"Hark!" said uncle, raising a warning hand towards the ceiling,
while we held our breath, and listened; "Hark! I believe they are
at it now--in the BLUE CHAMBER!"



THE BLUE CHAMBER



I rose up, and said that I would sleep in the Blue Chamber.

Before I tell you my own story, however--the story of what happened
in the Blue Chamber--I would wish to preface it with -



A PERSONAL EXPLANATION



I feel a good deal of hesitation about telling you this story of my
own. You see it is not a story like the other stories that I have
been telling you, or rather that Teddy Biffles, Mr. Coombes, and my
uncle have been telling you: it is a true story. It is not a
story told by a person sitting round a fire on Christmas Eve,
drinking whisky punch: it is a record of events that actually
happened.