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diff --git a/34817-8.txt b/34817-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9d43ff9 --- /dev/null +++ b/34817-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11291 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Tales of the Wonder Club, Volume II, by +Alexander Huth, Illustrated by John Jellicoe and Val Prince + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Tales of the Wonder Club, Volume II + + +Author: Alexander Huth + + + +Release Date: January 2, 2011 [eBook #34817] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES OF THE WONDER CLUB, VOLUME +II*** + + +E-text prepared by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell, and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 34817-h.htm or 34817-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34817/34817-h/34817-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34817/34817-h.zip) + + + + + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: TALES of the Wonder Club] + + +TALES OF THE WONDER CLUB. + +by + +DRYASDUST. + +VOL. II. + +[Decoration] + +Illustrated by John Jellicoe and Val Prince, +After Designs by the Author. + + + + + + + +Harrison & Sons, 59, Pall Mall. +Booksellers to the Queen and H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. + +All rights reserved. + +London: +Printed By A. Hudson and Co., +160 Wandsworth Road, S.W. + + + + +CONTENTS + Page + CHAPTER I. 5 + Buried Alive.--The Landlord's Story. + + CHAPTER II. 61 + Der Scharfrichter.--The Artist's Second Story. + + CHAPTER III. 154 + The Three Pauls.--The Artist's Third Story. + + CHAPTER IV. 238 + The Waxen Image.--The Hostess's Story. + + CHAPTER V. 322 + In which occurs Mr. Parnassus' Ballad--The + Chieftain's Destiny. + + CHAPTER VI. 338 + A Tale of the French Revolution.--The + Barber's Story. + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + PAGE + + ARTIST AND MODEL _Frontispiece_ + + PERSIAN GULF _Title Page_ + + BURIED ALIVE 5 + + EXECUTION 61 + + THE THREE PAULS 154 + + THE WAXEN IMAGE 238 + + CHIEFTAIN'S DESTINY 322 + + THE BASTILLE 338 + + + + +[Illustration] + + +CHAPTER I. + +BURIED ALIVE.--THE LANDLORD'S STORY. + + +"Bravo, Oldstone! A very capital story!" cried several members at once. +"It is a pity our host isn't here to have heard it." + +"I heard a good part of it, though, gentlemen," said a voice from a dark +corner of the room (for the lights had been extinguished, though it was +still murky without). + +"What, are you there, Jack?" cried Mr. Crucible. "We none of us saw +you." + +"Well, sir," said the landlord, "finding that I was not wanted outside +as I thought, I ventured to enter the room quietly, so as not to disturb +the story." + +"Well done, Jack," said Hardcase, "and so you heard all, eh? Well, what +do you think of it?" + +"Pretty nearly all, I guess, sir," replied the landlord, "and a curious +one it is, too, and no mistake. But talk of being buried alive, I could +tell you a queer adventure that happened to myself, if you gentlemen +would care to hear it." + +"Only be too glad, Jack," said Oldstone. "Out with it; there is nothing +like a good story to beguile the time in weather like this." + +Our host, thus encouraged, drew his chair close to the fire, and his +example was immediately followed by his guests. Then, refilling his yard +of clay and lighting it in the fire, he gave one or two preliminary +whiffs, and commenced his story thus:-- + +Well, gentlemen, when I was a youngster, that is to say, a lad of +nineteen, I fell deeply in love with my Molly, who, though I say it, was +the finest lass in the village and for miles round it. For all the world +like my Helen, at her age, bless her dear heart! She was the daughter of +a rich miller--his only child. Well, it had been a long attachment, for +Molly and I were play-mates when we was little, but when I grew to be +about nineteen, and my father began to see that I was head over ears in +love with Molly, he forbade me to see any more of her, because he and +old Sykes--leastways, Molly's father, the miller--wasn't friends, d'ye +see. + +Nevertheless, Molly and I used to get a peep at each other on the sly +like, and often took long walks together when no one was near. + +Well, old Sykes also objected to me keeping company with his daughter, +and sometimes suspecting what was up, used to lie in wait for us, and +catch us in the lane as we was coming home from our walk. Then he'd give +us both a "blowing up," for old Sykes wasn't partickler nice in his +language, and Molly was locked up in her room while he went to complain +of me to my father. This sort of thing occurred more than once, and +Sykes, not knowing how to put a stop to it in any other way, sent his +daughter on a visit to an aunt of hers some distance off. + +I didn't know nothing of this for some time, and still went hovering +round the house, expecting to see Molly at the window. Now, there +happened to be at that time an epidemic running through the village, as +proved fatal to many, carrying off both the young and the old, and when +my father saw how pulled down I was in health and spirits, which was all +along of my not having seen Molly for many a week, he took it into his +head that I had caught the epidemic, and sent for a doctor. The doctor +came, felt my pulse, and looked at my tongue, and pronounced me very +bad, but said that he did not see the usual signs of the epidemic. + +He ordered me, however, to be put to bed, and prescribed me some physic. +Instead of doing me any good, it only made me worse, for the doctor was +ignorant of the true cause of my low spirits. I was forced to keep in +bed, and could do nothing night or day but think of Molly. My father, +seeing me rapidly grow worse, but still ignorant of the cause--though he +knew that I had been very much cut up about Molly--began to take on +so--I being his only son--that the doctor was afraid that he would have +to take to his bed. Once, shortly after Molly's disappearance, he told +me that she had caught the epidemic and had died. + +He hoped by this tale to bring me to my senses, and that I should soon +forget her, and begin courting some other girl, but it had a very +different effect upon me, and I rapidly sunk from worse to worse. When +the doctor called again, he found me in a dangerous state, and he came +to the conclusion that it must be the epidemic after all. Whether I +really had caught the epidemic in addition to my love-sickness I can't +tell. All I know is that I felt so bad that I didn't expect to live, and +even the doctor said it was all over with me. + +My death was expected daily, and when one morning the doctor came and +found me stiff and cold, he gave out to my parents that I was dead. I +was no more dead than I am at the present moment. It is true that I +could not budge an inch, and I have no doubt that I looked thoroughly +dead, but my mind was as clear and as sharp as possible. + +"Poor young man," I heard the doctor say. "So hale and strong, too. +Who'd have thought it?" + +"Oh, my poor son! my poor son!" wept my father. "You whom I thought to +rear to be the prop of my old age, now you are torn from me for ever." + +"Calm yourself, sir," said the doctor, "else you will make yourself +ill." + +"How can I calm myself?" cried my father, in agony. "Was he not my +_only_ son? and I--I--fool, wretch, that I was--_I_ killed him!" + +"_You_ killed him!" cried the doctor. "How? Surely you rave, sir." + +"Yes," persisted my father; "the poor boy was in love with a maid whose +father is my enemy. I objected to his marrying her, as did also the +girl's father, who wishing to save his daughter from my son sent her +away to live at the house of an aunt in the village of H---- in +----shire. As my son knew nothing of this, I told him, thinking to make +him forget her, that the maid was dead, but the poor boy took on so +dreadful about it, that it has been his death, and I--yes I am his +murderer!" and I thought his sobs would choke him. + +"It was very wrong and foolish of you," said the doctor, "to tell him +so, when you saw him so weak and ailing, yet you did it with a good +intent, and I do not see that you can justly accuse yourself of being +his murderer." + +"Yes, yes," sobbed my father, bitterly, "I have killed him--my son, my +_only_ son!" + +Now I had discovered a secret. Molly was not dead, but living at her +aunt's. I knew her address; if I could but be restored to life, I might +see her once again. I longed to be able to call out: "Father, I am not +dead--comfort yourself," but my tongue refused utterance. I tried to +move my limbs, and did all that was in my power to show signs of life, +but I still lay powerless--paralysed, for I was in a trance. Oh! the +agony I suffered! How long would it last? Should I be really nailed up +in a coffin and buried alive? Oh, horror! + +Some of my friends the neighbours were called in to see me and mourned +over my corpse. + +"Poor Jack!" one of them said; "if lads of his kidney are not proof +against the epidemic, who may hope to escape?" + +The next day an undertaker was sent for to measure me for my coffin. + +"Where will all this end?" thought I. "Shall I awake before the coffin +is made?" + +This was my only hope; but if not, all was lost. Once nailed down, +nailed down for ever. The thought was agony. + +Here I was, struck down in the flower of my youth, to all appearances +dead, yet with my mind keenly alive to all that was going on around me. +Oh, that I could become insensible! I knew not how long this dreadful +trance would last; all I knew was that if it lasted more than a day or +two longer it would be all up with me. I was laid out in state, and all +that day and the next friends poured in to gaze upon my corpse. + +As the time grew nearer for my funeral the more despairing I got. At +length the coffin arrived. I shuddered. Had my last moment actually +come? What could I do? Nothing. + +"Oh, Heaven!" I cried within myself, "for what fell crime am I doomed to +bear this agony of soul?" + +Two undertakers now lifted me from my bed, one of them seizing me by the +shoulders, the other by the feet, and I felt myself placed within a +leaden coffin supported upon trestles. I did my utmost now to make one +last desperate effort to rouse myself out of my trance, but in vain. + +"Oh, if they should nail me up!" I thought. + +Then I was left alone all day, and remember a great bustle and +whispering going on in the house. All were talking of my funeral. At +length the fatal hour arrived! The undertakers entered my room again. +Good Heavens! they were actually going to solder me down. The next +instant the leaden lid was down upon me, and I was soon tightly secured. +Then commenced the knocking in of the nails of the outer coffin. How +painfully distinct was the sound of the hammer! I remember counting each +nail as it was driven in. At length the task was completed, and I only +awaited the hearse to carry me to my last home. + +Then there was more bustle, the meeting of friends, etc., when after +waiting a little longer, I heard the footsteps of the bearers. I felt +myself lifted upon the shoulders of the men and carried downstairs. A +crowd had evidently collected round the door, for I heard the muffled +sound of voices gossipping, but could not distinguish what they said. +Only the tolling of the church bell jarred upon my ears. Then the +procession began. How slowly it moved along! + +"Oh! if I could even now awake!" thought I, "it might not be too late. +If I could make sufficient movement with my limbs to overturn the +coffin, or even had strength to call out, I should even now be saved." + +But all in vain--rigid, motionless as ever, in spite of my earnest +prayers to be restored to life. I felt myself borne leisurely +on--whither? Oh, horror! to the cold and narrow grave--to the abode of +the dead. My last hope died within me when I felt the procession stop, +and I knew that it was already arrived at the cemetery. I remember +hearing faintly the tones of the parson's voice as he read the ceremony +for the burial of the dead. The coffin was now lowered into the grave, +and I heard with awful distinctness the words "earth to earth, ashes to +ashes, dust to dust," followed by the rattling of the three handfuls of +earth upon my coffin lid. My last hope was now gone. In another moment I +should be covered up with mould and left alone to die miserably. + +"Oh!" groaned I, in spirit, "it is all over with me!" as I heard the +mould tumbling heavily upon me. + +I knew that the grave was now covered up, for the voices of my friends +were quite inaudible, and all was silent. + +What a terrible feeling of isolation was mine! Cut off completely from +the rest of the world by some feet of earth, alive, yet supposed to be +dead, deserted by friends and doomed at length to awaken only to suffer +a death of all deaths most horrible! Had I still believed Molly to be +dead, it would have been some consolation to me to die; nay, how gladly +would I have welcomed death that I might meet her in a better land. But, +alas, I knew that Molly still lived, and after death I should be further +away from her than ever. This thought was agony to me. One thing, +however, somewhat consoled me, though it was but poor consolation. + +"We must all die," I thought. + +Molly must die, too. It might be years before she left this earth, +still I should see her again sooner or later. But then came another, +thought which, do all I could, I was unable to banish from my mind. In +the meantime Molly might marry someone else, and rear up a large family +of children, and what could I be to her then if I ever chanced to meet +her in the other world? If ever human soul knew agony, mine knew it +then. I longed for no eternity without Molly, and I remember praying +that my spirit might be utterly annihilated and become as insensible as +the clay that I was about to leave behind me. It was a dreadful and an +impious prayer, but when during life, one dear idol has monopolised the +heart and there reigns supreme, even the fear of eternal damnation is +insufficient to drive it from its throne. + +"Oh, that I could die quickly and be at rest for ever!" + +Then I prayed fervently a long, heartfelt, earnest prayer, after which I +felt more calm, more resigned to my fate. I had no hopes of being +rescued and being brought back to life--that hope had quite left me. I +now only wished for a speedy and peaceful death. Many weary hours I lay +on my back within my narrow prison--rigid--immovable--a living soul +amongst the dead. The silence that reigned around was intense, almost +inconceivable to those accustomed to the busy world without. + +I missed the rustling of the leaves, the chirping of the birds, the +distant lowing of cattle, the hum of human voices, every sound of life; +all was still, for it was _the silence of the grave_. The only sound at +all audible, and that was so indistinct and muffled from the pile of +earth that covered me that, had my sense of hearing not been excited to +an abnormal pitch, I should not have heard it, and that was the sound of +the church clock as it struck the hour. I had been buried in the morning +at about ten o'clock, and I remember counting the hours until ten +o'clock at night. Every hour appeared to me a century, until, exhausted +with the agony of mind I had endured, I fell asleep and dreamed of +Molly. I thought that I was by her side walking under the trees in a +part of the country that I had never seen before. + +There was a house at some distance, which she said belonged to her aunt. +I was telling her all about how I came to be buried alive, and she was +listening to me and looking up in my face with tearful eyes, for she had +heard that I was dead. I also dreamed that I saw a serpent moving in the +grass at her feet. I sprang up and beat it severely with my cane. At +first it attempted to defend itself, but at length it escaped from me +severely bruised. + +The dream then changed from one subject to another, but Molly was by my +side throughout. It was exceedingly vivid, and I doubted not at the time +but that I was by her side in reality. + +I know not how long I had been asleep when I heard a confused noise +while still in a dreaming state, and I awoke to find myself once more in +my coffin. + +"Oh, why was not this dream allowed to last?" I groaned to myself, and +tried to fall asleep again, hoping to take up the thread of my dream at +the point that I had lost it, but in vain, for now I heard the same +noise in reality over my head. It was the sound of men's voices. Who +could they be? Was I still dreaming? No! + +They were the resurrectionists, or the "body-snatchers," as we generally +call them. They had come to rob my body in order to sell it to some +doctor. How my heart beat for joy! + +"I shall be saved! I shall be saved!" said I to myself. + +"O merciful God!" I prayed in spirit, "who scornest not to make the +meanest of thy creatures thine instruments, I thank Thee for having +heard my prayers and delivered me from this fearful death. I am unworthy +of all thy mercies, O God! Perform thy miracles on men more worthy." + +The body-snatchers had now shovelled all the earth away that covered me, +and they began to lift the coffin out of the grave. Had it been my +friend's coffin instead of my own, I should have stigmatised the men who +attempted to disinter his body as thieves, robbers, a set of midnight +marauders; but in the present instance I blessed them as my deliverers, +as my brothers. My heart yearned towards them, for my hopes began to +revive. + +It would be discovered that I was not dead, at least, I hoped so, and +when my trance should pass off I should be able to find some way of +seeing Molly again. The next moment the outer coffin was wrenched open; +then they proceeded to force the leaden one. This was soon done, and I +now felt the chill night air. To lift me out, thrust me headfirst into a +sack, and shovel the earth into the grave again, was the work of a +moment, and I now felt myself laid across the shoulder of one of the +men, and carried off. + +"Where was I bound for?" I asked myself. + +The men began talking together, so I resolved to listen--to learn, if +possible, what they were going to do with me. + +"A fine corpse, Bill," said one body-snatcher to the other. + +"Aye, my word," replied Bill, "but what a weight he be!" + +"Ah! I dare say; these youngsters are so full of blood and muscle," said +the other. + +"Tell you what it is, Tom," said my bearer, "you must lend me a hand or +I shall never bring him safely to the doctor's to-night. Here, just take +him on your shoulders a bit!" + +I then felt myself transferred from the shoulders of Bill to those of +Tom. + +"Begad! you're right," said the latter. "He be a load, sure_ly_." + +"Well," said Bill, "the doctor has got the full worth of his money, and +no mistake. For less than ten guineas I wouldn't have undertaken the +task on such a night as this. Hark! how the wind howls. My teeth chatter +in spite of myself. Poor Jack! Many's the good draught of malt he has +drawn for me in his father's tap-room!" + +"Peace, you fool!" cried Tom; "don't talk so loud, or the thing will get +wind in the village, and we shall get torn to pieces. Hush! there is +someone behind the hedge." + +Then they walked on in silence for some time, and on the way I was once +more hoisted on to the shoulders of Bill. + +"Oh, you beggar, what a weight you be!" said Bill, addressing me. "Well, +we're paid for it, so I suppose I must carry you," and off we trudged +again. + +"This is the way to Dr. Slasher's house," said Tom. "I see a light in +the windows; he is awaiting us." + +"Well," said Bill, "we've been pretty punctual. It is not much past +twelve o'clock. Here we are at last." + +The two men stopped, and one threw some earth against the doctor's +window. The next moment I heard footsteps within, and the door was +opened noiselessly. + +"Hush!" said the doctor's voice. + +The two men entered the house, when I was taken out of my sack and +deposited upon a table in the doctor's study. It was the same doctor who +had attended me during my illness. + +"Fine specimen, sir," said Bill, "and tough work enough we've had to +get him, neither; the ground's as hard as a brick-bat." + +"Ah!" said the doctor, abstractedly, feeling me all over. + +"Yes, sir," said the other; "and how heavy he be too!" + +"Humph!" said the doctor. + +"It is a bitter cold night," said Bill. "The wind howled among the trees +while we was at work enough to make one's blood curdle." + +"Ha!" said the doctor; "I know what that means. A glass of grog wouldn't +be unacceptable, unless I mistake." + +"Well, sir, you've just guessed about right," said Bill. "A glass of +grog now and then, just to keep out the cold is a very fine thing, as +you, being a doctor, sir, I've no doubt are well aware." + +"Ha! ha!" laughed the doctor. "I perceive you understand the theory of +the circulation of the blood. Well, as you have done your work well, +I'll just put the kettle on the hob, and you shall have a good stiff +glass apiece." + +"That's the sort of thing, eh, Tom? The doctor is a real gentleman, and +no mistake." + +Tom acquiesced, and soon the doctor produced a tall bottle of brandy, +and more than half filling two tumblers, and popping a couple of lumps +of sugar into each glass, he lifted the kettle from the hob and filled +them up to the brim. Then, stirring up the sugar at the bottom with the +handle of his dissecting knife, he handed a glass to each of his +creatures across my body. + +"Here's luck, sir," said one of them, nodding. + +"I looks towards you, sir," said the other, sipping his grog. + +"Thanks, my man, thanks," said the doctor. + +"A----h!" gasped Bill, after a deep draught, and smacking his lips, +"this is something like a glass of grog. I feel myself again. I'd as +lief set out again after another subject to-night as not." + +"Well, mate," said Tom, draining his glass, "I guess we'd better +toddle." + +The doctor then counted out twenty guineas, and gave the men ten apiece. + +"Thank ye kindly, sir," said they, "and when again you be in want of our +services, your honour knows where to find us. Good-night, sir." + +"Good-night," responded the doctor, as he showed them out and closed the +door. + +I was left alone for a moment, but when he returned he might begin +dissecting me at once, and that would be horrible, for I was still in my +trance. I hoped he would defer operations until the morrow. In the +meantime I hoped to come to. Then I heard the doctor's footsteps in the +passage, and here he was again. Would he really cut me up before I could +call out or defend myself? Good Heavens! What was he about now? He had +tucked up his shirt sleeves and seized his dissecting-knife! + +All was lost. My hopes had been raised only to be dashed to the ground. +My last hour had come. Already I felt the point of the murderous +instrument against my chest. Rip!--an incision had been made! + +"Hullo!" cried the doctor, dropping his dissecting-knife. "What is this? +Why the man's not dead!" + +The fact was, I was gradually recovering, and my blood had already begun +to flow. The intense mental agony I had endured had caused a cold sweat +to break out on my forehead. The incision luckily was not very deep, but +I bear the mark of the wound to this day. + +The doctor staunched the blood with his handkerchief, muttering to +himself, "And have I been obliged to pay twenty guineas for a living +subject? Humph! I've a good mind to cut him up all the same, no one +would be any the wiser for it." + +I began to fear lest he might do so in real earnest; however, he bound +up my wound and carried me into his own bedroom, where he placed me on a +mattress on the ground. He wiped the perspiration from my forehead and +felt my pulse. + +"He'll come round," he muttered to himself; "already he shows signs of +life. I would not for the world, though, that this got known in the +village. I should lose all my practice, and yet I don't know how to keep +the matter quiet, it _must_ ooze out." + +Life was rapidly returning. I began to open and shut my eyes and to +breathe, though with some difficulty. By degrees, however, I managed to +breathe more freely. + +"Ah, ha!" said the doctor, noticing the rapid change, "getting all +right, now--eh?" + +I remained in the same state for about an hour more, when the doctor +began undressing and preparing to turn in for the night. In another +moment he was between the sheets and snoring loudly. Soon after I fell +asleep myself. + +The following morning on awaking, I felt almost myself again. I could +move my limbs and sit up in bed, though I still felt very weak. + +"Well, how are we now?" asked the doctor, seeing that I moved with +comparative ease. "A nice trick you've played me. Do you know that you +have done me out of twenty guineas--by coming to life again--eh? I hoped +to have cut you all up by this time--and I might have done so, too, +easily enough at the time, but I suppose if I were to try it on now +you'd halloa." + +Then he began to ask me all sorts of questions, to which I answered +feebly. In reply to a question of his as to whether I felt hungry, I +nodded my head, and the doctor went to prepare me a cup of broth. When +he returned and I had partaken of it, new strength came back to me, and +I was able to relate to him all my sufferings while he listened +attentively. Well, day after day I improved in health under the doctor's +care, till I at length completely recovered. One morning after I was up +and dressed, and breakfasting with the doctor (N.B.--Nobody, not even +the doctor's servant, knew anything about either the removal of my body +from the grave or of my coming to life again, for the doctor took good +care to keep me locked up for a time in his bedchamber.) Well, +breakfasting one morning with the doctor, I noticed that he looked +rather thoughtful and confused. + +"Now, I'll tell you what your thoughts are, doctor," said I, "and you +see if I haven't guessed right." + +"Well," said he, somewhat surlily. + +"You are afraid that the affair about digging up my body may get known, +and will damage your reputation, and you do not know how to keep it +secret. Is it not so?" I asked. + +"Well, sir," said he, "you've just guessed about right, but what is to +be done?" + +"Listen to me," said I. "I have a plan." + +"Indeed!" said he, opening his eyes. + +"Yes, a plan to kill two birds with one stone," I said. "It is to your +interest that this affair should not be known--eh? Well, it is to my +interest, too. All will go well if you do as I propose." + +"What is that?" asked he, with eagerness. + +"First you must lend me a complete disguise, consisting of one of your +old wigs, a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles, and one of your suits of +clothes. Secondly, you must lend me a certain sum of money to keep me +for, say, a fortnight. I'll pay you back in due time, when my plan has +succeeded. You needn't be afraid. You can trust Jack Hearty--eh?" + +"Yes, certainly," said he, with some hesitation. "But how? I don't +understand." + +"Never mind that," said I; "you will know all in good time." + +"Well, Jack," said he, "I know you for a sharp fellow and an honest--so +I will trust you. I don't know what your scheme is; but if it fail, and +the worst comes to the worst, why I can but be exposed, and there is an +end of it." + +"Well said, doctor," said I; "now let us commence to put the scheme into +practice." + +He then took from his wardrobe rather a threadbare suit of black +clothes, which I immediately donned. Then I tried on an old powdered wig +with a pigtail and a pair of lace ruffles, next a pair of tortoiseshell +spectacles with glasses as big as a crown piece. I next corked my +eyebrows, slightly stained the tip of my nose with red and made a few +false wrinkles in my forehead. The doctor placed a gold-headed cane in +my hand and a large signet ring on my forefinger. I then took a book +under my arm, and at parting the doctor gave me a purse of gold to put +in my pocket, and off I started. The doctor laughed immoderately at my +successful disguise, and I heard him say as I was leaving the house, "I +don't know what he means to be up to, but some devilry, _I'll_ lay a +farthing." + +Well, gentlemen, the next thing I did was to walk straight off to catch +the stage, which would pass by the village of H----, where Molly was +staying with her aunt. I remember I had to run for it, and pretty hard, +too, but I caught it up. Tearing along as fast as my legs could carry +me, I passed by a group of villagers, some of my friends amongst them, +and I heard the following remarks: + +"Here comes the doctor, running for his life!"--"Go it doctor, you'll +catch it up!"--"My eyes, don't he run!--who'd have thought the old boy +had so much life in him?" + +"It ain't the doctor, though; it's another man. I don't know him, Jim, +do you? I wonder how long he has been in the village. I never see him +before." + +As I was stepping into the coach I heard a voice behind me say, "I +thought it was Dr. Slasher, Bill, didn't you?" + +"Yes, at first," said another; "he's like him--leastways the clothes +is." + +"By the way," said the first, "I wonder when the doctor will be ready +for another subject. I suppose poor Jack's cut up long since." + +"Hush! you fool," said the other. + +By this time I had taken my seat in the coach, and looking in the +direction of the voices, I recognised my friends of the other night, Tom +and Bill. Off we then started. The coach was full of men I knew as well +as my own father, most of them my customers. I appeared absorbed in my +book, so as not to get entangled in conversation with anyone, for fear +that my voice might betray me. + +Two men, who appeared to be strangers to each other, began entering into +conversation. + +"Dreadful business this epidemic, sir," said the younger of the two to +the elder. + +"Yes, it is indeed," replied the elder; "the young fare the same as the +old, they say, but I am a stranger in the place." + +"Oh, indeed, sir," said the first speaker; and then added, "Yes, +sir--that's true enough--the young die as soon as the old. Hardly a week +ago died young Jack Hearty, son of old Hearty, as keeps the Headless +Lady--a lad of nineteen, and as hale a young fellow as ever you'd find +in a day's march. He was taken suddenly ill, and died in a very few +days. + +"Poor young fellow! who'd have thought that he would have gone along +with the rest? He was an only son, too, and they say his father is +devilish down in the mouth about it." + +"Dear me! dreadful, to be sure," replied the elder. + +The conversation then changed to various topics, and became general, the +only one not joining in it being myself. I still pored over my book, +appearing not to take an interest in anything that was being said, +although my ears were open to catch every word. + +"Who's that cove?" I heard one say to his neighbour. + +"Oi doan't knaw, Oi'm sure," replied the one addressed, being a lusty +farmer. "Oi never see'd un in these parts afore--looks loike a doctor." + +"Why don't he speak?" said the other. "He won't talk to no one." + +"Maybe un's too proud," said the former. + +"I'd like to kick the surly devil," said his companion. + +"What'll you bet Oi doan't make un speak?" said the countryman. + +"Bet you a halfpenny you don't get a word out of him," said the first +speaker. + +"Done," said the farmer, and turning suddenly upon me, accosted me +thus:-- + +"Oi zay, governor, you bes a doctor, b'aint ye?" + +I drew myself up with an air of dignity, and said with a frown, and in a +feigned voice: "Did you address _me_, sir?" + +"Ees," said the bumpkin, unawed by my assumption of dignity; "and Oi +axes ye if ye b'aint a doctor." + +"Well, sir," I said; "and if I am!" + +"Ha! ha! ha!" he laughed coarsely. "Oi knowed ye was. Oi thought Oi +knowed the breed. Vell, you doctors has made a pretty harvest of late, +Oi reckon," said the farmer, bluntly. + +"How so, sir," I asked. "I do not understand you." + +"Vhy, vith the patients as has died in this here hepidemic," said he. +"They must have brought grist to your mill, if Oi'm not mistook." + +"What epidemic?" I asked, feigning surprise. "I am a stranger in these +parts, and know nothing of the epidemic." + +"Vhy, ye doan't mane to zay that ye never heard of th' epidemic as all +th' vorld is a talking of," said he. + +"All the world!" I cried, in astonishment. "All your little village, I +suppose you mean--no, I am entirely ignorant of this malady." + +"Vell then, doctor," said the boor, "if ye'd only set up in our village, +there's a snug little business going on for the loikes of you." + +"Humph!" I grunted, not deigning to make other reply. + +"Yes, indeed, sir," said a man in the opposite corner of the coach, +joining in the conversation, but more respectfully than my friend the +farmer. "I assure you that a doctor's services are very much needed in +these parts. They say the malady is spreading." + +The last speaker was a man I knew as well as I know my own face in a +looking-glass, and whom I had served to innumerable pints of our +home-brewed ale--a crony of mine, in fact, yet he failed to see through +my disguise. + +"Dear me!" said I. "I hope it will be nothing very serious. I regret not +being able to make myself useful, as I have several important cases to +attend to a long distance off." + +"Oh, it has been very bad indeed, sir, hereabouts," said the same man. +"Most cases have been fatal. The death that has been most talked of in +the village is that of poor Jack Hearty, a lad of nineteen, as strong +and as good looking a young fellow as any in the village. He was took +bad, as it might be, yesterday, and struck down to-day in the very +flower of his youth." + +"You don't say so?" said I. + +"Yes, sir," he resumed; "and I'll be bound to say you wouldn't find a +finer young fellow in all England." + +"Really!" said I, inwardly feeling flattered. + +"Ah!" said another, with a sly wink. "I think I could tell you what +hastened Jack's death as much as anything." + +"What was that?" I asked. + +"There was a young woman in the case, they say," said the man, whom I +also knew intimately. + +"Well, sir," said I, with a well-feigned innocence; "and this young +woman----?" + +"Well, I believe he died pining for her, and folks say as how it was the +hepidemic." + +"Ah!" I said with a sigh. "That is an epidemic we all catch some time or +other, but most folks get over it, I fancy." + +"Well, yes," said the man; "most folks, as you say, do, but poor Jack +was very hard hit indeed, sir. I happen to know the young woman, too--as +fine a wench as you'll meet with in the whole kingdom." + +"Ah! indeed," I said. "They would have been well matched then, had they +married?" + +"They would indeed, sir," was the reply. "They'd have made a pair as you +wouldn't meet every day. Well, well," he sighed; "he's gone now, poor +fellow, so the wench must look out for someone else." + +"Did the girl take it much to heart, think you?" said I. + +"Aye, I'll warrant she did, sir," said he, "though I can't say for +certain, seeing as how her father sent her away from home to get her out +of Jack's way. But she'll have heard all about it by this time. Poor +girl! I am sorry for her. She'll have to wait a long time before she +finds another like Jack." + +"Perhaps she may never marry," I suggested; "that is if she really loved +him." + +"Can't say I'm sure, sir. You see the maid is quite young yet, and has +got lots of admirers; what with one and what with another, she may in +time forget Jack and take to someone else," said my friend. + +"You have heard no rumours as yet, I suppose, of her showing any +partiality towards anyone," I demanded, timidly. + +"No, sir, I can't say that exactly, but then it is so shortly after +Jack's death, that it isn't likely she would just yet. Still there's a +young fellow, the son of a squire, as is very sweet upon her, and is +always following of her about. If she could manage to catch him, she'd +do well, but the young gent's father don't approve of it, and is like to +cut him off to a shilling if he marries her. Folks say that the young +squire is a bit of a scamp, and don't mean marriage. It'll be a pity if +the maid goes wrong, for she is a good girl, and no mistake." + +Now this was gall and wormwood to me. I knew that that rascal young +Rashly had been hovering about Molly's house for some time. He had often +crossed me in my walks with Molly, and we hated each other like poison, +but I also knew that Molly couldn't bear the sight of him, for she was +really and truly in love with me, yet the very mention of his name +coupled with hers made my blood boil. Mastering my emotion, however, I +asked with as much apparent indifference as possible, "And this young +gentleman, where is he now?" + +"Oh, up to his larks, I'll warrant," said the man, with a laugh. "The +girl's father has sent her away to live with her aunt, to get her out of +Jack's way, as he is not friends with Jack's father, and I guess out of +the way of the young squire, too; but young Rashly has been absent now +some time from the village, and I'll be bound he has found her out by +this time. Now that poor Jack's dead he'll have the way all clear before +him." + +"The devil take him," I muttered to myself. I was bursting with rage, +and to conceal my emotion, I affected to stare out of the window at some +object, while my heart beat underneath my borrowed waistcoat, and must +have been audible but for the coach wheels. I appeared again absorbed in +my book while the rest of the passengers discoursed upon general topics. + +"Give us the halfpenny," I heard my bluff fellow-traveller say to his +friend; "it's been fairly von." His friend's hand was buried for an +instant, and the coin was transferred from his to the farmer's breeches +pocket. + +"That's zum business, onyrate," said the countryman, receiving the +payment of the bet with a chuckle. + +The stage then rolled on for some distance further, till some passenger +called out: + +"There is H----, any passenger for H----?" + +"Yes, sir," said I; "I am for H----." + +The stage stopped, and with trembling hands and beating heart I squeezed +past the other passengers. + +"Good morning, gentlemen," said I, as I walked off. + +The stage was set in motion again. There was no other passenger but +myself for the village of H----, so I strolled off with light step to +the nearest inn. + +Having refreshed myself with a light luncheon, I strolled about the +country a bit until I came across--you may be surprised, gentlemen--but +I actually came across the very same house with the very identical +country round about it, including the wood, that appeared in my dream. I +certainly _was_ startled. + +"Yonder, then, is the house of Molly's aunt," I thought, and I walked +towards it, thinking all the while how I should introduce myself. + +Before I reached the house, however, two figures in the distance under +the trees of the wood attracted my gaze. I looked again. One of the +figures, I was sure, could be no other than Molly herself, and the other +I was equally certain was young Rashly. + +I hastened my steps, but by a route so as not to come directly in front +of them, for I wished to overhear their conversation. Having made a +roundabout cut, I concealed myself behind some brushwood, where I could +both see them distinctly, and hear all they said without being seen by +them. + +"Come, Molly," I heard young Rashly say, "enough of this. What is the +good of making yourself miserable about young Hearty? He's dead now, +poor fellow--he was a great friend of mine, but now that he is gone and +can never come back to you, try to forget him. I wish to console you and +to raise your spirits. Now, my dear girl, do try and forget him." + +"Oh, never, never!" sobbed Molly, "I never _can_ forget him. I shall +never be able to love anyone else. Poor fellow! He died out of love for +me, I know he did. Oh, Jack, Jack, I never can forget you--never, +never!" and she sobbed as if her heart would break. + +"Now, Molly, this is nothing but obstinacy; you can't call him back, +however you may mourn for him. Just look at the position _I_ offer you. +_I_ shall be able to make you more comfortable than Jack would have been +able to make you. Is it nothing to be made a lady of? Don't be a fool, +girl, and throw such a chance away. Hundreds in your place would jump at +it." + +"How can I accept such terms from a man I do not love?" cried Molly. +"Would I not be one of the basest of women to persuade you that I loved +you just to become your wife, when my heart is another's?" + +"How can your heart be another's when Jack is no more?" asked he. + +"Yes, yes; in death my heart shall still be his," Molly cried. + +"Come, now, you're talking like a mad girl. Just listen to reason a bit. +I will settle a good round sum a year upon you to keep you as a lady in +a nice little cottage with a garden, where I shall always be able to +come to pay you a visit in secret, when my father is out of the way." + +"Then you never from the first intended to _marry_ me," interrupted +Molly, "you only--only--wanted to----" + +"Why, actually _marry_ you, no; I never intended that. _That_ would be +impossible, but----" + +"Exactly; I understand you," answered Molly, proudly, "but I scorn your +base proposals. If you were to lay the wealth of the universe at my +feet, I would never barter my good name. So _this_ is what you have been +trying at all this time, to make me your minion. + +"When first you visited me, you gave me to understand that your +intentions were honourable, and though I loved you not, and never could, +yet I respected you and felt compassion for you and tried to think of +you as a friend. Now I neither pity nor respect you, but _despise_ you. +Go, sir, and never dare to speak to me again!" + +"What a trump of a girl!" I muttered to myself. + +"Molly! Molly!" cried Rashly, starting backward in amazement, "are you +mad?" + +"I should be mad to accept your proposals," replied Molly, calmly, but +firmly. "Go, sir--all friendship between us is at an end." + +"My dear Molly," began Rashly, "I beg of you, I entreat you to calm +yourself--to take a more reasonable view of the matter. Come, let me +persuade you, dear," said he, advancing and attempting to put his arm +round her waist, but he was instantly repulsed. + +He essayed again. + +"Dare to touch me once more, sir, and I'll scream--I'll rouse the +neighbourhood and expose you." + +"Hush, hush!" said Rashly, nothing daunted, "be reasonable, there's a +good girl, I'll do you no harm," and he ventured to touch her again. + +"Back, sir, I say!" and she lifted up her voice to scream, but instantly +his hand was on her mouth. + +I could endure it no longer, but bursting from my hiding-place, and +grasping firmly my gold-headed cane, I sprang to the spot. + +"Who are you, sir?" I cried, boiling with rage, "that dare offer to +insult my niece? Begone! or it will be the worse for you." + +Both started, and Rashly turned livid and trembled. + +"I thank you, sir," said Molly, "for interfering." + +Then thrusting Rashly aside, I cried; "Molly! I am your uncle, do you +not know me?" trying to disguise my voice all the while, which was +rather a difficult matter, boiling with passion as I was then. + +"I do not know you, sir, though I believe your intentions to be good," +said Molly. + +Then seizing Molly by the hand, I whispered in her ear; "Silence!--not +a word--I am Jack risen from the grave." + +A piercing shriek, and Molly fell fainting against a tree. + +"Who are you, you vagabond?" cried Rashly, now for the first time +recovering from his surprise. "She does not know you. What have you been +saying to the poor girl to frighten her so? You are an impostor, sir. Be +off and mind your own business!" + +"Impostor! eh?--vagabond, eh? I'll show you who is a vagabond, you +scoundrel!" said I, and lifting my cane, I laid it about him with all my +might and main like a cavalryman cutting down his foe. + +Rashly at first attempted to defend himself, and flew at me like a +tiger; he tried to snatch the cane from my hand, but I hit him so +severely across the knuckles that I made him howl out in spite of +himself. I cut him right and left over head, shoulders, arms and legs, +hacking and slashing with the force of an infuriated madman, +accompanying each blow with such epithets as "scoundrel," "blackguard," +till he burst out in a piteous cry and took refuge in flight. He never +troubled Molly again. + +The doctor's gold-headed cane had been broken with the force of the +blows I had dealt my rival, for which afterwards I had to pay, but to +return to Molly. She gradually recovered her senses, and gazed at me +wonderingly and full of fear. + +"Be calm, Molly," I said in my natural voice, "it is I--Jack, risen +from the grave, but still in the flesh and no spirit." Then taking off +my spectacles and wig, I said, "Molly, do you not recognise these eyes +and these locks, in spite of the rest of my disguise?" + +She still looked fearful and distrustingly at me, but at length +convinced that it was myself--and no one else--by my voice, she flew to +my arms crying, "Oh, Jack, Jack!--is it really you?" + +Of course, she wanted an instant explanation of my resurrection, which I +by degrees gave; and having given it, I began to unfold to her my plan, +thus. + +"Molly," I said, "what I have told you and am about to tell you now must +remain a secret between ourselves, otherwise my plan will fail. Well +then, in the first place you must get me acquainted with your aunt, and +give out that I am an elderly gentleman you have known some time, and +that you have met me quite unexpectedly here. You must invite me to call +at the house. I shall adopt the name of Dr. Crow. You must feign illness +and send for me. Thus we shall be able to see a good deal of each other. +I will also persuade your aunt that she is ill, so that we shall see +still more of each other. I'll worm myself into her good graces and +after about a fortnight or so, I shall ask your aunt's consent to our +marriage. I shall tell her that I am a doctor in good practice, and +shall be able to keep you well, and when I once get the right side of +her, I doubt not that I shall obtain her consent. She will then write to +your father, who will hardly say anything against a match so +advantageous, although our ages may be apparently unequal. + +"It is not likely that he will trouble himself to come down here to have +a look at me, as he is at present laid up with the gout. He will in all +probability write his consent. That once obtained, I shall make all +necessary preparations for the marriage, and as for obtaining my +father's consent--leave that to me." + +"Oh, but, Jack! if your plan should fail--if your disguise should be +seen through," began Molly. + +"Leave all to me," said I. "So far I have been successful, for I have +not been recognised yet. Fortune seems on my side. You must aid me in +every possible way to carry out my plan." + +"I will, Jack!" said she. + +"Well, then," said I, "you must go home now to your aunt, and say you +have met an old friend of yours quite by chance here--a certain Dr. +Crow. Say also that I should like to call and make her acquaintance. +Meet me again to-morrow in the wood, and invite me to the house. In +time, I've no doubt, all will go well." + +Molly promised to follow my instructions, and we parted. + +It was then late in the afternoon, so I returned to my inn. There I +found a snug little parlour, with a bookcase, so I beguiled the time as +well as I could by reading until the clock struck the dinner hour. After +a comfortable meal, I smoked a pipe of tobacco, strolled about the +streets a little in the twilight, and turned into bed. + +Next morning, after breakfast, I strolled out again into the wood. I +walked about for an hour, perhaps, without meeting anyone, casting +anxious glances all the while towards the house where Molly lived. + +At length she made her appearance; not alone this time, but with another +female. This must be the aunt, I thought--so much the better. Feeling +the necessity of an excuse for hovering about so near the house, I +feigned to be gathering wild flowers. + +"Oh, aunt!" I heard Molly say as she came up, "here is Dr. Crow, the +gentleman that I spoke to you about yesterday." + +"Ah, Miss Sykes!" said I, lifting my hat in the most polite manner, "I +hope I see you well this morning." + +Molly gave me her hand, and introduced me to her aunt, who curtseyed and +smiled. + +I said that I had come down here for a change of air, and that I was +amusing myself with botanising. + +"Oh, indeed!" said the aunt. "So that is your hobby, is it, Dr. +Crow--well, and a very delightful one, too. I am very fond of flowers +myself, and only wish I knew more about them. I do envy you scientific +men. You always seem so happy and contented." + +"Well, madam," said I, "there is nothing like having a hobby in life. It +fills up many a weary hour and makes us forget the din and the bustle of +the busy world around us. For my part, when I have no patients to attend +to, I am always occupied in some way or other." + +"Dear me," said the aunt. "How very delightful!" + +We walked on together, conversing agreeably as we went, and afterwards I +was invited into the house. Need I say that I praised to the utmost the +good taste of everything I saw there, her paperhangings, her worsted +work, her crochet, etc. I was then shown some specimens of ferns and +wild flowers that she had dried in a book, and she begged of me to write +their classical names under them. + +This was indeed a trial, as I had never learnt a single word of Latin, +but it would not do to back out, so I exerted all my ingenuity to invent +some crackjaw names. Among the rest I remember inscribing the words +"_Rodus sidus_," "_Stenchius obnoxious_," and "_Herbus unnonus_." These +names delighted Molly's aunt immensely, who believed she was already a +Latin scholar. I found my way so well into the aunt's good graces that I +was invited to call whenever I liked, and frequently asked to dinner. + +As I did not like to call every day, for fear it should look bad, either +Molly or Molly's aunt managed to feel unwell on the days that I did not +call, and they found it necessary to send for me, so it came to much the +same thing, as I saw Molly every day. Molly's aunt was one of that class +of females who are always imagining that something or other is the +matter with them. I soon saw, therefore, that to get thoroughly into her +good graces, I must humour her in her whims. + +Accordingly, I made out that she had this, that, or the other--indeed, +I forget what it was exactly that I said ailed her--and promised to +bring her some physic. This quite won her heart, so I at once set about +making some liquorice water, endeavouring to disguise the taste of the +liquorice as much as possible by adding salt, pepper, a little soap, +some tobacco, and other nauseous ingredients. I wonder the mess didn't +poison her, but so far from causing ill-effects, she informed me that it +had really done her good. + +Whether the good it had done her only lay in her imagination or whether +the strange compound really did possess a medicinal property I cannot +tell (I can hardly think the latter), but certain it was, she _did_ seem +better. I believe the real fact of the matter to be this. Molly's aunt +was the daughter of a well-to-do retired butcher, and like many of her +class, had over-indulged in high feeding, and consequently was always +suffering from overloaded stomach. The mess that I gave her made her +sick, and that, in reality, and not merely in imagination, effected a +cure. + +I then put her on a lower diet, recommended her plenty of walking +exercise, and in a very short time there was a complete change in her +constitution. She no longer felt dyspeptic and desponding, suffered no +longer from nervous headaches, in fact, in her own words, she "felt +quite a girl again." All the effect of my wonderful medicine. This, of +course, was a feather in my cap, and she looked up to me more than ever. + +A week and then a fortnight passed away, and I now thought it high time +to break to the aunt my love affair with her niece, and ask her consent +to our union. So I called upon her one morning and requested to speak +with her alone. She received me in the back parlour, and begged me to +take a seat. I did so, and began thus:-- + +"Ahem! Madam, I wished to talk to you upon a matter of some delicacy." + +"Good gracious, doctor! What can have happened?" she exclaimed, +observing a look of unwonted gravity in my face. + +"Oh, nothing, nothing," I said; "at least, nothing of any great +importance. Hear me. I am a physician of a certain age and in very good +practice." I paused. + +"Well, Dr. Crow," said the aunt. + +"And I am still a bachelor," I continued. + +"Well, sir," said she, wriggling about in her seat and looking coy, as +if she guessed I meditated a proposal, and took the compliment to +herself. + +"Well, madam," said I, impatient to get through this painful duty, "to +cut a long story short, I am in love with your charming niece." + +"_Oh!_ doctor," she exclaimed. + +The "_Oh!_" was jerked out with a spasm truly painful, and her +countenance fell visibly. + +"I dare say you were not prepared for such a surprise, but I have known +Miss Sykes now a long time, and I never saw anyone who could suit me +better as a wife. Miss Sykes and I have talked the matter over +together, and she only awaits her aunt's consent. Thank you, thank you, +madam," said I seizing her hand, "I knew you would give it," before +giving her an opportunity either to consent or refuse. + +"Molly!" I cried, "come and thank your kind aunt for having given her +consent to our happy union." + +Molly entered, blushing and giggling. + +"Come, Molly," said I, "come and thank aunt, for now we shall be as +happy as two birds in a nest. I'll go and see about the licence, and +we'll get married as soon as ever we can." + +I laughed and appeared very merry, repeatedly seizing the aunt by the +hand and patting her on the shoulder before she had time to get a word +out. + +"Stay, sir," said she, at length, "I can do nothing without the consent +of my niece's father." + +"Oh, that will be easily obtained, I am quite sure," said I, hopefully. +"We will at once write a note, and all will be settled." + +I brought her her desk, opened it, took out pen, ink, and paper, and +placing a chair for her, induced her to write. + +"Yes," I said, looking over her shoulder as she wrote, "that will +do--not _too_ cold. Say I am in a position to make his daughter +comfortable, and that you think it is a very desirable match--yes, +that's the sort of thing. Give it to me, I'll take it to the post." So +saying, I snatched up the epistle, bounded from the house, and returned +shortly, as happy as if everything were already settled. + +In due time came a reply from old Sykes, to the purport that, though he +would have chosen a younger man for his daughter, yet on the whole, +considering that I had a pretty good business as a doctor, and could +keep her well, he saw no reason why he should withhold his consent. +Furthermore, he begged the aunt that if his daughter were to be married +to hasten the marriage as much as possible, as young Rashly had been +missing for some time, and folks said that he was down at H---- after +her. + +"Bravo! old Sykes," said I to myself, "Fortune seems to favour me +indeed." + +The next step that I intended to take was to obtain the consent of my +father. Accordingly, I took leave of Molly for a time, stating that I +had to absent myself on business, and promising a speedy return. I +entered the stage and arrived at our village, where I put up at my +father's inn. It was towards evening when I arrived. + +"Landlord!" I cried, disguising my voice, "I wish to dine in +half-an-hour." + +"Yes, sir," said my father, coming towards me, bowing, and rubbing his +hands. + +"Have you got a good bed?" asked I, "for I wish to sleep here to-night." + +"Yes, sir, capital beds, sir," said my father, "both clean and well +aired." + +"Very well, then, make me up one," said I, pompously. + +"It shall be done, sir," said my father, obsequiously. + +I occupied myself with reading until dinner-time. At length the dinner +came up. + +"A pint of your best port, landlord," I cried, magnificently. + +My father returned with the port, crusted and cob-webbed, from the +cellar, and I began my dinner. Having finished, I filled my pipe, and +whilst my father cleared the table, I deigned to enter into conversation +with him. + +I began by asking him the number of inhabitants in the village, and then +brought him out upon the subject of the epidemic. + +"Ah! sir," said my father, deeply moved, "it carried off my only son +some three weeks ago, and a finer lad you wouldn't see in all England. I +hoped that he would have been the prop of my old age, but he was carried +off, sir, along with the rest--struck down in the very spring of his +youth, as you may say. Only nineteen was my poor boy when he was taken +from me," and my father's eyes moistened as he spoke. + +"Only nineteen!" I exclaimed. "Was he not strong?" + +"Strong, sir! I believe you--strong as a lion," said my father. + +"Dear me!" I said, "it is very strange that his youth and strength did +not resist the malady." + +"So everyone said, sir," replied my father, "but--but he had been ailing +for some time before." + +"What was his complaint before he caught this disease?" I asked. + +"Ah! sir, that's just the point," answered my father. "I sadly fear that +it was an epidemic of a more dangerous sort." + +"How so?" asked I. "What do you mean?" + +"Well, sir, my real opinion is now that the young man was too strongly +attached to a maid whom he couldn't marry, and that undermined his +health. Then came the epidemic, which he had not sufficient strength to +shake off." + +"Ah!" said I, "and why could he not marry her? Was the maid +unrelenting?" + +"Not that, exactly, sir. Indeed, I believe she was as much in love with +him, but----" + +"But what?" + +"Well, the fact of the matter is, sir, the girl's father and I ain't +friends, and neither of us was willing to give our consent. The girl was +sent off by her father to live at her aunt's, just to get her out of my +son's way. I knew all about this, but I wasn't going to tell the young +man, lest he should take it into his head to run after her, so, thinking +to blunt his passion, I invented the story of her death, saying that she +had been carried off by the epidemic, hoping that after a time, finding +she was no more, that he would cease to think of her. But instead of +that, he grew worse and worse, and I attribute his death to the lie I +told about his sweetheart's decease." + +"You did very wrong," said I, "not to give your consent." + +"Well, but, sir, if I _had_ given _mine_, the girl's father would not +have given _his_," replied my father. + +"If you had been the first to make up the quarrel, I have no doubt that +he would have given his consent," said I. + +My father seemed stung with this reproach, and took out his handkerchief +to wipe his eyes. + +"Ah, my poor son! my poor son!" sobbed my father. "What wouldn't I give +to have him back again?" + +"Would you give your consent to his marriage with the girl he loved if +he could come to life again?" I asked. + +"Ay, sir, that would I, only too gladly," replied my father, "but what's +the use of talking now that he has gone from me for ever?" + +"You speak like a man without faith," said I. "Have you no belief in an +after life? Have you no hope of meeting him in Heaven?" + +"That is the only hope I have left, sir," said my father, "but in the +meantime----" + +"Ah!" said I, "you cannot make up your mind to be consoled for his loss +for the few short years that you have to remain upon earth." + +"Well, sir, it's very hard to bear," said my father. + +"Have you ever prayed?" I asked. + +"Yes, sir," said he, "I say my prayers regularly." + +"But do you say them earnestly?" said I. "Do you believe that if you ask +a thing that you will receive what you ask for? For instance, if you +were to pray for your son to be restored to life, do you believe that he +really _would_ be restored to life?" + +My father stared in surprise. + +"Well, to tell you the truth, sir, no," he said; "for we all know that +when a man has been buried three weeks that he rarely returns. Even +Lazarus was but four days under the earth. In fact, the thought of +praying for his return after his spirit had once been yielded up never +occurred to me. When David was bereaved of his child by Uriah's wife, he +humbled himself whilst the child was yet alive with sackcloth and ashes, +but when he heard that the child was dead, he rose and ate bread. What +instance is there on record of one returning to life after being buried +three weeks?" + +"Pray, nevertheless," said I; "the mercy of God is boundless. Who knows +but that----" + +"Oh, sir, sir," said my father, shaking his head, "you but mock me; it +cannot be." + +"It is impious of you to say it cannot be. Nothing is impossible with +God," said I. + +My father smiled faintly. I saw that he regarded me as a kind of well +meaning madman, and after lighting my candle, he showed me the way to my +room and shut me in for the night. + +My room was some few doors off from my father's. I undressed and went to +bed. I had not been in bed more than an hour when I heard my father's +footsteps on the stairs. He, too, was going to bed. There was no other +guest in the inn then, and all was quiet. + +I allowed my father a quarter of an hour to get into bed. Then I opened +my chamber door, and listened to hear if he was praying, for he always +prayed aloud. I was satisfied that he was praying; what the precise +words were I could not quite distinguish, but I fancied I heard my name +mentioned once or twice. I returned to my chamber and closed the door. I +allowed my father another hour to go to sleep. When the time had +expired, I stepped on tip-toe across the passage and turned the handle +of his bedroom door noiselessly. I peeped in. All was silent, or rather +he was snoring loudly. Leaving the door ajar, I went back cautiously to +my chamber to fetch the candle, and then softly and noiselessly I +entered the room where my father lay asleep. I had provided myself with +a pinch of salt, which I sprinkled in the flame, so as to give a look of +ghostly pallor to my face. Then, tapping my father lightly on the +shoulder, he started up in bed. + +"Good heavens!" he cried, with every hair erect on his head-- + +"Jack! is it you?" + +He spoke huskily, and his teeth chattered. + +"Hush!" said I, in a sepulchral voice; "listen to me. Because you have +prayed fervently, I have risen from my grave to comfort you. Grieve not +for me, father, for I am happy. I have returned to thank you for having +given your consent to my marriage. Molly is now mine in spirit, and I +shall henceforth rest peacefully in my tomb. Farewell." + +I strode towards the door, with long, silent, majestic strides, and +closed it carefully after me, leaving my father staring after me into +space and speechless with terror. + +I was a very young man then, and a reckless devil-may-care sort of +fellow, otherwise I should not have attempted such a dangerous practical +joke. The consequences might have been fatal; as it was, my father's +nerves were terribly shaken, and I spoilt all his night's rest. When he +brought up my breakfast the next morning in the parlour he looked pale +and haggard. + +"What is the matter, good man?" said I, patronisingly, in my usual +feigned voice. + +"Oh, sir!" said my father, excitedly, "I saw him last night!" + +"Saw him!" I exclaimed. "Saw whom?" + +"My son, Jack, sir. Oh, who would have believed it?" + +"What! and has he returned to life, or was it his spirit?" + +"Yes, sir, his ghost," said my father, with a look of awe, and then he +began relating to me the whole particulars of his son's spiritual +apparition. + +"Then you followed my advice, and have been praying?" + +"That I did, sir, with all my heart and soul," said my father. + +"You told me last evening," said I, "that if your son should come to +life again you would give your consent to his marriage. If you really +repent having withheld your consent during his lifetime let me see that +your repentance is true by writing me the following words and affixing +your signature." + +"What words, sir, must I write?" he asked. + +"Write," said I, "'If my son is restored to me I will give my consent to +his marriage, with the girl of his choice,' that is what you have to +write." + +"But--but--" began my father. + +"Write what I tell you, and affix your signature," said I, gruffly. + +"As you like, sir," said he, complying with my request. I blotted the +sheet of paper, and placed it in my pocket. + +"Now, sir," said I to my father, "I have a secret to tell you. Do not +faint, but be prepared for a shock." + +My father looked at me in astonishment. + +"Your son lives," said I. + +"What do I hear?--my son--my son lives?" he exclaimed, staggering +backwards. Then recovering somewhat his composure, he asked, "But how? I +myself saw him laid in the ground; besides, I tell you I saw his ghost +last night." + +"That was nothing but a distempered dream brought on by our conversation +before you retired to rest," said I. "I tell you your son lives--he is +in my care. Listen; but what I am about to tell you, you must keep to +yourself, otherwise it will damage my reputation. Hearing that your son +had been buried, I, being a doctor and in want of a subject for +dissection, employed resurrectioners or body-snatchers to procure me +your son's body. They stole it from his grave and brought it to my +house. When I began to dissect I found that he was not yet dead. He has +been at my house ever since, still very weak from his recent illness. He +has related to me his love affair, and knows of the deception that you +practised upon him. He begged me to procure for him his father's consent +to his marriage, otherwise, he said he might die in real earnest." + +"Oh, doctor, doctor!" cried my father, "can it be true? Oh, say that you +are not jesting with me. Do not trifle with the feelings of a poor man!" + +"I never trifle," I replied, with dignity. + +"Then it is true, doctor, really true! O God be praised," and he clasped +his hands convulsively, whilst the tears ran down his cheeks. + +Suddenly his ecstasy abated, and he grew serious. + +"What is the matter?" I asked. + +"Oh, but, doctor, if--if after all what I saw last night were not a +dream--if whilst during your absence from home, my son really has died, +and appeared to me last night to let me know. What proof have you that +the vision of my son last night _was_ a dream?" he asked. + +"What proof?" I exclaimed. "_This_ proof," I cried, throwing off my +disguise and speaking in my own natural voice again. "Behold me, father, +risen from the dead!" + +My father's surprise, consternation and joy was beyond all description. + +"What!" he cried, "and are you really Jack risen from the grave? Come, +let me touch you to be sure you are no ghost. + +"Ha! ha! Ha! ha! ha!" he laughed, hysterically. "What! Jack, my boy, I +see it all. Ha! ha! ha! ha!" and he wept upon my shoulder till I thought +he'd go off in a fit. + +"Hush! father," I cried, "and calm yourself. My resurrection must be a +secret between us two, for motives of policy. Do you understand?" + +"Why a secret?" he asked. + +"Never mind now; that is part of my plan. If you tell a single soul +you'll spoil all, and I am a ruined man," I said. + +"I understand nothing of all this, Jack," said my father, "but you may +count upon my secrecy; but I say, Jack, how long must I keep the secret, +for I am burning to tell everyone in the village?" + +"For Heaven's sake, hold your tongue," said I, "until I give you +permission to let it out, or I am ruined for life." + +"Well, well, Jack, mum's the word," said my father. + +I then resumed my disguise and prepared to leave the inn. + +"Why, what the devil are you going to be up to now?" + +"Mum's the word," said I. "You shall know all when I return. Good-bye, +father," and off I started. + +I busied myself a good deal about getting everything in order for the +wedding, and returned to H----, where without further bother I was +married at the village church. + +Fearful that if I threw off my disguise before the wedding that +something or other, I could not tell what or from what quarter, would +mar all and prevent the marriage just at the last moment, after having +been so successful up to this time, this feeling, or presentiment of +harm, vague as it was, induced me to keep on my disguise all through the +ceremony, but when it came to signing my name in the register, I signed +my real name--"John Hearty." + +This created some sensation. + +The aunt wanted me to explain myself. However, we hurried back to the +aunt's house, where we at once threw off my disguise, explained all, and +craved pardon for the deception I had practised upon her. + +At first the aunt seemed a little cold. She was hurt at the deception +being carried on so long. + +There was no necessity for such tricks, she said, if she had been told +all at the beginning; nothing would have been known to anyone else. + +"Do you think I would trust a woman's tongue?" I said. "Come, now, +aunt," I said, "though I am not a doctor, I did you quite as much good +as a court physician could have done you. Yes, although the medicine was +only liquorice water mixed up with other harmless filth." + +"In that, too, I've been imposed upon, then," murmured the aunt. + +"Nevertheless, I cured you," retorted I; "you yourself admitted it, and +what is more, I took no fee." + +Soon, however, Molly's aunt recovered her good humour, and all passed +off with a hearty laugh. + +The only difficulty now was to reconcile ourselves with Molly's father. +The comedy was nearly at an end. I donned my disguise once more, and we +started off together after the wedding breakfast to our native village, +and driving up to old Sykes' house, we knocked at the door. + +We entered, and I introduced myself as his son-in-law. He received us +well, and wished us both health and prosperity. I did not know exactly +how to break the ice, so I reflected a moment. + +"Mr. Sykes," said I, still in my feigned voice, "I shall expect you this +evening to dine with me at six o'clock at the 'Headless Lady.' Come, I +will take no refusal. If we are to be friends together, I shall expect +you, if not----" + +He began to make an excuse about his gouty leg, saying that he never +left the house. + +"Oh, nonsense," said I, "that is just the reason you never get well. +Going out now and then will do you good. I am a doctor, you know, and I +advise you for your good. If you do not like to walk, make use of our +coach." + +He still hesitated, and at length said, "Well, the fact is, I never go +to that house. The landlord and I are not friends. We have had some +differences together of long standing, and----" + +"Nonsense," said I, "that is no excuse at all. All men have differences +now and then, but we must learn to forget and forgive." + +"No," said Sykes; "he was very much in the wrong." + +"Well, I've no doubt that he thinks you are in the wrong," said I. "Dine +with me this evening there, and I'll undertake to make matters straight +for you both. Hearty is a good and honest man, and is one of my best +friends. I have known him these nineteen years. If you refuse to come, +it will be an offence to me, mind that." + +After a time I succeeded in softening him down a little, till I at +length drew from him a reluctant consent, and, according to his word, he +appeared that evening at our inn. + +A grand dinner was prepared, before partaking of which I succeeded in +joining the hands of the two bitter enemies. + +Seeing that the hour had arrived for the divulging of the secret I +explained all in a few words, threw off my disguise and craved his +blessing. + +Old Sykes was a crusty sort of a cove, and I expected that there would +have been a scare, but we had got him into a good humour previously, and +he was so much amused, in spite of himself, at the whole scheme that he +wrung my hand heartily and laughed much over my odd adventures. + +Dinner passed off gaily, and I secretly put the doctor in possession of +his old clothes again. I paid him the money I owed him, and for ever +kept secret the name of the doctor who had brought me to life again so +cleverly. + + * * * * * + +"Why, Jack," said Mr. Oldstone, at the conclusion of our host's recital, +"you can tell a story like the best of us." + +"Ay, that he can indeed," chimed in Mr. Crucible and Mr. Hardcase. + +"There is a great deal of poetry in Jack's story," remarked Mr. +Parnassus. + +Mr. Blackdeed said that it ought to be adapted to the stage. + +"And was it ever discovered who unearthed you, Jack?" inquired Dr. +Bleedem, who had a fellow feeling for the Dr. Slasher of Jack's +narrative, as he could imagine what his own feelings would have been had +he fallen a victim to the infuriated villagers. + +"No, sir," replied our host, "I never let out the truth, although I was +pestered with questions all day long by every one in the village. At +length, however, an old doctor in these parts died from the epidemic, +and after his death, I gave out to the villagers that he was the man who +had dug me up." + +"Ah!" said Dr. Bleedem, "there was no harm in that." + +"And the two body-snatchers, did you ever see _them_ again?" asked +Professor Cyanite. + +"Ha! ha!" laughed our host, "and that _was_ a joke, surely. One evening, +shortly after my resurrection, leastways before everyone knew that I had +come to life again, I was strolling through the cemetery alone where I +had been buried, and sitting down upon my own grave, I began meditating +upon my miraculous escape from death, when who should pass by but my two +friends, Tom and Bill. I looked up as they passed. You should have seen +how they took to their heels. My eyes! I shall never forget it." + +"That was a rare joke, indeed," said our artist, "and that other young +fellow, young Rashly, did you see any more of him?" + +"Ay, sir," replied our host, "and that was another good joke. The Sunday +after our marriage I appeared in the village church with Molly. How the +people did stare, to be sure! I recognised young Rashly in the Squire's +pew with his father. He could not see me, as I was behind a pillar, and +he had not yet heard of my coming to life again. Seeing that he was +without a hymn book, I stepped out suddenly from my pew, and crossing +the aisle, offered him mine. I never shall forget his face. He turned as +pale as a ghost, and was obliged to support himself against the back of +the pew. He was nigh fainting, and his father was obliged to lead him +out of church." + +"Your resurrection must have made quite a sensation in the village +then," said McGuilp. + +"My word, it did, sir, and no mistake," answered the landlord. +"Everybody in the village and for miles round it wanted to shake me by +the hand and welcome me back to life. People used to come from long +distances to hear me recount my adventures, till I grew quite sick of +it, and shut myself up and wouldn't see nobody." + +"Ay, ay, tedious work I've no doubt, telling the same story over and +over again to every new comer," said Mr. Oldstone. "But tell us, Jack, +did young Rashly ever discover who it was that gave him the thrashing?" + +"Yes, sir, that, too, came out in time," said our host, "and devilish +sheepish he looked, so they said, when he heard it was his old rival in +disguise. He would have liked to have had me up about it before the +assizes, but he didn't like the idea of exposing himself, and so the +matter dropped. After a time, however, finding that all the boys in the +village laughed at him whenever he walked abroad, he went to London, and +I have never heard anything more of him." + +At this moment someone knocked at the door. + +"Come in!" called out several voices at once. + +The door opened ajar, and the head of our hostess timidly appeared at +the aperture. + +"Beg pardon, gentlemen," said that worthy dame, "but could Helen be +spared a little just to help me a bit?" + +"Oh! how very annoying!" cried our artist, "just as the weather is +clearing up and I was making up my mind for a long sitting." + +"I am afraid I can't do without her, sir, just now," said our hostess, +"but if you wouldn't mind waiting an hour or so, she will be at +liberty." + +"An hour without Helen!" exclaimed several members at once. "Oh, +impossible! and then to be snatched from us again so soon!" + +"I'll tell you what it is, Mr. McGuilp, and you, too, Dame Hearty," said +Mr. Oldstone, "you are to blame, both of you. Such conduct can't be +suffered to go unpunished; therefore, in the name of the club I condemn +you both to contribute to the common entertainment by telling a story, +each of you, when next called upon." + +"Hear, hear!" cried several voices. + +"Yes, a story from Dame Hearty, and a still longer one from Mr. McGuilp +for having robbed us of Helen--a most just sentence!" + +"Oh, gentlemen!" said our hostess modestly. "You wouldn't care to hear +any of my stories; besides, I've forgotten them all long ago." + +"Come now, Dame Hearty, there is no backing out," said Mr. Oldstone. "A +sentence is a sentence." + +"Well, sir, if it must be so, I'll try and think of one whenever the +gentlemen of this respectable club choose to command my services. Come, +Helen!" And our hostess led away her fair daughter by the hand amidst +the groans of her ardent admirers. + +"Now, Mr. McGuilp," said Mr. Oldstone as the door closed after Helen and +her mother, "we have a full hour before us. I call upon you to fill up +that period to the satisfaction of the club." + +"Yes, yes!" shouted a chorus of voices; "out with it; no mercy on him. +Let justice be done." + +"Well, gentlemen, if you will allow me a moment to compose myself, I'll +endeavour to satisfy you," said our artist. Then resting his head on his +hand as if to call up from the depths of his memory some long-forgotten +tale or legend, he said, "Gentlemen, I recollect a story in our family, +handed down to me from some remote ancestor. I used to be frightened +with it in my childhood. It is long ago now since I heard it related, +but I will endeavour to give it you as perfectly as possible after the +lapse of so many years." + +"Well, we're all attention," said one of the members. + +Then our artist, after stretching himself, folded his arms and commenced +the following tale-- + + + + +[Illustration] + + +CHAPTER II. + +DER SCHARFRICHTER.[1]--THE ARTIST'S SECOND STORY. + + +A respectable ancestor of mine, far back in the middle ages, went to +study at a German university. I cannot call to mind the name of it, but +that is of no consequence. I think he studied medicine, but I will not +be sure even of that. I know that he belonged to a "chor," or company of +students who pride themselves on their liberty, who have their own laws +and customs, who fight duels with rival chors, and who settle disputes +among themselves by outvying each other in the drinking of beer, who +revel in street brawls and other such respectable amusements, playing +practical jokes upon the peaceful citizens; in fact, making night +hideous. + +I know not whether my ancestor was any better or any worse than his +fellow students, but he seems to have entered with pleasure into all +their amusements, and never to have held himself aloof when any mischief +was going on. He was consequently looked up to rather than otherwise by +his companions. + +It was the custom then, and still is among Germans, especially among +German students, to travel long distances on foot, going together often +in large numbers and putting up at night, if they could, at some inn; if +not, in some cottage, stables, or loft, with nothing but straw to sleep +upon. + +But German students are not pampered mortals, and can put up with very +homely accommodation. If after a fatiguing day's march a student can +find at his quarters sufficient beer, black bread, sausage, raw ham, or +a little strong cheese, he is perfectly satisfied. Should he be so +fortunate as to light upon a dish of "sauer kraut," he would fancy +himself in the seventh heaven. + +The German is hardy, yet studious, highly sensitive, and keenly +susceptible to the beauties of nature. Though somewhat penurious, he is +fond of good fellowship, and is a staunch friend. + +The foot tour in Germany is a thing common to all classes, from the +nobility down to the "handwerksbursch," or journeying mechanic, which +latter class is often unmercifully persecuted by the university student. +From time immemorial there seems to have been a feeling of animosity +between the two classes, as nearer home we find existing between the +"town and gown." + +The German student of the middle ages, as in our times, was fond of +swagger, delighted in wearing high boots, enormous spurs, an exaggerated +sword, a preposterous hat, was provoked to a duel on the slightest +occasion, boasted of the number of "schoppen" or "seidel" of beer that +he could stow away beneath his doublet, and ran up long bills without a +thought of how they were to be paid. + +In those days every student had his guitar or other musical instrument +wherewith to serenade his "Liebchen" or lady-love, for that latter +article was indispensable to the life of a student, and though much +grossness and barbarity has been attributed to him, he is, nevertheless, +at times capable of being elevated by a pure and refined passion, for he +has much poetry in his nature, and is both sentimental and romantic in +the extreme. + +In all ages students have meddled much in politics, and princes have +been known to tremble before their audacity and resolution. + +But enough of this digression, gentlemen. My present tale demands only +that you should call up in your minds the German student on his foot +tour in the long vacation, with his keen relish of the beautiful, his +lusty and well-trained frame that laughs at fatigue, his love of +good-fellowship, his tender thoughts of home with the image of his +lady-love. + + "Which pined although it spoke not, and grew keen, + Entering with every step it took through many a scene." + + --BYRON.[2] + +I must now return to my ancestor, who at the time this story commences +was on one of these pedestrian rambles, accompanied by some twenty of +his fellow students, all stout, hearty youths who could eat, drink, and +fight with any in the university, and flirt, too, I've no doubt, when +occasion tempted them. + +These attributes, you will say, are not strictly necessary to the +student preparing for honours, yet, nevertheless, somehow German +students manage to find time for other amusements besides dry study. +They _can_ play, but when they _do_ study, they study hard. + +My ancestor at the time I speak of was a young man of about twenty, and +had already been two years at the university. We may presume, therefore, +that he spoke German tolerably well, if not well. + +I believe it was in the Harz mountains, the Thüringer Wald, and about +those parts that he was travelling on foot with his friends. + +They rose at daybreak and walked hard, with their knapsacks on their +backs, singing or conversing as they went, reposing at noon in some +shady spot to avoid the heat of the day. When the sun began to abate a +little they would resume their journey till night overshadowed them, +when they would encamp, as hungry as hunters, in some rude quarters, +where they would make merry together over a simple but plentiful supper, +and talk over the fatigues of the day. + +They had been following this sort of life for some time, when one +evening as they were hastening towards their quarters in groups of twos, +threes, and fours, my ancestor asked of his friend, "What is the name +of the township where we are to sleep to-night, Hans?" + +"----dorf," answered his friend; "but we shall have to hasten in order +to reach it before nightfall. Look, how the mist is rising!" + +"Ah! so it is," replied my relative, whose name was Frederick, but who +was never called otherwise than "Fritz" by his companions. + +Our Fritz had remained behind to enjoy the last dying glow of a gorgeous +sunset, and was wrapt in meditation, while his friend Hans hurried on. + +"Now then, Fritz!" cried one, Max, "don't lag behind so; or are your +English legs not strong enough for our German mountains?" + +Our Englishman was stung at this taunt, implying, as it did a +disparagement of himself and countrymen, however undeserved it was, for +the Germans knew that he could outwalk the best of them when he chose. +Yet it had the effect of making him hasten his steps a little. + +The dusky hue of night fast overshadowed our students, and the mist now +rose at their feet in thick clouds, so that it was with the utmost +difficulty that they could find their way. + +My ancestor was still a long distance behind the rest, but he was +gaining fast on them, when in the darkness, he stumbled over a clump of +rock and sprained his ankle. All hope of catching up his companions was +now gone. The most he could do was to hobble on slowly with the help of +his staff, now losing his way, now finding it, whenever the moon peeped +out to light up his path, then losing it again when the moon hid itself +behind a cloud, till he began to despair of ever finding anything in the +shape of a roof to shelter him from the night air during sleep, and he +more than half made up his mind to encamp on the spot, but just then he +felt a large drop of rain on his face, then another, and another. + +It had been a broiling hot day, and the air was still sultry. Presently +a flash of vivid forked lightning danced before his eyes, followed by a +clap of thunder so terrific that it bid fair to burst the drum of his +ear. + +The storm was now overhead; the flashes grew more frequent and more +vivid, and the thunder growled more fiercely than ever. In a few minutes +the rain poured down in torrents, and the English student was drenched +to the skin. + +"Here is a nice situation for a man on a pleasure trip!" muttered my +ancestor to himself. "Lost, in the dead of night, in the midst of a +thunderstorm, in an open plain without shelter, drenched like a drowned +rat, as hungry as a wolf, and hardly able to crawl, from a sprained +ankle!" + +His reflections were anything but of a pleasing sort, as you may +imagine, yet he hobbled on as best he could, endeavouring to comfort +himself with the vague hope of finding some sort of shelter for the +night as soon as the storm should pass off. + +After dragging on his limbs with exemplary patience for another +half-mile, it being then about midnight, he perceived a light from a +cottage window not very far distant. His courage began to revive, and +with halting gait he made for the door of the cottage. + +He knocked loudly, but no one answered. Thinking that he had not been +heard for the rumbling of the thunder, he knocked again and again. Still +no one came to the door. + +"I mean to lodge here for the night," said the Englishman to himself, +"if I have to break the door open to effect an entrance." And he kept up +a furious knocking for about three-quarters-of-an-hour. At length he +heard a harsh, grating voice within break out in a string of choice +Teutonic oaths, and the word "schweinhund" (pig-dog) pronounced once or +twice. + +Footsteps were then heard descending the stairs, and the next moment a +quaint-looking personage appeared at the door in dressing-gown and +slippers, with night-cap on head and candle in hand, and demanded in a +surly tone what the "teufel" he wanted at that hour of night. + +My ancestor apologised with much courtesy for having roused up so worthy +an individual at such an unearthly hour, but pleaded that he was a poor +benighted traveller, hungry and soaked to the skin. + +"Then you should have moved further on," was the curt reply. + +"But whither?" asked my relative. + +"To the township. This house is not a 'wirtshaus.'" + +"How far distant is it?" + +"A mile." + +By this he meant a German mile--equal to four English miles. + +"A mile!" exclaimed the Englishman. "I could not walk a mile to save my +life. I've sprained my ankle and can't move a step further. I'm sorry to +put you to such inconvenience, my good fellow, but I really must put up +here." + +"But there is no accommodation," growled the inmate. + +"No matter. I dare say you have a little straw; if not, the bare ground +will do." + +The inmate sulkily suffered the traveller to enter, and showing him into +a parlour on the ground-floor, was about to leave him to himself. + +"Stop a bit, my good host," said the student. "I must beg to remind you +that I am as hungry as a wolf, and as cold as an icicle. If you could +find me something in your larder to keep soul and body together, and +light me a nice little fire to dry my clothes, you will make me your +friend for life." + +"Food! Fire! at this time of night!" exclaimed the host, with a look +that seemed to say, "Is the man mad?" + +"My dear friend," said the Englishman, putting his hand in his pocket +and passing a Reichsgulden into the hand of his host, "I do not want +you to do anything for me gratis. Make me as comfortable as you can for +that--on my departure I'll give you more." + +"Oh, mein Herr!" said our host, softening at the touch of the bright +metal, "that alters the case entirely. You shall have everything you +want. I am sorry I haven't another bed, but you can have some straw, and +a fire to dry your clothes. I'll go and see directly what there is in +the house by way of refreshment, for you must be hungry indeed!" + +Our host left the apartment, and returned shortly with some firewood and +a heap of straw. + +To light a fire and arrange the straw for the traveller in a corner of +the room was the work of a moment. He then hurried off to get supper +ready, and returned soon afterwards with a dish of sausage, some black +bread, some strong cheese and a bottle of "schnaps." + +"Our fare is homely, you see, sir," said the host, apologetically; "but +it is all we have in the house. We are poor people, and not accustomed +to entertain travellers." + +"Never mind that, mine host," said the student, "as long as there is +plenty of it, we'll excuse the quality." + +So saying, he began to strip himself and to hang his clothes before the +fire. Then taking from his knapsack a clean shirt and another pair of +hose, he donned his slippers and drew his chair close to the table. + +The host, after trimming a lamp and lighting it, placed it in the centre +of the table, and was just about to return to his bed, when the student +called out with his mouth full of sausage, "What! mine host, will you +not honour me with your company whilst I discuss my supper? Company +helps digestion, you know, and I'm sure you wouldn't like to have my +undigested supper on your conscience." + +The host returned with a grunt, saying that he couldn't stop long, as he +had to rise early on the morrow. + +"Oh, so have I, good mine host," said my ancestor, "so we are equal. +Come, sit down here, and let me see you toss off a glass or two of this +most excellent schnaps. It will keep out the cold and give you pleasant +dreams, besides adding a still richer tint to that glorious nose of +yours." + +"Humph!" replied the host, little pleased at this personal allusion; but +he drew a chair to the table and made an effort at being sociable. + +My ancestor until now had hardly had time to give more than a cursory +glance at the features of his host, but finding himself now at table +opposite him, he took a minute survey of his countenance in all its +details. + +The exterior of our host was striking, to say the least. He was a man of +about five-and-forty, of middle height, broad rather than tall. His neck +and chest might have served as a model for the Farnese Hercules. His +hair and beard, which were matted and unkempt, were of a flaming red, +and he was just beginning to turn bald. His brow was low, knotted, and +streaked with red. His eyebrows, which were of the same tint as his +hair, were enormous, and overhung a pair of small, deep-set brown eyes +that moved furtively from right to left with the rapidity of lightning, +giving to his countenance a remarkably sinister expression. + +His complexion was florid, and the nose, which was large and +bottle-shaped, was of so bright a red that it made the eyes water to +look upon it, and spoke little for its owner's temperance. His ears, +large and red, stood out at the sides of his head like those of an +animal, and their orifices were carefully protected by fierce tufts of +red hair. The back part of his head was excessively developed, and the +jaw was large and massive. His arms were very muscular, and hairy as an +ape's, with strongly-defined purple veins, and his hands, the fingers of +which were short and stunted, were the colour of raw meat. The legs were +somewhat short for the body, and slightly bowed. + +My ancestor, as he scanned the grim features of his host, could not help +imagining himself a prince in a fairy-tale who had been lured by the +evil genius of the storm into the castle of some ogre, who would sooner +or later devour him unless rescued by the good fairies. The ogre was not +a communicative person. He had not opened his mouth once since he had +taken his seat at the table, save to toss down a glass of schnaps. + +At length the Englishman, curious to know something of the life and +habits of this mysterious individual, was the first to break silence. + +"You live in a very isolated spot, mine host," said he. + +"Ja," was the laconic reply. + +"Have you no nearer neighbours than those of the township?" demanded his +guest. + +"Nein," grunted the ogre. + +"And do you enjoy this solitary existence?" pursued the traveller. + +"Ja!" was the inevitable monosyllabic response. + +"I shall not get much out of him," said my ancestor to himself, and +again there was silence for the space of five minutes. + +As if searching for some topic wherewith to renew the conversation, the +student cast his eyes round the apartment, taking in at a glance the +minutest article of furniture or other commodity that the room +contained. + +It was a homely, undecorated apartment, built after the fashion of the +period, and differed little from most other apartments of the sort. If +it was remarkable for anything, it was for its extreme simplicity, not +to say nakedness, but there was one object hanging on the wall that at +once attracted the traveller's eye. It was a two-handed sword of +peculiar shape, and appeared bright and sharp as if ready for use. + +"Aha!" exclaimed the Englishman, fixing his eye on the object, "you have +been a soldier, I see." + +"Not I," said the host. + +"No? Ah! I see that your sword is not of the same form as those used in +battle. It is probably antique--an heirloom, perhaps." + +The man answered with a nod of the head. + +"I thought so," said the stranger; "and yet it seems bright and well +cared for. It has evidently been sharpened lately. Do you always keep it +well sharpened?" + +"On great occasions, yes," was the reply, and our host gave a peculiar +wink, accompanying it with a significant gesture with both hands, in +imitation of wielding the two-handed instrument over his head, then +slapping his own neck he uttered a low whistle and a sort of chuckle +thus: "Wh--ew!--click!" being his mode of expressing the action of +cutting off a head. + +"Ho! ho!" exclaimed the Englishman, "is that in your line?" + +The ogre answered by a savage laugh. + +At this moment the crying of a child was heard overhead, together with +the harsher tones of its mother scolding it. + +"Then you do not live perfectly solitary, as I thought," said the +student; "you have also wife and children?" + +"One boy only," replied the man. + +"Ah! An only son--a great pet, I'll warrant," said his guest, finishing +his last morsel of supper. "What age may he be?" + +"Ten years old--fine boy--just like me--bringing him up like his +father," said the strange individual. + +"If he turns out like his father, he'll be a beauty," thought my +ancestor. Then he asked aloud of his host: + +"And what profession may that be that you wish to apprentice him to?" + +"Like his father," was the curt reply; but it was followed by the same +sort of expressive gesture that I have just described. + +"What!" exclaimed the student, "to cut off people's heads?" + +"Yes," replied the ruffian; "I am a Scharfrichter." + +"A what?" inquired my ancestor, who though he could make himself +generally understood in German, had never yet come across the word +"Scharfrichter" in his vocabulary. + +"A Scharfrichter," repeated the man, raising his voice. "Don't you know +what that means? Why, one who cuts off heads." + +"An executioner!" muttered the foreigner, half-aloud. "Have I been +constrained to crave the hospitality of an executioner?" + +These words were inaudible to his host, but the ruffian evidently +observed a change in his guest's countenance when he informed him of the +nature of his profession, for he hastened to reply. + +"One sees at once that you are a foreigner, and unused to the customs of +this country. You shudder at meeting an executioner, and sicken at the +thought of cutting off a head. No matter, it is always so at first. In +fact, the pleasure derived from seeing executions is an acquired taste; +but I'll show you some sport to-morrow. There is to be some rare fun +down at the township at daybreak," and the wretch gave another wink and +a chuckle. "I'll show you how to cut off a head. One blow--click!--cuts +like cheese." + +"Horrible being!" muttered my ancestor to himself in his native tongue. +"Is it possible that anything human can actually revel in such +brutality?" and he shuddered in spite of himself. Then he said aloud to +his host-- + +"What was it that first gave you a taste for so horrible a profession?" + +"Hm! I hardly know. I had a natural genius for it, I suppose. My father +was a butcher, and I was brought up from infancy to see cattle +slaughtered. At a very early age I took to slaughtering the animals +myself. I seemed to take a liking to it from the very beginning. I +happened to have an uncle at that time who was a Scharfrichter, and my +greatest delight was to see him cut off the heads of the criminals. I +began to long to do the same. + +"I was a very young man when this uncle died, and as he had no male +issue to take his place, and no one else seemed to come forward, I +thought I would offer my services, and they were accepted. I have been +headsman of the town these thirty years, and when I die my son will step +into my shoes." + +"But if he doesn't take to it?" + +"He _must_ take to it--he'll _have_ to take to it." + +"Why, are there not many other noble professions just as inviting as +that of chopping off the heads of one's fellow-mortals?" + +"Not for the son of a headsman. I see you are ignorant of the laws of +this country. Here in Germany the son of a headsman is bound by law to +adopt the profession of his father, and should the executioner have a +daughter instead of a son, in that case, the man who marries his +daughter is bound to be headsman. Then the Scharfrichter is obliged to +build his house a mile away from other men, for he is a being hated and +shunned by everyone." + +"This then is the reason of your solitude?" + +"It is; and so far is this superstitious fear of contamination carried +in this country, that your citizen considers himself defiled if by +chance he has eaten out of the same plate that a headsman has once used. +Accordingly all vendors of crockery have orders to knock a chip out of +every earthen vessel that they sell to the headsman." + +"Dear me!" exclaimed my ancestor, "what a peculiar custom! I never heard +that before. I certainly did remark that your crockery was in a most +dilapidated state, but I didn't consider the remark worth making, +although more than once in the course of the evening I felt inclined to +ask you how on earth you contrived to knock out chips of such a peculiar +shape by mere accident." + +"Ah!" sighed the headsman, "what between the crockery-seller and----" + +Here he put his finger to his lip and looked round the room +suspiciously. + +"What is the matter?" asked the student. + +"Hush!" said the headsman, "it isn't always safe to talk of mischievous +people--they are apt to appear. You know the saying, 'Talk of the +devil.'" + +"Well," said my ancestor, "but what has that to do with your broken +crockery?" + +"Hush!" answered his host, looking round him half-timidly; then +whispered, "I have a certain mischievous lodger that does my crockery +more harm than either the crockery-seller or my boy upstairs when he's +fractious." + +"Ah!" exclaimed the traveller in surprise, "you have a lodger in your +house?" + +"Ay!--a lodger who never pays his rent, and who drives me to my wit's +end by shying my crockery at my head. Look here, what a cut he gave my +wrist once in one of his pranks. I shall bear this mark to my grave." So +saying, he bared his wrist and displayed a deep, livid wound, long since +healed, but which left behind a scar which nothing could efface. + +"An ugly cut, to be sure," remarked the Englishman. "But why on earth do +you not get rid of so playful a lodger?" + +"Get rid of him! I only wish the devil I could. He comes here uninvited +and---- But let us not talk of him, or he may pay us another of his +pleasant visits, when you will be able to make his acquaintance. He +never stands upon ceremony, but comes just whenever he likes. He may be +in the room now, for what I know. I shall be off to bed." + +My ancestor gazed round the room, vainly endeavouring to discover in +some hidden nook the object of his host's terror, when, marvellous to +relate! a dish on the top shelf was pitched, as if by some invisible +hand, from its post, and shattered into pieces against the opposite +wall, nearly hitting him on the head as it passed. + +The traveller stared first at the shelf, then at his host, and turned +pale. + +"Good Heavens!" he cried. "What was that?" + +"What was it? Ay! You may well ask what it is," answered his host, +peevishly. "What in the devil's name should it be but that pest of a +'Poltergeist' again. I told you you would make his acquaintance ere +long." + +"A what?--a '_Poltergeist_'?" + +"Ay, Poltergeist--a malignant spirit, whose chief delight seems to be to +strike terror into the house of a poor honest headsman, and smash all +his crockery that he has to pay for out of his hard-earned wages." + +"Holy Virgin!" ejaculated my ancestor, crossing himself (for he was a +good Catholic). "A malignant spirit! Saints protect us!" + +But the words were hardly out of his mouth when crash! went another +plate upon the floor, just grazing his host's auburn head as it passed. + +"Oh! come now, my fine fellow," said our host, in a tone of mild +remonstrance; "a little of that goes a long way." + +Then turning to his guest, he remarked: + +"I wonder why he honours me especially with his visits, and not other +people. I shouldn't wonder if he is someone that I have had the honour +of decapitating, and he comes to pay me an occasional visit in order to +impress upon me that he hasn't forgotten the little service I did him." + +A large pointed knife that lay peacefully on the table was then suddenly +and powerfully thrown from the traveller's side, and remained with the +point sticking in the panel of the door opposite. + +"Ho! ho!" cried the headsman; "this is getting warm work. Now, my +good friend, do let me entreat you to be more moderate in your +manifestations, and if you are quiet, to-morrow I will send you a +companion." + +This promise, so far from quieting our spiritual guest, seemed to +infuriate him more than ever, for the bottle of schnaps, more than half +full, was now raised in the air and dashed to pieces on the table, the +candle being overturned at the same time, and falling flame downwards on +to the spirit spilt on the table, it ignited, and in a moment everything +was in a blaze. + +"Fire! Fire!" cried the headsman, in a voice that roused up his wife and +child, who came tumbling downstairs in no time, to learn what was the +matter. + +There is no knowing what mischief might not have taken place had not my +ancestor, with great presence of mind, snatched up his damp clothes from +before the fire, and succeeded in extinguishing the flame. + +"What _is_ the matter, Franz?" exclaimed our host's better half, +appearing at the door just as matters were being set to rights again. + +"Oh, nothing," said her fond spouse, "only that d----d Poltergeist +again, who seems bent upon burning us all in our beds before he has done +with us." + +"Hush!" said his wife, "don't swear, or he may do as you say in real +earnest. Come to bed now, or to-morrow you won't be able to get up in +time. Remember----" + +"Ah, true; I must have my night's rest, as it would not do for my hand +to tremble to-morrow when I mount the scaffold. _Gute nacht, mein +Herr._" + +And our worthy host followed his partner out of the room, leaving my +ancestor to his reflections. + +"Well," soliloquised my relative, "of all the strange adventures that +ever occurred to me, this beats all. Oh! there is not the slightest +doubt that what I have just witnessed is the work of the infernal +powers--some diabolical agency. + +"When I see a knife jump up from the table by itself without anyone near +and deliberately fix itself in the panel of the door before my very +eyes; when I see a bottle of spirit overturned and broken in pieces, and +then a candle after that knocked over as if on purpose to ignite the +spirit, and withal no way of accounting for such a phenomenon; moreover, +when I see plates and dishes hurled from one end of the room to the +other, and apparently aimed at people's heads, and yet the perpetrator +of such pranks has the power of making himself invisible to the naked +eye, then, I say, this is not through human agency, but something +superhuman, and as it is not exactly an angelic mode of proceeding, it +must be the reverse." + +My ancestor shuddered, and crossed himself. The manifestations, however, +had ceased for the night, and in five minutes our weary traveller was +fast asleep. + +His dreams that night were not of the pleasantest. He imagined that he +mounted the scaffold with a crowd of eager eyes gazing at him, amongst +whom were his friends and travelling companions. His host, the +Scharfrichter, stood brandishing his terrible two-handed sword, and in +another moment his head would have been off, but at the critical time +the dream changed, and he was being pelted with crockery in the midst of +a cemetery at night by innumerable sheeted "poltergeister." + +These and such-like visions were flitting before his brain, when a loud +thump at the door brought him back to earth again. There was the +Scharfrichter before him, not in dressing gown and slippers, as on the +previous evening, but attired in doublet and hose of a blood red, a +black _barello_ with scarlet cock's feather. + +"Now then, mein Herr," said the headsman, taking down his fearful +instrument from the wall, "time's up." + +My ancestor, only just awake, rubbed his eyes and imagined that he was +really and truly called away to execution, and that his last hour had +come. + +The executioner, seeing that he hesitated, added: "If you want to +witness the cunning of my hand, now's your time." + +My relation gave a sigh of relief when he began to recollect that his +own head was quite safe, and that he was only called to witness the +execution of another man. + +"But I can't go; I have sprained my ankle," pleaded the Englishman. + +"Oh, I don't intend to walk myself," replied the executioner. "I have my +horse and cart ready, and can give you a lift." + +"Oh, if that's the case," said the student, "I shall be glad to go, as I +wish to meet my friends in the township." + +"Come on, then," and the headsman assisted the Englishman into the cart. + +As they were about starting, a little red-haired ruffian of about ten, +stout and well-built, and bearing a striking likeness to our host, +appeared on the threshold. + +"Papa, you'll bring me home a football, won't you?" said the youth. + +"Ay, my boy, that will I, a good sized one," answered his father. + +"That's your son?" asked the student of his host. "Ah, a fine little +fellow. Here, my little man," said he to the child, and slipping a small +coin into his little fat fist, he patted him on the cheek and stepped +into the cart. + +"Ah, he's a fine boy," said our host with a paternal pride, as he +whipped on his horse. "There is nothing of the milksop about him. _He's_ +not afraid of the devil himself." + +"You do well to be proud of him. I'll warrant you buy him many a pretty +toy," observed the Englishman. + +"Buy him toys!" exclaimed the headsman, laughing. "As long as I bring +him home a football now and then, he is quite content." And he laughed +again. + +"Well, that is a toy, isn't it?" said the student, not as yet +comprehending the headsman's meaning. + +"Yes, a toy that costs me nothing, and gives him no end of amusement. +You should see how he kicks the heads about that I bring him home. It's +quite a pleasure to see the youngster enjoy himself in his innocent +way." + +"You do not mean to say," said the Englishman, in horror, "that the +football you promised him is to be _a human head_!" + +"Aye, to be sure," replied the Scharfrichter. "What else should it be? +What kicks he'll give it to be sure! Ha! ha! ha! that's the way to bring +up boys; makes them hardy. _He's_ not afraid of a little blood. Talk of +his not taking a liking to my business! Why he's always saying to me, +'Papa, when I am big enough to wield your sword, you'll let me cut off +heads, won't you?' + +"'Yes, my boy, that you shall,' say I, for I like to give him +encouragement. That's what I call bringing up boys well. I wouldn't +give a fig for one of your milksops that scream or faint at the sight of +blood, not I." + +"Humph," muttered my ancestor, and he remained silent for some minutes, +absorbed in meditation. + +The headsman whipped on his horse in silence; at length he said to his +guest: "Here we are at last. Look at yon crowd waiting to receive us." + +My relative lifted his head, and sure enough there was the mound of +earth erected for the criminal already surrounded by soldiers, close to +which thronged the crowd. All the inhabitants of ----dorf were astir, +and in the crowd our Englishman now recognised his fellow students. A +cry of "_Der Henker! der Henker!_"[3] arose on all sides. Room was at +once made for the headsman and his companion, and Fritz's fellow +students, seeing their friend arrive in a Henker's cart, pushed their +way through the crowd to ask him all sorts of questions. + +Fritz descended with difficulty after paying his host for his board and +lodging, and joined his companions. In a few minutes more the criminal's +cart arrived with the "_armer Sünder_," or poor sinner, accompanied by +two priests. Loud execrations broke from the mob, amidst which the +wretched being descended from the cart and mounted the scaffold. A dead +silence reigned around. One of the priests whispered something +earnestly in the ear of the condemned, who was as pale as death, and he +took his seat on the chair prepared for him, while an expression of +savage delight appeared on the countenance of the headsman. + +He felt all eyes were upon him. The terrible two-handed weapon was +raised aloft, and brandished over the Henker's head. One blow and the +head of the unhappy wretch was severed from his body. Loud cheering rent +the air as the Scharfrichter, holding the head of the criminal by the +hair, presented it to the public gaze. But at this moment a most +unexpected and revolting scene ensued. + +Several persons from among the crowd rushed forward toward the scaffold +with mugs, which they filled at the fresh fountain of blood spurting up +from the severed neck of the criminal and drank off at a draught. + +My ancestor sickened at so disgusting a spectacle, and demanded the +reason of some bystander. He was informed that those persons believed +human blood fresh from the neck of a beheaded criminal to be an +infallible remedy for epileptic fits. The superstition exists to this +day. Violent exercise after the draught, he was informed, was considered +necessary, in order to effect a cure. + +The crowd began to disperse, and my ancestor, leaning on the arm of a +friend, also retired from the scene, disgusted with himself at having +been present at such a spectacle. Before leaving the spot he had time to +notice his host of the previous night start off in his cart towards home +with the promised football. + +Our English student was laid up for some little time with his sprained +ankle, and some of his companions remained behind to keep him company, +while others moved onward. + +The ankle being cured, my relative continued his foot tour with his +friends, and afterwards returned to the university, where he studied +hard till the time came round for an examination, which he passed, and +shortly afterwards returned to England. + +We hear nothing more of my ancestor until ten or twelve years +afterwards, when we again find him in Germany, whither he had been +suddenly called to visit some relative, then in a dying state. + +He arrived just in time to close his relative's eyes, after which he saw +him quietly interred in his last home. + +This sad office over, he was thinking of returning to England, when, in +turning over the articles of his travelling trunk, he suddenly came +across a German book belonging to a college friend of his, one Ludwig +Engstein, that had been lent him when at the university, and which he +had forgotten to return before leaving college. His friend used to live, +he remembered, in Weimar, and not being far distant, he resolved to +visit that town and to find out his friend's house. + +Many changes take place in twelve years, and my ancestor only half +expected to meet his fellow-student again. He might have changed his +residence--he might be dead. Who could tell what might not have happened +to him after so long a lapse of time? + +Nevertheless, the Englishman, finding himself on German soil once more, +resolved to enquire after the friend of his youth, and should he succeed +in discovering him, to put him in possession of his book again, and chat +with him over their student days. + +Accordingly, he set off for the town of Weimar, and having arrived +there, proceeded with the said book under his arm to the house of his +friend. He had been once on a visit of a fortnight at his friend's house +when a student, and had known his mother and sisters intimately, +therefore he had no difficulty in finding the house again. + +The town of Weimar had changed but little during these ten or twelve +years, and once more he found himself on the old familiar doorstep. + +"_Ist der Herr Advocat Engstein zu Hause?_" he demanded of an old woman +who answered the door. + +"_Ja, mein Herr_," replied the crone. "What name shall I give?" + +"Oh, never mind announcing me," said the Englishman; "I'll announce +myself." + +So saying, he pushed past the old woman, and knocked at his friend's +study. + +"_Herein!_" called out a voice from within, which my ancestor had no +difficulty in recognising as his friend's, and the Englishman entered. + +Ludwig Engstein was seated at a table strewed with papers and documents, +and was busily writing. He was still young looking, but his friend Fritz +noticed that his face had assumed a more thoughtful expression than +when at the university. He was now a lawyer in good practice, and the +moment his friend entered he was so busy that he did not even raise his +head. + +"I am sorry to disturb you, Herr Advocat," said Fritz, suddenly, "but +I've come to return a book you lent me some time back." + +And placing the book on the table, he marched straight out of the room, +shutting the door after him. He then peeped through the key-hole and +listened awhile to note the effect of his abrupt departure on his +friend. + +The young lawyer's ear caught his friend's English accent, and at once +lifted his head, though not in time to catch a glimpse of his retreating +figure. + +I have said that Engstein recognised Fritz's accent as English, but +little did he suspect that it was his old college friend who had called +upon him and left so suddenly. + +He looked surprised, took up the book upon the table to look at the +title, and muttered to himself, "Who can it have been? I do not +recollect now who it was I lent it to, but it must have been a long +while ago." + +He was about to ring the bell, and rose for that purpose when he noticed +a face peeping at him through the opening of the door, which was now +ajar. + +"Who's that? Come in!" cried the lawyer. + +"You are busy, Herr Advocat--another time. _Ich empfähle mich Ihnen_," +said my relative, closing the door slowly after him. + +But this time Ludwig had a better view of the Englishman's face. + +"_Potztausend!_" exclaimed the lawyer; "I shall know that face. _Ach! +lieber freund Fritz._ Can it be really you? _Nein was für ein angenehme +Ueberaschung!_" he cried, rushing forward and throwing the door wide +open while he kissed his friend forcibly on both cheeks. + +"Sit down here and tell me to what for a fortuitous and +never-to-be-expected train of circumstances I am indebted for this +friendly and to me most agreeable and blissful-past-days-recalling +visit." + +Fritz then went on to relate the circumstances of his relative's death, +and how he had been called from home to attend him in his last moments. + +"I am sorry for the death of your relation," said Ludwig, "but I cannot +sufficiently express my extreme joy at seeing my old friend Fritz again +after so many years! Ha! ha! ha!" he laughed, partly from delight at +meeting his friend, and partly at his friend's mode of introducing +himself. + +"What for an eccentric and of you and your strange +countryman-characteristic way of saluting your old friend after so +long!" + +And the German again laughed again heartily. + +"And what for a busy and for-ever-with-documents-and-papers-occupied +German business man, not even to notice his swiftly entering, and +though long departed from German soil, speedily-vanishing and +almost-forgotten English friend!" retorted Fritz, mimicking the +high-flown, wordy phraseology of the German. + +"No, on my honour, Fritz," replied his friend; "not forgotten, I assure +you. Do you know that I had a dream of you only last night. It never +struck me till now. It is strange that I should have dreamed of you just +the night before your unexpected and to me most grateful arrival. How +strange it is that our dreams often prognosticate coming events! It is +as if the mind, partly freed from its material covering during sleep, +received the power of peering with greater accuracy into that +to-us-in-our-waking-state-obscure and unfathomable future which----" + +"Precisely; I understand you," answered my relative, cutting short his +friend's philosophic remark; "but let us talk a little over old times; +that is if you are at leisure." + +"Yes, to be sure," answered the lawyer; "what I am doing now has no need +of hurry. Oh, by the way, Fritz, talking of old times, do you remember +the night you spent at the house of old Franz Wenzel the Scharfrichter?" + +"If I remember? Shall I ever forget it? ask, rather," answered my +ancestor. "It seems to me only yesterday that I witnessed that +execution; and then that Poltergeist--it seems as if I had witnessed his +pranks only last night. I can remember the minutest incident that +happened on that unhallowed evening." + +"Well," resumed the lawyer, "poor old Franz is no more." + +"What--dead, eh?" + +"Ay, murdered. Horrible to relate, his body was discovered minus the +head, which has been carried off or hidden somewhere, for it hasn't been +found yet, but his son recognised the body by the clothes, besides Franz +has never returned home since, so it must be he. There appears to be a +mystery about it, however. The murderer has not as yet been discovered, +neither can people guess at what prompted the murderer to take the life +of a man who was never over-burdened with money. Then the head being cut +off without care being taken to bury the body, and all, too, within a +few steps of the Henker's own house. What could have been the murderer's +object in carrying off the head?" + +"A mere act of spite, I suppose," replied the Englishman. + +"Well, it may be so," replied his friend, "for it seems that his life +had been often threatened by the friends or relations of those he had +beheaded. It may be as you say, out of spite. The murderer may, by way +of wreaking his vengeance have cut off the head of the man who had put +some friend or relation to death as a trophy, but why just at this +moment? Why not before, as there has been no execution in the town +lately? I believe there has been none since that execution we two +witnessed together. If the avenger had made up his mind to avenge his +friend, why did he not do so at once, instead of waiting these twelve +years?" + +"It may be some other private quarrel," replied Fritz. "Are you mixed up +in it?" + +"Yes, I shall be at the trial." + +"It happened recently it would seem." + +"Only two days ago." + +"Then the body is still fresh--of course it has been exposed and +examined?" + +"Yes, but it was recognised at once by the family. I dare say it is +buried by this time. I am going there to-morrow. If you have time, my +friend, I should be most glad of your company." + +"Well, I don't mind giving you a day or so, as I am taking a holiday." + +"Agreed, then; we start to-morrow." + +The two friends then discoursed until dinner-time, when Ludwig invited +Fritz to share his meal. + +The Englishman accepted the offer, and they chatted and laughed the time +away till the evening. + +Ludwig lived quite alone. His sisters had married, his mother was dead. +Ludwig was still a bachelor, and so was my ancestor at this time. + +"You have not yet put your neck under the yoke it appears," said my +relative to his friend, in allusion to the conjugal tie. + +"Not I," replied his friend. "At least, not yet." + +"I understand," said Fritz; "not married, but '_verlobt_'." + +"No, nor that either." + +"No? _Verliebt_, then, perhaps." + +"No, neither '_verlobt_' nor '_verliebt_'." + +"What!" exclaimed the Englishman, "not even that! Nevertheless, if I +remember rightly, the student Ludwig Engstein was not once averse to the +fair sex." + +"Oh, recall not the follies of the past, my friend, or I may retaliate," +answered the German. + +"True, true," said the Englishman. "We all have our weaknesses, and +youth is the season in which they mostly flourish, but now we have both +grown into sober-minded _Philister_,[4] and are more wary." + +"Yes, yes," rejoined his friend; "we are not to be caught now by a pair +of blue eyes, flaxen tresses, and a jimp waist, however well these +charms may be set off with the allurements of dress. When men get to our +advanced age, they want 'geist,' and look out for a good housewife who +can cook them a dish of 'sauer kraut' or a 'pfankuchen' when '_das +moos_'[5] is wanting, which is another very useful accessory we desire +to have thrown in." + +Here he made a significant gesture with his finger and thumb, intended +to express the counting of money. + +"I hope, my friend, you have not become so worldly as to look upon +marriage in the light of bettering yourself," said my relative. + +"_Ach! lieber freund_," replied Ludwig. "It is all very well for you +rich milords who have '_löwen_'[6] to talk in that style, but we '_armer +teufeln_' are bound to take even that into consideration." + +"This is what the world makes of noble fellows when it has once got them +in its grasp!" sighed my ancestor to himself, and he hastened to change +the conversation. + +They then discoursed on various other topics, sitting up to a late hour +of night, until wearied with incessant talking, each retired to rest. + +Early the next morning both were dressed and ready to start on their +journey. They reached ----dorf towards evening, and having fixed their +quarters at the very same inn they had put up at on their memorable +tour, they beguiled the time until the morrow by discoursing with the +townspeople about the mysterious murder. + +The body, it seems, was not yet underground, but was to be buried the +next day. They accordingly both resolved to examine it. + +"The head has not been found yet?" asked Ludwig after supper of the +landlord of the inn, who had come in for a gossip. + +"No, sir, not yet," replied their host. "Ah, there are some strange +rumours in the town about that same murder." + +"Indeed!" cried Fritz; "what do the people say?" + +"Some say one thing, and some another, but all seem to agree that there +is something supernatural about the murder of the Henker." + +"Something supernatural! Why--what reason have they to jump at that +conclusion?" + +"Well, sir, I don't know if you have ever heard of the Henker's +Poltergeist, but it is a fact well known to all in the township." + +"Yes, yes--even we know it. In fact----but never mind, proceed." + +"Well, gentlemen, this Poltergeist--this evil spirit--that no doubt was +permitted to haunt the headsman for his sins--for a headsman must of +necessity be a cruel, hard-hearted, unnatural villain to choose such a +profession." + +"Well, well--this evil spirit." + +"Well then the Scharfrichter, at least, so people say, had sold his soul +to this demon, and when the time came round for him to give up his soul +according to the bargain, he refused, and the demon wrested it from him +by force by cutting off his head and carrying it away with him." + +"Oh, but why this strange supposition? Why put down a thing to +supernatural agency before sufficient time has elapsed to investigate +the matter properly? A person is murdered, and the body discovered +without the head, and because the head cannot be found at once, you say +that the devil has run off with it. My dear sir, the thing's absurd." + +"Well, we must wait and see what evidence will turn up," said the host. + +"Yes, but if everybody merely _waits_ for evidence to turn up instead of +actively searching for it, the matter will come to a standstill," said +the Englishman. "I myself am interested in the murder, as I knew the +Scharfrichter twelve years ago, when I was a student." + +"Ah, in that case, sir--of course you would. By-the-by, there is another +murder now talked about besides the Henker's. They seem to be getting in +fashion." + +"What! another body?" + +"Well, sir, the body isn't exactly found yet, but there is a certain +Count, well-known to be rich, who was taking a foot tour through the +country alone. His family expected him home on a certain day, and as he +hasn't turned up yet, they suspect that he has been robbed and +murdered." + +"That may be merely a suspicion. How long has he been missing?" + +"Three days, they say." + +"Three days! Why, a man doesn't bind himself to a day or two when out on +a foot tour. He may remain another three days, or a week longer, and +then return unhurt." + +"Well, sir, it may be as you say, but as the Count was known by his +relations to be a very punctual man, and never to fail in his +appointments, you see, it is natural they should feel uneasy." + +"True, especially as three days ago was about the time of the other +murder, and they may get it into their heads that the two murders +occurred in the same night. Was he a married man?" + +"No, sir; quite young, they say." + +"Humph! When did you say the body of the Henker would be +buried--to-morrow?" + +"About ten, I think, sir." + +"Ah! then I must be there early, as I want to examine the corpse +myself." + +"Oh, decidedly, sir. I will bring you to the place to-morrow in good +time." + +Our friends now felt inclined for their night's rest, so their host +showed them into a room with two beds, and wishing them a good night, +left them to undress, and before many minutes had passed both were sound +asleep. + +The following morning early our two friends, in the company of their +host, started from the inn to visit the corpse of the murdered +executioner. As they entered the hall where the body lay exposed, Fritz +instantly recognised the clothes; if not the identical vestments worn by +the defunct twelve years ago, at least, of the same colour and material, +being, as I have said before, a doublet and hose of crimson, a colour +that he seems to have been partial to. + +"Yes," said Fritz; "these are the Henker's clothes, I've no doubt." + +Then, after examining the form laid out before him, he was observed to +start slightly, and he added in a whisper to his friend: "Ludwig, this +is not the body of Franz Wenzel--I'll take my oath of that." + +"How! Not Franz Wenzel! Who else should it be, then?" + +"That I am not prepared to say, but it is not the body of the Henker; +that is certain. Remember that I passed a night at Wenzel's house; +during that time I took note of the features and figure of the +Scharfrichter, and though twelve years have passed since I saw him, I +can swear----" + +"But how! His own family have recognised him. What further proof would +you have?" + +Then addressing the landlord, Ludwig said: "Is it true, landlord, that +his own family have recognised the body?" + +"Yes, sir; at least, the son did. I don't know whether his wife did or +not, as she has been laid up for ever so long with paralysis, poor soul. +It may be she has never been informed of the murder. One does not like +to frighten invalids, you know." + +"Well, well--enough if the corpse has been recognised by the son." + +"Yes, sir, he recognised it. It is true, he was a little the worse for +liquor when they brought him before the corpse of his father; but when +is he otherwise, for the matter of that? As sad a young dog as ever +lived that same--inherits all the vices of his father. Nevertheless, who +is there in the township that does not recognise the Henker's red legs?" + +"You see, therefore, my friend," said Ludwig, turning to his companion, +"that you are mistaken. Everybody recognises him." + +"I see nothing of the sort," replied the Englishman, doggedly; "and I am +still prepared to swear that the corpse before us is not that of Franz +Wenzel." + +"My dear Fritz," said Engstein, "you are obstinate. What reason can you +possibly have for saying so?" + +"Observe the hands of the corpse," said Fritz, in a low tone. "Do they +look like the hands of an executioner? They are long and delicate. Those +of Franz Wenzel were hard, rough, and hairy, with square stunted +fingers; besides, the headsman wore no ring. This hand, though no ring +is visible, has a depression on the forefinger, as if the owner were in +the constant habit of wearing one." + +"Ha! say you so?" exclaimed his friend, and a strange expression came +over his face. + +"Then," pursued Fritz, "observe the clothes. Do they look as if they +were made for the body? Franz Wenzel had enormously developed calves, +and his hose fitted tightly. Do these hose fit tightly? Look at these +limbs, that, compared with the Henker's, are but those of a boy." + +"Humph! I believe you are right, Fritz, after all," said Engstein; "but +it never would have struck me if you had not pointed it out, as it is so +long ago since I set eyes upon him, and then only for a moment. You took +a more complete survey of him, and your evidence may prove useful. We +will look into the matter together. It is strange, however, that no one +should have been struck in the same manner as yourself." + +"Well, I don't know," responded Fritz. "The people in these small +villages are not always of the brightest. Then the headsman's house +being so far away from the town, few people have the opportunity of +taking a minute survey of him. The people here content themselves with +recognising the clothes. Franz's wife is laid up with paralysis, and has +not seen the body, while his son only recognised it when in a drunken +state. Do you call that sufficient evidence to prove that the corpse +before us is that of the executioner? Would you like another proof that +this is no more Franz Wenzel than I am?" + +"Well," said Ludwig. + +"I remember a scar upon the right wrist that he showed me the night I +put up at his house," said the Englishman; "and which he told me had +been inflicted on him by a piece of broken plate hurled at him by his +Poltergeist. I remember that he said he should carry that mark with him +to the grave. If this is the corpse of Franz Wenzel we shall not fail to +discover the mark." + +So saying, he bared the right arm of the corpse and examined it +carefully. No such mark was to be found. The arm was free from scar or +brand, and was delicate in form, almost like that of a maiden's. +Moreover, there was a scanty covering of dark hair upon it, while the +hair on the arms of the executioner, if you remember rightly, was red +and profuse. Even Engstein remarked this, and was now convinced beyond a +doubt that the murdered man was not Franz Wenzel. + +"Is any search being made now for the head of the corpse?" demanded +Engstein of his host, who had withdrawn some paces from the two friends, +and consequently had not heard the doubt that had been suddenly cast +upon the public opinion. + +"No active search, I believe, sir," was the reply. + +"We will make the search ourselves, my friend," whispered Engstein to +Fritz; then added to his host, "My friend and I will take a stroll +together. It is uncertain when we shall return to the inn, but get +something savoury for us against we come back," and he waved his hand +towards his host, who doffed his cap and walked towards his inn, while +our two friends set off together in the direction of the Henker's house, +which they reached in about an hour. + +"Yes," said Fritz, "this is the place. I remember it well. What did our +host tell us? That the murder took place only a few paces from the +headsman's door. Let us look well round the spot. How solitary it is! +Just the place where a murder would be committed. What do you say to yon +hollow flanked with brushwood, Ludwig? Is it not a likely place for a +murderer to await his victim?" + +"You are right, Fritz, let us make a strict search, but if the head has +been carried far distant----" + +"Let us, nevertheless, search well here first," said my ancestor, and +the two friends set to work at once, lifting up every bush and bramble, +following every track, until finally they came upon some blood stains. + +An old dried well they discovered not far from this spot. Common sense +would have suggested this as a likely place for the concealment of the +missing head, and there is no doubt that the same idea struck the +inhabitants of ----dorf, for there was evident traces of a great number +of feet in the sand round about it; besides which there was a chip +recently made in the brickwork, which appeared caused by the letting +down of a rope or chain. + +This seemed evidence enough for our two friends that the well had +already been searched, and without effect. Further search in that +direction appeared to them to be useless, especially as no bloodstains +were to be found near. + +They then proceeded to examine more closely than ever the bushes around, +stamping on the ground to ascertain if a hole had recently been made, +but the ground was firm, and there was nothing to attract suspicion save +a few bloodstains, which, instead of leading up to the well as one would +have imagined, led up to the foot of an old chestnut-tree, and there +seemed to end. + +On examining the bark of the tree attentively they observed blood also +on the trunk, but this might have been occasioned by the splashing of +the blood from the neck after the decapitation of the head. There was no +hollow visible in the tree where suspicion would lead one to suppose +that the head could be concealed; nevertheless, when men make up their +minds to make a rigid search, they often pry into the most unlikely and +impossible places, so our friends determined to ascend the tree to +ascertain if by any chance the head could have lodged between its leafy +branches. + +Previous to mounting, Ludwig, who, together with his friend, had +provided himself with a long branch wherewith to beat down the bushes, +struck the chestnut-tree a blow on the trunk with the branch he carried, +when a hollow sound proceeded from the tree, and instantly a large owl +fluttered out from the foliage before their faces with its beak and +plumage stained with blood. Blinded with the sunlight, it hovered +distractedly hither and thither for a time, and then vanished with a +screech. + +"Did you notice the beak and feathers of the bird, Ludwig?" asked Fritz. + +"I did," said Ludwig, "and what is more, I am convinced that the whole +of this seemingly robust chestnut-tree is hollow, and I have not a doubt +that the murderer, aware of the fact, has hidden the head of his victim +at the bottom, and that this fell bird has been gorging itself and its +young upon it ever since." + +"That is just my opinion," said Fritz. "Let us climb the tree and look +within." + +My ancestor was the first to mount, and having arrived at the point +where the trunk divides itself into branches, he discovered a large hole +thickly covered over with leaves. Sitting upon the edge, with his legs +dangling within the hollow trunk, he proceeded to strike a light, and +having ignited a taper, he commenced carefully to descend into the +hollow of the tree. In his descent, however, his foot slipped, his taper +extinguished itself, and he came down rather suddenly upon his feet. He +soon became aware from a feeble smothered shriek that he was treading +upon a nest of young owlets. + +He began to dread lest he might encounter some venemous reptile in this +unexplored region, but taking courage he struck another light and +searched about. He had not looked long when he discovered what appeared +to be a human scalp. He grasped it firmly by the hair, and by the light +of his taper soon knew it to be in reality the head of a man, one half +of which had been already eaten away to the bone. + +"Eureka!" exclaimed Fritz, "I have it." + +His friend uttered an exclamation of delight, while my relative +clambered up again, and the two friends examined the disgusting treasure +under the fair light of day. + +"You see the hair is black," said Fritz. "I hope you are satisfied now +that this is not the head of the Scharfrichter." + +"There is no doubt about that now, I think," said Ludwig. "And do you +know, Fritz, now that I scan these features, they seem familiar to me as +my own in the looking-glass. Himmel! Can it be possible!" + +"What?" demanded my ancestor, anxiously. + +"Why, I'll swear that this is no other than my old friend and +fellow-student, the Count of Waffenburg!" exclaimed Engstein. + +"What! Graf von Waffenburg! Is it really so? I knew him well. Let me +examine the features," said Fritz. + +"Yes, it is he beyond a doubt," said Ludwig. "We had a quarrel once, and +I wounded him in the cheek. Here is the wound I myself inflicted; but +afterwards we became staunch friends." + +"True," said Fritz. "I remember the duel well, being present myself on +the occasion. What a curious coincidence! It is certainly he, and no +other. The more I look at the features the more satisfied I am. Let us +hasten with this proof of the identity of the murdered man to the +township and spread abroad the news of the murder of the count. His +relations will then come to claim his body." + +The two friends then made a covering of chestnut leaves for the head, +and tying it up in a handkerchief, retraced their steps towards the +township, discoursing on the cunning of the murderer, who appeared to +them to be no other than the Scharfrichter himself. + +"For when a body is found minus the head," argued Ludwig, "and dressed +in the clothes of another man, and that other man is nowhere to be +found, it follows as a matter of course that the man missing must be the +murderer." + +"Yes," said the Englishman, "unless the murdered man had previously +stolen the clothes of another, and then afterwards been murdered by some +unknown assassin." + +"But when the deceased has been proved beyond a doubt to be the Graf von +Waffenburg, a man whose name is above so ridiculous a suspicion," said +Engstein. + +"Oh, of course the blackest suspicion attaches itself to Wenzel," said +Fritz; "yet, in the case of a mysterious murder, evidence, occasionally +of so startling and unexpected a nature, turns up as to completely alter +the state of the case. + +"The headsman is missing, and a corpse has been found dressed in his +clothes. We presume, therefore, that _he_ is the murderer, but if after +a time the Henker's corpse should also be found----" + +"Oh, in that case," said Ludwig, "the aspect of the whole affair would +be changed. Well, we must wait for further evidence. To-morrow the case +will begin in court, and my services will be required. I doubt not +before long that sufficient light will be thrown on the subject to +enable us to discover the true murderer." + +Thus our two friends chatted by the way, till in due time they arrived +at the township, and having deposited the head of the murdered man at +the town hall, where the body had been exposed, they spread abroad the +result of their expedition, and clearly proved to the somewhat obtuse +inhabitants their error. + +On the following morning, then, the trial began. The court was crowded +to suffocation. Evidence of a very extraordinary nature had turned up, +so it was said, and Ludwig Engstein, attired in his professional robes, +was preparing to conduct the case. + +My ancestor was amongst the crowd, and had placed himself as near as he +possibly could to his friend. + +"Call in Gottlieb Kräger," cried the examiner. + +A hoary peasant entered the witness-box, and the examination proceeded +in this wise: + +"You are a farmer from the village of ----, are you not?" + +"I am." + +"Just inform us, if you please, what you were doing on the night of the +murder." + +"I was returning home after selling some cattle at the ----dorf market, +and it was about midnight when I passed close to the Henker's cottage. I +heard cries and groans as of someone being murdered not far off. I +stopped and listened for a moment, then set off on tip-toe to the spot +whence the sounds proceeded. It was very dark, and the groans at length +ceased. + +"I placed myself behind some brushwood to watch who should issue from +the copse, when a friar passed me." + +"Stay, are you quite sure the friar came from the very spot from whence +you heard the groans?" + +"Well, as to swearing to it, I don't know, but I heard the sound as of +brushwood being trampled under foot, and the next instant the friar +passed close to me. He did not appear to observe me, but moved onward in +the direction of the village of Ahlden." + +"Did you follow him or take any further notice of him?" + +"To say the truth, I was too frightened to move, but I kept my eye on +him as far as I could see him." + +"But you tell me it was very dark." + +"Just at that moment the moon had burst from behind the clouds, and +enabled me to see distinctly." + +"Well, did you observe anything peculiar in the manner or gait of the +friar?" + +"Yes; after he had passed me some ten paces he halted, as if he were +counting money, after which he threw away something that glittered in +the moonlight and then walked on. I followed stealthily behind to +discover what it was that he had thrown away, when I picked up this." + +The witness held up a long silk purse knitted with silver beads. + +"Give it to me--so--can you recollect anything else about this friar? +Could you manage to catch a glimpse of his face?" + +"No, I could not exactly distinguish the features, but----" + +"But what?" + +"I observed a peculiar patch in his amice over the left shoulder." + +"Should you be able to swear to the amice?" + +"Aye, that I should, among a thousand." + +"Is this the amice of the friar you saw issue from the copse?" asked +Ludwig, holding up a patched amice such as is worn by the Capuchin +friars. + +"The very same, I'll swear to it." + +"Take care, you are on your oath." + +"Well, if it is not the same, it is one made after the same fashion, +patch and all complete. I'll swear to the shape of the patch, for I +observed the garment well." + +"Enough; you may retire. Call in Hans Schultz." + +A dapper little man with oiled hair and closely-shaven face entered the +court, and having taken his post at the witness-box, gave his evidence +as follows:-- + +"I am by profession a barber. The morning after the murder I was shaving +an elderly gentleman in my shop. I suggested that a little hair dye +would improve his personal appearance, and offered him a bottle. He +refused to buy it, so I placed it on a table behind me, and continued to +shave him. Whilst I was recommending the hair dye to my customer I +noticed a Capuchin friar pass several times in front of my shop. He +appeared to be listening to our conversation. + +"Shortly afterwards he entered the shop and begged for alms for the +convent. I gave him a kreuzer, and after he had chatted a little he left +the shop. I could not see his face well, as he kept it covered with his +hood, but I remember that he had a red beard. He had hardly left my shop +when on looking on the table behind me I found the bottle of hair dye +gone. No one else but the friar and my customer had entered the shop +since I laid the bottle down upon the table, yet I could not suspect my +customer of having stolen the bottle, and I was much at a loss to +conceive what a Capuchin friar should want with hair dye. + +"I concluded, therefore, that I must have been mistaken, and must have +laid the bottle down somewhere else without thinking, so I thought no +more of it. + +"On the same day I was called to cut the hair of a gentleman at the +other end of the village, when I passed a friar who appeared to be the +same as he who not long ago had entered my shop. I looked at him in the +face, but he had a black beard. I could have sworn it was the same, for +his amice was patched in a peculiar manner on the shoulder, as was that +of the first friar." + +"Is this the amice that the friar wore?" asked Engstein, holding up the +patched garment. + +"It is like it. I could all but swear to it." + +"Did you address him when you met him, as you thought, a second time?" + +"I was about to do so, but he pulled out his beads, and began counting +them. Not liking to disturb him in his devotions, I passed on, thinking +that after all I might have been deceived." + +"That is sufficient, you may go." + +The little barber left the court, and another witness was called for. + +"Your name?" + +"Max Offenbrunnen." + +"Profession?" + +"I am host of the Bear Inn in the village of M----." + +"Can you tell us anything that happened at your inn within this last +week?" + +"Yes; three days after the murder a Capuchin friar stopped at my inn and +called for a tankard of beer. He kept his hood down all the time, so +that I could not see his face, but I remember that he had a black beard, +and I also noticed that he had a patch in his amice over one shoulder of +rather an unusual form." + +The patched garment was held up again in court, and recognised also by +the third witness, after which he proceeded as follows:-- + +"He called for more beer, and I began to enter into conversation with +him and asked him where he came from. He told me from a Capuchin convent +at W----, about a mile off. Just at that moment another friar, an old +friend of mine, passed my inn, who belonged to the aforementioned +convent. + +"'Then you know each other,' said I to my friend the second friar, and I +sought to bring them together, but my friend, after eyeing the former +from head to foot, denied all knowledge of him. The first friar then +somewhat confusedly stammered an excuse, saying that he had spoken +without thinking, but that he had intended to say St. Mary's, another +Capuchin convent, six miles further off. Then my friend the second friar +said that he knew all the friars at St. Mary's, but still denied that he +knew this one. + +"The former began to mumble that he had only lately arrived, and began +to turn the conversation. My friend whispered to me that he didn't +believe he was a friar at all, but someone in disguise. After my friend +had left, the former friar called for more beer (I never saw a friar +drink so much beer as this one), and being curious to discover who the +man was I tried to draw him out. At first he answered cautiously, but +after drinking deeper he became less cautious and more confidential, but +his utterance was now thick and unintelligible. He drew his chair closer +to mine, and seemed about to let me into some secret, when some other +customers of mine at the next table began to talk about the murder. + +"I noticed that the would-be friar started, and instead of continuing +his conversation with me, got up suddenly and muttered some excuse for +taking his departure. He paid me hurriedly by lying down a Reichsgulden, +saying that whatever change there might be I might keep for myself. He +had hardly left my house when certain of the guard who had been on the +track of the murderer stopped to question him, and finding he could give +no satisfactory account of himself, took him into custody." + +Other witnesses were then examined in their turn, among which were +certain members of the family of the murdered count, and a certain +Fraulein von Berlichingen, his affianced bride, all of whom recognised +the body to be that of the missing Graf von Waffenburg. The silken purse +with silver beads picked up by the first witness was also recognised by +Fraulein von Berlichingen as having been knitted by herself and +presented by her to her lover. + +The remains of the murdered count were decently interred. The melancholy +event caused no small commotion in the neighbourhood. The funeral was +followed by a large crowd of relatives and intimate friends, among which +were our two heroes Fritz and Ludwig. The grief of Fraulein von +Berlichingen was too great to allow her to appear at the funeral. She +was inconsolable, and shortly afterwards entered a convent. + +But to return to the trial. + +The prisoner was now conducted into court. He was a man somewhat passed +middle-age, though his frame was square built and powerful, and his +hair, beard, and eyebrows were of a deep black, yet an observer might +have noticed that whenever a ray of sunlight entered the court and shone +full in the face of the prisoner that his hair and beard turned to a +glowing purple, demonstrating beyond a doubt the presence of dye. Those +who chanced to be stationed near the prisoner declared afterwards that +the hairs of his head towards the roots were of a bright red, and many +were they who recognised, in spite of this disguise, the person of +Franz Wenzel, the executioner. + +The prisoner, however, when examined, gave his name as Adolf Schmidt, +and denied stoutly that he was Franz Wenzel, or to having ever had +dealings with such a person. + +He denied having stolen a bottle of hair dye for the purpose of +disguising himself, and maintained that he was an honest citizen who had +donned a holy garb for penitence, which had been imposed upon him by his +father confessor. + +The prisoner was then asked if such were the case, why he had tried to +deceive the host of the Bear Inn and the Capuchin friar when they asked +him whence he came. To this the prisoner replied that he loved not to +gratify the idle curiosity of others respecting his private affairs. +Ludwig Engstein then asked the prisoner how he came in possession of the +friar's amice, for which he responded that it had been lent him some +time ago by his father confessor, who had obtained it from some Capuchin +friar of his acquaintance. + +When asked for particulars concerning his father confessor, he replied +vaguely and confusedly, and when begged to be more explicit, he refused, +saying he had private reasons for not divulging the affairs of his +friends. + +Other witnesses were then called for, who stated that they had been +robbed of money and various sorts of ware more than once within the +last three years, about half a (German) mile from the house of the +Scharfrichter by a man who wore a mask, and who corresponded in height +and width of person to the prisoner. Among these latter was a Jew +pedlar, who three years ago had been robbed of a large sum and various +articles of clothing, among which he declared was the identical friar's +amice held up in court, and which he perfectly remembered to have +patched himself. + +This and such like evidence naturally went very much against the +prisoner; neither will it be wondered at that his disguise was easily +seen through, and his person recognised as that of Franz Wenzel, the +executioner. He was consequently found guilty of wilful murder and +finally condemned to be beheaded. The day of the execution was fixed, +and the prisoner conducted to the condemned cell. + +We have mentioned before in an early part of this story that the +profession of the headsman was hereditary, that the law forced the son +of an executioner to follow in the steps of his father. + +The unhappy wretch then, according to this law, was doomed to lose his +life at the hands of his own son. Much speculation, however, among the +inhabitants of ----dorf had arisen as to whether the law would actually +enforce so rigorous a decree, and whether the son of the Scharfrichter +would rebel against it if it did, or bow submissively to so harsh and +unfeeling an order. + +Some there were who thought that an exception ought to be made in this +case, and a new Henker selected, as it was hard for the son to suffer +for the crimes of the father; but even if the law were disposed to be +lenient, who was the new aspirant to be? Who would like to come forward +to offer his services? + +The office of the Scharfrichter was in such bad odour that it would be +difficult to find a man in the whole village who could be persuaded to +undertake the task, even by the offer of a large reward. + +However, after much speculation and gossip, the inhabitants came to the +conclusion that everything might be done with money, and that someone +would be certainly found to accept the bribe. + +Others began to spread throughout the village that the man had already +been found, and ventured to point out such or such a citizen as the new +practitioner. Meanwhile the law had remained passive and had not +troubled itself to make an exception in the case, and the burgomaster +who had the superintendence of such affairs was far too phlegmatic and +indifferent even to give the matter a thought. + +He knew that an execution had to take place, that someone would be paid +for amputating the head of the criminal, but whether it was to be one +man's duty or another's was all the same to him. + +The headsman's trade was hereditary, and he (the burgomaster) had never +heard of any such innovation as that of selecting a new headsman during +the lifetime of the rightful heir; therefore, as a matter of course, +the young Scharfrichter was to decapitate his own father, and there was +an end of the matter. + +What to him were the feelings of the son at being forced to obey so +unnatural a dictate? He was paid for it like anyone else, and very good +pay he got, too. + +What to him was the additional anguish of the criminal at being executed +by his own son? He knew well enough that his son would step into his +shoes when he himself should be deprived of office, and if he didn't +like to lose his head at the hands of his own son, he ought to have +reflected before he committed the murder. + +Now, the burgomaster had a confidential servant, one Heinrich Göbel, a +man of heartless and revengeful nature, who cherished an ill-will +against the prisoner's son for having dared to supplant him in the +affections of a certain blue-eyed damsel, the daughter of a +tavern-keeper in the village. + +The father of the lady in question was not over pleased with the +attentions of either of these individuals towards his Lieschen, one of +the aspirants for his daughter's hand being a drunkard, the son of an +executioner, who besides the stigma inevitably attached to his character +for life, would be obliged to maintain his daughter by the scanty +proceeds of his loathsome profession. + +The other, a man of notoriously bad character, and dependent upon the +wages he received from his master for a living. Of the two, the maid +herself decidedly favoured Leo Wenzel, the young headsman, and seeing +this, Heinrich Göbel inwardly resolved to take vengeance on his rival +upon the first opportunity. + +Whilst plotting vengeance thus in his heart, Göbel sought his master and +shaped his conversation in this wise: + +"Herr Bürgermeister, this will be a somewhat difficult business, this +execution." + +"How so?" inquired his master. + +"Why, according to law," answered his servant, "young Leo will have to +take the life of his own father." + +"Well, what of that?" said the burgomaster. + +"They say he is a young man of spirit, and he might refuse to take his +father's life." + +"Refuse! would he? The law will force him." + +"But if he is obstinate and persists? He is a young man of spirit." + +"Ugh! I hate these young men of spirit, they are always making trouble +and subverting order. Well, if he makes a disturbance, he will be +imprisoned, that's all." + +"Yes, yes, of course; but for all that, if he positively refuses to lift +his arm against his father, the law cannot force him to do it." + +"Well, not exactly, but--but what has put it into your head that he +_will_ refuse? He will be rewarded for his services." + +"But if he could not be tempted by a reward, if by chance he should +refuse at the last moment to act the part of executioner towards his +own father, and no one should be found to accept the post--why, in that +case, if _my_ services should be accepted, I should be most glad to +officiate." + +"What, _you_, Heinrich! _you_ turn Scharfrichter! Ha! ha!--this is +something quite new. I was not aware that that was anything in your +line." + +"Well, sir, knowing your dislike to a disturbance among the populace (a +thing very likely to occur if the headsman should not be found at his +post)--rather than such an old vagabond as Franz Wenzel should get off +in the confusion, why, I'll undertake the job myself." + +"You would? Ha! ha!--but stay, if there _should_ be a disturbance (which +Heaven forfend, as any excitement sadly upsets my digestion), I am not +so sure that I should like my servant to take upon himself the office of +Scharfrichter, for the odium of the populace that he would naturally +incur would reflect likewise upon his master, and----" + +"Well, sir, if you fear that, I should then advise another line of +conduct." + +"Indeed! What may that be?" + +"To keep young Leo in ignorance that it is his father that he is called +upon to execute. Listen to me! The Scharfrichter's house is a mile +distant; our villagers have a superstitious dread of the spot, and are +not likely yet to have communicated with the young man, and I know that +he hasn't been in the township since he was last called to swear to the +identity of the murdered man, then commonly believed to be his father. +You will recollect that he identified the corpse as that of his father. +In his lonely dwelling, he can have heard nothing of the trial, and is +consequently still under the impression that it is his father that has +been murdered. + +"Now, if you will leave the matter to me I will contrive that he shall +not be undeceived until too late." + +"Yes; but how?" + +"First of all I will go there myself with the news that the murderer of +his father has been arrested, that the day has been fixed for his +execution, and that he will have the pleasure of trying his hand for the +first time in his life on his father's murderer. Everything will go +straight, provided he has as yet heard nothing from other tongues." + +"But if he has?" + +"Then our plan is frustrated; but I go to ascertain that, and if he has +not, the greatest care must be taken that no one communicates with him +from this town, to which end you should give orders for the gates of the +town to be closed for some days, under the excuse that you have been +robbed of certain valuables, and have taken this precaution to catch the +thief. It would be as well, perhaps, to hurry on the execution as +quickly as possible." + +"Well, but there is one point I don't understand. Supposing all to go on +smoothly, as you seem so confident that it will, won't the young man +recognise his father when led up to the scaffold in the 'poor sinner's' +cart, and afterwards takes his seat on the chair placed for him?" + +"There is our great difficulty, but let us hope for the best. The +prisoner, as you know, took the precaution to dye his red head black in +order to escape recognition. This will aid our project. The 'poor +sinner's' garb that he will don the morning of the execution will also +help the disguise. Young Leo is but a superficial observer, and before +he has well taken note of the criminal his head will be off." + +"You are very hopeful as to the success of your scheme, but if the +father, in his last moments, makes himself known to his son--should rush +into his arms to embrace him and say: 'My son, do you not know me? I am +your father--you will not have the heart to execute your own father, the +author of your existence.'" + +"We must prevent this. Let a handkerchief be tied round his jaw that he +cannot open his mouth to speak. This, after all, will be nothing more +than is usually done to catch hold of the head in order to exhibit it to +the public after decapitation, the only difference being that it is +generally tied on after the criminal has taken his seat on the scaffold, +while in this case it will be done before. Another bandage should be +bound round his eyes at the same time, which is also customary; thus a +great portion of the prisoner's face will be hidden. His arms will be +pinioned firmly to his sides, so as to render all attempt at the removal +of the bandage impossible, and everything will pass off quietly." + +"Well, well, you're a queer dog. See that it _does_ pass off quietly, +that's all, and don't bother me any more about it. Mind, I leave the +matter entirely in your hands." + +"Never fear, sir, I am off at once to the house of the Scharfrichter; +trust everything to me. Stay, you had better issue an order for the +gates of the town to be closed at once. You can give me a pass before I +start, or they will shut me out with the rest." + +"True; just wait one moment. Here--the pen and ink--so now be off as +fast as you can." + +Off started the servant of the burgomaster with the order to the +gatekeeper to close the gates, and the pass which was to admit none but +himself, and after the gatekeeper had received the necessary +instructions, Heinrich passed rapidly through the gates and directed his +steps towards the house of the Scharfrichter. He chuckled to himself as +he contemplated the success of his scheme. + +"What would the death of his father at my hands be to him to the +discovery of having taken his father's life himself! That will be +revenge indeed! Now to the fulfilment of my scheme there is no +obstacle." + +He had proceeded about an English mile on his way when, suddenly lifting +his eyes, he descried in the distance the figure of an aged man, who +appeared to be going the same road as himself. He hastened his steps, +and soon overtook the veteran, whom he now recognised as one of his +fellow citizens, a certain Gustav Meyer, and known to be one of the +greatest gossips in the neighbourhood. + +"Good-day, Gustav," said Göbel, with forced good humour. "Where are you +off to on those venerable pins of yours?" + +"Ach! lieber, freund Göbel!" exclaimed the loquacious old man; "how are +you? I have not seen you for an age. You have grown proud since you have +been in the burgomaster's service, and forget that it was I who got you +the situation, for you never come to see me now, though we used to be +such cronies, you know. But you young folks never think it worth while +to give us old fogies a call to see how we are. Why, I might be dead and +buried for all you would know about it, and even if you did hear of it, +I suppose it would be all the same to you, eh? + +"Well, well, 'ingratitude is the reward of the world,' as the proverb +says, and we old fogies with one foot in the grave and the other about +to follow must make up our minds to be put on the shelf. We all have our +turn; I have had mine, you are having yours, but old age comes at last, +and then there is an end of us all, even to the best of us. Even I have +been young, friend Göbel. Ha! ha! You'd hardly think so to look at me +now with these silvery locks and tottering limbs. I say you'd hardly +think so now, would you, eh? Now, how many years should you think I +could count, friend Göbel, tell me?" + +"I haven't the slightest idea," said Göbel, impatiently. + +"I am hard upon ninety years old, and all tell me that I carry my years +well. I may say I haven't had a day's illness in all my life. I have +nearly all my teeth yet, and----" + +"I have no doubt all you say is very true, my friend," interrupted +Göbel; "but you have hardly answered my question satisfactorily yet. I +asked you where you were going?" + +"Friend Göbel," said the old man, "now I'll just tell you what I propose +doing this morning, just by way of stretching my old limbs, seeing that +I have not had a walk for an age. It does old folks good to go out for a +stroll every now and then in the country. Too much staying at home over +the fire isn't good, even for the likes of me." + +"Well, well," broke in Göbel, beginning to lose all patience. "I asked +you where you were going." + +"Did you? Ah yes, I had nearly forgot. We old folks are apt to lose our +memories at times, you know, my friend, so you young folks ought to have +compassion on us, and recollect that we were once like you, and that you +will one day become like us, therefore----" + +"This is insufferable," burst out Göbel, whose forbearance was quite at +an end. "I ask you a plain question, and I expect a plain answer. I +repeat the question--Where are you going?" + +"Hoity, toity! friend Göbel," cried the old man, in great surprise. +"What! so impatient with your old friend Gustav! Don't you remember how +often I have taken you upon my knee and danced you? We used to be great +friends then. Don't you recollect? But I suppose you have forgotten all +that now, eh?--since you have become a man. Let me see, how long ago +must that be? Full thirty years ago, if it's a day, I'll warrant." + +"Will you, or will you not, give me a plain answer to a plain question. +Tell me where you are going?" cried Göbel, now quite furious, and +shaking the old man violently by both shoulders. + +"Softly, softly! friend Göbel," cried the veteran, much alarmed. "Save +my life. Prithee, save my life, and I will tell you where I am going, if +you will have patience." + +"Well, tell me at once, and let us have no more chattering," said Göbel, +leaving go his hold. + +"Well, in the first place, then," began old Gustav, recovering +himself--"in the first place----but stay, upon second thoughts, I'll +just leave you to guess where I am going. Now, where do you think?" + +"Dotard, have a care!" cried Göbel, threateningly, "and trifle with me +no longer. Tell me where you are going, or----" + +"Well, well, friend Göbel, I'll tell you; don't be afraid, don't let two +such old friends as we are quarrel for a trifle--I'll tell you where I +am going, although I must say that I think you seem to take an uncommon +interest in the doings of an old man like me, who, though he be an old +friend----" + +"Take care now!" + +"Well, well, my friend, wait one moment; I'll tell you. I told you +before that I would tell you, and I will be as good as my word, if you +will have one moment's patience--for patience, friend Göbel, patience, I +say, is a virtue that we ought all to cultivate, and which we all of us +more or less are sadly wanting in. But to proceed; though, after all, my +friend, what hurry can you possibly have to learn so simple a fact? It +appears to me that the world has grown wondrously impatient since my +time; that is, if everybody is like you, but as I said before----" + +"Tell me! tell me!" screamed Göbel, seizing his venerable friend a +second time by the shoulders. + +"Well, then, my friend," said Gustav, drawing out his words at a most +provoking length, "if I _must_ tell you, and you are quite sure that you +have sufficient patience to listen to me, learn that I am going to pay a +visit at the house of the Scharfrichter, to have a quiet little gossip. +You know I am fond of a nice little gossip. Well, I am just going to +have a little chat with that poor young man Leo Wenzel. What do you +think? He doesn't know yet that his father is the real murderer, for he +lives so far off and no one ever goes near the house to tell him the +news, and he is still under the delusion that his father has been +murdered and that the assassin has not yet been caught. Poor young man, +I shall have to break the news very gently to him, for he will feel it +deeply. He must know the truth sooner or later, so I have taken upon +myself to be the first to communicate the unwelcome news. + +"According to the law he will be obliged to take the life of his own +father. It will be a dreadful blow to him, poor boy, and I am sure I +don't know how he will be induced to act executioner in the present +instance. I know not if the law in this case will make an exception and +choose someone else in his place; it will be very hard upon him if the +law really should insist on being carried out to the very letter. Let us +hope that mercy will be shown to the son, but in any case it is a very +dreadful affair, so I thought I would just go to comfort him a little, +to see how he takes the matter, and give him courage, in case----" + +"I thought as much!" muttered Göbel to himself; then aloud to his +friend, "So that is where you are going is it? Ah, then I will save you +the trouble. Being a matter of no importance, you need not be in a +hurry. Listen to me; my master has lost certain valuables, and has given +orders for the gates of the town to be closed until he has discovered +the thief, and has strictly commanded me to arrest any person I might +find leaving the town, until his valuables shall have been recovered. I +should be sorry to suspect you, but as the law respects the person of no +man, it is my painful duty to take you back to the town. Let us have no +more cackling or resistance, but come at once." + +"But, my dear friend Göbel!" pleaded the veteran, "you surely can't +suspect--you will not for one moment imagine--nay, if you have any doubt +of my honesty search me. I can assure it will be useless, I am +innocent." + +"If you are innocent, you will be proved so in due time, meanwhile I +have orders----" + +"But, friend Göbel, I assure you again and again upon my oath that I +have taken nothing. There--look--search me all over, if you will, and +let me go in peace. Is not my character enough? Am I not well known in +----dorf? Have I ever been known to touch my neighbour's goods? Pray +satisfy yourself that I have taken nothing, and let me go. Why trouble +yourself to bring back a man to the town to be searched whom you know to +be innocent. Besides, it will upset my plan. I wouldn't miss my little +gossip with young Leo for all the world just at this moment. Just +consider, my friend----" + +"Cease your cackling and come along with me!" shouted Göbel, seizing him +by the collar and dragging him forcibly back towards the town. + +"But--but----" stammered the astonished and terrified old man. + +"But me no buts, but do my bidding instantly, Sir Driveller, or it will +be the worse for you." + +So saying, he dragged his old friend home again at a hurried pace, +regardless of his tottering limbs and of his prayers and entreaties. + +It was just mid day, and the sun shone hot, when Göbel returned to the +township, perspiring at every pore, and deposited his charge, more dead +than alive, within the walls of ----dorf. He then retraced his steps +under the broiling sun, cursing and swearing as he went at his plan +having been so nearly frustrated by the cackling gossip of an old +dotard. + +"_Potz--Himmel, Donnerwetter, Schock, Schwerer, Noth, noch mal!_" he +muttered to himself. "A pretty obstacle in my path! _Tausend Teufel!_ I +had a mind to dash his brains out on the spot, the old idiot, for his +drivelling." + +With these and such like elaborately strung together oaths the servant +of the burgomaster beguiled the time, until at length he arrived at the +door of the Scharfrichter's house, where he discovered young Leo at work +in his garden. The young executioner looked up at the sound of stranger +footsteps, and though he would rather the visitor had been anyone else +than his rival, yet upon the whole he was not displeased to see a human +face after so long. His manner even warmed towards his visitor when he +saw him advance with a smile on his face and an extended hand. + +"Leo," began Heinrich Göbel with feigned friendship, "we have long been +enemies, but everything has an end. I have now come to offer you my hand +in friendship, for henceforth we are no longer rivals, but friends. +Lieschen, think of her no more. Her father positively refuses to give +her to either of us, so she has at length plighted her troth to another +man." + +"What! Lieschen? Impossible!" cried Leo, mopping his forehead. + +"Ay, my friend, it is too true; nay, pray calm yourself. I, too, loved +her as you did, but since the matter has turned out thus, I have made +up my mind to console myself by paying my addresses to another as soon +as possible." + +"You never _could_ have loved her as I loved her," gasped out Leo, as he +staggered for support against the garden wall. + +"Well, well, my friend, I knew you would feel the blow, but calm +yourself and dismiss these gloomy thoughts. I have better news than that +in store for you." + +"What care I for news now that _she_ has deserted me?" groaned Leo +distractedly. + +"Come, come now, let me comfort you a little," said Göbel. "What do you +think? _The murderer of your father has been discovered!_" + +"What do I hear? Caught? Safe?" + +"Ay, the murder has been proved, and the murderer condemned to die by +the sword. The execution has been fixed for the day after to-morrow. It +will take place at daybreak as usual, and you will have the satisfaction +of taking vengeance on your father's murderer with your own hands. You +will wield your father's sword for the first time in your life before an +admiring crowd. Think of that." + +"Vengeance at last!" cried the young headsman, with flushed face and +distorted features. "Vengeance at last! Thank God! thank God!" + +"Bravo, old friend!" cried Göbel, slapping his heartily detested rival +on the shoulder in the friendliest manner possible. "I knew you would +take heart at this piece of news. Come, let us sit down together and +console ourselves." + +Leo, then entering the house, took from a cupboard a large bottle of +schnaps and two glasses. The two companions, seating themselves, began +to drink deeply and to chat incessantly, the subject of the discourse +being the particulars of the murder according to the version of Göbel. +We need hardly say that the whole was a fabrication of Heinrich's own +brain. At length the servant of the burgomaster rose to take his +departure, and having enjoined his rival to be of good cheer, bent his +steps again towards the township, chuckling by the way at his own +devices. Arrived at the gates of the town, he showed his pass, and was +permitted to enter without let or hindrance. Hurrying through the +streets until he reached the burgomaster's house, he presented himself +before that worthy, whom he found seated at a table before a plate of +sausage, and in the act of draining to the dregs an enormous tankard of +beer. + +"Well, what news?" asked his master. + +"Oh! the very best; he took the bait greedily. It was quite a pleasure +to see how he enjoyed the news. No one had been before me, so I had him +all to myself. The matter will now go off as smoothly as could be +desired; but, by the saints! I had a narrow escape of failure." + +"Indeed! How was that?" + +"When I was nearly half way to the Scharfrichter's house, who should I +see just ahead of me but that cursed old gossip, Gustav Meyer. I stopped +him and asked him where he was going. _Potztausend!_ what a chatterbox! +I thought I should not get an answer out of him before nightfall, and +when I did, where do you think he _was_ going? Why, straight to the +house of the Henker to have a quiet chat with young Leo upon the subject +of the murder, and reveal to him all that I had taken such pains to keep +secret. He seemed delighted at the idea of being the first to deliver +the news." + +The burgomaster laughed heartily. + +"Well, what did you do?" said he, at length. + +"What did I do! I told him his presence was particularly wanted at the +township, and seizing him by the collar, dragged him all the way back +again, regardless of his cackling. I informed him that you had lost some +valuables, and had given me orders to arrest anyone leaving the town on +suspicion. He was indignant at the charge. Protested, declared his +innocence, and spoke of the high character he had always borne in the +town, etc., etc. He seemed in despair at being deprived of his little +gossip with the Henker's son, and begged and entreated me to let him +have it out quietly; but, deaf to all his chattering, I dragged him home +again in spite of himself, and lodged him safely within the gates of the +town. _Donner und Blitzen!_ but it was enough to raise the bile of a +saint to listen to the wanderings of that antique driveller, to say +nothing of having one's plan so nearly frustrated; by such a worm as +that too!" + +Here and again the burgomaster burst into a loud laugh, in which Göbel, +in spite of himself, joined. + +"Ah," said he, at length recovering himself, "there is one thing yet to +be done. I must go to the jailor of the prison with private orders from +you to prevent the prisoner having an interview with his son, should he +ask for one. This accomplished, there will be no more difficulty." + +"Ah, yes," said the burgomaster, "it would be as well. But what an +interest you seem to take in this case, Heinrich! One would imagine that +you had a private grudge against the prisoner." + +"I like to see things well done," was the reply, and the servant shortly +after left the presence of his master. + +A great sensation was caused in ----dorf when it was given out that the +execution had been hurried on a week, and much speculation arose as to +what could have been the burgomaster's motive. Half the town already +knew by the tongue of old Gustav of his having been arrested by the +servant of the burgomaster on suspicion of having robbed his master of +certain valuables just at the very time when he (Gustav) was +contemplating the pleasure he would have in being the first to +communicate the melancholy tidings of the murder to the young headsman. +They therefore concluded that Leo must still be in ignorance of the real +state of the case. The other half of ----dorf, however, never gave a +thought as to whether he knew it or not; enough for them that someone +was going to be beheaded and that they should have a spectacle to vary +the monotony of their humdrum lives. + +At length the fatal day arrived. The gates of the town were thrown open +(for the servant of the burgomaster gave out that the thief had been +discovered and the valuables regained), and now all ----dorf was in an +uproar, while crowds of peasants from all the surrounding villages +flocked to witness the bloody spectacle. + +The scaffold, or the mound of earth which was to serve as such, had been +erected half way between the township and the house of the executioner, +and was already surrounded by a file of soldiers, around which thronged +the mob so closely that they were every now and then repulsed by the +military. From the sea of human heads that inundated the place of +execution resounded a hum of voices, in which salutations, sallies, bad +language, coarse jokes, and coarser laughter, together with murmurs and +imprecations, and an occasional scream from the women when the crowd +pressed too closely, were confusedly mingled, and resembled at a little +distance the bleating of an immense flock of sheep. Classes of all sorts +were jostled together, from the lowest grade of handwerksbursch to the +university student. There were pretty peasant girls in their holiday +costumes, and sturdy peasants from all parts of the country. There were +Jew hawkers, sharpers, pickpockets, ruffianly bullies, cripples, and +mendicants. There were mothers with young children in their arms, which +latter contributed their feeble cries to the general buzz. + +All had turned out to feast their eyes upon the death of a fellow +mortal. Nor was this an ordinary execution like that described in an +earlier part of this story. No; this was an exceptional case--something +out of the common way, a sublimer spectacle. + +In this case the condemned was no obscure handwerksbursch, of whose +career the multitude knew nothing, and cared as little about. The +criminal was no less a man than Franz Wenzel, the far-famed +Scharfrichter, who had amputated the heads of "poor sinners" for the +last thirty or forty years, and was now doomed to lose his own. + +The interest in the case was considerably heightened when it was known +that the veteran executioner was to be operated upon by the hands of his +own son. Then the facts of the murder were so strange, so unnatural. +Fancy the cunning of that hardened old sinner, the ex-headsman, who, +according to his own confession, made in prison the day before the +execution, had waylaid, robbed, and murdered the innocent Count of +Waffenburg, a scion of one of the most wealthy and respected noble +families for miles round, disguised as a Capuchin friar, and in order to +conceal the identity of the murdered man, had dissevered the head of the +corpse, which he had endeavoured to hide for ever from the eye of man by +throwing it into the trunk of a hollow chestnut tree. Then having +stripped the corpse of its clothes, and afterwards having stripped +himself of his outer garments, he dressed up the corpse of his victim in +his own well known crimson-coloured doublet and hose, thereby conveying +the idea to the public mind that the corpse found was his own, after +which, returning to his house close by, having again donned the friar's +habit, he deposited the sword usually set apart for the beheading of +criminals, and in this case used for amputating the head of the murdered +count, and wiping it well, he lighted a fire on his hearth where he +burned one by one the habiliments of his victim. He then left his house +a second time, still disguised as a friar and laden with his ill-gotten +treasure, passed once more the scene of the murder and wandered all +night in the direction of ----. How strange the evidence, too, that +convicted him, the theft of the bottle of hair dye, the remarkable patch +on his amice. Every particular of the murder had an indescribable +interest in the minds of the populace of ----dorf and its surrounding +villages. No wonder the adjacent townships vomited forth their scum of +the curious, idle, and depraved! This was a sight not to be missed on +any account, and would furnish them with gossip for the next six months +at least. At length, when the long streaky rose-tipped clouds announced +the approach of the fatal hour, the crowd burst out simultaneously into +a cry of "He comes! he comes! the Henker comes!" + +The crowd made room for a young man in a cart, who, having thrown the +reins on the horse's neck, passed through the file of soldiers and +mounted the hillock of earth, armed with the two-handed weapon that he +was about to use for the first time in his life. + +"Look!" said one of the crowd; "it _is_ young Leo, after all. I thought +they had found a substitute." + +"What a hard-hearted young ruffian to consent to take the life of his +father with his own hands!" said another. + +"And he doesn't seem to feel it a bit," said a third; "why, he is +actually smiling." + +"Some folks say that he does not know who it is that he is going to +behead," said a fourth. + +"Not know that the criminal is his father?" exclaimed the former +speaker. "Nonsense, I don't believe it." + +The young headsman was attired in a buff leather jerkin slashed with red +and hose of a dark green. He appeared about two-and-twenty, and was as +yet beardless. He was considerably taller than his father, but his +frame, though powerfully built, was devoid of that excessive and almost +preternatural muscular development that characterised that of the old +executioner. His hair was of a reddish brown, his complexion florid, his +eyes light blue, and his features, though somewhat coarse, had something +in them not altogether disagreeable. He leaned firmly on his sword and +gazed around calmly on the crowd, when suddenly the human sea became +violently agitated and began to groan and hiss in its fury. + +The cause of this tumult became speedily known. It was the arrival of +the "poor sinner," who was drawn in a cart between two priests and +habited according to the custom of the condemned on such occasions. Loud +hooting and execrations burst forth on all sides from the crowd as it +made way for the condemned cart. + +"But that is not Franz Wenzel," said one to his neighbour. "The old +Henker had red hair; this man's hair is black." + +"Fool, don't you know how that is?" said his neighbour. "Haven't you +heard yet how he dyed his hair black in order not to be recognised?" + +"No, did he though?" said the former. "But look! why is his head tied up +so with two handkerchiefs? I can't see anything of his face." + +"H'm, I don't know; some innovation I suppose. The handkerchief always +used to be tied on when on the scaffold in my time," answered his +friend. The criminal had now alighted from the cart, and, followed by +the two priests, ascended the place of execution, where he took his seat +on the chair placed for him. The assistant executioner, whose face was +most successfully disguised with a black mask, pushed his way through +the crowd and mounted the platform. + +"Who is _he_?" was a question asked by everyone of everybody; "and why +is he masked while Leo, who bears the sword, is unmasked?" + +"Who knows? Perhaps he is the new headsman that they all talked about, +and young Leo will not really behead his own father; but we shall see." + +The crowd had grown more curious than ever. Every one stood on the +tip-toe of expectation with his eyes and mouth wide open. An intense +silence reigned around, during which the man in the mask bound the +criminal firmly to his seat with a strong cord, then seizing the +handkerchief that was tied round the head of the condemned, he gave the +signal for the blow. The two priests who had hitherto been whispering +consolation in the ear of the criminal now retreated a few paces to the +rear, while young Leo advanced, flushed and triumphant, his whole +countenance distorted with an expression of malice and revenge. Before +brandishing his sword to give the final blow he lowered his head close +to the ear of the victim and hissed out in accents sufficiently audible +to be overheard by that part of the crowd that had assembled nearest to +the scaffold: "Wretch! thine hour has come at last. Learn now the +vengeance of a wronged son. Thou shalt see if I am the son of my father +or no, and whether it is for nothing that I have been bred a +Scharfrichter. Prepare now, for thou art soon to learn how I have +profited by my lessons--whether I am an apt pupil. My sword is sharpened +well on purpose for thee, and when thou feelest the cold steel close to +thy neck, then, then, to h----l with thee, and bear throughout eternity +the curses of a ruined son!" + +During this speech of the young headsman the criminal was observed to +tremble convulsively, as if struggling to speak, but the assistant +executioner grasped the handkerchief still tighter round his head and +repeated the signals impatiently. + +"Did you hear?" said one of the foremost in the crowd. "Did you hear how +he cursed his father? He actually reproached him in his last moments for +having brought him up a Scharfrichter! Oh! the unfeeling young villain! +What a heart he must have." + +"Ah! neighbour," answered another, "these executioners are not like +other mortals; they do not know what it is to feel. They are brought up +to kill their fellow creatures as butchers are to kill cattle, and they +think nothing of it. Bless you, there is nothing these men would not do +for money." + +"'Tis strange, too," said another close by. "I always thought young Leo +loved his father. I never thought so bad of him as to think that he +would curse him in his dying moments, wretch though he may have been." + +"Take my word for it, neighbour," said a sturdy inhabitant of ----dorf, +"that young Leo does not know yet that it is his father." + +At this moment everyone suddenly broke short his discourse, and the +crowd again was silent for a moment. The two-handed weapon was raised +high in the air, glittered for a moment in the rays of the rising sun, +then descended with the rapidity of lightning, while the head of the +murderer having slipped out of the handkerchief with the force of the +blow, fell with a crash on the platform. + +A loud cheer is raised by the crowd, and young Leo having thrown away +his sword and pushed aside the assistant executioner, has seized the +head of the criminal and torn off the bandage from his eyes. He holds it +high in the air by its purple locks and gloats with fiendish +satisfaction on its writhing features. The muscles of the face are +fearfully convulsed, as if the spirit had not as yet quite departed, but +still lingered about the corpse, being loth to leave its tenement. The +eyes roll hideously and appear to gaze reproachfully upon the face of +the young executioner. Suddenly a change comes over the features of the +young man. His countenance, the moment before so flushed with triumph +and revenge, now assumes a ghastly pallor; a cold sweat breaks out on +his forehead, his matted locks stand on end. His eyes start from his +head, his jaw drops low. Then, with a preternatural shriek, he drops the +head, which rolls down the hillock of earth among the crowd, staggers +and falls heavily upon the platform, gasping out "_Oh, Gott! mein +Vater!_" + +No words can describe the sensation created among the crowd at this +horrible scene. Questions and explanations ensued, and a rush was made +towards the scaffold. Assistance was at length procured, and the son of +the late executioner was lifted from the ground and driven toward his +own house in the cart that he had set out in that morning to execute his +fearful mission. A doctor was sent for, who declared that he was in an +apoplectic fit. In time, however, he recovered, and the doctor left +someone with him to attend to him and keep him quiet. Nevertheless, when +he came to reflect upon what had happened that morning, in spite of all +restraint, he rushed wildly into the chamber where his poor paralytic +mother lay on her death-bed, and losing all caution and reflection in +his emotion, he related in a wild and excited manner the dreadful events +of the day. The result may be anticipated. The poor woman, long given up +by the doctors, sank under the startling news, and expired almost +instantaneously. + +Young Leo, who, with the exception of his drunkenness had really nothing +very bad in him, now gave way to the most excessive grief, for he loved +his mother tenderly. He felt himself now guilty of the murder of both +his parents, and refused all consolation. What had he now to live for, +thought he. His father he had murdered with his own hands and sent with +curses to the tomb; his mother, so dear to him he had hurried to the +grave through his insane want of self-restraint. His lady-love, false +(as he thought), for secretly they had plighted their troth together. +What was life to him now but a burden? He loathed it. These gloomy +thoughts clouded his mind with a profound melancholy, a deep incurable +despair. On the following morning Leo Wenzel, the young executioner, +fell upon his own sword, yet moist with the blood of his father, by him +so unconsciously shed on the day before. + +With the death of Leo Wenzel the family became extinct, and the +profession of the Scharfrichter went begging. But who was the assistant +executioner? Nobody could find out. He had disappeared as mysteriously +as he had made his appearance. Some said it was one, and some another, +while the most settled belief was that it could be none other than the +arch-fiend himself who had come to carry off the Henker's soul. In the +confusion that followed the swoon of young Leo he had vanished, and no +one had seen whither. No human being could have passed through a crowd +without being seen by someone, therefore it must have been the +arch-enemy of mankind. Thus reasoned the people of ----dorf. + +And Lieschen, what became of her? Poor girl! the news of her lover's +suicide, for she had truly loved the youthful headsman, had completely +overwhelmed her. She fell into a decline and outlived her lover but one +year. + +The servant of the burgomaster was mistaken in believing that after +Leo's death the course would be now clear for him. His heartless scheme +had come to light (for it was difficult to keep anything long a secret +in ----dorf), and he found the door of Lieschen's house closed upon him +for ever. + +He soon knew himself hated by all the town, and tradition goes on to +relate that some years afterwards, when he was in the service of another +master, his employer having missed certain articles of plate and called +in the police to search his coffers, they found not only the missing +articles, but also a black mask and a suit of sad coloured clothes, +recognised as having been worn by the assistant on the day of Wenzel's +execution. + +Finding his reputation lost in ----dorf, he deemed it advisable to +retire to another village, where he afterwards married. The last we hear +of him is that he ultimately accepted the office of Scharfrichter, and +took up his abode in the house of Franz Wenzel, where he reared up a +long line of executioners, which was only broken many years later by the +profession of the Henker ceasing to be obligatory. + +But what of our two friends Fritz and Ludwig? We had nigh forgotten +them. That they were both of them present at the execution is undoubted +from certain passages in their correspondence after my ancestor had left +Germany for ever. The day after Wenzel's execution was the last time +they met on earth. They each of them passed the remainder of their days +in their own respective countries though they corresponded frequently. +The most recently dated letter from Ludwig Engstein bears with it the +news of his marriage, and in a postscript he mentions having been just +informed that since the execution of Franz Wenzel the tricks of the +Poltergeist had ceased for ever. + + * * * * * + +Murmurs of applause were upon every lip as our artist finished his +narrative, when Mr. Oldstone, rising, thus addressed the club. +"Gentlemen; I think you will all agree with me that my friend Mr. +McGuilp has fully earned his sitting from the fair Helen?" + +"Yes, yes," cried several voices; "he has paid us beforehand. Let him +have his rights." + +At this moment the door opened ajar and the head of Dame Hearty appeared +at the aperture to inform the club that her daughter was now at their +disposal. + +"Let her be brought in!" shouted a chorus of voices. "It is but fair +that we should have one more look at Helen before Mr. McGuilp walks off +with her." + +Helen then appeared in the doorway and was greeted enthusiastically by +the whole club, in the midst of which the painter, after looking at his +watch and ascertaining that it was yet early enough for a good sitting, +left the room and made for his studio, where, having set his palette, he +was joined shortly afterwards by his fair model. Having arranged his +colours and placed his canvas on the easel, he sat contemplating the +portrait he had commenced so recently. Alas! how flat and insipid his +poor work looked after having gazed on the bright original! It was but +the first painting, it is true, and we know that nothing really good can +be done at once; but, then, what drawing he found to correct now that he +looked at his work with a fresh eye! The awfulness of the difficulties +in art now rose up in his mind to appal him, and he uttered a sigh. + +"Can all the glazing and scumbling in the world," muttered he to +himself, "ever advance this portrait one step towards the divine +original?" + +Thus musing, the painter seized the canvas in both hands and breathed +over its surface. Immediately afterwards, mixing up some colour +sparingly, he scumbled over the entire surface of the portrait. Helen, +whose eye dwelt upon the artist's every movement, whether from +curiosity, or from some mysterious sympathy she felt for the young +painter, demanded of him why he breathed on the face of her picture. + +"To breathe into it the breath of life, Helen," replied McGuilp, +smilingly. + +Helen opened her large blue eyes with an expression of half wonderment, +half doubt, not knowing whether the painter spoke in jest, or whether an +artist really had some occult power in his very breath that could vivify +the canvas. How was she to know, poor innocent child! Village bred and +born in an age, as our readers will recollect, before photography had +rendered too familiar the representation of the human face even for the +veriest peasant any longer to wonder at the art by which it is produced? + +In the days we speak of the painter's art was the only mode of +transfixing the lineaments of a dear friend or parent and rendering them +immortal. Painters, too, were much less common then than now-a-days, for +art was still in its infancy in plain matter-of-fact old England. The +painter, or limner as he was then called, was a being of far greater +interest than at the present day. He was patronised by royalty and +nobility, and though the prices that he received for his works were +considerably less than in our times, and he was nearly always a poor and +needy individual, yet he met with a certain amount of respect from his +patrons, as they knew that by his hand alone could they hope to become +immortal. Everyone liked to see his own features represented upon +canvas, or those of his wife and family. Oft times his favourite horse +or dog. In order to secure the services of the limner therefore, it was +necessary to court him, nor was this respect or appearance of such ever +denied him, save perhaps by the pampered menial of some nobleman or +wealthy squire, who looked superciliously down upon the itinerant +painter as a being far inferior to himself. We will hope, however, for +the honour of humanity that the number was comparatively small that +measured the painter's respectability by the length of his purse. + +Indeed, the titled and the wealthy seem to have prided themselves in +doing everything in their power to set the example of respect towards a +disciple of the fine arts. Among this class the painter had seldom +anything to complain of; in fact, provided he were affable in manner, +decent in appearance, could paint the ladies' hands and ears small +enough to please them, their eyes sufficiently large and languishing, +and, lastly--but which was of no small importance--could represent +faithfully the texture of their silks and satins, their lace, velvet, +fur, or swansdown, oh, then he was caressed, petted, and acknowledged by +all as a most agreeable member of society and sure of making his +fortune. But woe to him if he were above his business and attempted high +art--we mean subject pictures that were not portraits. However much he +might be gifted in that line, his friends would instantly desert him, +and he might starve in a garret. His patrons knew nothing of high art +and cared as little. All they wanted was to see their own effigies +adorning the walls of their mansions, and as long as the limner was +content to be of service to them they were willing to support him, but +no longer. It was set down as an axiom that the human _face_ divine--by +which they meant their own faces--was the highest aim that a painter +could aspire to. This was the sort of high art they wanted, and no +other. + +A painter must be content with the work his patrons set him to do and +not indulge his own caprices. Well, well, admitting the range of the +painter's art to have been cramped and limited, has any age or country +the power to cramp the genius of an artist? Is high art only to be found +in imaginative pictures? Does not a portrait become high art under a +master hand? Can that be called a mechanical art that gives intellect or +sentiment to the eye, firmness or softness to the lip, the natural bloom +to the cheek, truth and beauty to the whole? Few, let us hope, even in +this matter of fact age, but would rank the real artist before the +photographic artisan who usurps his name. If, in the present age, now +that we are accustomed to a much more rapid process of reproducing the +human face, there are to be found those who honour the true artist, +imagine how his art must have been held in honour when it was the only +way of immortalising men! It need not be wondered at that among those +classes where the appearance of a painter was less common, that the +respect he inspired almost amounted to awe in certain instances. This +was the case with our Helen, who never having set eyes before on a real +artist, looked with awe and wonder on our painter as a species of +magician who possessed an art not merely unknown in her humble sphere, +but which she was sure that the worthy members of the club were alike +ignorant of, however learned they might be in other respects. The +painter's youth and good looks, together with his possessing this +mysterious art at such an early age, elevated him at once into a hero in +her eyes. Then there was the strange fact of his having seen and spoken +to a ghost in the same house where she herself had been born and bred, +the very ghost she had been frightened so often with in her childhood, +but which was, nevertheless, so chary of its appearance that it had +found no one for upwards of half a century worthy of revealing itself to +until now, and had chosen for that purpose the young artist before her, +and that, too, the very first night that he arrived at the Inn. What was +there peculiar in the organisation of our painter, that he should have +been selected before all others to gaze on the august presence of one +risen from the dead? The haunted chamber had been repeatedly slept in by +all the members of the club in turn, and by many strangers beside, for +years back, and yet never before within the experience of our host had +the headless lady vouchsafed a parley with any one of them. The +preference, therefore, shewn towards our friend McGuilp by the tenant of +the haunted chamber had raised him at once in the esteem of the whole +club, and the marked respect with which he was treated by the other +guests, all of them older men than himself, did not fail to escape the +quick eye of Helen, who felt inwardly flattered that the man for whom +she had conceived so warm a sympathy, should be so honoured among his +better fellows. + +Our artist and his model had been left together for upwards of +three-quarters of an hour, during which time McGuilp had not opened his +mouth to exchange a single word with his sitter, a habit of his when +unusually engrossed in his work. He had glazed and scumbled, chopped and +changed about his drawing, laid on impasto, worked upon the background, +and so absorbed was he with his picture, the time had passed as if it +had been five minutes. A considerable change, however, had taken place +in the portrait. There was more life and vigour, the tints were more +natural and the head now stood more out in relief. Helen never once +attempted to break the silence, but remained modest and immovable in her +position as a statue. Had she been a vain and foolish girl or a +coquette, she might have been irritated by the painter's silence, +misconstruing it into a sign of insensibility to her charms, but no such +thought for a moment entered the head of our Helen. On the contrary, she +looked with the deepest awe and reverence on the painter whose art +required so much silence and concentration, and instead of calling away +his attention from his work by some frivolous remark, she mentally +resolved to aid him to the utmost by posing as patiently as it lay in +her power. + +Nevertheless, after a long sitting, a change is apt to come over the +face of the sitter. The muscles become flaccid, the colour vanishes, the +eye grows vacant, and an expression of languor and weariness takes the +place of the bright healthy look that the sitter bore at the +commencement. This is especially the case with young people, and so it +was with Helen, who, spite of her laudable endeavours to do justice to +her portrait painter, had unconsciously grown several shades paler, and +had so altered in expression that our artist, finding it impossible to +continue his work, deemed it advisable to give his model a little +repose. + +"That will do, Helen, for the present," said he; "take a little rest, +until you can call back the roses to your cheek and the life to your +eye. There, then, you may look if you like, but there is much to be done +yet, I can tell you." + +"Oh, I think you have done wonders this sitting," said Helen, as she +stood contemplating her own portrait from behind the artist's chair, +with her head resting on her hand. + +"It appears to me as like as it can possibly be already. I do not see +what more there is to do to it." + +"Do you not, Helen?" said McGuilp. "Then you are very easily satisfied, +but it is not so with us. We artists are the most discontented people +under the sun. We know that however well a portrait may be painted, it +can never come up to the original, and yet we are never contented, even +with our utmost endeavours to approach it." + +"Then, we who know nothing about your art are happier in our ignorance +than the artists themselves who have studied art all their lives," +remarked Helen. + +"Very often," replied McGuilp with a sigh; "nevertheless, there is a +pleasure in the mere pursuit of art, however far removed the work of the +artist may be from his ideal, that he would not exchange for the calm +satisfaction of the uninitiated who perceive no fault." + +At this moment a sound of cheering and clapping of hands proceeding from +the club-room interrupted the dialogue between the painter and his +model. + +"What can all that noise mean?" ejaculated Helen. "Ah, I can guess. +Mother has just finished telling her story to the gentlemen of the club, +and they are applauding her." + +"Is it so, Helen?" said McGuilp. + +"Well, as they have been enjoying a story from which we have been +excluded, I see no reason why we should not have a story all to +ourselves. What do you say?" + +"Oh, by all means," said Helen; "but I am a poor storyteller. Pray do +not ask _me_ for one, but if you know of a story, why of course I am all +attention." + +"Let me see, then," said McGuilp. "What sort of story would you like to +hear?" + +"Oh, tell me something about Italy. _I should_ like to hear so," +answered Helen. + +"Would you? Then I think I can remember a little circumstance that +occurred in Italy within my experience, which I will relate to you if +you will resume your seat, for I have but little time to lose. We can +work and talk at the same time. Your colour has now returned, and my +story may possibly help to preserve it until the end of the sitting." + +Helen then resumed her seat, and McGuilp having seized once more his +palette and brushes and placed himself in front of his easel, continued +his portrait whilst he related the following story. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Scharfrichter or executioner; literally, "the sharp judge." + +[2] The reader is begged to excuse the anachronism. Byron did not write +these lines until several years later. + +[3] Another name for headsman or hangman. + +[4] Philister or Philistine. + +[5] The moss. Slang word among German students for money. + +[6] Löwen--also money. + + + + +[Illustration] + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE THREE PAULS.[7]--THE ARTIST'S THIRD STORY. + + +During my travels in Italy I happened once to be sojourning for some +time in an obscure and sequestered Italian village high up in the +Apennines, that chain of mountains which runs through the entire +peninsular like the backbone of some antediluvian monster. + +They are curious places, those Italian villages, with their tall, narrow +houses and small windows, built up the slant of a mountain like steps of +stairs. Their quaint roofs, balconies, arches, and buttresses, with at +every step some rustic shrine containing a rude painting or +representation of the Virgin Mary (the Madonna as they call her) or +other saint. The narrow, dirty, ill-paved streets, the tumbling-down +houses, from the windows of which the picturesque but dirty inhabitants +may almost shake hands with one another across the road. + +Then the odd nooks and angles in the by-streets that meet the stranger's +eye on either hand as he ascends the uneven and slippery path-way +leading to the highest point of view, which is generally crowned by some +ruined feudal castle or fort built upon a rock and overgrown with ivy. +They have a distinct character of their own, these mountain villages, +and are as unlike as possible to anything seen in England. A mere verbal +description is inadequate to give the faintest idea of their extreme +picturesqueness. They require to be seen, and when this is impossible, a +picture or sketch must give the next best idea of them to the mind of +the stranger. I have several studies in oil-colour of these places +within my portfolio, which you may look at for a moment if you like. + +There, you see that it is quite unlike anything you ever saw before. +Look at those figures in the foreground, how picturesque and yet how +simple their costume is! Well, but to proceed: the village where I was +staying, when the fact that I am about to relate occurred, was one of +the sort you see here. Ah! here is a sketch of the very place, and there +is the name of it written underneath. I remember that it had a certain +celebrity in the country round about it, as the cathedral (!) in the +chief piazza or square boasted of a miraculous picture of the Madonna, +that had the reputation of turning up its eyes, and in this manner +contrived to heal great numbers among the faithful who were blind, deaf +and dumb, maimed, halt, or lame. + +I cannot say that I ever witnessed one of these miracles, but that may +have been from my want of faith; yet the tales that I heard of +miraculous cures from persons of some repute, the arch-priest of the +parish amongst the number, were most startling. + +I had taken up my quarters in a comfortable rustic inn, not in the town +itself, but on a separate hill in an isolated spot, being built in its +own grounds, fertile with olive trees, which grew up the sides of the +hill nearly to the door of the house. + +The inn was frequented almost entirely by artists. Sometimes we were a +large company, composed of all nations, when we would dine together "al +fresco" under the shade of the vine which formed a verandah on one side +of the house. At other times I would be left alone in the inn. The hill +on which I lived commanded an extensive view of the surrounding +mountains, including the township with its old ivy-grown tower +overlooking all, and which appeared as if it were sliding down the +mountain side. + +I experienced an indescribable feeling of delight in rambling alone +through this romantic scenery on a hot summer's day, beneath a perfectly +cloudless sky, without a breath of wind to rustle the leaves of the +shady trees, amidst a solitude like that of the desert, and a silence +unbroken save by the chirping of the birds and the chattering of the +cicala, or at intervals, perchance, the distant shepherd's pipe, or the +wild barbaric chant of the mountaineer. With what rapture, I remember, +would I step from crag to crag, trampling the bush and bramble under my +feet, and startling away the green lizards in my path! Quaffing the +beauties of nature at every step, the dreamy influence of the balmy +atmosphere intensifying my feelings for the beautiful to an abnormal +degree. + +It was on one of these sultry days during my rambles that I was taking +shelter from the burning sun under the shade of a wide-spreading oak, +reclining lazily on the soft moss, and listening to the chirping of the +grass-hoppers, when my ear was attracted by the sound of the bleating of +goats, and shortly afterwards I heard the voices of two peasants which +seemed familiar to me. They were discoursing together in the dialect of +their own village, a very different lingo from the pure Tuscan, and +perfectly unintelligible to one lately coming from Rome, yet a prolonged +stay in these parts rendered it familiar to me. I recognised the voices +as belonging, one of them to a goatherd who supplied me with milk in the +morning, the other to a peasant who possessed a vineyard, a small barrel +of whose wine I had bought the day before. + +"Ohè! Antonio," cried Guiseppe, the goatherd, to his friend, "so I hear +you have sold a _quarteruolo_ of wine to the Signor Inglese (the English +gentleman) who lives on the hill." + +"Well, Compar,"[8] said his friend, "and what of that?" + +"I suppose you made him pay well for it, eh?" demanded the goatherd. + +"Well," answered Antonio, "I make my friends pay sixteen pauls the +_quarteruolo_, but he, being an Englishman, I charged double." + +"What!" exclaimed the goatherd, "thirty-two pauls for a _quarteruolo_!" + +"Ay, and he paid me money down without haggling about the price, like +one of our '_paini_.'[9] These Englishmen are real gentlemen--they let +themselves be cheated without wincing. Those are the sort of men I like +to deal with. I was quite angry with myself afterwards at not having +asked four times the sum; he would be sure to have paid me." + +"_Accidente!_ what a swindler!" exclaimed Guiseppe. "Well, they tell me +these English roll in wealth; that gold is as common in their country as +beans here. They say the streets are paved with it. How I should like to +go to those parts, and come back with my pockets filled with the gold +that these idiots throw away like dross. I wouldn't fatigue myself all +day long in the mountains for a piece of '_maritozza_'[10] or a dish of +'_polenta_.'"[11] + +"Ha! ha!" laughed Antonio, "I've no doubt of it. I should like to see +_you_ with money, friend Peppe. You'd make a rare use of it." + +"_Per Bacco!_ wouldn't I?" answered the goatherd; "you wouldn't catch me +sober again until the day of my death. If I could sell my milk to the +Englishman at the rate you sell your wine, I'd soon make my fortune." + +"Well," said Antonio, "I would try it on if I were you. Perhaps milk +isn't to be had in his country." + +"Perhaps not," said the goatherd, musingly. "It must be a curious +country from all accounts. They tell me they never see the sun from one +year's end to the other, and, indeed, how can they, when the sun is here +all day? I hear, too, that the fog is so thick that you are obliged to +cut it through with a knife as you go along the streets, and that the +inhabitants are obliged to burn lamps all day long." + +"Yes, I have heard so, too," answered Antonio, "and that they have no +wine in their country. Well, upon the whole, I'd sooner live where I +am." + +"Ah, but the gold that is to be found about the streets," said Guiseppe, +"you forget that." + +"What would be the good of all the gold, if there is no wine to buy with +it?" replied Antonio. "I am very well content to live by the sale of my +wine----" + +"At the rate you sell it to Englishmen, I've no doubt," broke in Peppe, +with a laugh. + +"Well, my friend, of course we all try to get what we can, where we can, +and how we can," pleaded Antonio. "That's only business. I'd be a fool +if I didn't." + +"Well, Compar, I suppose we are all much alike in that; but don't you +think that after having cheated the Englishman out of all that money, +you could lend me three pauls?"[12] + +"Ah, Peppe, you rascal, I thought that was coming," laughed Antonio. +"What! lend _you_ three pauls! Why, when do you think you would be able +to pay me?" + +"Well, I make two pauls a day by the sale of my milk and go halves with +my _padrone_.[13] That is a paul a day for us apiece. In three days, +therefore, I shall be able to pay you the entire sum. If I can manage to +gull the Englishman, I may pay you sooner," responded the goatherd. + +"Ah! Peppe," said Antonio, "I know you to be a slippery customer. How am +I to be sure you will pay me within that time?" + +"I give you my word of honour," cried Peppe. + +"Ho! ho! what is that worth?" laughed his friend. + +"May I die of an accident, if I don't! May the earth open and swallow me +up! May the Madonna cause my mouth to fall off if I fail in my word. +May----" + +"There; that is enough," interrupted his friend. "Here are the three +pauls. Take them, and if you fail to pay me back in three days' +time--not one hour later, may all the curses that you have invoked upon +yourself be fulfilled." + +This was all I overheard of the dialogue. Shortly after this they must +have separated, as I heard soon the voice of the goatherd in the +distance, chanting in that wild strain, with a prolonged dwelling on the +last note peculiar to the peasantry in the Italian mountains. + +It was past midday when I rose from my mossy couch and sauntered +leisurely home, where, having partaken of a light lunch, I continued +working upon my picture--a large landscape--until sundown. I was at that +time the only guest at the inn, and I have no doubt that mine host and +his family made as much out of me as they could in one way or another, +yet they were as honest as the people in those parts mostly are, and +when not occupied with writing home I was in the habit of joining the +family circle after supper, when they entertained me with the gossip of +the village and stories of brigands, by whom the country was much +infested, while I, in return for their information, related to them many +things about my own country, my travels, etc. The conversation that I +had overheard that morning, however, between the goatherd and his friend +I deemed not of sufficient importance to relate to the family; in fact, +I had forgotten all about it before I reached the inn. + +The unscrupulous manner in which people cheated among these simple +seeming peasantry rather amused than annoyed me. And as for the simple +incident of one peasant borrowing three pauls from another, it was a +fact so uninteresting to me, that I never gave the matter a second +thought. + +Little did I imagine that the transaction of the three pauls that I by +chance overheard that morning was to be the commencement of one of the +drollest waggeries that ever came within my experience. + +It was more than a week after the incident that I have related occurred +that I left my inn one morning to paint out of doors at the distance of +a mile or so. As I journeyed along the road, laden with my painting +materials, I came in sight of the goatherd's hut, built upon a hill, and +though it was yet distant, I descried a figure in the act of leaving the +hut, but which I could distinctly see was not the goatherd. + +The figure had descended the hill, reached the road, and was then making +towards me. I had now no difficulty in recognising my friend of whom I +had bought the wine. He appeared to be anything but in good spirits, for +he advanced scratching his head and with his eyes fixed on the ground. + +This was our first meeting since our transaction of the barrel of wine, +and had I been in a less good humour I might have taxed him with +swindling me in good round terms, but with the fresh morning air in my +face and the enchanting landscape around me, I felt in no humour to +quarrel with anyone. I thought, however, I would make him aware that I +knew how he had served me without losing my temper. + +"_Buon giorno, Antonio_,"--(Good-day, Anthony)--I said, cheerfully. + +"_Ah! Eccellenza; buon giorno_," replied he, with a sickly attempt at a +smile. + +"You seem a little out of spirits, eh?" said I. "Now, what would you say +if I could read your thoughts?" + +"You read my thoughts, Eccellenza! You joke with me." + +"No," replied I; "without joking I will tell you what is passing in your +mind. You have just come from the house of Guiseppe the goatherd, and +you are disappointed because he has not paid you the three pauls that he +promised to pay you after three days. Am I right?" + +"_Per Bacco!_" exclaimed Antonio. "Surely your Excellency is a saint, +and it has been revealed to you. How else could you have known that?" + +"Does that surprise you," said I. "What would you say if I could tell +you more? If I could tell you the day and the hour that you lent the +three pauls to your friend? What would you say if I told you it was last +Tuesday week in the forenoon, and how you first hesitated to lend the +money, having some doubt as to your friend's integrity, but how, after +having invoked certain curses on his own head in default of his not +being able to pay, you at length yielded, and lent him the three pauls?" + +"_Diavolo!_ Eccellenza must be a saint indeed to know all that," cried +the peasant, dumbfounded. + +"Would you like to know more?" I asked. "At the expiration of the three +days you have been regularly every morning to the house of the goatherd, +expecting to receive the three pauls, and each time he has sent you +away with a different excuse." + +"_O anime sante mie del Purgatorio!_"[14] exclaimed the peasant, +crossing himself devoutly. "Either your Excellency is a saint, or you +have the demon within you." + +"Ha! say you so?" said I. "I will even venture to prophecy that you will +never get the three pauls." + +"Oh, pray don't say that, Signor. Pray don't say that I shall _never_ be +paid. Why should your Excellency think so?" asked the peasant, dismally. + +"Why! do you ask? Because the saints love you not," said I. + +"How, Signor? Was that also revealed to you? Why should they not love +me? How have I merited their wrath?" he asked, whiningly. + +"By charging me twice the sum you charge other people for that +_quarteruolo_ of wine, and for repenting afterwards that you had not +asked me four times the sum, as, being an Englishman, you thought to get +it out of me." + +"_Corpo di San Antonio di Padova!_"[15] cried the peasant, casting up +his eyes. "Is nothing to be hid from you? Well, Eccellenza, what serves +it to deny the truth, since you know everything? I am a poor man, and +when an opportunity occurs for bettering myself, I am apt to do what +most men do who know what want is." + +"Well, my friend," said I "you will find through life that 'honesty is +the best policy,' and that 'cheats never prosper,' at least, for long. +For when the cheat is discovered, his reputation is lost for ever, while +the honest man who sticks steadily to his labour, and puts aside his +scanty earnings, not wasting them in drinking or gambling, in the end is +blessed by the saints who give him fortune." + +"That is most true," replied the peasant. "Eccellenza has spoken like +the preacher," and seizing my hand, he kissed it, and was about to +proceed on his journey. + +"Stay," said I. "Would you like to earn two pauls?" + +"Willingly, Eccellenza; but how?" he asked. + +"Help me to carry these traps to my camping place, and carry them back +again when I return this evening," said I. + +Without further parley he relieved me of my burden, and we both trudged +on together. + +At first we walked on in silence, but after the first half-mile, to +relieve the monotony of the walk, I began to question my companion as to +the reception his friend Guiseppe had given him and the excuses he had +made for not being able to pay his debt. + +"Well, Eccellenza," he began, "you, who know everything, are well aware +that I called at Peppe's house at the time appointed for the payment of +the debt, and that not being able to pay me, he excused himself by +saying that the goats had given so little milk, that he could not fulfil +his promise as he expected, but he promised faithfully to repay me on +the morrow. I called the next day, when he begged me to be patient with +him, as he had lost the money through a hole in his pocket. I was +annoyed at this, but called again on the morrow, hoping at least to get +a portion of the money back; but no such luck. This time he pleaded that +his wife had been suddenly seized with the fever, and begged me not to +be too hard upon him. + +"'Then take care that she is better to-morrow,' said I, 'for I want my +money.' + +"The next day (that was yesterday) I called again, and his wife informed +me that her husband had caught the fever, and was dangerously ill. She +hoped, however, that it would soon pass over, and he would be able to +pay me as he had promised. I went again this morning to Peppe's house as +usual for the money, when his wife came out to me with tears in her +eyes, to inform me that her husband died last night. I began to lose +patience, and said that, dead or alive, I meant to have my three pauls +back; and off I went, cursing and swearing. It was then that your +Excellency met me." + +As Antonio finished speaking we had already arrived at our camping +place, and I commenced arranging my painting materials. The latter part +of Antonio's narrative immensely amused me, as I had both seen and +spoken to Peppe that morning early when he brought the milk as usual to +the door of the inn, and he never looked in better health in his life. +I remember upbraiding him for putting water in the milk, and telling him +not to try on his tricks with me, as Englishmen knew what good milk was, +adding that if I caught him at it again, I should change my goatherd. I +suppose something like a smile must have passed over my countenance at +the idea of Peppe pretending to be dead, in order to get off paying +three pauls, for Antonio, eyeing me narrowly, said, + +"What say you, Eccellenza? You know everything. Tell me if Peppe is +really dead, or whether this is also a pretence." + +I put on a wise look, and said, looking him full in the face, "I know +him to be alive." + +"Ha! say you so, Eccellenza?" cried Antonio, starting up from his seat +on the ground. "Then _per Crispo_![16] I'll murder him when I catch +him." + +"There is no occasion to do that, my friend," said I. "You will not get +your three pauls back the sooner if he hasn't the money." + +"I'll go to his house again, though, if your Excellency can dispense +with my services for the present," said Antonio, "in the hopes of +catching him; though, if he is alive, he will be away in the mountains, +feeding his goats; but no matter, I'll enter the house and see for +myself if the bed is empty or no." + +"Go then," said I, "and return in an hour to let me know the result of +your visit." + +Off started Antonio, as fleetly as the wind, and before I could have +thought it possible, returned without appearing out of breath. + +"Well?" said I, working steadily on my picture without looking up. + +"Well, Eccellenza," he began, "I went straight to the house, and tried +the door, but it was locked, and there was no one within. I peeped +through the window, but could not catch a glimpse of the bed. I +descended the hill in a rage, when at some little distance, I saw +Peppe's wife. I ran to her and told her that I wanted to speak to her +husband, as I had found out that he was living. She persisted in saying +that it was false, and that her husband lay dead in his bed." + +"'Then let me see the corpse,' said I. + +"She replied that she was not going to fatigue herself to mount the hill +again to show me the corpse. That if I didn't choose to believe her, I +needn't. + +"'Give me the key of the house, then,' said I, 'that I may go in and +satisfy myself.' + +"She replied that she never trusted anyone with the key of her house, +and turned away. + +"I then lost my temper, and told her that both she and her husband were +a couple of swindlers, who had schemed to defraud me of my money. Then +she burst into tears again, and said that if I really wished to be +convinced that her husband was dead, I might go to the church myself +this evening, where the corpse of her husband would be lying in +state,[17] and that I might hide myself in one of the confessionals, and +watch all night to see if he moved at all, and that if he stirred ever +so little, never to believe her again. + +"Now, you see, Eccellenza, how artful women are. She hopes in that way +to intimidate me and to make me believe that her husband is dead in real +earnest. She fancies that I would be frightened to spend a whole night +inside the church with a corpse, and that I won't go. If, then, I should +call at her house to-morrow she would be sure to tell me that her +husband was already buried. I do not for a moment believe that her +husband will be exposed in the church all night, feigning to be dead; +but, just to give her the lie, I am determined to do just as she says, +and hide myself in one of the confessionals, that I may be able to tell +her that I passed the night in the church, and there was no corpse to be +seen." + +"Do so, my friend," said I. "I am most curious to hear how this affair +ends." + +As we were discoursing together Antonio suddenly broke short his +discourse. + +"Hark, Signor!" he cried. "Do you hear? Those are death-bells that are +tolling in the village. Can someone really have died, or has Peppe's +wife set them tolling to impose upon me all the more? What say you, +Signor? Would she carry out the joke as far as all that?" + +"There is nothing like doing a thing well," I answered, evasively. + +"I shall be able to find out from the sacristan for whom he has been +tolling the bell this morning," said Antonio, "and if that knave of a +Peppe is not dead yet, may I die of an accident if I don't worry him to +the death. You must know, Eccellenza, that three pauls to us poor devils +is a consideration, unimportant though the sum may be _alla vostra +Signoria_.[18] What a conscience the man must have to try and swindle me +out of what I lent him in friendship, after swearing to me on his word +of honour and invoking all sorts of curses on his own head if he failed +to pay me on the day he promised! Had not your Excellency positively +assured me that he still lives, I should be inclined to think that he +had died in real earnest, as a punishment for his broken faith." + +I was amused at the word "conscience" from the lips of a man like +Antonio, and the old fable of "the pot calling the kettle black" flashed +across my mind. We are wonderfully alive to the weak points of others' +consciences where our own interests are concerned, but are too often +wanting in equal rigour over ourselves. How true is that parable in +Scripture of the mote and the beam! + +In order to proceed with my narrative, I must pass on to the following +day. Feeling slightly indisposed from a fever on waking that +morning--nothing serious, but just enough to prevent me from painting +out-of-doors, as I had intended--I kept my bed later than usual, and +called to my landlady to bring me a basin of broth. + +As she entered my bedchamber with the steaming fluid, I noticed by the +animated expression of her face that she had news of unusual importance +to communicate to me. + +"Oh, Signor!" she exclaimed, as she hastened to place the broth on a +table beside me, "what do you think has happened in the village? A +miracle! a miracle! nothing short of a miracle, blessed be the Madonna. +_Si Signor_," she added, in answer to a smile that she observed on my +countenance, "one of the most wonderful miracles that ever our blessed +Virgin has deigned to vouchsafe to us, her unworthy servants. Blessed be +her holy name for all eternity!" + +"Well," said I, calmly sipping my broth, "another miracle! let's hear +it." + +"Ah! Signor, you do not believe in miracles," said the hostess; "but how +will you deny _this_? Just hear. You may not have heard, perhaps, that +poor Peppe the goatherd died suddenly of a fever, and was laid out in +the church, where he remained all last night. Some robber, towards the +morning, broke into the church, and would have robbed the alms-box. He +had succeeded in unscrewing it from the wall and bursting it open--at +least, I presume so, for how else could he have got to the money?--and +was seated on the ground, counting his gains--a most incredible amount, +chiefly consisting of gold. I am sure I don't know where it all came +from, for only yesterday when I put in a _baiocco_[19] myself, the sound +it made showed me that it was all but empty. Well, as I was saying, he +was counting his gains by the light of the candle, placed at the head of +the corpse, when our blessed lady caused life to return to the defunct, +who, leaping up suddenly from his bier, seized the robber by the throat, +and called aloud for help. Our honest Peppe held the sacrilegious +miscreant as in a vice until the sacristan entered the church to light +the candles. You may imagine, Signor, the dismay of the sacristan at +seeing the corpse that had been laid out in the church all the previous +evening, now resuscitated, and holding in his grasp the wretch who had +attempted to defraud the church of the alms that pious souls had given +to support her. + +"The worthy sacristan had not recovered from his surprise when the +people began to pour in by twos and threes to hear mass, all of them +starting and falling back in horror at the spectacle before them. + +"'A miracle! a miracle!' cried the sacristan, at length. 'Behold the +Virgin has been merciful to us. Blessed be the name of the Madonna!' + +"At that instant the arch-priest himself entered, attired in his robes. + +"'What is this?' he cried, in astonishment, retreating several steps. +'Holy saints! was not this the corpse laid out in the church last +evening?' + +"Here the sacristan broke in. + +"'A miracle, Signor _Arciprete_, a miracle! a most undeniable miracle. I +caught this robber this morning attempting to rob the alms-box, when lo! +it pleased the Madonna to give back life to the dead in order to save +her holy church from being violated by sacrilegious hands.' + +"The good Peppe, still holding fast the robber, informed the arch-priest +and the congregation that every word the sacristan had spoken was true; +that he had been dead, but had been miraculously called back to life +again by the grace of our blessed Lady in order to secure the thief. + +"'You lie! you lie! You know you lie!' gasped out the burglar, as he +tried to free himself from the iron grasp of the resuscitated corpse. +'Impostor! knave! swindler,' he called out, nearly suffocated by the +firm grip of Peppe. + +"But his words were lost in the sensation caused by the crowd, who +permitted no explanation on the part of the criminal. The guard having +now arrived, he was walked off to prison amid the execrations of the +crowd. The arch-priest, who, through all this scene had remained +stupefied for a time, as well he might, at length broke silence. + +"'There is some mystery that I am as yet unable to comprehend. I am +informed by the sacristan that he discovered the burglar in the act of +robbing the alms-box of the church, and the money on the ground that you +all see, he avers to have been taken out of the alms-box. Now, in order +to extract the money from the alms-box the thief must previously have +broken it open, yet I see no marks of violence on the box of any kind. + +"'Then there is another thing worthy of notice. The alms-box was emptied +only last week, in order to distribute its contents amongst the poor. +How comes it now, then, there appears such a large quantity of money, +which, you see, consists chiefly of gold and silver, besides paper +money; and that diamond ring I see, whence is that? I think it will be +found that the heap of money on the ground will be too large a sum to +enter into the box. If it cannot enter, how could it have come out of +it?' + +"'All the greater miracle,' cried the sacristan, devoutly. + +"'True, true,' cried the people. 'A double miracle! Great is the power +of the Madonna.' + +"'Well, well, my people,' said the arch-priest, 'I own that I am puzzled +beyond measure; nevertheless, as it has pleased our gracious Lady to let +us find this goodly sum here in the middle of the church, it is clear +that she has but one intention--namely, that the sum should be +distributed for the glory of her name. Therefore, let the treasure be +replaced in the alms-box for the enlargement and decoration of the +church.' + +"This decision of their pastor was approved of by the pious flock, and +the sacristan hastened to fill the box with as much of the treasure as +it was capable of containing, while still a large portion remained over. +This, together with the diamond ring, the arch-priest took possession +of, declaring that the whole sum should be used for the enlarging and +fitting up of his church." + +Having concluded her narrative, my worthy hostess perceived something +like a smile of incredulity on my countenance, which seemed rather to +irritate her. However, I comforted her by saying that I would +investigate the matter myself, and if, after a careful and strict +inquiry, I could not account for the whole matter by natural causes, I +would then become as much a believer in the miracle as she was herself. + +This seemed to pacify her, and she encouraged me in seeking every +possible means to disprove it. Accordingly, in an hour's time I was up +and dressed, and bending my steps towards the township. Part of this +curious tale I had already accounted for in my own mind. That Peppe had +not been dead, but had feigned to be so, that I knew. The supposed +robber I concluded must be Antonio. I supposed that the latter, having +discovered at length the imposition practised upon him by his companion, +a quarrel had ensued, in the midst of which they had been surprised by +the sacristan; but I could guess no more than this. + +The affair of the treasure being found in the church completely puzzled +me, and my curiosity being aroused, I set straight off to the house of +the arch-priest, whom I knew intimately, to hear either the confirmation +or confutation of my hostess's statement. + +On passing the church in the chief piazza or square of this little town, +I met the sacristan, whom, having been an eye-witness to the whole, I +stopped and inquired as to the truth of the rumour that had spread so +quickly throughout the village. He put on a sanctified look, crossed his +hands upon his breast, and rolled up the white of his eyes, solemnly +declaring that every word I had heard was true, that he himself had been +an eye-witness to the whole affair from first to last. + +Then, after recounting to me the whole proceedings in a long rigmarole, +he wound up by calling on all the saints to open the ground under his +feet to swallow him up, if what he spoke was not the truth. He then took +his leave. + +Now, I never did like the appearance of this sacristan. He was a young +man, sallow and emaciated, with an extremely repulsive countenance and +an expression of low cunning and avarice, which he sought to hide under +an affectation of sanctity and cringing humility. He seemed unable to +look you full in the face, though I often caught him observing me out of +the corners of his half-closed eyes. + +He would have been the last man in the world whose word I should have +taken for gospel, and there was something in the manner in which he told +his story that impressed me with the idea, that whatever mystery there +might be connected with the discovered treasure, that _he_, in some way +or another, was interested in the affair being regarded as a miracle. I +therefore attached very slight importance to his testimony. In fact, I +merely addressed him in the hopes of discovering some discrepancy in my +hostess's narrative, being aware how much a story gains in telling; but, +to my surprise, I found the two accounts remarkably consistent. A step +or two further took me to the house of the arch-priest, which, being +open, I entered, and was welcomed on the landing by that worthy. + +"Ah! Signor Vandyke," he said--you are always called by your Christian +name in Italy--"it is long since I've had the pleasure of seeing you. +You do not often honour our humble township with your presence. You have +been hard at work as usual, I suppose, eh?" + +I replied that I had given myself a holiday for once in a way, not +feeling in a humour for work, and had called upon him for the purpose of +inquiring into the truth of a reported miracle in the village. Hereupon +he beckoned me upstairs, made me sit down at a table, and pouring out +for me a tumbler of his own wine from a huge jug, he proceeded to fill +another for himself; then tapping his snuff-box, a priest's inseparable +companion, and taking from it a copious pinch wherewith to clear his +brain, this dignitary recited to me the whole story of the miracle, +differing in little or nothing from the other accounts that I had heard +of it. Knowing him to be a thoroughly trustworthy and conscientious +man, I felt sure that he would not willingly deceive me; but fancying he +might in some way or other have been deceived himself, I proceeded to +cross-question him, though I could not find that he contradicted himself +in anything. + +When I asked if he could vouch for the occurrence being a miracle, he +replied: + +"I can only vouch for what I saw. The resuscitated corpse was holding +the accused in his grasp, while I had the sacristan's word that the +corpse had suddenly become re-animated under his very eyes, and had +seized the burglar after he had succeeded in extracting the money from +the alms-box. I must confess I am puzzled at the whole of that sum +having been extracted from the coffer, when, with the greatest pains the +sacristan could not replace more than half of it. I have the rest here, +as you see, and with it a handsome diamond ring. That is the wonderful +part, for who wears diamonds in these mountains?" + +I was now perfectly sure of one thing namely, that the treasure had +never been extracted from the alms-box at all, but had been found in +some other manner. The testimony of the sacristan, as I have said +before, weighed little or nothing with me. So far from it, indeed, that +I began to see more clearly than ever that there had been some trick or +imposture, at the bottom of which was the sacristan himself. + +I did not give the arch-priest the result of my reflections, but +restrained myself until I should obtain further evidence. We had +discoursed for full a couple of hours on the subject, and when I rose to +depart I told him that I was as complete a sceptic as before, as far as +the miraculous character of the event was concerned, though I placed +every reliance in his statement. I said I was perfectly sure of +unveiling the mystery before long, and when I had done so I should at +once let him know. + +"And the delinquent," asked I, with my hand on the doorhandle, "where is +he?" + +"Locked up, to be sure; ready to be taken to-morrow to Gennazzano, there +to await his trial." + +"Could I exchange a word with him?" + +"If you wish. I shall have to give you a line to the guard, in order to +admit you. Just one moment,--here--with this pass they will let you +enter." + +"Thank you very much. Till we meet again--_Addio_." + +It was now growing towards evening as I hastened my steps towards the +lock-up house, where I delivered the arch-priest's note to the guard, +who immediately gave orders to the turnkey to admit me. On entering the +cell I found Antonio, as I had expected, pacing up and down dejectedly. + +"Well, Antonio," said I, "I have come to have a chat with you and to +hear all about the miracle that happened this morning." + +"Ah! Signor, is it you?" cried he. "Now, was there ever an unluckier +mortal on earth than I?" + +"Nonsense," said I, "about being unlucky. I have come to comfort you in +your trouble and to hear all about the miracle." + +"Miracle! The devil a miracle," exclaimed Antonio. "They've miracled me +within four walls, who am innocent as the babe unborn, whilst they have +let go two of the greatest rascals in the village. It will be a miracle +if I escape incarceration for life when I take my trial at Gennazzano." + +"Come," said I, consolingly, "you must not look so gloomily at things. I +will do what I can to get you off, but you must tell me exactly how the +whole affair happened." + +"Ah! that I will, Signor, and with pleasure," said he. + +Walking me up and down his narrow cell, the turnkey waiting at the door +with his bunch of keys the while, he began his story thus:-- + +"You will remember, Eccellenza, that before parting from you last, I +informed you of my intention of concealing myself within the +confessional of the church and to remain there all night, for the +purpose of observing attentively if the would-be corpse of Peppe there +laid out should make any movement or betray the slightest signs of life. + +"At a late hour, therefore, when all was dark--that is to say, about +three hours after Ave Maria--I entered the church, and there was my late +friend attired as a corpse with a candle left burning at his head, as is +the custom, you know, Signor, in these parts. I approached him, though +not without a certain tremor, for to me there has always been something +solemn and awful in being left alone with the dead, especially at +midnight when the corpse is laid out in state in the middle of the +church, with nothing but the feeble light of one candle to illumine its +ghastly features. + +"Nor did this feeling at all abate when I reflected, that in all +probability the supposed corpse was not really dead, but only feigning +to be so. If anything, I felt more terrified. However, I advanced +steadily, and gazed full in the face of it. It was very pale, and +perfectly motionless, and I began to think that this must be death, and +that your Excellency had been mistaken in being so positive that my +friend was yet alive. + +"I fancied that perhaps you had seen his spirit and had mistaken it for +himself in the flesh. I forebore to touch the corpse from that same +feeling of awe that I have just described, and though at the time I was +perfectly satisfied that he was really dead, yet I still resolved to sit +up all night, concealed within the confessional, so as to be able to +tell your Excellency on the morrow that I had fulfilled my promise. + +"I accordingly shut myself in, and gazed steadfastly at the features of +the corpse, never taking my eyes off all the time, in order to assure +myself beyond a doubt whether this were really death or merely its +counterfeit. I gazed long and intently, but in vain did I endeavour to +discover the slightest breathing or other signs of life. Whether the +dim light of one candle prevented me from seeing sufficiently well, I +know not. + +"All was silent as the tomb, and as I gazed in breathless suspense, hour +after hour flew by, till at length I heard the old church clock toll +forth the dread hour of midnight. The last stroke had hardly died +away--How shall I describe to you my terror, oh, Signor?--when suddenly +I heard the church doors violently shaken. You know how nervous one +becomes in the dead of the night at hearing any sort of noise +unexpectedly that one cannot account for. Imagine, then, my sensations, +Eccellenza, if you can, when, hidden within the confessional at this +witching hour of night, with every nerve on the stretch, and looking out +into the solemn gloom of the church, illumined only by the solitary +candle placed at the head of the corpse--when all honest peasants, with +their families, were in bed and fast asleep, and the greatest silence +reigned everywhere, suddenly to hear a bang and a crash at the old +church doors, which soon gave way--you know how rotten they are, +Signor--and there entered, cursing and swearing, a troop of--well, upon +my soul, Signor, I took them to be emissaries of the arch-fiend, sent to +secure the soul of the defunct. + +"However, after having attentively examined their forms, which were +hardly less wild than those of the foul fiends themselves, if all +accounts of them be true, I satisfied myself that they were, after all, +human--men of flesh and blood like ourselves. Signor, they were the +brigands. + +"I should say there were about a dozen of them, for I did not think of +counting them, so great was my fright. They rushed helter-skelter into +the church, and without as much as glancing at the corpse, seized the +candle that stood burning near its head, and, striding towards the altar +placed the candle thereon and proceeded to count their ungodly gains. I +trembled in every limb; a cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and I +felt my hair stand up, while my teeth chattered in my head. + +"What would happen next? Would the Madonna send a thunderbolt to destroy +these sacrilegious wretches, and perhaps myself at the same time? I +quite expected something of the sort. I am sure it is quite a wonder +that my hair hasn't turned white from the terrors I underwent last +evening. + +"Well, Eccellenza, I presume these ruffians, after having laid wait for +the mail on the high road and robbed a number of poor gentlemen of all +they had about them, had made off with their ill-gotten treasure in the +dead of the night, and, passing through the village on their way, +descried the glimmer of the candle through the chinks of the church +door, and thought they would take this opportunity of dividing their +spoil. + +"The treasure was a goodly heap, consisting of gold, silver, and paper +money, besides a few gold watches, which they all drew lots for, and a +magnificent diamond ring, which the brigand chief claimed for himself. + +"'Now, my men,' said he after an equal portion had been allotted to +each, 'I think every man in my band has had a fair share of the booty. +This ring alone I claim the right of disposing of as head of the band, +seeing that it cannot be divided; yet, to show you all in what high +estimation I hold fair play, and how loath I am to possess even a +_baiocco_ more than my valiant companions without deserving it, I will +award this ring to the man who shall first succeed in hitting yon corpse +on the nose with it, I myself taking share in the pastime, and as +captain of the band claiming for myself the first shot.' + +"Enthusiastic cheers greeted this decision of their chief, and the game +began. The captain had the first throw, but missed. Then a second picked +up the ring and also threw, but missed likewise. Then a third, with the +same result, and so on, till the seventh, who, more dextrous than the +rest, hit the corpse such a stinging whack on the nose that it suddenly +jumped up, shook its head, extended its arms, and leaped down from the +bier. + +"You see, the rascal had been shamming, after all, sir, and, wearied out +with feigning death, had actually gone to sleep. Now, although I was +half prepared for such a resuscitation, the effect upon me was +electrical; but I recovered from my surprise soon enough to enjoy the +confusion of the brigands, who in their terror and dismay at what they +took to be a miracle wrought by the saints on purpose to punish their +impious conduct, took to their heels, stumbling over one another in +their flight, and letting drop all their treasure on the ground +unheeded, scampered out of the church as fast as their legs could carry +them. + +"I was infinitely amused at the fright and discomfiture of these lawless +ruffians, and at another time should have laughed heartily at their +sudden dispersion, but my rage at having been imposed upon, and the +thoughts of vengeance I harboured against my false friend somewhat +damped my mirth. No sooner were the brigands safely out of the church +than Peppe, who was now sufficiently wide awake to comprehend the +situation, after closing the church doors carefully, proceeded to spread +a large handkerchief on the ground and to collect together all the gold +and silver that had rolled about into every corner of the church, and +which I've no doubt he thought he alone was entitled to. + +"It was at this moment that I made a sudden burst from the confessional, +and rushing towards him, seized him by the throat. + +"'Villain!' I cried, 'your imposture is found out. Was it thus you hoped +to swindle me out of my three pauls?' + +"'Ah, friend Antonio,' exclaimed he, quite unmoved, 'is it you? Now I am +glad that with your own eyes you have witnessed the miracle that the +saints have wrought upon me in order to enable me to pay back the debt I +owe to my best friend.' + +"'Liar!' cried I; 'blaspheme not. Think not to impose on me again. Give +me my three pauls at once.' + +"'Three pauls!' he exclaimed. 'How on earth should I possess so +contemptible a sum? Come, sit down here, and we will divide this goodly +treasure between us.' + +"Now, I knew that I had just as much right to the treasure as my friend, +since it remained unclaimed, and therefore to divide it between us was +nothing more than fair, nor did I thank Peppe for inviting me to take my +share of it. Chance had thrown it in our way, and therefore I was +entitled to the half of it. + +"Nevertheless, I did not consider myself obliged to cancel my friend's +debt because of the good fortune that had befallen us, but was +determined that he should still pay me the three pauls out of his share +when the whole should be divided, for the principle of the thing, for I +am very punctilious as to principle, especially when my interests are +affected. + +"However, I said nothing until after we had divided the treasure +equally. This being done, some debate arose as to what we should do with +the diamond ring. Peppe thought he had a right to it, as he said it was +all through him that the brigands had been put to flight and had left us +in possession of the treasure. He even called me ungrateful and +unreasonable when I disputed it with him, after having allowed me a +share of the booty. I was not to be put off in this way. I told him that +I had a right to an equal share of the treasure, and owed no thanks to +him for the accident of good fortune that had befallen us both. As to +the ring, I said that if either of us had a right to it more than the +other it was myself, as he was my debtor. + +"'Avaricious man!' exclaimed he, 'do you still think of exacting your +miserable three pauls after my generosity in making you a sharer of the +treasure that belonged properly to me? Have I not already paid you over +and over again the paltry debt I owed you? If the Madonna had not +brought me miraculously back to life you would have had nothing.' + +"'Peace, blasphemer!' cried I. 'Do you think to befool me again with +your imposture?' + +"'_Imposture!_' he exclaimed, with an air of injured innocence. 'Why, +did you not see me rise from the dead with your own eyes?' + +"'Come, now,' said I, losing all patience, 'do you think that I was not +sharp enough to suspect your plot from the very beginning, knowing what +sort of character I had to deal with? Do you imagine I couldn't see +through all your shamming--that I didn't see your breast heaving?' + +"'_My breast heaving! The breast of a corpse heaving!_' he ejaculated. +'Strange hallucination! Trust me, my dear friend, you must have been +slightly in liquor, and saw double.' + +"'And do you think that I did not observe that worn out with feigning +death so long, you really fell asleep,' said I, heedless of his insult, +'and that I did not hear you snore like a hog?' + +"'I snore like a hog!' he exclaimed. 'My dear friend, believe me, you +must have been _very strongly_ in liquor.' + +"'No more in liquor than you,' I cried, with some vehemence. 'That you +were sound asleep I can swear, nor would you have awoke till morning, +had not one of the brigands hit you on the nose with that ring. Then, +naturally forgetting your caution, you jumped up, stretched yourself, +which act of yours being sufficient under the circumstances to strike +terror among the brigands, who, imagining no doubt, what you would like +me also to believe--viz., that a miracle had been wrought to bring you +back to life again, took to their heels and left their treasure behind +them. + +"'Now, you can't well expect me to believe in what you affect to +consider a miracle, seeing that I have been an eye-witness to your +antics from the very beginning, and as for trusting you with the ring +until it shall be converted into money, that would be too much for you +to expect from me, after the insight you have given me into your +character.' + +"'Come now, old fellow,' said he, gaily, and with most provoking good +humour, 'let us have no more words about it. We'll toss up for it. +Nothing can be fairer than that.' + +"'I do not agree either to toss up for it or to draw lots for it, as I +am usually unlucky,' I replied, firmly. + +"'Then we'll settle it between ourselves as the brigands did. If I hit +you on the nose with it, it is mine. If you can hit me with it, it shall +be yours. Come--here goes.' + +"'I object to these proceedings,' I replied. + +"'What will you do, then? Will you cut it in half with a knife?' + +"'Nor that either,' said I. + +"'Well, now,' said he, 'you are one of the never-contented. I see you +are determined by hook or by crook to keep the ring all to yourself.' + +"'No,' I replied, 'I do not wish for anything that is not strictly fair. +What I propose is this--viz., that I should keep the ring in my +possession until you have disbursed the three pauls out of your share. +Then, after the ring has been estimated by a trustworthy party and +turned into money, then we will share the produce equally.' + +"'Ho! ho!' laughed he, 'so that's what you are after, is it? Ha! ha! I +see it all. You fancy that under the excuse of waiting for your three +pauls (which I know as well as you do yourself you do not care a straw +for, since you have become enriched with the half of my treasure) that I +am going to allow you quietly to abscond with the ring, which may be +worth as much as all the treasure put together, for what I know, never +to be heard of afterwards. Well, that is a cool idea! Ha! ha! ha!' + +"'I protest,' said I, 'that such a thought never entered my head.' + +"'Oh, of course not,' said he, incredulously. 'Friend Antonio, it is +clear that our respective mothers hatched neither of us two yesterday. I +am only a poor goatherd, yet I have learnt as much of the world from +watching the antics of my goats as you have in trailing and pruning your +vines. We are both of us men, and we know what men are. We all have our +wants, and our brains were given us to supply them.' + +"'Yes,' replied I, 'in a conscientious and legitimate manner, and not to +over-reach our fellow-men in the shortest and most unscrupulous way that +our petty interests may dictate, to the scandal of all good saints and +the blessed Madonna at their head.' + +"And here I launched out into a moral strain for at least an hour, +hoping to bring him round by dint of argument and persuasion to my view +of the case, but finding him at the end of that time still obdurate, and +in the same state of hardness of heart as before--for who can moralise +with such a heathen as Peppe?--I attempted to seize the ring by force, +intending to keep it until he should pay me the debt he owed me, but he +was before me, and a scuffle ensued, he declaring that he would not +suffer me to keep the ring in my possession, and I being equally firm in +refusing to let him keep it in his without first paying me my three +pauls. + +"He promised faithfully to pay me the debt when he should have changed +one of the pieces of money that fell to his lot; until then, however, I +remained firm in my resolution. Words had by this time led to blows, and +the conflict was getting desperate, when, it being now fairly morning, +we were interrupted by the sacristan entering the church to light the +candles on the altar. + +"Starting back in wonderment and terror at what he naturally believed to +be a miraculous resuscitation, it it was some time before he was +sufficiently calm to hear from me the true account of the case. + +"At length, recovering from his stupor, his eyes sparkled with an +avaricious light at the divided treasure on the ground, and his skinny +fingers opened and shut convulsively. Then gazing furtively over each +shoulder, he put his finger to his lip, winked, and whispered hoarsely, +'My friends, the secret of your newly-acquired wealth is as yet only +known to us three. I think you will find it to your interest that it +should not be known to more, as in that case it might come to the ears +of the arch-priest, who would be sure to deprive you of every penny of +it, in consideration of its being found in his church. Reflect well, my +friends; there is but one way to swear me to secrecy.' + +"'And that is?' asked I. + +"'To let me have an equal share of the treasure,' said he, impudently. +'What other way would you buy my silence?' + +"We both violently opposed this proposition, considering it no less than +an act of brigandage, and however Peppe and I might differ in opinion on +many subjects, we both agreed that this was a piece of extortion to +which we were not bound to submit. I said that I would sooner await the +decision of the arch-priest, which would perhaps, after all, not be such +as he--the sacristan--represented it, and Peppe swore that he would +knock his dastardly brains out in the middle of the church before he +would let him touch a _baiocco_. + +"'Think again, my friends,' said the sacristan, exchanging his customary +look of sanctity for one of deep cunning and malignity. 'Think again, +and decide quickly. In another minute the arch-priest will enter the +church to perform mass. All the inhabitants of the village will be +pouring in. There is no time to be lost. Either let me have a third of +the treasure, or I shall swear by all the saints to the arch-priest that +I caught _you_, Signor Antonio, in the act of robbing the alms-box, and +that the Madonna wrought a miracle before my very eyes by raising _you_, +Signor Guiseppe, from the dead in order to chastise the burglar for his +sacrilege.' + +"'He will not believe thee, thou imp of Satan!' roared Peppe. + +"'We shall see,' rejoined the sacristan, with a malicious chuckle, and +rubbing his hands. + +"At this moment the arch-priest entered, attired in his robes, and all +the congregation at his heels. + +"'Oh, Signor Arch-priest!' began the sacristan, in a loud voice, before +the assembled multitude, rolling up his eyes and crossing himself with +mock devotion, 'I have witnessed this morning a miracle with these very +eyes.' + +"'A miracle!' exclaimed the arch-priest and all the congregation in +chorus. + +"'Ay,' persisted the sacristan; 'a genuine, undeniable miracle. As I +entered the church this morning to light the candles on the altar, I +discovered this burglar (pointing to me) in the act of robbing the +alms-box. He had just succeeded in extracting all that treasure that you +see on the ground before you, and which was doubtless all of it placed +in the box by our blessed Lady's own hands for the use of her holy +church. For who else in our little village could have amassed such a +sum, or, having amassed it, would have been willing to put it all of a +heap within the alms-box? + +"'Well, Signor Arciprete, just as the sacrilegious knave was about to +count his unhallowed gains, lo! a miracle, such as these eyes never +before beheld, and may never see again before they close for ever in +peace.' + +"'Well, well,' said the arch-priest, impatiently. + +"'Well, Signor Arciprete mio, will you believe it? Yon image of our +blessed Lady suddenly raised its arm in a commanding attitude, and with +a voice of ineffable sweetness blended with severity cried out to yon +corpse, or, rather, that man, who _was_ a corpse only last night, as all +good people may recollect, "Corpse! arise and seize yon sacrilegious +ruffian by the scruff of the neck!" The words were no sooner out of the +blessed image's mouth, when up leapt the corpse from his bier, and +seizing the burglar with an iron grasp, continued to hold him until +vostra Reverenza entered the church!' + +"The arch-priest remained dumbfounded for a time, not knowing what to +say; but just as I was about to break silence and try to exculpate +myself, my voice was immediately drowned by the multitude crying out, +'Down with him! down with him! Down with the thief, the burglar, the +heathen! Let him not seek to exculpate himself with lies. Hear him not; +he is guilty of sacrilege! Down with the Protestant! Blessed be the holy +man who was raised from the dead and the good sacristan to whose eyes +the miracle was vouchsafed! Down with the Jew, the Protestant, the +heretic! _Away_ with the miscreant! away with him.' + +"I saw and heard no more. Hurried away, midst the hootings and +execrations of the crowd, I was flung into prison, where I have remained +ever since the morning." + +There was much in Antonio's story that moved me to laughter, though not +a smile appeared upon the face of the narrator himself throughout the +whole recital. There was an air of truth, too, about his manner that +left no doubt in my mind that he had retailed the facts of the case as +they had occurred without adding to or taking from them in the minutest +particular. + +I was then able to tell him the sequel of the story; how the arch-priest +had put the greater part of the treasure into the alms-box, and, for the +rest, the sum being too large to enter all of it into the box, he had +taken charge of it, together with the diamond ring, and had designed the +whole sum to be expended for the benefit of the church. + +On hearing this he replied that he had rather that the money should be +disposed of in that way than that blackleg of a sacristan should get a +penny of it. He said that he was perfectly sure that the arch-priest had +only so disposed of the money from a sincere belief that it had been +miraculously placed in the alms-box, he himself being the dupe of his +own rascally sacristan to whom he trusted implicitly. + +He was of opinion that had he been allowed to explain himself to the +arch-priest, his reverence would have granted him, if not his proper +share of the sum, at least some portion of it. I promised him that I +would lay his case before the arch-priest, and do what I could to get +him liberated from prison. He thanked me, and slipping a small coin into +the turnkey's hand, I quitted the cell. + +It was now quite dark, so I thought I would make the best of my way +home, where my supper awaited me. The following morning was rainy, and +not being able to work out of doors, I resolved to call again upon the +arch-priest, and finding him at home, I related to him my interview with +the prisoner and the statement he gave of the case. + +My reverend friend looked thoughtful for a time, shook his head, and +hinted that the prisoner's veracity might not be depended on. + +"However," he added, "the tale seems feasible, and I desire nothing more +than that the prisoner should have justice. I will probe the matter to +the bottom, and if he has spoken the truth I will get him liberated as +soon as possible, and will moreover give out publicly in the church +that what we had erroneously taken for a miracle was nothing more than a +curious combination of circumstances perfectly natural, though strange, +and that I had been imposed upon by the villainous and profane lies of +my sacristan. It will require time to prove all this; meanwhile, Antonio +must take his trial at Gennazzano. He left here at five o'clock this +morning." + +"So early!" I exclaimed. "I wanted, if possible, to prevent his going." + +"You take great interest in his case," said my friend. + +"I like to see mysteries cleared up as soon as possible," I replied. "I +know that the love of the marvellous is so great among the ignorant in +these parts, that they prefer persisting to believe in a miracle, even +in the face of facts which explain it away in the most natural manner +possible. This proneness to attribute to supernatural causes everything +that we are unable to account for on the first glance, and to yield +ourselves up implicitly to the belief of what is irrational, absurd, +improbable, without first weighing thoroughly the _pros_ and _cons_ of +the case, is one of the unmistakable signs of a barbarous and +uncultivated intellect, and ought to be discouraged as a trait unworthy +the dignity of human nature by everyone who has the improvement and +well-being of his fellow creatures at heart." + +The arch-priest smiled drily, as if he had taken my last speech to +himself; then, after a pause, he began: + +"No Christian man will deny that miracles have been wrought, or will +dare to call in question those of our blessed Lord or of His saints. If, +then, he acknowledges these, why should he try to combat the existence +of modern miracles, seeing that everything is possible to the Almighty? +What! Shall we limit the power of the Omnipotent, or dare to measure +things infinite by our finite faculties? It would be the height of +presumption for anyone to maintain that these things cannot be, or that +our Heavenly Father cares less for His creatures now than he did in the +days of yore." + +"No wise man, Christian or otherwise," I replied, "would deny that any +wonder were possible to the Divine author of the universe, the Great +Source of all things wonderful. Yet science, the gift of God Himself, +mind you, since He in the first place created us with intellect to see +into, in some measure, however darkly, His wonderful workings, in order +that we might be taught to admire them and thereby come to a more +perfect knowledge of His unspeakable greatness--science, I say, reveals +to us that our universal Father rules all nature by means of certain +fixed laws, from which we have no reason to believe that He would turn +aside for a trifle--to excite mere wonderment among an ignorant +multitude by performing such a conjuring trick as a bleeding crucifix or +weeping Madonna. Our Lord Himself was chary of His miracles, and when +asked for a sign would often refuse; yet when He did perform miracles, +they were invariably to do good, and not to excite wonderment. If many +intelligent people disbelieve in modern miracles, it is because they +have not come within their experience, or that many seeming miracles +they have been able to explain by natural causes. + +"They have been made, moreover, doubly cautious in receiving hearsay +miracles for gospel from the numerous cases of imposture that have been +discovered among the priesthood in all countries where the Roman +Catholic religion has prevailed. Then, why should miracles only be +wrought in little sequestered villages, among the ignorant and +superstitious, and not in large towns, in the presence of an intelligent +and investigating population? Why, moreover, should they be more +prevalent in mountainous districts than in any others? Why? Save that +from the topographical configuration of the country, the inhabitants of +mountain villages are necessarily more shut out from intercommunication +with their kind than the dwellers in more accessible regions, and +consequently cut off from that interchange of ideas so necessary to the +development of the human intellect. + +"Because their minds thus necessarily forced into one narrow channel +till the intelligence borders on that of the brute, and is kept down to +that pitch by a coarse and monotonous diet, which hard labour enables +them to earn but scantily, and, finally, because by intermarrying +closely among their own narrow population they reproduce offspring, if +anything, more stunted in intelligence than themselves--to say nothing +of other natural influences which help to produce cretinism, goitre, and +deformity--and thus shutting out from their poor benighted intellects +their last chance of fair play. + +"Ignorant by force of circumstances, superstitious because they are +ignorant, naturally discontented, with a life of hard labour that barely +supplies that life's necessaries, what wonder that the human mind thus +stunted and oppressed by all its surroundings, should seek an outlet? +That that outlet should be one that held out promises of a better time +to come than they are ever likely to see in their plodding every-day +life? + +"What wonder that such a one should throw himself more entirely upon the +comforts of the religion that his village priest holds out to him than +one more contented with his earthly lot, or that, superstitious as he is +ignorant, he should daily hope for some miracle to be wrought for his +own special benefit? Is it too much to infer that a mind in which faith +reigns supreme and reason is hushed to sleep may be deluded by its +senses--that it may imagine it sees or hears anything that it desires to +see or hear? + +"Is this an irrational solution of the stories so common of pictures of +the Virgin or other saints moving their eyes or speaking? Then just +consider when the average intelligence of a scanty population is at this +ebb, what temptation this holds out to the priest of the parish whose +office it is to rule his little flock by maintaining order and +restraining crime, to strike awe into his congregation and keep alive +their fanatical faith by some pious fraud in the shape of a crucifix +that bleeds by an easy mechanical contrivance, an image of the Madonna +that sheds tears, or a picture that rolls its eyes! + +"These tricks were known to the heathen priests of antiquity long before +the introduction of Christianity, and have been repeatedly carried out +since by the priests of Rome. It is to the successful delusion of these +poor benighted wretches that the Church of Rome owes her vaunted +laurels. These are your miracle seers! To these alone do the saints +vouchsafe to perform their wonders! As for the intelligent and wise, if +they go to a church on purpose to see a miracle, and come away without +seeing it, they are told by the priest that it is because they lack +faith, that they do not go in the proper spirit, that their natures are +too material, that such sights are reserved only for the faithful, and +that few are sufficiently spiritualised to behold them. + +"So you see there is no way of catching a priest napping. He will always +find some hole to creep out of. Like an eel, he will slip through your +fingers at the very moment that you may think you have got him. Should +any individual be bold enough to force his way through the wonder-gazing +crowd, and publicly demolish the miracle-working image or picture and +reveal to the devout bystanders the paltry mechanism by which they have +been deluded, people's eyes would at length be opened, all miracles be +liable to suspicion, and reason at length admitted into some share of +man's being. + +"But there are difficulties that beset so bold an expedient. In the +first place, a man must be possessed of more than an ordinary amount of +courage to face the fury of a fanatical mob whom he knows to be ready to +tear him in pieces should he attempt to rob them of their darling +prejudices, or dare to break one chip off their sacred wood or stone. + +"Secondly, the wonder-working image or picture is generally in an +inaccessible place, high up on the wall or surrounded by railings, to +prevent a too close scrutiny. Thirdly, the miracle often exists merely +in the imaginations of devout believers, without any aid of mechanism on +the part of the priest. In this case, if any man were daring enough to +step forward and openly to break in pieces the supposed miraculous image +or picture, and, having done so, was unable to detect in the fragments +any trace of machinery or means of imposture whatever, the fame of the +miracle would then gain ground, and the daring unbeliever be guilty of +sacrilege." + +When I had got thus far, my friend the arch-priest drew himself up and +was about to reply in a lengthy rejoinder, when he was suddenly +interrupted by the servant girl of his household bursting hurriedly into +the room and crying out at the top of her voice, "Oh, Signor Arciprete, +have you heard the news? The _vetturino_ of the mail has just arrived. +He says that the night before last the mail was stopped on its way to +Rome by a band of brigands, who robbed the passengers, consisting of six +English gentlemen and others, of everything they had about them. Gold, +silver, and paper money--quite a heap--besides some gold and silver +watches, and, among other things, a diamond ring of great value, +belonging to one of the English gentlemen. The soldiers are on the track +of the brigands already, and a heavy reward is offered to whosoever +shall give such information as shall lead to their discovery. + +"Poor Luigi! He says that he himself was robbed of his silver watch and +paper money, amounting to forty pauls, all he possessed in the world. I +do hope they'll catch the nasty wretches. I myself would see them +executed. _Gesu Maria!_ What hungry wolves! But I must be off now to +tell all the people in the village, or else that horrid gossip Maria +Giovanna will be before me, and I always like to be first." + +So saying, she bounced out of the room, slamming the door after her, and +we were left once more alone. + +There was a pause, and my friend was the first to break silence. The +thread of his ideas had been broken by the girl's sudden entry into the +room with the startling news, so he did not resume his discourse, but +after a while observed:-- + +"I suppose you see in the wild tale of this girl a corroboration of the +prisoner's statement, and a link in the chain of evidence." + +"Well," said I, "it looks like it, does it not? The heaps of gold and +silver, the paper money, the gold and silver watches, and, moreover, the +diamond ring. It certainly looks as if the mystery were beginning to +clear up." + +"Softly, my friend, softly," rejoined the priest, who still grudged the +event to natural causes. "Do not be rash in jumping at conclusions, for +the evidence is not yet complete. Let us first satisfy ourselves that +the girl's tale is true, for reports get wind about our village--one +hardly knows how--without the least vestige of truth in them. I will +speak to the _vetturino_ myself, and if the tale prove true, or partly +true--for, depend upon it, the story will have lost nothing in the +telling--need it do away entirely with the miracle? + +"For instance, suppose instead of being a band of a dozen brigands, it +should have been only one brigand, and that brigand your friend Antonio +himself. That he alone, laden with his treasure, and being attracted by +the light of a candle that he descried through the chinks of the church +door, forced his way into the church to count over his booty. Supposing +this to have been the case, the miracle may, nevertheless, have occurred +precisely as related to me by the sacristan." + +"You are very ingenious," said I, "in suggesting an improbability in +order to support your miracle, but, if you recollect, the sacristan +declared that he caught Antonio in the act of breaking open the +alms-box." + +"That may have been a mistake caused by the excited state of his mind +on the occasion. However, I will see Luigi at once, and learn from his +own lips the true state of the case, for I am as anxious to get at the +truth as you are." + +"Then let us lose no time in speaking to him at once," said I. "The +weather is clearing up now, and as I have nothing better to do, I will +accompany you in your stroll down to his house." + +This was agreed on; so, putting on our hats, we found ourselves once +more among the dirty streets, until we reached the house of the +_vetturino_. Here we found him in front of his own door, surrounded by a +crowd of eager peasants, who were listening with avidity to the recital +of his adventures. + +"_Buon giorno, Signor Arciprete_," said Luigi, raising his hat as we +approached. + +"_Buon giorno, Luigi_," responded the arch-priest. "There is a strange +tale current in the village about you and your passengers having been +robbed on the high road. Can it be true." + +"Perfectly true, Reverenza," was the reply. "Only the night before last +we were assaulted by at least a dozen banditti armed to the teeth, and +my passengers, six of whom were English gentlemen, along with myself." + +"Stay," said the arch-priest. "You are perfectly sure there were a dozen +of them?" + +"A dozen at the very least, your Reverence, I could swear." + +"Tell me," said the arch-priest, "did you see Antonio the prisoner +amongst them." + +"Antonio?" inquired the _vetturino_, in extreme surprise. + +"Ay," replied the arch-priest. "He that hath been accused of robbing the +church and is now at Gennazzano awaiting his trial. You will have heard +the tale by this time." + +"I certainly did hear a wonderful story, Reverenza, but did not know how +far to credit it," replied the _vetturino_. "The night was very dark and +I could recognise no faces. + +"But, _Corpi di Bacco_! Antonio! Why I always considered Antonio as an +honest man, a simple _vignauolo_ who earned his bread by the sweat of +his brow, and whom, for his steady plodding, the saints had awarded by +granting him a better share of this world's goods than most of his +fellows." + +"Ay, ay," said several bystanders at once, "we all thought so, too, +Signor Arciprete. Still, what we all saw with our own eyes, only +yesterday morning, made us change our opinion." + +The arch-priest looked thoughtful, and then enquired of Luigi if he knew +anything of Peppe, the man who had been raised from the dead. + +"Peppe!" exclaimed the _vetturino_, laughing, "ay, do I, and a greater +rascal never walked God's earth. That is why I was so cautious in +believing a story in which Peppe the goatherd was mixed up. I never yet +heard any tale in which he figured but had some devilry at the bottom of +it." + +"You do not believe, then, in the miracle?" + +"Not upon such testimony," replied Luigi. "I should believe _you_, +Signor Arciprete, if you had seen it with your own eyes," he added, +respectfully. + +"All I can declare is," replied the priest, "that I saw the man Peppe, +apparently dead, and decked out as a corpse, placed within the church +upon his bier, and the morning after, as I entered the church to say +mass, I saw him as alive as ever again, still in his shroud, and +appearing to dispute the treasure with Antonio. As for the rest, it was +communicated to me by Ricardo, my sacristan. Do you know Ricardo?" + +"I do," replied Luigi, in a tone of deep meaning. + +"Well," said the arch-priest, "what do you think of him?" + +"Well, Signor Arciprete," said the _vetturino_, hesitatingly, "as he is +your sacristan, perhaps you would not like to hear _what_ I think of +him." + +"Speak out, man," said the arch-priest. "If I find him unworthy of his +post, I shall discharge him. Come, now, what do you know about him?" + +"Since your Reverence presses me," replied the _vetturino_, "I must +confess that I have found him to be just such another scamp as Peppe the +goatherd, if not worse, and, in spite of all his mock piety, I have +found him to be as cunning a knave as I know for miles round. Grasping +as an eagle, wily as a serpent, and withal as poor spirited as a hare, +seeking to cover his knavery with the cloak of religion; imagining that +no one can see through his hypocrisy." + +"You surprise me," exclaimed the arch-priest; "but what proof have you +of his knavery?" + +"Well, in the first place," replied the _vetturino_, "he is in debt with +almost every man in the village, myself among the number, and not in one +instance has he been known to repay what he has borrowed. I have pressed +him over and over again, but he always sneaks out of it by some lame +excuse, even when I know he has been able to pay me. He wanted to marry +my sister once, because he thought there was a little money to be had, +but when he spoke to my mother about her dowry, and received for reply +that she did not intend to give her daughter to one who sought her for +her dowry, and that he who would marry her must support her himself, he +very soon slunk off. Not that I'd have given my consent to such a +scarecrow marrying my sister, even if he _had_ been less grasping. Then, +would you believe it, your Reverence, he actually had the impudence to +insult my sister when he encountered her alone, as he thought, in the +campagna. He little knew that I was only a short distance behind. I came +upon him unawares in time to overhear part of his impertinent +conversation, and I gave him such a thrashing as will make him remember +Luigi the _vetturino_ as long as he lives. + +"Then, there is no doubt that it was he who picked the pocket of poor +old Matteo when he happened to be drunk; everybody believes that, +besides several other dirty tricks that I will not weary your patience +by relating, though I could if I would. As for cheating at cards, he is +quite an adept, and yet, with all this, he walks with his eyes +hypocritically fixed on the ground, counting his beads and crossing +himself, as if he were a very saint. But he doesn't take _me_ in, your +Reverence, however he may impose on our simple peasantry, for when a man +is a _vetturino_, he sees other towns besides his own, and gets to know +people of all sorts. I have been in Rome, and have picked up a thing or +two." + +"Well, enough for the present, Luigi," said the arch-priest. "I will +enquire into this matter; meanwhile I intend to take a stroll with this +gentleman. Till we meet again," and he waved his hand to the +_vetturino_. + +"A rivederla, Signor Arciprete," responded Luigi, raising his hat +respectfully. + +"You see now," said I to my friend, as we strolled together from the +narrow streets into one of the main roads, "that there is some evidence +to support my view of the case. I never did think much of your +sacristan; his face was enough for me, but after the evidence you have +just heard, methinks you would do well to rid yourself of such an +ornament to your church." + +"It is odd," replied my friend, "that I never suspected him of being +that sort of character. On the contrary, I thought him a most exemplary +young man. It is not long ago since he informed me of his ardent desire +to enter holy orders." + +"A fine priest he'd make!" said I, laughing. "The church has no need of +him, for there are too many of his sort among your priesthood already. +Not that he wouldn't be popular," I added, soothingly. "On the contrary, +he would be able to manufacture miracles by the cart-load, I warrant, in +order to satisfy his flock's thirst for the marvellous. He would +probably die in the odour of sanctity and be canonised after his death." + +"My friend, my friend," said the arch-priest, gravely, "our church is +not, as you think, rash in canonising a man a saint. Our lawsuits are +extremely rigid, and long--so much so, that many a holy man has been +rejected as a saint on account of the insufficient evidence of his +miracles." + +Then he proceeded to enlarge upon the miracles of the saints of old and +all the legendary lore of his religion, and thus he entertained me until +we found ourselves once more at the door of his house. + +"Signor Arciprete," said the aforementioned servant girl, whom we +discovered on the threshold, conversing with an elderly peasant, "here +is a man who wishes to speak to you in private. He says he has something +to communicate." + +"Show him into my study," said the arch-priest. "I suppose you do not +mind my friend being present?" said he, addressing the man and glancing +at me. + +"No, Reverenza," said the peasant, shutting the door of the priest's +study behind him, "it was only to bring you some information concerning +the brigands." + +"Ha!" exclaimed the arch-priest, pricking up his ears. "Proceed." + +"Well, your Reverence," began the peasant, "hearing that a reward had +been offered to anyone able to give such information as should lead to +the discovery of the brigands, I thought I would make known what +happened to me on the very night of the robbery, which I hope may prove +of some use to the brigand-catchers. + +"It was long past midnight when I was returning from Civitella, having +purchased a hog there, which I was leading along by a string attached to +its hind leg, when in the darkness I heard the sound of many voices, and +upon listening attentively I recognised them as belonging to the +brigands, into whose hands I had fallen twice before, and I began to be +alarmed for my hog, which I made sure would be seized as a prize, and +accordingly hid myself behind a tree until the whole band should have +passed by. I was near enough to hear every word they said, but their +voices seemed neither to grow louder nor to grow less. + +"At length the moon breaking from behind a cloud, revealed to me the +features of the brigand chief. He was standing erect whilst the rest of +his band were squatting or lounging around him in a circle. He then +proceeded to harangue them. + +"I trembled from head to foot, and felt that my only chance of escaping +observation was to continue rooted to the spot without disturbing the +dead leaves that lay strewn at my feet, but the wretched animal, my +companion, commenced grunting and squealing, as if purposely to mark my +whereabouts, and I made sure every moment that the brigands would be +down upon us both. + +"'Hush!' I cried, coaxingly. + +"'Grunt,' went the brute, louder than ever. + +"'Madonna mia Santissima!' I muttered, crossing myself, 'preserve a poor +man and his pig from the depredations of these marauders!' + +"I know not if our good lady vouchsafed to hear my prayer, but certain +it was that the brigands paid no attention whatever to either of us, so +engrossed did they all seem with the oration of their chief, every word +of which fell distinctly on my ear in the stillness of the night, and I +must own that the tenor of it surprised me, for instead of the profane +oaths, fiendish laughter, or the planning of some new daring exploit, as +I should have expected from such men, I now listened to a pious +discourse, filled with godly phrases such as you, Signor Arciprete, +might have used yourself from the pulpit. I think I can give you almost +word for word the discourse as it ran. + +"'My comrades,' he commenced, 'we have for many years toiled together in +an arduous and perilous profession; at war with society, wresting from +the innocent and good their hard-earned substance to supply our own +wants, instead of getting our own livelihood honestly and by the sweat +of our brow, as God hath decreed. Oppressed in our turn by the avengers +of our victims, we are hunted like wolves, and have to take refuge from +our pursuers in the most inaccessible parts of the mountains, in caves, +in forests and such-like secret places. + +"'Rest has departed from our slumbers--for what man can rest in the fear +that the vigilant myrmidons of the law with which he has lived at enmity +are ever on his track? + +"'Like Ishmael, our hand is against every man, and every man's hand is +against us. This is the lot of the brigand, as we all know. Born and +bred in danger, nurtured from the breast, not with the milk of human +kindness, but by the blood of his fellow men; his childish joys, the +groans and sufferings of his mutilated victims; feasting on horrors from +his earliest youth, unbridled and brutal in his appetites, his highest +ambition through life to be a hardier ruffian than his father before +him. + +"'Have we not, my friends, committed every sort of atrocity of which +degraded humanity is capable? Nay, revelled in it, impiously defying +that very God whom we ought humbly and reverently to thank as the Author +of our beings? Let each of us look back upon our past lives and ask +ourselves how we have thanked Almighty God for his innumerable +blessings. + +"'How have we repaid His ineffable love and care over us? Has it not +been by subverting His wise laws, despising His holy ordinances, +brutalising our natures, even to a degree lower than the very brutes +themselves? My brethren, we may be powerful against the weak and against +the law, yet there is One above us more powerful than ourselves, to Whom +we shall all one day have to give an account. Let us fight no longer +against God; for what is man when matched against Omnipotence. Deem it +not cowardice, my friends, to relinquish a life of evil now that your +souls have received the light of truth, but rather thank God for His +infinite mercy in vouchsafing so great a miracle through His Holy Mother +to save our souls from the bottomless pit. + +"'I confess that almost from my earliest youth I never have looked upon +religion as aught but priest-craft, and scoffed at all miracles as +tricks of the priesthood to impose upon the ignorant and simple; but +what shall we say, my brethren, to the miracle we have all so lately +witnessed, or how shall we attempt to explain it away? Was it not the +intervention of the blessed Virgin herself to scare us--the impious +desecraters of her holy Church--from our evil ways? Could anything short +of Divine power have raised the dead at the lonely hour of midnight +within the very church itself, and have struck such terror into us, the +hardy sons of the mountains, who never yet quailed before mortal man? + +"'Tell me, my friends, if in all my wild life, in all our joint +villainies and wicked enterprises, in the very face of death, if you +have ever known me to lack courage before to-night?' + +"'Never, Capitano, never,' cried several voices at once. 'We know your +courage to be undaunted, and that there is no mortal man that you stand +in awe of; but when it comes to running counter to spirits raised from +the dead, or devils from hell, that is quite another sort of thing, and +a man need be the arch-fiend himself to be without fear.' + +"'Just so,' replied the brigand chief; 'then, since none of you are able +to accuse me with a lack of human courage, you may know that my +exhortation to you to repent and alter the course of your unholy lives +is not the mere words of a craven soul who fears the law and seeks to +shun the just penalty of his misdeeds, but those of a repentant sinner +miraculously brought to conversion through the intervention of the +blessed Madonna, whom, in her boundless mercy, she had deigned to bring +to a sense of his wickedness, even in the very midst of his crimes. + +"'Let us turn from our evil ways, oh, my comrades! Take the advice of a +brother sinner, more deeply dyed in iniquity than any of yourselves, and +repent ere it be too late! What can atone for all our past wickedness +save the utter renouncement of our evil ways, a life of rigid penance +and the entire devotion of ourselves to God? Marvel not, then, my +comrades in wickedness, that you hear the man once your chief and +foremost in wrong, exhort you to throw down your arms, divest yourselves +of your trappings, and don the holy convent garb, in order that by a +life of fasting and prayer you may endeavour to open up a communication +with Heaven, and wrest your souls from the hands of the Devil. I myself +will set you the example. + +"'As I have been the first to incite you to evil, so will I be the first +to exhort you to repentance. Follow me, all ye that have a mind to save +your souls. Yet I no longer command, but entreat you for your own good, +for I aspire no longer to be your chief, but to live humbly as your +fellow labourer in Christ, to whom be all honour and glory, now and for +evermore. Amen.' + +"As the chief brigand terminated his harangue the pale grey of the +morning sky lighted up the faces of the whole band, so that I could now +distinguish the features of each individual and the various expressions +of their countenances. Several appeared deeply affected, with tears of +repentance standing in their eyes, others sullen and obdurate. Some with +a look of vacant astonishment, others scowling and suspicious, or with a +suppressed grin. + +"Their chief's harangue seemed to call for a reply, and there was a +silence of some minutes, during which period the members of the band +appeared debating among themselves by means of winking and nudging as to +what their reply should be, and who should take it upon himself to speak +for the rest. I observed that they looked towards a sturdy brigand, whom +next to their chief they honoured with the deepest veneration. To him +they turned as the mouthpiece of the gang, and seemed to intimate that +they would abide by his decision. + +"This man, who appeared wrapt in thought, finding himself thus appealed +to, and feeling that he represented the sentiments of the whole band, at +length addressed his chief in these words:-- + +"'Signor Capitano, we are ready as ever to follow you to the very jaws +of death, according to our oath. We have served you long and faithfully +in all your deeds of daring and crime, and we will not abandon you now +in your change of sentiment, knowing, as we do, that you are still the +same brave and generous man as ever, and as such will always remain, in +whatever capacity, whether as the lawless brigand of the mountains, or +as a holy monk in the retirement of the convent cell; therefore, in the +presence of the whole band I repeat my former vows of fidelity and +friendship, and reiterate my protestations of following you through +life, to the utmost ends of the earth, if need be. The discipline of our +monastic life will be merely the exchanging one life of hardships for +another no less hard, therefore we cannot be charged with cowardice or +idleness, since there are duties before us that will call forth all the +courage and endurance of our natures. + +"'As for learning and psalm-singing, it has never been exactly my +speciality; nevertheless, I quite agree with you, Captain, that the life +we have been in the habit of leading for years past is not the best to +suit us for Heaven, and I am not ashamed to say that I have long had +qualms of conscience for my past misdeeds, and had resolved upon +repentance at some future period, but never did I look back upon the +past with such horror and remorse as at the present moment, having now +been brought to a thorough knowledge of my crimes and of the bountiful +mercy of our blessed Lady to us miserable sinners, as shown in the +undoubted miracle that we all so clearly witnessed. + +"'After having received so great a proof of the blessed Virgin's love +and care for us, would it not be the blackest ingratitude to continue in +mortal sin? Would it not be the most egregious folly as well, after +having had Divine warning to alter our lives, still to persist in +preferring death and hell to the sublime promises held out to the good? + +"'Why longer delay, then, my friends? Think of your precious souls, and +repent while there is still breath left in your bodies. It may not be +long ere we shall be captured and executed. How shall we pass our last +moments on earth, or how brook the vengeance of a just God with all our +crimes upon our heads? + +"'Enough, then, of pusillanimous disbelief and impotent struggling +against Divine will. Let us hasten to the nearest convent, confess our +sins, then, with a clean breast and humble spirit, endeavour to atone +for the past by a life of penitence and prayer, that we may fearlessly +meet our end as men and Christians.' + +"This exhortation was universally applauded, and as every man is +governed by the public opinion of the little circle wherein he lives and +moves, so even those who had shown themselves obdurate and suspicious +felt themselves forced to yield to the overwhelming tide of changed +opinion, feeling ashamed of being left in the minority. + +"The chief, doffing his hat, fell upon his knees and thanked the Most +High for his conversion and that of his whole band, in which prayer all +the rest reverently joined. Then rising from their knees, but with heads +still uncovered, they walked on towards the convent, singing an 'Ave +Maria,' by the way. + +"I did not know what to make of all this, for as yet I had heard nothing +of the miracle, but I had hardly reached home safely with my pig, when I +heard from almost every mouth in the village of the great miracle +wrought on the night of the robbery." + +The peasant having concluded his narrative, was dismissed with an +assurance from the arch-priest that should his revelation lead to the +capture of the brigands he would be duly rewarded. Nevertheless, he +informed him that he was not the person to apply to, and that he should +mention the affair to the authorities. + +Being left once more alone with my friend, I asked him what he thought +of the man's tale, and whether or no it corroborated the statements made +by Luigi and Antonio. All three witnesses bore testimony to a plurality +of brigands, which seemed to me completely to overthrow my worthy +friend's hypothesis as to there being only one brigand. + +I confess, though, I was still puzzled by the peasant's wonderful story. +I could hardly bring myself to believe in the utter and simultaneous +conversion of a whole band of brigands, even though they _had_ been +terrified and thwarted for a moment in their crimes by an apparent +miracle, and yet what object could the man have had in inventing such a +lie, knowing, as he must have done, that he was not entitled to the +reward until after the capture of the brigands. + +My friend the priest suggested that possibly he might have been fool +enough to expect payment beforehand, and that he had concocted this +fable on the strength of it. The man was simple enough, it is true, but +there was an air of truth about the manner in which he told his tale +that induced me to give credit to it, strange though it appeared. + +In any case, I knew that the truth or falsity of the man's statement +would soon be made manifest, for the brigand-catchers, once sent off in +the direction indicated by the peasant, would not fail to call at the +convent and inquire if the brigands were taking shelter there, in which +case the monks would be forced to deliver up their charge into the hands +of justice. As it happened, the brigand-catchers had already started in +search of their prey, though in quite an opposite direction. + +But let us return to our landlady, who had been impatiently awaiting me, +having now prepared my noon-day meal some time. + +"The signor is late to-day," she said, as I entered. "I fear he will +find the macaroni cold." + +"No matter," I replied. "I have a good appetite, from having been very +busy all the morning." + +"The signor has been busy--yes? And yet I notice that he left all his +painting tools at home," observed the landlady. + +"True, my good woman," I replied. "The morning being rainy, I was +prevented from painting out-of-doors, but I have been very busy, +nevertheless." + +"Indeed, Signor," she exclaimed, "what could have occupied you so much +as to forget your dinner, if I may be permitted to ask?" + +I expected this question, knowing that my hostess inherited the vice of +curiosity, in common with the rest of her sex, in a marked degree. + +"How was I occupied?" I repeated. "Why, how else than by searching to +the bottom that confounded miracle you were so full of all yesterday and +the day before." + +"Oh, Signor, how you talk!" exclaimed my hostess, horrified. "What! do +you mean to say that the Blessed Virgin has not wrought among us the +greatest miracle ever heard of in these parts?" + +"Well, if this is one of the greatest," I replied, "I should advise her +to give up miracles for the future, for she is no hand at them." + +"How say you, Signor?" cried the landlady, shocked at my levity, and +crossing herself again and again. "Oh, you Protestants believe in +nothing! What! Is it not a great miracle to raise the dead?" + +"It would be, if it were true," I interrupted. + +"If it were true!" she repeated. "How should it not be true? Have you +not heard that the arch-priest himself believes it, that all the village +believes it, that the good Ricardo the sacristan was an eye-witness of +the miracle?" + +"I must have better testimony than his in order to believe in the +miraculous character of the story you related to me. However, I have +since looked into the case myself and find it to be a gross piece of +imposture." + +"_Imposture!_" cried the hostess. "Impossible! Who has been +imposing--his reverence, perhaps?" + +"No," I said; "the arch-priest was only one of the dupes. His rascal of +a sacristan was at the bottom of all the mischief. That scoundrel Peppe, +too, was another prominent actor in the farce." + +"What do I hear?" exclaimed my landlady; "the pious Ricardo and the holy +Peppe called 'rascal' and 'scoundrel.' You surely mistake their +characters." + +"We are all liable to make mistakes sometimes," said I; "but I will +hope, for their own sakes, that they are not as black as they appear." + +"You mystify me, Signor," she replied; "but I am sure you must be +labouring under a gross mistake, for as a proof of Peppe's being a holy +man, he has been doing nothing but miracles since he was raised from the +dead." + +"What is that you say?" cried I, pricking up my ears. + +"Why, Signor, you must know that as soon as Peppe left the church on the +morning of the miracle he was followed by a great crowd of the +faithful." + +"Of the curious and the idle, you mean," I observed, interrupting her. +"Well, proceed." + +"Who followed him to the door of his house," she continued; "and as +divers of them were labouring under sore diseases, they besought him to +touch them that they might be healed. Well, very many of them went away +cured; others, he said, he was unable to cure on account of their want +of faith." + +"The artful dog!" said I, smiling. "Now, I'll be bound to say he made +all those who imagined themselves cured pay him well." + +"Oh, they all gave him something, of course, from a _baiocco_ upwards, +according to their means. They tell me the worthy man has made a heap of +money by his miraculous touch." + +"Miraculous humbug!" I exclaimed, half-amused and half-angry at the +success of such a vagabond. + +"_Humbug!_ say you still?" cried my hostess. "How can it be humbug, if +he really _has_ cured the sick?" + +"Come now," said I; "perhaps you will oblige me with a list of the +diseases that this new saint professes to have cured." + +"Willingly," she replied. + +"In the first case, there is old Margherita, who lives at the bottom of +the dell, and has been suffering much from nervous headaches; he but +touched her forehead, and she walked away declaring herself cured. Then +there was poor old Carluccio, who goes about begging from one place to +another. He suffered much from rheumatism; but having been touched by +Peppe on the parts affected, he immediately pronounced himself much +better, if not quite cured. Then the girl Lucia, who lives half-way down +the hill, and who used to suffer from the jumps, she likewise has not +complained since. Then, again, Pietro, the vignauolo, who was suffering +from stomach-ache, felt himself considerably better some few hours after +he had been touched by Peppe. Brigida, the daughter of old Angeluccio, +has for some time been the victim of a deep melancholy. Since she +received the magic touch she has done nothing but laugh and sing, +Giacomuccio, the idiot boy, complained of loss of appetite, but after +Peppe had touched him he went home and ate up all the _maritozza_ in the +house. Then the number of children he has cured is something fabulous; +at least, so their parents say." + +"Well, well, my good woman," said I; "but these are all trifles. Can you +give me no great cure that he has effected, such as giving sight to the +blind, causing the lame to walk, the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, +and the like?" + +"One blind man came to be cured," replied my hostess; "but he, so Peppe +said, had not sufficient faith, so of course no cure could be effected. +It was the same with a cripple who had a withered arm, a man who had the +small-pox, as well as several others. He said he could do nothing with +them, as they were wanting in faith." + +"I thought as much," said I. "All those whom he could not induce to +believe were cured, he sent away as not having sufficient faith--the +wily rascal! Now, my good woman, I really _do_ wonder at your placing +faith in such trash. If you knew as much about Peppe's character as I +do, you would very soon cease to look upon him as a saint. Besides, what +are the diseases you tell me he has cured? Headaches, jumps, +nervousness, low spirits, want of appetite, etc.--trifles all of them. + +"He was supposed by all to have been miraculously raised from the dead, +and they therefore concluded that he must have been a holy man, for such +a miracle ever to have been wrought upon him, and being so esteemed, +they at once jumped at the conclusion that he was gifted with power to +work miracles. Accordingly, all the scum of the village turns out and +follows him, placing implicit faith in his power to cure them of their +half imaginary complaints. They receive his touch, pay their money, and +their imagination worked upon, they fancy themselves healed. This is the +secret of all his boasted success, for you say yourself that in all +those cases that were worth healing he signally failed." + +"Be that as it may, Signor," replied the woman, "you will hardly pretend +to account for the miracle wrought upon Peppe himself in that manner. +How could a man be raised from the dead by imagination? I don't see +how." + +"You don't? Then I will tell you; listen." + +I here proceeded to retail the account of Peppe's feigned decease in +order to escape paying his debt of three pauls; the entrance of the +brigands into the church with the spoil, since proved to have been +robbed from six English travellers and others who were making their way +towards Rome on that very night; the dividing of the spoil upon the +altar, and the diamond ring that remained over, with which one of the +brigands dexterously succeeded in startling Peppe out of the sleep into +which he had fallen, by hitting him on the nose, and finally, the +confusion of the brigands at the sight of what they supposed to be a +resuscitated corpse. + +I also related how they had abandoned the treasure in their flight, and +how Peppe, taking advantage of his position, proceeded to gather +together the said treasure, intending to keep it all for himself. How +Antonio at this moment burst from his hiding place in the confessional, +whither he had resorted in order to satisfy himself whether his friend's +death were genuine or spurious. How both of them disputed the treasure, +how they agreed to divide it equally, and how the diamond ring became a +bone of contention. How they were surprised by the sacristan early the +next morning. The sacristan's avarice, revenge, and hypocrisy. I dilated +on the story, not omitting the minutest particular, and winding up with +the subsequent conversion of the brigands, and letting her know upon +what authority I had come to the knowledge of these facts. + +The discomfiture of my hostess at hearing her darling miracle explained +away by natural causes, and those, too, of so ridiculous a nature, was +truly pitiable. I believe, in her heart, she wished that I had never put +up at her inn, so that I might not have dispelled the sweet illusion. + +Not many days after my hostess had become convinced of the spuriousness +of her once cherished miracle, the brigand-catchers returned after their +fruitless search, but being put upon the right scent immediately on +their return, they set off at once to the convent, where they commanded +the monks, in the name of the law, to deliver up the prisoners. It was, +however, too late. The brigands in the meantime had written a full +confession of their crime to the Pope, with an account of the miracle +and of their sudden determination, in consequence, of leading holy lives +for the future, and had received from His Holiness pardon and +absolution, on condition that they should follow out their virtuous +intentions. + +The document, with the pontifical seal affixed to it, was placed into +the hands of these emissaries of the law, who had now nothing to do but +to retire. The brigands had been transformed into monks; so far no one +had anything to say but the six English travellers, the victims in the +late robbery, and who had lost no time on their arrival in Rome in +informing the government of their loss, and urging the immediate capture +of the brigands; having heard of the extraordinary turn the affair had +taken, now impatiently demanded their money back. + +Believers in the late miracle now grew scarcer and scarcer every day, +the eyes of the most obstinate being now open to conviction by +overwhelming evidence. Peppe had lost his prestige as a saint, and the +headaches, jumps, fits of melancholy, loss of appetite, and other small +evils of which his patients had thought themselves miraculously cured, +came back again as before to the indignant faithful, who, armed, in a +body laid siege to the house of the "soi-disant" saint, vowing to burn +his dwelling over his head, if he refused to give back to each the money +that under false pretences he had extorted. + +There is no knowing what an infuriated Italian mob may not be guilty of +perpetrating in the height of its fury; but let its rage be once drawn +aside by some novel excitement or emotion, its fury will evaporate, +expending its force through another channel. It might have gone hard +with Peppe, if a trifling incident had not served to avert the fury of +the mob when at its climax. This was the arrival of the diligence with +the six Englishmen, whose pecuniary losses we have before alluded to, +and who have arrived to claim their money from the arch-priest. + +Trifling as this incident was, it proved sufficient to induce the +inhabitants of this sequestered village to abandon their purpose, and +their curiosity now being raised to its height, they relinquished their +victim for a time, in order to have a good stare at the six illustrious +strangers who had fallen a prey to the brigands, while Peppe, taking +advantage of the general confusion, made his escape from the back door +of his hut, and was soon lost to view in the thick grove of olive trees +that flanked the slopes of the hill. + +My story now draws towards a close. The money was returned to the +owners, who were received with courtesy by the arch-priest, from whose +very lips they heard a detailed account of the late miracle, and so +delighted were they with the simplicity and urbanity of their new +acquaintance, that they each made him a handsome present out of the +money restored to them, for the benefit of his church, and perhaps as a +slight compensation for the dissatisfaction he must have felt at the +miracle not proving genuine. + +The diamond ring likewise fell to the lot of the arch-priest, with the +full permission from the donor to dispose of it as he might think fit, +and after an exchange of compliments and civilities, the Englishmen took +their departure. + +The duplicity and avarice of the sacristan having now fairly come to +light, he was dismissed, and another chosen to supply his place. +Meanwhile the trial of Antonio was going on in the township of +Gennazzano. Being summoned to appear as a witness, I was forced to go, +and had the satisfaction of being mainly instrumental in the acquittal +of my friend, who returned to his native village, where on his arrival +he was carried in triumph over the heads of the cheering populace. + +The sum presented to the arch-priest, together with the diamond ring, +which had been taken to Rome to be estimated and converted into money, +was expended by our pastor in alleviating the sufferings of the poor +amongst his flock, after which there remained a surplus sufficient to +purchase two silver candlesticks for the altar of San Rocco, the +protecting saint of the village. + +Peppe had judiciously hidden himself in the mountains until the fury of +his patients had considerably abated, but Antonio discovering him one +day, renewed his claim to the three pauls. I forget the excuse he made +on this occasion, but I know for a certainty that the debt was never +repaid during the whole of my stay in that part of the country. + +Some months passed over without anything worthy of record, but the +sequel of this narrative is to come. A friar, unknown to the inhabitants +of our village, appeared one Sunday morning to perform mass in the +Church of San Rocco. His shaven crown, bronzed skin, and high aquiline +features made him an object of intense veneration among the devout +congregation, as being unmistakable signs of a pure and austere life. He +was a man of middle age, tall, and well knit, his beard on the verge of +turning grey. The features were worn, but energetic, yet a physiognomist +might have observed that the eyes were somewhat small in comparison with +the rest of the face and moved rather too rapidly and furtively from +left to right than was strictly necessary to complete the physiognomy of +one whose life had been completely devoted to religious contemplation. +His arrival had created a sensation in the village, and many who had +never confessed from one year's end to the other, impelled by curiosity, +flocked to the church that day to confess to the stranger monk, +imagining, no doubt, that the absolution of one from afar and unknown in +the villages was more valid than that of the arch-priest or any more +familiar prelate. + +Familiarity breeds contempt, as we all know, therefore we so often find +that Roman Catholics prefer confessing to some priest or friar that they +meet for the first time, and are not likely to meet again, rather than +to their parish priest, to whom the most secret thought of their inner +lives is already known. + +Among those who flocked to confess to the stranger monk, whose majestic +bearing had impressed everyone with his sanctity, were our two friends +Antonio and Peppe, who, having neither of them confessed for a very long +time, sought this opportunity of disburdening their souls of those sins +they were ashamed of confessing to a priest of their own native village. + +Antonio, to whom I am indebted for the sequel of this tale, declared to +me that he experienced a thrill he was unable to account for as the +friar entered the confessional; but setting this down to nervousness at +not having confessed for so long, he endeavoured to concentrate his +thoughts, and began what is called a "general confession," commencing +with the sins of his earliest childhood down to those of recent date. + +Fancying that he might have been guilty of avarice in pressing too +hardly on his friend for the debt of the three pauls and of sacrilege in +having hidden all night in the confessional, and afterwards quarrelling +with his friend over the treasure within the very church itself, it +occurred to him to relate the whole circumstance to the father +confessor, not omitting the entry of the brigands and their subsequent +fright at what they supposed to be the sudden resurrection of one from +the dead. + +Now, Antonio during the whole of this confession had his eyes fixed upon +the countenance of his confessor, which he could see distinctly through +the grating. It struck him from the first that the features of the monk +were familiar to him, yet he could not call to mind where or under what +circumstances he had seen them before. He had been racking his brain for +some time past in order to recollect where he had ever met him, but to +no purpose. + +He observed that when he began enumerating all the peccadilloes of his +early years the confessor evinced the utmost indifference, yawning every +now and then, and not deigning a reply; but as soon as he began to talk +about the miracle and the treasure abandoned by the brigands in their +fright, he immediately pricked up his ears and changed colour. + +"Eh, what?" he cried, suddenly waking out of a doze. "Just oblige me by +beginning that again, will you?" + +Antonio, though somewhat surprised at the monk's abrupt change of +manner, nevertheless set it down to the natural interest that so +extraordinary a tale inspired, and recommenced his story, detailing +nicely every circumstance, especially the feigned death of Peppe; with +an exact description of his own feelings at the time. + +Now it happened that Peppe, being in church, and seeing his friend on +his knees at the confessional, thought he could do no less than confess +likewise, so, falling on his knees on the opposite side to his friend, +he prepared to pour out his soul through the opposite grating, into the +left ear of the father confessor, as soon as his friend should have +risen from his knees. + +Antonio at length having finished, and received absolution, remained a +moment or two in prayer, whilst Peppe took his turn. Whatever the +subject of Peppe's confession might have been, it had an extraordinary +effect upon the monk. He became visibly agitated, and the muscles of his +face twitched nervously. + +"Then it wasn't a miracle, after all," he gasped, throwing himself back, +while something strongly resembling an oath rose to his lips, but was +instantly stifled. His bronzed features had become livid, and hastily +giving his absolution, he hurried from the confessional. + +Our two friends had remained behind the rest of the congregation, and on +rising from their knees and finding themselves alone in the church, each +advanced towards the other in a spirit of Christian forgiveness, and +shook his friend warmly by the hand, the subject of the three pauls +being dropped on this occasion. + +"By the way, Peppe," said Antonio, after a short interchange of genial +conversation, "did you ever set eyes on that confessor before, think +you?" + +"Well, now you mention it, friend Antonio, his features _do_ seem +familiar to me, yet I can't call to mind where I have seen him," +answered Peppe. + +"Ah!" suddenly ejaculated Antonio, "I have it. If that monk is not the +head brigand whom you so miraculously scared away by rising from the +dead, may I be--shot." + +"_Per Baccounaccio!_ friend Antonio, you're right," exclaimed his +friend; "it _is_ the very same. I thought I knew him all the while. Well +this is strange; and we have been confessing to a brigand chief!" + +"True," said Antonio; "but of course you have heard that in consequence +of the supposed miracle, he and the rest of his band became converted +and took holy vows, having received a full pardon from the Pope for +their past misdeeds. He now performs mass, and therefore his absolution +is worth just as much as that of any other ecclesiastic." + +"Yes, yes; I've no doubt," replied Peppe; "but, I say, Anthony, if you +had but noticed how uncommonly interested he became in the middle of my +confession! That was because I confessed to him the trick I played upon +you, old friend, that night. You remember, eh? Ha! ha! Well, as soon as +I began to talk about jumping up from the dead, and how the brigands +scampered away helter-skelter, leaving their treasure behind them in +their flight, I noticed him change colour, and he grew impatient to know +more. I thought it strange that he should appear to take such interest +in the matter. Now I can account for his look of remorse that puzzled me +so before. He is angry with himself at being frightened into turning +monk by a sham miracle." + +"I, too, noticed the very same thing, friend Peppe," said Antonio, "when +I likewise confessed the same story. I'll lay my life that he now +repents him of having turned monk. Perhaps he suspected that we +recognised him, and that was the reason he hastened away so after +confession. I wonder where he is now?" + +The mysterious monk had disappeared; so had the two silver candlesticks +on the altar. Extraordinary coincidence! Had they also vanished by a +miracle? + +They were on the altar when our two friends went to confess, as both of +them declared. Perhaps the new sacristan had taken them away to clean +after the departure of the congregation. + +No; the sacristan was questioned, he knew naught but that they were +still on the altar. The affair caused much gossip and surmise, and much +time was lost in loud talking and angry gesticulations. The arch-priest +at length appeared on the spot, and our two friends Antonio and Peppe +communicated to him their suspicions--viz., that the unknown friar, whom +both of them recognised to be no other than the brigand chief himself, +had purloined the silver candlesticks immediately after confession, and +made his escape into the mountains. Search was now made for the thief, +but the day was already far spent and the monk had had ample time to +reach the convent before his pursuers thought of going in search of him. + +On the following day the arch-priest called at the convent in person, +acquainted the monks there with his loss, and stated his suspicions. He +was informed by them that the band of brigands who had only lately +become converted and had entered their order, and who, up to the present +time, had shown themselves most exemplary in conduct, to the great +surprise of their brother monks, had suddenly decamped in the dead of +night, no one knew how. They had evidently resumed their former +profession, as they had left their cassocks behind them, and their arms, +which had been hung up in the chapel as trophies of their conversion, +had been removed. + +The affair of the silver candlesticks was unknown to the rest of the +order, but shortly afterwards a silversmith in Rome, to whose shop a +handsome pair of silver candlesticks was brought for sale, having some +scruples at receiving stolen goods, and distrusting much the appearance +of the person who brought them, sent secretly to the police, who took in +charge the suspected party. Now it happened about that time in the +vicinity of Rome, that a certain band of brigands had been guilty of the +most fearful outrages. The police were already on their track, and the +capture of the suspected vendor of stolen goods subsequently led to the +discovery of the whole band, which was soon identified as the same +which had once received the Pope's pardon and had entered into holy +orders. They were accordingly tried, condemned, and executed on the +summit of the fort of St. Angelo, which is built on the ruins of the +ancient tomb of Hadrian, on the banks of the Tiber. + + * * * * * + +By the time our artist had finished his story, and received Helen's warm +eulogium on the same, the sitting had already come to an end. Dame +Hearty now knocked at the door to ask if her daughter could be spared, +as she found that she really could not go through her household duties +without her. + +"Just one moment," said McGuilp; "there, Helen, just place yourself once +more as you were, and I shall have finished with you for the day. Just +one more touch." + +The artist then began working rapidly for some ten minutes, as if his +life were at stake, when suddenly throwing himself back in his chair, as +if exhausted after some stupendous effort, he exclaimed: "There now!" + +These magical words were the signal for Helen's liberation, and now both +mother and daughter placed themselves behind the artist's chair and +proceeded to criticise his work. + +"Oh my! what a love of a pictur'!" exclaimed Dame Hearty; "and how +exactly like our Helen. Oh, if ever! Well I never! I do declare," etc. + +"And how you have improved it this sitting! Why, last time I thought +there was no more to do to it, but now it is life itself." + +"You flatter me, Helen," said McGuilp; "for I assure you that the +portrait is still in a most crude and unfinished state." + +"How say you?--still unfinished?" cried Helen. "Well, if you go on at +that rate, by next sitting I shall expect to hear it speak." + +"Come, Helen," said her mother, "we must be off, for we have no time to +lose. Another time, when we have less to do, I shall be most happy to +let you assist the gentleman to finish his pictur'," and curtseying to +McGuilp, she led her daughter out of the room, while the painter was +left to the uninspired operations of cleaning his palette and brushes, +and putting his studio in order previous to joining the other members of +the club. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[7] A paul is half a franc. + +[8] A corruption of the word _compare_ (godfather) which is used as a +familiar appellation among the peasantry, even when no such relations +exists between them. + +[9] Paini, the grade between a peasant and a gentleman. + +[10] A sort of pudding made of chestnut flour. + +[11] A species of cake made of Indian corn, used much among the Italian +peasantry, being cheaper than bread. + +[12] A paul is half a franc, and equal to five pence. + +[13] Padrone, master. + +[14] Oh, my holy souls of Purgatory! + +[15] Body of St. Anthony of Padua! + +[16] A corruption of per Cristo. + +[17] It is the custom in Roman Catholic countries for the dead to be +exposed in the centre of the church for twenty-four hours upon a bier, +with a candle burning. + +[18] To your Lordship. + +[19] A halfpenny. + + + + +[Illustration] + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE WAXEN IMAGE.--THE HOSTESS'S STORY. + + +We have alluded before the commencement of our late story to a clapping +of hands proceeding from the club-room, announcing the termination of +some tale from our hostess. + +It will be remembered that the tale of our landlady had come to an end +previous to the commencement of our artist's narrative. Let us entreat +our reader, then, to take a retrospect glance, and imagine himself +seated in the club-room, in the company of its worthy members and our +buxom hostess, whilst the painter was deeply absorbed in his portrait of +the fair Helen. + +Dame Hearty, after continued pressing, and some diffidence on her part, +seemed finally to be collecting her ideas, which process was performed +by casting down her eyes and toying with the corners of her apron; then +as if suddenly inspired, she abruptly smoothed down her apron on her +lap, and dovetailing the fingers of each ruddy hand within those of the +other, she hemmed once or twice and proceeded in the following +strain. + +When I was a girl, gentlemen, about the age of my Helen, I was just such +another as she, though I dare say you would hardly believe it, to look +at me now; but ask my good man and he'll tell you the same. Look at my +Helen, and you will see what your humble servant was at her age. I had +the same rosy cheeks, like two ripe apples, the same laughing blue eyes +and sunny hair, and as for spirits, why, Lord bless you, the dear child +ain't nothing to what her mother was at her age. + +Well, gentlemen, I was always for gaming and romping, and folks would +say that there wasn't a lass like Molly Sykes for miles round. In fact, +I used to be called the pride of the village, though I say it, that +shouldn't. At the time I speak of, I was at the village school, and +there was hardly a young man in the village that did not come a courtin' +after me, but I paid no attention to none of them, as I had been +attached from childhood to my Jack, then a spruce lad of some eighteen +summers, but I laughed and joked with all, so I was always popular. + +The only school friend I ever had was a young girl about my own age--an +orphan, one Claribel Falkland, of an extremely delicate and sensitive +nature, the sweetest temper in the world, and of a beauty which in my +heart I felt surpassed my own, for it was more the beauty of a high-born +lady. I see before me now her pale oval face with her large lustrous +hazel eyes, her smooth dark nut-brown hair, and her slim graceful +figure which seemed to glide rather than walk about. I recollect, too, +her low soft voice that had music in the very tone of it, and her sweet +look radiant with the innocence of her heart. I know not how two beings +of such opposite temperaments should ever have become such fast friends, +for Claribel was pensive and melancholy, and of a studious turn, poring +over every book she could get hold of, whilst I, on the contrary, was a +perfect hoyden, always laughing and playing the fool when I ought to +have been at work. + +However strange it may appear, it is certain that a sympathy stronger +than that generally found between two sisters grew up between us. But +let me pass on to describe certain peculiarities in the constitution of +my young school friend. In the first place, she had been from childhood +a sleep walker, a phenomenon that I soon discovered, for poor Claribel +being an orphan and having no home of her own, used to live with us, and +we two always slept together. + +At first this peculiarity gave me no little alarm, as she would often +rise in the middle of the night, light a candle and wander all over the +house, and I was afraid that some night she would set the house on fire. + +However, no accident ever occurred, and to my surprise I found that she +seemed just as cautious in her sleep as if she had been in her waking +state, always shading the flame with her hand and using such extreme +caution when passing near the curtains or anything else at all likely +to catch fire, that I used to doubt sometimes if she really could be +asleep. + +Being warned by the doctor never to address her or touch her whilst in +this state, lest the shock should be too great for her, I, at first, +used to follow her with my eyes about the room, and if she left the +chamber, I generally used to rise and follow softly after, at some +distance, lest an accident should befall her. But finding soon that she +was just as certain of her footing in her sleep as in her waking +moments, I began to abandon my fears, and thought no more of this +peculiarity. + +Indeed, as she was in the habit of rising every other night, I soon felt +far too sleepy to trouble myself about her. But soon this strange power +in her began to develop itself, and to take a stranger and more +interesting form. + +She would now get up at night, sit herself down at a table, take pen, +ink, and paper, and fill sheet after sheet with close writing and +elegant composition. This was particularly the case if she had left a +task uncompleted during the day. In the morning it was sure to be found +finished, and generally better done than if it had been accomplished +during her hours of waking; nor was she herself conscious of it until +she examined her exercise the next morning. + +If I perchance should have an uncompleted task on hand, she would +invariably finish mine before her own. But this phenomenon in my young +friend, however strange and unaccountable it may seem, sinks into utter +insignificance before a far more terrible one which I am now about to +describe. + +You may think I exaggerate, gentlemen, or that it was the effect of my +own over-wrought fancy, produced by sleepless nights of watching over my +young friend, but there are witnesses living yet who saw what I saw, and +who are ready to give their testimony. The doctor of this village, +together with his assistant, the rector, and two women living close by, +are among these I speak of, besides others. Let them speak for +themselves if you will not believe my word. + +The phenomenon to which I have above alluded was the power, if I may so +call it, of dividing herself in two, or becoming two separate beings; +that is to say, of making a duplicate of herself. This extraordinary and +fearful gift had evidently been noticed by others before it fell under +my own observation, since for a long time previous to seeing it myself +it was reported throughout the village that Claribel Falkland had +appeared in two places at the same time. + +To this, however, as to all other village gossip, I paid no attention, +knowing well how trifles get exaggerated after passing through many +mouths, and how sometimes reports are circulated without an atom of +truth for their foundation. I can only tell you, however, gentlemen, +what I saw with my own eyes, believe it, or not, as you will. One +morning, then, after returning home from school, Claribel having been +unable to attend from some slight indisposition, I entered the room +suddenly where my friend was seated. I remember, too, that I had never +felt in better health in all my life, when there, to my utter +consternation, was not only my friend, seated as was her wont, in an +easy chair, with her head resting on her hand, but another figure, the +exact counterpart of herself, a duplicate Claribel, leaning over the +back of her arm-chair, exactly in the same position as my friend +happened to be at the time. + +I remained at the door, my eyes and mouth wide open, in mute horror, +unable to advance a step or utter an exclamation, until my friend, +looking up and inquiring the reason of my surprise, the figure behind +the chair instantly vanished. I then proceeded to relate to her the +vision, which she, however, smiled at and affected to treat as a +temporary delusion on my part, the result of indigestion or disordered +state of my nerves. I persisted that I was in the most perfect health, +and that I had seen what I chose to style her "double." + +She declared to me that she herself had not been conscious of it, and +that, therefore, whatever I might say to the contrary, it _was_ a +delusion. She answered even with some irritability--very unusual to +her--which made me think that she had long been aware of this phenomenon +in herself, but wished to keep it secret from others. + +Seeing she was displeased, I said no more, and half persuaded myself +that I had been deluded by my senses. She had been living with us for +some time previous to the first appearance of the spectre, but after +this first visit the apparition repeatedly presented itself, often as +many as five or six times in the same day, though sometimes disappearing +for a week or a month, and then returning. I observed that the figure +always appeared clearer and more defined the more my friend appeared +absorbed in some favourite occupation, or when in a deep reverie. In +whatsoever way she happened to be occupied, whether in reading, writing, +reckoning, or in earnest conversation, the spectre would instantly +appear behind her, imitating her every movement with the precision of a +looking-glass. + +Of course, this peculiarity in her constitution caused no slight terror +to myself, as well as to my father, who was then alive, and some +intimate friends; yet after a time, finding that the visits of the +apparition boded no harm, and getting accustomed to the same, we hailed +our spiritual visitant as a welcome guest, cracking jokes in its +presence, and even addressing it with so little appearance of reverence, +that had it not been a very good-tempered spectre, it must have resented +our rudeness. But the double never showed any resentment, unless +treating us all with silent contempt may be considered as resentment. +Indeed, it had never been once known to utter a sound; neither did it +appear to be conscious of our presence. + +I remember on one occasion, for a frolic, throwing a heavy book at its +head, but this had no further effect than to disturb for a moment the +luminous ether of which the spectre appeared composed, and which +speedily re-settled itself, while the phantom seemed unconscious of +having received injury or insult of any kind. The book passed through +its head as if it had been air or smoke, and fell to the ground. I was +bold enough once to walk up to it and take it by the arm, and found to +my surprise, that there was a slight resistance, like that of muslin or +crape, but it melted within my grasp, and I noticed that wherever I +placed my hand, that that part of the figure was instantly wanting, and +did not right itself until I withdrew my touch. + +Sometimes the whole figure would disappear if I came within two paces of +it, and it was not always of the same consistency, being sometimes less +palpable than at others. This I observed to be dependent upon the +greater or less absorption of my friend in her occupation or reverie. It +is also remarkable that the more clearly defined and life-like the +phantom appeared, the more exhausted and haggard grew my friend, and +_vice versa_. + +But I must now return to the second visit of our spiritual companion. + +You may well imagine my terror and consternation at its first +appearance, yet when the first shock had passed over, I should probably +never have related the vision to a single soul, and set down everything +to hallucination, had I not shortly after caught a second glimpse of the +spectre. This time my friend and I happened to be playing chess +together, when, whilst waiting for her to move, I distinctly saw the +double leaning over her chair, as if in the act of assisting her in the +game. + +"Look, Claribel," I cried; "there it is again, you can't deny it this +time," whereupon the figure instantly disappeared. + +Now, as my friend still persisted that it was nothing more than my +delusion, I began to be alarmed for my own health, and acquainted my +father with what I had seen. He, too, laughed at me, and called it a +silly girlish fancy, but said no more until I had seen it again three or +four times, going immediately to my father each time after the vision +had presented itself, and describing to him exactly the attitude and the +gestures of the apparition on each successive visit. + +Then my father became alarmed for the state of my health, and a doctor +was sent for, that I might be bled. But on the doctor's arrival, he +could detect nothing wrong with me; but just to satisfy my father, +ordered me a little harmless physic, and took his departure. Believing +that whether the doctor perceived it or not, that I must really be in a +very bad state, I took all his medicine in regular doses, and at the +times prescribed, carrying out his injunctions to the letter. + +Nevertheless, the vision continued, appearing several times a day, and +remaining sometimes almost half the day at a visit. Upon hearing all +this, my father called for the doctor again, and positively insisted on +my being bled this time. I remember that I was averse to the operation, +never having undergone it before, and imagining that the pain would be +much greater than I found it in reality. I therefore begged--finding my +father so determined--that my friend might be present during the +operation to give me courage. + +This was assented to, and my friend was called into the parlour, looking +pale and trembling, as if she fancied herself guilty of the pain about +to be inflicted on me. She remained stationary in front of me, with a +look of sweet commiseration in her face, but without uttering a word. + +Once or twice I thought she was going to speak, but she checked herself, +and then I noticed a struggle going on within her, as if she would have +said, "Ought I not to prevent this operation, and openly confess that +what my friend has seen, is not an hallucination, but a reality; a +phenomenon belonging to my constitution? But, no; I dare not." + +This was how I read the expression of her face. However, the operation +passed over with far less pain than I had expected, when, oh, wonderful! +on looking up again at the face of my friend, who was standing +motionless as a statue, I perceived once more her double, not this time +as usual, standing behind her and imitating her attitude, but pacing up +and down the room with rapid steps and wringing her hands, as if in +despair. + +Feeling somewhat weak from loss of blood, I forbore to cry out, but my +wild looks attracted the attention of my father and the doctor to the +spot my eyes were fixed upon, when, following the direction of my eyes, +both suddenly started in extreme terror, such as I have never seen +expressed before or since upon the faces of any two of the stronger sex. + +The doctor halted in tying on the bandage, and trembled like an aspen, +while my father staggered and fell against the wall. For some minutes +not a word was spoken, when my friend probably guessing the cause of our +alarm, suddenly turned her head in the direction of their gaze, when the +apparition instantly vanished. Each looked at the other, and the doctor +declared that such a case had never before occurred in all his +experience, nor would he have believed it had he had other testimony +than that of his own eyes. + +My friend then, her eyes filled with tears, begged of us all present to +keep the matter a secret, and not to publish it throughout the village. +Upon being questioned concerning the phenomenon, it appeared that what +we had all seen was a reality, having as she alleged been seen by others +before. She said that she was not conscious of its presence, save by the +looks of consternation she saw depicted on the faces of others; that she +had no control over the apparition, as it would appear and disappear +without her knowledge, and that she had never seen it herself but +once--in the looking-glass--when it caused her such a preternatural +horror that she never afterwards used a looking-glass without a +shudder. + +This phenomenon in her nature, moreover, made her very unhappy, as on +this account people used to shun her, considering the apparition as the +work of the Evil One, and deeming her guilty of some fearful crime, for +such a judgment ever to be permitted to persecute her. + +The doctor and my father, their first surprise once over, attempted to +console her, assuring her that they neither of them conceived her +capable of anything like a crime, recommending her to keep quiet and not +to worry herself on that account. + +The doctor, to console her, further promised to keep her secret; but, in +spite of his earnest assurances that he would not breathe a word of it +to mortal man, a pamphlet appeared shortly afterwards in the doctor's +own name, announcing a new form of contagious nervous disease, in which +the visual organs of a healthy individual might become so affected by +contact with a person suffering from hallucinations as to cause him to +see or fancy he sees the object reflected on the retina of the patient +by his diseased imagination. An instance of this was given as having +occurred in the village, and though the names of the parties concerned +were not given in full, the neighbours had no doubt as to whom was meant +by C---- F----. + +The pamphlet made some stir at the time, and poor Claribel, my bashful +and retiring friend, found herself made the lion of the season, and +pestered past all endurance by anxious inquiries and impertinent visits +from strangers, who came from far, hoping to have their curiosity +gratified by a re-appearance of the spectre. If such was their object in +calling, and it undoubtedly was, they one and all of them went away +terribly disappointed, for not in one single case did the apparition +vouchsafe to manifest itself. + +Nevertheless, these continued visits from strangers to one so shy and +retired as my friend, made her excessively nervous, and were beginning +to undermine her health, which, the doctor perceiving, he gave instant +orders that she should receive no visits but those of her most intimate +friends. + +Visitors still continued to call for some little time afterwards, but +were refused admittance on the plea of my friend's delicate health, and +their visits grew fewer and farther between, till at length they ceased +altogether, and Claribel's health began to improve. + +As everything has an end, even the gossip of a little village, so in +time people grew tired, both of hearing or retailing what they had heard +and retailed so often before, till at length nobody believed a word +about the apparition; and because they could not explain the cause of +the phenomenon, hushed their minds to sleep by calling it imposture, +delusion, ignorant credulity, and the like. + +The ghost had never appeared to them or to those who had taken so much +trouble as to come from afar on purpose to see it, and the deduction was +that as the spirit had refused to manifest itself to such respectable +people as these, it was not likely that it had ever vouchsafed to make +its appearance to anyone, so the affair was settled. + +Time rolled on, and both my friend and I were promoted from pupils to +teachers in our school. The gossip of the village had long ceased; in +fact, Claribel's spiritual tormentor had discontinued its visits now for +so long that she began to hope that they had ceased for ever. + +Claribel was now fast ripening into womanhood, and found herself no +longer shunned and whispered about as a person guilty of some horrible +crime which had called down the just vengeance of Heaven upon her, but +passed by like any other, without allusion to the past; nay, more, she +began to be courted by people in general, being known as a young woman +of most excellent character. Being of an extremely prepossessing +appearance, it was natural that she should be made a mark for all the +young men of the village to discharge their amorous glances at, and she +soon found herself surrounded by a crowd of swains who talked soft +nonsense to her, and who would fain make her believe that they were +dying with love for her. + +Claribel, however, turned a deaf ear to them all. She was not a girl to +be wooed by soft nonsense; indeed, you would have said she was a girl +not likely to marry at all, she was so retired and showed such +indifference to the conversation of young men, and took no pains +whatever to set herself off to advantage in their eyes. Nevertheless +this did not deter admirers from flocking around her. In fact, I rather +think her coldness and apparent negligence of dress and general personal +appearance rather incited them the more. I have called her indifferent +to personal appearance; not that she was not scrupulously clean and +neat; no one could be more so. But there she was content to remain. + +She cared not to deck herself out with bows and ribbons, by the wearing +of trumpery jewellery, or by any exaggerated fashion of wearing her +hair. It is just this simplicity in woman which attracts most men, and +it is natural enough that it should do so, as it argues a certain +forgetfulness of self, a modest and unselfish nature, which is the basis +of every womanly virtue, and therefore to be sought after in a wife. +Foolish women imagine that men are to be caught by being run after. They +therefore spare no expense in their toilet, study arts and graces, and +omit nothing which they think ought to captivate the opposite sex; but +as they too often over-step the bounds of modesty, their flimsy designs +are seen through, and they find themselves laughed at by those they had +hoped to make their prey. + +Claribel had known such women in her time, and pitied rather than +despised them, for there was nothing harsh in her nature. She was often +quizzed in her turn by many a jimp-waisted hoyden for being a dowdy, but +she would pass by their remarks with a good-humoured smile, and say +little, for she was of few words. + +Our school was now well filled with pupils, who, one and all, grew most +attached to my young friend--to both of us in fact--but I rather think +that she was the favourite. + +There was not a person in or out of the school that could say a word +against Claribel Falkland; there was something so inoffensive, so +modest, and, at the same time, winning about her; such consideration for +others, such a looking out of herself, if I may so term it. Then she had +the knack of teaching--a rare gift--and was as mild and patient as a +lamb, thus endearing all hearts towards her. + +One day when giving a lesson in geography to her class (this was about a +year after the last apparition of the spectre) I, who was giving a +lesson in arithmetic to some younger children in the opposite corner of +the schoolroom, was suddenly startled by a scream of surprise from the +girls of my friend's class. + +"Look! look! oh, just look, Miss Sykes," they cried in terror, "look, +_there are two Miss Falklands_!" + +I raised my eyes at the cry, and saw to my dismay, my friend's old +tormentor--the double--behind her, as usual, and imitating her action, +my friend being at that moment in the act of pointing to a map. I walked +across the room to my friend, hoping to drive away the spectre in so +doing, but it remained some minutes longer before it entirely +disappeared. + +I caught the eye of my friend, who looked mournfully at me, and added in +a low tone of voice, as I passed her, "Is it not provoking? Could +anything be more annoying?" + +I did not tell the schoolgirls that I myself saw the figure, and tried +to laugh them out of a "silly fancy," as I called it, fearing that I +might be called upon as a witness, should this report reach the ears of +the school-mistress, and it might prejudice folks against my friend as a +teacher, so I affected harshness, and said I begged I should hear no +more of such stuff, and the affair dropped for the time; but now that +the double had recommenced its visits, it came frequently, and always in +class time, to my friend's great discomfiture. + +Of course, there was no getting out of it now. The school-mistress was +called, and saw the same thing; and I myself was obliged to see it with +the rest. The school-mistress was very much bewildered, as well she +might be. She declared she did not know what to make of it. She could +hardly bring herself to think that it was a messenger of good, and Miss +Falkland's character was so unimpeachable that she could still less +believe that anything bad should be permitted to torment her. In fact, +she did not know what to think, so she called for the rector of the +parish, that he might speak with the apparition; and if it should prove +an evil one, to exorcise it. + +The rector came, but being disappointed in seeing the spectre, came a +second, third, and fourth time, with the like success, till at length he +went away in a huff, and begged they would trouble him no more. + +One Sunday, however, as the rector was in the middle of his sermon, his +eyes being fixed on our school, we noticed him suddenly turn pale and +tremble. He was unable to go on with his sermon. I followed his eyes, +and found, as I half expected, my friend and her double seated close +together. The girls shrieked and started, and a commotion was being made +in the church; so much so, that Claribel was obliged to get up and walk +out, her double following close at her heels. + +Fancy poor Claribel, who was like a nun in her love of solitude and +retirement, having to walk out of church through a crowd of people all +the way home again with a duplicate of herself following in her +footsteps! + +You must not suppose that the matter stopped here. The remarks of the +rustics who met her on the way, the village gossip that now broke out +afresh--worse than ever before--the suspicious looks she received on all +sides, all contributed to mortify her; but what appeared to completely +break her spirit was the sudden falling off of one half of her pupils. +Of course, she could make no doubt as to the cause of this. Even the +rest of the pupils, she thought, grew colder to her, and they, too, +dropped off one by one, until the poor girl had not a single pupil left. + +When matters arrived at this point it was hinted to her by the +school-mistress that on account of the great damage this unfortunate +peculiarity of hers had done the school, that it was better for her on +the whole, to leave. The school-mistress added that she was aware that +it was no fault of my young friend's, and it was with much regret that +she was obliged to part with her; yet what could she do? She could not +afford to lose all her pupils; and thus it was my poor friend lost a +situation upon which she depended to begin her little savings. Much and +bitterly did she weep over her cursed existence, and earnestly prayed +that she might be liberated from her tormentor. + +Since she had left her position as a school teacher she had led a life +of such rigid retirement that it was with the greatest difficulty she +could be persuaded to leave the house, even in my company, to take the +air and exercise that her health required. She refused to see anyone +unless it was the rector, who would occasionally call in the evening to +take a dish of tea with us. + +It was on one of these visits, when we were seated round the fire, +conversing agreeably--the rector was relating some amusing anecdote, to +which we were all listening attentively, the rector himself laughing at +his own story--when suddenly we noticed that he stopped short in the +middle of his laughing, turned pale, and rose from his chair. + +The cause of this sudden change immediately became apparent to us all. +There, immediately behind the chair of Claribel, who had been listening +attentively to the rector, with her chin resting on her hand, was her +double in exactly the same position, with its eyes fixed intently on the +rector's face. The rector having started to his feet, assumed a tone +and manner which he in vain strove to render firm, and conjured the +figure in the name of the Holy Trinity, if it were a thing of evil, to +come out of her and trouble her no more; but his exorcism fell as upon +the wind, the spectre apparently not hearing his words, and departing at +its leisure some two or three minutes afterwards, appearing again once +or twice in the same evening during the rector's visit. + +The following Sunday prayers were read publicly in the church, with the +view of dispelling the evil spirit, as it was called, and mention of the +phenomenon was made in the rector's sermon, but all to no purpose. The +spectre would appear and disappear whenever it chose, its coming being +never heralded by any particular signs, and its vanishing just as +uncertain. + +If anyone particularly wished it to appear, it was as if the spectre +took a malicious delight in disappointing them; if, on the other hand, +its presence was exceedingly undesirable, it would be almost certain to +appear. + +Of the numerous admirers of Claribel it will be necessary for me only to +mention two. The first was one John Archer, an ardent and virtuous +youth, aged twenty-one, whose honest English face revealed the sincerity +of his heart. He held the post of gamekeeper on the estate of Lord +Edgedown. He was bold and generous, but of a nature so bashful and timid +in matters regarding our sex, that he would have allowed himself to be +cut out in a love affair by a man not possessing one half his merit or +his good looks. + +As my father was on good terms with the father of John Archer, John was +always a welcome visitor at our house, and thus began his acquaintance +with Claribel. I really think if he had persisted in his suit, as a more +courageous lover would have done, that he must at last have won the love +of Claribel. I know that Claribel had the highest esteem for him, and +had learnt to sympathise with him as one noble nature sympathises with +another. + +They grew to treat each other as brother and sister, but this was all. +The other lover was a totally different sort of man. Richard de Chevron +was a scion of a noble house, had received the education of a gentleman, +and could mix in the highest society; but he was debauched, profligate, +a gamester, and a drunkard, of a mean and spiteful disposition, with +nothing noble whatever in his character and not even good looking, but +he had that persistency in wooing which John lacked, added to a very +smooth tongue and plentiful flow of language. Neither was he quite +without accomplishments; he could both play and sing well, and dance to +perfection; qualities which might have won the heart of a less austere +maiden than my friend Claribel. But Claribel retired, as she was, in +disposition and a perfect dunce in that education which mixing in the +world gives, had yet by nature, by way of compensation, such a +marvellously acute perception of human character, that it bordered on +the prophetic in many instances. In a word, she was a physiognomist. + +On seeing Richard de Chevron for the first time, she had taken an +instant aversion to him, without ever having heard anything against his +character, and though De Chevron tried hard to dispel the sinister +impression with which he could not fail to observe he had inspired +her--and I must own that he did his best--yet that impression never left +her, but, on the contrary, deepened after every visit. + +Now, Richard de Chevron was nephew to Lord Edgedown, and heir-apparent +to that earl's fortune and estates; at least, he often used to hint as +much, but this was evidently more brag, as he was a younger son, and was +known to be no particular favourite with his uncle on account of his +dissipated habits. He had also the hopes of coming in for another +fortune, so he said; that of Squire Broadacre, a relative on his +mother's side, whose estate joined that of Lord Edgedown's; but whether +all this were true or not, it made not the slightest difference to +Claribel in her estimation of the man. She still saw in him a low, +debauched, false, and perjured villain, seeking to hide under a mask of +studied courtesy the evil promptings of his reptile heart. + +Even had De Chevron succeeded in making Claribel marry him, such a match +could have brought nothing but misery to her, even from a pecuniary +point of view, for at the time we knew him he had not a penny of his +own, and was, besides, head over ears in debt. + +Men of the De Chevron class do not often mean marriage when they go +a-courting, unless it happens to be particularly to their interest. What +they want is a fortune, and not a wife. If the former can be had without +the latter, why so much the better; if not, they are content to put up +with the latter incumbrance for the sake of being able to pay off their +debts. + +Now, poor Claribel was an orphan, without a penny in the world. What +good could his attentions bode the poor child? Claribel, however, was +not mercenary, and had she been capable of loving any man, she would +have been contented to live on a crust, and to have worked hard for it; +but she appeared not to be destined for earthly affection. The nearest +approach she ever made towards that passion commonly called love was the +deep friendship she had entertained for the youthful gamekeeper. + +Now, to meet with a rival in the person of his uncle's gamekeeper was +gall and wormwood to Richard de Chevron. He knew that John Archer was a +young man of trust who received a good salary, and was of a rank nearer +to that of Claribel's than his own was, and his attentions would be more +readily looked upon as earnest. + +Besides, John was good looking and noble, and had it not been for his +excessive modesty in coming forward, would have been the very man of all +men most likely to ensure the love of such a girl as Claribel. The +intentions of De Chevron were not honourable, whatever his protestations +might have made them out. He could not afford to marry Claribel, nor +did he ever for a moment meditate such a thing. + +Had an intimate friend asked him in confidence if he really entertained +thoughts of marriage towards the girl he so ardently professed to love, +he would have burst out laughing in his face, and asked him if he took +him for a fool. No; he simply desired to win the heart of Claribel, and +succeeding in that, he looked upon his prey as certain. But as yet he +had not succeeded; nay, more, he had a favoured rival--a young man of +good natural advantages, and in every way qualified to make Claribel +happy, even though he were only his uncle's gamekeeper and had not +received a gentleman's education. He thought of the difference of +Claribel's treatment of this young boor and that of himself--he, the +scion of a noble house! + +Then jealously began to gnaw his heart, and he found it to his interest +that John Archer should be removed for ever from his path. Being +perfectly unscrupulous and selfish, he cared not what means he employed +to execute his design, as long as no suspicion should be attached to +himself. + +He could have waylaid and murdered his rival, if he chose; have +introduced poison in his cup, or bribed an assassin to murder him, but +none of these modes suited De Chevron. The law was vigilant, inquiries +would be made, and the murder probably traced to his own door. His +reputation would suffer, to say nothing of his own life being +endangered. He would have no accomplices, as he knew that no man was to +be depended upon; he would trust to no one but himself and his own +resources. + +Like a wily Jesuit, he would work in the dark, would be the cause of all +the mischief that his own atrocious brain could dictate, but himself +remain hid. Now, when Richard de Chevron first met John Archer at my +father's house, he treated him with coldness, not to say haughtiness. He +now completely changed his tactics. He saw that the least show of +contempt or dislike towards the young gamekeeper, who was a general +favourite--and especially with Claribel--would be construed into +jealously on his part; and though this was really the case, it did not +suit him that everyone should know it; therefore he entirely altered his +conduct towards his rival, and nothing now could be more kind and +courteous, more apparently generous than his treatment of his uncle's +gamekeeper. + +He apologised if by any former brusqueness of manner he had offended +him, pleading that he had not had the opportunity hitherto of studying +his estimable character, but that after long observation he had learnt +to appreciate his noble qualities, and should henceforth entertain for +him the highest esteem and friendship. He would pat him playfully on the +shoulder, call him his friend, would make him every now and then some +trifling present, and even put in a good word for him to my friend +Claribel. + +All this had the appearance of generosity, as De Chevron designed it +should have, and thus avert suspicion from himself. We were all of us at +home much surprised and pleased at this extraordinary change, especially +as he had ceased for a time to persecute Claribel with his attentions. + +Richard de Chevron appeared to be turning over a new leaf. When I say we +were all deceived in De Chevron's behaviour, I must not omit to state +that there was one exception, and that was Claribel herself, who from +the first had behaved with a freezing coldness towards De Chevron, and, +little as she knew of the world and its wickedness, had such an +instinctive distrust of this man, that when he began to speak favourably +to her of John Archer, she trembled violently, and looked into his face +with such a searching glance that it seemed to peer into the inmost +recesses of his soul. + +De Chevron cowered beneath her gaze; he felt himself distrusted, and was +probably little flattered at the opinion of himself he saw written in +her eyes. Nevertheless, he would not have shown for the world that he +was disconcerted; he was a practised dissembler, and instead of being +abashed, grew more witty and talkative than ever, more and more friendly +to his rival, only I noticed that he avoided the eyes of Claribel as +much as possible. + +The fact was, he feared her; he, the artful, experienced man of the +world, crouched like an abject slave before a simple village maiden. His +guilty soul could not brook the chaste glance of innocence. He knew +himself to be a false degraded wretch, and quailed before her moral +superiority. + +However, Richard de Chevron had worked himself into favour with all of +us; in fact, we grew delighted with him, still excepting Claribel, who +seemed very unreasonably prejudiced against him, as we all thought. She +would declare to me in private that from the very first the aspect of De +Chevron had been repulsive to her; but of late, so far from having +overcome her impression, he had grown perfectly intolerable in her eyes; +nay, that she was seized with such horror and loathing when he was in +the room as she could not find words to express. + +She had a presentiment of evil, and it seemed to her, moreover, as if he +were using some occult power over her that she, however, was determined +to resist. + +I tried to laugh her out of these fancies as being quite unfounded, and +attributed them to her nerves being over-wrought from want of sufficient +air and exercise; but all without avail; she remained as confirmed as +ever in her prejudices. It is now some time since I made allusion to +Claribel's spiritual visitant. She had long been undisturbed by its +visits; indeed, ever since De Chevron and John had commenced calling at +the house, and even before. It is uncertain whether either of them had +ever heard of the phenomenon. I rather think not, as De Chevron, who +mixed almost entirely in the upper circles, would not easily have come +in the way of our village cackle, especially as he was often absent +from the village for months at a time; and as for John, being constantly +engaged on Lord Edgedown's estate, he knew comparatively little of the +world without. But whether they did or not, it is certain that the +subject was never broached during all that time. + +We have mentioned before that Claribel's spiritual visitor was fitful +and capricious in its visits. It might appear at any moment; but then we +had been free from its company for so long, that we had dared to hope +that it had forgotten all about us and would never return, until one +morning new fears arose in my mind from a little circumstance which I +shall now relate to you. + +Observing that my young friend rose from her couch looking poorly, I +inquired into the cause of her jaded looks. + +"Oh, Molly," she replied, "I've had such a dreadful dream about poor +John. I am sure that some danger threatens him." + +"What danger do you imagine threatens him, Claribel?" said I. "Tell me +your dream." + +"I really do not know if I can," she replied; "it was so very confused. +I thought that John Archer stood in danger of his life at the hands of +Richard de Chevron, and yet it was not Richard de Chevron, but another; +then, again, it was. I remember something about a murdered man, and +fearing it was John Archer, but on examining the corpse it was another. +Then I remember seeing John Archer handcuffed, and in great agony of +mind, and I thought him guilty of the murder, and then he was not +guilty. Then the dream began to change in such a manner as it would be +impossible to relate it; but throughout I remember the fiendish face of +Richard de Chevron. I was seized with an inexpressible horror, and could +bear it no longer; then I awoke." + +"My dear Claribel," said I, "pray do not disturb yourself for such a +ridiculous dream. You ought to know that all dreams are mad, the +offspring of impaired digestion or----" + +But she impatiently cut me short by a wave of the hand, as if she were +determined to believe in the warning character of her dream, despite all +my sophistry. + +However, I attempted a second time to account for the dream by the +aversion she had taken to Richard de Chevron at first sight and her +constantly brooding over her unfounded impressions. I tried argument, I +tried ridicule; but finding her proof against either, I held my tongue +and took up a piece of work. + +Claribel had thrown herself into an arm-chair, and there sat listlessly, +without occupying herself or hardly exchanging a word with me. Once, +indeed, she gasped out to herself "Oh, that I could save him!" and then +relapsed into her usual silence. + +About five minutes after, chancing to look up, I observed that my friend +appeared to be more languid than ever. She was dreadfully pale, her lips +colourless and slightly parted, the eyes half-closed. I thought she was +in a swoon, and now somewhat alarmed, I rose and advanced towards her. + +"Claribel," I cried, "what ails you--are you unwell?" + +She waved me away with her hand, so imagining it was nothing more than a +little weakness, I withdrew myself and resumed my work. Soon afterwards +she appeared to rally, and sat up in her chair. Her colour had returned +somewhat, and her eye seemed brighter, but her voice was still weak as +she muttered, "I have seen him. Oh! why did you disturb me?" + +"Seen him!" I exclaimed. "Seen whom?" + +"John Archer," she replied. + +"Nonsense," said I; "you have been dreaming." + +"I tell you, Molly," she replied, rather pettishly, "I have seen him, +and would have warned him had you not disturbed me." + +"Silly child," said I; "you have been dreaming; but you looked so very +ill that I grew alarmed, for I thought you were in a swoon." + +Just then my father entered the room and commenced talking on household +matters, so our conversation dropped; nor did I give it a further +thought until the evening, when John Archer made his appearance, as he +frequently did, to take his tea with us. + +"Good evening, Mistress Claribel," said he. "You were in a mighty hurry +to quit my company this morning after paying me such an unexpected +visit. Methinks you are chary of your presence. It is a mystery to me +how you appeared and disappeared from me without my perceiving either +the coming or the going of you." + +"How say you, Master John?" said my father, pricking up his ears. "Do +you say that our Claribel paid you a visit this morning?" + +"Ay, sir," replied John; "at about nine o'clock this morning, as I was +walking along with my gun, on his lordship's estate, I suddenly saw +Mistress Claribel coming straight in front of me. She looked as if she +were about to speak to me, when all of a sudden--I'm sure I can't tell +how--she disappeared. I looked round about me, and called her, but there +was no one. + +"Then I began to be alarmed, thinking something must have happened to +Mistress Claribel, and that I had seen her ghost. I could not let the +day pass by without dropping in to call to see if she were all right." + +"You must be mistaken, John," said I. "I assure you that Claribel has +not left the house all day. She has felt rather unwell." + +"Not left the house!" exclaimed Archer. "Why I saw her quite plain this +morning." + +"You must have been dreaming," said my father. + +But I noticed that he gave a glance of peculiar meaning at my friend and +self. I knew what was passing in his mind. I, too, shared the same +apprehensions. John Archer must have re-encountered Claribel's second +self, her much dreaded double. I then recalled the words of Claribel +that morning. + +"_I have seen him. Oh, why did you disturb me?_" + +My poor friend, I observed, was dreadfully confused as my father's eye +rested on her. The colour mounted to her cheeks, then vanished again, +leaving her deadly pale, and she seemed desirous to escape notice. Her +restlessness became extreme when John began persisting that he had not +been dreaming, that he could vouch for what he had seen, etc., etc. + +"You should get yourself bled, Master Archer," said my father; "you +can't be well." + +"I assure you I am in the very best of health," persisted John. + +"And I assure you, Master Archer, that Claribel has not quitted this +house to-day, to my certain knowledge," said my father. + +"What, not for a moment?" went on Archer, most annoyingly. "How say you, +Mistress Claribel, was it not you I saw this morning on Lord Edgedown's +estate as I was walking along with my gun over my shoulder?" + +Claribel grew red and pale by turns, and her lips began to move, as if +she felt herself forced to give some answer; but at that moment my +father seemed troubled with a violent fit of coughing which drowned her +reply. John waited quietly until the coughing was over, and then began +again. + +"Do you mean to say it was not you I saw this morning?" + +The coughing was resumed, and strange enough, always returned just as +John Archer began to open his mouth. John looked in wonderment, first +at Claribel, then at my father, then at Claribel again, and finally at +me. He had unwittingly touched upon a sore place. This he seemed to be +aware of; but how he had been to blame was a mystery to him. + +He suddenly changed the conversation, and began discoursing on +indifferent topics. The coughing ceased for that evening. As he rose to +go we followed him to the door, and I observed that Claribel, who was +the foremost, whispered something secretly into his ear at parting. I +myself was immediately behind her, and overheard the hurried words, +"John, you have an enemy. Beware!" + +Then she put her finger quickly to her lips, to prevent him giving any +outward expression to his wonderment, and the door closed upon our +guest. + +"You silly girl," said I to my friend as we were undressing that +evening, previous to retiring to rest. "What nonsense of you to try and +infect that young man with your own ungrounded fears. Do you think I did +not overhear what you said?" + +She looked a little downcast at this, but then instantly recovering, by +way of consoling herself, she ejaculated, "Nevertheless, I have warned +him," and she clasped her hands above her head enthusiastically. + +No further word was said about John Archer that night. On the following +morning I had occasion to call upon a neighbour who lived some four or +five miles off. I rose early, and started off on foot. As I was +returning home it came on to rain in such torrents that I was forced to +take shelter under a little shed that was annexed to a small hut +standing alone upon a hill, far from any other human dwelling. + +It was the only place at hand, and had it not been for the excessive +inclemency of the weather, I might have thought twice before choosing +such a place of refuge, for this was the abode of Madge Mandrake as she +was called--a personage feared by all, far and wide, both young and old. +She was renowned in the villages round about for her skill in telling +fortunes, in concocting drugs of every description, from love philtres +to the deadliest poisons, not less than for malice in bringing to pass +all sorts of trouble upon those who had had the misfortune to offend +her. If a cow died, it was Madge's doing; if the milk turned sour, or +the crops were blighted, Madge was accused of it; if a person died +suddenly, or an accident happened to anyone, Madge likewise had the +credit of it. Her dwelling, therefore, was shunned by all, and when she +ventured to walk abroad and to mix in crowded thoroughfares, she had but +to lift her crutch to send the whole populace flying helter-skelter, for +fear of being enchanted into unclean beasts, reptiles, and other +loathsome things. + +You may imagine then, gentlemen, my feelings; though naturally +courageous at finding myself obliged to seek shelter near the house of +so formidable a personage, I did my utmost to make no stir, so as not to +betray my whereabouts. + +There was a small window that looked from the cottage into the shed, but +so begrimed with dirt that I should not have been able to take a peep +into the house, had it not been for a pane of glass that was wanting. +Through this I was enabled to see the interior of this unhallowed +dwelling without being perceived. Before I ventured to peep through it I +heard two voices conversing together. + +I held my breath, and listened. The former was the harsh, cracked voice +of the crone herself; the latter was evidently that of a man, and +appeared to belong to a person of culture, for the tones were soft and +modulated. I began to fancy I recognised them; nor was I mistaken, as +you shall hear soon. + +"Well, Master de Chevron, and how have you been progressing in your work +since I saw you last?" said the crone. + +"Satisfactorily enough for my purpose, my good Madge," replied the other +voice. "I have brought it with me for your approval." + +Here the speaker, whom I could now recognise as no other than Richard de +Chevron, drew from under his cloak something carefully wrapt up in +tissue paper. Having unwound the paper, he discovered a small statue of +a man, about a foot in height, apparently in wax. + +"Why, you have got it as like as could be!" exclaimed the crone. "Yes, +that is John Archer, sure enough; there is no mistaking him." + +My curiosity began to be roused, and Claribel's apprehensions for John's +safety rushed across my mind. Though I was not near to the figure, I +could see plainly that it was intended for a likeness of John Archer, +and that it carried a gun over one arm. The hag seized the image in one +hand with a sort of fiendish glee, and commenced mumbling some +inarticulate sounds. + +I trembled from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, for I had +heard of this way of working mischief on one's enemies from afar, and I +feared lest some dreadful harm should happen to poor John, so I offered +up a hasty prayer for his safety. + +"The charm is said," croaked the witch. "Now let the work begin." + +Here she set the image upright, and taking a long sharp pin she seemed +about to transfix the waxen image with it; but I noticed that her hand +trembled violently. I still continued to pray fervently, whereupon the +witch was seized with such a fit of sneezing and wheezing that she was +unable to proceed in her work. + +"Why, Madge," said De Chevron, "what is the matter? How have you managed +to catch such a cold all of a sudden?" + +"Odds blood! I know not," answered the beldam; "it is as if I was in +church." + +At the word "church" the wheezing came on again. + +"Ah! I see," said De Chevron; "It is the wind that is howling through +that broken pane of glass," and he pointed to the very pane through +which I was peeping. + +I thought my last hour was come, for I was sure to be discovered. +However, I ducked down in a corner, whilst De Chevron stopped up the +missing pane with a filthy rag without even catching a sight of me. + +Rising again to my feet, I managed to open the little window the least +bit ajar, but just enough to see and hear all. My fright was so great +all this time that I had unwittingly slacked a little in my prayer, and +just at that moment Madge made a desperate plunge with the pin, which +appeared aimed at the heart of the image; but as I had now recommenced +my prayers, alas, somewhat too late, the pin missed its mark, but +pierced the barrel of the gun, which, together with the thumb of the +figure, fell upon the table. + +"Better next time, Madge," said De Chevron. "Try again." + +She made another essay, and then another, but missed the figure +altogether. + +"I am not as young as I was," she said, by way of apology, "and neither +my eyesight nor my hand are to be relied upon as of old." + +However, she aimed again and again at the figure, but with the same +result. + +"Why, you _are_ getting old, Madge!" said De Chevron, surprised at her +repeated failures. "Come, let me put the pins in." + +Seizing the image with one hand and a long pin with the other--(here +again my breath failed me through fear, and I omitted to pray)--he first +pierced the arm of the figure that supported the gun in one place, and +then in another higher up. He then took a third pin and seemed about to +pierce the image in the region of the heart, when I, now really alarmed +for the victim, again offered up a short and fervent prayer. + +De Chevron instantly dropped the pin, as if it had been red hot; but +immediately taking up another, he made a furious thrust at the body of +the image, but his hand went off widely from the mark, leaving the image +unscathed. + +"Why, how is this?" exclaimed De Chevron, in astonishment. + +"Ha! ha! Master de Chevron," laughed the witch, "you are no better than +old Madge after all." + +"Well, this _is_ strange!" muttered De Chevron to himself, after having +tried once or twice more and failed. + +"Are you quite sure you have repeated the charm aright, Madge?" + +"Quite sure," replied the crone; "but, beshrew me, if I don't think +there is some hostile element at hand that counteracts the charm. Just +look at the way Grimalkin arches his back and ruffles his fur." + +I now noticed a huge black tom cat, of a size that I never remember to +have seen before or since, whose luminous eyes flashed red and green by +turns from an obscure corner of the hovel. + +"There! there! _there_!" cried De Chevron, furiously, accompanying each +word with a thrust, but missing each time. + +Then, in his rage at being foiled thus, he raised the image in order to +dash it to the ground; but the wax having melted somewhat in his hand, +it stuck to his fingers like pitch, and he was obliged to disengage it +gently and place it on the small table just underneath the window +through which I was peeping. + +"I'll tell you what it is, Madge," said he, "there is more witchcraft in +this countercharm, whatever it is, than in all your skill. There must +be, as you say, some contrary influence at work. How else should it be +possible for me to fail every time, as if I were smitten with the palsy? +Let us go out and see if anyone is lurking near the hut." + +So leaving the image on the table, he strode towards the opposite door, +which he opened wide, followed by the beldam. + +Not a moment was to be lost. The instant their backs were turned I +cautiously opened the window, and introducing my arm until it touched +the table beneath, I secured the image, re-closed the window +noiselessly, and flew as fast as my feet could carry me through the +pelting rain with the image under my shawl. + +I had hardly reached home, quite out of breath, when Claribel came +running to me, pale and trembling, and wringing her hands. + +"Oh! Molly, dear," she cried, sobbing, "what do you think has happened +to that poor young man John Archer?" + +"What is it?" I asked, anxiously. "Anything in connection with Richard +de Chevron?" + +"I cannot exactly say that," she replied. "It seems to have been purely +an accident. This is how it was. His gun suddenly burst in a most +unaccountable manner whilst he was carrying it over his arm, and carried +off one of his thumbs. No surgeon could be procured at the time, and the +wound appears to have gangrened and to have infected the whole arm. The +surgeon, who has only just arrived, says that it will be necessary to +remove the arm to save his life." + +"Not for worlds!" cried I, with animation. "I'll be responsible for his +life. There," said I, producing the waxen image and hastily withdrawing +the two pins still sticking in the arm of the figure, and which in my +hurry I had omitted to extract till now. "There, now the mortification +in the arm will have stopped. Send directly to the surgeon that the +operation will be no longer necessary. Nay, I will go myself." + +"What does all this mean?" asked Claribel, astonished beyond measure. + +"No matter now," I answered. "I am off at once. If you like you may come +with me; but first let me lock up this image in a place where it will +not be touched." + +So saying, I put on my bonnet and shawl again, and dragging Claribel +after me, we ran with all our might and main to the cottage where poor +John lay stretched on a pallet, the surgeon with his knife ready +sharpened for the operation, standing over him, about to commence. +Another second would have been too late. + +"Hold your hand, doctor!" I cried, suddenly. "The mortification has +ceased, and the operation will be no longer necessary. I will be +answerable for this young man's life without his losing his arm." + +I spoke with an authority that completely astonished the doctor, for he +looked bewilderingly first at me and then at my friend; but at length +said, "I understand nothing of all this. I have been called here by this +young man's family to give my professional opinion, and I say that +unless he submits to lose his arm, his life will be endangered." + +"But the mortification has ceased. Would you amputate a limb without +necessity for so doing?" + +"Certainly not." + +"Well, then, look for yourself. Where is the mortification?" + +Here the surgeon glanced at the arm, and looked wondrous wise. + +"The mortification has ceased beyond a doubt," he said at length. "Well, +I never saw such a thing in all my life. What! am I dreaming," he +muttered. "I do not understand all this. How came you, Miss Molly, +to--to----" + +"Hush!" said I. + +Then lowering my mouth to his ear, I whispered a few words, and put my +finger to my lip, to enjoin silence. The doctor arched his eyebrows till +they nearly touched the roots of his hair, screwed up his mouth to the +size of a buttonhole, and gave vent to a prolonged "wh-e-w!" + +He soon after left the house, and we were left alone for a while to +comfort the sufferer. During the few moments that we were left alone +together I recounted briefly the whole of my adventure. + +Both John and Claribel were completely thunder-struck at my recital, and +Claribel muttered half to herself and half to me, "And to think that it +should be Richard de Chevron, after all. I knew he was a villain." + +John speedily recovered. He had received no further injury than the loss +of his thumb. He often called at our house afterwards, and upon seeing +the waxen image immediately recognised it as a likeness of himself. It +being now beyond a doubt that Richard de Chevron, out of jealousy, had +conspired against the life of John Archer and being equally certain in +my own mind, from a knowledge of De Chevron's character, that he would +not let his victim slip so easily through his fingers, but, foiled in +his first attempt, would lose no time in employing some other means of +removing his rival from his path, I began to rack my brains in search of +some scheme to thwart the machinations of this villain. + +"What if he should make another waxed image, and shutting himself up in +his own house, carry out his infernal spells without interruption?" I +said to myself. If so, what could I do? + +John Archer should have our constant prayers; beyond this there was no +impediment to De Chevron's evil designs. The law would give us no +redress. I was very sure of that. Witchcraft had ceased to be believed +in, and the case would be dismissed. One thought, indeed, crossed my +mind for a moment, which I mentioned to Claribel, and this was to pay +back De Chevron in his own coin by converting the image of John Archer +into a likeness of De Chevron and experimenting upon the villain from +afar in the same manner as he had designed to practise against John +Archer. + +It was but a momentary thought and a sinful, and the proposal was +rejected by Claribel instantly and with horror. + +"Should we," said she, "put ourselves on a level with a murderous +villain, using against him the same unhallowed means that he himself had +not hesitated to use against his victim?" + +But besides the light in which my friend had put my proposition, there +was another argument against the scheme that perhaps had more weight +with me. In order to change the image from the likeness of John Archer +into a likeness of De Chevron it would be necessary to destroy the image +altogether first, and this, for what I knew, might put John Archer's +life in peril. This last argument decided me, and I resolved to guard +the image as jealously as possible, and to proceed against De Chevron by +natural means solely. An idea flashed across me that there might be some +countercharm against evil spells if we could only find it out. Indeed, I +remembered to have heard that there was, and musing thus within myself, +I suddenly recollected to have heard a couplet in my childhood that ran +thus: + + "Vervain and Dill + Keep witches from their will." + +These two herbs, then, were countercharms. I was resolved to try the +experiment, so procuring some of each without more delay, I gave them +into the possession of John Archer, who promised me to wear them always +about him; and whether or no De Chevron ever made any further attempt +against the life of his rival by means of magic I know not, but if he +did he must signally have failed, as for ever so long afterwards Archer +enjoyed the most perfect health and remained free from any further +accident. + +Whether De Chevron suspected that John Archer possessed some +countercharm against which his evil spells were vain, or if he again +essayed his magic after his first defeat, we know not, but certain it +was that he still cherished hatred against his rival, upon whom he was +determined to bring trouble, if not by necromancy, at least by natural +means. + +For some time past he had not been near us. This was evidently to ward +off suspicion from himself and check the village gossip. However, soon +after the disappearance of the image--whether or no he suspected it was +I who purloined it and wished to brave the matter out--he called and +informed us that he was going to London on important business, and had +come to take leave of us for a time. There was nothing in his manner +that appeared the least constrained or abashed. On the contrary, he +seemed more lively and witty than usual, asked kindly after all our +family, and even John Archer, whom he said he had not seen for a long +time, although he had heard of his misfortune, for which he professed +great sympathy, and hoped the poor fellow would not take his loss too +much to heart; adding that it was lucky that they had managed to save +his life without amputating his arm. + +Throughout all his discourse his manner had so much of frankness and +sincerity that I could hardly bring myself to believe that he was the +same villain whose infernal plot against the innocent John Archer, I had +accidentally unravelled. I began to think that somehow or other I must +have been under a delusion, until chancing to glance towards a glazed +cupboard in which the wax figure stood upright and was easily +discernable from where I stood, the whole of my recent adventure came +back to me forcibly. Yet there sat the author of this unhallowed deed, +this would-be murderer, smiling and chatting and paying compliments with +the easy grace of a courtier, with a countenance frank and open as a +spring morning. How could a girl of my age, ignorant of the world and +its wickedness, possibly imagine that a heart so black could be +concealed underneath so smooth an exterior? Had I not had positive proof +of his villainy within reach, I should certainly never have believed him +capable of such a deed. Even as it was I was obliged to gaze frequently +at the cupboard in order to reassure myself that I was not dreaming and +to prevent myself from being won over by his tongue. + +De Chevron was a quick observer, and noticed our furtive glances towards +the cupboard. Then fixing his spy-glass in his eye, he looked in the +same direction; but either saw or affected to see nothing. Afterwards he +got up and walked about the room, conversing the while, and in so doing +passed several times in front of the cupboard, looking in casually as he +passed. + +I felt sure that he must have seen the image, though there was nothing +in his manner that I could discover at all confused or unusual. I +believe he would have braved the matter out if I had told him to his +face that it was I myself who had stolen the image after I had overheard +with my own ears this villainous plot against poor John. He was just the +sort of man who would have looked me full in the face and denied ever in +his life having been in Madge Mandrake's cottage. + +He would have tried to make me believe that I had been the victim of +some fearful delusion from my over-excited fears or what not, that the +image was not of his making; would have denied ever having set eyes on +it before. Nor would, in all probability, have seen any likeness +whatever to John Archer, and would have treated as nothing more than a +coincidence the fact of John's gun and the loss of his thumb occurring +at the same time that the gun and thumb of the waxen figure were damaged +by old Madge's pin thrust. + +He would have asked me if I thought him capable of believing in such +trumpery, and would have tried to laugh me out of my superstition. All +this I should have expected from him, such was his amount of assurance. +Once I had it on the tip of my tongue to ask him what he thought of the +image, and if he knew anyone it resembled; and would have done it, too, +as I was anxious to observe what effect a sudden allusion to the image +would have had upon him, but at that moment my father, who knew nothing +of the affair of the waxen image, entered the room, and the conversation +took another direction. + +Shortly afterwards he left the house, promising to call again after his +return from London. As he had been so particular in telling us of his +intended visit to London, of course, I believed him. What reason could I +have had for not doing so? Nevertheless, it proved to be all a +falsehood. He never had any intention of going to London at all; and +never left the village. + +But why this deceit? you will naturally ask. Listen, and tell me if you +could have imagined a scheme so diabolical as the following ever +entering into human brain. To carry out his base designs he hired a +certain pedlar, one Michael Rag, well known to be a shady character, +and envious of John Archer's comparatively easy circumstances, so having +talked him over, if not by bribery, at least by instigating him in a +manner suggested by his own natural cunning as calculated to excite the +covetous disposition of the tool he intended to use for his own +purposes, to purloin John Archer's silver watch, a present he had +received from his master for his faithful services. + +This watch De Chevron represented to the pedlar as being one of superior +workmanship, and far too good for a man of John Archer's position to +wear. He blamed his uncle for lavishing handsome presents upon +undeserving hangers-on. Who, after all, was John Archer? He (De Chevron) +could remember him in worse circumstances even than the pedlar himself. +Whence his good fortune? From his merit? Pooh! It was easy enough for +any man to keep a good place when he had once got it, if he wasn't quite +a fool. Then as to his getting it in the first place, mere luck. Why, as +if there were not many a better man than John Archer for such a post. +Was he more honest than any other? Bah! every man is honest until he is +found out to be the contrary. + +Thus, first by raising the pedlar's cupidity by a vivid description of +the watch, then by giving an additional stimulant to his envious nature +by representing the owner of the watch as unworthy of such a present, he +finally wound up by insinuating, rather than broadly stating, that the +pedlar himself was a man of merit and deserved being in a better +position than John Archer, if all men had their rights. + +In fact, such was De Chevron's power of persuasion, that he at last, by +dint of subtle arguments, made irresistible by the courteous grace by +which they were set off, and, moreover, making it appear that he himself +could have no object in giving such advice, that he at length succeeded +in making the pedlar believe that he was a very ill-used man, and that +as fortune had been so niggardly to him, considering his merits, whilst +she squandered her favours on the undeserving, that it was quite +excusable in him; nay, it was his duty, and nothing more than what he +owed to himself to seek his own fortune by appropriating a portion of +that superfluous wealth unjustly held back from him by the capricious +goddess and given into unworthy hands. + +It was not difficult for De Chevron to ignite the already too +inflammable cupidity of the pedlar. A hint was enough. From that hour +the watch was doomed. Seeing that his words had had their effect, he +applauded the determination of the pedlar, and added that though he had +no interest in mixing himself up in such affairs, yet he liked to +encourage enterprising men, and he himself would furnish him with the +means of making his booty doubly sure, and without which he represented +it would be madness to make the attempt. + +He showed him that John Archer always carried a gun with him, that he +was a hot-tempered young fellow, and would shoot him as soon as look at +him if he attempted and failed. + +"One must use all one's resources, in case of need," he added, and +suggested that the securest way to obtain the watch would be to +administer to Archer a glass of drugged wine, which he might easily +induce the unsuspecting youth to accept. This drug (which De Chevron had +in his possession and which was probably concocted by his friend and +ally, Madge Mandrake) produced instantaneous sleep for full five hours +on the person partaking of it. It was agreed then that the pedlar should +carry in his coat pocket a bottle of the said drugged wine, together +with a wine glass, that towards evening he should wander about a certain +unfrequented road which bordered on Lord Edgedown's estate, and near +which Archer was sure to be at a certain hour. + +Should he catch sight of John Archer, he was to accost him civilly, +invite him to converse, then after a time produce the bottle and glass +and say that he had some dozens of very choice wine which if he (John +Archer) could only induce his lordship to buy that it would be the +making of his fortune. He would then pour out a glassful, which he would +offer the young gamekeeper to try himself; should he refuse, he was to +press him so urgently that he would at length be forced to comply. + +When Archer should have once tossed off the glass, Mike would wait some +moments until he was in a perfectly sound sleep, when he would be +enabled to steal not only his watch and what else he might have in his +pockets, but also his gun. + +The pedlar jumped at the proposition, and armed with his bottle of +drugged wine, he set off the selfsame evening for the spot agreed upon, +followed at a distance by De Chevron himself, just to give the alarm, as +he suggested, by a sharp shrill whistle, should anyone approach to +interrupt their design. + +Backed up by the help of De Chevron, the pedlar knew no fear, nor did it +ever enter his head, so blinded was he by greed, that De Chevron could +possibly have any object in thus lending him his help. + +The evening arrived. It was now about a week after De Chevron's supposed +departure, and so close had been his confinement to the house all this +time, that I do not believe there was a soul in all the village but +believed that he was absent on business in London at the time. + +As the evening agreed upon drew in, De Chevron, disguising himself as +best he might in a large loose cloak that he never had been seen to wear +and a hat unlike that he was known by in the village, set out in the +dusk towards the lonely road, following the pedlar at a considerable +distance. The pedlar advanced towards the spot singing. + +"Good morrow, Master Archer," he said, as the young gamekeeper made his +appearance from behind a hedge, "and how does the world go for you? +Easily enough, eh?" + +"Well enough, for the matter of that," replied Archer, carelessly. + +"Ah! you lucky dog, your bread and butter's cut for life. Wouldn't I +like to be in your shoes without doing you any harm!" said the pedlar. + +"Would you?" laughed Archer. "Why, I'm sure you have no reason to +complain of your lot. A pedlar's is a good business." + +"Well, I don't exactly complain," replied the pedlar, with proud +humility; "but--but----" + +"But," interrupted Archer, "we all like to be a little better off than +we are. Isn't that it?" asked the gamekeeper, with a laugh. + +"Well, I dare say you are not far wrong, Archer my boy," said the +pedlar, wheedlingly. "It's natural you know, ain't it? By the way, +Johnny old fellow, do you think you could do an old friend a great +favour? It won't cost you anything. I'm not going to ask you to lend me +any money." + +"Well," said John, "what is it?" + +"Why, the fact is," said Mike, "that I have got some fine stuffs that +will do for curtains or to cover chairs with. I've got carpets, +mattresses, and I don't know what all. Besides which I have got some +excellent wine, superfine quality, which if you could induce your master +to buy, my fortune would be made." + +"It would be useless," answered John Archer. "His lordship never buys +either stuffs or wine from country hawkers, but has up everything from +London." + +"Well, I suppose he would, you know, a great man like him. Still, when a +good thing comes in your way, something unique, like this wine of mine, +why, it would be madness to let it slip through your fingers without +even giving it a trial. Look here now." Here he produced the bottle. +"This wine I am in the habit of always carrying about with me as a +sample. Here, just taste it. It'll do your heart good." Here he poured +out a glass. + +"Thank you, no," said Archer. + +"Nonsense, man," said the pedlar, "what are you afraid of?" + +"Nothing," replied Archer, "only I don't care about it, thank you." + +"Drink, drink, man. What's the matter with you?" + +"Drink it yourself, I won't rob you of it," said John. + +"Oh, as to that, Jack my boy, I'm not niggardly in offering my wine, +especially when I meet old friends, you know, besides, I am interested +in your tasting this, because, you see, when you have once drunk this +little glassful you will be better able to speak well of it to your +master, and he _might_ honour me so far as to purchase a dozen. But, +interest apart, take a glass for old friendship's sake, or I shall take +offence. Come, no excuse; here you are!" + +John Archer, wearied out by the pedlar's importunities, could resist no +longer, and suspecting nothing, tossed off the glass at a gulp. + +"Good, indeed," he had barely time to say, as he gave back the glass. +"Gramercy! how is this? My head swims. I--I----" + +He was unable to finish his sentence, but fell like a log to the ground. +The pedlar's eyes glistened as he witnessed the speedy effects of the +drug. In another moment his fingers were fumbling in the waistcoat +pocket of the prostrate John Archer, and he had succeeded in +transferring the watch from the gamekeeper's pocket to his own. + +He then began rifling his other pockets, but there was little else worth +taking on poor John's person--a few loose coins, perhaps, nothing more. + +At this moment De Chevron came up, and lifting the gun from the ground, +said, "This gun is yours, Mike." + +Then, retreating a few paces behind the pedlar, he levelled the gun at +his head, but not being quite correct in his aim, the bullet lodged in +the man's shoulder. Mike gave a yell of agony on finding himself +wounded, but he still might have imagined that the gun had gone off +accidentally and had thus hit him in the shoulder, had not De Chevron +immediately come up and with one tremendous blow on the head from the +butt end of the gun, felled him to the ground. + +"Treachery!" feebly gasped out the wretched man. + +Then followed a second blow, a third and even a fourth, until the +unhappy dupe spoke no more. To drag the body to a ditch thickly +overgrown with nettles and brambles which completely concealed it from +view was the work of the moment, having previously despoiled the corpse +of its recently acquired treasure and restored the same to the pocket of +its owner, who still lay in the arms of Morpheus. Then replacing the gun +by the side of its sleeping master, and bedaubing the gamekeeper's +clothes with blood, he first poured out the contents of the pedlar's +bottle on the grass, then started homewards. + +No one appears to have met him, either before or after the murder. +Circumstances seem to have been peculiarly favourable to him that +evening, for chancing to be excessively windy at that hour, and the road +being of loose white sand, not a single footprint was to be discovered +the next morning. It was somewhere about midnight when John Archer woke +up from his trance. His first wonderment was how he got there. He +imagined that he must in some way or other have become intoxicated. Then +he thought of the pedlar. It was strange, he did not remember having +drunk more than one glass, but it was not until he reached his cot that +he was aware of the plight he was in. + +Where did all that blood come from? he asked himself. He must be wounded +he thought. However, he examined himself all over and could discover +nothing. The barrel of his gun was discharged, too, and the butt end of +it stained with blood. He was more bewildered than ever. He then related +the whole of the circumstances to his parents, who, however, could not +bring themselves to believe otherwise than that their son must have been +intoxicated, although his character for sobriety was well known. + +The blood stains, however, and the discharged barrel still remained a +mystery and became the subject of much conjecture amongst his friends. +The blood, as he owned himself, did not proceed from any wound he had +received. Whose blood was it then? The butt end of his gun being stained +with blood would argue violence used against some person or animal. + +John was known to be an honest and humane man--the very last man in the +world to commit murder; still, under the influence of intoxication he +might have committed a rash act. When questioned as to whether he +remembered anything, he shook his head, and merely related his interview +with the pedlar, from whom he felt confident of not having accepted more +than one glass of wine. His manner throughout all this questioning was +open and frank, and everyone agreed that, mysterious as the affair +appeared, they were quite sure that young Archer was innocent of murder. + +The day after, however, a waggoner's dog passing by the scene of the +murder was observed by its master to be sniffing and burrowing in a +certain ditch. The waggoner took no notice of the circumstance at first, +until the dog set up a howl and refused to leave the spot. It then +seemed to be tearing or dragging some heavy substance with its teeth, +and finally succeeded in leaving bare the body of the pedlar. The +pedlar had already been missed in the village, and the waggoner at once +recognised the body. He lost no time in rousing the neighbourhood, for +he dreaded being discovered near the corpse, lest he should be +implicated in the murder. + +The body of the pedlar was removed to the nearest cottage, and a surgeon +sent for immediately to examine it. Contrary to everybody's expectation, +the surgeon pronounced that life was not yet extinct, though he held out +no hopes at all of ultimate recovery. + +He did all he could do under the circumstances, gave his instructions to +the inmates of the cottage, and said that he would call again. Then +arose the question, who could be the perpetrator of the deed? Suspicion +immediately attached itself to John Archer. + +Witnesses came forward and deposed that they had met John Archer with +blood on his clothes and the butt end of his rifle also stained with +blood. The wounds on the head of the all-but murdered man appeared to +have been inflicted by the butt end of a rifle, therefore this was +strong evidence; but there was yet stronger. The bullet having been +extracted from the dying man's shoulder, was at once recognised by all +as belonging to John Archer, his bullets being marked always in a +peculiar manner, added to which it fitted exactly into the bore of +Archer's rifle. + +This last evidence was considered conclusive, and John Archer was +conducted off to prison to await his trial at the next assizes. Imagine +the grief and dismay of poor John's aged parents, who had looked forward +to his being the prop of their old age, at hearing that their only son +had been arrested on a charge of murder. Imagine the shame and confusion +of John himself, the surprise and indignation of his intimate friends, +including ourselves, who still believed in his innocence. + +As for poor Claribel, she was struck completely dumb at the news; she +could not believe her ears. It was not for a considerable time that she +could realise the fact; but when she did, she neither fainted, burst +into tears, nor behaved in any way extravagantly. Her grief was too +deeply seated. She moped about the house with her eyes fixed, as if she +were walking in her sleep. It was just this calm, in a nature like hers, +that I dreaded far more than any violent transport of grief, for I +feared that the shock had been too great for her, and had turned her +brain. What made the affair doubly painful to her was that the village +people had already begun to couple her name with John Archer's. + +Folks speaking of the arrest would say that it was Claribel Falkland's +young man that had been arrested for murder, although there had never +been anything like an engagement between them. + +When she recovered herself somewhat, she said, "Molly, depend upon it, +that De Chevron is at the bottom of this." + +Now, although I knew De Chevron to be a hardened villain and capable of +any atrocity, I did not see myself how he could possibly be connected +with the murder, he being absent from the village at the time. Neither +did I for a moment believe John Archer capable of the crime. The +evidence against him was singularly unfortunate, it is true; but no one +who knew the man as intimately as we did could really have believed him +guilty. It was clear that someone must have committed the murder. Who, +then, was likely to have done so? + +De Chevron was a villain, we knew, but that was no proof that he was the +murderer. However, I excused this seeming unreasonableness in my friend, +considering the state of her mind at the time, and merely suggested: + +"But he is in London, my dear." + +"I tell you he is mixed up in the affair," persisted Claribel. "I was +warned of this in my dream." + +"I fear that would have little weight in a court of justice," I replied. + +"De Chevron is the murderer, and no one else," she persisted, doggedly. + +"But, my dear Claribel," said I, soothingly, "allowing that he is a +wicked, heartless villain, just think for a moment how you would support +your accusation in a court of law. A pedlar is found murdered in a +ditch, and a gentleman of De Chevron's condition now in London, where he +has been for the last week, is accused of the murder. Consider the +absurdity of the idea." + +"How do you know he has been in London all the time?" asked my friend. + +"Well, I grant you, I did not see him go," said I; "but when a man +gives out that he is going away from a place, and has not been seen by +anyone since, especially when it is in a little village like this, where +everybody knows everybody else's business, the probability is that he +has left." + +"Do not be too sure," said Claribel. "We must examine into the affair." + +"Oh, that is easily done," said I; "but even should he not have +departed, if he should have changed his mind and remained here, what +does that prove? Besides, what motive could a gentleman have in taking +the life of a poor, unknown, itinerant pedlar?" + +"To lay the blame on John Archer, his rival, and get him into trouble," +was my friend's reply. "Do you not think him capable?" + +"I think him capable of anything that's bad," said I; "but that's not +the point. You must, first of all, have reason enough on your side to +prove that he did, which you have not. Look, now, at the evidence +against young Archer. A young man returns home to his family after +midnight, his clothes disordered and bloodstained, his gun discharged, +and the butt end of it clotted with blood. When questioned, he is unable +to give any satisfactory account of himself. Says he remembers nothing +but having accepted one glass of wine from a pedlar. He relates that he +woke up towards midnight and discovered that he had been sleeping for +hours in the open air, near to the spot where the body of the pedlar is +found on the day following. + +"His friends do not believe him guilty because, forsooth, he has earned +a reputation for truthfulness, steadiness, and sobriety; yet might not +the opposite party contend that it was not impossible that he might, +once in his life, have broken through his custom of rigid abstinence, +and in a moment of intoxication, picking a quarrel with the pedlar, +first discharged his gun at him--for, remember that the bullet extracted +from the pedlar's shoulder has been recognised as Archer's bullet--and +afterwards, finding his adversary not mortally wounded, had hastened his +death by knocking out his brains with the butt end of his rifle. That he +had afterwards himself fallen into a drunken sleep and entirely +forgotten the events of the preceding evening is not at all impossible. +This would be the more charitable way of looking at the affair; but, +alas, there is another circumstance that puts it in a more serious +light, and that is the hiding of the body. The body has been discovered +in a ditch, carefully concealed from view by weeds and brambles. This +argues reason. Is it probable that a man who commits homicide in a +drunken brawl, being so drunk at the time as to fall down on the damp +ground and sleep there the whole night through, that he should have been +sufficiently master of himself to drag off the body of his victim and +successfully conceal it from view in an overgrown ditch?" + +"I cannot and will not believe him so base as to be guilty of wilful +murder, neither will I believe that he committed homicide in a fit of +intoxication. If he took the pedlar's life at all--I say _if_ he +did--why, then I lean towards the belief that he did it whilst under +some evil spell of Richard de Chevron's. What do you believe, Molly?" + +"No matter, dear, what I believe," said I; "I am a woman, like yourself, +and too likely to be influenced by my feelings. I do not wish to believe +him guilty, and should be very much surprised and horror-struck if he +really were so, after the good opinion we all have had of him. But all +that goes for nothing. I merely tell you how the world will judge him." + +Poor Claribel could not help seeing that it was likely to go hard with +John. + +"Oh! if they should condemn him unjustly and execute him!" she cried, in +agony. + +Poor child! It was all I could do to comfort her. I told her the law was +not rash in condemning anyone to death; that inquiries would be made, +that the real perpetrator of the deed could not fail to be discovered, +sooner or later, when he would suffer the penalty of the law, and the +innocent man be acquitted. I had attempted to excite hopes in her that I +myself dared hardly entertain, and that she, poor child, I could see, +looked upon as poor consolation. + +We both retired to rest that night with heavy hearts, but the next +morning Claribel woke up with a smile on her face, although she looked +very pale and worn. + +"Molly, dear, I saw him last night," she said. + +"Did you, really? What, John Archer?" I asked, for I no longer now +doubted her word when she spoke in this manner. + +"Yes," she replied, "and I promised to call again to give him +consolation." + +"How did you manage to speak to him?" I asked. + +"By signs only; but he understood me." + +"Was he asleep?" I asked. + +"No; he was tossing restlessly on his pallet." + +"Then he could not possibly imagine he had been dreaming." + +"I think not, as this is the second time I have appeared to him in the +spirit." + +"I remember you told me once before that you had seen him, and he +himself confirmed it, although I know that you never left the house that +day. But, tell me, did no one see you enter?" + +"What matter if they did? Bolts and bars are no obstacles to a spirit." + +"And you passed through prison walls and bolted doors without +opposition?" + +"I did, and I promised that I should be with him again in his cell as +the clock struck two, so that he might be quite sure that he had not +been dreaming." + +"You will keep your appointment, of course?" I said. + +"If I do not, I do not know who it will be that will prevent me." + +Here our conversation ceased, and we passed our time as usual until it +drew towards two o'clock in the afternoon, when my friend suddenly +stopped in the middle of talking and said, + +"Do not disturb me, Molly dear, or allow anyone else to. I am going to +John." + +Then throwing herself back in an arm-chair, she appeared almost +immediately in a sound sleep, resembling a swoon. I then observed, as it +were, two outlines to her form, for a cloudy substance like a halo began +to envelop her, which, widening as it rose upwards, from the body began +to solidify or partially so, and to assume the exact form and features +of Claribel. Having separated itself from her person, it passed rapidly +before my face like a gust of wind, causing my hair to stir and crackle +as if singed with a candle,[20] and passing head foremost through the +window with inconceivable velocity was instantly lost to my view. + +An indescribable feeling of horror passed over me at being left thus +alone with what appeared to be the corpse of my friend. The next moment +my father entered the room, and fearing lest he should wake my friend in +the middle of her trance by his talking, I ran to the door and begged he +would not enter, as Claribel felt rather poorly and he might awake her, +so he prudently retired to another room, when I gently turned the key of +the door and kept watch close to the clay of my friend until the spirit +should return to re-animate it. + +Let us now take a peep at John in prison. Poor fellow! He had not slept +a wink all night. He rose worn and languid. Disdaining his frugal +breakfast of bread and water, with arms folded, eyes fixed and head sunk +upon his breast, he paced dejectedly up and down the narrow limits of +his cell. + +"Is this John Archer?" he soliloquised. "Is this the man once surrounded +by friends, the hope and pride of his parents, the favoured servant of +Lord Edgedown, honoured and respected by all, now handcuffed and led off +to prison on a charge of murder to await an ignominious trial, and +probably be condemned to hang by the neck till he is dead in the +presence of a jeering rabble? It cannot be. I must be transformed. I +must be dreaming. This is not John Archer. Is John Archer a murderer? +Can I really have committed a murder in a state of delirium which has +obliterated all recollection of the crime committed? It must be so. How +else could I have slept all night on the bare ground and on awaking find +my gun discharged, my clothes bloodstained, and even the butt end of my +rifle besmeared with blood? + +"How is all this to be accounted for? I must have committed murder. Who +will believe me if I assert my innocence, or how will the law be brought +to look upon the crime as committed during temporary insanity? No; I +shall be found guilty, condemned, and executed. I do believe that the +vision of last night that appeared to me bearing the form and features +of Claribel was my guardian angel come to apprise me of my doom. + +"Oh, Claribel, Claribel! must we then for ever be parted? But what was +that vision? Claribel in the flesh? For so it appeared; for sure it was +no dream, yet how could that be? Could she herself have broken through +bolts and bars or obtained a pass to speak to me alone? Impossible! Was +it, perchance, some fiend having taken upon himself the likeness of +those divine features in order so to mock me? Or was it merely an +hallucination of my distempered brain? Whatever it was, I would that it +were here again so that I might feast my eyes once more upon its lovely +features ere I die." + +He paused suddenly, for now, whether it were some trick of the senses, +some hallucination conjured up by his over-excited brain, in the +opposite corner of his cell something like a bluish vapour appeared, +which seemed to grow denser, to solidify until it grew into the +semblance of a human form, bearing the features of--whom? + +"Claribel!" gasped out the prisoner, hardly above his breath, for his +voice died within him and he remained awe-stricken. "What! Do I rave? +Oh, beauteous image! Claribel! Claribel! Tell me, oh, my guardian angel, +hast thou come to announce my doom, to solace my last moments? Oh, if +it be thou indeed, Claribel, in the flesh and no delusion of my senses, +come to me, let me feel the pressure of thy hand." + +At this moment he sprang forward and attempted to seize the hand of the +figure, which he had no sooner touched than it melted in his grasp, +causing him to feel such a supernatural terror that he staggered +backwards and gave an involuntary shriek. + +The figure put its finger to its lip, the forefinger of the very hand +that had vanished into thin air at the material touch of John Archer, +but which had immediately resumed its previously defined form upon the +withdrawing of Archer's hand. + +"Angel or fiend!" he exclaimed. "Whatever thou art, that comest to me in +this lovely guise, declare thy mission, unveil to me the future, and +spare not mine ears if my doom be sealed. If there be hope----" + +Here the figure again put its finger to its lip in token of silence, for +Archer, now somewhat over his first surprise, spoke no longer in a husky +whisper, but in a loud voice. + +"Tell me, tell me," continued the prisoner, lowering his voice, "thou +who seemest no being of this world, and who doubtless art cognisant of +secrets beyond our ken, tell me in pity how I have deserved this fate. +Say, have these hands really been dyed in the blood of one of my +fellow-men during the lapse of some passing insanity? Say, why am I +here? Dost thou, O spirit, think me guilty?" + +The phantom answered not, save by a look of commiseration and a slow +shake of the head. + +"I see that thou thinkest me not guilty. I thank thee for that. Mine +innocence may yet be proved." + +The spectre's features lighted up with a look of hope, as if it would +answer "I wish it may." + +"Angelic being!" he pursued, "vouchsafe me but one word. Say, will the +true murderer be found?" + +Another look of hope lighted up the spirit's features. + +"He will, he will; I feel he will!" exclaimed the prisoner, +enthusiastically. "Thank Heaven! But one word more. Dost know the +criminal?" + +The same look again, accompanied this time by a slight inclination of +the head. + +"Ah! thou knowest him? His name, his name; tell me!" Here the figure +appeared somewhat confused, as if struggling to speak; then gliding +rather than walking up to the wall of the cell, it traced with its +finger the letters of a name in characters that appeared burnt into the +stone, during which operation a crackling sound was heard similar to +that before alluded to, and Archer, who had watched the movements of the +figure with straining eyeballs and in breathless silence, gave a yell of +surprise and agony as he read the name _Richard de Chevron_, and sank on +the floor of his dungeon in a swoon. + +A jingling of keys in the passage was now audible, and the next moment +the jailor had entered the cell. Hearing the voice of the prisoner +discoursing loudly, curiosity had led him to the door of his cell, but +what was his dismay and consternation at finding the prisoner in a swoon +on the floor, whilst over him, as if to protect him, lent the fair +youthful form of a maiden, who after fixing her eyes intently for a +moment, pointed to the writing on the wall. + +The jailor, perfectly dumbfounded, would have asked her in surly tones, +how she came there, and who let her in, but the presence of the figure +filled him, in spite of himself, with such awe that he could not utter a +word. Then glancing at the writing on the wall and then again at the +figure of the maiden, who looked at him in a manner that made him feel +he knew not how, as he afterwards declared, he observed her rise to her +feet, retreat one pace, and pointing once more to the writing on the +wall, gradually dissolved herself into a mist and disappeared from his +sight. + +The jailor's courage now fairly left him, his knees knocked together in +a panic, and he dropped his bunch of keys on the ground. At length +recovering from his first surprise, he gazed around him, and found +himself alone with the prisoner, who was still in his swoon. The first +thing that he did was to secure the door of the cell, then walking up to +the prisoner, shook him roughly, and assailed him with questions. + +"Beautiful vision!" cried Archer, now awaking from his swoon, "thou has +saved my life by denouncing the true murderer. Were it not for thee I +might---- But where art thou? Gone--Fled? Has it, then, been all a +dream? Oh!" he groaned, as his eyes caught the jailor bending over him. + +"Come, be of good cheer, young man," said the jailor, kindly. "It was no +dream, or if it was, we have both been dreaming, and had the same dream. +I, too, saw the lady. I'll swear to that in any court of justice. Well, +I never believed in ghosts before, young man. I never did, upon my word, +but after what I have just seen with these eyes----" + +"What! you saw her, too?" interrupted Archer. "You? Then it was no +dream, but a divine vision sent by Providence to preserve the innocent. +Look, there is her writing on the wall." + +"What means that name, young man?" asked the jailor, gravely. + +"She traced it with her own finger. I asked her to reveal to me the name +of the true murderer, and that was the name she traced upon the wall." + +"You are not imposing upon me, young man?" inquired the jailor, +suspiciously. + +"Not I," answered Archer, frankly. "Did you not see her yourself?" + +"True, true," quoth the jailor; "I remember that she pointed to the +writing and then vanished. Well, upon my soul, I do not know what to +think of the matter. I have been here thirty years come Michaelmas, but +what I have seen to-day passes all the experience of Miles Gratelock. +I'll inform the authorities of what has taken place at once, and I'll +yet hope to see you out of this place; for to tell you the honest +truth, lad, I don't think you capable of the murder, and never did; yet +appearances," he added, "appearances, you know, must be taken into +consideration, and they are often against us. However, we'll hope for +the best." + +Here the kindly jailor left the cell, and locking the door after him +went straight to the authorities and laid the whole matter of the vision +before them. As may be anticipated, the story was ridiculed. Some said +that the jailor had been bribed by the prisoner to concoct such a +narrative; others declared that the jailor must have been drunk, and +having forgotten to lock the door of the cell some young female may have +found admittance, and to cover his negligence he had trumped up this +improbable story. + +They, however, took the trouble to visit the cell of the prisoner and to +examine the writing on the wall, which they all declared themselves to +be at a loss to guess with what material the prisoner himself could have +written the name. The prisoner was questioned and cross-questioned, but +was not found to contradict himself in anything. A piece of chalk was +then put into the prisoner's hand and he was ordered to write the same +name underneath that supposed to have been written by the spirit, but +the handwriting was perfectly dissimilar. The jailor was then called, +and had to do the same, but neither in this case did the writing at all +resemble the burnt characters on the wall. + +Now, however mysterious this affair might have appeared to the +authorities, yet to convict a gentleman of De Chevron's standing, or +indeed any man upon such evidence as this, would be as absurd as it +would be unfair; nevertheless, the story of the apparition in the +prisoner's cell and of the writing on the wall spread like wildfire +through the village, and had the effect of shaking the belief of many +who had hitherto believed Archer guilty, and confirming more than ever +in their previous belief those who still maintained him innocent. + +The general currency of this story, too, gave rise to inquiries as to +the intimacy that had existed between John Archer and De Chevron. A +certain amount of intimacy it was proved had existed between them, but +so far the evidence was rather on De Chevron's side, as witnesses came +forward to prove that De Chevron had always shown himself most friendly +towards young Archer, and had occasionally made him some trifling +present. + +There was no evidence that they had ever fallen out together, and +therefore there was no reason at all to suspect De Chevron of the +malicious conduct attributed to him of committing a murder himself in +order that an innocent man should be convicted of it. To strengthen the +absurdity of the supposition, it was alleged that De Chevron had been +absent in London at the time of the murder, thereby proving an _alibi_. +Others not being satisfied with this statement, desired that it should +be proved beyond doubt that De Chevron was in London at the time. Upon +examination, however, the evidence was not quite so favourable to De +Chevron this time. More than one witness deposed to having seen him at +the window, although he had not been seen out of doors. It was proved +that he had never quitted the village, although he had given out to his +friends his intention of going to London; but he sought to exculpate +himself by saying that he had announced to his friends his intended +departure for London in order that he might avoid visits and enjoy the +strictest seclusion for a time, as he was studying for the law. + +This excuse was deemed sufficient, and might have satisfied all parties, +had not still more startling evidence turned up. In the meantime the all +but defunct pedlar had sufficiently recovered in order to give a +detailed account of the occurrences on the night of the murder, and of +De Chevron's duplicity and treachery, although he owned himself at a +loss to conceive the motive of the attempted murder. + +He acquitted John Archer of being implicated in any way in the crime, +and denounced De Chevron as a double-dealing murderous villain. His +evidence was taken down in writing by the surgeon who attended him, in +the presence of several witnesses, and it was proposed that both John +Archer and De Chevron should be confronted with the dying man. + +This was accordingly done. The half-murdered pedlar managed to sustain +life by an almost preternatural effort until the arrival of the two +individuals. Upon the appearance of De Chevron his eye kindled with an +incredible animation, considering his dying state, and although his +utterance was now difficult, he succeeded in denouncing him as his +murderer in sufficiently plain terms to be understood by all present. +When his eye caught John Archer, the dying man stretched forth his hand +to him, craved his pardon for the evil he had done him, but adding that +it was all at the instigation of De Chevron, for the carrying out of +some private scheme of his own. De Chevron endeavoured to justify +himself, alleging that the man raved and that such testimony could not +be depended upon. The pedlar, however, had given his evidence so clearly +and concisely that it was accounted valid, after which he sank back and +expired. + +Now, whilst the evidence of the pedlar that had been taken down was +being read out mention was made of the bottle of drugged wine said to +have been given to the pedlar by De Chevron in order to carry out his +base designs. A search was accordingly made for the bottle, which, being +found, though empty--or, rather, nearly so--it was taken to a chemist, +who found sufficient of the liquor left to analyse, which, when done, it +was pronounced to contain narcotics of the most potent sort. + +The house of De Chevron was next searched, and in a secret drawer of his +desk was discovered a powder which upon being examined proved to contain +similar ingredients to those discovered in the dregs of the wine at the +bottom of the bottle. Besides this powder were found at De Chevron's +lodgings sundry bottles of wine, all bearing exactly the same label as +that found in the ditch close to the murdered man. + +This evidence was considered conclusive, and De Chevron was seized for +the purpose of being conducted to prison; but, despairing now of ever +getting acquitted, and dreading to fall into the hands of justice, the +miserable man suddenly drew out a pistol from his pocket, and holding +the barrel to his forehead blew out his brains on the spot. + +This last rash deed of De Chevron's caused even more sensation in the +village and the parts adjacent than the mysterious murder of the pedlar. +The wretched suicide was interred without obsequies in the centre of two +cross roads, with a stake driven through his body, according to the +usual custom. + +I need not say that John Archer was freely acquitted, and welcomed once +more among us with hearty cheers. Even those who had been the most +bitter against him at first now came forward to extend to him the hand +of friendship. + +How the poor lad seemed to enjoy his liberty after his incarceration! +But yesterday imprisoned for murder, shunned by all his friends and +hated by everybody, with the prospect of an ignominious death before +him. To-day openly acquitted, restored to the bosom of his family, +surrounded by his friends, and receiving their congratulations. In an +instant he had forgotten all his past woes, and thought himself amply +compensated for all his suffering by being again allowed to visit his +lady-love. + +I will leave you to imagine, gentlemen, the joy of us all, and +especially of Claribel, at John's acquittal, as well as the importunate +questioning of the neighbours concerning the apparition of Claribel to +John within the prison cell. + +There are many people who profess to know their neighbours' business +better than they do themselves. According to this sort of people--and +there are many in the village to this day--John Archer's marriage with +Claribel Falkland was a thing already settled. The day had been fixed +upon, and all was in order--in fact the kindly neighbours had made +everything as easy as possible for the young couple, whereas John had +never yet opened his lips in the way of love to the idol of his heart, +being, as I have before mentioned, of a shy and reserved temperament. +Yet so sure were the neighbours of John's private affairs, that one of +his friends said jocularly that when their banns should be published in +church that he would stand up and forbid them, as in marrying Claribel +he would be committing bigamy, seeing that she could make herself two +persons at once. Would that the neighbours had been in the right as to +the future of this pair, for a couple better suited for each other could +not have been found; but, alas, who is master of his fate? Who can pry +into the secret ways of Providence? It little boots to speculate on what +the future of these two amiable and ingenuous natures would have been +if everything had gone well, for a dire fate was in store for them. But +let me not anticipate. + +It was a winter morning, but remarkably fine for that time of the year, +when Claribel and I went out together for a ramble in an adjacent wood. +We had been laughing and chatting by the way, when suddenly I observed +the features of my friend to become overcast. When I inquired the reason +of her sadness, she replied, + +"I know not how it is, Molly, but somehow or other I feel as if some +danger were threatening John." + +Now, I had long ceased to laugh at her for what I used to look upon as +mere nervous fancies, so many of them having proved well founded, but I +merely suggested to her that perhaps she did not feel well, and that we +had better return home. + +"Yes, yes, Molly," she said; "for Heaven's sake let us return at once, +as I feel more and more sure that poor John is in some danger. You +remember my presentiment about Richard de Chevron, which you laughed at. +Was that well founded or not? Well, as I felt certain then that some +harm was in store for John, so do I now. Come, let us hasten our steps." + +"God forbid," said I, "that poor John should fall a victim a second time +to treachery or witchcraft," and we hurried home, never halting until we +reached my father's house. + +On entering the parlour Claribel gave a hasty glance at the glazed +cupboard where she had placed the waxen image intended as a likeness of +John Archer, and which she had not looked at for ever so long. It was +wanting. + +"Molly!" she cried, in great anxiety, "where is the waxen image? What +can have become of it? Just ask your father if he has removed it." + +Now, being winter time, there was a blazing fire in the room, and my +father, who was at this time laid up with the gout, would draw himself +up to it and smoke his yard of clay. He was absent from the parlour when +we entered, but we found his chair ready placed for him. + +"Good heavens! Molly, what's this?" cried Claribel, in alarm, as she +touched the mantelpiece over the fireplace. "Can it be? No; yes, it +_is_--_the waxen image molten away_! Who can have done it? Oh, wretched +being that I am! Go, and at once, to the house of John, and inquire +after his health." + +I was preparing to execute her commission, and was just upon setting out +alone to John's house, which was not far from our own, when one of the +neighbours, a woman--one of the most notorious gossips of the place, +whose sole delight was to be the first to deliver bad news--met me at +the door as I was just going out. + +"Oh, Molly my dear, have you heard the sad news? Lack-a-day! who'd have +thought it? Oh, lauk-a-daisy-me! poor Claribel! how she will take on +about it to be sure!" + +"Speak out, woman!" cried Claribel, from the parlour, for she had heard +every word through the open door. "Speak out. What has happened?" + +"Oh Lord! my dear, that poor young man John Archer, as you appears to +have been so fond of well, my dear, he's gone--yes, _dead_, struck down +by a sudden fever, they say--in the very spring-time of his youth; it's +hardly a quarter of an hour since, so I thought I'd come at once to tell +you." + +This communication, partly interrupted by sobs and partly by want of +breath, for the bearer of the sad news had set off as fast as her legs +could carry her, in order to be the first to communicate it, had a +terrible effect on the nervous system of my poor friend Claribel. +Forgetting her usual self-composure in her extreme anguish, she gave +utterance to a shriek so piercing and doleful, that it seemed to shake +the very house to its foundations, and sank back into the nearest chair +in a swoon. The scream brought my father to the door to inquire what was +the matter, while the good neighbour--for in spite of her mania for +delivering bad news, she was still a woman at heart--bustled about to +procure restoratives and to sprinkle water on my poor friend's face +until she recovered. + +The news we had heard was only too true, for, sad to relate, poor John +Archer, who up to that very morning had been the picture of robust +health, suddenly fell the victim of a violent fever that carried him off +within a few hours. The doctors were at a loss to account for the +disease, as there was no fever at that time in the neighbourhood. It was +an isolated case. During his delirium he was heard to give vent to +certain incoherent ravings, frequently calling out, "The waxen image! +the waxen image!" He was heard to couple the names of De Chevron and +Madge Mandrake together, but the bystanders, his parents, understood +nothing of his meaning. + +There remains little more to relate. It appears that my father when left +alone in the house had been prying into every nook and corner of it for +his snuff-box, which he had lost, until he stumbled upon the little +waxen image in the glazed cupboard, of the history of which he knew +nothing, but which he instantly recognised as intended for a likeness of +John Archer, imagining that either myself or Claribel had been amusing +ourselves with endeavouring to represent the lineaments of our common +friend in wax, and thinking it very good and clever, he thought it would +make a pretty chimney ornament, and accordingly placed it on the +mantelpiece when the fire was yet low. Afterwards, he had heaped on +fuel, being very cold that day, and shortly afterwards had been called +away by a neighbour on business. In the meantime the fire had blazed up +and so heated the room that before he returned to the parlour there was +nothing left of the effigy of John Archer but a shapeless heap of wax. + +On recovering from the swoon my poor friend reproached herself in the +severest terms with not having foreseen such a contingency, adding that +she alone had been the cause of John's death, as she ought to have +locked the cupboard and taken away the key. I strove to reason with her +and comfort her, but she was deaf to all consolation. The sad event of +John's death had cast a gloom over us all. As for Claribel, poor soul, +it was a shock from which she never recovered. She drooped and pined +away from that hour, and outlived young Archer but one month. Peace be +to their ashes! + + * * * * * + +On concluding her affecting narrative, our worthy hostess thrust a +corner of her apron into her eye in order to staunch a rising tear +called into existence by tender recollections of her poor deceased +friend and her unfortunate lover, but she was soon cut short in the +indulgence of her grief by the boisterous applause that simultaneously +ensued from all the members of the club. This was the cheering and +clapping of hands before alluded to that had attracted the attention of +our artist while painting from the fair Helen in the opposite room, and +which, as our reader will recollect, was the signal for the young +portrait painter to commence his Italian story of "The Three Pauls." + +"And so that rascal De Chevron cheated the gallows after all," broke in +Mr. Oldstone, during the pause that succeeded the tumultuous cheering +that greeted the relation of Dame Hearty. + +"But what became of Madge Mandrake? You have not told us that. She +didn't escape scot-free, surely?" + +"Well, you see, sir, the law had no actual hold on her," replied the +hostess; "but I have every reason to believe that she died hard. She was +discovered dead one day on the floor of her hovel, in her day clothes, +her eyes fixed and starting from her head, her features distorted, and +her fingers extended like claws, as if grasping the floor. Some thought +she had died in a fit, but, whatever the cause of her death, it is +certain she must have suffered great agony, and I cannot look upon the +mode of her death otherwise than as a judgment for her many sins. She +had never been known to enter a church within the memory of man, and +though she had led a notoriously bad life, it seems that the parish +could not deny her a Christian burial, and she was interred in the old +churchyard yonder with all due ceremony, but report said at the time +that she had frequently been seen since by those who happened to be +passing through the churchyard late at night or thereabouts, and that +should a thunderstorm burst over the head of the benighted traveller, as +he wended his weary steps past this abode of the dead, a shadowy form +with a steeple-crowned hat and astride on a broomstick might be seen +riding through the murky air, and behind her a black tom cat with a pair +of flame-coloured eyes. Yells and groans, mingled with demoniacal +laughter, were said to have been heard, as if proceeding from beneath +the ground by those who happened to pass through the churchyard close to +her grave after nightfall. Owls, bats, carrion crows, and other obscene +birds would be found perched on the head of her grave, and, scared at +the footsteps of a stranger, would fly screeching away. + +"At least, this is what the country folk would say; but never having +seen nor heard any of these things myself, gentlemen, I cannot vouch for +their authenticity, yet there are few folks in the village to this day +but would not put themselves much out of the way in order to avoid +passing through that same churchyard on a stormy night." + +"In fact," remarked Mr. Crucible, "there is every reason to believe that +the old lady was d----" + +A storm had for some time past been gathering overhead, and just then a +terrific clap of thunder prevented the conclusion of Mr. Crucible's +sentence from being audible. + +"Lauk-a-daisy-me! what a peal!" exclaimed Dame Hearty. "It was enough to +shake the house down. I'm terrible frightened of thunder. It makes me +feel alloverish like." + +"I shouldn't wonder," suggested Mr. Blackdeed, "if old Madge on her +broomstick should be riding overhead. Just go out and see, Dame Hearty, +will you?" + +"Not I, sir, not for the world," quoth our hostess. "And pray don't talk +of that horrible person in such weather, or I shall go off in a fit. +Already I begin to fancy I see her before me, with her nose and chin +meeting like a lobster's claws, with hardly room enough between them for +a decent-sized hazel nut. + +"How I can call to mind, too, her grizzly beard, like a well-used +scrubbing brush, that left you in doubt as to whether she really could +belong to our sex! Then her beetle brows overhanging her sockets like a +dragoon's moustache, and all but concealing her small deeply-sunk and +viperish eyes, which gleamed with envy, hatred, malice, and all +uncharitableness." + +"There, did you see that flash!" exclaimed Dr. Bleedem. "Just wait a +moment; here it comes." + +A second tremendous crash resounded, causing the window panes to +revibrate and the whole house to rock to its foundations. + +"Lord have mercy upon us!" cried the hostess in extreme terror. + +"That is a judgment sent on you by old Madge for speaking ill of her," +said Professor Cyanite. + +"Oh! hold your tongue, naughty man, do," said our hostess, half +playfully, half in terror. "Here comes the rain in torrents. How it +pours! Well, gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I've got to attend to the +house." + +"Certainly," cried several members at once, "and many thanks for your +very interesting story." + +Our hostess curtseyed, said they were very welcome, and left the room. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[20] A better simile would be "as if charged with electricity," or "like +sparks emitted from an electric machine," as this case, which is founded +on fact, and which, together with other similar phenomena, is probably +of electric origin. (_Vide_ Mrs. CROW'S "Nightside of Nature.") Yet we +must bear in mind that we are speaking at a time before electricity +created that furor in the world that succeeded the discoveries of +Benjamin Franklin, and that it is only an unsophisticated country +landlady who is speaking, whose science goes no further than the making +of an apple pudding, roasting a leg of mutton, or frying a beefsteak. + + + + +[Illustration] + + +CHAPTER V. + +IN WHICH OCCURS MR. PARNASSUS' BALLAD--THE CHIEFTAIN'S DESTINY. + + +"Wretched weather, eh?" remarked Mr. Oldstone. "We shall have to call +for lights soon. Here, Cyanite, a game of chess, what do you say? A +story from whom ever loses." + +"Thank you," replied the Professor, "but I have a letter to write which +is of some importance." + +"Come now, Crucible, have at _you_," quoth Oldstone. + +"I have not played for years," replied Crucible, "and as I have no story +wherewith to pay the penalty and am consequently out of practice and +sure to lose and----" + +"What do you say, Blackdeed?" asked Oldstone. + +"Well, to say the truth," answered the chemist, "I find myself much in +the same position as my friend Mr. Crucible, for were I to lose, an +event which amounts to a dead certainty, I am perfectly sure I should +not be able to pay the forfeit, even if I were to be imprisoned for +it." + +"Perhaps you'll oblige me, Hardcase," said the antiquary. + +"Another time, thank you, Oldstone," replied the lawyer; "but the fact +is that I've promised Bleedem a game of cards." + +"Well really, gentlemen, I don't know what has come over you all," said +Mr. Oldstone. "Perhaps Mr. Parnassus will oblige me, as nobody else +will." + +"Well, I never piqued myself upon being much of a chess-player," replied +Parnassus, "but as the other gentlemen have refused, and I have nothing +particular to do, I don't mind doing you a favour, and if I lose and +don't happen to recollect a story, well I must owe it you." + +"Agreed," said Oldstone. "Draw your chair to the table and set the +board." + +The game began. Hardcase and Bleedem also had taken their seats and +commenced theirs. Professor Cyanite retired to write his letter, whilst +Messrs. Blackdeed and Crucible drew their chairs up to the fire and +talked politics. + +A stillness reigned through the club as the last-mentioned gentlemen +conversed together in a low tone and the rest remained absorbed in their +several occupations. Suddenly, in the midst of this unusual silence, the +triumphant voice of Mr. Oldstone was heard to cry out the magic word, +"check-mate." + +"Now then, Parnassus, my boy," said he, rubbing his hands, "a story, you +know; there's no getting out of it. Give us a little ode or ballad like +that you gave us once before, on the night of our grand saturnalia." + +"When I can think of one and a propitious moment presents itself, I am +at your service, but these gentlemen, you see, are otherwise occupied; +besides, here comes Helen to lay the cloth for supper." + +"Well, Helen," cried Mr. Oldstone, "and what has become of your +enamoured portrait painter?" + +"Mr. McGuilp?" inquired Helen, blushing deeply. "Is he not here? I left +him some time ago cleaning his palette and brushes." + +"Ah! here he comes at last," exclaimed Crucible, halting in the middle +of his politics. "Lucky dog! to be able to have so much beauty all to +himself." + +"Well, if he _has_ had Helen to himself all this time, we've had a story +during his absence," said the antiquary. + +"Ah, but so have we," said McGuilp. "Haven't we Helen?" + +"Yes, we have indeed, and a long one," replied Helen. + +"The deuce you have," said Crucible. "Upon my word, Mr. McGuilp, I think +that's hardly fair; first robbing us of our lady and then telling her a +story all to yourself, from which we are debarred." + +"Come now," retorted McGuilp, "are we not quits? Have you already +forgotten my story of the 'Scharfrichter,' with which I purchased a +sitting from Helen? If Helen and I have had a story together from which +you have been shut out, at least you have had one that we have not +enjoyed." + +"Yes, Crucible, I think it is all fair," said Oldstone, backing up his +young friend. + +The cloth now being laid, the members drew their chairs to the table, +and the supper went off amidst laughter and jovial conversation. The +bottle went round a few times at the last before the cloth was finally +cleared, when each drew round the fire, which was now blazing fiercely, +our host having just put on a fresh log, and each lighting his pipe, +waited, according to custom, for someone to broach a new story. + +"Now, Parnassus, my boy," said Oldstone, "we are quite ready for your +story. What is it to be?" + +"Well then, gentlemen, since I must pay my forfeit, I will, according to +a wish expressed by Mr. Oldstone, sing you a little ballad of my own +composing." + +"Yes, yes; hear, hear! A song, a song! Make ready for a song." + +The members re-settled themselves on their chairs, and pronounced +themselves "all attention," while the young poet, throwing himself back +carelessly in his chair and crossing one leg over the other, began in a +clear rich voice, the following ditty. + + +THE CHIEFTAIN'S DESTINY. + + +CANTO THE FIRST. + + A skiff is seen upon the main, + The purple wave of Oman's sea; + Her prow doth long to kiss again + The perfumed shores of Araby. + A gentle Zephyr fills the sail. + But, ah, too soft, too mild the gale + For one on board, who, mounted high, + Scans the far shore with eagle eye. + + 'Tis Selim's bark that, long away, + Hath wandered on the salt sea foam, + And brings him after many a day + Back to this land, though not his home. + What in the distance glads his eye? + A sight none other can descry-- + The kerchief he his mistress gave + Now from her casement high doth wave. + + The signal yet is but a speck, + The cloud has vanished from his brow; + Yet chafing still, he walks the deck + Impatiently from helm to prow, + As if his eagerness could urge + His vessel faster through the surge. + But as the craft now nigher drew, + The signal note his swarthy crew. + + Now gaily speeds the gallant bark, + Soon within grasp of land once more; + The sun has set, yet 'tis not dark. + Each swarthy sailor leaps ashore, + Yet almost ere they can alight + Their captain scales a dizzy height, + And in the moonlight hand in hand + Two lovers at the casement stand. + + "Oh, Selim! why this long delay?" + A soft voice whispers 'neath the moon. + "I've wept for thee full many a day, + Watching the sea from morn till noon, + In hope-- But hist! there're footsteps nigh; + The Caliph keeps a watchful eye. + The moon is up, thou must be gone-- + One kiss. Farewell. We meet at dawn." + + Zuleika to her bower turned-- + Her jasmine bower's perfumed shade; + A fever in her bosom burned. + That night upon her couch being laid, + The nightingale that woos the rose + Breaks not so much on her repose + As the loud beating of her heart + With feelings she will ne'er impart + + To mortal man, save him alone + Who wooed and won her from her sire. + Her love in secret long hath grown, + And much she fears her parents' ire; + She knows her father sets his face + Against her lover's impious race, + But still, her troth is plighted now. + "Or him or Death," thus ran her vow. + + +CANTO THE SECOND. + + Zuleika's beauty from her birth + Had been such as might well entice + The saints above to visit Earth + From Mahommed's gay Paradise; + Her raven tresses shamed the night, + Her step so proud and yet so light, + 'Twould seem as though she trod the air, + Like Peri; nor was she less less fair. + + An eye that mocked the wild gazelle, + A voice, although untrained by art, + Sweet as a strain of Israfel, + The strings of whose melodious heart + A lyre are, with tones so sweet + That angels listen at his feet, + And the stars sink to the ground + When those living chords resound. + + That cheek that paled the rose in hue + Grows pallid, and her bosom heaves; + Those lips, like rosebuds in the dew + Enclosing pearls within their leaves, + Are trembling, and her fairy form, + Like lily bending to the storm, + Quivers as an aspen grove, + With sore misgivings of her love. + + The Caliph was a man of might; + Zuleika was his only child, + He scarce could bear her from his sight, + Nor was he of a temper mild; + And woe to him, the caitiff Giaour + Who fell in dread El Amin's power. + Zuleika sighs, what fears appal + Her soul, lest this should him befall. + + The maiden slumbered scarce that night, + Or she slumbered but to dream, + Such dreams as bravest souls affright; + Then waking with a start or scream, + She soon forsook her fitful sleep, + O'er Selim's likely fate to weep, + Till the morning star's dim ray + Now heralds the approach of day. + + The morning shed a ghastly light, + Appearing to Zuleika's eye + Full ominous. The clouds in sight + Like streaks of blood across the sky, + While gazing on the distance drear, + Hark! what footsteps greet her ear? + She spies afar at fullest speed + Her lover on his Arab steed. + + +CANTO THE THIRD. + + One bound, and he is by her side; + She greets him with a sorrowing eye. + "What ails thee now, my love, my bride, + And wherefore dost thou deeply sigh? + There is a shade upon thy brow + That I have never seen till now. + Shake off these moods, dispel all fear. + Is't not enough that I am here?" + + Zuleika heaved a heavy sigh. + "Oh, Selim, if thou still art mine, + Take me, and this instant fly + Unto thy home across the brine; + For if there's danger hovering nigh + With thee, and not alone, I'd die. + Set off at once, nor more delay; + See how yon orb leads on the day." + + "Nay, loved one, but I have a vow. + Seest thou yon peak where clouds do lower; + That mountain doth contain, I trow, + A talisman of mighty power + Within its heart, and I have sworn + To seize it ere to-morrow's dawn. + When at thy feet the gem I lay, + Then, but not erst, our wedding day. + + "This is the vow I must fulfil, + And ere we fly across the main + The talisman, come good or ill, + Is thine. I've sworn it thee to gain. + It gives eternal life and youth, + Annulling time's remorseless tooth. + The mountain opens once a day; + 'Tis guarded by a Genii grey." + + "Thou shalt not run this risk for me," + Zuleika cried. But Selim's brow + Grew darker. "Never maid," quoth he, + "Shall counsel me to break my vow. + Know'st thou not a warrior's word + Is sacred ever as his sword? + An thou wouldst be a chieftain's bride, + Cease me for my vow to chide." + + Then round his neck her arms she flings. + "Oh, Selim, hear me once and stay. + Azrael flaps his dusky wings, + Al Hassan smiles and points the way." + These words in boding tones she saith-- + "Thou ridest on to certain death. + Last night I dreamed, my chieftain free, + That Eblis ope'd its jaws for thee." + + Then with a smile he sought to lure + Her fancies from their dark abode. + "Thy maiden fears to but conjure + These phantoms that the mind corrode." + Then added, whilst his brows he bent, + "Unworthy were I my descent, + Could I be scared from this my theme + By warning through a word or dream. + + "With thee I through the world would rove; + But ere I seek to make thee mine, + I'd prove me worthy of thy love, + For I am of a Gheber line. + The chieftain of a race whose breath + Flows freer in the face of Death; + No coward fear can e'er entwine + Its coils around a heart like mine. + + "Think'st thou a warrior bred in strife + And nurtured at the breast of woe + Could bide a tame voluptuous life, + Or stand in dread of mortal foe? + I tell thee, girl, I live to brave + The hairbreadth chances of the grave; + Full weary were my life to me, + Were danger not a luxury. + + "I carve my fate with my right arm, + My life I dedicate to thee, + I'll guard thee 'gainst the world from harm, + And hold thee like a warrior free, + Though Eblis' self should seek to wrest + Thee from this true and loving breast. + The sun is high; cease to repine. + Farewell. The charm ere eve is thine." + + +CANTO THE FOURTH. + + He on the pommel lays his hand, + And lightly leaps into his seat; + His steed impatiently the sand + Is pawing with his eager feet. + Now forward, and away! away! + Fast onward speeds that charger gay; + Fleet as the wind is Selim's flight + To reach the goal ere fall of night. + + His charger's mettle's at the test, + For until the setting sun + Gilds yonder slope he must not rest; + His and his master's will are one. + The journey will brook no delay + To stop for water on the way, + So onward fly at fullest speed + The rider and his barb Djerid. + + Still onward flies the goaded steed; + Full half the day is sped and gone. + In foam and sweat the bold Djerid + Still towards the mountain's base rides on. + Now with a crash the mountain's side + Is rent in twain. A cavern wide + Displays to view a jewelled hall; + 'Tis guarded by a Genii tall. + + Arrived now at the mountain's base, + One hour ere the set of sun, + The cavern yawns before his face, + And soon the charger's course is run. + A voice of thunder from the cave, + That shakes the mountain, utters, "Slave, + Forbear this sacred soil to tread, + Thy death be else on thine own head." + + But Selim draws from out his vest + A bough, plucked from some distant shore-- + A magic bough, compelling rest + On those whom he should wave it o'er. + He waves it, and the Genii sleeps; + No guardian now the threshold keeps. + He enters; views the jewel bright + Suspended from the cavern's height, + + One wrench, 'tis his, that jewel bright; + That talisman, that oft of yore + Sages have searched for day and night, + And burned their midnight oil for. + Caressing now his brave Djerid, + Still mounted, yet spurs on his steed. + Now, as the sun sinks 'neath the main, + The cavern closes once again. + + But now the clouds eclipse the sky, + The air grows sultry, and the wind + Is lulled, yet on Djerid doth fly; + The mountain is left far behind. + "Zuleika! Oh, my love, my bride. + Who now shall tear thee from my side? + If not to-night, to-morrow's morn + Shall see this gem thy brow adorn." + + The lowering sky grew black as night, + And vivid flashes rent the air, + No human dwelling lay in sight-- + For miles and miles the plain seemed bare. + An awful stillness reigned around, + A horse's hoofs made all the sound, + And even Selim 'gan to fear + Some unknown danger hovering near. + + And still more sultry grew the air, + And peal on peal of thunder rolled, + No wild beast ventured from his lair; + Yet onward sped that courser bold-- + O'er crags, through marshes, bush or briar, + He trampling tore with feet of fire, + When sudden, without shriek or yell, + The horse was struck, the rider fell. + + +CANTO THE FIFTH. + + A lightning flash hath cleft a rock, + And formed a chasm in the stone. + Within the cleft, with mighty shock, + Selim from off his steed is thrown. + His limbs are jambed between its walls; + In vain for aid he loudly calls. + No earthly power now can save + The victim from his living grave. + + In vain he puts forth all his strength + To free him from the horrid cleft; + Those limbs so free are bound at length, + For of all power he's bereft. + Eternal life is in his hand + To live on thus dread Fate's command, + His doom is sealed, he cannot die, + But lingers through eternity. + + Zuleika waits the coming morn + With heaving breast and watchful eye. + She scans the plain at early dawn + But nought of her lover can descry. + No tidings through the livelong day + No footsteps tread that haunted way; + Day after day, yet no return; + His fate she now herself will learn. + + Then mounting at the break of day + Her milk-white palfrey, leaves her home + Behind her, and away! away! + Upon her lover's tracks to roam. + The noontide sun's fierce glowing ray + Checks not her palfrey's onward way; + She goads him on, nor slacks his speed + Till pants for thirst her jaded steed. + + No water near his thirst to slake + Beneath that glowing sultry sky. + Her maiden fears now 'gin to wake, + as were some threatening danger nigh. + Her palfrey rears and ere a groan + Escapes her, a stout arm is thrown + Around her. As she calls aloud + The Genii stands half-fiend, half-cloud. + + Then whisking her high up in air, + The fiend in voice of thunder cried, + "Behold thy lover in his lair; + Thou'st torn for ever from his side. + Nought can avert his destiny, + For ever through eternity + Within yon cleft he must abide. + I claim thee now to be my bride." + + "Oh, Allah!" cried she, "hear my prayer: + Help me this Genii to defy. + If Selim's bride I may be ne'er, + Take back my soul and let me die!" + Her prayer is heard; her gentle soul + Now wanders towards a higher goal, + And in those realms of endless light + The angels greet a sister sprite. + + Then Selim, gazing high in air, + Beholds his loved one, hears her pray. + He cries aloud in wild despair, + The Genii clasps a thing of clay; + Relaxing then his giant force, + To Earth he hurls her lily corse. + Now lie for ever side by side + Th' undying chief and his dead bride. + + Zuleika's palfrey wanders home, + Alas! without its gentle freight. + El Amin hath set out to roam + For tidings of his daughter's fate. + Ne'er more to see her was his lot; + The Genii guards that haunted spot, + And close where his Zuleika lay, + The chieftain lingers to this day. + + * * * * * + +Scarce had the last word of the song died in the echo, than unbounded +applause once more shook the old panelled walls of the "Headless Lady." +After which Mr. Oldstone, rising and seizing the young poet by the hand, +poured forth so warm an eulogium on his poetical talent as to make that +young gentleman blush up to the roots of his hair. + +The laurel crown was even hinted at again. This, however, Mr. Parnassus +modestly but firmly refused, saying that he could not sit crowned in the +midst of such a talented assembly merely because his weak endeavours to +entertain the company were given out in rhyme instead of in prose; +besides which, he added, that he had merely paid the forfeit agreed upon +for losing at chess, and that he was entitled to no thanks or marks of +honour for merely discharging his debt. + +The laurel tree outside was therefore suffered to continue its growth +until some future occasion, and after various comments on our friend +Parnassus' poem, and much pleasant conversation, the company broke up +for the night, and each lighting his candle, retired to his own +chamber. + + + + +[Illustration] + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A TALE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.--THE BARBER'S STORY. + + +The following morning broke fine but frosty, and the members of the club +being up sufficiently early for that time of the year, they all agreed +to take a long stroll before breakfast in the adjacent wood. Indeed, the +members of our club lived so thoroughly in an atmosphere of punch and +tobacco-smoke that an outing every now and then was requisite in order +to air their brains. + +They strolled out, accordingly, by twos and threes, passing over fields +glittering with hoar-frost, until they came to a stile, which having +crossed over, they found themselves immediately in a wood. + +It was a fine old place--that same ancient piece of woodland, where huge +oaks and beeches were interspersed with the fir, pine and birch. The +fantastic roots that shot out from the gnarled trunks of the majestic +oaks, like giants' limbs writhing in mortal agony, were coated here and +there in broad irregular patches of dank moss and variously-tinted +lichen. Their distorted colossal branches, stripped of their leaves +and silvered at their extremities with the hoar-frost, seemed struggling +to catch the first beams of a winter sun, while the shadowy outline of +the misty purple mass of distant trees brought out in bolder relief and +more vigorous hue the foreground thickly strewed with richly-tinted +leaves of russet, scarlet and orange. The dank fungus, luxuriant in its +foul growth, emerged from the velvet moss as if to outvie in glow the +variegated richness of the dried leaves of the forest. + +It was a scene to awaken the soul of a poet, to inspire a landscape +painter with increased love of his art; and as our two friends McGuilp +and Parnassus strolled arm-in-arm together through this region of +enchantment, leaving their footprints in the crisp frost, which they +traversed with the buoyant footsteps of youth, leaving the elder members +considerably in the rear, each felt himself drawn towards the other by a +bond of common sympathy. It is not necessary to record every expression +of enthusiasm that escaped the lips of our two friends, nor to follow +minutely the philosophic meditations of the more mature members of the +club who brought up the rear, as at every step the scene unfolded new +and fresh beauties to their view. + +Let it suffice our reader that their morning's walk proved highly +beneficial to them all, for they returned with marvellous appetites to +the inn, where a sumptuous breakfast of eggs and bacon, coffee, hot +rolls, etc., had just been spread for them by the fair hands of our +Helen, who waited to greet them on the doorstep. + +The usual merry bantering from each member of the club in turn +succeeded, as a matter of course, and was replied to on Helen's part by +a pretty rustic coyness or smart repartee. Our artist thought he had +never seen her look to such advantage as now, glowing in the full +morning light. He noticed, too, that she was more sprucely dressed than +usual. What could it mean? As he asked himself this question, the church +bells of the village began to chime. The mystery was out--it was Sunday, +and McGuilp's hopes of a sitting fell to the ground. + +"How say you--Sunday again?" exclaimed Mr. Oldstone, as he sat down to +his hot coffee. "Dear me! how the week has passed away!" Then passing +his hand over his chin, he said, "I omitted to shave this morning. My +hand shook so, owing to the stiffness of my night-cap last night before +I went to roost. It will not do to appear at church with a chin like +Hamlet's 'fretful porcupine,' and as I cannot shave myself, I must +inquire if there be not someone skilled in the noble science of +barber-craft in the village. How say you, Helen, my girl, know you not +some knight of the razor, some nimble and expert mower, who will rid me +of this crop without finding it necessary to combine the art of the +leech at the same time?" + +"Aye, sir," answered Helen; "there is young Master Suds, the village +barber, successor to Old Hackchin, whom folks say never was much +account. Young Suds is lately from France, where he has been improving +himself in his art. He has introduced into the village all sorts of new +modes for trimming the hair and wigs, with numerous other French +novelties. You would be sure to be pleased with him, sir." + +"Humph!" muttered Mr. Oldstone, who was much too old-fashioned an +English gentleman to be over partial to our friends across the channel. +"I don't want my head frizzled, thank you, but a firm, steady, English +hand to shave me--a man that is not above his business, and who will not +bore me to death with his gossip." + +"Oh, as to that, sir," replied Helen, "it is part of a barber's +profession. Many folks think it a recommendation. I am sure our +villagers are delighted with his store of news." + +"No doubt, no doubt," said Oldstone, testily. "He had better cut it +short, though, with me. However, send for this young blade, and tell him +I wish to see a sample of his art. I shall be ready for him directly +after breakfast." + +And off tripped our landlord's pretty daughter in obedience to the +antiquary's orders. + +"'Pon my life! Crucible, this bacon is delicious," said he, helping +himself afresh. "What say you, Blackdeed?" + +Both gentlemen acquiesced, as did also the other members in turn. + +"And the eggs divine," said Dr. Bleedem, bolting one at a mouthful. + +"Excellent," joined in McGuilp and Parnassus, filling their plates. + +The meal passed off pleasantly, and the last member at table had +scarcely wiped his mouth with his napkin when Master Suds was announced. + +"Here, Helen, my dear," said Oldstone, "you may clear away now, and then +you may call in your gallant. I am sure you will excuse me, gentlemen, +for making you spectators to my operation?" + +"Certainly," answered the club all round. + +"There, that will do, Helen; now call him in." + +Helen disappeared with the breakfast things, when a timid knock at the +door was heard. + +"Come in," roared sundry voices at once, and Master Suds appeared upon +the scene, with his shaving tackle in a bag, and having his hair +frizzled up in a caricature of the latest French fashion. + +"Bong jour, Mounseers," he began, with a flourish. + +"Don't mounseer me, you young whipper-snapper," said the antiquary; "but +learn to speak the king's English when Englishmen honour you with their +custom." + +"Pardong, mounseer--that is, I mean, I beg pardon, gentlemen; but habit, +gentlemen--habit, you know--is rather difficult to get rid of, and when +one has just come from foreign parts, like myself, one is apt to----" + +"Cut it short, young shaver," said Oldstone, "and bend you to your task. +Are your razors sharp?" + +"Mais oui, mounseer--that is----" + +"If I catch you mounseering me again, I'll make that French pate of +thine and this English fist acquainted, so mind," said the insulted +antiquary. + +This terrible threat imposed temporary silence on our knight of the +lather, who soaped and sudded away for a time without a word. + +During this pause the spectators of the operation, who were seated or +standing about the room, conversed together in groups in an undertone. +Mr. Blackdeed and Mr. Crucible appeared to be particularly engrossed in +conversation, but the tone they spoke in was inaudible to the ordinary +listener. Not so, however, to Mr. Oldstone, whose ears were unusually +sharp, and rendered more so on the present occasion from the position of +forced quiet that he was obliged to maintain under the barber's hands. +To judge by the tragedian's action, a looker-on might have supposed him +quoting from one of his own melodramas, and imagined him to say, "Fly +with me, dearest; leave for ever the roof of a tyrant father, and take +shelter in the heart of one who is ready to lay down his life for thy +sake." While Mr. Crucible might have been supposed to be rehearsing the +lady's part, and to say, "Oh! tempt me not, Alonso; you know him not. I +dare not fly with thee." + +The ears of Mr. Oldstone, however, interpreted the gesticulations in a +very different manner. Nothing could be more plain to the ears of this +worthy than these words from the tragedian. "The political state of +France will be a great interruption to all kinds of business." He could +hardly believe his ears, or that anyone could dare to use such +treasonable words within the sacred precincts of the club, so he +listened again, and this time caught a few disconnected words in Mr. +Crucible's tone of voice, such as 'stocks,' 'bonds,' 'premiums,' +'interest,' and the like. + +Suddenly the whilom president of the grand saturnalia of the Wonder Club +was observed to start violently. + +"Why, you rascal, you've cut me!" he cried to the barber. + +"Pardong Mounseer, mais ce n'etait pas ma faute," said the confused +barber. + +"What! French again, you monkey, to my face! Would you add insult to +injury?" said the incensed antiquary. + +But calming down at length, said, "Well, well, lad, I acquit you this +time, for I verily believe that those two gentlemen in the corner there +(pointing to Messrs. Blackdeed and Crucible) are more to blame than +yourself for startling me out of my self-possession by the tenor of +their conversation. + +"Mr. Blackdeed, and you too, Mr. Crucible, you are both perfectly aware +that such conversation is not to be tolerated in the club. I am +surprised and grieved to be obliged to remind two such old members of +our society of their duty, and in order to put a check upon such +lamentable want of discipline, I condemn you Mr. Blackdeed to recite one +of your own tragedies at full length, and you Mr. Crucible to be ready +with a story when next called upon." + +Both of the gentlemen addressed looked abashed, and muttered something +in the shape of an apology. Having conscientiously discharged his duty, +Mr. Oldstone re-settled himself on his chair, and the operation +proceeded. + +Master Suds was the first to endeavour to restore equanimity. + +"A fine day, sir," he said, "for this time of the year." + +"Humph!" grunted the antiquary, who was soaped up to the eyes, and was +forced to keep his mouth shut to avoid having the lather rubbed down his +throat. + +"Yes, sir," continued the barber, "as you say, sir, it _be_ fine weather +sure_ly_, but it be still finer t'other side of the channel, _à Paris_; +that is to say, where I have been staying for the last six months. Fine +city Paris, sir, very. _Mon Dieu_, what streets! what shops! What a +treat it be of a morning to rise early and take a promenade on the +Bullyvards!" + +"On the what?" inquired his customer. + +"On the Bullyvards. Ah! I see, sir, you do not understand what that +means. Well that is the name the French give to those streets as has +trees a running alongside of 'em. Ah! sir, fine people the French, in +their way--understand more of barber-craft than they do in this country. +Why, an English barber who has never been out of his own country is +quite an ignoramus alongside a French barber. But I could teach a trick +or two to some of my countrymen in the line that would astonish them, +having been over there long enough to get into the manners and customs +of the natives. But I say, sir, what a nation they be for quarrelling +amongst themselves, to be sure! There's this here revolution still going +on. What it will all end in goodness only knows. What do _you_ say, +sir?" + +"I don't know, and I don't care," replied Mr. Oldstone, irritably. "They +may all go to----" + +A fresh rub of the lather over his mouth prevented the antiquary from +finishing his sentence. The pertinacious barber was not to be put down. + +"Ah, sir," he continued, "I could tell you some mighty strange tales +about that same revolution." + +"Oh, indeed!" broke in Mr. Hardcase. "The members of this club are fond +of hearing tales, but they don't relish much anything connected with +politics. In fact the tales permitted within these walls are almost +entirely of the supernatural order." + +"The supernatural!" ejaculated the barber. "Parbleu! is that still +believed in this country? I promise you our French friends don't believe +in that, or anything else, for aught I know." + +"I know they don't, the infidel puppies," growled the antiquary; "but we +do. Do we not, gentlemen?" + +"Ay, indeed!" answered the members of the club with one accord. + +"Do you indeed, gentlemen!" exclaimed the astonished barber. "Well, it +ain't often that one finds gentlemen of your standing that will own so +much, but as you gentlemen all declare you believe in such things, I +don't mind telling you that I myself am also a believer." + +"Ah!" said Mr. Oldstone, beginning to be interested. + +"Yes, sir, I am indeed," replied the barber. + +"Come, now," said Mr. Crucible, "if you could tell us of some experience +of yours that bordered on the supernatural, I'd answer for Mr. +Oldstone's listening to you." + +By this time the antiquary was released from the clutches of the barber, +and Mr. Hardcase, wishing to profit by the occasion, took his place on +the chair, and a second edition of the lathering began. + +"Well," said Oldstone, feeling himself considerably more comfortable, +and throwing himself back complacently in an easy-chair, "you +say--ahem!--that you--you, at least I have been given to understand that +you have, at some period of your life, had some experience--ahem!--of +the supernatural." + +"There, I knew he was burning to hear a story," cried all the members at +once, quizzingly. + +"Well, Mounseer Suds, out with it, let's hear." + +Thus encouraged, the barber put on a grave and important look, and began +his story in these words. + +Well then, gentlemen, since you deign to encourage me, I must next +trespass on your patience whilst I enter upon some particulars about my +family. I was born in this village some five-and-twenty years back, and +at a very early age the genius of the barber began to develop itself in +me. My father was a barber before me, and so was my grandfather and +great-grandfather, too, as I have heard my father say. In fact, from +time immemorial the Suds have been barbers. Descended from a long line +of this honourable profession, and literally reared in lather, having my +youthful imagination fired by the tales of my father and grandfather of +the great people they had shaved in their day, what wonder that, at a +precocious age, I should yearn to wield the weapon of my ancestors, and +even aspire to be more eminent in the line than any of my predecessors? +It was the height of my father's ambition--who was great in his way, and +added to the ordinary routine of business the higher branches of the +art, such as bleeding, tooth drawing, quack salving, and the like--that +I, his only son, should step into his shoes, and hand down the name of +"Suds" in all its unblemished purity. + +"Joe," he would say to me, "when I am gone to my long account, who will +there be to support your poor mother unless you fix upon some honest +trade for a livelihood?" + +"And what trade should I fix upon, if not yours, father?" I would reply. + +"Well, Joe, my boy," he would say, "if you would be a true barber, and +uphold the honour of the family, recollect that no excellence is +achieved without constant practice. The primary rules of barber-craft +are simple. Keep your razors sharp and free from rust, your water +boiling; spare not the lather, and rub it well in before you begin to +shave; dip the razor in the boiling water, and work with a steady +hand." + +I promised him that I would abide by his instructions, and although up +to a certain age I was not permitted to handle a razor, I was, +nevertheless, always in my father's shop, and watched with admiring eyes +the masterly way in which my progenitor finished off his customers. In +the case of a tooth having to be drawn, or a vein opened, I was never +missing, and great was my pride should my father call upon me now and +then to render him some trifling assistance. I might have been about +seven years old when I made my first essay. + +It was about Christmas time, and my father had just killed a pig, which +he had left hung up by the legs in the yard. Being left alone for a few +minutes, a bright idea struck me. I would try my "'prentice han'" on the +carcase of the porker. So, locking all the doors so as not to be +interrupted, I mixed up a lather and, with one of my father's +well-sharpened razors, I commenced operations. Whilst thus busily +employed, I was attracted by the sound of smothered laughter, and +looking up at the window of our next-door neighbour's house, which +looked into our yard, I beheld some dozen of the neighbours, who had +been called in to witness my performance. I thought they would have died +with laughter. However, nothing daunted, I proceeded diligently with my +task, until my father, rattling at the door, demanded instant +admittance. I was forced to admit him, and when he saw what I had been +about, he quickly snatched the razor from my hand, and calling me "a +dirty young dog," administered to me a slight kick behind, although I +thought at the time, by the expression on his face, and likewise by that +on my mother's, that my parents felt inwardly proud of their son. + +An interval of two years now elapsed before I again put hand to razor. I +remember that at this time I was nine years old, and it was when I was +at this tender age that my poor father caught a fever and died. + +As you may suppose, gentlemen, it was a terrible blow to my poor widowed +mother, who, besides the grief she naturally felt for the loss of an +affectionate husband, found herself now alone in the world with a +growing lad to support as well as herself by the scanty proceeds of the +business. + +It was some little time before I could realise the fact that my father +was actually dead. When my mother first brought me the startling news I +heard it in a sort of stupor, resembling insensibility, out of which I +did not awake until the undertaker arrived with the coffin, when the +whole extent of our calamity seemed to dawn upon me for the first time, +and I fairly howled for grief. Whilst thus indulging my sorrow, a few +neighbours dropped in to see my father laid out in his coffin before he +was nailed down. I heard my mother make something like an apology for +showing her husband's body before it had been shaved. I stopped short in +my sobbing and mused awhile. It was then the custom to shave a corpse +before consigning it to its last home. Who was to perform this duty? + +Here the instinct of the barber came over me. Not a moment was to be +lost if I really intended to put my plan into practice. Yes, I myself +would shave my father's corpse, and no other. Accordingly, as my mother +was showing out the neighbours and listening to their well meant +condolences on the threshold, I quickly locked myself into the room with +the corpse, having previously procured the apparatus necessary for the +operation. I bore in my mind my father's instructions, "Keep your razor +sharp, and free from rust; let the water be boiling, and don't spare the +lather, but rub it well in before you begin." I now proceeded to put my +father's advice into practice; so, lathering well the face of the +corpse, and rubbing the suds well in, I proceeded to wield the razor +with a dexterity at first that surprised me with my own performance and +encouraged me to attempt something of that "nonchalance" of style that I +had observed my father adopt whilst shaving his customers, but which is +not looked upon as quite safe until one has undergone considerable +practice. + +Now, this was only my second attempt; still, I was so elated at having +gone through the shaving of both cheeks as well as the throat, without a +single cut, that I already deemed myself a proficient in the art, and +affected that air of ease and careless grace I have just alluded to +whilst I attempted the scraping of the upper lip, when, oh, horror! the +razor gave an untimely slip, and sliced my father's nose off! I dropped +the razor in my fright, and I really wonder I did not go off in a fit +on the spot, such was the thrill of terror that seized me as I gazed on +the ghastly hideousness of my father's corpse as it lay noseless in its +coffin. I staggered and almost fell to the ground, but mustering all my +courage, I picked up the nose and clapped it on in its place. I remember +that in my eagerness and hurry I stuck it on the wrong way, with the +nostrils upwards, which gave an appearance at once fearful and ludicrous +to its ghastly features. It rolled off, however, immediately, and I +hastened to rectify my mistake, and after much care and adroitness, +succeeded in poising the feature nicely in the centre of the face, in +the hopes that it would adhere of its own accord to the spot, and +proceeded with the operation; but, alas, no sooner had I begun to meddle +with the upper lip, than off rolled the nose again, so I just let it be +this time until I had completed the operation. + +Having, with the exception of this trifling accident, shaved the corpse +of my father to a nicety, I wiped off the lather, replaced the nose, and +quitted the room, carrying back my shaving tackle to the shop. + +Shortly afterwards my mother entered the room, and was surprised at +finding the corpse already shaved. She had intended shaving it herself. +I was silent on the subject, and she inquired no further into the +matter, being too absorbed with her grief. + +Presently the undertaker returned to nail up the coffin, and my mother +hastened to give my father one last parting kiss before he was nailed up +for ever. Suddenly I heard a shriek, and rushing into the room, found +my mother in hysterics. The cause was obvious. In approaching her lips +to those of her defunct spouse, the nose had unexpectedly rolled off, +causing a shock similar to that I experienced myself when I so +unskilfully amputated my father's nasal protuberance. When my mother +came to, I made a clean breast of my awkwardness, for which I received a +severe scolding, accompanied by sundry boxes on the ear. At length the +coffin was nailed up, and I followed it with my mother to the grave, but +for nights afterwards, my noseless father haunted me in my dreams, +carrying a basin of suds in one hand, and holding his nose between +finger and thumb with the other, as if to reproach me with my +awkwardness. + +When I related these dreams to my mother, she became uneasy in her mind, +and declared that all through my awkwardness my father was unable to +find rest in the tomb. She was a great believer in dreams, visions, +omens, prophecies, and the like, and said that the dream boded no good. +Being a mere child then, I became infected with her fears, though as I +grew up I began to reason with myself that a dream of that sort might +very well be accounted for by the excited state of my brain at the time +and tendency of my waking thoughts, without jumping at once at the +conclusion that there was anything supernatural in it. + +For some time after my father's death I used to pester my mother with +many of those questions that children are so fond of asking, and +mothers find so difficult to answer--viz., concerning Heaven, and a +future state after death. She used to tell me that Heaven was a place +for all good people, far, far away, high up above the stars, where good +folks lived on for ever, and never grew old, and never to die any more; +that they were very happy, and knew no more pain or sorrow, but became +as the angels, and had wings and sang praises to God all day long on a +cloud. Moreover, that it was very light and bright there, that all was +endless sunshine, and the angels were dressed in shining garments, etc. + +Still, I was anxious to know more about Heaven; how long it took to get +there--being so far off; whether father wouldn't get tired flying all +that distance, and if so, where he would stop to rest on the road; what +sort of amusements there were in Heaven, and finally whether there was +any shaving there. This last question was a puzzler. I was not to be put +off by mother telling me that angels didn't require shaving, for then I +argued that if father had gone to Heaven, he would be out of employment, +and consequently miserable and not happy, for I knew what pleasure my +father took in his business. Now if my father could not be happy without +employment, the only employment he cared about being shaving, and if in +Heaven that employment were not permitted or encouraged, it followed +that my father could not be in Heaven, for who ever heard of a soul in +Heaven and not happy? + +My next question was whether there were any shaving in the other place. +This was equally difficult to answer, for if my mother should admit that +there was, then I should have argued that my father must be there, which +would not have been a consoling idea, and if not, where should he be, +since he could not be in either of these places? My mother was fain to +confess that she did not know much about it, but said she would ask the +minister. Whether she did or not, I never ascertained. I began to +reflect for myself. The apostles were good men, as I had been given to +understand, and good men always went to Heaven. Yet from their effigies +upon the old stained-glass windows of the village church, they were all +represented with long beards. Therefore barber-craft could not be +encouraged in Heaven. Nothing could be more conclusive than this. My +doubts were at rest for ever, but I felt less happy than before I began +to argue on these matters. + +Ever since my father's death the whole weight of the business fell upon +my mother. Even in my father's lifetime she had so profited by his +lessons as to be able to lend a helping hand occasionally when the +customers were numerous and was thought to possess no inconsiderable +skill in the art, but now that my father was no more, she had to put her +shoulder to the wheel for her very bread. As for myself, it was long +before our villagers could be induced to place any confidence in my +shaving, the report of my father's unlucky amputation having spread like +wildfire through the neighbourhood. + +At length a strange gentleman passed through the village, and calling at +our shop, demanded to be shaved. My mother not being in at the time, I +offered my services, which were accepted, and acquitted myself to the +entire satisfaction of my customer. The gentleman chancing to mention to +someone that he had been shaved by a mere boy, and better than he had +ever been shaved in his life, my fame began to spread in the village, +and from that day we were in no want of customers. + +Business went on swimmingly until I was twelve years old, when I had the +misfortune to lose my poor mother. I was now quite alone in the world, +so in order to instruct myself more fully in the higher branches of the +art, such as wig making, hair-cutting, etc., I offered myself as +apprentice under the late Mr. Hackchin, under whose tuition in the wig +line I vastly improved, although even from the beginning my shaving was +universally preferred to his. Lor, sirs! his razors were never sharp, +his water always lukewarm, and his hand shook as with the palsy. The +fact was, he was getting old, was my poor employer, and ought, in my +opinion, to have given up business long before he did, when he might +have retired from the field with all due honours, and handed down his +name unstained to posterity. + +Well, gentlemen, not to wear out your patience, I will at once proceed +to the very heart of my story--plunge into the very thick of the lather, +as my poor father used to say--being about the time of my going abroad, +and the reason of it. It was now some time since I had begun to cast +sheep's eyes on the pretty Sally Snip, daughter of Simon Snip, the +village tailor. We met by stealth, took long walks together of a Sunday +in the green lane, danced together on the green on holidays, exchanged +tokens, breathed vows of eternal fidelity, and all the rest of it. Our +interviews were detected at length by Sally's parents, who looked on our +attachment with no favourable eyes. Old Snip was ambitious, and designed +quite another match for his daughter than a penniless young barber like +myself, and gave me plainly to understand that if I did not _sheer_ off +he would _baste_ my broadcloth for me. I was in a rage, but smothered it +for prudence sake, yet didn't I wish in that moment that I had the +shaving of him--wouldn't I have scraped him, that's all! Well, words +grew high; I protested that my intentions were strictly honourable, +etc., etc., but all to no purpose; the obstinate old parent wouldn't see +what was for his daughter's good, and I left him very much disgusted. A +few stolen interviews were attempted after this, but were all +frustrated, and I soon saw we were not destined for one another, so we +met for the last time, wept, embraced, and vowed still to love each +other to eternity. + +Now, there is no knowing but I might still have sought to renew my +interviews, had not an extraordinary circumstance occurred to alter my +determination. On the very night after our parting I was tossing +restlessly on my bed, between sleeping and waking, when all of a +sudden--whether it was a dream, I know not, but I fancy that I was +awake--all at once there stood by my bedside the spirit of my father in +the habiliments of the grave, unblemished in whiteness as the suds he +used in his lifetime, and, approaching me solemnly, said, + +"My son, all that has happened is for the best. Stick to thy trade, and +rival the most illustrious of thy ancestors, to which end thou must +visit Paris. I will guide thy steps. Practise incessantly. We shall meet +again." + +With these words the vision vanished, and I felt myself bathed in a cold +sweat. + +I slept no more that night, but rose early the following morning. My +determination was fixed, for a parent's command from the other side of +the tomb was not to be combated, so I scraped together my slender +earnings, tied up my bundle, took leave of my employer, and paid my +passage over to Paris. + +Soon after my departure Sally Snip became the wife of Daniel Nimble, an +aspiring apprentice of old Simon's. This was my first love, and, like +most first loves, ended miserably. Few men there are I wot who can boast +of having loved but once, and of having lived uncrossed in that love to +the end of the chapter. But I digress. + +No sooner arrived in Paris than I began searching out the names and +addresses of the most celebrated men in the hair line of the day with a +view of offering my services as assistant. The day after my arrival I +passed a large and handsome shop, evidently a first-rate business, with +a large printed card in the window. Now, although at that time I had not +the remotest knowledge of the French language, and consequently could +not possibly understand what was written on the card, yet an +indescribable I-don't-know-what, an inexplicable "_je-ne-sais-quoi_" +(perchance a spiritual dig in the ribs from my father), induced me to +interpret the words, "_A boy wanted_." I was as certain as I am of my +own existence that the proprietor was in want of an assistant and that +my services would be accepted, so I entered the shop, addressed the +proprietor in English, which, it is needless to say, was perfectly +unintelligible to him. However, by expressive signs, I told him I was an +adept, and that he couldn't do better than engage me. He smiled, the +bargain was struck, and from that day I commenced my career in a foreign +land. + +My employer was one Pierre le Chauve, a hair-dresser who had an +extensive business in the Rue St. Honorè, and who was especially +renowned for the neatness and elegance of his wigs. He also cut hair, +manufactured fancy soaps, hair oil, hair dye, perfumery, and the like. +He had one daughter, Mademoiselle Pauline, of some eighteen summers, as +neat a little grisette as ever trod the Champs Elysées or the Bois de +Boulogne on Sundays, and who presided at the counter and sold articles +of perfumery to the Parisian exquisites, with whom she chatted with the +most charming ease and grace and bewitching naïveté. + +Pauline was the thorough type of a French girl. Eyes of dark hazel, set +wide apart in her head, nez retrousee, rather wide mouth and exceptional +teeth, small hand and foot, jimp waist, and a countenance capable of +every possible shade of expression, while her voice, by nature pitched +in a high key, rose to shrillest treble when under any excitement. + +Besides myself, there was another assistant, one Jacques Millefleurs, a +conceited French puppy, who fancied himself irresistible, and used to +persecute his employer's daughter with the most marked attentions +whenever her father's back was turned, and which she, it must be +confessed, did not appear to be entirely indifferent to, although, at +the same time, she gave him plainly to understand that she intended to +flirt with whomever she liked without asking _his_ permission, and that +he had no right whatever to monopolise her. Jacques was of an +exceedingly jealous temper, and could ill brook this tone from the +object of his affections; this she knew well, and often took a malicious +delight in provoking him by putting on her best airs and graces and +being doubly fascinating whenever a handsome customer came to the shop. +It was then that Jacques would grow pale, and dart vicious side glances +from the corners of his eyes; but Pauline took no notice of him +whatever, but flirted more and more, as if to aggravate him. After the +customer had departed they would have a lovers' quarrel, and then they +would make it up again, and so on from day to day. + +Now, all this could be of very little interest to me, even if I had +understood their conversation, for had I not my own secret grief? Was it +to be supposed that I could forget Sally in a day? No; whilst I in +silence counted and separated the hairs destined to be woven into the +scalp of a wig, or whilst shaving a customer or cutting his hair, my +soul was in the green lane with Sally, or behind her at church, or under +her window at night, watching for a momentary glimpse of her shadow on +the window blind. In fact, whatever happened to be my employment, Sally +was ever uppermost in my thoughts, and still continued to be so, even +some time after the sad news reached me that she had married Daniel +Nimble. This shock at first was terrific, but, gradually subsiding, I +resolved at length that, as she had so soon forgotten me, not to think +of her any more, which in time I succeeded in doing. From being moody +and silent, I now became more talkative, for I had begun to pick up a +few phrases in French. + +Mademoiselle Pauline encouraged me in my progress, and was pleased to +take a great interest in me, much to the disgust of her admirer, Jacques +Millefleurs, who began to look upon me as a probable rival. I daily +improved in the French language under my fair tutor, and day by day she +gained upon me, for she certainly had the most winning manners. The more +I talked with her, the less I thought of Sally, till at last she +succeeded in completely supplanting her in my heart, and I found myself, +before I was well aware of it, head over ears in love with the +fascinating grisette. + +Here was a to do. Murder will out. Love and a cough are two things one +can't hide, as the proverb says. + +The odious Jacques _must_ discover my passion ere long, and a quarrel +will be inevitable. Not that I feared the likes of him, gentlemen. Don't +suppose it for a moment. Why, I'd take half a dozen or so of such +fellows one off and another on, and thrash the whole lot of them as easy +as a game of ninepins. Well, but to proceed, gentlemen. What I foresaw +soon happened. One day while taking my French lesson under Mademoiselle +Pauline, and we were chatting away merrily enough without taking any +notice of Jacques, who was arranging pots of bears' grease on the +shelves in the background, our heads drew very close together, and we +were looking very fondly into each other's eyes and whispering rather +low. + +Now, I knew that there was no engagement between her and Jacques, +therefore I had every right to pay her just the same attention that he +did, and I intended to let him know it. Well, my head might have touched +hers, or my locks may have intermingled with hers as we pored over the +French grammar together. However this may have been, something or other +seems to have exasperated my rival, for I heard him mutter to himself +something like _Cochon d'un Anglais_. I was getting on in my French now +and understood the words, so turning round, I said, + +"Did your remark refer to me, Monsieur Jacques?" + +"_Oui à vous_," he said, furiously, now losing all command over himself, +and heedless of the consequences; "and I repeat my remark." + +Here he repeated his obnoxious epithet with an invective against my +countrymen in general. + +"Hold there!" I cried, for I began to feel my English blood boil in my +veins, and in the best French I could muster, said, + +"Retract your words. I give you one chance to apologise, and if you +refuse----" + +Before I could finish my rival's legs had formed a right angle, and I +received a _savât_ in the eye. Stung by the pain, and still more by the +insult, I felt the strength of our whole line of barbers rush into my +veins, and clenching my fist convulsively I let forth so terrible a blow +in the chest of my adversary as to make him measure his length upon the +floor, and cause the back of his head to resound against it like a +cocoanut. Miss Pauline screamed, but the next moment my rival had +bounced upright upon his feet, and seized a razor. Another scream from +Pauline as he was making towards me, razor in hand, but this time I took +up a chair and with it gave him such a blow over the knuckles as made +him drop the razor and yell in agony. I laid down the chair, thinking +that the fight was now over, but the Frenchman sprang on to me again +like a hungry tiger, and so unexpected was the movement that I nearly +lost my balance, but with great adroitness I managed to trip him up, and +he fell under me. + +He now began to bite and to scratch, but I seized his hair and banged +his head against the ground several times. He then clutched me anew, and +we began rolling over and over on the floor, Pauline screaming all the +while, but extricating myself at length from his grasp, I bounded to my +feet, and before he had time to rise placed one foot upon his throat. At +this moment my employer attracted by his daughter's screams, entered. + +"_Mille diables!_" he cried, fiercely, "_ques-ce-que ce tappage la? Ah! +ça, Monsieur Godam_," said he, turning full upon me, "_esce que vous +êtes entré chez moi pour ensegner le box à mes eléves?_" + +Here Pauline broke in. + +"No, I assure you, dear papa, it was not the Englishman's fault. +Millefleurs began the quarrel. I saw him kick the Englishman in the +eye." + +"Ha! Monsieur Jacques, you did kick the Englishman in the eye?" inquired +my employer; "and what for did you kick the Englishman in the eye?" + +"Because he used undue familiarity towards Mademoiselle," said Jacques, +doggedly. + +Le Chauve glanced suspiciously first at me then at his daughter, but +Pauline, stung at Jacques' mean attempt at exposing me as well as +herself to her father's obloquy, rose in all the pride of injured +womanhood, as if to take the whole burden of defence upon herself, and +standing erect with compressed lips and white with passion, cried, + +"It is false, 'tis a base lie! The Englishman never treated me otherwise +than with the greatest respect, nor have I ever received at his hands +any of those attentions that in my indulgence I have permitted from +yourself. Think not, however, Master Jacques, that this calumny will +serve your turn, or that I am blind to the paltry motives that prompted +it. Your absurd jealousy is seen through, and has met with its just +chastisement. What was it to you, I pray, even if the Englishman _had_ +paid me attention? Must you be the only one to pay me attention? You +know very well that I have never granted you any right to monopolise me, +however your conceit may have deluded you. Beware, therefore, in future +how you attempt to calumniate either myself or this Englishman, for as +sure as you are born you will not succeed in your scheme, and know, once +for all, Monsieur Jacques Millefleurs, that for the future I wish all +those attentions that you have been pleased to lavish upon me so +profusely whenever my father's back was turned, to cease. Respect me as +your employer's daughter, for I vow never to be anything more to you." + +She ceased; but during her harangue, Pauline's deportment was +majestic--it was sublime. No longer was she the little grisette with the +cock-nose and the wide mouth, but a tragedy queen pronouncing a +malediction. She appeared now at least half a head taller, so imposing +was her attitude. The roses and smile had deserted her countenance, and +were supplanted by a ghastly pallor, while from her dark eyes flashed a +withering scorn, under which Jacques appeared to quail like a whipped +hound, but which feeling his natural pride sought to overcome. + +Rage, grief, jealousy, and confusion struggled in his breast for the +mastery, as he stood speechless, with clenched fists, teeth set, flushed +face, and straining eyeballs fixed upon the ground, to which the tears +would start spite of all his efforts to repress them. His hair +disordered and dirty, as well as his clothes, from his fall, he looked +altogether the very picture of maniacal despair. + +"Ha! Jacques," said his employer, "is this true? What! have you dared to +raise your eyes to my daughter, and that, too, behind my back, without +my permission--_hein_?" + +Jacques, overcome with shame and speechless, never lifted his eyes from +the ground, whilst the large tears, blinding him and overflowing, fell +heavily on the floor. + +"_Prenez garde, Monsieur Jacques_," said Le Chauve, "for, _parbleu!_ if +I hear any more of these clandestine overtures with my daughter I'll +discharge you on the spot. And you, too, Ma'meselle Pauline, you, too, +were much to blame in not telling me at once of this boy's insolent +pretensions. But, tell me once more, who began this ridiculous quarrel? +Who gave the first blow?" + +"Please, sir," said I, now speaking for the first time, "I was taking my +French lesson with your daughter, when Monsieur Jacques was pleased to +call me '_cochon_,' and abused my country. I demanded an apology, which +he refused, and before I was aware of it, kicked me in the eye. I gave +one straight blow with my fist, _comme ça_"--(here I imitated the blow +to show him how an Englishman could knock a Frenchman down)--"and he +fell full length upon the floor." + +"Yes, it is true, papa," broke in Pauline; "the Englishman has spoken +the truth." + +"_C'etait bien fait, c'etait bien fait_," said her father; "go on." + +"Then," resumed I, "Millefleurs sprang again to his feet, and seized a +razor." + +"Ha! he seized a razor? Is that so, Monsieur Millefleurs? Did you seize +a razor?" + +Jacques was silent as before, while I proceeded, "I then seized a +chair." + +"You seized a chair, _hébien_!" + +"And I knocked the razor out of his hand. He fell to the ground with +pain, and yelled." + +"_Encore, bien fait--après?_" + +"He jumped up again, and pounced upon me like a tiger, and nearly +knocked me over, but I tripped him up in time, and he fell to the +ground, together with myself, and then we rolled over and over each +other on the floor, till I at length succeeded in extricating myself, +and placed my foot upon his neck, when you entered, sir." + +"_C'est bien vraie_," burst in Pauline again; "the Englishman has given +an exact account of the quarrel." + +"Ha! is that so?" asked Le Chauve. "_Hébien!_ Monsieur Jacques, you have +refused to apologise to the Englishman for insulting him and kicking him +in the eye. Now, I command you to apologise to him, or out of my shop +you shall go at once. Do you hear?" + +"Non; _mille fois non_!" cried Jacques, stamping with rage, forgetful +alike of the respect due to his master and the presence of Pauline, "I +would sooner die first." + +"Then prepare at once to leave my house. Take up your bundle and walk!" + +The peremptory manner in which these words were said caused Jacques to +pause and weigh matters. + +"If my employer actually does send me off," he probably said to himself, +"then adieu to Pauline for ever, but if I consent to apologise, I shall +remain here, and may in time succeed in cutting out the Englishman." + +This was probably his mode of reasoning, for he was too good a +politician not to know where his interests lay, so changing his tone +entirely, and gulping down with difficulty something that was rising in +his throat, and which, if he had given expression to, would probably +have resembled an ingenious French oath, he replied with great apparent +calmness, + +"Monsieur Le Chauve, you have always been a good master to me, and I +have always tried to prove myself worthy of your kindness, and I should +be sorry to leave you for a trifle, therefore I will obey you, and will +demand pardon of _mon cher confrere l'anglais_, for having in a moment +of ungovernable passion kicked him in the eye, and insulted him." + +This was said in turning towards me, and in all humility. + +"And you, Monsieur Suds, if you forgive him, offer him your hand." + +I extended my hand towards my fellow assistant, which he took in his, +and I expressed sorrow for the part I had had in the quarrel, but I +noticed that the hand of Jacques Millefleurs was icy cold. + +"_Allons mes enfants_," said Le Chauve, "now don't let me hear any more +of these silly quarrels, but go in peace." + +We both set about our respective duties, but I knew enough of the +Frenchman's character to be sure that his apology did not come from his +heart, but had been forced out of him from motives of policy, and I was +not at all sure that this would be the last of such quarrels, but had no +doubt that he would vent his petty spite upon me on the very next +opportunity. + +I had hardly re-settled myself, and proceeded with my wig, when a +stranger of dignified appearance entered and demanded to be shaved. I +had no difficulty in recognising in him a countryman. Glad of an +opportunity of speaking English again after so long, I answered him in +his own mother tongue. + +"Want to be shaved, sir? Yes, sir." + +"Ah, you are English!" he said. + +"Yes, sir, one of the latest imported," said I. "Only arrived here a +month ago to perfect myself in the art of barber-craft amongst these +foreigners. Served under Mr. Hackchin in the village of D----, in +----shire, where I have learnt to shave, cut hair, make wigs, mix hair +grease, and all the rest of it, and as for tooth drawing, bleeding, and +quack salving, you won't find the likes of me in all the countryside. My +name is Suds, sir, at your service. Maybe you have heard tell of my +father or my grandfather. The Suds have been barbers from time +immemorial." + +"Oh, indeed?" said the stranger. Then muttered to himself, +"Suds--Suds--I fancy I have heard the name before." + +And I should just think he had, gentlemen. Why, my grandfather once +shaved His Majesty King George I., or George II., or Queen Anne, or one +of that lot, I forget which, as my father used to tell me. + +Well, gentlemen, when I had got my countryman fairly lathered, and had +commenced operations, I noticed that he glanced half-quizzingly at my +eye, which was now black and swollen from the kick I had received from +my adversary. + +"You seem to have a bad cold in your eye, Mr. Suds," he remarked, with +an ill-repressed smile. + +"No, sir," I replied, "it is not exactly that." + +"Not a cold!" exclaimed he, feigning astonishment. "Dear me! it's very +like one. Then if I might venture to guess, I should say you had been +in a fight, and got the worst of it." + +"Well, not exactly, sir," said I; "not the worst of it; no, not the +worst of it. It is true I had a slight difference of opinion this +morning with a young man of the shop, a mere trifle--an affair of +jealousy, that's all, sir." + +"And I presume that that neat little baggage in the corner of the shop +with the jimp waist and well starched cap was the fair cause of this +trifling jealousy--am I right?" + +"Well, really, sir, your penetration is such that it serves not to deny +it," said I. "If you had only arrived five minutes earlier, you would +have caught me at it tooth and nail. Oh! it _was_ fine, sir. He caught +me a kick in the eye unawares--French fashion you know, sir. Englishmen +don't like that sort of game, it takes them by surprise; but you should +have seen how I floored him with a good English blow in the chest that +made him measure his length upon the ground. You should have heard what +a whack his head came against the floor. It sounded for all the world +like an empty cask. It will ache for him this next fortnight to come, +I'll warrant." + +"Oh! then England _wasn't_ thrashed after all?" said he. + +"Not a bit of it," said I, proudly. + +"Well, you seem a smart lad," said he. "I don't mind giving you a job to +do every morning during my stay in Paris. Suppose you come every morning +to my hotel to shave me." + +"With pleasure, sir," said I. + +"Here is my address," said he, handing me a card. + +I read the name Lord Goldborough, Hotel ----, Rue ----, No. 25 _au +premier_. I fell into a sort of stupor at the discovery that I had been +shaving a real live lord, without knowing it. So taken aback was I, that +I forgot to stuff his pockets with bears' grease, tooth powder, fancy +soaps, hair dye, tooth and nail brushes, etc. + +Before I had well recovered, he was out of the shop. He had left an +English paper behind him by mistake, and a letter, the former of which I +perused, while the latter I placed in my pocket, to return to him on the +morrow at his hotel. + +No sooner had my countryman left the shop than Pauline asked me if he +wasn't an Englishman. + +"Yes," I replied, glad of an opportunity of making myself big in her +eyes and of inspiring my rival with awe and respect for me; "his name is +Lord Goldborough, _un grand milord_, who has known me many years, and +all my family. In fact," said I, "he is distantly connected with +us."--(I did not say on account of our both being descended from Adam). + +I told them in the shop that he had engaged my services every morning at +his hotel to shave him, for old acquaintance sake, and finally that he +had called on me on purpose, under the excuse of being shaved, to lend +me that paper to read, where there was a long account of the great +political deeds of a celebrated English minister related to us both; in +fact, no less a man than the renowned William Pitt. There's no harm in +making yourself as big as you can when you are sure of not being found +out--eh, gentlemen?--and when you do come out with a lie, tell a good +'un whilst you're about it--that's my morality. + +Pauline raised her eyebrows and looked at me archly, half incredulously. +Jacques, who had been sulkily combing out some bunches of hair for +wig-making behind the counter, looked up for a moment, his mouth wide +open with astonishment, then resumed his work. + +I little knew at the time how dearly I should have to pay for a few idle +words. These are dangerous times to jest in, gentlemen, especially +t'other side of the water, and if you happen to have an enemy. I was +inexperienced in these matters then, but I have bought my experience +since, and dearly enough I had to pay for it. + +On the following morning I hastened to keep my appointment with my noble +countryman. I found him very affable and condescending, and he was +pleased to compliment me on my skill in barber-craft. He talked to me +much about England and my family, of politics, of the French, etc., and +asked me how I liked foreign parts. I naturally felt flattered at the +interest he seemed to take in me, but I knew how to keep my place, +always styling him "my lord" and "your lordship." In fact, we got on +capitally together. When I returned to the shop I bragged of the +intimacy between my patron and myself, not always sticking literally to +the truth, but colouring my reception a little highly to excite envy +and respect in my rival and interest in Pauline. + +After this I went regularly every day to his lordship, and came back +after every visit with an extravagantly coloured account of my noble +customer's bounty and friendship for me, as well as the unlimited share +of his confidence that I enjoyed. Pauline's smiles grew daily more +winning, and Jacques scowled more and more savagely from behind the +counter. + +One morning, as I was preparing as usual to start for my noble patron's +hotel, an ugly-looking ruffian, dressed in the preposterous fashion of +the "incroyables," entered the shop, and strutting up to my employer, +who was hard at work on a new wig, said, "Citoyen, you harbour a +'_suspect_.'" + +"Not I, my friend, I assure you," said Le Chauve. "It is a mistake; I +have no one in the house but my wife and daughter and two +apprentices--one an Englishman lately arrived." + +"Just so, an Englishman, a spy of the English Government; a most +dangerous character, and on the most intimate terms with Lord Goldboro', +who is himself a spy." + +"It cannot possibly be my assistant Suds," muttered my employer to +himself. + +"_Oui, Suds, c'est bien lui, le voici_," and he showed a warrant for my +immediate arrest. + +"_Mais c'est impossible, monchére, ce pauvre garçon, si jeune, si +innocent_," pleaded my kind employer. + +"Nevertheless, I have my orders. If he is innocent, he will be proved +so. I come not to dispute whether he be innocent or guilty, but to +arrest him," said the incroyable. "_Allons, où est-il?_" + +Now, concealment I knew to be impossible, resistance futile. The only +thing to be done was to face the matter out boldly and trust to +Providence. (Of course, I made no doubt as to whom I had to thank for my +arrest.) So walking bravely into the shop, without any show of fear, I +thus accosted the incroyable, "So, citoyen, it appears you have orders +to arrest me. I will not dispute your authority, although I know myself +to be innocent of the charges brought against me. I can pretty well +guess _which_ of my kind friends has been so considerate as to procure +for me a safe night's lodging free from expense, and his motive in doing +so." + +Here I darted a withering glance at Jacques, who cowered beneath my +gaze, and another pleading one at Pauline, as if I would say, "You see +how I am betrayed, and by whom." + +Pauline stood pale as death--or rather, leant against the wall for +support. She seemed unable to utter a word, and yet seemed struggling +with herself to defend me. As if spell-bound, she looked on in mute +horror, until the guard entered the shop, and I had barely time to say, +"_Au revoir, Monsieur le Chauve; adieu, Mademoiselle Pauline._ I am +innocent, whatever my enemies may try and make me out, and doubt not but +I shall be able to prove my innocence. Await my speedy return. _En +evant, gards_," and off I was conducted by the soldiers. + +I was hardly out of the shop when a piercing female shriek reached my +ears, and poor Pauline had fallen fainting to the ground. I saw and +heard no more, for though I was outwardly calm, my brain was racked with +the direst apprehensions. + +Here I was being led openly through the streets of Paris like a +felon--whither? To prison--to the Bastille, to be tried; possibly, nay +probably, to be condemned to death. What for? What had I done? "Nothing; +I am innocent," I said to myself. "No matter, so have others been that +have likewise perished by the guillotine," I thought I heard a voice +inwardly say. "Executions are now of daily occurrence, and not +individuals, but hundreds of individuals, perish for they know not what. +Marat, from out his obscure lodgings, and seated up to the neck in his +warm bath, doth complacently issue forth his bloody orders, from which +not even innocence itself is free. Oh, the malignity of human nature!" +thought I. "Base, base Jacques Millefleurs! for who else could have +betrayed me? And Pauline, poor girl! what would become her?" + +Then came another thought forcing its way through my brain, despite my +efforts to crush it. Pauline for the present, it is true, was disgusted +with Millefleurs, especially for this last dastardly act of his, but +women are proverbially fickle--the whole French nation is volatile--and +after my death, and she had shed a few transient tears belike to my +memory, Jacques _might_ work himself into her good graces again, and +even _marry_ her--the thought was agony. The mere fear of death itself +was perhaps the last thought that occupied me, for I felt I had no +parents to regret me; on the contrary, I felt consoled in the thought +that I should see them again in the other world. No; it was not mere +death that I feared so much; but then, to leave Pauline, to be cut short +in my brilliant career, before I had established my fame! + +These were thoughts that galled me. Nevertheless, I tried to console +myself. Perhaps things might not be so black as my imagination had +painted them, and even if they should be--even if I should die by the +guillotine for an imagined State offence--it was not like being gibbeted +alive in my own country for a highway robbery or murder. No; there was +something aristocratic in the idea of being guillotined, for did not the +scaffold reek with noble blood? + +Amid such reflections as these I was conducted by the guard to the gates +of the Bastille, and before I was well aware of it, found myself in a +spacious cell, and heard the lock turned upon me. Here a singular and +never-to-be-forgotten scene was presented to my view. The prison was +crowded with men and women of all ranks and ages, many of whom were to +die on the morrow, yet most of them appeared to have no fear of death +whatever. Here and there were knots of friends who seemed determined to +make the most of their short stay in this world, and to enjoy life to +the utmost. Here was dicing and card playing, laughing, joking, and +swearing, as if they thought it prime fun to die in company. Surely +these men, thought I, must be accustomed to death, as they say eels are +to skinning, that they no longer mind it. + +There were, however, prisoners of another cast, persons who preferred +spending their last moments on earth in prayer and pious meditation. +Parents took leave of their children, children of their parents, friends +parted from friends, lovers from lovers. Tears flowed on all sides. +Profane mirth and ribald jests mingled discordantly with pious oraisons +and tearful farewells. Others again were sullenly awaiting their doom +with crossed arms and heads drooping on their breasts, keeping apart +from the others, being too proud to pray, and yet indifferent to the +amusements of the more light-hearted. + +Well, days, weeks, passed by, I suppose, for I do not recollect what +time elapsed during my incarceration, as I kept no count, being in a +kind of mental stupor all the time, nor could I bring myself to believe +that the scene before me was real, and not a dream. All the events from +the time of my arrest, flitted through my mind like a vast +phantasmagoria. + +Since my imprisonment, I had been tried, found guilty, and condemned to +death. The day had been fixed, and yet it weighed but lightly upon me, +being nothing more that what I had expected and prepared myself for. +Each day brought new arrests, and each day some of my companions were +led forth to execution. It is wonderfully consoling to find that others +are about to share a like fate as one's self. This I found by +experience, for, engrossed as I was, with my own selfish thoughts, I +still found time to be touched with the misfortunes of others, and on +several occasions I offered consolation, and received consolation from +many of my fellow prisoners. In some instances I had struck up quite a +warm friendship with the inmates of my cell, but alas! our intimacy +lasted but long enough for us to know, love, and esteem each other. No +sooner had I begun to feel for my fellow sufferer as a friend and +brother, than the following day he was certain to be torn from me, and +led off to execution. One of these friendships formed in prison, +especially dwells upon me; perhaps because it was one of the longest. + +My friend was a young man of my own years, and of noble family, as he +said. He told me also his name, but I have forgotten it. He was +imprisoned because it was thought he entertained aristocratic opinions, +and was a devout Catholic. He was in love, but the idol of his +affections belonged to an atheistical family. It had been the dream of +his ambition to eradicate the heretical opinions she had imbibed and +convert her to the Catholic faith. He was looked upon with suspicion by +her family, who, disapproving of the match, were instrumental in placing +him in the Bastille. I ventured to condole with him, though he needed +not my consolation, as his comfort was in his religion. Of all my +companions in prison, I found him the most resigned. + +When I had learnt his tale, I told him mine, saying that I was a poor +_perruquier-barbier_ who had left his country for a while to complete +his art studies, and who, happening to fall in love with his employer's +daughter, had, through the jealousy and malice of a rival, who had +falsely accused him, found himself imprisoned in the Bastille, and +condemned to death. He was touched with my tale as I had been with his, +for our histories had something in common. We were both in love, in +prison, and condemned to death. We wept together, we embraced, we kissed +(Frenchmen always kiss); and though he was a gentleman of noble family, +and I only a lowly barber, yet, on the brink of the grave, all +distinctions are levelled, so we embraced, and called ourselves brothers +in adversity. How I prayed and longed that our lives might be spared, +that we might the longer enjoy each other's friendship, or that we might +quit this world in each other's company! But fate willed it otherwise. +On the morrow, he whom I had learnt to love as a brother was torn from +me and led to the scaffold. My life seemed now a blank. Whilst my friend +lived in his troubles, I forgot my own; now that he was no more I began +to realise all the horrors of my situation. + +At length the eve of my execution arrived. I tried to give myself up +wholly to pious meditation, so throwing myself down in the corner of my +cell, I endeavoured to recall all my past life, to repent of my sins, +and pray for a speedy and peaceful end; but then the guillotine rose up +before me in all its terrors, and bodily fear would usurp the place of +holier thoughts. The nearer the hour drew, the more vividly everything +painted itself to my mind's eye. I must leave Pauline without a word of +farewell. The heartless turnkey, inured to scenes of death and misery, +would witness me depart to execution without a tear. Then the insolence +of the brutal guard, the gaping crowd, the scaffold, and surly +executioner, the cold steel close to my neck, one terrible shock and +then--then--eternity--a vast blank--an unexpected world--doubt, +suspense, _perhaps_, total annihilation. + +"Merciful God!" I exclaimed in agony, "is there no hope? I ask not for +length of days, but only time to repent. Let me not be ushered into Thy +awful presence unprepared. Help me to my salvation, and fit me for my +end." Here I shut my eyes and prayed long and fervently, after which I +felt more resigned. I heard the clock toll forth the hour of midnight, +and most of the inmates of my cell were fast asleep. I now felt a chilly +sensation creep over me, an indescribable awe, as if in the presence of +something more than mortal. I opened my eyes and was aware of a vaporous +form or column of luminous ether standing beside me, which gradually +growing more distinct, shaped itself into the bearing and lineaments of +my father. My breath forsook me. My eyeballs straining from their +sockets, fixed the cloudy image without my having the power to remove +them, and I was unable to utter a word. + +Presently a low, though distant, voice (whether it proceeded from the +figure or not, I cannot say, for it seemed to come from a distance and +to sing through my head) uttered these words: "My son, it has pleased +Heaven for once that the innocent shall be spared and the wicked +punished. Fear not, for I am sent to protect you. Another has been +provided to take your place at the scaffold. In another minute he will +be here. When you hear the key turn in the lock and see the door open +wide, be ready to fly with me." + +"Fly with you, father!" I mentally cried. To which the spectre answered, +"I will envelop you in my essence, and being invisible myself to others, +will make you likewise invisible. Thus, as the new prisoner enters, we +will pass unseen by the turnkey through the open door, and so on, past +the guard, till we find ourselves outside. Once past all danger, I will +conduct you to the seashore, where a vessel awaits you to carry you back +to England." + +Each word was uttered slowly and distinctly, and whilst he was yet +speaking I heard the key grate against the lock, and the door of my +prison being flung open, a fresh prisoner entered, accompanied by the +jailor. What was my surprise when, by the light of the jailor's +lanthorn, I recognised my old rival, Jacques Millefleurs! + +I had no time to speculate on the "how" or the "wherefore" of his +arrest, but in obedience to my father's orders I passed fearlessly +through the open door, which was immediately closed after me. I passed +the guards, not without a certain tremor, yet no one appeared to see me +or impede my course. I hurried past the outer gate, and quickening my +pace, soon left the Bastille and its terrors far behind me. + +Morning at length dawned, and as I passed through the streets I observed +that nobody looked me in the face, but rather looked through me into +space, as if I were air. I was thus aware that I was still invisible, so +entering a diligence, arrived in due time at Calais. + +"This is the vessel," said the voice, in my ear. "Embark--the wind is +fair. Farewell," and I found myself once more alone and visible, for +sundry passers-by stared at me in surprise, no doubt wondering how I had +made my appearance there all of a sudden, not having been on the spot a +moment ago. + +I hastened to take my place on board, and having set sail, arrived, +after a good passage, at Dover. How the dear old white cliffs and the +grand old castle seemed to welcome me back to my native land! How +thankful I felt for my recent miraculous preservation! How joyfully I +leapt ashore, and with what buoyancy I trod my native land again! It was +as if I had never breathed the air of liberty till now. + +Once more in the land of the free, after a hearty meal, I took the +stage, and travelled until I reached my native village; and here I am, +gentlemen. + + * * * * * + +"Upon my word, Mr. Suds," broke in Dr. Bleedem as the barber concluded +his story, "if you have many more tales of that sort you'll soon rival +the members of the club. What do you say, Mr. Oldstone. Was not that +story worthy of a member?" + +Mr. Oldstone could not go so far as to admit that any one member of the +club had ever been equalled in story telling by a barber, and that, too, +a Frenchified barber, but he condescended to give a complacent look of +approval at the young man without directly answering the question put to +him, and then addressing him said, as he pulled out his watch, "I don't +know if you are aware of it, Mr. Suds, but the absorbing interest that +you have forced us to take in your narrative has made us quite forget +church time, and it now wants but a quarter to one o'clock." + +"You don't say so," cried several voices at once. "Sure enough," said +another, "here are all the people coming out of church." + +"What!" cried our late story teller, in alarm, "have I really, through +my talk, prevented your honours from exhibiting your chins at divine +service, as a sample of my art? This is indeed a sin my soul must +answer." + +"Well, gentlemen," said Mr. Oldstone, "time past cannot be recalled, all +we can do is, to try to make up for it by going to church this +afternoon." + +"Stop! stop! Mr. Suds, whither away so fast," he cried, as he saw the +young man making towards the door with his tackle in his hand. "You +have not told us what became of Pauline. You finished your story rather +too abruptly; it requires a sequel. Come, let's hear it." + +The youth returned, after closing the door, and resting the tips of his +fingers against the back of a chair, proceeded gravely thus: "Little +more remains to be told, gentlemen. I heard from Pauline not long since. +Her letter runs as nearly as I can recollect in these words: + +"Dear Mr. Suds, I write to you for the first and last time. Perhaps I +should not have written to you at all. If I have erred from maiden +modesty in so doing, I hope you will excuse me. I really could not let +so great a friend pass from me without a word. I heard of your escape by +chance, and you may imagine my extreme delight and thankfulness at the +joyful news, though I never could learn in what manner you effected it. +Enough for me that you are safe in your own free country, far from the +broils of civil discord and intestine misery. + +"Alas! my friend, if I may be allowed to call you by that name, I have +suffered much since we parted; so much, indeed, that were you to see me +now, you would not know me again for the gay capricious Pauline of +former times, whose eyes and complexion you were once wont to praise. +Forgive me, my friend, forgive me, Mr. Suds, if I have already said too +much, and bear with me still, while I yet disburden my heart of more. +The words tremble on my pen, my hand refuses to write what my heart +dictates, for fear of incurring your displeasure and contempt, rather +than brook which I would that my hand would paralyse, that I might never +touch pen more; that my lips were sealed that I might never more express +the feelings that rise and crave for utterance, ay that my heart itself +would cease to beat. I can no longer restrain my pen. My eyes fill with +tears as I write. Pardon my temerity. I feel I must speak or die. + +"Dear Mr. Suds, did you ever imagine that from the very first moment +that you introduced yourself at my father's shop that my heart was no +longer my own? Did you know that the attentions of the odious Jacques +Millefleurs which my vanity only induced me to encourage, from that time +became loathsome to me, and my heart told me too truly the reason why? + +"Oh! my dearest friend, if you knew how hard it has been to me to +persist in dissimulation for so long, to hide from my father and from +Millefleurs that which was passing in my bosom! + +"Oh! if you knew the shock I received when I witnessed your arrest and +the deadly hatred that I bore towards Jacques Millefleurs for being the +cause, oh, then my love! then, I say, you would pardon me all, ay, even +the hideous crime I perpetrated for your sake. Know then, my loved one, +that it was I--I,--your Pauline, who accused Jacques to the government +for conspiring against it, even as he had falsely accused you, and +caused him to be arrested and condemned! Know you that whilst your bark +was peacefully crossing the channel that Jacques Millefleurs was taking +your place at the scaffold? You are avenged, and through me, though I +know your noble nature must recoil at such retaliation. Enough, he is +judged; peace be to his soul. + +"But, alas, evil though he may have been, will his crimes help to wash +out one iota of the stain of my guilt? Shall I ever feel the stings of +remorse less keenly because I committed the rash and mean act in the +very torrent of passion? + +"Oh! my friend, I feel I have merited your contempt and scorn for having +given way thus to the promptings of my evil nature. I fancy I see you +start and shrink back whilst reading these lines, and saying to +yourself, 'Can Pauline have been guilty of so black a crime?' No wonder +you shrink back in horror and loathing; yet, loathe me as you will, you +cannot loathe me as much as I loathe myself. I thought revenge would be +sweet, but now the bitterness of remorse has filled my heart. The +remembrance of my crime is intolerable to me; it haunts me night and +day. I feel that nothing short of the sacrifice of my whole life can do +aught towards atoning for so black a deed. + +"Yes, my friend, many and bitter have been the tears of remorse that I +have shed, very bitter the reproaches I have launched against myself. +But to what purpose all this? What should your young and innocent soul +know of the torments I bear within? Enough, my resolution is fixed never +to be changed. + +"Start not, friend, when I tell you that I have renounced the world and +its vanities, and intend to retire into a convent, there to atone by a +lifetime of fasting and prayer for the fell crime that harrows my soul. +I was once vain enough to dream of becoming your bride, but now I am +called upon to be the bride of Heaven. Shortly after you receive this I +shall have taken the veil. Think no more of one unworthy to find a place +in your thoughts. Forgive me if you can. Farewell, yours, Pauline." + +"These, gentlemen, are the words of her letter, as well as I can +recollect. The letter bears no date or address, but it bore the +post-mark, 'Brussels.' As the letter did not appear to crave an answer, +I wrote none and thus the matter dropped." + +"Poor girl!" broke in Parnassus, with a sigh; "her crime was great, no +doubt; but done in the very heat of passion; and then, her repentance is +extremely touching." + +"Yes," said Mr. Blackdeed, "she winds up in a manner quite dramatic." + +The members of the club then expressed, severally, their approbation of +the barber's narrative, upon which the young man bowed and scraped, and +hoped he should be able to satisfy the honourable members as well on a +future occasion, if his services should be required, and then quitted +the inn. In the afternoon our members attended divine service, to a man; +and, after a stroll in the wood, returned home in the evening, which +they spent in their usual jovial manner. + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's note: + + Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. + + Although not present in the original publication, a list of + contents has been provided for the reader's convenience. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES OF THE WONDER CLUB, VOLUME +II*** + + +******* This file should be named 34817-8.txt or 34817-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/4/8/1/34817 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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