claim:—that of calling forth the passions and engaging the sympathy of the reader by means hitherto unemployed by preceding authors. Puerile superstition and exploded manners, Gothic castles and chimeras, are the materials usually employed for this end. The incidents of Indian hostility, and the perils of the Western wilderness, are far more suitable; and for a native of America to overlook these would admit of no apology. These, therefore, are, in part, the ingredients of this tale, and these he has been ambitious of depicting in vivid and faithful colours. The success of his efforts must be estimated by the liberal and candid reader.