Spoiler
Well we don't have to venture too far into the story before the old HPL bigotry comes clattering along, and een thees case eet ees via the comedy Spaniard. He really shouldn't be allowed to spell out phonetic dialects - I was waiting for a Rastafarian to make an entrance! The comedy Spanish did not apply to the good doctor of course, as "Dr. Muñoz, most certainly, was a man of birth, cultivation, and discrimination" - the latter being a plus point in the eyes of ol' Howard Phillips 
I did find it odd that of all the possible maladies that could drive the narrator up to see the doctor it should be a heart attack - they do tend to leave one rather indisposed usually!
Finally I was disappointed at the lack of any degenerate Dutch influences.
All things comedic aside, another reasonable early HPL tale. Thematically it sits between the earlier "Herbert West, Re-animator" and the fungi from Yoggoth. I did think that HPL pulled the rug from beneath himself a little bit - the narrator takes such care of the doctor, helping him keep his flat ever colder whilst listening to his theories. When the big reveal that he was dead all along arrives, it is all a bit, well, obvious.
I did find it odd that of all the possible maladies that could drive the narrator up to see the doctor it should be a heart attack - they do tend to leave one rather indisposed usually!
Finally I was disappointed at the lack of any degenerate Dutch influences.
All things comedic aside, another reasonable early HPL tale. Thematically it sits between the earlier "Herbert West, Re-animator" and the fungi from Yoggoth. I did think that HPL pulled the rug from beneath himself a little bit - the narrator takes such care of the doctor, helping him keep his flat ever colder whilst listening to his theories. When the big reveal that he was dead all along arrives, it is all a bit, well, obvious.
