Along at first I was mentally offering a reward of five—­six—­seven—­ten—­dollars for that mouse; but toward the last I was offering rewards which were entirely beyond my means.  I close-reefed my ears —­that is to say, I bent the flaps of them down and furled them into five or six folds, and pressed them against the hearing-orifice—­but it did no good:  the faculty was so sharpened by nervous excitement that it was become a microphone and could hear through the overlays without trouble.

My anger grew to a frenzy.  I finally did what all persons before me have done, clear back to Adam,—­resolved to throw something.  I reached down and got my walking-shoes, then sat up in bed and listened, in order to exactly locate the noise.  But I couldn’t do it; it was as unlocatable as a cricket’s noise; and where one thinks that that is, is always the very place where it isn’t.  So I presently hurled a shoe at random, and with a vicious vigor.  It struck the wall over Harris’s head and fell down on him; I had not imagined I could throw so far.  It woke Harris, and I was glad of it until I found he was not angry; then I was sorry.  He soon went to sleep again, which pleased me; but straightway the mouse began again, which roused my temper once more.  I did not want to wake Harris a second time, but the gnawing continued until I was compelled to throw the other shoe.  This time I broke a mirror—­there were two in the room—­I got the largest one, of course.  Harris woke again, but did not complain, and I was sorrier than ever.  I resolved that I would suffer all possible torture before I would disturb him a third time.

The mouse eventually retired, and by and by I was sinking to sleep, when a clock began to strike; I counted till it was done, and was about to drowse again when another clock began; I counted; then the two great RATHHAUS clock angels began to send forth soft, rich, melodious blasts from their long trumpets.  I had never heard anything that was so lovely, or weird, or mysterious—­but when they got to blowing the quarter-hours, they seemed to me to be overdoing the thing.  Every time I dropped off for the moment, a new noise woke me.  Each time I woke I missed my coverlet, and had to reach down to the floor and get it again.

At last all sleepiness forsook me.  I recognized the fact that I was hopelessly and permanently wide awake.  Wide awake, and feverish and thirsty.  When I had lain tossing there as long as I could endure it, it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to dress and go out in the great square and take a refreshing wash in the fountain, and smoke and reflect there until the remnant of the night was gone.