"Why not?" I asked myself. "What alienates him from the house? Will he leave it again soon? Mrs. Fairfax said he seldom stayed here longer than a fortnight at a time; and he has now been resident eight weeks. If he does go，the change will be doleful. Suppose he should be absent spring，summer，and autumn: how joyless sunshine and fine days will seem!"

I hardly know whether I had slept or not after this musing; at any rate，I started wide awake on hearing a vague murmur，peculiar and lugubrious，which sounded，I thought，just above me. I wished I had kept my candle burning: the night was drearily dark; my spirits were depressed. I rose and sat up in bed，listening. The sound was hushed.

I tried again to sleep; but my heart beat anxiously: my inward tranquillity was broken. The clock，far down in the hall，struck two. Just then it seemed my chamber-door was touched; as if fingers had swept the panels in groping a way along the dark gallery outside. I said，"Who is there?" Nothing answered. I was chilled with fear.

All at once I remembered that it might be pilot，who，when the kitchen-door chanced to be left open，not unfrequently found his way up to the threshold of Mr. Rochester"s chamber: I had seen him lying there myself in the mornings. The idea calmed me somewhat: I lay down.

Silence poses the nerves; and as an unbroken hush now reigned again through the whole house，I began to feel the return of slumber. But it was not fated that I should sleep that night. A dream had scarcely approached my ear，when it fled affrighted，scared by a marrow-freezing incident enough.

This was a demoniac laugh- low，suppressed，and deep- uttered，as it seemed，at the very keyhole of my chamber door. The head of my bed was near the door，and I thought at first the goblin-laugher stood at my bedside- or rather，crouched by my pillow: but I rose，looked round，and could see nothing; while，as I still gazed，the unnatural sound was reiterated: and I knew it came from behind the panels. My first impulse was to rise and fasten the bolt; my next，again to cry out，"Who is there?"