Dr Heidegger S Experiment Illustrated

"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" a short story by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, about a doctor who claims to have been sent water from the Fountain of Youth. Originally published anonymously in 1837, it was later published in Hawthorne's collection Twice-Told Tales, also in 1837.

That very singular man, old Dr. Heidegger, once invited four venerable friends to meet him in his study. There were three white-bearded gentlemen, Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mr. Gascoigne, and a withered gentlewoman, whose name was the Widow Wycherly. They were all melancholy old creatures, who had been unfortunate in life, and whose greatest misfortune it was that they were not long ago in their graves. Mr. Medbourne, in the vigor of his age, had been a prosperous merchant, but had lost his all by a frantic speculation, and was now little better than a mendicant.

Dr. Heidegger invites four elderly friends to participate in an experiment in his mysterious, gloomy study. He shows them a withered rose that he claims is fifty-five years old. He then displays a vase, a gift from an acquaintance, that contains a generous quantity of sparkling water. Heidegger explains that this bewitching water is from the legendary Fountain of Youth, near Lake Macaco (now known as Lake Okeechobee, in Florida). The water wondrously causes the old rose to bloom again when it is dropped into it. Dr. Heidegger's friends become cautiously intrigued. They wish to taste the water, hoping it will restore their youth and give them an opportunity to live life again, free from the mistakes they made when they were young. As Heidegger watches, they anxiously drink the water. Their youth restored, they begin acting as fatuously as they did in their prime. Soon, the three men of the group begin competing for the attention of the now-youthful and beautiful widow. While experiencing their newfound youth, however, a tall ominous mirror in the study reflects an image of the four guests as still being elderly and feeble. The vase is accidentally smashed as the men fight over her, and its miraculous water is lost. The guests' transformation only lasts for minutes, and therefore returns them to their original old age. To obtain more of the enchanted water, the four test subjects determine to travel to Florida to find the Fountain of Youth.

This carefully crafted ebook: "Dark Tales: Collected Gothic Novels and Stories (Illustrated)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Excerpts: "I am afraid this ghost story will bear a very faded aspect when transferred to paper. Whatever effect it had on you, or whatever charm it retains in your memory, is, perhaps, to be attributed to the favorable circumstances under which it was originally told." (The Ghost of Doctor Harris) "The aspect of the venerable mansion has always affected me like a human countenance, bearing the traces not merely of outward storm and sunshine, but expressive also, of the long lapse of mortal life, and accompanying vicissitudes that have passed within." (The House of the Seven Gables) American novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne's (1804–1864) writing centers on New England, many works featuring moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered to be part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, Dark romanticism. His themes often centre on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. Contents: Introduction: Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne The House of the Seven Gables (A Novel) The Minister's Black Veil The Hollow of the Three Hills The White Old Maid Dr. Heidegger's Experiment The Birthmark Young Goodman Brown Rappaccini's Daughter Roger Malvin's Burial The Artist of the Beautiful John Inglefield's Thanksgiving Wives of the Dead An Old Woman's Tale Antique Ring Graves and Goblins The Ghost of Doctor Harris Apparitions