diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76493-0.txt | 5164 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76493-h/76493-h.htm | 5583 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76493-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 0 -> 257193 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76493-h/images/frontispiece.jpg | bin | 0 -> 254859 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
7 files changed, 10763 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/76493-0.txt b/76493-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3c81cbd --- /dev/null +++ b/76493-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5164 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76493 *** + + + + _The New + Terror_ + + +[Illustration: “My cry was torn from me by the vision of Cordélia’s + form ... rising between us at the moment when our fingers were + pressing the triggers....”] + + + + + _The + New Terror_ + + _By_ GASTON LEROUX + + AUTHOR OF “THE PHANTOM CLUE,” “WOLVES OF THE + SEA,” “MISSING MEN,” ETC. + + _FRONTISPIECE BY GEORGE W. GAGE_ + + + NEW YORK + _THE MACAULAY COMPANY_ + + + + + Published in England under the title + THE BURGLED HEART + _Copyright, 1926, by The Macaulay Company_ + + + _Printed in the United States of America_ + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I +My Betrothal to Cordélia+ 9 + + II +The Portrait+ 12 + + III +Vascoeuil and Hennequeville+ 20 + + IV +The Wedding+ 29 + + V +An Unexpected Present+ 39 + + VI +Patrick+ 47 + + VII +After the Wedding+ 72 + + VIII +Dr. Thurel+ 77 + + IX +I Discover a Change in Cordélia+ 92 + + X +The Second Night+ 98 + + XI +The Golden Chamber+ 111 + + XII +The Thief+ 120 + + XIII +Happiness Consists in Realities not in Dreams+ 128 + + XIV +Happy Days+ 138 + + XV +In Which My Anxiety About Cordélia’s Polygon is Revived+ 141 + + XVI +The Appointment+ 146 + + XVII +The Duel+ 164 + + XVIII +And Now+ ... 178 + + XIX +The Last Visit+— 185 + + +A Terrible Tale+ 189 + + +The Gold Axe+ 229 + + + + + THE NEW TERROR + + CHAPTER I + + MY BETROTHAL TO CORDÉLIA + + +Our parents as good as betrothed us from our earliest infancy. When I +was twelve and she was eight, our friends used to remark that we made +a charming couple, and our mothers were lost in admiration of us. We +would gladly have been married at once we were so fond of one another. +We were first cousins, and were often brought together at holiday time. +At that period Cordélia had already given me her heart, the budding +heart of a little maid of eight. + +I was a tall, sturdy boy for my age with a fair, almost reddish-brown +complexion, passionately devoted to every form of sport, but idle in +the school-room. Life in the open air was the one thing that attracted +me. Cordélia, who possessed an inclination for reading and the arts, +acquired her taste for outdoor life from me. Her mother was Italian. My +uncle had married her during a business trip to Turin. When Cordélia +was eight years old she was a talented musician, but she surprised us +still more by the facility with which she drew or painted anything +which interested her or struck her fancy. As for myself, whatever came +from her hands seemed to me in the nature of a marvel. + +I loved her all the more for her gifts and I bestowed on her unstinted +admiration. It was I who taught her how to ride. She knew no fear. +Sometimes she gave me a fright, but I could not choose but follow her, +and she did with me as she pleased. I was never a dreamer. Once she +said, “Let us dream,” and I pretended as I stood beside her to dream, +meaning thereby that I kept silent. Then she eyed me with a queer +expression and burst into laughter. + +“Kiss me,” she said. + +I tried to kiss her and she fled. + +We made merry in this way until I was nineteen. I had become a tall, +strongly-built fellow with a freckled face. She considered me the +handsomest of men. She always considered me the handsomest of men. +She herself had become beautiful beyond words. The slenderness of the +unruly young girl had given way to a form of ideal elegance and charm. +She was neither fair nor dark. The color of her hair, which I called +a fluffy radiance was all her own. Her eyes were green, flecked with +gold, whose shades were ever changing. And then her graceful figure! +She was as supple as a reed as the saying is, but by no means frail. + +We continued to amuse ourselves like children. + +Nevertheless one day we took each other by the hand and went thus +together to our parents asking them to consent to our marriage without +loss of time. We were filled with a wild desire to go for a wedding +trip on horseback. Our parents, to our infinite sorrow, refused to +listen to us. They postponed our trip on horseback for five years from +then, and packed me off to America, which seemed to me a cruel and +bitter mockery. And then I returned for my military service. And after +that I was dispatched to America once more. + + + + + CHAPTER II + + THE PORTRAIT + + +My father who was an iron manufacturer intended to take me into his +works, but first of all he was bent on my undergoing a complete course +of study in one of those Technical Institutes in the United States +where one is supposed to learn everything that can be useful to a +mechanic and an engineer, but where the practice of every form of sport +is a particular and glorious feature. I may say that I was the pride of +the Institute though I was the greatest dunce in it. Boxing, tennis, +golf, riding, swimming, boating, into which I fiercely threw myself, +diverted my thoughts from Cordélia without making me forget her. + +I counted the months which stood between me and the happiness that +awaited me. Meanwhile my father and mother were carried off almost +at the same time during an epidemic of influenza, as it was then +called. I fulfilled their wishes by making no attempt to precipitate +the course of events. They were of opinion that I ought not to marry +until I reached my twenty-fourth year. I had no desire to thwart them, +particularly now that they were in their graves. + +My uncle’s attitude towards me in the circumstances left nothing to be +desired. He took upon himself the management of my business affairs. I +was relieved from all trouble, notwithstanding that both my father and +mother had left me a considerable fortune. + +He asked me if I wished to take up the succession to my father’s +business. I answered that I would readily have done so had such been +necessary, but since I was left with sufficient means to insure the +happiness of Cordélia and myself, I had made up my mind to live, in my +own way, upon my income. + +He assured me that I would soon become bored unless I engaged in some +work. I answered that I had often felt bored when I was engaged in +work but never when I was not working. My uncle’s ideas belonged to a +different age which did not realize how full life is nowadays. I mean +full of the movement which brings with it health and beauty. An athlete +is never bored. + +For that matter, the argument that I am advancing on the subject of +work is by no means necessarily that of a “sportsman.” I have heard a +man of considerable intellectual power, an author—a novelist who worked +his ten hours a day—declare that he had a horror of work because work +swallowed up the best part of his time, leaving him no opportunity of +seeing life which was a marvelous occupation and a spectacle tedious +only to imbeciles. He looked upon work as an ignominious necessity to +which mankind had been doomed for some transgression or other, and +he considered that those mortals who by the favor of the gods were +absolved from it, and yet clamored for it because time hung heavily +upon their hands, were deserving of eternal punishment. + +For my part, I hold the same opinion and I add: If they are feeling +bored, bless my soul, let them play football. + +At length I reached my twenty-fourth year, and I sailed in the mail +steamer to Havre. I already pictured to myself Cordélia waiting for +me on the pier. I had not seen her for eighteen months. We had never +ceased to write to each other with the greatest freedom. And yet during +the last period of my stay in America I seemed to perceive some change +in her. + +True, her heart still remained mine but her mind had become unsettled; +in other words I did not comprehend everything that she said in her +letters. I have mentioned that Cordélia had always displayed an +inclination for the arts and in particular for painting. Well, it was +in connection with a small painting that she sent to me, a portrait of +myself painted from memory, which I considered a splendid likeness, +that she wrote extraordinary things which I scornfully called, without +quite knowing why, a “deterioration,” for they appertained to a sphere +of knowledge in which we were not accustomed to wander at my Technical +Institute. + +I said to myself: Cordélia thinks too much. It is high time that I was +home. You bet I’ll make her give up her books and painting and music, +and then to horse! as in the good old days. + +But let me return to this portrait and in regard to it I will refer +to my “notes.” I am not, to be sure, one of those persons who write +their recollections from day to day. But I rejoice that I possess these +memoranda, and I will explain how they came to be made almost without +my noticing it, and why I happened to keep them. + +I am very methodical and have always kept a strict record of my +expenditure. I still have my little account books. Thus in the evening +after casting up my accounts for the day, I used to sit gazing at +the figures before me and dreaming of Cordélia, and I seldom closed +the book without setting down some thought about her, or adding some +comment upon her last letter. + +These were often very simple remarks. For example, I find this entry +under the date of the 25th April, 19——. + +“Thirty-five dollars ten cents.... Dearest Cordélia, we shall have +heaps of beautiful children crowding round our knee.” Or else a few +words even more simple still. Under the date of the 30th May of the +same year I find: + +“Twenty-five dollars ten cents.... Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!” + +Here are my observations concerning the portrait: + +“To-day I received my portrait painted by Cordélia. It is a speaking +likeness. It is complete in every respect, even to the scar which I +still bear under the right eyebrow, caused by an unlucky fall against +the corner of the stairs when I was eight. The wound bled copiously, +and I call to mind Cordélia’s sorrow, for we had been playing together. +I feel certain that when she portrayed this little scar she remembered +that unfortunate mishap with some feeling. Dear, dear Cordélia!” + +A month later I wrote the following note: + +“What is happening? I have received a letter from Cordélia and can +make nothing of it. She asks me to return the portrait. She considers +the painting unworthy. I don’t quite follow whether she considers it +unworthy of me or unworthy of her. Moreover she declares that while it +resembles me it is not like me. What is the meaning of this fantastic +language?” + +And still dwelling on the portrait which, however, I was careful not to +return to her because I was delighted with it, I wrote: + +“Cordélia says in her letter that I ought to understand that a portrait +should represent something more than the mere lineaments of a person; +for instance, it should convey the expression of the soul and in so far +as the soul is not expressed in a portrait, it expresses nothing at +all!” + +Well, I was quite at a loss. I did not understand how she could +materialize my soul which was a thing essentially unseen. Had she meant +by her words that it is indispensable to put life into a portrait, I +should agree with her, and all that is needed for the purpose is a +certain touch of animation in the expression of the eyes, but to depict +the soul!... I shall ask her to explain what she means. + +I pass over various comments expressing surprise at the tone of other +letters from Cordélia which, moreover, were becoming very brief and few +and far between. I am eager to arrive at Havre.... + +And here I was at Havre again. + +Alas! Cordélia was not waiting for me on the pier. + +On the other hand an old man-servant of my uncle’s came to meet me on +the _Titan_, which was a small steam-tug engaged in the pilot and post +service, and I learnt that Cordélia and her father had set out two days +before on “an urgent journey abroad.” + +Though I was physically hardened by my devotion to sport, I could +not restrain my tears, for the news was so unforeseen and coincided +so little with my expectations, that I felt a presentiment that some +irretrievable calamity had befallen me. + + + + + CHAPTER III + + VASCOEUIL AND HENNEQUEVILLE + + +It was not that I entertained the slightest doubt of Cordélia’s love, +but I fancied that my uncle was no longer favorable to our union, and +had contrived the journey in order that I might understand for myself a +position which he would have found hard to explain by word of mouth. + +“Have they gone away for any length of time?” I inquired in a trembling +voice. + +Old Surdon, the man-servant, who was never a gossip, gave me to +understand by a gesture that he knew nothing. + +“Where have they gone?” + +Another gesture in like manner to the first completed my discomfiture. +Surdon, however, without undue haste drew a letter from the inside +pocket of his coat. + +I snatched it from his hand, opened it, and read: + + “+My dear Nephew+, + + “We find ourselves suddenly compelled to leave for abroad. I have + to deal with a matter which, as you may readily imagine, is of the + utmost importance. We shall not remain away longer than we can + help, but I scarcely think that we shall be able to return for + a couple of months. We shall frequently write to you through an + indirect channel, because I am anxious that you alone should know + where we are. Be careful to keep the secret of our whereabouts to + yourself. Don’t worry about anything. Cordélia still loves you; and + you will be married before the end of the year. Look forward to + seeing us at Vascoeuil where I am sending my servants. Surdon will + be your servant.” + +While this letter and the remark, “You will be married before the +end of the year,” reassured me as to my uncle’s purpose, it greatly +perplexed me as to Cordélia. “Cordélia still loves you.” What was the +necessity to add those words? Moreover, the letter filled me with +a vague misgiving for a number of reasons. What was the meaning of +this mysterious journey, and why should I receive tidings from him +through an indirect source? Most of all, why should I be packed off to +Vascoeuil? + +My uncle and Cordélia were in the habit of spending the summer at +Hennequeville, where they owned “Clos Normand,” a splendid estate on +the main road to Honfleur. It was a huge, entirely new structure, by +which I mean that it was built some fifteen years before, and possessed +the most important thing in the world—modern comfort. Vascoeuil, on +the other hand, which we used to visit once during the year, at the +beginning of the hunting season, was a large country house not devoid +of a certain style and charm but antiquated and lacking in well-nigh +everything that makes life easy. + +This manor house had always produced on me a peculiar impression, with +its high, colorless walls, its tower at one of the extremities casting +its reflection in the chill waters of the river, its great neglected +courtyard, its dilapidated out-houses, and its ill-kept grounds whose +moss-covered paths gave forth an odor of decay. + +The rooms in the house with their paintings from which the freshness +had departed, and the faded mirrors, seemed to be haunted by shades +which our annual visit disturbed. I have never been a believer of +ghosts, but Vascoeuil invariably gave me an uncanny feeling. + +Strange to say, Cordélia rather liked the place and found “poetry” +in it. When I began to analyze my feelings, the apprehension which +Vascoeuil caused me seemed to be explained by the fact that I was a +man of sound health and well-balanced mind, and everything round me +which failed to correspond with these solid realities was unendurable. +Vascoeuil was not a “healthy” place. That was enough to make me take a +dislike to it. + +My dislike was still further increased when I found myself there with +old Surdon and Mathilde, his wife, but without Cordélia. + +I have mentioned that Surdon was never a gossip, but Mathilde was in +the habit of giving free play to her tongue. She had known us from our +infancy and was very fond of us; and for years had spoken with delight +of our future marriage. I had no sooner arrived than, taking her on +one side, I asked her without beating about the bush to tell me the +meaning of the whole thing. + +She heaved a sigh and turned on her heel. I ran after her and caught +her by the skirt. She began to cry: + +“I swear, monsieur, that it’s nothing,” she said, wiping her eyes. “It +was the master’s idea to live here. He did not ask our advice you may +be sure.” + +“Well, if it pleases him, let him come here instead of running about +all over Europe and taking Cordélia away from me. As for myself, I +shall clear out.” + +“Where to?” + +“Hennequeville.” + +As soon as I uttered the word Mathilde betrayed the utmost excitement. + +“No, no. Your uncle wouldn’t be pleased if he heard you were at +Hennequeville. He has taken it into his head that you mustn’t go there.” + +Mathilde was a native of Darnetal in the Rouen district. That meant +that she was artful and obstinate. I saw that I should get nothing out +of her. But I made up my mind to go to Hennequeville. I reached the +place next day. It was about six o’clock in the evening when I got +there. + +Heavens! how pleased I was to see the country and how delightful the +grounds were! In truth, with the glossy and luxuriant verdure of the +meadows, and the sweet-scented hedgerows in full bloom, there was +nothing ghostly about Hennequeville. And yet when, at the turn of the +road, I came in sight of the empty house, my heart was filled with +anguish. Never before had it greeted me with such a vacant look. Its +shuttered windows and locked doors made a strange impression on me. + +How remote it all seemed from Cordélia’s laughter and kisses and +the welcome I used to receive when formerly I crossed the beloved +threshold. There was no echo of the olden time. The house no longer +knew me. I lay my head heavily on the garden gate and thus I remained +for I know not how long, a prey to the gloomiest dejection. + +Darkness had fallen by now, and when I looked up I was not a little +surprised to perceive a few steps away from me a dark form which I +might have taken for my own shadow, its posture so exactly resembled my +own. The shadow also heaved a sigh. I was struck dumb with fear. + +But my amazement did but increase when I heard this shadow give +utterance aloud to feelings which I expressed to myself in a whisper. +In words whose exact form I am unable to set down, but which admirably +conveyed my thoughts, the dark form declared that it was impossible +for a mind endowed with any sensibility to pass this beautiful domain +without stopping long enough at least to regret that all that life of +elegance and enjoyment for which it had been built, seemed to have +departed from it forever. + +Whereupon somewhat taken aback I made answer, lying to myself,—for I +say again that my prevision was the same as the shadow’s—that there was +no reason why this house which was closed for the time being, should +not be re-opened some day and be filled once more with joyous life and +activity. But the shadow sighed once more, shook its head, uttered the +one word “Never!” which sent a shudder through me, and gliding behind +the wall vanished from sight. + +I left the place more cast down than when I arrived. My curious meeting +with a stranger who seemed to be stirred by an emotion singularly akin +to my own, unnerved me to a degree which at first I failed to realize; +but as I was descending the hill which led me back to the Tongues +valley, I thought I recognized in front of me the dark form of the +man whose voice I had heard near me, and I started to run in order to +overtake him. + +I came up with him outside an inn from whose partly-opened door a faint +glimmer of light could be seen. It was sufficient, however, to enable +me to perceive some of his features, for he turned round as I drew +near. Apart from a certain handsomeness, I was at once struck with his +eyes, or rather their brightness. They seemed to burn in the darkness. + +Only the eyes of certain albinos, or the eyes of cats who are able to +distinguish things in the dark, unseen by human eyes, have produced a +similar effect on me. The man emerged from the light and I saw his +burning eyes as he stood in the road. + +I would have liked to speak to him but my courage failed me. + +I remained standing there as though dazed while he walked away. The +fresh breeze from the sea fortunately swept my brow. Some one spoke to +me. It was the innkeeper. I made my way into the inn and asked him if +he knew the man who had just passed his door. He told me that he was a +celebrated English painter, and people in the country round said of him +that he was “a bit touched.” + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + THE WEDDING + + +When I returned to Vascoeuil a letter lay waiting for me. It bore the +Paris postmark, and the address was written in a handwriting unknown +to me. On opening it I found a line from my uncle who had written a +hurried scrawl from the Tyrol. + +The Tyrol! People do not go to the Tyrol for business purposes. + +What was his object in wandering about the Tyrol with Cordélia while I +was kept waiting for them in this wretched house? He did not attempt to +explain. He gave me an address to which I was to write to him. + + “Write as often as you can; write every day. In the meantime I will + suggest something which will occupy your time until we return. I + want you to redecorate Vascoeuil with ‘every modern comfort.’ I + leave the matter entirely to you. Furnish it to your own taste. + It belongs to you and Cordélia. I intend to give it to you as + a wedding present. You will be married at Vascoeuil. I am well + aware that the property has never greatly appealed to you. Have it + renovated in such a way that you will like it. But don’t have any + alterations made in the grounds. That will be Cordélia’s affair. + She has ideas on the subject. We both send you our love.” + +Not a word came from Cordélia. Why did she not write to me? Did she no +longer love me? Ever since my return from Hennequeville I asked myself +the terrible question. + +I wrote to my uncle and gave full expression to my misgivings. + +I told him that it was impossible for me to apply myself to any task +whatsoever unless I knew how I stood with regard to Cordélia, and she +alone would be able to restore my peace of mind. + +A fortnight elapsed without any reply. I spent those two weeks like an +idiot waiting for the postman. Surdon and his wife took pity on me and +endeavored to “argue” with me, but I refused to listen to them. At last +I received a letter. Again it bore the Paris postmark. How I leaped +upon it! + +A letter from Cordélia! That is to say a line or two: + + “Of course I still love you my dear Hector. I have never ceased to + love you. What an idea! And what nonsense! We shall meet soon, my + husband to be!” + +Well, it was a letter which by no means satisfied me. “I still love you +my dear Hector,” seemed to me a sort of plaster to cure my pain. It was +not what I wanted; and even “We shall meet soon, my husband to be” was +cold comfort to me. + +I wrote to Cordélia and poured out all my woes. I wept like a child +over the letter as I reminded her of our vows, and I assured her that +I would rather die in despair than lead to the altar a Cordélia who no +longer loved me as of yore. + +Then, oh then, a few days later, I received eight pages from +Cordélia—eight long pages which made me weep for joy. I recognized +in them my little playmate of the long ago, her vivacity, her +impulsiveness, her delight in being with me, her adorable love of +mischief. She seemed to have plunged anew into the past with an +abandon which she wished me to share. She would have no difficulty in +that! + +And then suddenly after indulging in these memories she spoke of the +present with an assurance which at once restored my mental and physical +health. She was looking forward to the simple duties of marriage. +She spoke of our taking up our abode at Vascoeuil and entered into +particulars which caused me straightway to fall in love with the place. +She went on: + +“You will see how delightful Vascoeuil will look when, between us, we +have had it refurbished to our tastes. You must take a trip to Paris +and buy various things,”—here was a list of suggested purchases.—“I +want you to have everything ready by the time we return, because father +wishes us to be married at once. I shan’t be the one to stand in the +way! Oh, while I think of it: Don’t have anything done to the grounds. +You have never understood them. They have a beauty all their own, which +I am longing to develop to the utmost. I shall transform them into a +garden fit for Pelléas and Melisande. We will take our walks in them +in days of depression, for however happy one may be, life has its days +of depression which, however, are not without a charm of their own. In +the meantime, how delightful it would be to go for our honeymoon on +horseback as though we were both crazy. You will remember that when we +were quite young we used to dream of making such a trip, and we laughed +at those respectable people who went off by the ordinary train. But you +will see that we shall take the train like everybody else. What does +it matter so long as there is a gondola at the end of the journey? We +will go to Venice. That was always understood. The Tyrol is horrible. +Nothing but mountains. And I loathe mountains, particularly when they +keep me apart from you!” + + * * * * * + +The eight pages continued in this strain. Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! +How could I ever have doubted you and your dear little heart, your dear +little heart!... Quick, to work! Come on bricklayers and painters and +“the whole blooming lot of you” as my uncle would say. + +I stirred the men on to greater exertions by my good spirits and +generosity. I myself looked like a bricklayer’s laborer, and Surdon +gave way to silent laughter when he handed me a jug of cider which I +emptied at a gulp in order to show the others that I could do full +justice to the amber liquor. + +I did well to hurry on with the work. My uncle and Cordélia arrived +home a week earlier than they had foretold. I expected them about the +eighth of October, whereas they reached Vascoeuil on the last day of +September. The work was not nearly finished. + +Cordélia found me on the top of a ladder busily engaged in papering +her boudoir. I fell into her arms. She bore the shock quite well, +exclaiming: “Heavens, how ugly!” I made a gesture which caused her to +burst out laughing. I thought that she was speaking of me while she was +referring to the wallpaper. That was enough to throw us into a state of +merriment which brought my uncle on the scene. + +He gave us his blessing and kissed us; kissed us and gave us his +blessing a second time; and recounted that he himself was married in +that house, that Cordélia was born in it, that our children and our +grand-children would be born in it. Whereupon Cordélia, who turned a +deaf ear to him, exclaimed: + +“My goodness, how nice the paint smells here. I say, look here, father, +I don’t want to be anything but a house-painter now. How does that +strike you?” + +“I approve my dear. Oh, I quite approve. That’s a very healthy idea!” + +I was rather surprised to hear him speak like that. I was always under +the impression that the health of a house-painter was subject to +considerable risk, owing, I think, to the white lead in his materials, +and I raised the objection to my uncle, whose only answer was to give +me a friendly pat on the back. + +A few minutes later he said with his usual kindly smile: + +“You are still the best of all Hectors. I hope you’ll never be any +different.” + +I don’t know why he should have given utterance to such a sentiment, +because I have no intention of being any different. Nevertheless on +thinking it over, I have since concluded that he found a simplicity in +me which appealed to him, the unemotional and well-balanced temperament +of a man who is not in the habit of creating difficulties where there +are none, and he counselled me to remain as I was if I wished to insure +our happiness. + +The three following weeks passed so quickly and pleasantly that they +stand out in my memory as among the happiest weeks of my life. I +dismissed from my mind every preoccupation having no connection with +the diversions of the day, and these consisted, for Cordélia and me, +of upsetting the entire household, hiding behind doors, chasing one +another like school children and kissing until Cordélia, all flushed, +gently pushed me away exclaiming: “Hector that will do ... leave some +for to-morrow!” + +Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! + +When she first came home I thought that she was looking rather pale, +overcome doubtless by the fatigues of the journey. Now she had +regained her beautiful color. She was still as slender as before, but I +discerned that none of the natural beauties of a woman were lacking in +her. I hardly know how to express my meaning, but to my mind women were +never more beautiful than they are nowadays; and I still adhere to my +opinion. Mentally and physically she was perfect. I cannot say more. + +At last the great day arrived. It was a wonderful function and one +that will long be remembered and talked about at Vascoeuil. Cordélia’s +father, who was a great landed proprietor, had issued invitations to +the entire district after the fashion of his own day. I mean that +representatives of the families round about, the possessors of great +names and great fortunes, were present and entertained with princely +magnificence. + +My uncle would have liked the festivities to be kept up for three days, +but he yielded to Cordélia’s entreaties, for she declared that if the +guests remained after six o’clock we should take our departure. The +wedding breakfast, in accordance with Cordélia’s wishes, was called +lunch. And it was indeed a lunch! + +But all this was nothing in comparison with the feast which was given +about a mile away at the farm of my uncle’s principal tenant. Tents +had been erected in a large field, and the country people who were +assembled therein let themselves go for all they were worth, like the +guests at the gargantuan wedding feast of Gamache. + +Cordélia gracefully went the round of the tables without evincing the +least repugnance for all this excessive gorging and I was very glad. I +accompanied her like a little dog. + +“They’re not at all stuck up. We hope they’ll be happy,” we heard our +guests exclaim on every hand. + + + + + CHAPTER V + + AN UNEXPECTED PRESENT + + +On returning to the house we found our guests in the drawing-room +gazing enraptured at the wedding presents which were on view. Heaven +knows that they were numerous enough! + +It was at this juncture that Surdon came in carrying, with some +difficulty, a large flat package wrapped in canvas upon which a small +square piece of cardboard was pinned bearing in writing the words: + + “_My offering for the wedding_” + +The card was not signed. + +Several guests had read the inscription, and were amused over the +wedding “offering.” Our attention was attracted by their laughter, +and when my uncle, Cordélia and myself drew near, they were already +speaking of a wedding surprise, and eagerly expressing a wish to see +the present. + +My uncle read the card, turned pale, lifted his eyes and looked at +Cordélia, who also read it. A deep blush suffused her cheeks. But she +displayed no confusion, and smiling said: + +“It’s from him. He often uses one word instead of another. Sometimes he +does it on purpose as it amuses him. Besides, it’s his writing.” + +To me the incident was a complete riddle. My uncle’s pallor, Cordélia’s +blushes, the words that passed between them—these things began to +trouble me. + +“We might as well see what it is,” I said, pointing to the package. + +“What’s the use?” returned my uncle. “We’ll have a look at it later on.” + +Cordélia left us and went to an adjoining drawing-room. + +Then I was seized with a feeling of curiosity and opened the package +myself. When the canvas which covered it was removed, I could not +repress a cry of admiration, and the guests around me were breathless +with wonder. + +It was a portrait—a portrait of Cordélia. And such a portrait! + +It was a picture of a marvelous radiance. It seemed to have been +painted with the softest of lights. It was utterly impossible to +conceive by what magic of coloring a human being who had nothing at +his command save brushes and the pigments in metal tubes, was able to +transmit to canvas so ideal a visual image. + +I had never before encountered anything which could lead me to suspect +the existence of such an art. I had had an opportunity, like all those +who assist at great public functions in Paris, and delight in such +things, of visiting one or two exhibitions of paintings which affected +to be original, and professed to revolutionize art. Those works +expressed either an exaggerated symbolism or flights of the wildest +fantasy—were a great hoax in fact. I say freely what I think and if +any one takes offense the more’s the pity. As a general rule these +paintings are enshrouded in an erudite obscurity from which shines a +vague and eccentric glimmer of light. + +But the miracle of this portrait consisted in this: It was the picture +itself which was painted in such a way that rays seemed to radiate from +it of themselves, without the intervention of any sort of trick. + +The artist had succeeded in showing to the ordinary eye what it does +not usually perceive, that is to say, the invisible light which the +body radiates around itself.... + +I can speak of these things now that I have acquired the most painful +and terrible experience in this domain, but at that time I was +conscious of it all without comprehending it, and it would have been +difficult for me to express clearly my thoughts in a language of which +I was ignorant. + +In short, in this effulgent portrait it was as though Cordélia’s soul +came to greet you from the first with a divine smile which emanated +from the entire expression of her face. + +And now I understood what she meant when she wrote: “A portrait should +represent something more than the mere lineaments of a person; it +should convey the expression of the soul.” + +She was obviously acquainted therefore with painting like that which +that day had enraptured us, and also doubtless with the painter +himself, who had sent this “offering” for the wedding. + +It was no longer possible for me to doubt it! + +I bent over the canvas to discover if the portrait was signed. I +deciphered the one letter “P.” + +My uncle and Cordélia were not present to satisfy my curiosity. I went +to look for them but could not find them. I was told that Cordélia had +retired to her room in order to have a short rest. + +Our guests were beginning to take their leave. My uncle rejoined me. +The pallor which had made such an impression on me was gone. On the +other hand he was in high good humor and very talkative as he wished +good-bye to his guests. He glanced at me from time to time and smiled +broadly as how should say: “Be happy. All goes well.” + +What was the cause of his sudden perturbation during that memorable day? + +Yielding to a latent impulse which had been growing in me since the +scene over the portrait, I returned to the drawing-room where the +wedding presents were on show. The portrait was gone. + +I asked old Surdon what had become of the masterpiece. He made answer +that by “Mademoiselle’s” orders—he could not get accustomed to call her +“Madame”—he had himself taken it down into the cellar. + +When I expressed my astonishment, he assured me that it was the very +place for the devil’s own painting. + +I stopped him as he was making off and said: + +“Do you know the man who painted the portrait?” + +“You have other things to do, monsieur, to-day, than to bother about +such nonsense,” he returned, giving me a look and frowning. + +He wanted to slip away, but I held him back. + +“Look here, Surdon, I am going to ask you one question, but you will +have to answer me if we are to remain good friends. When I went to +Hennequeville I saw a man outside the garden gate looking up at the +empty house. I was told that this man was an English painter whom +people in the district regarded as slightly ‘touched.’ Is this the man +who sent the portrait to your mistress to-day?” + +But Surdon stubbornly turned away, answering me in words which +exasperated me: + +“I have already told you, monsieur, that the whole thing is nonsense.” + +I was raging within myself and did not know what to say. + +Surdon was right, however. That was a day on which nothing but my +happiness ought to have occupied my mind, and here was I questioning +a servant in secret upon incidents which, obviously, were not now +serious, and from which, to all appearance, it was desired to spare me +out of good feeling. + +I retired in a more or less ill temper to a secluded part of the park, +which I never cared for because of my thinking it was a dreary place. I +was surprised to find myself harboring thoughts which were unworthy of +Cordélia and me. But, as has been said, man is a foolish animal. + +Just then my uncle came up to me. He was in traveling clothes. He had +in fact decided to leave that same evening for Caen. He at once said +that he had something to tell me in confidence; something, however, of +no great importance to which he would certainly not have alluded but +for Surdon, who had acquainted him of my curiosity with regard to the +portrait of Cordélia. + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + PATRICK + + +I felt somewhat disconcerted, but as occasionally happens in moments of +trepidation, I managed to overcome the difficulty by a bold stroke. + +“I say, Uncle, you must excuse me,” I began, “but accident led me +across the path of a man who was gazing gloomily at the house at +Hennequeville, and I was told he was a painter. I thought, perhaps, +that there was some connection between this painter and the portrait +which came to-day, and also certain incidents which caused me, before +our marriage, a great deal of pain.” + +“What do you mean?” + +“Your hurried departure to....” + +“Well, that’s true, and it was about this that I wanted to speak to +you, so that the subject should never again be mentioned between us. +You must know that Cordélia came back to the house one evening with a +stranger whom she had discovered in a farmyard painting some wench +feeding her fowls. She declared that he was a wonderful artist and she +was very grateful to him for agreeing to accept her as a pupil. + +“The stranger used to laugh at her youthful enthusiasm and he conducted +himself like a gentleman. He was an Englishman of good family, slightly +eccentric, possessing views on most things which were peculiar to +himself. I did not always follow what he meant, but his ideas cast a +spell over Cordélia for the time being. I saw no reason why they should +not work together either in the house or the country round. Patrick, +for such is his christian name, and the only one by which he signs his +paintings, lived in a cottage on the borders of Tongues forest. + +“I was at that time greatly taken up with business which compelled me +to go frequently to Paris, and I failed to perceive the changes which +were taking place in Cordélia. + +“It was Surdon and his wife who called my attention to the fact that +she had lost her vivacity, no longer played at farming, or mounted her +horse, but spent her whole time in painting or reading or dreaming, +leaving the house only when the stranger made an appointment to go +sketching in some part of the country, and returning thoughtful and +silent. + +“I then took stock of Cordélia and was amazed to discover a new look +on her face. She was now as grave as she used to be gay, and wore a +curious absorbed expression as though lost in a reverie. I bitterly +reproached myself for my carelessness and oversight. However, I said +nothing, the better to keep a watch over her. I soon saw for myself +that Cordélia was living only through the medium of this man Patrick’s +thought.” + +“Oh, good Heavens! that’s just what I feared,” I gasped. + +“Don’t worry yourself,” went on my uncle, “for as you will see, the +whole business is of no consequence. Do you know the sort of man +Cordélia had to do with?” + +“A rogue,” I returned. + +“That’s just it. A sort of mountebank who tried to persuade her that +the moon was made of green cheese, and told her a pack of silly tales +about his psychic powers and such-like nonsense, which ended by turning +her head.” + +“But did she still love me?” I inquired. + +“I believe she still loved you, only she didn’t want to be married!” + +“Oh, good Heavens!” I exclaimed. + +“I will tell you what happened, and you will see that the whole thing +is of no consequence.” + +“Forgive me, Uncle, but I can plainly see that what you tell me is of +the utmost consequence. I never dreamt that it was going to be of so +much consequence!” + +“Look here, my boy, you make me ill. Are you a man or not? Aren’t +you married to a girl whom you adore and who loves you now that her +eyes have been opened? If to-morrow morning there is any question of +this imposter of a Patrick may the devil take me! I’ll never shake +you by the hand again. So listen to me, for we must have done with +this business.... I discovered in a desk in the studio a regular +correspondence carried on between Cordélia and Patrick in secret.” + +“Well, that’s about the limit!” + +“This correspondence,” continued my uncle, “is what these people call a +correspondence between souls. And I can assure you, my dear Hector, it +is not this psychic communion, to use their own words, that will make +me a grandfather one of these days!... Almost at the same time I found +in Cordélia’s room, in addition to this rubbish, a new bookcase crammed +with works on magic. Yes, a library of occult science. An incredible +number of books on the unseen world, on faces and souls. Can’t you +picture a book on ‘faces and souls’? Oh and an illustrated work on +stigmatism, mediums, thaumaturgy and what not.... + +“To prove to you, my dear fellow, that the whole business is of no +consequence, I must tell you that I had no need even to see Patrick +to get rid of him. Everything came out in the most natural way from +Cordélia, who was always a sensible girl, and herself realized the +danger which she was incurring by listening to this charlatan. When she +discovered me in the thick of all these books and Patrick’s letters +before me, she threw her arms round my neck and cried: ‘Save me, +Papa!’” + +“Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!” I could not help interjecting. “That’s +like her old self. I recognize her there!” + +“‘Yes, I’ll save you from that madman, my Cordélia,’ I replied. ‘Hector +will soon be home from America, and you shall be married.’ And it was +then, my dear Hector, that she said: ‘But I can’t marry Hector. Patrick +has forbidden me.’” + +“Ah, yes!” I said, gasping anew. “Ah yes!... This is too thick.... +Really this Patrick having the cheek to forbid her to marry me!” + +“Yes, she declared that she was morally bound to obey Patrick, as her +mind belonged to him.” + +“Her mind belonged to him! Why hang it all, this beats everything. And +what reply did you make, pray?” + +“I said to her: ‘Pack up your things, my dear, and we’ll make a trip +to some part of Europe where there will be no danger of meeting this +delightful gentleman, and above all, let’s have no more letter +writing. We’ll talk about all this again in a couple of months’ +time’.... Well, we left here as you know and there was no need to wait +a couple of months. At the end of six weeks this Patrick was forgotten, +and Cordélia thought only of you. And now, my dear boy, say good-by. +Cordélia is yours, and I hope that you won’t have any difficulty in +keeping her. Bless my soul, do your best to make her happy!” + +Having said which, he clasped me in his arms almost stifling me, and +left me, muttering between his teeth: + +“Stuff and nonsense. Stuff and nonsense.” + +When I got back to the house Mathilde, old Surdon’s wife, told me that +her mistress was expecting me in her room. I entered, and my eyes fell +on a dainty little champagne supper which lay ready for us, and it +was none too soon, for Cordélia and I had eaten nothing or scarcely +anything during the day, our attention being fully occupied in greeting +our guests and returning their civilities. + +The table was set in the boudoir, and the door leading to Cordélia’s +room was closed. I stood there like a great stupid. I dared not knock +at the door, and I began to cough as I stared fatuously at the walls +which I myself had papered. + +At that moment the door was softly opened and I heard Cordélia say once +more in her laughing voice: “Gracious, how ugly! Gracious, how ugly!” + +I looked round and joined in the laugh, for this time I knew that she +was not alluding to me. + +I was surprised to see her muffled up in a fur cloak. + +“Hallo, have you caught cold?” I exclaimed. + +“I haven’t caught cold,” she made answer. “I am cold. Don’t you find it +bitterly cold?” + +I thought she was jesting, for as a matter of fact, the day had been +unusually warm for the time of the year, and a pleasant wood fire was +blazing in the boudoir which I could very well have dispensed with. + +“You know that those sables suit you to perfection, and it’s a little +affectation on your part. Not that I have the faintest objection, but +you’ll be suffocated in them.” + +She replied with a shiver and summoned Mathilde to put more wood on the +fire. + +My heart sank within me, for I imagined that she must be really out of +sorts. + +“I tell you there’s nothing the matter with me,” she said, taking +things very simply, “I feel cold. It might happen to any one to feel +cold. I won’t have you worrying yourself about me. I can’t pretend to +be warm when I’m cold. What a tyrant you are!... I say, we’re beginning +our married life well,” she went on in the funniest manner, as she +kissed me before Mathilde, who did not seem to mind, accustomed as she +was for so many years to see us kiss each other. + +It was Cordélia who told Mathilde to leave the room. Then she at once +asked: + +“What has father been talking to you about? You and he have been +wandering about the park, which you dislike, for more than +half-an-hour. What did he tell you?” + +“He told me a lot of things of no consequence,” I returned. “Let’s have +something to eat. Aren’t you hungry?” + +“Oh yes. But you know you may as well tell me what he said. It was I +who sent him out to you. I wanted you to know all, dearest, before you +came upstairs to me here. Believe me the whole thing is utter nonsense. +Tell me that you forgive me.” + +“Do I forgive you!... Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!” + +As she carved the truffled galantine, she went on: + +“When I think of it now I see how silly I was, but he was such an odd +person. Indeed he really seems to have fascinated me.” + +“Don’t let us speak of it,” I entreated. “Don’t let us speak of it.” + +“You ought to be glad to hear me speak so calmly of it. It shows that +I am entirely cured. And I can assure you that I am quite as pleased +as you are. One must not touch such things as occultism, hypnotism, +and magic you know. One gets carried away and ceases to be master of +oneself. It is a morbid condition to be in.... What do you think of +this galantine? Come, pour me out some champagne.... And kiss me.... +What are you thinking about? Surely you’re not going to trouble about +Patrick now. There! To mention his name makes me feel quite queer.” + +A shiver passed through her. + +“I’m certain, Hector, there’s a draught coming from somewhere.” + +“No, dearest, all the doors are closed.” + +“An ice-cold draught.” + +Her teeth chattered. I rose from the table filled with an indescribable +uneasiness. And suddenly, as I looked at her, I saw her turn pale. + +“What is it? What’s the matter Cordélia dearest?” + +“I see now what’s the matter,” she returned, drawing her cloak more +closely round her. “It’s the portrait.” + +“The portrait! What do you mean?” + +“The portrait which Patrick sent to me and I ordered to be taken down +into the cellar.” + +“Well?” + +“Well, the portrait is cold.” + +Cordélia’s words were Greek to me and the look of blank amazement in +my eyes bore witness, not only to my inability to comprehend her, but +also to my uneasiness. + +“You don’t understand. You don’t understand,” declared Cordélia in +a quavering voice. “That is what they call the externalization of +sensibility. They assert that men of science have made conclusive +experiments in this respect. For instance, the celebrated M. de +Rochas has demonstrated scientifically that one can take a person’s +sensibility from him and transport it to a glass of water and make that +person suffer by plunging a pin into the glass of water.” + +I sprang from my chair utterly dismayed by the tone in which Cordélia +uttered what I regarded as “devil’s tales.” + +“Are you going crazy, Cordélia? Surely you don’t believe in such +preposterous stuff. Come.... Come.... Do say something.” + +“I feel cold,” she replied, in an increasingly quavering and far-away +voice. “I feel cold. I am as cold as my portrait. I see that I shall +be ill if the portrait is left in the cellar. Besides it was wrong of +me to send it down there. _He_ must be displeased.” + +I realized with a feeling of intense sorrow that my Cordélia was not so +completely cured of her strange malady as she imagined, and with tears +in my eyes I exclaimed: + +“Where would you like me to put it? I don’t want to go against your +wishes in such a trifling matter.” + +“Wherever you please, wherever you please, but don’t leave it in the +cellar. And be careful not to knock it about.” + +“Of course not. I’ll go and fetch it,” I said, greatly perturbed. + +“You must forgive me, dearest, but it’s not my fault, is it? I’m very +sorry he sent it to us.” + +“So am I.” + +I went downstairs. I was fuming. I called Surdon and gave him +instructions to fetch the portrait and then I told him not to bother +about it, for after what Cordélia had said, I feared lest he should +subject it to rough usage. + +I myself descended into the cellar. I seized the wretched canvas and +carried it to the drawing-room on the first floor, taking care in +spite of myself not to knock it against the furniture or walls. Some +people may say—some people are so clever!—that I behaved like a great +simpleton, an ass. May be. But we shall see about that. We shall see +about that. + +The fact is that Cordélia held such sway over my mind that I could not +choose but accede to her wishes. + +Nevertheless after I deposited the portrait against the foot of a +round table I flung wide open the French windows of the balcony which +was not calculated to make it warm. The cool freshness of the night +after a beautiful day, floated into the room. No blame could attach +to me. I had treated the portrait with care and it was not now in the +cellar. That was all that was asked of me, and if Cordélia was no +longer feeling cold I should at once be able to cure her of her strange +obsession. + +When I returned to her she was still shivering in her cloak, and she +gave me a mournful look. + +“Why did you put the portrait in a draught?” she asked. “I was certain +that you would play some trick. It’s too bad of you. I am still cold. +Bring it here, and then I shall be quite easy in my mind.” + +“Certainly, that’s the best thing to be done,” I exclaimed, and I went +off again, bitterly regretting my mistaken calculation. I should have +done better to put the thing near the fire; and then, if Cordélia had +taken it into her head that I had left it in the cold, out of spite, +she would have been confounded once for all. + +When the portrait was brought into the boudoir, Cordélia, of course, +declared that she was no longer cold. She removed her fur cloak, and I +perceived that she was clad in a charming loosely-fitting robe. Oh what +a delightful, sweet little thing she was! + +“My dearest, you can’t think how beautiful you are,” I cried. “That’s +the honest truth, and no mere idle fancy, and when I kiss you I don’t +feel as if I am kissing a portrait!” + +“I agree with you,” she said laughing merrily. “You are taking my +breath away.” + +Truth to tell I held her somewhat tightly in my arms, for I was +quivering with happiness. She had become entirely normal again, so much +so that she recalled me to the realities of our supper. And we started +afresh to eat with good appetite and a light heart. We drank out of the +same glass like children. Nevertheless, warned by my experience with +the portrait, I was careful to keep the conversation from straying to +the past. Our plans for the future and our impending travel about the +world engrossed our attention. + +“How happy we shall be!” she exclaimed. + +“Yes, my dear Cordélia, we shall be very happy. We must think of +nothing else.” + +I had uttered a word too many. + +“What do you expect me to think about, my dear Hector?” she returned, +as she regarded my air of embarrassment. “Oh, of course, you say that +because of the portrait. I admit that I was greatly impressed by it, +or rather by its being sent here, because I have never seen it, and I +don’t want to see it,”—I had placed it in a corner with its face to +the wall—“but the whole thing is over now—quite. Oh quite, I assure +you. And when I think of it, now that I am all right again, I feel a +little foolish of course.” + +Nothing could have given me greater pleasure than these last words. I +did not lose the opportunity to score. + +“You admit, dear, that just now you were not very well. The exertions +of the day, and the necessity to recover your strength—you were simply +hungry—these things were the cause of the trouble and brought about +that fit of shivering, you may be sure.” + +“Yes, I am inclined to think so.” + +I kissed her again for these last words, but I thought it as well to +add with the greatest good humor. + +“Personally, I have no fear of the ‘externalization of sensibility.’” + +I had no sooner made the remark than Cordélia’s face grew serious once +more. + +“We make a mistake, I think, to treat these matters lightly. I may +have given way to fancies, but I repeat that the ‘externalization of +sensibility’ has been scientifically proved. It is our modern material +conception of things which has imprisoned the soul within the body, but +in the Middle Ages....” + +Oh come, I say, I thought to myself. We are flying off at a tangent +again. We are in the Middle Ages now! + +“In the Middle Ages the soul was easily liberated from the body.” + +“We are not in the Middle Ages now, my dearest.” + +“How wonderful were its wanderings outside its prison!” + +“Yes, yes, of course.... I say do try some of this fruit.” + +“Have you ever heard of persons being bewitched?” + +“Never, and I don’t want to know anything about them.” + +“What a great big silly you are, Hector! It is impossible to talk +seriously with you. There are certain things you must know, unless you +want to remain a blockhead.” + +“Thank you.” + +“The casting of spells is bound up in the history of France, and +modern discoveries have proved to us that these things are not pure +imagination. When a person wanted to cast a spell on any one, he made a +small wax image which resembled as nearly as possible the person whom +he wished to be rid of.” + +“Indeed, and what then?” I inquired, slyly putting my arm round her +waist. + +“And then after, of course, externalizing the sensibility of this +person to the wax image, he stuck a pin into the image and the person +died.” + +“Are you certain that the person died?” + +“Am I certain! No, I am not certain about it.” + +“I’m glad of that,” I returned as I gazed into my Cordélia’s face with +the tenderest expression. + +“But there are persons who are certain of it; persons who even maintain +that many mysterious deaths in the Middle Ages can be accounted for +only on this assumption.” + +I dared not ask who those persons were. I was greatly perturbed that +the conversation should once more stray to a subject which was +distasteful to me. Suddenly she stood up. + +“Show me the portrait,” she requested, “I want to have a look at it.” + +Not five minutes before she had assured me that she had no wish to see +it! + +“Is it really necessary, my dear Cordélia?” I asked, not afraid to show +a distrust which I hoped she might share. + +But unfortunately her thoughts were once more entirely centered on the +portrait, and it was with a regret which I shall feel all my life that +I saw her bend over the canvas and turn its face towards us. + +Though it remained in the shadow, the outline of the figure stood out +clearly in its peculiar radiance. + +“Oh how beautiful it is!” whispered Cordélia. + +She stood for a few minutes still and silent, and then asked my opinion: + +“Don’t you think it is beautiful, Hector?” + +“Very beautiful,” I answered. “Very beautiful.” + +To be sure I had no wish to contradict her, and moreover I had +expressed my real opinion. Truth to tell, I did not know how to keep my +countenance. When a woman dabbles in high art the simplest gesture by +a man may appear to her a piece of stupidity.... Still I ventured to +press her hand softly to remind her of my presence. She turned her head +towards me, and with a delightful and gentle look in her eyes, pointing +to the canvas, said: + +“You can say what you like about the man who painted that portrait, +my dear Hector, you can say that he is cracked, and, in fact, I quite +think that he is a bit crazy, but you must admit that he is a great +artist.” + +And as I made the mistake of not replying at once, she went on: + +“Oh, can’t you speak.... Besides he is the first artist to paint the +‘aura.’” + +“Just so.” + +“What do you mean, ‘Just so’? Do you know what the ‘aura’ is?” + +“No.” + +“Then why did you say ‘Just so’? I will tell you what the ‘aura’ is: +it is the cloud of light which emanates from each individual and is +discernible by the trained consciousness.” + +“Indeed! So the consciousness must be trained?” + +Cordélia released herself from my arm which was round her waist, and +gave me a stern look: + +“Don’t, my dear Hector, adopt an attitude of making game of what you +don’t understand. You would do better to think of all the matter round +us which radiates light. Why should not the human body shed a radiance? +It is not only a trained consciousness which can perceive these +light-rays, but they are visible to the open eyes of certain persons, +I can tell you. Look at this portrait! Besides, the negative of a +photograph can develop these light-rays for us even far from the body +whence they emanate, and sometimes they retain their actual shape. That +is the aura.” + +“Really the negative of a photograph?” + +“You are the only person to be ignorant of it.” + +“I am very sorry.” + +“This fluid substance,” she went on with intense seriousness, +“represents our perceptions and something more than our perceptions, +our intellectual life, which emanates from us and precedes us and is +conscious of things long before our body is. It is this force which, +when I am in the street, makes me think of a person whom I shall meet +in another five minutes, because my aura is conscious of him before +he is discernible by my physical vision. Do you follow me? Do you +understand me?” + +“Yes,” I acquiesced, absolutely terrified by the turn which the +conversation had taken, “I am beginning to understand.” + +“Well, it is none too soon! If you only knew how interesting in reality +the whole thing is. It is indeed the new thought—the only one that will +matter in a few years’ time. And this aura—your perceptions and my +perceptions—is a force which can operate from a distance; and be made +to operate from a distance; that is a well-known phenomenon. In this +particular aspect it is called suggestion; and suggestion is a reality +which is as indisputable as a mathematical formula—as two and two make +four, for instance. By means of suggestion, auras have been seen at an +incredible distance from the body, if not separated from it altogether, +for that would involve death at least ... almost to forget the body.” + +And after uttering these last words in tones of rapt excitement which +utterly overwhelmed me, she became once more plunged in thought. + +What was she thinking about? What was she thinking about? + +I sank into a chair and as I gazed at her a sense of hopelessness came +over me. I saw her in profile as she stood erect facing the infernal +picture. The light wrap which covered her shoulders had slipped off, +and I beheld her bare young throat, the adorable outline of her arm +as it hung with infinite grace by her side. My feeling of dejection +gradually gave way to an admiration which longed to find expression. + +I drew myself up cautiously and stole towards her like a thief; and I +closed my arms round her to seize her as though I already feared lest +my dear beauteous treasure should be torn away from me. + +Taken aback, a slight cry escaped her and she turned round with a +peculiar look in her eyes which I had never beheld in them before, and +stared at me as if she no longer knew me. + +“Cordélia, I am your husband and I adore you,” I whispered. + +And I pressed my lips to hers, but the terror of it! I met lips which +were as cold as stone, and I had no sooner placed a kiss upon them than +she became a statue in my arms. I was holding to my heart an inanimate +form; a form not devoid of life, but from which life had taken wing +elsewhere. + +Cordélia had fallen on my shoulders in a cataleptic-like sleep. I +called to her. I used the most endearing words. I implored her to speak +to me. She did not hear me. So far from returning my kisses she was +unconscious of them. + +“Cordélia! Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!” I cried. “Where are you? Where +are you?” + +At last, after laying her on the sofa in her deadly immobility, I began +to shout and summon assistance like a madman. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + AFTER THE WEDDING + + +Mathilde and Surdon came hurrying into the room and were not less +terrified than I was to discover Cordélia in this statue-like +condition. The only thing which we could be certain about was that she +was not dead. I cannot remember all that we attempted, Mathilde and +I, to “bring her back to her senses,” while Surdon went to fetch the +nearest doctor. + +We carried Cordélia in her state of insensibility on to the balcony. We +brought her back again. We tried the effects of cold and heat in turn. +We placed hot bricks to her feet and cold compresses to her forehead. +What alarmed us more than anything else was the complete rigidity in +which she lay in our arms, and nothing that we could do succeeded in +relaxing the tension. + +I employed a phrase just now with the full meaning of which I +was unacquainted. I said that Cordélia fell on my shoulder in a +cataleptic-like sleep. That was true, but I more or less learned for +the first time the meaning of catalepsy from the village doctor whom +Surdon brought back. + +And even then I failed to grasp the significance of what he was saying +except that Cordélia was suffering from a nervous malady which had +reached the critical point, and must have been brought about by great +mental and physical strain and the unwonted excitement of a wedding +day. He did not tell us anything new from this point of view, for it +was in this sense that we regarded her illness. To what other cause +could we, in our ignorance, attribute it save to excitement and fatigue? + +Unfortunately this blockhead of a doctor proved his inability to awaken +Cordélia. After blowing on her eyes without effect he seemed greatly +perplexed. He knew more about it than we did, perhaps, but he was as +powerless as we were. To our stormings and complaints he could but +reply: “She will wake up of her own accord just as she fell asleep.” +And he counseled me to have patience. + +Have patience!... He was the limit!... I asked him in a voice strained +with anxiety, how long this torpor could last. His only answer was to +shake his head. He exasperated me. + +“But, look here, will it last one hour—two hours?” + +“One can never tell.... One can never tell.” + +“Still it can’t go on for a couple of days, I suppose?” I cried, +incensed. + +“Well, there have been such cases, but generally speaking....” + +I could have struck him. And yet he was a worthy man who strove to +comfort me, to persuade me that the case was not very serious, to lead +me to hope that we were confronted with a phenomenon which, if due +precautions were taken, might not recur, and, moreover, would yield to +treatment. And at the finish he recommended me to consult a specialist +in nervous diseases. Having said so much, he gave me the slip. + +I at once sent Surdon in the car to Rouen, whence he was to bring back +Dr. Thurel, celebrated in the district for certain unusual cures which +bordered on the miraculous. + +I turned Mathilde out of the room, for since the doctor’s remedies +and her own nostrums were of no avail, she imagined that we were the +victims of the devil, and she wearied me with her lamentations and +exorcisms. I had the utmost difficulty in preventing her from going for +the priest. What a honeymoon! + +Left alone before the sofa on which Cordélia’s statue-like form lay, I +felt less affected by the pitiable spectacle of my beloved than by a +sort of almost childish frenzy against the fate which had played this +trick upon me. Heaven knows I deserved to be pitied! To have waited +so long for this day and to pass it with a woman who had been turned +to stone! By what fatality had Cordélia fallen asleep at the very +moment when she was in my arms? It was indeed, to use my uncle’s words, +“utterly silly.” + +In my intense selfishness, knowing now that Cordélia’s life was in no +danger, I mourned rather for myself than for her. I was, so I thought, +the victim.... Thus many men when they are balked of something on which +they have set their hearts, or when the object of their desire escapes +them, act like brutes. I am ashamed when I think of myself cursing +Heaven in this room in which Cordélia and I were “at last alone.” I +am bound to say, however, in my own favor, that by degrees this blind +resentment which arose in me against things in general, gave way to a +feeling of great compassion and sorrow for the beloved being who still +slept. + +As the hours slipped away I was oppressed by an ever-increasing +anguish. Now I kept watch over Cordélia as though she were dead, +and I bowed in wonder before this great mystery, which was not less +terrifying than the mystery of death itself. Poor, poor, poor Cordélia! + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + DR. THUREL + + +The day was beginning to dawn when Surdon returned with Dr. Thurel. + +He had to seek the famous doctor at an official function. Not that he +had, however, to drag him away by main force. The story which he told, +straightway induced the doctor to leave, and he did not even take the +trouble to return to his house and change his clothes. + +I shall always remember his arrival in the wan light of day with his +white shirt-front, his long, pallid face, his colorless eyes whose +expression of deep thought it was impossible to forget when once you +had encountered it. + +From that day the image of Dr. Thurel has lingered in my memory. He +brought with him so much that was new to me as I stood struggling on +the threshold of this mysterious drama, and shed so much light on it. +True, I was not at first dazzled, but I was at once “stirred” by the +depths of my ignorance. + +While the facts themselves had merely aroused my wrath without making +any impression on my mind, he was able in a few words to reveal a new +world to me. He was a man who was constantly saying the most astounding +things and yet they were always impregnated with good sense. One felt +compelled to understand the meaning and to believe in him unless one +wished to be taken for a fool. + +He gazed at Cordélia for some time, used the stethoscope, drew himself +up and said: + +“This is not exactly a case of catalepsy. It is what is called hypnotic +sleep with muscular rigidity. Have no fear. We shall get the better of +it.” + +Thereupon he bent over her, blew on her eyes and made some curious +gestures, but obtained no greater success than his country colleague. +Nevertheless after each futile experiment he seemed quite satisfied. + +“That must be it. That must be it. Of course,” he muttered. + +Strange to say, whatever he did, and even the fact that his efforts +were of no avail inspired me with perfect confidence. I felt sure +that, thanks to him, we should soon be out of our misery. + +He requested me to step into the boudoir and questioned me at great +length. He told me that, on the way, he had drawn out the servant, and +the man had acquainted him of his mistress’s peculiar mental condition +a few months before our marriage. He begged me to confide everything +to him without reserve, and regard him not only as a doctor, but as a +father confessor. + +Then I recounted the story of the English painter and the portrait and +the various incidents relating to it, and how Cordélia had complained +of being “as cold as the portrait.” + +He asked to be allowed to see the canvas, and after examining it, +observed: + +“All the trouble comes from this picture. There is no doubt about that. +Your wife, monsieur, is under the influence of this man Patrick, but we +will rid her of it, you may be certain.” + +“But she hasn’t seen the man Patrick for several months.” + +“Very likely, but then there is the portrait. Patrick can do a great +deal through the instrumentality of this portrait. He has renewed the +link with her through it.” + +After that he told me facts about the externalization of sensibility +compared with which Cordélia’s remarks were so much child’s play, and +told them so simply and accompanied them by such logical explanations +that they no longer astounded me. + +There could be no doubt that Dr. Thurel possessed the gift of +persuasion. + +“So my wife’s sensibility was really in the portrait?” I said. + +“Yes, to some extent. The body may be in one place and its sensibility +in another. A clairvoyant’s body, for instance, does not move, but his +individual vision is at the spot which he is describing. In like manner +your wife’s sensibility was transmitted to the portrait by means of +thought.” + +“By means of thought?” + +“Her thought yielded to that of another person. But her sensibility was +there, for thought holding absolute command over sensibility is able +to produce on it the desired effect.... Dr. Charcot, the master of us +all, made an experiment in this regard by applying a sheet of paper to +the epidermis of a patient whom he had hypnotized, and indicated by +suggestion that he had employed a blistering plaster. At once the usual +effects of a blistering plaster were apparent, such as the swelling of +the skin and so forth. I am quoting this experiment because it is the +most typical case, and you will see for yourself the conclusion that +may be drawn from it.” + +Suddenly he stopped, looked steadily at the portrait which had been +left in the boudoir. Like every one else, he was enraptured by it. He +lifted it and blew upon it.... He blew sharply upon the eyes. + +Then he replaced it in its position and walked on tiptoe towards the +next room, the door of which had been left ajar, making a sign to me to +remain where I stood. He looked into the room. Almost at once he turned +around with the light of victory shining on his face. + +He came back to me still walking on tiptoe. + +“She’s waking up,” he said in an undertone. “Don’t say anything of all +this to her. Pretend to think that she’s been in a natural sleep. I can +do nothing more here for some hours. I shall go and have a rest. Never +mind about me. Look after her. I must tell you this: If you kiss her, +kiss her as a brother.” + +“What do you mean—as a brother?” + +“Well, be kind and gentle to her as a brother. I assure you....” + +But I did not wait to hear more. Already I stood in the doorway. +Cordélia’s eyes were wide open and she seemed to be looking for me. And +yet when her eyes alighted on me there was a look of astonishment in +them as if she had not expected to see me there. + +“Hullo, there you are,” she breathed. “Where are we now?” + +“Why, at home, my dear Cordélia.” + +I saw her cheeks flush, her eyes smile, her lips bloom again. + +“Oh yes, of course,” she returned. “Oh my dear Hector, what a lovely +night! But why didn’t you go to bed when you came in? You haven’t +caught cold? There was a cool breeze by the riverside. What a couple +of sillies we are? Who would have thought of a honeymoon in the +moonlight? Well, what did I tell you about my park? Can you imagine a +more beautiful bridal chamber?” + +I listened to her incomprehensible chatter with a feeling of +consternation. Her first words: “What a lovely night!” struck a pang at +my heart. It was indeed a lovely night! And what did she mean by her +“beautiful bridal chamber?” And why, as she spoke, did she look round +as if she beheld our room for the first time? From what sort of dream +had she awakened? I had no opportunity to put these questions to her. +Her head drooped again on the pillow, her eyes closed, and this time +she fell into a calm, natural sleep. A soft regular breathing escaped +from her lips, and she wore a smile which ought to have delighted, but +which perturbed me. For, after all, what was she smiling at? I was +afraid in my dazed condition to ask myself _whom_ was she smiling at. +She had awakened out of her first torpor but to fall into another, +without giving me time to kiss her even as a brother. What was this +walk along the riverside? What was this bridal chamber of which I +knew nothing? I was once more alone, alone with her, and I could not +restrain my tears, while she continued to smile in her sleep. It was +more than I could bear. + +And so the hours went by. At last it was morning. + +I set my forehead against the window-pane and watched as in a sort of +dream the life of the country outside awakening around me. For that +matter the entire episode seemed to me a dream, an optical illusion. + +Was the night through which I had just passed, this incredible wedding +night, a reality? Had I indeed emerged from it and were my eyes now +looking out upon everyday things? Were not those carts which rolled +along the roads, phantom carts? I was in the last stage of exhaustion, +and yet I was conscious that it would be impossible for me to seek +forgetfulness in the sleep which was essential to my physical and +mental health. My suffering mind was never more restless. + +And my thoughts were revolving, endlessly revolving, round the +extraordinary language uttered by Cordélia in the interval between the +two sleeps. “Why didn’t you go to bed when you came in?” Well, I said +to myself with a feeling of dull resentment against my wavering and +insensate imagination, well, what is there in all this to cause so much +painful excitement. Cordélia dreamt that she was wandering with you in +the park during the night. Why make such a fuss about it? + +Of course, of course. I wished Dr. Thurel was awake. I longed to talk +to him. I longed to talk to him. + +He had been given a room in the left wing of the château. From where I +stood I could perceive the windows with their closed wooden shutters. +Truth to tell, I stared at nothing else. + +Cordélia on the bed behind me was sleeping her peaceful sleep and +still smiling. I turned away from her. No, and again no! I failed to +understand how she could smile, even in her sleep, when I was so much +to be pitied. + +And then I saw the shutters in the doctor’s room being opened. I +slipped out of the room. I crossed the courtyard. I knocked at his +door. + +“It’s I, Doctor.” + +“Well?” he questioned as I entered. + +“Well, she is still asleep. She is sleeping in the most peaceful manner +as if nothing had happened.” + +“That was to be expected, and all is for the best.” + +“She said a few things before she fell asleep.” + +“What did she say? Tell me what she said.” + +I repeated her words, and observing that the doctor was in deep +thought, added: + +“Apparently she was recalling a dream that she had when she was in her +trance.” + +“A dream! You think it was a dream? It may have been. But....” + +“But what?” + +“Why, there’s another theory which the undoubted fact that your wife +was under the influence of suggestion renders quite plausible.” + +“What theory?” + +“Well, we are plainly confronted with the phenomenon which we call the +externalization....” + +“I know, I know.... The externalization of sensibility.” + +“One moment. The phenomenon of the externalization of sensibility finds +its counterpart here in another phenomenon: the externalization of +motive power.” + +“What then?” + +“Why then her active individuality, her vital force, her aura, as the +magicians call it, might really have left her last night, and taken +that walk, and it would have been no dream.” + +“It’s amazing.” + +“Not at all.” + +“Still, if she actually left us, how do you account for her talk about +having a walk with me? I personally did not leave here either in body +or mind.” + +“I have already explained,” returned the doctor, “that we are not +dealing in this case”—these were his own words “in this case” spoken +with the composure of an expert which did but increase my agitation—“we +are not dealing with a cataleptic condition, properly so called, for, +in that event, she would not have remembered what she had been doing, +but of a rigid hypnotic condition from which the subject sometimes +awakes with vague recollections.... Here obviously there were vague +recollections.” + +“You mean,” I exclaimed, “that she thinks she remembers going out with +me, but that, in reality, to use your own language, she went for a walk +with another person. It’s ridiculous ... utterly ridiculous.” + +“Or she went alone.... Calm yourself.” + +It was all very well for him to say, “Calm yourself.” I refused to be +pacified. + +“All this, Doctor, seems to me appalling. You don’t mean to say that a +person can do such things while the body is asleep, and not dream of +them?” + +“My dear fellow, have you still to learn that an ignorant person in a +condition of somnambulism can become a scholar, can spend his nights +furnishing his polygon with multifarious learning, and even acquire +foreign languages? That is what can be done while one is asleep.” + +“What do you mean by his polygon?” + +“We will deal with that another time, young man. It would lead us too +far from the subject we are discussing.” + +“Meanwhile there is one thing that I do understand,” I returned. “My +wife is suffering from some terrible mental disorder.” + +“But, my dear fellow, there is no reason to lose hope,” returned the +doctor in a confident voice. “An illness of the mind can be cured by +the mind. Have confidence in my treatment, and take me to your wife.” + +Cordélia had just risen. I found her clad in a kimono, her hair falling +loosely over her shoulders, standing in front of the glass making +faces. As soon as she saw me she threw herself into my arms and cried +in a mocking voice: + +“Oh, my poor husband!” + +Then all of a sudden she asked: + +“Who is in the next room?” + +No movement of any kind could be heard. Dr. Thurel had seated himself +in the boudoir without a sound, and I had closed the door behind me. I +was so greatly surprised that I made no answer. + +“Is it one of your friends?” she asked. “Why don’t you introduce him to +me?” + +She forgot the place and her incomplete toilette—everything. She made +for the door with a firm tread, opened it softly, caught sight of +the strange-looking old gentleman in evening dress, seemed in no way +disconcerted, smiled, and went up to him with outstretched hand. + +“This is Dr. Thurel,” I said. “He is, in fact, a friend—one of my best +and most reliable friends.” + +“Indeed, I have often heard of you,” she returned. “Oh, doctor, how +pleased I am to meet you.” + +She sat down beside him. He still held her hand. And now he kept his +eyes fixed on hers, and her gaze seemed riveted on him. + +“Leave us,” he whispered peremptorily, “I want to talk to her.” + +I left them together, and I descended into the garden, impelled by an +irritability which made my teeth chatter. + + * * * * * + +Ten minutes elapsed, which seemed so long drawn out that I could have +shouted aloud. At length Dr. Thurel appeared. He was beaming. + +“Cheer up,” said the old gentleman, “I think I have rid her mind of +any thought of the other person. All the same he had exerted a magical +power of attraction over her. Good-bye, my dear fellow.” + +“If that is so,” I cried excitedly, “how shall I ever be able to +express my gratitude to you?” + +“Stuff! Look here, give me the portrait. I will place it in my private +collection.” + +I gave him the portrait and, Heaven only knows, with a glad heart! + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + I DISCOVER A CHANGE IN CORDÉLIA + + +I must admit that, at first, I thought I should have but to rejoice, +for as the worthy doctor had led me to anticipate, Cordélia displayed, +after his departure, a perfectly free and normal mind. + +It was as though nothing out of the way had happened. When she came +downstairs clad in a gossamer robe, and clung to my arm with a +grace and trustfulness which enchanted me, old Surdon and Mathilde +complimented her on her appearance, and conveyed to me by certain signs +that all was as well as well could be. + +Surdon wanted to saddle Thunder and Monarch, or to get out the gig so +that we might go for a long drive before lunch, but Cordélia would +not hear of it. She expressed a wish to stroll through the fields, to +wander on my arm along the country lanes. + +“We don’t want to ride or drive to-day,” she said, leading me away and +gently pressing my hand. “We don’t need anything or anybody. Let us +think only of ourselves. I have so many things to say to you now that I +am your wife.” + +These last words were spoken in a serious and intense voice which I +failed to recognize; and I could not help giving a start when I looked +at her. + +As she uttered them, she lifted her eyes to me and they seemed to +contain an expression which, like her voice, was new to me. I read +in them, beyond the shadow of a doubt, an emotional tenderness and +gratitude which startled me without my knowing exactly why. At all +events, I could not at the moment analyze what was passing within me. +But one thing was certain: I felt distinctly uneasy. I fully expected, +indeed, to see a look in my dear Cordélia’s eyes like that one day; to +see this impulse, this quivering emotion of thankfulness towards the +man who had become everything to her, but I did not expect to see that +look after the dreadful time through which we had just passed. + +In a word, I was unspeakably surprised. Our walk, our conversation at +lunch, the sweet surrender with which, leaning upon my shoulder, she +confided to me her plans for the future—all this did nothing to remove +from my mind the curious impression that I was confronted with a new +Cordélia who was no longer the young girl of the day before. I turned +pale at the thought of it. + +She noticed it and in her turn betrayed a certain anxiety at my +agitation. + +“But dearest what is the matter? Are you not feeling well? You don’t +say anything.” + +I kissed her hair and whispered tritely: + +“I love you.” + +My heart was pounding as though it would burst. She could hear it. + +“I really believe that you do love me,” she said, “and, besides, your +heart tells me so. Listen to my heart which will tell you, too, how it +loves you.” + +She took my head between her two little hands, and placed it on her +young, heaving bosom with the quiet gesture of a woman who is giving +herself up to the husband to whom she belongs. + +I was speechless. + +She went on as she stroked my hair: + +“What a night! What a beautiful night! Oh how well you understand me! +You are wonderful, my Hector.” + +I am unable to say whether I really seemed wonderful to her, but I drew +myself up roughly. My face underwent a fierce contortion. She looked at +me with disquiet. + +“What is it? What’s the matter?” + +“Nothing.... Nothing. It’s over—a slight attack of neuralgia.” + +“Ah my love, you are tired. You had no sleep.” + +“Yes, you’re right. I had no sleep.” + +“You ought to have gone to bed. I told you so when we came back from +our walk in the park.” + +“Ah yes.... Our walk in the park.... Of course, of course.” + +“But what is the matter with you?” + +“Nothing I tell you.... A slight headache.” + +“Well, be sensible. You must go to bed, dearest.” + +I had to give way. She came with me to the door of my room. I let +myself be led by her little hands. Strange to say I made no effort to +keep her. She left the room, and I threw myself on the bed as an animal +lies down. And soon, in order to cease thinking about things which +seemed either appalling or ridiculous, I fell asleep. + +The light was waning when I woke up feeling greatly refreshed. I have +always been able to sleep soundly. A shower bath helped to restore my +self-possession. My uncle had returned during my nap. He had come from +Caen, and was leaving that same evening for Paris. I discovered from +his first words that he knew nothing of the incidents of the previous +night. Surdon and Mathilde, perceiving that “all was well as well could +be,” had not considered it necessary to enlighten him. I could not but +approve of their discretion. + +My uncle had been for a short walk with Cordélia, and when she +returned her face was beaming with happiness. + +“Have you had a good sleep, dearest?” she asked as she threw herself +into my arms. “Has that awful headache gone?” + +I kissed her ardently in return. + +My uncle wore a smile as he contemplated the pleasant spectacle. He +endeavored to take me aside to express his gratification. + +“Well, what did I say? There you are, the happiest of men and she is +the happiest of women. She told me so. I congratulate you—you rascal!” + +I could have struck him. I could have struck him. He gave me no +opportunity. He embraced us and went off muttering repeatedly: + +“What a handsome couple they make!” + + + + + CHAPTER X + + THE SECOND NIGHT + + +I have taken particular care to trace in detail the various stages +of this extraordinary story in order that the reader who would fain +judge us, notwithstanding the jury’s verdict, may know as much about +the facts as I do, and be in a position to fix the responsibility +definitely as between me and the man who was the greatest thief +that ever lived. If the reader will follow me step by step he will +understand me, and it will be open to any candid person of average +intelligence to measure the extent of the calamity which befell me. + +I now come to the second night, which will throw a light upon the +events which occurred at Vascoeuil and those which were to follow; +a light which others may regard as supernatural, but which I am +compelled, unfortunately, to proclaim as entirely natural after what I +know and saw with my own eyes. + +At least that is what I maintain to-day, but considering that I was +sailing on an unknown sea, it will be realized how far I had to go +before I recognized the truth. + +Cordélia wished to wind up the day, as on the previous evening, by a +little homely supper in her boudoir, and, to be sure, I should have +been the last person to think of raising any objection. Anything that +could bring me closer to her gave me the constantly renewed hope that I +might succeed in driving away, once for all, the delusions which kept +us apart. I use the word delusions advisedly, because that is how I +regarded the matter on that second evening when I sat down beside her +at dinner. + +And how could it have been otherwise? How could I fail to cling to +this word when I take into consideration the abyss over which my +poor distracted mind hung suspended for a moment in the course of +this startling day. Just think. Remember the altogether unforeseen +attitude of a Cordélia filled with gratitude and affection. Delusions! +Delusions! I appealed to you, O delusions, in defense of her, and, as +the lesser of my enemies, to her unhealthy imagination, at once ardent +and poetic—for the whole thing was but the aberration of a highly +sensitive mind. I tried to convince myself of it. + +And thus I no longer wished to remember anything but Dr. Thurel’s +reassuring words: “I have rid her mind of any thought of the other +person. She is cured.” + +Upon my word, when I think of her as I beheld her on that second +evening seated at our little domestic fête, helping me as though I were +a spoiled child, anticipating my every wish, stirring the fire lest I +should catch cold, assuming the superior and tyrannical graces of a +nurse which caused us to burst out laughing, I cannot but cry: “There +she was as God made her, and as He gave her to me—my dear, dear, dear +Cordélia!” + +Before she met the thief, she was sweet and fresh and girlish and +perfectly natural, slightly inclined to be mischievous and self-willed, +but born to make a husband happy who would have made her happy. And, +take it from me, it is not necessary to be clever or brilliant to make +a woman happy. It is a question of being an ordinarily decent man; at +least I still think so, and I have yet to meet the person who can prove +the contrary. I know what I mean. One must also be in love with her. +Who ever loved her more than I did? And did she love any one more than +she loved me? Did she love the thief? Lord above, let those persons who +know everything tell me if the dove which is transfixed in its flight +loves the hawk whom it encounters on its way from the nest.... + +But let us return to our little supper. + +I forget on what subject Cordélia was good-humoredly making fun of me. +I have always possessed an equable temper. I can allow myself to be +teased without taking offense, just as a pet dog will permit his ears +to be pulled by those to whom he is attached. Thus Cordélia could throw +herself into the game to her heart’s content. + +But suddenly I sprang to my feet with a look of ferocity on my face, +a very excellent look of ferocity, and walked up to her, grinding +my teeth, as if I had sworn to gobble her up alive. She started to +run round the table, laughing boisterously. I for my part, while I +continued to give chase, strove to keep my countenance and to assume a +more ferocious air than ever. At length she pretended to be frightened +as I was pretending to be in a rage; and when I mention that in our +race round the room the light wrap which she wore rose higher, caught +on to a piece of furniture and even became torn, revealing a glimpse of +some new loveliness, it will be gathered that the game had become an +extremely attractive one; so much so that I thought the best thing I +could do was to finish it by capturing the fugitive and holding her in +my arms. + +She had taken refuge in a recess of the window, and it was there that I +dived after her. I caught her, but straightway I was impressed by the +fact that she had stopped laughing. I lowered my eyes to her face, but +it was no longer the face of a young girl. She gazed at me with a look +of grave distress yet, I must say, full of love. I felt her young heart +beat against mine. I held her closer, calling her the most endearing +names. + +“Oh dearest,” she breathed. “Have you seen the park? Look at the park. +How beautiful it is!” + +She was not now looking at me. Her eyes were turned to the park +which gleamed ghost-like in the moonlight. The night was a dream of +brightness and opalescent light. The tall trees whose leaves had +already fallen, stood erect like huge silver chandeliers, their +wondrous shadows lengthened, as though by the brush of an artist, on +the luminous grassy slopes and gravel paths. In the distance the unseen +mystery of the park into which I had never set foot, stirred under the +motionless, effulgent, impassive moon. + +I tried to turn Cordélia’s eyes away from the ill-omened sight, and +bring her back to our own interests. She thrust me aside with her +little hands and returned to the window, pressing her forehead against +the pane. I may be asked: “Why did you not compel her to leave the +window and the perilous spectacle of the park in the moonlight?” Let +those who are unable to understand that more power sometimes lies in a +young girl’s little finger than in an elephant’s foot, cease to read +me! + +This is the answer that I have to make: + +Men of science, or those who call themselves men of science, have +not yet, perhaps, given a name to this “psychic” force, but if they +were to take the trouble to study and weigh its power mathematically, +and dignify it with a Latin or Greek name, there would be less +astonishment, perhaps, that the aura of a marriageable girl yielded +to the suggestion of a sham-necromancer than to realize that a +mass of flesh and blood weighing about thirteen stone, for that is +approximately my figure, could offer no more resistance to the little +hand of the maid in question than could the sigh of a new-born babe. +Indeed, here we have in all its wonder the phenomenon of levitation. +And from what I saw, it is the mind only that has any weight! + + * * * * * + +I was perhaps lacking in mind that evening. It does not become any +one to reproach me. In life one must do the best one can. And I was +powerless against Cordélia’s determination to remain at the window. +It was then that she visibly lived over again her experiences of the +night before, and as I listened to her, I began to suffer infinite +pain. It will at once be seen why—at least I hope so. + +Her hand had furtively sought mine and she drew me beside her in the +shining moonlight. Her head was resting on my shoulder and, seen from +below, we must have borne some resemblance to those saints linked +together on stained-glass windows which adorn and illumine the chancel +of a church. I set down this thought because it occurred to me at +the time, which shows that in my mind’s eye I realized that we were +somewhat absurd, but, through that very fact, it indicates also that I +was absolutely bereft of any power of resistance. + +Poor dear Cordélia was able to do anything, anything she pleased with +me! + +“Shall we take a stroll in the park as we did yesterday, dearest?” + +“Come, Cordélia, I say....” + +“Let’s take this path,”—we did not stir from the window—“Let’s go along +by the poplars.” + +Here she uttered some curious sentences about the song of the poplars +when the wind whispers among the branches. + +“Let’s go by the river side,”—more strange sentences in the form of +stanzas about the floating heart of the water lily and the tiny cradles +of the fairies sailing over the stream. “This is the path which will +lead us to the marriage-chamber.” + +“What marriage-chamber?” I could not help asking. + +“You know as well as I do, dearest. The chamber which has been prepared +for us, all in gold.” + +And thereupon she gave me a description of the marriage-chamber all in +gold. I cannot recount the exact words which Cordélia used in speaking +of this chamber. From that moment onward, indeed, her language seemed +to lose sight of earth and even mundane things, to become a kind of +music befitting the understanding of angels or poets who are never +unduly troubled to discover the significance of unconventional words. +However that might be with the fanciful melody which flowed from my +beloved’s lips, my natural common sense restored the dream-palace in +which, in Cordélia’s imagination, I had been wandering for some time to +its proper proportions. I gathered that this chamber all in gold, was +neither more nor less than a small glade in the wood, shaped like an +arbor, sheltered by lovely trees on whose branches some foliage still +lingered while beneath them, on the earth, lay a rich, dense carpet of +leaves, yellowed by autumn. + +The beginning of my cruel experience on this occasion was that +these flights of fancy, which accompanied our promenade in the +golden chamber, were intoned in English. Cordélia and I knew English +perfectly, but we did not speak it when we were together. My pained +surprise reached its culminating point when Cordélia, with the utmost +seriousness, asked me to recite as, it would appear, I had recited in +the golden chamber the night before, a few lines from “Lara” and “The +Corsair.” I must have opened my eyes in dumb amazement, for Cordélia +became more and more importunate: + +“Come, come, dearest, don’t wait to be pressed. Don’t waste time. It’s +so fine, so pathetic, so splendid. And then you can wind up with +Childe Harold’s farewell. You know the lines: + + Adieu, adieu! my native shore + Fades o’er the waters blue: + * * * * * + Come hither, hither, my little page: + * * * * * + My Native Land—Good Night! + +“And while you are reciting I will place my head on your shoulder, as I +did yesterday, so as to hear your delightful voice.” + +While she was speaking she laid her head on my shoulder, but I raised +it in my trembling hands and forced her to look into my eyes which +doubtless were disturbing to see, for she suddenly grew restless. + +“What’s the matter with you?” + +“A very simple matter, Cordélia. I have never known by heart a line of +Byron or any other poet, and I have never read ‘Lara,’ ‘The Corsair,’ +or ‘Childe Harold.’” + +“What do you say?” + +“I say that it was not I who was with you in the golden chamber.” + +“Be quiet, you poor dear, be quiet.” + +“I say that it was not on my shoulder that you laid your head.” + +I came to a stop. Her appearance filled me with dismay. Her eyes were +staring at me with a strange light as if she saw me for the first time. + +She gasped a dull moan of despair, and a cry escaped her lips like the +cry of a soul at the point of death striving to cleave to earth: + +“Save me, Hector, save me!” + +She uttered that cry and uttered it to me proving that she belonged to +me, to me alone, and had never belonged to any one but me. The thief +might say what he liked, he was but a thief. It was all very well to +assume an arrogant attitude at the Assize Court; and the world was able +to grasp his meaning when he said that her heart belonged to him. He +had burgled it. The shame of it! + +I replied to Cordélia’s poignant cry of “Save me, Hector, save me!” +with a transport of supreme delight. Yes, my love would indubitably +rescue her from those frightful delusions. It would be no difficult +task for my arms to wrench her this time from the accursed window. She +weighed but a feather in my grasp. Her head, with its hair in disarray, +lay adorably on my shoulder. The look of mingled fear and love depicted +on her face immensely stimulated my strength. I really believed that I +was at length able to dominate this frail and quivering anguish, and I +pressed my lips to hers. + +And straightway it seemed as if I had killed her, and was kissing a +dead woman ... I held in my arms, as on the night before, a marble +statue. + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + THE GOLDEN CHAMBER + + +I did not now summon any assistance. I was seized with a cold grim fury +of despair which called for no witnesses. I carried Cordélia into the +next room and laid her on the bed, and gazed at her in impotent rage. + +I called to mind every word that Dr. Thurel had said in describing the +condition of bodily immobility in which I now beheld her, and I had not +a doubt from what I heard from Cordélia’s own lips that her mind, which +a little before had given animation to that now lifeless form, had left +it for some other place. + +What other place? Was it hard to guess? Was she not at the very moment +when she escaped from me making at full flight for the bridal-chamber +of which I knew nothing?—the bridal-chamber to which, it seemed, an +influence that was independent of her will and mine lured her with a +force which I had vainly striven to shatter with a kiss? + +Or rather did it not seem that I had but to press Cordélia’s lips with +my own to cause a repetition of the catastrophe of the night before? + +I remembered then, in the growing irritation of my mind, Dr. Thurel’s +amazing words: “If you kiss her, kiss her as a brother.” What did that +mean? I shook with horror and the most terrible resentment. Was I to +understand that every time my lips united with Cordélia’s I should +stand in fear of this awful phenomenon and that she would never be +anything to me but a wife of stone? + +At the thought that so infernal a suggestion was within the bounds of +possibility, a tremendous wrath made the blood surge in my veins, and I +felt capable of murdering the man who was responsible—the villain who +was making me suffer agonies to say nothing of the hideous ridicule +which would attach to so grotesque a marital position as mine. I was +perfectly aware of that fact also, and I did not fail to derive from it +a capacity for revenge which in the end swept me off my feet. + +In any case I could not consent to remain any longer an impassive and +inactive spectator of a scene which offered me but the image of an +inert body; and I made my way in haste towards the spot where I knew +that Cordélia’s mind was wandering in thought with the mind of another +person. + +A few minutes later in the dead silence, under the hostile moon which +looked down, perhaps, upon things invisible to my own eyes, I passed +along the line of tall trees which screened the edge of the park into +which I had never entered. + +As soon as I had traversed this screen I found myself in a wood so +densely entangled that I was at a loss at first which way to go; and I +began to think of Cordélia’s words when she described it; a forest full +of snares for those who did not know it and hospitable only to lovers +of woods and solitude. + +I was certainly no lover of these woods, and in spite of all my +efforts, I did not succeed in ploughing my way through it, and I made +scarcely any progress. The branches laid hold of me on every side and +held me back with their thousand small arms, or transfixed me, by +stealth, with their thorns. The bridal-chamber which lay within its +recesses was well guarded! + +Hardly knowing what she did, however, Cordélia had sufficiently +enlightened me. Nevertheless I knew that before she betook herself, in +mind, to the place, she must have visited it more than once in body, +or else, as I imagined like a simpleton, she would not have described +it to me so fully. That was another opinion which I have since been +constrained to abandon. + +And yet how did she get through? I suddenly remembered that the +bridal-chamber stood beside the river. Cordélia’s actual words were: + +“In the bridal-chamber there is the great mirror of the river set in a +frame of gold and the rays of the moon make the surface of the water +like a silver sheet. You see yourself in it from head to foot. Owing to +this you are never alone. When you think that you are one, you are two, +and when you think that you are two, you are four. You have to keep +your eyes open!” + +“If I follow the river’s bank,” I said to myself, “I shall be certain +to reach the bridal-chamber,” and I made for this bank through the +avenue of poplars. + +At first I congratulated myself on my idea, and my path for some way +was properly marked out. My pace, however, began to slacken when I +left the poplars behind me; and soon I had considerable obstacles to +surmount in order to follow the stream. Every trace of a path had +disappeared, and I was forced to hold on to the willows to prevent +myself from falling into the water. + +The Andelle, at Vascoeuil, is not a very imposing river. It cannot be +used for towing, and its banks are visited only by an occasional angler +who wishes to savor the delights of solitude among the reeds. + +Such as it was, it flowed that night with so much quiet grace between +its pleasant banks, reflecting so coquettishly its clumps of reeds and +rushes, like little silvery chignons, in the midst of this wild nature +where all was beauty and delight—the moon smiled strangely at me from +the river—that despite the mortal horror which stirred me, I was +impressed by its charm, and I interrupted my course, for a moment, to +exclaim from my heart “I understand you, O Cordélia!” + +What was it that I understood? In truth, was I about to become affected +by it? Was this park, under the moon, so amazing a sight that my mind +would remain for ever impressed, preferring this wild retreat for my +honeymoon, to the luxurious modern nest which I had built at so great a +cost? + +Still, let us pull ourselves together. + +Besides, where was the bridal-chamber? Suddenly I caught sight of it +in the distance, or rather I half-saw it. It was the sort of rotunda +which, in the light of day or the twilight, would resemble a red-gold +arbor fashioned by the miracle of autumn on the bank of the murmuring +stream. + +With infinite caution I drew nearer. I stole through the grass and +sprigs like a Red Indian on the war path. I no longer felt the sting of +thorns. I held my breath. + +And all this—all this—in order to take by surprise, two minds which +had made an appointment to meet in a clearing! + +I cannot say if the reader realizes the enormity of my proceedings. +For my part, I performed these actions in a manner at once entirely +unconscious and yet entirely natural. It must be understood from this +that I did not apply my reason, but yielded to a spontaneous impulse +which flung me in the wake of Cordélia’s runaway mind; and while I +experienced the influence of Dr. Thurel’s fantastic though scientific +explanations, I acted altogether like an ordinary, deceived husband, +bent on avoiding the least imprudence which might warn the culprits and +prevent me from obtaining the proof of my misfortune. + +In what shape would the proof become manifest? I certainly could not +tell, nor did I even ask myself the question, but I so little doubted +that I was about to learn the truth through one of those psychic +phenomena with which Dr. Thurel had crammed my brain, that when at last +I stealthily made my way on all fours into the bridal-chamber, I was +completely bewildered to behold merely an empty space; that is to say +an atmosphere as pure and clear as crystal, pierced by the brilliant +rays of the moon which had transformed the chamber all in gold into a +chamber all in silver! + +It was none the less beautiful, but truth to tell, the scene and +the charm of this sylvan bower were just then the least of my +preoccupations. An empty space and silence! I rose from my stooping +posture and stood awhile breathing hard before this void. + +An empty space and silence! And perhaps _they_ were there. But I was +unable, with the eyes of the flesh, to see them! + +I looked about me in sheer amazement. I walked round creeping between +the shadow of the trees like a shadow myself searching for two shadows! + +Suddenly I burst out laughing. I felt that I was committing a monstrous +piece of folly. + +But then, if I was acting with such sheer lunacy, why did my laughter +break in the middle? Why did it come to a stop all of a sudden in my +parched throat, when a gleam of light and a slight shade quivered above +an old moss-covered stone bench within the arbor? Why did I go towards +the bench, leaning forward with clenched fists? What did I intend to +do with my big fists, the fists of a heavy-weight boxer? Challenge the +light? Knock out a moonbeam? Oh the irony of it all! Why do some people +see while others are blind? I felt that if I could see I should be less +afraid, for now I was afraid.... Well I was afraid of what I was about +to see, for though I could not yet see, I could hear! + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + THE THIEF + + +I heard a kind of whisper, a kind of soft whisper. It was still some +distance away, but it indubitably came from a human being who was +drawing nearer, but drawing nearer without making any other sound; and +it was this which filled me with affright. + +I expected to hear the twigs and dead leaves crack under the feet of +the persons who were coming, but there was nothing, no sound in the +dead silence of the night but this human murmur which seemed to be +wafted on the air not far from me, and was approaching closer and +closer. + +I gave no further thought to the stone bench which I had left. The +voice, soft and clear, was growing more and more distinct, so distinct +that I seemed to hear a few words which sent a shiver through me from +head to foot, and made me draw back and conceal myself in the wood. + +I withdrew in haste, in great haste, for the voice was drawing still +nearer. It now seemed borne along by the water, and I turned my head +towards the river. A word, a terrible word—I could distinguish only +this one word—reached my ear from the river. It was the one English +word _love_. + +I was standing at no great distance from the bank of the river. +Suddenly I saw the reeds bend and the hearts of innumerable +water-lilies on the silver surface of the water give way to a small +skiff which glided to the bank facing the bridal-chamber. + +A man was seated in this light skiff and I at once recognized him by +the curious beating of my heart and his strange sad-looking eyes, +eyes like those of a cat, which seemed to light up his pale face. +I recognized him, too, from other details. He was clad in the same +loose clothes, the same sports jacket open at the neck worn by him on +the evening when I encountered him for the first time. And, he was +bare-headed, as on that evening, and his hair was well brushed back, +disclosing the high white forehead which he had pressed against the +garden gate. + +My first impulse was to make a rush at him. I had every reason to +settle my account with him once for all. His presence in my park, on +my property, fully entitled me to take the law into my own hands. It +was the finishing touch to his audacity and his felonious love-making. +It explained quite clearly why my poor dear Cordélia was the victim +of these perverse and uncanny influences. Dr. Thurel’s intervention +had been fruitless, because the instigator of the mischief was near +at hand, prowling round us, prowling round _her_. During the last two +days the scoundrel must have remained hidden in this obscure retreat, +or have left it only to approach Cordélia like a thief; to ensnare, +surprise and recapture her by fixing a gaze upon her which would enable +him to overcome her mind, and carry her away with him to his lair. + +Alas! Why did I not that very night make an end of the man who had +burgled Cordélia’s heart? For he was there right enough in flesh and +blood; and Heaven knows that I could have made good use of my fists +despite his great eyes, like the eyes of a mournful cat. + +Now this is what happened: He dropped his sculls and stood up in the +skiff, and I was about to throw myself on him when I heard him utter +this sentence in English: “My love I am yours with all my heart,” and +then leaning over the boat he went on: “There is nothing I would not do +for you.” + +To whom was he speaking, since he was alone in the skiff? + +“Come, come, now,” I said to myself, “You know quite well to whom this +man is speaking these soft words of love and their meaning is obvious. +To whom is he saying ‘My love’? No need to look far. She is seated +beside him. He is leaning over her, whispering in her ear words that +she comprehends as well as you do.... _For she is there_! Cannot you +see her? Cannot you see her? And yet you know that she is seated in the +skiff.” + +Well, no, I was unable to see her. In truth I did my utmost to see her, +for I was conscious that he saw her, but I did not possess his vision. +Yet there was no doubt that she was there ... I had only to look at +him. And to listen to him. + +He affected an attitude as he drew himself up, and then with his airs +and graces sat down beside her. To me he was grotesque, hideous. I +sincerely pitied Cordélia for having to listen to such an unmitigated +bore. At one moment he was spouting poetry to her. What a comedian! + +Suddenly he sat down again, leaned on one side and threw out his arm as +though to place it round her waist. It was more than I could bear. I +resolved to put an end to this grim farce, when a new scene riveted me +to the spot. _I could now see her!_ + +I must explain what I saw and endeavor to make myself understood. I am +setting down the facts for public information and to relieve my mind, +and also to lay bare the terrible truth. Thus I confine myself to what +I saw, and I do not wish any person to go beyond my own interpretation +of my testimony, nor do I wish any person to stop short of it. + +I would urge the reader to be not less courageous than I was in +venturing on this startling voyage into the abyss of psychical research +in which the best hope for the future of mankind lies. + +Let this terrifying love story serve at least one purpose. Let the +world learn once for all how mortifying it is to remain a heavy-weight, +hermetically closed in a mass of flesh, when faced by the mind which in +its wanderings is unsubstantial and intangible or at least as elusive +as a handful of water. + +The man stood up in the skiff, his head still a little on one side and +his arm round a waist which I was unable to see. For I saw him only +in the skiff; saw him making the gesture of a ladies’ man which had +infuriated me. But though I saw but one person in the skiff, I could +distinguish both of them in the mirror of the water. + +In the slight swirl caused by the swing of the boat I discerned in the +moonlight the reflection of the pair of them standing up. + +Was it an optical illusion? Was it the result of defective vision? Were +my senses playing me false? At the present time, after having gathered +together and placed in compact form my recollections, I am bound to +say: No it was no optical illusion. I saw. I saw. I saw the reflection +of the skiff in the water, and below it, also in the water, Patrick and +Cordélia leaning against one another. + +I am convinced of the fact, for though I turned my eyes, after seeing +the double vision on the water, to the boat, to confirm the reality, +and saw only Patrick alone with his arm thrust out and his head a +little on one side, on the other hand, when I looked again at the water +I beheld the double presentment once more. + +I lay stress upon these details because they obviously represent a +phenomenon which unites in a peculiarly interesting manner physical +science with psychic science. I offer it as a subject for investigation +to those men of science who are engaged in their laboratories in +endeavoring to probe the secrets of every aspect of Force. + +It would seem that my eyes passed through Cordélia’s aura, as it stood +in the atmosphere, without being in the least aware of it, while, +on the other hand, I could perceive the outlines—somewhat faint, +I confess, but unmistakable for all that—by fixing my gaze on that +part of the water which had taken the picture, just as photographic +negatives were taken of pictures of Katie King during the time that +one of the most renowned scientists of the last century was making his +experiments in psychical phenomena—I mean Professor Sir William Crookes. + +It will be readily understood that these interesting scientific +considerations, which I set down here by the way, occurred to my mind +subsequently, and that, at the time, I was much more absorbed in the +phenomenon itself than in attempting to discover an explanation of +it. I was unable, unfortunately, to suppress a cry of fury when I +beheld in the mirror of the river the great thief press a kiss upon +my beloved’s forehead. The picture at once vanished, that is to say, +nothing remained on the surface of the water but Patrick’s reflection. +Cordélia’s silhouette had disappeared, while I heard the villain +exclaim: “Remember! Remember!” + + + + + CHAPTER XIII + + HAPPINESS CONSISTS IN REALITIES NOT IN DREAMS + + +When I reached the bank, Patrick and the skiff were hidden from view +behind the reeds which had closed in upon him. A few hundred yards +farther on the river made a bend and left the park. I had no hope of +overtaking my man, and after shouting a few offensive remarks at him, +to which he made no response, I returned to the château as quickly as I +could. + +I ran and woke up Surdon telling him that the Englishman was in the +park and ordering him to get his gun out. He grasped the situation at +once. + +“Don’t kill him if you can help it,” I cried, “but send a few shots +through him so as to make him feel sick of the place.” + +“You can rely on me,” replied Surdon, adding: “That explains +everything.” + +“Yes, Surdon, it explains everything.” + +After that I went up to Cordélia’s room. She had just wakened. I was in +no way surprised. + +“Do you know where you’ve been?” I asked, but she could make no reply. +On this occasion she remembered nothing; at all events she did not seem +to remember anything. + +I then described what I had just witnessed. Events were taking such a +turn that we should have to face them together if we ever hoped to gain +the mastery over them. And moreover I realized quite clearly that I +should be powerless without Cordélia’s assistance. She was either on my +side or on _his_. If she was with me, she was bound to help me to wage +war on him and I did not doubt her. + +I was sure of her. My intervention on the bank was so involuntary that +I had no time to perceive, from the mirror of the river, Cordélia’s +particular attitude towards him, but I was only too firmly convinced, +since Dr. Thurel’s visit, that she was under the spell of prolonged +magnetization, in other words, her astral body was held captive, so +that I could not find fault with her for not spurning the arm which +clasped her waist with too much affection, or for yielding to a kiss +which she was unable to avert. + +When she learned of the thief’s audacity in setting foot into our +property and of his being, doubtless, still in the neighborhood, she +threw her arms round my neck and cried: + +“Take me away. Take me a long, long way from here. He is capable of +anything. He is capable of keeping me with him for good.” + +Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! I did not wait to be asked a second time, +and a hand-bag was soon packed. Moreover I left word for Surdon to join +us in Paris the following day with our luggage; and we went off in the +small car, which I drove myself. + +I soon congratulated myself on introducing my beloved to the +distractions of Paris. She was so delighted that she forgot the strain +of the terrible forty-eight hours through which we had passed. She +entered into the spirit of everything. A walk in the Avenue des Acacias +in the Bois de Boulogne helped her to forget the amazing promenade +in the park in the moonlight; at least I preferred to think so. We +lunched at a smart restaurant in the country, and we emerged from it +laughing at the least thing like children carried away by their first +glass of wine. + +Cordélia for the first time tried to smoke, and she discovered an +Egyptian brand of cigarettes which she liked so well that she consumed +a goodly number of them. The result was that when we returned to the +Palace Hotel she had to lie down and take a short rest. I left her +in the custody of Surdon. When I went out I could not repress an +exclamation, for I recognized, standing at the hotel entrance, Dr. +Thurel. + +He was not less surprised than I was. He at once asked after Cordélia, +and was so greatly interested in my story of what happened on the +second night of my honeymoon, that he took me off with him to his flat. +Here, he got me to repeat the facts in detail, taking notes the while, +and then he said: + +“The thing is quite logical. As long as your wife was under the direct +influence of the man who was close by, anything that I was able to do +to release her was bound, of course, to be reduced to naught as soon +as I left you. That is precisely what did happen, but it shows also +that your wife is subject to this influence only when the hypnotizer is +comparatively near. There are patients who are in worse case than she +is,” went on the doctor thoughtfully, “and you certainly must not lose +hope. You did well to bring her away from Vascoeuil. You must travel +about the world. The case will respond to treatment. Everything depends +on you.” + +He repeated this last sentence with emphasis, and I could not help +giving vent to my impatience and ill-humor. + +“Everything depends on me!” I cried. “That is easy enough to say. But +what influence, if you please, can I exert if every time my lips touch +hers she falls into a trance? You must be fair and admit that I am at +least as much to be pitied as she is.” + +“I have advised you to kiss her as a brother.” + +“Do you really believe that a brother’s influence will be enough to rid +her of that man?” + +“No, I don’t say that, but I believe that it is absolutely necessary, +if you wish to risk a kiss, to remove your wife’s recollection from +that man’s power of suggestion through time and space. Travel about, +and have patience until you both feel yourselves the master of her ‘O’ +and have nothing more to fear from her ‘polygon.’” + +I held my head in my hands. For the second time this geometrical term +occurred when Dr. Thurel was speaking. What was this “polygon” and what +did he mean by the “O” of which it was incumbent upon me to obtain the +mastery? + +The doctor vouchsafed the explanation that these were figures of +psychical speech employed by Dr. Grasset in his work entitled +“Spiritualism in relation to Science” in order to explain fully certain +characteristics. I should like, in my turn, to enable the reader to +understand them as the kindly old gentleman explained them to me. I +should not attempt to do so if it were not that he had the goodness to +lend me certain books to read; so that I might become acquainted with +a science which would prove useful to me in Cordélia’s condition of +mind—books which I strove to assimilate from love of her without her +knowledge. + +It would seem, then, that there is a superior psychicism, that is +to say, there are psychic acts which are deliberate and carried out +by the free will of a person, and preceded by thought which Dr. +Grasset symbolizes by the letter O, and an inferior psychicism which +is quasi-automatic and symbolized by the nervous centers which are +connected together in the shape of a polygon. + +This polygon must be regarded either in its physiological +condition—absent-mindedness, sleep, dreams—or its extra-physical +condition—artificially induced hypnotism—or its pathological +condition—somnambulism, ambulatory automatism and so forth. + +When the O is no longer concerned with the polygon, the latter +does more or less what it pleases, and thus one can do with it +almost what one wills. For this reason it suffices for the O to +be absent-minded—for instance I am thinking of one thing while I +continue with my polygon to pour from a jug into a glass which is +already full—and it suffices also for the mind of another to take +possession for the time being of the O. In that case the polygon can be +transmitted to a remote distance. + +All this seemed to me as clear as noonday, so lucidly did the doctor +explain it, and I exclaimed: + +“You can rely on me, Doctor. I will keep a watch over Cordélia’s +polygon! And it won’t be my fault if it slips away from me!” + +“Meanwhile take the train,” returned the worthy doctor. “And be quick +about it. You might possibly meet that man here as you met me. This +Palace Hotel is not a place where one can prevent one’s self from being +seen. And besides, no city in the world is so small as Paris!” + +I hastened to the station and inquired about sleeping-cars, and that +same evening we caught the train for Rome. We took Surdon with us. + +When two days later we beheld the walls of Servius Tullius, Cordélia +uttered shouts of joy. On alighting from the train she had a mind to +make for the Forum, but by hurrying her a little I soon managed—the +thing was to acquire some influence over her—to make her forget for +the time being all those old things, and give her a taste of more +modern pleasures such as are found in the thorough comfort of the best +hotel in Rome. We lunched in the Italian manner at the Castello di +Constantino, where we were served on the terrace from which the eye +took in a landscape of rare loveliness, though it was somewhat marred +by the sight of ruins which are supposed to be impressive but which, +for my part, I have always found tedious. + +We had, however, to visit some of the ancient monuments. The Colosseum +greatly attracted Cordélia, who told me mournful stories about the +martyrdom of the early Christians. I hastened to take her away to less +dismal scenes. A promenade at the fashionable hour in the gardens of +Pincio, iced-drinks in a café in the Corso, and in the evening, after +dinner, the tarantella danced by pretty girls in the grand hall of the +hotel, threw us into the vortex of life in Rome. + +Cordélia took an immense pleasure in these elegant displays of Italian +manners. I was myself greatly stirred to see her eyes shining with +happiness. She never seemed to me more beautiful. When we returned to +our rooms I held her close and told her so, but I acted cautiously, +and at the same time with a feeling of great anxiety. Had I become +sufficient master of her O to be no longer in fear of the whims of her +polygon? The thought that if I kissed her she might at once fall into +a trance, in my arms, brought beads of perspiration trickling down my +forehead. + +“Good gracious, how hot you are, Hector!” she cried as with an adorable +gesture she wiped my forehead with her handkerchief. + +I no longer knew what I was doing. Her lips smiled at me. The fragrance +that clung to her carried me away, and, in truth, I forgot all my good +resolutions and kissed her passionately. + +Marvel of marvels, she did not fall into a sleep! + + + + + CHAPTER XIV + + HAPPY DAYS + + +Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! What splendid weeks were ours and how +completely we forgot the doleful Patrick! I am bound to say that I +neglected nothing to bring about this result. I proceeded to overwhelm +my Cordélia with every attention that a husband in love could offer to +his young wife in order to divert her thoughts. + +Entertainment followed entertainment, and I wanted my beloved to be the +best-dressed and the most beautiful woman of them all. We made a few +acquaintances. By the good offices of a Secretary to an Embassy who was +a friend of mine, the most exclusive drawing-rooms were open to us, and +Cordélia was the queen of them. She no longer worried me about visits +to ancient ruins. I acted in such a way that her whole time was taken +up by our life of amusement. The museums were forgotten. I had very +good reason to be suspicious of pictures! + +When she was weary of Rome we set out for Naples where new joys awaited +us. The wonderful bay with its most beautiful seashore was a witness to +our love. We went to Capri Sorrento and Castellammare. The boatmen sang +as they plied their oars. I burned those little works which are called +“guides,” for I had observed that when Cordélia was carrying them with +her wherever she went, she spoke of nothing but the dead, which was +anything but cheerful. + +My holocaust spared us many a story about Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and +the rest of them. That was something to the good. We could not, of +course, escape Pompeii, which, however, is not a tiresome promenade. +Always a great concourse of people is wandering about the ruins; +tourists dressed in such a way that one feels inclined to laugh, and +they alone are worth the trouble.... + +Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! She was all mine in those happy hours when +we thought only of rejoicing at the beauty of the day, and of our +love, without concerning ourselves with what had existed before our +time and would exist after we were gone. Was not that the essential +condition of happiness? We must not let ourselves give way to too much +thought. No, no, we must not let ourselves think too much. + +Observe how happy we had both become since we began to think as +little as possible. In point of fact, though we were always together, +facing each other, we had no occasion to ask the question: “What are +you thinking of?” It is during fits of abstraction, when the mind is +preoccupied, that the “polygon” is up to its tricks. The best method of +preventing one’s thoughts from wandering is to refuse to think at all. +I know what I am talking about. + +But the mind must be occupied. After Naples we retraced our steps to +Florence, and finally we reached Venice which I had reserved for the +last. A disastrous town! But let us not anticipate events. + + + + + CHAPTER XV + + IN WHICH MY ANXIETY ABOUT CORDÉLIA’S POLYGON IS REVIVED + + +Surdon had engaged a suite of rooms for us at the Hotel Danieli on +the Riva degli Schiavoni. It was in this hotel, it seems, that Alfred +de Musset fell ill and learned the treachery of his lady love, George +Sand. Cordélia heard the story of this lamentable event on the second +day after our arrival, and it seemed unduly to depress her. I hated the +bungler and his story and wanted to leave the hotel. But Cordélia had +taken a fancy to it, and I had to give way to her. + +One day I found her with a book in her hand. It was de Musset’s +correspondence with this George Sand. I read a few lines and threw the +book out of the window, went over to my beloved and embraced her, and +told her that it was a crime to spoil our perfect happiness by opening +the door to disagreeable thoughts about two persons who did not know +how to love. + +Was I not right? + +“Oh, my dear, now you are preventing me from reading,” she made answer. +“Think, Hector, you have already refused to let me visit the museums.” + +“Heaven forbid, Cordélia, that I should refuse you anything whatever,” +I exclaimed. “I am your slave as you know. If you are really keen on +seeing some pictures, we’ll go this afternoon to your museum. Would you +like me to countermand our trip to the Lido?” + +“That would be too much,” she returned, smiling. “We’ll go to the Lido +for dinner and supper. All the same I shall be glad if you will show a +little more eagerness to see the ‘wonders of art.’” + +“Lord above, what string are you harping on now?” I exclaimed. “Did we +not go, as was proper to the Doge’s Palace and see the dungeon in which +Marino Faliero was imprisoned?” + +“Oh, Hector, it amused you to slip our cards into the secret letter-box +which was used at one time for anonymous accusations to the Council of +Ten. And you call that seeing the ‘wonders of art!’” + +“Yes, and I denounced the proprietor of our hotel, accusing him of +trying to poison us! You had a good laugh at the time, you must admit.” + +She was not laughing now. What new shadow was passing over her brow? +She seemed carried away by a depression of spirits which rendered her +more beautiful still, but which filled me with alarm, because it was +akin to sadness. And, indeed, her eyes were bedewed with tears. I threw +myself at her feet. + +“I have hurt your feelings,” I exclaimed. + +“No, let me cry,” she returned in a broken and far away voice. “Tears +that we owe to the emotion caused by beautiful things are sweet tears. +I remember those happy moments when we left our gondola and entered the +church of Santa Maria della Salute. Just think of the lagoon, the grand +canal—all that marvel of walls and towers and opalescent water.” + +“A walk in the Salute!” I cried, making no effort to conceal my +amazement. “We were never together in the Salute, dear.” + +“Oh you don’t mean it,” she protested. “We went through the church +thoroughly.” + +Thereupon she took a great deal of trouble to describe it to me. And +then suddenly, observing my bewilderment, she came to a stop, and +declined to say another word about her visit to the Salute. She went as +red as a cherry; and I left her in a state of profound uneasiness. + +I felt the need of being alone to ponder over what had come to pass. +While we were at Venice we had not parted from each other. I left her +sometimes in her room, but I remained in the hotel. She could not, +therefore, have visited the Salute. + +I hurriedly made my way there, and I was dumbfounded to discover that +her description of the church was accurate. + +I was intensely alarmed, for I could no longer doubt that Cordélia’s +polygon was beginning to play its tricks again. While she was supposed +to be asleep her polygon was wandering about the Salute! I recalled to +mind Dr. Thurel’s words: + +“Just as cases are quoted in which the subject discovers in a dream, +memories placed therein without his cognizance by his polygon while +awake—the O being then in a state of abstraction—so there are numerous +instances in which the subject while awake discovers memories placed +therein, without his cognizance, by the polygon which has been at work +while he was asleep—the O being lulled to sleep or under the influence +of suggestion.” + +When I landed from the gondola and found myself again on the Riva degli +Schiavoni I could not help exclaiming: + +“The misery of it! It’s that confounded polygon again. Still we in +Venice are a long way from Patrick.” + +I had no sooner uttered these words than a voice behind me exclaimed: + +“You make a mistake, monsieur. Patrick is here!” + + + + + CHAPTER XVI + + THE APPOINTMENT + + +It was Surdon who had spoken. He seemed not less perturbed than I was. +I took him in hand with an excitement which may easily be imagined. + +“Patrick here!” I cried. “How do you know that?” + +“I’ve seen him.” + +“When?” + +“This morning.” + +“And since this morning couldn’t you....” + +“I’ve followed him, monsieur, and I can assure you that I haven’t +wasted my time.” + +“Out with it! Tell me what you know. The whole thing is awful.” + +“Yes, monsieur, awful.” + +“I shall kill him.” + +“Of course, that would be the best thing to do, for there’s no question +that he isn’t chasing you.”—The worthy Surdon dared not make any +allusion to “madame”—“This Patrick assumed that you would be passing +through Venice. He’s been expecting you here for the last three weeks. +And since you came here he has pretty well lost his head.” + +“Oh, come, he has done that before, Surdon. But tell me everything you +know down to the least detail.” + +“Well, it’s like this. I was brushing your clothes this morning when I +happened to put my nose out of a window, and caught sight of a man in +a gondola staring with such persistence at our windows that I stopped +my work. He did not see me. To come to the point—his eyes were fixed on +madame’s room.” + +“Was madame out?” I inquired breathlessly. + +“No, monsieur, she was getting ready to go out, and you were waiting +for her in the hall. Just then I recognized Patrick, and I continued to +watch his game.” + +“Do you know if madame saw him?” + +“I don’t know. I can’t be positive. The gondola stopped for a moment, +then having changed its course turned down towards the lagoon. I +rushed out of the hotel just as you were leaving it with madame, and +had the luck to reach the bend of the Riva degli Schiavoni as Patrick’s +gondola rounded the point. I took a gondola and followed him. My +intention was to find out where he was staying. For hours he dragged +me about to impossible and apparently uninteresting places. Finally he +landed at the Grand Hotel where I was told that he had taken a room +with the windows on the ground floor—I mean on a level with the water +of the Grand Canal opposite Santa Maria della Salute.”—At the mention +of this church I gave another start.—“The servant who waits upon him +had no objection to give me certain particulars which, for that matter, +show Patrick as the laughing-stock of the staff at the Grand Hotel.... + +“It seems, monsieur, that during the last four days he has regularly +shut himself up in his room between five and seven o’clock after +ordering a light meal for two persons to be served on a small round +table.” + +“A meal for two persons between five and seven o’clock!” I exclaimed, +feeling a shiver pass through me from head to foot. + +“Just so, monsieur. The servant has to lay two places, and the beauty +of it is that no one has ever seen our man enter his room with another +person, while he is always seen to come out alone. And yet this +servant hasn’t the least doubt that two persons sit down to this small +round table and partake of the meal which has been served. It’s a +mystery which amuses every one, though Patrick doesn’t appear to be +aware of it, for he never speaks to a soul. He is generally looked +upon as eccentric and even slightly mad. Most sensible people are of +opinion that he is playing a part with himself and living upon past +recollections.... Good Lord, how pale you are! Perhaps I made a mistake +to tell you all this. It would have been better to keep it from you +that he was here.” + +“No, Surdon, you were quite right. You are a sharp and faithful +servant. But, tell me, when did you leave the Grand Hotel?” + +“Just now, monsieur.” + +“What about Patrick?” + +“I left him shut up in his room as usual at this time.” + +I looked at my watch which shook in my hand. + +“That’s true,” I said. “This is the hour for his meal. Wait for me in +this gondola, Surdon. I shall be back soon.” + +I hastened to the hotel in a state of agitation which bordered on +frenzy. I was unnerved, be it understood, less by the evidence which +Surdon brought me of Patrick’s renewed efforts to secure control of +Cordélia’s O, than by the apparent willingness with which my beloved +consented to allow her polygon to be influenced by this most dangerous +of tempters. The mere thought of it made me shake with fever, but could +I doubt the truth when I recalled what had passed that very day between +Cordélia and me? She had spoken in the most natural terms of her visit +to the church of Santa Maria della Salute, and then perceiving, from my +look of amazement, that her polygon had chattered too freely, she at +once enjoined it to be silent, blushing to the roots of her hair. + +Not long before when she observed something abnormal passing between +us, she threw her arms round my neck and cried: “Save me, Hector, save +me!” but now she seemed to display only a certain embarrassment for +having allowed the secret of a psychic condition to be discovered which +ought to have been kept from me; the secret of another existence which +she considered perhaps that I was unworthy to share, and which, in any +case, no longer gave her a fright seeing that her O, after reflection, +made no such request as: “Take me away!” + +Was it not another who now took her away wherever he wished, if not +with her complete assent—for in my delirium I strove to be just—at +least with very little opposition from her? The pity of it! No, she +made very little resistance, or else she would have warned me and cried +aloud: “He has come back, the thief—the man who stole my love!” + +Her O and her polygon were now in league to conceal this ignominy from +me. For after all, the nervous fluid, to use Dr. Thurel’s words, is +not strongly united to the body in certain subjects—and obviously +Cordélia was among these—yet it is impossible to lure it far from +its visible focus, the body, without producing a certain amount of +suffering which in Cordélia’s case formerly caused her to resist, while +now she accepted it. Cordélia was failing me, for she was now accepting +her suffering. It was a dreadful thought, a thought beyond all bearing. + +These tragic considerations did not enter my mind, as may be imagined, +only as the result of inferences which I drew from the scene with +Cordélia that morning, but from my memory of various other little +scenes of this kind which had impressed me less, because they were of +less importance, but which now acquired their full significance, and +that, too, from the first hour of our arrival in Venice. + +Still, it was the terrible thought that during the last few days she +had asked me to let her take a short rest before dressing for dinner, +that made me mount the stairs four at a time, for the request, perhaps, +concealed a subterfuge intended to keep me away during the great +secret of the polygonal promenade. + +Everything that Surdon had told me about Patrick’s curious behavior at +the Grand Hotel at that hour, merely strengthened the infernal idea +which led to my accusing Cordélia of a veritable crime, the crime of +premeditation, whereas it may have been simply a coincidence; but +jealousy invariably goes to extremes and never feels satisfied unless +it has multiplied its torments by some new supposition. + +When out of breath I reached our rooms, however, I clung for a while to +a last hope, the hope of discovering Cordélia standing before the glass +putting the finishing touches to her evening toilet; but unfortunately +the door of her room was locked and it was in vain that I shook it with +all my strength. + +“Cordélia! Cordélia!” I shouted, but there was no reply. I bent down +and looked through the keyhole, and I saw her lying at full length +on a sofa near the window in the rigid posture which had so greatly +perturbed me at Vascoeuil. + +I could not restrain a yell of fury and, clenching my fists and +grinding my teeth, I ran to join Surdon in the gondola. + +“As quickly as you can to the Grand Hotel,” I ordered. + +The gondola took us there in a few minutes. As we drew near, Surdon +pointed to a window which was lit up on the right of the principal +entrance, for at this time of the year it grew dark early. + +“There you are,” he said. + +I at once propelled the gondola forward so that we hugged the foot of +the wall and became merged in its shadow. We did not make the least +sound. + +When the gondola stopped under the window, I stood up and managed +without difficulty to hold on to a small cornice, resting my elbow on +the stone embrasure of the window. The latter was partly opened. I +could thus both see and hear. + +My excitement had reached its height, and I shall not attempt to +describe it. Moreover, it is not difficult to conceive what passed +through my mind from that moment, and the feelings with which I was +stirred by the spectacle which I alone could understand, and from which +I alone was to suffer. + +The two covers on the small round table which occupied the center of +the room were close together; the two chairs were side by side. In one +of them Patrick was seated, leaning over the other in an attitude of +sentimental tenderness, while his face, like the face of a mournful +cat, wore an expression of peace, not to say bliss, which made me long +to rush into the room and box his ears. But I restrained myself. + +A chandelier which shed a soft light on persons and things stood on +the table. Why do I say “persons”? I observed only Patrick, and as to +Cordélia, I failed to perceive her in spite of my concentrated will +and strained attention. I would have given, at that moment, everything +that I possessed to be able to see with the same facility as Patrick, +who was assuredly caressing the exquisite outlines of Cordélia’s astral +figure. + +O those eyes like the eyes of a mournful cat, calm and content, while +I was seething with excitement at the window! + +How was it that I had the power to control my impulse?... I wanted to +know more.... And now I listened, for as he stretched out his hand to +take an apple from the fruit-dish and place it on Cordélia’s plate, he +began to speak: + +“A union of minds begets sympathy, and from this sympathy is born real +love, compared with which the other is but the blind instrument of +nature in the fulfilment of its essential functions.” + +I shall remember that sentence for the rest of my life. + +“The bond which unites us, O Cordélia”—he used the words “O Cordélia” +and I felt as if my heart were being pierced with a sword—“the bond +which unites us recognizes no impediment; nothing can restrain it, +nothing can shatter it; it can penetrate walls, traverse space, set +time at defiance. It partakes of the divine essence,” and so on and so +forth. + +I could not repeat everything that he said in this strain while peeling +a pear which he shared with her—I mean the half of which he laid on +the plate beside his own. + +I must confess that his gestures perplexed me more than his +speechifying. To me it was unendurable that he should lean over the +next chair, and I experienced an uncanny feeling as I saw him lift a +glass of wine to his lips which he had previously placed in space on +his right on a level with a mouth, which had, perhaps also drunk from +it. + +“The wretches are drinking out of the same glass,” I muttered between +my teeth. “Don’t mind me!” + +I was in such “good training” by the psychic phenomena of which I +had been the victim since my wedding-day, and also by the scientific +explanations to which I had listened, and by that which I still saw, +that nothing could surprise me, and the impossibility for an astral +body to swallow the material substance of a meal did not occur to me +at first. It was not until I had seen for myself that the wine was +entirely drunk by Patrick, and the food on Cordélia’s plate conveyed +in the end to his plate, that I gave up this absurdly fantastic idea, +which shows once more that the mind deflected from its accustomed +groove easily loses all sense of proportion, and is ready to open the +door to every form of self-deception; and my delusion at that cruel +moment when others beside myself might likewise have lost their common +sense, was to believe in the reality of this fallacy—of this farce +which was being played between Patrick and Cordélia’s astral body when +under his influence. The real truth was that they provided themselves +with the vision and delight of a little dinner for two in this room, +but the person who was in fact eating it could only be Patrick. + +And as he drank wine for two, which seemed to me to be tokay, he looked +less like a mournful cat, and began to talk nonsense which was not +without a touch of humor. + +As it happened he spoke of the material limits which his magnetic power +encountered. + +“It is a pity,” he said, “that I cannot attract your body here as I +can attract your sensibility, but that is a miracle, for all we know, +which psychic science, which is still in its infancy, may achieve +in the near future. See what has already been done in the matter of +table turning. The day when those idiots—I am referring to official +experts—cease to laugh at these phenomena, we shall not be far from +discovering the method which will enable the unseen mind to control +visible matter. On that day we shall learn something that Newton did +not know, namely, that gravitation is a variable quantity in space.[1] + + [1] Einstein has since merely repeated the words used by Cordélia’s + admirer and given a mathematical formula to his theory. Author’s + Note. + +“That reminds me of a rather amusing story that old Surdon used to +tell, my dear Cordélia”—how it hurt me to hear him say “My dear +Cordélia!”—“He said ‘I can make this table jump out of the window when +and as I please. One day two friends were taking their coffee on it. I +commanded the table to move. It remained motionless. When they left I +lectured the table. Do you know what it said in reply? “They are such +fools!”’” + +Whereupon Patrick began to laugh, and I seemed to hear Cordélia laugh +as well. Their gaiety disturbed me more than their gloom of a few +minutes before. Suddenly they stopped laughing, and began to converse +in complete silence. + +I was absolutely convinced of it. + +They were talking and understanding each other. It is generally +recognized that subjects and mediums and persons who have it in them +to control the mind can converse among themselves without the aid of +sounds, by the mere power of suggestion, and communion. When Patrick +spoke from the throat it was done over and above his psychic power, +from habit, and possibly to give himself the illusion to which, +whatever he may have said, he seemed to set store, of Cordélia’s +bodily presence beside him in his room, but the use of his voice was +unnecessary. He was now speaking to her with the voice of the mind. + +And there could be no doubt that Cordélia was answering him, for it +must not be assumed that I was witnessing, in this extraordinary and +loathsome seance, a monologue. Far from it. But when Patrick used his +ordinary voice there were pauses which were undoubtedly furnished with +Cordélia’s answers. Patrick’s remarks which followed were a sufficient +proof of it. + +I was more or less aware of what was passing, but now they were +conversing in silence. What were they saying? Why was Patrick bending +over her with his right arm resting on the back of her chair?... I +could perceive a tremulous movement of his arm.... + +Suddenly he raised his head and said aloud: “It is unfair of me to +reproach heaven for not giving you to me body and soul, because your +soul is mine and I have the best part of your body.” And then he took +his glass in his left hand without moving his right hand which still +shook as it lay on the back of Cordélia’s chair, and exclaimed: “I have +tasted your lips, O Cordélia. I have tasted your life. I drink to our +longing for everlasting love!” + +He had no sooner poured the glass of wine down his throat than I sprang +into the room. + +It seemed that I was literally foaming with rage. He himself said so +afterwards, and it was, in truth, quite possible, for my patience which +my restless and insidious curiosity had held in check, was exhausted, +and I was overcome with fury. + +I rushed up to _them_ and cried: + +“I’m thirsty too. Aren’t you going to invite me?” + +He stood up and thrust himself in my path as though to shield her. + +“How clumsy you are! You have wounded her,” he murmured, stooping to +pick up a knife which, when I darted to the table had fallen to the +floor. + +“What do you mean—‘wounded her?’” I said excitedly. + +“Calm yourself, monsieur,” he returned with characteristic English +coolness. “Indeed, it’s nothing, though it might have been serious. Let +this be a lesson to you. Another time, don’t forget to knock at the +door or the window.” He spoke in a tone which set me beside myself. + +“It shall never happen again,” I said hoarsely, casting a glance in the +direction of Cordélia’s chair. + +“Oh, you may finish what you were saying,” he interrupted with a +gesture of encouragement. “We are alone. She is no longer here.” + +“Well, monsieur, what I wish to say is simply this—there are two of us +here, which is one too many.” + +“That’s my opinion, monsieur,” he acquiesced, “but it’s not I who am in +the way.” + +“We shall see about that—to-morrow!” + +“Just as you please.” + +I had nothing more to say to him that day, and I turned towards the +window, but he opened the door for me, and we bowed to each other with +perfect propriety. + + + + + CHAPTER XVII + + THE DUEL + + +When I read over again the preceding pages I find nothing in them to +eliminate, for they truthfully set down the intolerable situation in +which I found myself after Surdon informed me of Patrick’s presence in +Venice. In my belief I had good reason for suspecting that my beloved’s +ego had yielded without any great resistance to the whims of culpable +hypnotic suggestion. And when I conjure up the vision of the meeting in +the little room in the Grand Hotel, I see myself again as I was then, +that is to say, less distracted by rage against Patrick than tortured +by Cordélia’s apparent acquiescence. + +Fool that I was! Ought I not in my ignorance of the tremendous nature +of psychic mystery, or in my mistrust of it as an entirely new +initiate, to have warned Cordélia of all that appeared suspect and +impossible to understand in it? And yet I took a bitter pleasure in my +misery! + +In short, my blood was fired by those fatuous words: “It wouldn’t have +happened if she hadn’t wanted it to happen.” And it was with these +words on my lips and this injustice to her in my heart, that I hastened +back to the Hotel Danieli. + + * * * * * + +Cordélia, whom I found still lying on the sofa, had just awakened from +her sleep, and was wrapping a piece of linen round her finger, an +incident to which in my agitation I attached no importance. The chamber +maid was offering her a thread of cotton. I requested her to leave us. + +At the sound of my voice Cordélia gave a start and raised her head, and +I perceived that she was deadly pale. + +“Patrick is here and you know it,” I cried savagely. “Why didn’t you +tell me?” + +She contemplated my wrath first with dumb amazement, and then with +dismay. She seemed no longer to know me. I had ceased to be her +Hector. She wisely remained silent. What could she say to a raging lion +who neither heard nor understood reason? + +Then I went on wildly: + +“You deny yourself nothing. Trips in gondolas, art galleries, +churches—the Santa Maria della Salute!” + +At these last words she murmured: + +“Oh, good gracious, so it was true! I thought it was only a dream.” + +Her words ought to have enlightened me and taught me that she was still +the victim of the endless machinations of that man. But I had set out +to make us both suffer, and I was not to be stopped mid-way. + +“You meet every day between five and seven o’clock.” + +“What do you say?” + +And Cordélia lifted herself, and opened her eyes wide with wonder, as +if she began to discover from the sound of my voice now that she was +awake, the impressions which had been transmitted to her polygon while +she was asleep. + +“I say that you take advantage of my confidence. While I thought that +you were resting here, you were off having a meal with Patrick in his +room in the Grand Hotel.” + +She uttered a cry and covered her face with her hands. + +“Oh don’t deny it. I saw you. I heard you.” + +“What did you hear? Did I tell him that I loved him?” she asked in a +voice strained with anxiety. + +“I didn’t hear you say that,” I returned, surprised at the tone in +which she asked the question, “but you know quite well that I cannot +hear your ‘silent voice.’” + +“If I didn’t say that I said nothing,” she declared gazing at me with +staring eyes. “All else is beyond me.” + +So saying she lay back on the sofa, her whole body shaken by a fit of +sobbing. + +I fell on my knees. The horror of my conduct and at the same time +Cordélia’s innocence, became manifest to me. Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! + +I hated myself. I strove to assuage her grief. I took her hand, and +then I saw that the strip of linen round her finger was quite red. + +“Your finger is bleeding, Cordélia. Have you cut it?” + +“I suppose I knocked it against a piece of furniture when I woke up,” +she said between her tears. + +“It’s not imagination,” I said with a tremor, unwinding the linen, +for Dr. Thurel’s explanation of the meaning of the externalization +of sensibility flashed through my mind. “No, it was not imagination, +unfortunately, and here we have the sad proof of it. When you, in mind, +were at the Grand Hotel, I burst into the room with such violence as +to disturb everything, and a knife which was on the table fell to the +floor and Patrick exclaimed: ‘She is wounded!’” + +This time Cordélia rose to her feet so white-faced, that she might have +been taken for her own ghost. + +“How could you think that I did not love you?” she breathed. “It’s my +heart’s blood that is flowing from the wound which you inflicted on me +in Patrick’s room. Do you understand what I mean?”[2] + + [2] The following note was discovered among Hector’s papers: + + In regard to pains and wounds transmitted to a subject from a + distance as in the peculiar case of the glass of water mentioned + by Dr. Rochas, see also instances quoted by Dr. Chazalin in his + work on “Materializations.” Cases have been known where violent + blows have been transmitted from a distance to subjects in profound + trance, in plain daylight, with the result that these subjects have + borne marks of the hand and scratches and bruises on the face. + Author’s note. + +I was still on my knees, and when I heard those glorious words I +clasped her in my trembling arms and implored her to forgive me, but +her mind was possessed with some other thought, and I realized that it +was this thought which was the cause of her pallor. + +“What did you say to each other afterwards?” she asked. + +I was at a loss for an answer and could but stammer a falsehood. + +“Swear to me, that there will be no fighting.” + +I was constrained to swear that there should be no fighting, but she +was unconvinced. + +“You have sworn falsely. That’s too bad of you. Never mind. I don’t +want you to fight each other. You mustn’t fight each other. I shall go +with you everywhere.” + +I could have wished that she had said: “I don’t want you to fight him.” + +She so managed that it was impossible for me to leave the hotel, and as +I was bent on getting rid of my adversary, once for all, I was obliged +to send Surdon to him, without her knowledge, in order to let him know +what was happening, and to request him to take upon himself the burden +of providing weapons, seconds and so forth. I asked that the duel +should take place at dawn, for I intended to slip away while Cordélia +was in her morning sleep which would not fail to be a heavy one after +the excitement through which she had passed. + +Surdon came back to tell me that there was no need for me to trouble +about anything except to appear at daybreak at the Comte de C——’s +house, which stood at the far end of what are called the “public +gardens.” + +Cordélia had regained her composure. We strolled to the Piazzetta, and +even went as far as the Café de Florian, where we drank port to the +music of the guitar. The scene around us was one of great gaiety. I +did my utmost to appear cheerful also, but Cordélia remained gloomily +wrapped in thought. When we returned to the hotel she declared that she +would not go to bed. + +“I don’t believe you. You didn’t speak the truth. If I go to bed you’ll +seize the opportunity to leave the hotel and fight a duel. I don’t want +you to fight each other.” + +I shrugged my shoulders to indicate that it was a matter of +indifference to me, but I was intensely annoyed. I had a wonderful +and legitimate opportunity of getting rid of the author of my +misfortunes—we were to fight with pistols, and I was certain of +bringing my man down—and now Cordélia’s obstinacy bid fair to +compromise everything. Fortunately I was able to send Surdon again to +tell Patrick what was happening, for I saw no way out of the difficulty +unless he consented to send Cordélia into a hypnotic trance so that I +might be able to get away and fight him. I would never have believed +that one day I should be making an appeal of this character to the man +whose psychic powers were the cause of my troubles. But let that pass. +The whole incident shows once more that whatever conception we may +form of the world, and the relation which subsists between spirit and +matter, we are but an atom of dust dancing in a momentary ray of the +sun. + +Surdon came back with a message from the Englishman that he was not +less anxious than I was for the duel to take place, and he would carry +out my wishes. + +I passed a grievous night, a night which seemed interminable. The +torture of it! If I had but known what was about to happen! If I had +but known! With what dread I should have counted the minutes as they +all too quickly sped past! + +Cordélia kept her word. Say and do what I might, she would not go to +bed. She lay on the sofa reading, or pretending to read. And I—I stood +watching her. + +I was waiting with impatience for the event which my adversary had +promised to bring about. It occurred shortly after five o’clock in the +morning. Her eyes closed, her book fell from her hands to the floor, +and her body assumed the rigid posture which I recognized only too well. + +I locked the door of the room, put the key in my pocket, and then +called Surdon. At six o’clock we arrived at the Comte de C——’s house. + +Patrick had not yet come, but the doctor and the seconds were already +there. Two seconds were allotted to me. I made their acquaintance and +was entirely satisfied. The Comte de C——, who belonged to the old +Venetian nobility, was away, but he was, it seems, greatly interested +in art and artists, and had placed his house at Patrick’s disposal. + +The public gardens in Venice are well known. They occupy one of the +few islets in the old city which have not been encroached upon by +the builder. Nevertheless the Comte de C——’s mansion stood there and +possessed a private entrance to the gardens after the manner of private +houses in the Monceau Gardens in Paris. Here the Comte de C—— alone +enjoyed this privilege, so that at that hour, when the gardens were +closed, it was as though we were in the Comte’s own private property. + +Meantime Patrick made his appearance, unarmed, as I swore at the Assize +Court. The revolvers were in the cases which the seconds brought with +them, and which they obtained the evening before at a gunsmith’s. +Patrick had no knowledge of the weapons; at least so he declared, and I +believe him. Moreover we drew lots and agreed that the revolvers which +the seconds had brought with them should be used. + +We were now in the great central walk of the gardens. I have heard that +in spring it is a lovely spot, an enchantment, with beds of roses which +are nothing short of marvelous; but it was the fall of the year, and I +beheld in the wan light of early morning a somewhat dreary place, well +suited to be the scene of a terrible tragedy. + +And, indeed, the thing happened with incredible rapidity. The +twenty-five paces which were to separate us were marked out. We were to +exchange four shots. But I am a crack shot with a revolver, and I felt +certain of bringing my man down at the first attempt. I had made up my +mind to it, and I had no scruple of remorse. I felt that there was no +happiness for me with Cordélia in this world as long as Patrick was +alive. Let him go to the devil! + +I was perfectly cool when the words rang out: “Fire! One ... two ... +three!” We fired almost simultaneously as the second in charge of the +duel shouted: “Two!” Patrick, however, fired in the air uttering a +despairing cry. I had already fired my shot on a level with his heart, +and yet I must confess that I was conscious that he had not uttered +that cry because he was struck by my bullet. Indeed he was not hit. To +this cry another cry of unutterable anguish went up. It sprang from my +throat, and my heart, and yet I was not hit either. The only person +whose cry of agony we did not hear, was the person who was smitten. And +I swear before God and man that my cry was torn from me by the vision +of Cordélia’s form which suddenly arose between us at the moment when +our fingers were pressing the trigger; but Patrick had the time to +raise his weapon, while I fired mine. + +The image vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. I swear that +Cordélia’s astral body, which until then—save in the mirror of the +water, and here I must ask myself whether I was not the sport of the +water and my imagination—had remained unseen by my physical vision, +now appeared before me quite distinctly. This phenomenon, moreover, so +fully supported the many other well-known instances where the spirit of +a person has appeared to beloved relatives at the very moment when it +throws off, for ever, its mortal covering, that I grasped the meaning +of Patrick’s cry of dismay, for he too had seen. + +“Unhappy man!” he cried. “Unhappy man, what have you done!” + +My hair must have stood on end with horror and both of us were +conscious only of a feeling of unspeakable dread. + +Without concerning ourselves with the seconds, or making the least +explanation, we left the entire business of the duel and hurriedly +flung ourselves into a gondola. Not a word was spoken on the way. +Moreover I felt that I should go mad. + +On reaching the hotel we made a rush for Cordélia’s room. Everything +seemed quiet, and precisely as I had left it. I was filled with a +great hope; and yet my hand shook so much that I was unable to put the +key in the lock. It was Patrick who opened the door. + +We darted into the room. Cordélia was still lying on the sofa, but her +face already wore an unearthly look, and drops of blood stained her +dressing-gown near her throat. She had been killed by a bullet through +the heart. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + AND NOW ... + + +And now this pierced heart which the greatest thief that ever lived had +burgled from its bodily prison is all mine. I can kneel in peace before +the urn in which I have reverently enclosed it. No one can rob me of it +now. + +It was when it was still swayed by all the emotions of life, it was +when its ardent beating animated an adored wife, that a villain strove +to make a splendid victim of it, and to take it by force from my very +arms; but now when it is no more than a little dust and a great memory, +no one will contend with me for it. + +During the terrible proceedings at the Assize Court, where the case was +regarded as the most extraordinary that had come before the ordinary +judicial bench within the memory of man, I clearly perceived that +the man who stole Cordélia’s heart no longer cared about her who had +been his victim. Not once in the course of the trial, which excited, +without satisfying, the world’s curiosity—not once did the thief cast +a glance on the table in which lay the material evidence—this sacred +relic which had come from the hands of the “experts”; while I, alas, +could not remove my sorrow-stricken eyes from it. + +O heart of Cordélia, I alone loved thee! My rival was never anything +but an artist.... But I, O Cordélia, I was never anything but a poor +man in love, and I am still but a poor man in love before your dead +heart as I was before your living heart.... The little that I may have +of you I am taking away. With a trembling hand I have removed your +beloved heart from its legal receptacle to this funeral urn. It will +never, I think, be stolen from me again. + +I no longer feel the shadow of the thief over me. And yet in spite of +my perfect assurance of peace I have had another lock placed on the +door of the retreat to which I have withdrawn from my fellow-men. + +I have endeavored in this seclusion to fulfil the chief duty which +I owe to myself and others. I have set down here the various +circumstances which, to my knowledge, preceded, paved the way for, +and accompanied the terrible tragedy. I have told in plain language +how these things came to pass, even though they may seem entirely +improbable. If the reader will follow me step by step and believe me, +he will understand. + +It was because the Assize Court did not believe me that they failed to +understand. And yet I did not spare myself. I took on my own shoulders +the responsibility for the whole fatal incident. Why did they not +proceed against me? I say that it was I who killed her.... The misery +of it! I may rejoice to-day that Cordélia’s heart will not again be +stolen from me, because it is dead. And it was I who killed it. I shout +it aloud and I repeat: Do not doubt it since I myself no longer doubt +it. + +The preliminary investigation took some time, and was postponed by the +illness which came upon me as a result of the tragedy. When I was in +a position to give evidence I found that the authorities were on the +wrong scent as was to be expected. + +Surdon, for instance, was arrested on the plea that he possessed a +revolver from which one bullet had been discharged. It was alleged that +he had made his way into his mistress’s room while she was asleep in +order to steal her jewelry. + +This was so much obtuseness and stupidity, and how could it be +otherwise? The judges were confronted with the case of a woman killed +by a bullet through the heart in a room every part of which was closed, +the windows being shut on the inside and the door locked. + +The most amazing thing was that a minute search failed to reveal the +bullet. It had passed through the body, but it could not be found +either in the sofa or walls. I myself knew where the bullet was. It was +somewhere in the public gardens in Venice. + +The police were obliged to release Surdon, but they afterwards arrested +Patrick and kept him in custody until the trial at the Assize Court. A +post-mortem examination was held, and the expert’s report showed that +death was caused not by a shot from a revolver, but by a shot from +a pistol of the same bore as that of the pistols which Patrick had +procured for use at the duel. + +As the magisterial enquiries proved that Patrick was prowling round +the Hotel Danieli during the night preceding and the morning of the +duel, nothing more was needed to enable the authorities to accuse +him of having entered Cordélia’s room at the hotel by means of some +master key, or some key that he managed to obtain beforehand from +an accommodating servant whom he had bribed to assist him in his +nefarious purpose. He had shot Cordélia out of jealousy to prevent her +from belonging to another if he were killed in the duel.... It was +simple.... How very simple it was!... Poor human nature! + +The trouble was that a pistol shot causes a concussion, and no one in +the hotel had heard the least sound. + +In vain Patrick denied the charge, recounting stories about the power +of suggestion and the communion of minds which made the Court laugh. +The reason for his presence near the Hotel Danieli on this particular +night was that I had requested him to send Cordélia to sleep so +that she should not interfere with our plan to fight each other, and +Cordélia could only be influenced by suggestion within a limited +distance. + +When I corroborated his statement, and gave it as my opinion that +Cordélia had been killed in the Hotel Danieli by a shot fired by me in +the public gardens in Venice, the judges ceased to smile and evinced +considerable wrath. I was looked upon as a madman by some, and a fool +by others, and these people were greatly incensed with me for not +joining them in crushing Patrick. Cordélia’s father could not forgive +me for it, and left me to myself with contempt. + +The press agencies reported the result as far as Patrick was concerned +in a few lines. The material proofs were too slight to justify a +conviction, and the jury acquitted him in spite of the efforts of the +public prosecutor. + +Had the European political situation been less troubled, and had the +trial not taken place in a foreign country, the facts would not have +failed to create a tremendous sensation, as they deserved, for they +brought the judicial bench face to face with the greatest conceivable +drama, namely that which is enacted between the seen and the unseen +worlds. + +Those dullards were utterly nonplused. I can still picture to myself +their look of confusion when Dr. Thurel, who was called as a witness +for the defense, explained that it was not absolutely impossible, from +the scientific standpoint, for Cordélia to have been killed by a bullet +which struck her astral body in the public gardens in Venice. That is +what Dr. Thurel called death by astral traumatism.... + +There is a Latin phrase which expresses it, a phrase which was in use +in the Middle Ages, but I cannot call it to mind. + + + + + CHAPTER XIX + + THE LAST VISIT + + +O Cordélia, you died by my hand! If I still live, be assured that it is +by way of atonement. How often have I conjured up your image before the +mortal remains of your heart! How often have I called to you! But you +have never come to me! + +For many days I was unable to add a word to these lines, and I +remained, as it were, paralyzed by the inscrutable mystery of life and +death, when one day the door of my cell was opened, and a man came in. +It was Patrick. He was but the shadow of his former self. + +I thrust myself before the urn which contained my beloved’s heart. He +understood me and gave a bitter smile. + +“Have no fear,” he said, “I leave it to you. What is her earthly heart +to me? I possess her heart which is in Heaven.” + +I rose to my feet staggering like a drunken man under his words which +filled me with an agony of jealousy. + +“What do you mean?” I asked hoarsely. “Do you still see Cordélia?” + +He shook his head. + +“Calm yourself, I do not see her,” he made answer. “She is too remote +from us, and I have never believed in spirits of the dead revisiting +this world. When I say that I possess her heart which is in Heaven, I +mean that I did possess it. Death has deprived me of it,” he went on in +somber, intense tones, “but death will restore it to me.” + +“No more of that,” I exclaimed. “What has all this to do with me?” + +“Well, if you look upon it in that light I don’t know why I am here.” + +“Nor I.” + +“I came to you, monsieur,” he said in a voice of wonderful dignity, +“to ask you if you have any message for her, for she loved you +sincerely—you too!” + +“She loved me only,” I asserted, yet strangely perturbed by his manner +and words. + +He sighed and shook his head once more. + +“You thought so, but that was impossible,” he objected gently, +“otherwise she would still be of this world.” + +“So it was you who killed her, or at least were responsible for her +death? I always thought so!” + +“It was you and I. It was both of us,” he declared in a tone of great +dejection. “Yes, I, on my side, was to blame. I was too eager in my +frenzy, in my longing for her spirit, in the love which consumed me +for her ego, to separate her mind from her body, but you—you were too +eager to separate her body from her mind. We were marching toward an +inevitable catastrophe.” + +His words struck me like a sword, and I did not interrupt him. + +“It shows,” he went on, turning toward the door, “that we can only give +happiness to a being of this world if we bring to her a well-balanced +mind which we were unable to do. Had Cordélia met a little of you and +a little of me, in one and the same man, she would have been happy; at +least I like to think so. But where she is now her spirit needs only +her mind. I am going to her!... Farewell, monsieur!” + + * * * * * + +I read this morning in the newspapers the announcement of Patrick’s +death. It shall not be said that I allowed him to pursue Cordélia at +his will. I hear her calling me: “Save me, Hector! Save me!” + +I, too, intend to become a pure spirit, and the sooner to achieve my +purpose, I shall make the same journey as Cordélia, and by the same +route. Though Patrick set out first he will arrive too late. He will +be deceived. The heart of Cordélia points the way that lies before me. +The bullet will enter my heart at the same spot at which it pierced +Cordélia’s heart. I shall breathe the same sigh which will lead me to +the same point in space where she awaits me.... I am persuaded of it!... + +Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! + + + + + A TERRIBLE TALE + + +Captain Michel had but one arm, which he found useful when he lit his +pipe. He was an old sea dog whose acquaintance, with that of four +other old salts, I made one evening on the open front of a café in the +Vieille Darse, Toulon, where I was taking an appetizer. And in this way +we fell into the habit of foregathering over a glass within a stone’s +throw of the rippling waves and the swinging dingeys, about the hour +when the sun sinks behind Tamaris. + +The four old marines were known as Zinzin, Dorat—Captain +Dorat—Bagatelle, and Chanlieu—that old fellow Chanlieu. They had, of +course, sailed every sea and met with a thousand adventures; and now +that they were retired on their pensions, they spent their time telling +each other terrible tales. + +Captain Michel alone never indulged in any reminiscences. And as he +seemed in no way surprised by anything he heard, his old comrades in +the end grew exasperated with him. + +“Look here, Captain Michel, hasn’t anything out of the way ever +happened to you?” + +“Oh, yes,” the captain made answer, taking his pipe from his mouth. +“Yes, something happened to me once—just once.” + +“Well, let’s have it.” + +“No.” + +“Why not?” + +“Because it’s too awful. You might not be able to stand it. I’ve often +tried to tell the story but people have slipped away before I finished +it.” + +The four sea dogs vied with each other in the loudness of their +guffaws, declaring that Captain Michel was trying to find some excuse, +because in reality, nothing extraordinary had ever happened to him. + +The old fellow stared at them a moment, and then suddenly accepting +the situation, laid his pipe on the table. This unusual gesture was in +itself startling! + +“Messieurs, I’ll tell you how I lost my arm,” he began. + +“In those days—some twenty years ago—I owned a small villa, in the +suburb of Le Mourillon, which had been left to me, for my family were +long settled in these parts and I myself was born here. + +“It suited me to take a little rest after a long voyage and before +setting sail again. For that matter, I rather liked the place, and +lived quite peaceably among sea-faring men and colonials who troubled +me very little, and whom I rarely saw, occupied as they were as a rule +in opium-smoking with their lady friends, or with other business which +did not concern me. Of course there is no accounting for tastes, but as +long as they didn’t interfere with me, I was satisfied.... + +“It so happened that one night they did interfere with my habit of +going to sleep. I was awakened with a start by an extraordinary uproar, +the meaning of which I couldn’t possibly make out. I had left my window +open as usual. I listened in a state of bewilderment to a tremendous +din, which was a cross between the rumbling of thunder and the roll +of a drum, but such a drum! It was as though a couple of hundred +drumsticks were being madly beaten, not on ordinary drum-skin, but on a +wooden drum. + +“The disturbance came from the villa opposite, which had been empty for +some five years, and on which I had noticed, the previous evening, a +board bearing the announcement: ‘To be sold.’ + +“I let my gaze stray from the window of my bedroom, on the first floor, +beyond the small garden in which the house stood, and my eye took in +every door and window, even the doors and windows on the ground floor. +They were still closed as I had seen them during the day; but I caught +sight of gleams of light through the chinks in the shutters on the +ground floor. Who and what were these people? How had they found their +way into this solitary house at the far end of Le Mourillon? What +sort of company was it that had obtained admission into this deserted +dwelling, and why were they kicking up such a shindy? + +“The extraordinary din, like the thunderous beating of a wooden drum, +continued. It went on for another hour, and then as dawn was breaking, +the front door opened, and there appeared in the doorway the most +radiant creature that I have ever beheld. She was clad in a low-necked +dress, and held with perfect grace a lamp whose beams fell over the +shoulders of a goddess. I distinctly heard her say in the echoing +night, while a kind and quiet smile flickered across her face: + +“‘Good-bye, dear friend, till next year.’ + +“To whom was she speaking? It was impossible for me to tell for I could +see no one standing beside her. She remained at the entrance holding +the lamp for some minutes, until the garden gate opened by itself and +closed by itself. Then the front door of the house was shut in its +turn, and I saw nothing more. + +“It seemed to me that I was either losing my head or was the sport of a +dream, for I knew that it was out of the question for any one to pass +through the garden without my perceiving him. + +“I was still planted at the window, incapable of the least movement or +thought, when the door of the house opened a second time, and the same +vision of beauty appeared still carrying a lamp and still alone. + +“‘Hush,’ she said, ‘don’t make a noise, any of you. We mustn’t disturb +our neighbor opposite. I’ll come with you.’ + +“And silently and alone she crossed the garden and stopped at the gate +on which the full rays of the lamp shone; so much so, indeed, that I +clearly saw the knob of the gate turn of its own accord without any +hand being placed upon it. And the gate opened once again by itself in +the presence of this woman who, moreover, did not evince any surprise. +Need I explain that from where I was posted, I could see both in front +and behind the gate; in other words, that I saw it sideways? + +“This ‘splendid apparition’ made a charming movement of her head toward +the empty darkness which the glare of the lamp made visible; then she +smiled and said: + +“‘Well, good-bye until next year. My husband is very pleased. Not a +single one of you failed to answer the call. Good-bye, messieurs.’ + +“And I heard several voices in unison: + +“‘Good-bye, madame, good-bye, dear madame, until next year.’ + +“And as the mysterious hostess was preparing to close the door herself, +I heard a voice: + +“‘Oh, please, don’t trouble.’ + +“And the door was once more closed. + +“The next moment the air was filled with a curious sound; it was like +the chirping of a flock of birds, and it seemed as if this beautiful +woman had opened the cage of a whole brood of house sparrows. + +“She quietly walked back to the house. The lights on the ground floor +were then out, but I noticed a glimmer in the windows of the first +floor. + +“When she reached the house she said: + +“‘Are you upstairs, Gérard?’ + +“I could not hear the answer, but the front door was again closed, and +a few minutes later the light on the first floor went out. + +“I was still standing at my window at eight o’clock in the morning, +staring in blank amazement at the house and garden which had revealed +such strange happenings in darkness, and which now in the full light +of day assumed their familiar aspect. The garden was a waste, and the +house itself seemed as desolate as it was the day before. + +“So much so, indeed, that when I told my old charwoman who had just +come, of the queer events which I had witnessed, she tapped my forehead +with her dirty forefinger and muttered that I had smoked one pipe too +many. Now I have never been a smoker of opium, and her answer gave me +a good opportunity of sacking the old sloven whom I had for some time +wanted to get rid of, and who came for a couple of hours each day to +‘clean up’ the place for me. For that matter I did not need any one, as +I was setting sail again next day. + +“I barely had time to put my things together, make a few purchases, say +farewell to my friends, and catch the train for Havre. I had fixed up +an appointment with the Transatlantic company which would keep me away +from Toulon for some eleven or twelve months. + +“In due course I returned to Toulon, but though I had refrained from +mentioning my adventure to a soul, I still continued to think of it. +The vision of the lady of the lamp obsessed me wherever I went, and +the last words which she uttered to her unseen friends still rang in my +ears: + +“‘Well, good-bye until next year.’ + +“And I never ceased to think of the meeting. I, too, was determined to +be there and to discover, at whatever cost, the solution of a mystery +which was intensely perplexing to a sensible man like myself, who did +not believe in ghosts or phantom vessels. + +“Unfortunately I was soon to learn that neither heaven nor hell was +concerned in the terrible story. + +“It was six o’clock in the evening when I set foot again in my house +at Toulon; and it was two days before the anniversary of the wonderful +night. + +“The first thing that I did on going inside was to run up to my room +and open the window. It was summer and broad daylight, and my eyes at +once fell upon a lady of great beauty who was placidly walking about +gathering flowers in the garden of the house opposite. At the noise +made by the opening window she looked up. + +“It was the lady of the lamp. I recognized her, and she seemed not less +beautiful by day than by night. Her skin was as white as the teeth of +an African nigger, her eyes bluer than the waters at Tamaris, her hair +as soft and fair as the finest flax. + +“Why should I not make the confession? When I beheld this woman of whom +I had been dreaming for a year, a strange feeling came over me. She +was no illusion of a diseased imagination. She stood before me in the +flesh; and every window of the house was open and flower-bedecked by +her hands. There was nothing fantastic in all this. + +“She caught sight of me and at once displayed some degree of annoyance. +She walked a few steps farther in the center path of the garden, and +then shrugging her shoulders as though she were disconcerted said: + +“‘Let’s go in, Gérard. I’m beginning to feel the coolness of the night.’ + +“I let my gaze stray round the garden. I could perceive no one. To whom +was she speaking?... Nobody there! + +“Then was she mad? It scarcely seemed so. + +“I watched her return to the house. She passed into it, the door was +closed, and she at once shut the windows. + +“I did not see or hear anything worth noticing that night. Next morning +at ten o’clock I observed my neighbor leaving the garden attired as if +for a walk. She locked the gate after her and set out in the direction +of Toulon. + +“I started off in my turn. Pointing to the fashionably dressed figure +in front of me I asked the first tradesman whom I met if he knew the +lady’s name. + +“‘Why, of course. She’s your neighbor. She is living with her husband +at the Villa Makoko. They moved in about a year ago, just as you went +away. They are regular boors. They never speak to anybody, unless it’s +absolutely necessary, but every one in Le Mourillon, as you know, +goes his own way, and is never surprised at anything. The captain for +one....’ + +“‘What captain?’ + +“‘Captain Gérard. It seems he is an ex-captain of marines. Well, no +one ever sees him.... Sometimes when food has to be delivered at the +house, and the lady is not in, some person shouts out an order from +behind the door to leave the stuff on the step, and waits until you are +a good distance away before taking it in.’ + +“You can imagine that I was growing more and more puzzled. I went to +Toulon in order to ask the agent who let the villa a few questions +about these people. He, likewise, had never seen the husband, but he +told me that his name was Gérard Beauvisage. + +“When I heard the name I uttered a cry: ‘Gérard Beauvisage! Why I know +him!’ + +“I had an old friend of that name whom I had not seen for twenty-five +years. He was an officer in the marines and had left Toulon for Tonkin +about that period. How could I doubt that it was he? At all events, I +had a straightforward reason for calling on him, that very evening, +though he was expecting a visit from his friends, for it was the +anniversary of the famous night. I made up my mind to renew my old +friendship with him. + +“When I got back to Le Mourillon I espied in front of me, in the sunk +road leading to the Villa Makoko, the figure of my neighbor. I did not +hesitate, but hastened to overtake her. + +“‘Have I the honor of speaking to Madame Beauvisage, the wife of +Captain Gérard Beauvisage?’ I asked with a bow. + +“She colored and tried to pass on without answering me. + +“‘Madame, I am your neighbor, Captain Michel Alban,’ I persisted. + +“‘Oh, please forgive me, monsieur,’ she returned, ‘my husband has often +spoken of you ... Captain Michel Alban....’ + +“She seemed terribly ill at ease, and yet in her confusion she was more +beautiful than ever, if that were possible. In spite of her obvious +desire to elude me I went on: + +“‘How comes it that Captain Beauvisage has returned to France without +letting his old friend know? I shall be particularly obliged if you +will tell Gérard that I’m coming to shake hands with him this very +evening.’ + +“And observing that she was hastening her steps, I bowed, but as I was +speaking she turned round, betraying an agitation which was more and +more difficult to comprehend. + +“‘Impossible to-night.... I promise to tell Gérard of our meeting. +That’s the most I can do. Gérard doesn’t wish to see any one—any one. +He lives alone.... We live alone.... And we took the house because we +were told that the next house was occupied only for a few days once or +twice a year by some one who is never seen!...’ + +“And she added in a voice tinged with sadness: + +“‘You must forgive Gérard, monsieur. We do not receive any one—any one. +Good day, monsieur.’ + +“‘Madame, the Captain and you receive friends occasionally,’ I returned +with some impatience. ‘For instance, to-night you are expecting friends +with whom you made an appointment a year ago.’ + +“She flushed scarlet. + +“‘Oh, but that’s an exceptional case ... that’s an absolutely +exceptional case.... They are our very particular friends.’ + +“Having said which she made her escape, but at once stopped her +retreat and turned back. + +“‘Whatever you do, don’t call to-night,’ she entreated, and disappeared +into the garden. + +“I returned to my house and began to keep watch on my neighbors. They +did not show themselves, and long before it was dark I saw the shutters +being closed and lights gleaming through the openings, such as I had +seen on that amazing night a year ago. But I did not hear the same +extraordinary din like the thunderous beating of a wooden drum. + +“At seven o’clock I began to dress for I called to mind the low-necked +robe worn by the lady of the lamp. Madame Beauvisage’s last words had +but strengthened my determination. The captain was seeing some of his +friends that evening; he dared not refuse me admission. After dressing +it crossed my mind, before I went downstairs, to put my revolver in my +pocket, but in the end I left it in its place, considering that to take +it would be an act of stupidity. + +“The stupidity lay in not taking it with me. + +“On reaching the entrance to the Villa Makoko I turned the handle of +the gate on the off chance—the handle which last year I had seen turn +by itself. And to my intense surprise the door opened. Therefore my +neighbors were expecting visitors. I walked up to the house and knocked +at the door. + +“‘Come in!’ a voice cried. + +“I recognized Gérard’s voice. I walked gaily into the house. I passed +first through the hall, and then as the door of a small drawing-room +stood open, and the room was lit up, I entered it. + +“‘Gérard it’s me,’ I exclaimed, ‘your old pal Michel Alban.’ + +“‘Oh, really, so you made up your mind to come, my dear old Michel! I +told my wife only just now that you would come and I should be glad +to see you.... But you are the only one, apart from our particular +friends.... Do you know, my dear Michel, you haven’t altered much....’ + +“It would be impossible for me to describe my stupefaction. I heard +Gérard, but I could not see him. His voice rang in my ears, but no one +was near me, no one was in the drawing-room. The Voice went on: + +“‘Sit down, won’t you? My wife will soon be here, for she will remember +that she left me on the mantelpiece!’ + +“I looked up, and then discovered above me ... above me resting on a +high mantelpiece—a bust. + +“It was this bust which had been speaking. It resembled Gérard. It was +Gérard’s body. It had been placed there as people are wont to place +busts on mantelpieces. It was a bust like those carved by sculptors, +that is to say, it was without arms. + +“‘I can’t shake hands with you, my dear Michel,’ the voice went on, +‘for as you see I have no hands, but if you raise yourself on tiptoe +you will be able to take me in your arms and place me on the table. My +wife put me up here in a moment of temper, because she said I was in +the way when she swept the room. She’s a funny thing is my wife.’ + +“And the bust burst out laughing. + +“It seemed to me that I was the victim of an optical illusion as +happens in those entertainments where you behold living heads and +shoulders suspended in mid-air, the result of tricks with mirrors; but +after setting down my friend on the table, as he requested, I had to +admit that this head and body without arms or legs was indeed all that +remained of the excellent officer whom I had known in days gone by. +His body was resting on a small wheeled platform, such as are used by +cripples without legs, but Gérard did not possess even the stumps of +legs which can be seen in the case of most cripples. To think that my +old friend was nothing but a bust! + +“Small hooks took the place of arms, and language fails me to describe +how, leaning for support on a hook here, or on another there, he set to +work to hop, skip and jump and perform a hundred swift movements which +shot him from the table to a chair, from a chair to the floor, and then +suddenly made him appear on the table once more, where he indulged in +the gayest chatter. + +“Myself, I was in a state of consternation. I was rendered speechless. +I watched this freak perform his antics and say with a chuckle which +alarmed me: + +“‘I have greatly changed I daresay. You must admit, my dear Michel, +that you hardly recognize me. You did quite right to call this evening. +We shall see some sport. We have a few very special friends, and, you +know, apart from them I don’t care to meet any one—merely as a matter +of pride. We don’t even keep a servant. Wait for me here. I must get +into my smoking jacket.’ + +“He went off, and almost at once the lady of the lamp appeared. She +wore the same low-necked dress of the year before. As soon as her eyes +fell upon me, she seemed strangely perturbed, and said in a strained +voice: + +“‘Oh, so you are here! You’ve made a mistake, Captain Michel. I gave +your message to my husband, but I forbade you to call this evening. +I may tell you that when he learnt that you were in this place, he +asked me to invite you this evening, but I did no such thing because,’ +she went on, ill at ease, ‘I had good reasons. We have certain very +particular friends who are rather a worry—they are very fond of +noise—uproar. You must have heard them last year,’ she added, giving me +a look out of the corner of her eye. ‘Well, promise me to leave early.’ + +“‘I promise to leave early, madame,’ I returned, and yet a vague +misgiving took possession of me at this conversation, the meaning of +which I was far from understanding. ‘I promise you faithfully, but can +you tell me how it is that I find my old friend in such a state? What +terrible accident happened to him?’ + +“‘None at all, monsieur, none.’ + +“‘What do you mean, “none at all”? Don’t you know anything about the +accident which deprived him of arms and legs? Yet he must have met with +it since your marriage.’ + +“‘No, monsieur, no. I married the captain as he is now.... But excuse +me, our guests will be here presently, and I must help my husband to +put on his smoking jacket.’ + +“She left me to myself, dazed by the one stupefying thought: ‘She +married the captain as he is now!’ and almost at once I heard sounds in +the hall, the curious sounds which had accompanied the lady of the lamp +to the garden gate and baffled me last year. This noise was followed +by the appearance, on their wheeled platforms, of four cripples without +arms or legs who stared at me in wonder. They were all attired in +perfectly-fitting evening dress with snow-white shirt fronts. + +“One wore gold-rimmed pince-nez, another, an old man, spectacles, the +third a single eyeglass, and the fourth was content to gaze at me out +of his own proud, shrewd eyes with an expression of boredom. All four, +however, saluted me with their little hooks, and asked after Captain +Beauvisage. I told them that he was dressing, and Madame Beauvisage was +quite well. When I took the liberty of speaking of Madame Beauvisage, +I caught an exchange of glances between them which seemed to embody a +certain raillery. + +“‘Haw, haw, I presume you are a great friend of our good old captain,’ +drawled the cripple with the monocle. + +“The others smiled with a look which was by no means pleasant, and then +they all started to talk in the same breath: + +“‘Sorry, sorry, monsieur.... We are quite naturally surprised to meet +you at the house of the good old captain, who swore on his wedding day +to shut himself up in the country with his wife, and not to receive any +one—any one but his very special friends, you understand. When one is +so thoroughly a cripple as the captain consented to be, and is married +to such a beautiful woman, it is quite natural—quite natural. But, +after all, if in the course of his life he met a man of honor who does +not happen to be a cripple, we’re glad of it.... We congratulate you.’ + +“And they repeated: ‘We’re glad of it.... We congratulate you.’ + +“Lord how odd they were, these dwarfs! I watched them and held my +peace. Others arrived in twos and threes and so on. And they all +contemplated me with a look of surprise or uneasiness or irony. For my +part I was rendered speechless by the spectacle of so many cripples +without arms or legs; for after all I was beginning to see through most +of the extraordinary happenings which had so greatly stirred my mind; +and though the cripples, by their presence, explained many things, +the presence of the cripples still required explanation, as also did +the monstrous union of that splendid woman with that awful shred of +humanity. + +“True, I realized now that these little ambulating trunks were bound to +pass unperceived by me in the narrow garden path lined with verbena, +and the road running between two low hedges; and, truth to tell, when +at the time I said to myself that it was impossible to avoid seeing +any person going down those paths, I had in mind persons who would be +standing upright on their two legs. + +“The handle of the garden gate itself no longer puzzled me, and in my +mind’s eye I saw the invisible hook which had turned it. + +“The peculiar noise which I heard was but the creaking made by the +small badly oiled wheels of these cars for freaks. Finally, the +extraordinary sound like the thunderous beating of a wooden drum, was +obviously caused by the many cars and hooks striking the floor when, +after an excellent dinner, our friends the cripples indulged in a dance. + +“Yes, all this was capable of explanation, but I was conscious as I +caught a curious eager gleam in their eyes, and heard the peculiar +sound of their nippers, that something terrible still remained to be +cleared up, and that all else which had surprised me was of no account. + +“Meanwhile Madame Beauvisage promptly appeared, accompanied by her +husband. They were greeted with shouts of delight. The little hooks +‘applauded’ them with an infernal din. I was deafened by it. Then I was +introduced. Cripples were all over the place: on the tables, chairs, +stools, on stands usually occupied by vases, on the sideboard. One of +them sat on the shelf of a dresser like a Buddha in his recess. And +each one politely held out his hook to me. They seemed for the most +part people of good position, with titles and names indicating their +relationship to aristocratic families, but I learned afterwards that +these were false names given to me for reasons which will be obvious. +Lord Wilmer certainly maintained the best front of them all, with +his fine golden beard and no less fine mustache which he continually +stroked with his hook. He did not leap from chair to table like the +others, nor did he have the air of a huge bat taking wing from wall to +wall. + + * * * * * + +“‘We are only waiting for the doctor,’ said the mistress of the house, +who every now and then gave me a look of obvious gloom, but quickly +resumed her smile for her guests. + +“The doctor arrived. He was a cripple but he possessed both arms. + +“He offered one of them to Madame Beauvisage and led her to the +dining-room. I mean that she touched his arm with the tips of her +fingers. + +“Covers were laid in the room with the closed shutters. The table, +which was laden with flowers and _hors d’œuvre_, was illuminated by a +large candelabrum. There was no fruit. The dozen cripples at once leapt +upon their chairs and began to pick greedily from the dishes with their +hooks. It was not a pleasant sight, and I marveled at the voracity with +which these trunks of men, who seemed just before so well-mannered, +devoured their food. + +“And then suddenly they quietened down; their hooks kept still, and +it seemed to me that they lapsed into what is usually described as a +‘painful silence.’ + +“Every eye was turned on Madame Beauvisage, whose husband sat by her +side, and I noticed that she buried her face in her napkin, looking +very uncomfortable. Then my friend Gérard, clapping one hook against +the other with a flourish, said: + +“‘Well, my dear old friends, it can’t be helped. One doesn’t meet the +luck of last year every day. But don’t distress yourselves. With the +exercise of a little imagination we shall succeed in being as merry as +we were then....’ + +“And turning to me as he lifted the small handle of the glass which +stood on the table before him: + +“‘Your health my dear Michel. To us all!’ + +“And each man raised his glass by its handle with the end of his hook. +The glasses swung over the table in the quaintest fashion. + +“My host went on: + +“‘You don’t seem to be equal to the occasion, my dear Michel. I have +known you in merrier mood, more up to the mark. Is it because we are +“like this” that you are so gloomy? What do you expect? We are what we +are. But let us have some amusement. We are met together here, all of +us very special friends, to celebrate the time when we became “like +this.” Is that not true my friends of the _Daphné_?...’ + +“Then my old comrade,” Captain Michel went on to explain, heaving a +deep sigh, “told us how the _Daphné_, which sailed between France and +the Far East, was wrecked; how the crew escaped in the boats, and how +these miserable people took refuge on a chance raft. + +“Miss Madge, a beautiful young girl who lost her parents in the +catastrophe, was also picked up by the raft. Some thirteen persons +in all were on it, and at the end of three days the victuals were +consumed, and at the end of a week the survivors were dying of hunger. +It was then that, as the old song says, they agreed to draw lots as to +‘which should be eaten.’ + +“Messieurs,” added Captain Michel, in a serious voice, “such things +have happened more often perhaps than they have been talked about, for +the great blue waters close over these peculiar feats of digestion. + +“They were on the point, therefore, of drawing lots on the raft when +the doctor’s voice was heard: ‘Mesdames and Messieurs,’ said the +doctor, ‘you have lost all your belongings in the wreck of the ship, +but I have saved my case of instruments and my forceps for arresting +hemorrhage. This is my suggestion: There is no object in any one of us +running the risk of being eaten as a whole. Let us, to begin with, draw +lots for an arm or leg at will, and we will then see to-morrow what the +day brings forth, and perhaps a sail may appear on the horizon.’” + +At this point in Captain Michel’s story the four old salts, who up to +this had not interrupted, cried: + +“Well done!” + +“What do you mean ‘well done’?” asked Captain Michel with a frown. + +“Yes, ‘well done!’ Your story is a good joke. These people were ready +to lose an arm or leg in turn.... That’s a good joke, but there’s +nothing frightful about it.” + +“So you really find it a good joke!” growled the Captain, bristling +with annoyance. “Well, I swear that if you had been seated among all +those cripples whose eyes were bulging like live coal, and heard the +story, you wouldn’t have found it such a good joke.... And if you had +noticed how restless they were in their chairs! And how vigorously they +clasped hooks across the table with an obvious delight which I couldn’t +make out, but which was none the less frightful for all that.” + +“No, no,” broke in Chanlieu once more—that old fellow Chanlieu—“your +story is not in the least frightful. It is funny simply because it is +logical. Would you like me to tell you the end of the story? You shall +say whether I am right or not. The people on the raft drew lots. The +lot fell to Miss Madge who was to lose one of her beautiful limbs. +Your friend the captain, who is a gentleman, offered his own instead, +and he had his four limbs amputated so that Miss Madge should remain +unscathed.” + +“Yes, old man, you’ve got it. That is so,” exclaimed Captain Michel, +who felt a longing to break the heads of these imbeciles who treated +his story as a good joke. “Yes, and what’s more, when it was a question +of cutting off Miss Madge’s limbs after the survivors, except the young +lady and the doctor—who had been left with both arms because they were +wanted—had lost all their limbs, Captain Beauvisage had the pluck to +have the poor stumps left from the first operation, cut off on a level +with his body.” + +“And the young lady could do no other than offer the Captain her hand +which he had so heroically saved,” interposed Zinzin. + +“Why, of course,” growled the Captain in his beard. “And you consider +it a good joke!” + +“Did they eat all those limbs quite raw?” inquired that ass of a +Bagatelle. + +Captain Michel struck the table such a resounding blow that the glasses +danced like rubber balls. + +“That’ll do, shut up,” he exclaimed. “All that I’ve told you is +nothing. Now comes the frightful part of it.” + +The four friends looked at each other smiling, and Captain Michel grew +pale, whereupon seeing that they had carried matters too far they hung +their heads. + +“Yes, the frightful part of it,” went on Michel with his gloomiest air, +“was that these people who were only rescued a month later by a Chinese +sailing vessel which landed them somewhere on the Yang-Tse-Kiang where +they separated—the frightful part of it was that these people retained +a taste for human flesh, and when they returned to Europe arranged to +meet together once a year to renew as far as possible the abominable +banquet. Well, messieurs, it did not take me long to find that out! +First of all there was the scarcely enthusiastic reception accorded to +certain dishes, which Madame Beauvisage herself brought to the table. +Though she ventured to claim, but with no great assurance, that they +were pretty nearly the same thing, the guests were of one mind in +abstaining from congratulating her. Only certain slices of tunny-fish +were received with any sort of favor, because they were, to use the +doctor’s terrible expression, ‘well cut,’ and, ‘if the flavor was not +entirely satisfactory at all events the eye was deceived.’ But the +cripple with the spectacles met with general approval when he declared +that ‘it was not equal to the plumber.’ + +“When I heard those words I felt my blood run cold,” growled Captain +Michel huskily, “for I remembered that about this time the year before +a plumber had fallen from a roof near the Arsenal and was killed, and +his body was picked up minus an arm. + +“Then ... O then ... I could not help thinking of the part which my +beautiful neighbor must, of necessity, have played in this horrible, +culinary drama, I turned my eyes to her and I noticed that she had put +on her gloves again, gloves which covered her arms to the shoulder, and +also hastily thrown a wrap over her shoulders which wholly concealed +them. The guest on my right, who was the doctor, and, as I have said, +was the only man among the cripples with both arms intact, had also put +on his gloves. + +“Instead of bothering my head in vain to discover the reason of this +fresh eccentricity, I should have done better to follow the advice +which Madame Beauvisage gave me at the beginning of this infernal +party, namely, to leave the place early—advice which she did not repeat. + +“After showing an interest in me during the first part of this amazing +feast in which I seemed to discern—I don’t know why—a sort of pity, +Madame Beauvisage now avoided looking at me and took a part which +greatly grieved me in the most frightful conversation which I have +ever heard. These little people with a vigorous clatter of nippers +and clinking of glasses indulged in bitter recriminations or warm +congratulations with regard to their peculiar appetite. + +“To my horror Lord Wilmer, who until then had been most correct, nearly +‘came to hooks’ with the cripple with the monocle, because the latter +had once on the raft complained of the former being tough, and the +mistress of the house had the greatest difficulty in putting things in +their true light by retorting to the monocled bust, who was obviously +at the time of the shipwreck a good-looking stripling, that neither was +it particularly agreeable to have to put up with ‘an animal that was +too young.’” + +“That’s also funny,” the old salt Dorat could not help interjecting. + +It looked as if Captain Michel would fly at his throat, particularly as +the three other mariners seemed to be shaking with inward joy and gave +vent to queer little clucks. It was as much as the Captain could do to +control himself. After puffing like a seal he turned to the foolhardy +Dorat: + +“Monsieur you have two arms still, and I have no wish for you to lose +one of them, as I did on that particular night, to make you see the +frightful part of the story. The cripples had drunk a great deal. Some +of them jumped on the table round me, and were gazing at my arms in a +very embarrassing manner and I ended by hiding them from sight as far +as possible by thrusting my hands deep into my pockets. + +“I realized then, and it was a startling thought, why Madame Beauvisage +and the doctor, the two persons who still had arms and hands, did not +show them. I grasped the meaning of the sudden ferocity which blazed in +the eyes of some of them. And at that very moment, as luck would have +it, I wanted to use my pocket handkerchief, and instinctively I made a +movement which revealed the whiteness of my skin under my sleeve, and +three terrible hooks swooped down at once on my wrist and entered my +flesh. I uttered a fearful shriek.” + +“That’ll do, Captain, that’ll do,” I exclaimed, interrupting Captain +Michel’s story. “You were quite right. I’m off. I can’t stand any more.” + +“Stay, monsieur,” said the Captain in a peremptory tone. “Stay, +monsieur, for I shall soon finish this frightful story which has made +four imbeciles laugh. When a man has Phocean blood in his veins,” +he added with an accent of unspeakable contempt turning to the four +ancient mariners who were obviously choking in their efforts to keep +back their laughter, “when a man has Phocean blood in his veins, he +can’t get over it. + +“And when a man lives in Marseilles he is doomed never to believe in +anything. So it is for you, for you alone, monsieur, that I am telling +this story, and, be assured, I will pass over the most loathsome +details, knowing as I do how much the mind of a gentleman can bear. The +tragedy of my martyrdom proceeded so quickly that I can call to mind +only their inhuman cries, the protests of some and the rush of others +while Madame Beauvisage stood up and murmured: + +“‘Be careful not to hurt him!’ + +“I tried to leap to my feet, but by this time a posse of mad cripples +was round me who tripped me up and I crashed to the floor. And I felt +their awful hooks hold my flesh captive just as the meat in a butcher’s +shop is held captive on its hooks. + +“Yes, monsieur, I will spare you the details. I pledged you my word; +all the more so as I couldn’t give them to you, for I did not see +the operation. The doctor clapped a plug of cotton wool steeped in +chloroform on my mouth by way of a gag. + +“When I came to myself I was in the kitchen, and I had lost an arm. +The cripples were all around me. They had ceased their wrangling. They +seemed to be united in the most touching harmony; in reality they were +in a state of dazed intoxication which caused them to sway their heads +like children who feel the need to go and lie down after eating their +fill, and I had not a doubt but that they were beginning, alas! to +digest me.... I was stretched at full length on the floor, securely +bound, and deprived of all power of movement, but I could both see and +hear them. My old comrade, Gérard Beauvisage, had tears of joy in his +eyes as he exclaimed: + +“‘I should never have thought you would be so tender!’ + +“Madame Beauvisage was not present, but she, too, must have taken part +in the feast, for I heard some one ask Gérard how ‘she liked her share.’ + +“Yes, monsieur, I have finished my story. I have finished my story. +Those loathsome cripples having satisfied their weakness, must have at +last realized the full extent of their iniquity. They made themselves +scarce, and Madame Beauvisage, of course, escaped with them. They left +the doors wide open but no one came to set me free until four days +afterwards, when I was pretty well dead with hunger.... + +“Those miserable wretches had not even left the bone behind!” + + + + + THE GOLD AXE + + +Many years ago I was at Gersau, a small health resort on the Lake of +the Four Forest Cantons, a few miles from Lucerne. I wanted to complete +certain work, and I had arranged to spend the autumn in the quiet of +this delightful village whose ancient pointed roofs were reflected in +the romantic waters of the lake on which William Tell sailed in days of +old. + +It was the end of autumn, and tourists had scattered, while the many +hideous Tartarins who had descended upon us from Germany with their +alpenstocks, their puttees and their little round hats decked with +the indispensable feather, had returned to their lager beer, their +sauerkraut and their “big concerts,” leaving the country between +Pilatus, the Mythen and the Rigi free to us at last. + +Not more than half-a-dozen of us foregathered in the hotel at meal +time, and when evening came related our experiences of the day or +indulged in a little music. + +An old lady, always enveloped in deep mourning, who when the little +hotel was swarming with noisy visitors had never addressed a word to +any one, and seemed the embodiment of woe, stood revealed as a pianist +of the first rank, and without waiting to be pressed, played Chopin to +us and, in particular, a certain lullaby by Schumann which she rendered +with such exquisite tenderness that she brought tears to our eyes. + +We were all so grateful to her for the pleasant hours which she enabled +us to pass, that we joined together to present her, at the moment of +her departure, with a slight souvenir of our stay at Gersau. + +One of us who went that day to Lucerne undertook to buy the gift. He +returned in the evening with a gold brooch in the form of a small axe. + +Neither on that evening nor the following one did the old lady make her +appearance; and the visitors who were leaving entrusted the gold brooch +to my care. + +Her luggage was still in the hotel, and I was prepared to see her +return, sooner or later, reassured as to her well-being by the +proprietor who told me that she was in the habit of disappearing for a +day or two, and he had no reason to feel anxious about her. + +As a matter of fact the day before my departure, as I was making a +final tour of the lake and had pulled up a few steps from Tell’s +Chapel, I saw the old lady standing at the entrance of the building. + +Never until then had I been impressed by the unspeakable distress +depicted on her face down which the tears were coursing, and never had +I so clearly observed the traces, which were still manifest, of her +former beauty. She caught sight of me, lowered her veil, and walked +toward the lake. Nevertheless, I did not hesitate to overtake her, and +bowing, expressed the visitors’ regret that we were about to lose her; +and then, as I had the gift on me, I presented her with the small case +containing the gold axe. + +She opened it with a sweet, far-away smile, but no sooner did she +perceive the jewel inside than she began to tremble with emotion, and +drew back some distance from me, as though she had something to fear +from my presence, and with an insensate gesture threw the brooch into +the lake. + +I displayed so much amazement at this unaccountable reception that she +begged my forgiveness and burst into a fit of sobbing. A seat stood in +this secluded spot, and we both sat down. And after a few lamentations +against the decrees of fate which left me quite at a loss, she confided +to me her strange, melancholy story which I was never to forget. For, +in truth, I know of no more terrible destiny than that which befell the +old lady in the black veil, who had played Schumann’s lullaby to us +with such exquisite emotion. + + * * * * * + +“I will tell you the whole story,” she said, “for I am about to leave +for ever this country which I determined to visit for the last time. +And then you will understand why it was that I threw the little gold +axe into the lake. + +“I was born in Geneva, monsieur. We belonged to one of the leading +families and were rich, but some unfortunate speculations on the stock +exchange ruined my father, who died from the shock. When I was eighteen +I was a beautiful girl without a dowry. My mother gave up all hope of +marrying me. And yet she yearned to make sure of my future before she +went to join my father. + +“I was twenty-four when a suitor whom every one looked upon as an +unhoped-for chance appeared. + +“A young man from Briesgau who was accustomed to spend the summer in +Switzerland and whose acquaintance we made in the casino at Evian, +fell in love with me, and I liked him. Herbert Gutmann was a tall +young fellow, kindly, unobtrusive and good-natured. He seemed to unite +qualities alike of heart and mind. He possessed a certain affluence +without being actually wealthy. His father was still engaged in +business, and made him an allowance in order that he might travel until +the time came for him to succeed him in his business. We were all +intending to visit the elder Gutmann at his place in Todtnau, in the +Black Forest, when the state of my mother’s health greatly hastened +the course of events. + +“Conscious that she no longer possessed the physical strength to +travel, my mother hurriedly returned to Geneva, where she received +from the civil authorities of Todtnau, to whom she had written, the +most satisfactory information in respect of Herbert and his family. +Herbert’s father had begun life as an ordinary woodcutter, and then +had left the district, returning to it with a small fortune which he +had ‘made in timber.’ That was all, at least, that was known of him in +Todtnau. + +“This was enough to induce my mother to press forward the formalities +of my marriage, which took place a week before her death. She died with +her mind at rest for, as she said, she felt ‘reassured about my future.’ + +“My husband helped me to overcome the grief which this sore trial +caused me by his constant goodness and solicitude. Before we set out +for Todtnau we came here to Gersau to spend a week, and then to my +great surprise we undertook a long journey instead of making our visit +to Herbert’s father. My sorrow would have gradually been dispelled if, +as the days sped by, I had not noticed, almost with dismay, that my +husband was more and more becoming a prey to melancholy. + +“I was more surprised than I can express, because Herbert had seemed to +me of a humorous disposition, open, unrestrained and extremely frank. +Was I to discover that the liveliness which he used to display was +forced, and veiled some deep mortification? Alas, his sighs when he +thought himself alone, and the agitation which sometimes disturbed his +night’s rest, scarcely left room for doubt, and I made up my mind to +question him. + +“At the first word that I ventured to speak on the subject he made +answer by bursting into laughter, treating me as a silly little goose +and kissing me passionately, which merely served to strengthen my +conviction that I was in the presence of some painful mystery. + +“I could not hide from myself that there was something in Herbert’s +demeanor which was very like ‘remorse.’ And yet I could have sworn that +he was incapable of committing, I will not say a low or mean action, +but even one lacking in propriety. + +“It was then that the fate which had dogged my footsteps, struck us +another blow in the person of my father-in-law of whose death we learnt +whilst we were in Scotland. This grievous piece of news depressed +my husband more than I can say. He remained the whole night without +uttering a word, nor did he shed tears nor appear to listen to the +words of consolation by which I, in my turn, endeavored to rouse his +spirit. He seemed to be overwhelmed. At last, when the light was +beginning to dawn, he rose from the arm-chair in which he had sat +huddled, and turning toward me a face terribly distorted by suffering, +said in a harrowing voice: + +“‘Come, Elizabeth, we shall have to go back. We shall have to go back.’ + +“These words seemed to possess a significance from the tone in which +they were spoken which I failed to understand. A return to the land of +his father’s was quite natural at a moment like that, and I could not +see why he should fight against the necessity of going home. From that +day onward Herbert changed completely; he grew extraordinarily silent, +and more than once I came upon him sobbing wildly. + +“The grief which the loss of a beloved father might occasion could not +entirely explain the horror of our position, for there is nothing more +terrible than mystery, the deep mystery which steals in between two +beings who are devoted to each other, and separates them from their +happiness.... + +“We reached Todtnau in time to breathe a prayer over the newly made +grave. + +“This little town in the Black Forest, at no great distance from +Höllenthal, was a dreary spot; and there was scarcely any society in it +for me. The Gutmann’s house, in which we took up our abode, lay on the +borders of a forest. + +“It was a gloomy chalet standing in its own grounds, and our one +visitor was an old clockmaker in the place, who was said to be rich and +had been the elder Gutmann’s friend. He appeared from time to time at +the lunch or dinner hour, in order to get himself invited. + +“I had no liking for this manufacturer of cuckoo-clocks, this petty +usurer, for though he was rich, he was a miser and incapable of the +least nicety of feeling. Nor did Herbert care for Frantz Basckler, +though he continued out of respect for the memory of his father to keep +on friendly terms with him. + +“Basckler, who had no children, had told the elder Gutmann times out of +number that Herbert was his only heir. Herbert spoke to me about it one +day with the most sincere aversion, and I had once more an opportunity +of appreciating the strictness of his conscience. + +“‘Would you like to be the heir of this sordid old miser who made his +fortune by ruining all the clockmakers in Höllenthal?’ + +“‘Certainly not,’ I returned. ‘Your father left us a certain amount of +property, and with what you can honestly earn we shall have enough to +live on even if Heaven chooses to send us a child.’ + +“I had no sooner uttered these words than I saw my Herbert turn as +white as a sheet. I put my arms round him, for I thought that he was +about to faint, but the blood returned to his face, and he exclaimed in +forcible tones: + +“‘Yes, yes, the only true thing is to have the approbation of one’s +conscience.’ + +“And so saying he rushed wildly from the room. + +“Sometimes he was away for a day or two on business, which consisted, +he told me, of buying plantations of standing trees and selling them +again to contractors. He did not work the whole thing himself but left +to others the task of turning the trees into sleepers for railways, +if the wood was of inferior quality, and posts and ships’ masts if it +was of the best quality. The essential thing was to display expert +judgment; and he had acquired his knowledge of timber from his father. + +“He never took me away with him on any of his journeys. He left me +alone in the house with an old maid-servant who had received me with +ill-disguised hostility. I kept out of her way and wept in secret, for +I was not happy. I felt convinced that Herbert was hiding something +from me, something which was obsessing his mind, and which I too who +knew nothing, was never able to dismiss from my thoughts. + +“And then the great forest frightened me. And the servant frightened +me. And old Basckler frightened me. And the old house! It was very +large with staircases everywhere leading to passages into which I dared +not venture. At the end of one of them in particular, stood a small +room. I had seen my husband enter it two or three times, but I myself +had never set foot in it. + +“I could not pass the door of this room, which was always closed, +without a tremor. It was to this study that Herbert was wont to retire, +so he told me, to make up his accounts and balance his books, but it +was also to this room that he retired alone to bewail his secret. + +“One night after he had set out on one of his journeys and I was vainly +endeavoring to sleep, my attention was attracted by a slight sound +under my window which I had left partly open on account of the extreme +heat. I got out of bed with every precaution. The sky was overcast and +great clouds hid the stars from sight. It was as much as I could do to +discern the threatening shadows of the nearest trees which faced the +house. + +“I could not clearly distinguish my husband and the maid-servant until +they passed under my window, walking on the lawn with infinite caution +so that I should not hear the sound of their footsteps and carrying +between them a sort of long, somewhat narrow trunk which I had never +before seen. They entered the chalet and I did not hear nor see them +again for the next ten minutes. + +“My anguish exceeded anything that it is possible to conceive. Why +were they hiding themselves from me? How was it that I had not heard +the coming of the chaise which usually brought Herbert home? Just then +I seemed to catch in the distance the neighing of a horse, and the +maid-servant appeared, crossed the lawn, vanished into the darkness, +and soon returned leading our mare unharnessed over the soft ground. +Never had they taken so many precautions to prevent me from waking up! + +“Growing more and more surprised that Herbert did not come to our +room as was his custom after his return at night, I hastily slipped +on a dressing-gown and wandered into the darkness of the passage. My +steps turned quite naturally toward the little study of which I stood +in so much fear. And I had only just entered the corridor which led +to it when I heard my husband say in a rough, muffled voice to the +maid-servant who was mounting the stairs: + +“‘Water! Bring me some water. Hot water of course. It won’t come off.’ + +“I stopped short and held my breath. Besides I could not breathe. I +was stifling. I was filled with the presentiment that some dreadful +misfortune had befallen us. Suddenly I was once more startled by my +husband’s voice: + +“‘Ah, at last! That’s done it. It’s come off.’ + +“My husband and the old woman were still talking in low tones and I +heard his step. That brought me to myself and I fled to my bedroom and +locked myself in. Soon he knocked at the door and I went through the +form of pretending to be asleep and to wake up, and at last I opened +the door. I held a candle in my hand which fell to the floor when I +caught sight of the look on his face. + +“‘What’s the matter?’ he asked. ‘Are you still asleep? Do go back to +bed.’ + +“I made a movement to light the candle again, but he stopped me and I +threw myself on the bed. I spent a cruel night. + +“Herbert turned and tossed and sighed beside me and could not sleep. He +did not speak a word. At daybreak he rose, pressed an icy kiss on my +brow and left the room. When I got downstairs the old woman gave me a +note from him in which he stated that he was obliged to go away again +for a couple of days. + +“At eight o’clock that morning I learned from workmen on their way +to Neustadt, that old Basckler had been found murdered in a small +cottage which he possessed at Höllenthal, where he sometimes spent +the night when his business of money-lending kept him too long among +his peasant-debtors. Basckler had received a terrible blow with an +axe which had split his head in two. It was undoubtedly the work of a +woodman. + +“I returned to the house as best I could. And once more my feet led me +toward the little study. I could not explain exactly what was passing +in my mind, but after the words which I had overheard during the night +and the look on Herbert’s face, I felt a need to see what that room +contained. Just then the servant observed me and exclaimed maliciously: + +“‘Leave that room alone. You know quite well that M. Gutmann has +forbidden you to touch it. A lot of good it would do you to know what’s +inside.’ + +“And she walked away with a fiendish laugh. + +“I took my bed, suffering from high fever. I was ill for a fortnight. +Herbert looked after me with maternal solicitude. It seemed to me that +I had been the sport of some evil dream, and it was enough now to see +his good-natured face to confirm my impression that I was not in a +normal condition on the night when I fancied that I had seen and heard +so many extraordinary things. Moreover the murderer of Basckler had +been arrested. He was a woodman belonging to Bergen whom the old miser +had ‘bled’ too freely and who had taken his revenge by ‘bleeding’ his +persecutor in his turn. + +“This woodman, a man named Mathis Müller, never ceased to protest his +innocence, but though not a single trace of blood was found on his +clothes and his axe was almost like new steel, there was, it seems, +sufficient evidence of his guilt to bring him to justice. + +“Our circumstances were in no way affected, as we imagined they might +be, by old Basckler’s death, and Herbert looked in vain for a will +which did not exist. + +“To my surprise its absence considerably upset him, and one day when I +questioned him about it he answered irritably: + +“‘Well, yes, if you want to know, I was relying a great deal on that +will—a great deal.’ + +“And as he spoke a black look came over his face, and the terrible face +which I had seen on the mysterious night rose up before me, and after +that never left me. It was like a mask which I was always ready to +place over Herbert’s face even when it was naturally kind and sad. + +“During Mathis Müller’s trial at Freiburg I eagerly read the +newspapers; and certain words which fell from the counsel for the +defense haunted me day and night: + +“‘Until you have discovered the axe with which the deed was done and +the murderer’s blood-stained clothes, you cannot convict Mathis Müller.’ + +“Nevertheless Mathis Müller was found guilty and sentenced to death, +and I am bound to say that the verdict strangely affected my husband. +At night he dreamt of nothing but Mathis Müller. I was terrified of him +and my thoughts also terrified me. + +“Oh, I longed to know the truth! I was determined to know the truth. +What was the meaning of those words ‘It won’t come off?’ + +“What was the nature of the work upon which he was engaged in the +mysterious little study during the night? + +“One night I rose and groping in the dark stole his keys from him. I +crept into the corridors. I went to the kitchen to fetch a lantern. +With chattering teeth I reached the forbidden room ... I opened the +door and my eyes at once fell on the trunk—the oblong trunk which had +so greatly perplexed me. + +“It was locked, but I had no difficulty in finding the small key on the +bunch ... I unlocked it and raised the lid. I went down on my knees in +order to see better, and the sight that met my eyes forced a cry of +horror from me.... + +“The trunk contained blood-stained clothes and the axe which had struck +the blow still spotted with rust.... + + * * * * * + +“How I managed, after what I had seen, to live with Herbert through the +few weeks which preceded the convicted man’s execution I cannot tell.... + +“I was afraid that he might kill me.... + +“How was it that my attitude, the dread that possessed me, failed to +enlighten him? The fact is that at that time his mind was wholly a prey +to fears not less great than my own. The thought of Mathis Müller never +left him. + +“To enable him to escape the obsession, apparently, he now shut himself +up in the little study, and I sometimes heard him delivering tremendous +blows, which made the floor and walls resound, as if he were fighting +with his axe against the ghosts and phantoms which beset him. + +“Strange to say, and it seemed at first impossible to understand, +Herbert recovered his calmness a couple of days before Müller’s +execution—the calmness of marble, the calmness of a statue. That +evening he said: + +“‘I am going away to-morrow morning early. I have some important +business to do near Freiburg. I shall probably be away for a couple of +days. Don’t worry.’ + +“It was at Freiburg that the execution was to take place, and I had the +impression that Herbert’s composure was the result of the resolution +that he had taken. + +“He was going to give himself up! + +“The thought was so much of a relief to me that for the first time for +many a night I fell into a sound sleep. It was broad daylight when I +awoke. My husband had already left the house. + +“I dressed in haste and without saying a word to the old servant I +started for Todtnau. Here, I took a conveyance and drove to Freiburg. +I reached Freiburg when the light had begun to wane. I went at once to +the Court House, and the first person whom I saw entering the building +was my husband. I stood rooted to the spot. And as Herbert did not come +out again I felt sure that he had surrendered and was being held there +at the disposal of the authorities. + +“The prison at that time was next the Court House. I walked round +it like a mad-woman. All that night I wandered about the streets, +returning every now and then to this gloomy building, and the first +gleams of day were beginning to break when my eyes encountered two men +clad in black frock-coats mounting the front steps of the Court. + +“I ran up to them and said that I wanted to see the public prosecutor +as soon as possible, as I had a communication of the utmost gravity to +make to him about the Basckler murder. + +“As it happened, one of the gentlemen was the public prosecutor, and he +invited me to accompany him to his office. Here I explained who I was +and said that he must have received a visit from my husband the night +before. He told me that he had in fact seen him, and then as he took +refuge in silence I threw myself on my knees before him beseeching him +to have pity on me and tell me whether Herbert had confessed his crime. +He seemed surprised, helped me to rise to my feet, and questioned me. + +“Slowly I told him the story of my life, such as I have told it to +you, and at last I described the awful discovery which I had made in +the little study in the chalet at Todtnau. I ended by declaring that I +should never have allowed an innocent man to be executed, and that had +not my husband given himself up, I should not have hesitated to inform +the police. And then I asked him as a final act of mercy, to be allowed +to see Herbert. + +“‘Yes, you shall see him, madame,’ he returned. ‘Please come with me.’ + +“He took me, more dead than alive, to the prison, through the corridors +and up a staircase. Here he stood me before a small barred window which +jutted over a large hall and left me, telling me to have patience. A +number of other persons soon took up their positions at this window, +and looked into the hall without speaking. + +“I did as they did. It was as though I was fastened to the bars, and I +had the feeling that I was about to witness some monstrous spectacle. + +“The hall was gradually lined with a number of persons all of whom +maintained a mournful silence. Daylight now rendered the scene more +visible. In the center of the hall we could clearly discern a heavy +block of wood, and some one behind me exclaimed: + +“‘That’s the headman’s block!’ + +“So Müller was to be executed! An icy perspiration began to trickle +down my forehead, and I cannot say even now how it was that I did not +fall into a dead faint. A door opened, and a procession appeared headed +by the condemned man, quivering in his shirt which was cut low and +showed his bare neck. His hands were bound behind his back, and he was +supported by two warders. A minister of religion was murmuring in his +ear. + +“The wretched man began to speak. In a few trembling words he confessed +his crime and asked forgiveness of God and man. A civic officer took +note of the confession and read out the sentence of the Court; and then +the two warders thrust the convict on his knees and placed his head on +the block. + +“Mathis Müller might have already been dead for all the sign of life +he gave, when a man with bare arms carrying an axe on his shoulder, +stepped forward from the side where he had hitherto remained in the +background. + +“This man placed his hand upon the prisoner’s head, waved the two +warders aside, lifted the axe and struck a terrible blow. Nevertheless +he had to strike a second time before the head fell. Then he picked it +up by the hair and stood erect. + +“How was it that I was able to watch the unspeakably horrible sight +until the end? Yet I could not remove my eyes from this scene of blood, +and it seemed as though there was still something for me to see, and +indeed my eyes did see ... they saw, when holding in his shaking hand +the abominable trophy the executioner drew himself up and raised his +eyes. + +“I uttered a piercing shriek, ‘Herbert!’ and fell unconscious. + + * * * * * + +“Now, monsieur, you know my story. I had married the public +executioner. The axe which I had discovered in the little study was the +executioner’s axe; the blood-stained clothes were the executioner’s +clothes. + +“Next day I fled to the house of an old relative, and I very nearly +lost my reason; and I don’t know how it is that I am still in this +world. + +“As for my husband, who could not live without me, for he loved me more +than anything on earth, he was found two months later hanging in our +room. I received a last letter from him: + +“‘Forgive me, Elizabeth. I have tried every sort of occupation. I +was dismissed as soon as it was discovered that I was the son of my +father. I was forced at an early age to make up my mind to take up the +succession of his work. You will understand now how it is that the +office of public executioner descends from father to son. I was born +an honest man, and the only crime that I have ever committed in my life +was to conceal the truth from you.... Farewell!’” + + * * * * * + +While I stood gazing in dumb amazement at the spot in the lake where +the lady in black had thrown the little gold axe, she disappeared in +the distance. + + + THE END + + + Transcriber’s Notes: + + • Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + • Text enclosed by pluses is in small caps (+small caps+). + • Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76493 *** diff --git a/76493-h/76493-h.htm b/76493-h/76493-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..27885a7 --- /dev/null +++ b/76493-h/76493-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5583 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="utf-8"> + <title>The New Terror | Project Gutenberg</title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + + body { + margin-left: 8%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 { + text-align: center; + clear: both; + } + + h1 {margin-top: 0;} + + h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} + + /* === h2 Subheading === */ + .subheadc { + font-size: smaller; + text-align: center; + margin: 1% 2%; + font-weight: bold; + } + + p { + margin-top: .5em; + margin-bottom: .5em; + text-align: justify; + text-indent: 1em; + } + + .p2 {margin-top: 2em;} + + /* === Title page === */ + div.titlepage { + text-align: center; + font-weight: bold; + max-width: 30em; + page-break-before: always; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + } + + div.chapter { + clear: both; + margin-top: 10%; + page-break-before: always; + } + + hr {width: 35%; margin: 1% 32.5%; clear: both;} + hr.tb {width: 45%; margin: 3% 27.5%;} + hr.double2 { + width: 95%; + margin-right: 2.5%; + margin-left: 2.5%; + height: 6px; + border-top: 3px solid black; + border-bottom: 3px solid black; + border-right: 0 solid white; + border-left: 0 solid white; + } + hr.full {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%; border: 2px solid black;} + hr.chap {width: 65%; margin: 5% 17.5%;} + .x-ebookmaker hr.chap {visibility: hidden;} + @media print {hr.chap {visibility: hidden;}} + + .bbox { + width: 14em; + border-top: 12px double black; + border-right: none; + border-bottom: 12px double black; + border-left: none; + } + + /* === Super/subscript size === */ + sup, sub {font-size: 75%;} + + /* === Fonts === */ + .xsmall {font-size: x-small;} + .small {font-size: small;} + .large {font-size: large;} + .xlarge {font-size: x-large;} + .xxlarge {font-size: xx-large;} + .xxxlarge {font-size: 200%;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .gesperrt2 {letter-spacing: 0.2em; margin-right: -0.2em;} + + /* === Alignment === */ + .mt2 {margin-top: 2%;} + .mt5 {margin-top: 5%;} + .mt10 {margin-top: 10%;} + .mb2 {margin-bottom: 2%;} + .mb3 {margin-bottom: 3%;} + .mb20 {margin-bottom: 20%;} + .lh1 {line-height: 1.5em;} + .center {text-align: center;} + + /* === Page #s === */ + .pagenum { + position: absolute; + right: 1%; + color: gray; + font-size: x-small; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; + padding: 0 0.2em; + } + + blockquote { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 5%; + font-size: 90%; + } + + /* === Tables === */ + table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + } + + .tdl {text-align: left;} + .tdr {text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom; padding-left: 1em;} + .tdrt {text-align: right; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 0.5em;} + + .tdhang { + text-align: justify; + padding-left: 1.5em; + text-indent: -1.5em; + } + + /* === Footnotes === */ + .footnote { + margin: 1% 5% 1% 6%; + padding: 0.51% 1%; + font-size: small; + text-align: justify; + border: 1px dashed; + text-indent: 1.5em; + } + + .footnote .label { + position: absolute; + right: 84.5%; + text-align: right; + } + + .fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: x-small; + text-decoration: none; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; + } + + .col2 {margin-left: 24%;} + + /* === Poetry === */ + .center-container { + display: flex; + justify-content: center; + } + + .poetry { + text-align: left; + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 5%; + } + + .stanza { + margin: 0.75em auto; + text-indent: -3em; + } + .stanza div.i0 {padding-left: 3em;} + + /* === Text drop caps === */ + p.drop-cap {text-indent: 0;} + p.drop-cap:first-letter { + float: left; + font-size: 4em; + margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; + line-height: 0.8 + } + .x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap {text-indent: inherit;} + .x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap:first-letter { + float: none; + font-size: inherit; + padding-right: inherit; + padding-left: inherit; + margin-top: inherit; + line-height: inherit; + } + + /* === Images === */ + img { + max-width: 100%; + height: auto; + } + + figure { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + max-width: 100%; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + clear: both; + } + + figcaption { + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center; + } + + .illowp67 {width: 67%;} + + /* === Abreviation: no underline, no color === */ + abbr { + border: none; + text-decoration: none; + } + + /* no underline of links */ + a {text-decoration: none;} + + /* === Transcriber's notes === */ + ul.spaced li {padding-top: 1%;} + + .transnote { + background-color: #E6E6FA; + border: 1px solid; + color: black; + font-size: small; + padding: 0.5em; + margin-top: 3em; + margin-bottom: 3em; + font-family: sans-serif, serif; + } + + </style> +</head> + +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76493 ***</div> + <figure class="x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <img class="illowp67" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" id="cover"> + </figure> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="titlepage mt5 mb20 bbox"> + <div class="smcap" style="font-size: 335%;">T<i>he</i> N<i>ew</i><br> + T<i>error</i></div> + </div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <figure class="illowp67" style="page-break-before: always;"> + <img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" alt="" id="frontispiece"> + <figcaption>“My cry was torn from me by the vision of Cordélia’s + form ... rising between us at the moment when our fingers were pressing + the triggers....”</figcaption> + </figure> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="titlepage"> + <hr class="double2"> + <h1 class="smcap mb2" style="font-size: 460%;">T<i>he</i><br>N<i>ew</i> T<i>error</i></h1> + <hr class="double2"> + + <div class="xxlarge gesperrt2 mt2"><i>By</i> GASTON LEROUX</div> + + <div class="small lh1 mb3">AUTHOR OF “THE PHANTOM CLUE,” “WOLVES OF THE<br> + SEA,” “MISSING MEN,” ETC.</div> + <hr class="full"> + + <div class="small" style="margin-top: 14%; margin-bottom: 30%;"><i>FRONTISPIECE BY GEORGE W. GAGE</i></div> + + <div class="large">NEW YORK<br> + <i class="gesperrt2">THE MACAULAY COMPANY</i></div> + <hr class="double2"> + </div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="titlepage"> + <div class="lh1"><i>Published in England under the title</i><br> + THE BURGLED HEART</div> + <hr class="full"> + <i>Copyright, 1926, by The Macaulay Company</i><br> + <div style="margin-top: 30%;"><i>Printed in the United States of America</i></div> + </div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> + </div> + + <table> + <thead> + <tr class="xsmall"> + <th colspan="2" class="tdl">CHAPTER</th> + <th class="tdr">PAGE</th> + </tr> + </thead> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">I</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#I">My Betrothal to Cordélia</a></td> + <td class="tdr">9</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">II</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#II">The Portrait</a></td> + <td class="tdr">12</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">III</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#III">Vascoeuil and Hennequeville</a></td> + <td class="tdr">20</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">IV</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#IV">The Wedding</a></td> + <td class="tdr">29</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">V</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#V">An Unexpected Present</a></td> + <td class="tdr">39</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">VI</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#VI">Patrick</a></td> + <td class="tdr">47</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">VII</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#VII">After the Wedding</a></td> + <td class="tdr">72</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">VIII</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#VIII">Dr. Thurel</a></td> + <td class="tdr">77</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">IX</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#IX">I Discover a Change in Cordélia</a></td> + <td class="tdr">92</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">X</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#X">The Second Night</a></td> + <td class="tdr">98</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">XI</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#XI">The Golden Chamber</a></td> + <td class="tdr">111</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">XII</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#XII">The Thief</a></td> + <td class="tdr">120</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">XIII</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#XIII">Happiness Consists in Realities not in Dreams</a></td> + <td class="tdr">128</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">XIV</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#XIV">Happy Days</a></td> + <td class="tdr">138</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">XV</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#XV">In Which My Anxiety About Cordélia’s Polygon is Revived</a></td> + <td class="tdr">141</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">XVI</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#XVI">The Appointment</a></td> + <td class="tdr">146</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">XVII</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#XVII">The Duel</a></td> + <td class="tdr">164</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">XVIII</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#XVIII">And Now ...</a></td> + <td class="tdr">178</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrt">XIX</td> + <td class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#XIX">The Last Visit—</a></td> + <td class="tdr">185</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#A_TERRIBLE_TALE">A Terrible Tale</a></td> + <td class="tdr">189</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="tdhang smcap"><a href="#THE_GOLD_AXE">The Gold Axe</a></td> + <td class="tdr">229</td> + </tr> + </tbody> + </table> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <div class="xxxlarge center"><b>THE NEW TERROR</b></div> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="I">CHAPTER I</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">MY BETROTHAL TO CORDÉLIA</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">OUR parents as good as betrothed us from our earliest infancy. When I + was twelve and she was eight, our friends used to remark that we made + a charming couple, and our mothers were lost in admiration of us. We + would gladly have been married at once we were so fond of one another. + We were first cousins, and were often brought together at holiday time. + At that period Cordélia had already given me her heart, the budding + heart of a little maid of eight.</p> + + <p>I was a tall, sturdy boy for my age with a fair, almost reddish-brown + complexion, passionately devoted to every form of sport, but idle in + the school-room. Life in the open air was the one thing that attracted + me. Cordélia, who possessed an inclination for reading and the arts, + acquired her taste for outdoor life from me. Her mother was Italian. My + uncle had married her during a business trip <span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span>to Turin. When Cordélia + was eight years old she was a talented musician, but she surprised us + still more by the facility with which she drew or painted anything + which interested her or struck her fancy. As for myself, whatever came + from her hands seemed to me in the nature of a marvel.</p> + + <p>I loved her all the more for her gifts and I bestowed on her unstinted + admiration. It was I who taught her how to ride. She knew no fear. + Sometimes she gave me a fright, but I could not choose but follow her, + and she did with me as she pleased. I was never a dreamer. Once she + said, “Let us dream,” and I pretended as I stood beside her to dream, + meaning thereby that I kept silent. Then she eyed me with a queer + expression and burst into laughter.</p> + + <p>“Kiss me,” she said.</p> + + <p>I tried to kiss her and she fled.</p> + + <p>We made merry in this way until I was nineteen. I had become a tall, + strongly-built fellow with a freckled face. She considered me the + handsomest of men. She always considered me the handsomest of men. + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span>She herself had become beautiful beyond words. The slenderness of the + unruly young girl had given way to a form of ideal elegance and charm. + She was neither fair nor dark. The color of her hair, which I called + a fluffy radiance was all her own. Her eyes were green, flecked with + gold, whose shades were ever changing. And then her graceful figure! + She was as supple as a reed as the saying is, but by no means frail.</p> + + <p>We continued to amuse ourselves like children.</p> + + <p>Nevertheless one day we took each other by the hand and went thus + together to our parents asking them to consent to our marriage without + loss of time. We were filled with a wild desire to go for a wedding + trip on horseback. Our parents, to our infinite sorrow, refused to + listen to us. They postponed our trip on horseback for five years from + then, and packed me off to America, which seemed to me a cruel and + bitter mockery. And then I returned for my military service. And after + that I was dispatched to America once more.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="II">CHAPTER II</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE PORTRAIT</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">MY father who was an iron manufacturer intended to take me into his + works, but first of all he was bent on my undergoing a complete course + of study in one of those Technical Institutes in the United States + where one is supposed to learn everything that can be useful to a + mechanic and an engineer, but where the practice of every form of sport + is a particular and glorious feature. I may say that I was the pride of + the Institute though I was the greatest dunce in it. Boxing, tennis, + golf, riding, swimming, boating, into which I fiercely threw myself, + diverted my thoughts from Cordélia without making me forget her.</p> + + <p>I counted the months which stood between me and the happiness that + awaited me. Meanwhile my father and mother were carried off almost + at the same time during <span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span>an epidemic of influenza, as it was then + called. I fulfilled their wishes by making no attempt to precipitate + the course of events. They were of opinion that I ought not to marry + until I reached my twenty-fourth year. I had no desire to thwart them, + particularly now that they were in their graves.</p> + + <p>My uncle’s attitude towards me in the circumstances left nothing to be + desired. He took upon himself the management of my business affairs. I + was relieved from all trouble, notwithstanding that both my father and + mother had left me a considerable fortune.</p> + + <p>He asked me if I wished to take up the succession to my father’s + business. I answered that I would readily have done so had such been + necessary, but since I was left with sufficient means to insure the + happiness of Cordélia and myself, I had made up my mind to live, in my + own way, upon my income.</p> + + <p>He assured me that I would soon become bored unless I engaged in some + work. I answered that I had often felt bored when I was engaged in + work but never when I was not working. My uncle’s ideas belonged to a + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span>different age which did not realize how full life is nowadays. I mean + full of the movement which brings with it health and beauty. An athlete + is never bored.</p> + + <p>For that matter, the argument that I am advancing on the subject of + work is by no means necessarily that of a “sportsman.” I have heard a + man of considerable intellectual power, an author—a novelist who worked + his ten hours a day—declare that he had a horror of work because work + swallowed up the best part of his time, leaving him no opportunity of + seeing life which was a marvelous occupation and a spectacle tedious + only to imbeciles. He looked upon work as an ignominious necessity to + which mankind had been doomed for some transgression or other, and + he considered that those mortals who by the favor of the gods were + absolved from it, and yet clamored for it because time hung heavily + upon their hands, were deserving of eternal punishment.</p> + + <p>For my part, I hold the same opinion and I add: If they are feeling + bored, bless my soul, let them play football.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span></p> + + <p>At length I reached my twenty-fourth year, and I sailed in the mail + steamer to Havre. I already pictured to myself Cordélia waiting for + me on the pier. I had not seen her for eighteen months. We had never + ceased to write to each other with the greatest freedom. And yet during + the last period of my stay in America I seemed to perceive some change + in her.</p> + + <p>True, her heart still remained mine but her mind had become unsettled; + in other words I did not comprehend everything that she said in her + letters. I have mentioned that Cordélia had always displayed an + inclination for the arts and in particular for painting. Well, it was + in connection with a small painting that she sent to me, a portrait of + myself painted from memory, which I considered a splendid likeness, + that she wrote extraordinary things which I scornfully called, without + quite knowing why, a “deterioration,” for they appertained to a sphere + of knowledge in which we were not accustomed to wander at my Technical + Institute.</p> + + <p>I said to myself: Cordélia thinks too much. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span>It is high time that I was + home. You bet I’ll make her give up her books and painting and music, + and then to horse! as in the good old days.</p> + + <p>But let me return to this portrait and in regard to it I will refer + to my “notes.” I am not, to be sure, one of those persons who write + their recollections from day to day. But I rejoice that I possess these + memoranda, and I will explain how they came to be made almost without + my noticing it, and why I happened to keep them.</p> + + <p>I am very methodical and have always kept a strict record of my + expenditure. I still have my little account books. Thus in the evening + after casting up my accounts for the day, I used to sit gazing at + the figures before me and dreaming of Cordélia, and I seldom closed + the book without setting down some thought about her, or adding some + comment upon her last letter.</p> + + <p>These were often very simple remarks. For example, I find this entry + under the date of the 25th April, 19——.</p> + + <p>“Thirty-five dollars ten cents.... <span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span>Dearest Cordélia, we shall have + heaps of beautiful children crowding round our knee.” Or else a few + words even more simple still. Under the date of the 30th May of the + same year I find:</p> + + <p>“Twenty-five dollars ten cents.... Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!”</p> + + <p>Here are my observations concerning the portrait:</p> + + <p>“To-day I received my portrait painted by Cordélia. It is a speaking + likeness. It is complete in every respect, even to the scar which I + still bear under the right eyebrow, caused by an unlucky fall against + the corner of the stairs when I was eight. The wound bled copiously, + and I call to mind Cordélia’s sorrow, for we had been playing together. + I feel certain that when she portrayed this little scar she remembered + that unfortunate mishap with some feeling. Dear, dear Cordélia!”</p> + + <p>A month later I wrote the following note:</p> + + <p>“What is happening? I have received a letter from Cordélia and can + make nothing of it. She asks me to return the portrait. She considers + the painting unworthy. I don’t quite <span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span>follow whether she considers it + unworthy of me or unworthy of her. Moreover she declares that while it + resembles me it is not like me. What is the meaning of this fantastic + language?”</p> + + <p>And still dwelling on the portrait which, however, I was careful not to + return to her because I was delighted with it, I wrote:</p> + + <p>“Cordélia says in her letter that I ought to understand that a portrait + should represent something more than the mere lineaments of a person; + for instance, it should convey the expression of the soul and in so far + as the soul is not expressed in a portrait, it expresses nothing at + all!”</p> + + <p>Well, I was quite at a loss. I did not understand how she could + materialize my soul which was a thing essentially unseen. Had she meant + by her words that it is indispensable to put life into a portrait, I + should agree with her, and all that is needed for the purpose is a + certain touch of animation in the expression of the eyes, but to depict + the soul!... I shall ask her to explain what she means.</p> + + <p>I pass over various comments expressing <span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span>surprise at the tone of other + letters from Cordélia which, moreover, were becoming very brief and few + and far between. I am eager to arrive at Havre....</p> + + <p>And here I was at Havre again.</p> + + <p>Alas! Cordélia was not waiting for me on the pier.</p> + + <p>On the other hand an old man-servant of my uncle’s came to meet me on + the <cite>Titan</cite>, which was a small steam-tug engaged in the pilot and + post service, and I learnt that Cordélia and her father had set out two + days before on “an urgent journey abroad.”</p> + + <p>Though I was physically hardened by my devotion to sport, I could + not restrain my tears, for the news was so unforeseen and coincided + so little with my expectations, that I felt a presentiment that some + irretrievable calamity had befallen me.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="III">CHAPTER III</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">VASCOEUIL AND HENNEQUEVILLE</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">IT was not that I entertained the slightest doubt of Cordélia’s love, + but I fancied that my uncle was no longer favorable to our union, and + had contrived the journey in order that I might understand for myself a + position which he would have found hard to explain by word of mouth.</p> + + <p>“Have they gone away for any length of time?” I inquired in a trembling + voice.</p> + + <p>Old Surdon, the man-servant, who was never a gossip, gave me to + understand by a gesture that he knew nothing.</p> + + <p>“Where have they gone?”</p> + + <p>Another gesture in like manner to the first completed my discomfiture. + Surdon, however, without undue haste drew a letter from the inside + pocket of his coat.</p> + + <p>I snatched it from his hand, opened it, and read:</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span></p> + + <blockquote> + <p>“<span class="smcap">My dear Nephew</span>,</p> + + <p>“We find ourselves suddenly compelled to leave for abroad. I have + to deal with a matter which, as you may readily imagine, is of the + utmost importance. We shall not remain away longer than we can + help, but I scarcely think that we shall be able to return for + a couple of months. We shall frequently write to you through an + indirect channel, because I am anxious that you alone should know + where we are. Be careful to keep the secret of our whereabouts to + yourself. Don’t worry about anything. Cordélia still loves you; and + you will be married before the end of the year. Look forward to + seeing us at Vascoeuil where I am sending my servants. Surdon will + be your servant.”</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>While this letter and the remark, “You will be married before the + end of the year,” reassured me as to my uncle’s purpose, it greatly + perplexed me as to Cordélia. “Cordélia still loves you.” What was the + necessity to add those words? Moreover, the letter filled me with + a vague misgiving for a number of reasons. What was the meaning of + this mysterious journey, and why should I receive tidings from him + through an indirect source? <span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span>Most of all, why should I be packed off to + Vascoeuil?</p> + + <p>My uncle and Cordélia were in the habit of spending the summer at + Hennequeville, where they owned “Clos Normand,” a splendid estate on + the main road to Honfleur. It was a huge, entirely new structure, by + which I mean that it was built some fifteen years before, and possessed + the most important thing in the world—modern comfort. Vascoeuil, on + the other hand, which we used to visit once during the year, at the + beginning of the hunting season, was a large country house not devoid + of a certain style and charm but antiquated and lacking in well-nigh + everything that makes life easy.</p> + + <p>This manor house had always produced on me a peculiar impression, with + its high, colorless walls, its tower at one of the extremities casting + its reflection in the chill waters of the river, its great neglected + courtyard, its dilapidated out-houses, and its ill-kept grounds whose + moss-covered paths gave forth an odor of decay.</p> + + <p>The rooms in the house with their paintings <span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span>from which the freshness + had departed, and the faded mirrors, seemed to be haunted by shades + which our annual visit disturbed. I have never been a believer of + ghosts, but Vascoeuil invariably gave me an uncanny feeling.</p> + + <p>Strange to say, Cordélia rather liked the place and found “poetry” + in it. When I began to analyze my feelings, the apprehension which + Vascoeuil caused me seemed to be explained by the fact that I was a + man of sound health and well-balanced mind, and everything round me + which failed to correspond with these solid realities was unendurable. + Vascoeuil was not a “healthy” place. That was enough to make me take a + dislike to it.</p> + + <p>My dislike was still further increased when I found myself there with + old Surdon and Mathilde, his wife, but without Cordélia.</p> + + <p>I have mentioned that Surdon was never a gossip, but Mathilde was in + the habit of giving free play to her tongue. She had known us from our + infancy and was very fond of us; and for years had spoken with delight + of our future marriage. I had no sooner arrived than, taking her on + one side, I asked her without beating <span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span>about the bush to tell me the + meaning of the whole thing.</p> + + <p>She heaved a sigh and turned on her heel. I ran after her and caught + her by the skirt. She began to cry:</p> + + <p>“I swear, monsieur, that it’s nothing,” she said, wiping her eyes. “It + was the master’s idea to live here. He did not ask our advice you may + be sure.”</p> + + <p>“Well, if it pleases him, let him come here instead of running about + all over Europe and taking Cordélia away from me. As for myself, I + shall clear out.”</p> + + <p>“Where to?”</p> + + <p>“Hennequeville.”</p> + + <p>As soon as I uttered the word Mathilde betrayed the utmost excitement.</p> + + <p>“No, no. Your uncle wouldn’t be pleased if he heard you were at + Hennequeville. He has taken it into his head that you mustn’t go there.”</p> + + <p>Mathilde was a native of Darnetal in the Rouen district. That meant + that she was artful and obstinate. I saw that I should get nothing out + of her. But I made up my mind <span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span>to go to Hennequeville. I reached the + place next day. It was about six o’clock in the evening when I got + there.</p> + + <p>Heavens! how pleased I was to see the country and how delightful the + grounds were! In truth, with the glossy and luxuriant verdure of the + meadows, and the sweet-scented hedgerows in full bloom, there was + nothing ghostly about Hennequeville. And yet when, at the turn of the + road, I came in sight of the empty house, my heart was filled with + anguish. Never before had it greeted me with such a vacant look. Its + shuttered windows and locked doors made a strange impression on me.</p> + + <p>How remote it all seemed from Cordélia’s laughter and kisses and + the welcome I used to receive when formerly I crossed the beloved + threshold. There was no echo of the olden time. The house no longer + knew me. I lay my head heavily on the garden gate and thus I remained + for I know not how long, a prey to the gloomiest dejection.</p> + + <p>Darkness had fallen by now, and when I looked up I was not a little + surprised to perceive a few steps away from me a dark form <span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span>which I + might have taken for my own shadow, its posture so exactly resembled my + own. The shadow also heaved a sigh. I was struck dumb with fear.</p> + + <p>But my amazement did but increase when I heard this shadow give + utterance aloud to feelings which I expressed to myself in a whisper. + In words whose exact form I am unable to set down, but which admirably + conveyed my thoughts, the dark form declared that it was impossible + for a mind endowed with any sensibility to pass this beautiful domain + without stopping long enough at least to regret that all that life of + elegance and enjoyment for which it had been built, seemed to have + departed from it forever.</p> + + <p>Whereupon somewhat taken aback I made answer, lying to myself,—for I + say again that my prevision was the same as the shadow’s—that there was + no reason why this house which was closed for the time being, should + not be re-opened some day and be filled once more with joyous life and + activity. But the shadow sighed once more, shook its head, uttered the + one word “Never!” which sent a shudder <span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span>through me, and gliding behind + the wall vanished from sight.</p> + + <p>I left the place more cast down than when I arrived. My curious meeting + with a stranger who seemed to be stirred by an emotion singularly akin + to my own, unnerved me to a degree which at first I failed to realize; + but as I was descending the hill which led me back to the Tongues + valley, I thought I recognized in front of me the dark form of the + man whose voice I had heard near me, and I started to run in order to + overtake him.</p> + + <p>I came up with him outside an inn from whose partly-opened door a faint + glimmer of light could be seen. It was sufficient, however, to enable + me to perceive some of his features, for he turned round as I drew + near. Apart from a certain handsomeness, I was at once struck with his + eyes, or rather their brightness. They seemed to burn in the darkness.</p> + + <p>Only the eyes of certain albinos, or the eyes of cats who are able to + distinguish things in the dark, unseen by human eyes, have produced a + similar effect on me. The man <span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span>emerged from the light and I saw his + burning eyes as he stood in the road.</p> + + <p>I would have liked to speak to him but my courage failed me.</p> + + <p>I remained standing there as though dazed while he walked away. The + fresh breeze from the sea fortunately swept my brow. Some one spoke to + me. It was the innkeeper. I made my way into the inn and asked him if + he knew the man who had just passed his door. He told me that he was a + celebrated English painter, and people in the country round said of him + that he was “a bit touched.”</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="IV">CHAPTER IV</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE WEDDING</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">When I returned to Vascoeuil a letter lay waiting for me. It bore the + Paris postmark, and the address was written in a handwriting unknown + to me. On opening it I found a line from my uncle who had written a + hurried scrawl from the Tyrol.</p> + + <p>The Tyrol! People do not go to the Tyrol for business purposes.</p> + + <p>What was his object in wandering about the Tyrol with Cordélia while I + was kept waiting for them in this wretched house? He did not attempt to + explain. He gave me an address to which I was to write to him.</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>“Write as often as you can; write every day. In the meantime I will + suggest something which will occupy your time until we return. I + want you to redecorate Vascoeuil with ‘every modern comfort.’ I + leave the matter entirely to you. Furnish it to your own taste. + It belongs to you and Cordélia. I <span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span>intend to give it to you as + a wedding present. You will be married at Vascoeuil. I am well + aware that the property has never greatly appealed to you. Have it + renovated in such a way that you will like it. But don’t have any + alterations made in the grounds. That will be Cordélia’s affair. + She has ideas on the subject. We both send you our love.”</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>Not a word came from Cordélia. Why did she not write to me? Did she no + longer love me? Ever since my return from Hennequeville I asked myself + the terrible question.</p> + + <p>I wrote to my uncle and gave full expression to my misgivings.</p> + + <p>I told him that it was impossible for me to apply myself to any task + whatsoever unless I knew how I stood with regard to Cordélia, and she + alone would be able to restore my peace of mind.</p> + + <p>A fortnight elapsed without any reply. I spent those two weeks like an + idiot waiting for the postman. Surdon and his wife took pity on me and + endeavored to “argue” with me, but I refused to listen to them. At last + I received a letter. Again it bore the Paris postmark. How I leaped + upon it!</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span></p> + + <p>A letter from Cordélia! That is to say a line or two:</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>“Of course I still love you my dear Hector. I have never ceased to + love you. What an idea! And what nonsense! We shall meet soon, my + husband to be!”</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>Well, it was a letter which by no means satisfied me. “I still love you + my dear Hector,” seemed to me a sort of plaster to cure my pain. It was + not what I wanted; and even “We shall meet soon, my husband to be” was + cold comfort to me.</p> + + <p>I wrote to Cordélia and poured out all my woes. I wept like a child + over the letter as I reminded her of our vows, and I assured her that + I would rather die in despair than lead to the altar a Cordélia who no + longer loved me as of yore.</p> + + <p>Then, oh then, a few days later, I received eight pages from + Cordélia—eight long pages which made me weep for joy. I recognized + in them my little playmate of the long ago, her vivacity, her + impulsiveness, her delight in being with me, her adorable love of + mischief. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span>She seemed to have plunged anew into the past with an + abandon which she wished me to share. She would have no difficulty in + that!</p> + + <p>And then suddenly after indulging in these memories she spoke of the + present with an assurance which at once restored my mental and physical + health. She was looking forward to the simple duties of marriage. + She spoke of our taking up our abode at Vascoeuil and entered into + particulars which caused me straightway to fall in love with the place. + She went on:</p> + + <p>“You will see how delightful Vascoeuil will look when, between us, we + have had it refurbished to our tastes. You must take a trip to Paris + and buy various things,”—here was a list of suggested purchases.—“I + want you to have everything ready by the time we return, because father + wishes us to be married at once. I shan’t be the one to stand in the + way! Oh, while I think of it: Don’t have anything done to the grounds. + You have never understood them. They have a beauty all their own, which + I am longing to develop to the utmost. I shall transform them into a + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span>garden fit for Pelléas and Melisande. We will take our walks in them + in days of depression, for however happy one may be, life has its days + of depression which, however, are not without a charm of their own. In + the meantime, how delightful it would be to go for our honeymoon on + horseback as though we were both crazy. You will remember that when we + were quite young we used to dream of making such a trip, and we laughed + at those respectable people who went off by the ordinary train. But you + will see that we shall take the train like everybody else. What does + it matter so long as there is a gondola at the end of the journey? We + will go to Venice. That was always understood. The Tyrol is horrible. + Nothing but mountains. And I loathe mountains, particularly when they + keep me apart from you!”</p> + + <p class="p2">The eight pages continued in this strain. Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! + How could I ever have doubted you and your dear little heart, your dear + little heart!... Quick, to work! Come on bricklayers and painters and + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span>“the whole blooming lot of you” as my uncle would say.</p> + + <p>I stirred the men on to greater exertions by my good spirits and + generosity. I myself looked like a bricklayer’s laborer, and Surdon + gave way to silent laughter when he handed me a jug of cider which I + emptied at a gulp in order to show the others that I could do full + justice to the amber liquor.</p> + + <p>I did well to hurry on with the work. My uncle and Cordélia arrived + home a week earlier than they had foretold. I expected them about the + eighth of October, whereas they reached Vascoeuil on the last day of + September. The work was not nearly finished.</p> + + <p>Cordélia found me on the top of a ladder busily engaged in papering + her boudoir. I fell into her arms. She bore the shock quite well, + exclaiming: “Heavens, how ugly!” I made a gesture which caused her to + burst out laughing. I thought that she was speaking of me while she was + referring to the wallpaper. That was enough to throw us into a state of + merriment which brought my uncle on the scene.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span></p> + + <p>He gave us his blessing and kissed us; kissed us and gave us his + blessing a second time; and recounted that he himself was married in + that house, that Cordélia was born in it, that our children and our + grand-children would be born in it. Whereupon Cordélia, who turned a + deaf ear to him, exclaimed:</p> + + <p>“My goodness, how nice the paint smells here. I say, look here, father, + I don’t want to be anything but a house-painter now. How does that + strike you?”</p> + + <p>“I approve my dear. Oh, I quite approve. That’s a very healthy idea!”</p> + + <p>I was rather surprised to hear him speak like that. I was always under + the impression that the health of a house-painter was subject to + considerable risk, owing, I think, to the white lead in his materials, + and I raised the objection to my uncle, whose only answer was to give + me a friendly pat on the back.</p> + + <p>A few minutes later he said with his usual kindly smile:</p> + + <p>“You are still the best of all Hectors. I hope you’ll never be any + different.”</p> + + <p>I don’t know why he should have given utterance <span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span>to such a sentiment, + because I have no intention of being any different. Nevertheless on + thinking it over, I have since concluded that he found a simplicity in + me which appealed to him, the unemotional and well-balanced temperament + of a man who is not in the habit of creating difficulties where there + are none, and he counselled me to remain as I was if I wished to insure + our happiness.</p> + + <p>The three following weeks passed so quickly and pleasantly that they + stand out in my memory as among the happiest weeks of my life. I + dismissed from my mind every preoccupation having no connection with + the diversions of the day, and these consisted, for Cordélia and me, + of upsetting the entire household, hiding behind doors, chasing one + another like school children and kissing until Cordélia, all flushed, + gently pushed me away exclaiming: “Hector that will do ... leave some + for to-morrow!”</p> + + <p>Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!</p> + + <p>When she first came home I thought that she was looking rather pale, + overcome doubtless by the fatigues of the journey. Now she <span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span>had + regained her beautiful color. She was still as slender as before, but I + discerned that none of the natural beauties of a woman were lacking in + her. I hardly know how to express my meaning, but to my mind women were + never more beautiful than they are nowadays; and I still adhere to my + opinion. Mentally and physically she was perfect. I cannot say more.</p> + + <p>At last the great day arrived. It was a wonderful function and one + that will long be remembered and talked about at Vascoeuil. Cordélia’s + father, who was a great landed proprietor, had issued invitations to + the entire district after the fashion of his own day. I mean that + representatives of the families round about, the possessors of great + names and great fortunes, were present and entertained with princely + magnificence.</p> + + <p>My uncle would have liked the festivities to be kept up for three days, + but he yielded to Cordélia’s entreaties, for she declared that if the + guests remained after six o’clock we should take our departure. The + wedding breakfast, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span>in accordance with Cordélia’s wishes, was called + lunch. And it was indeed a lunch!</p> + + <p>But all this was nothing in comparison with the feast which was given + about a mile away at the farm of my uncle’s principal tenant. Tents + had been erected in a large field, and the country people who were + assembled therein let themselves go for all they were worth, like the + guests at the gargantuan wedding feast of Gamache.</p> + + <p>Cordélia gracefully went the round of the tables without evincing the + least repugnance for all this excessive gorging and I was very glad. I + accompanied her like a little dog.</p> + + <p>“They’re not at all stuck up. We hope they’ll be happy,” we heard our + guests exclaim on every hand.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="V">CHAPTER V</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">AN UNEXPECTED PRESENT</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">ON returning to the house we found our guests in the drawing-room + gazing enraptured at the wedding presents which were on view. Heaven + knows that they were numerous enough!</p> + + <p>It was at this juncture that Surdon came in carrying, with some + difficulty, a large flat package wrapped in canvas upon which a small + square piece of cardboard was pinned bearing in writing the words:</p> + + <p class="center">“<em>My offering for the wedding</em>”</p> + + <p class="p2">The card was not signed.</p> + + <p>Several guests had read the inscription, and were amused over the + wedding “offering.” Our attention was attracted by their laughter, + and when my uncle, Cordélia and myself drew near, they were already + speaking of a wedding <span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span>surprise, and eagerly expressing a wish to see + the present.</p> + + <p>My uncle read the card, turned pale, lifted his eyes and looked at + Cordélia, who also read it. A deep blush suffused her cheeks. But she + displayed no confusion, and smiling said:</p> + + <p>“It’s from him. He often uses one word instead of another. Sometimes he + does it on purpose as it amuses him. Besides, it’s his writing.”</p> + + <p>To me the incident was a complete riddle. My uncle’s pallor, Cordélia’s + blushes, the words that passed between them—these things began to + trouble me.</p> + + <p>“We might as well see what it is,” I said, pointing to the package.</p> + + <p>“What’s the use?” returned my uncle. “We’ll have a look at it later on.”</p> + + <p>Cordélia left us and went to an adjoining drawing-room.</p> + + <p>Then I was seized with a feeling of curiosity and opened the package + myself. When the canvas which covered it was removed, I could not + repress a cry of admiration, and the guests around me were breathless + with wonder.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span></p> + + <p>It was a portrait—a portrait of Cordélia. And such a portrait!</p> + + <p>It was a picture of a marvelous radiance. It seemed to have been + painted with the softest of lights. It was utterly impossible to + conceive by what magic of coloring a human being who had nothing at + his command save brushes and the pigments in metal tubes, was able to + transmit to canvas so ideal a visual image.</p> + + <p>I had never before encountered anything which could lead me to suspect + the existence of such an art. I had had an opportunity, like all those + who assist at great public functions in Paris, and delight in such + things, of visiting one or two exhibitions of paintings which affected + to be original, and professed to revolutionize art. Those works + expressed either an exaggerated symbolism or flights of the wildest + fantasy—were a great hoax in fact. I say freely what I think and if + any one takes offense the more’s the pity. As a general rule these + paintings are enshrouded in an erudite obscurity from which shines a + vague and eccentric glimmer of light.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span></p> + + <p>But the miracle of this portrait consisted in this: It was the picture + itself which was painted in such a way that rays seemed to radiate from + it of themselves, without the intervention of any sort of trick.</p> + + <p>The artist had succeeded in showing to the ordinary eye what it does + not usually perceive, that is to say, the invisible light which the + body radiates around itself....</p> + + <p>I can speak of these things now that I have acquired the most painful + and terrible experience in this domain, but at that time I was + conscious of it all without comprehending it, and it would have been + difficult for me to express clearly my thoughts in a language of which + I was ignorant.</p> + + <p>In short, in this effulgent portrait it was as though Cordélia’s soul + came to greet you from the first with a divine smile which emanated + from the entire expression of her face.</p> + + <p>And now I understood what she meant when she wrote: “A portrait should + represent something more than the mere lineaments of a person; it + should convey the expression of the soul.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span></p> + + <p>She was obviously acquainted therefore with painting like that which + that day had enraptured us, and also doubtless with the painter + himself, who had sent this “offering” for the wedding.</p> + + <p>It was no longer possible for me to doubt it!</p> + + <p>I bent over the canvas to discover if the portrait was signed. I + deciphered the one letter “P.”</p> + + <p>My uncle and Cordélia were not present to satisfy my curiosity. I went + to look for them but could not find them. I was told that Cordélia had + retired to her room in order to have a short rest.</p> + + <p>Our guests were beginning to take their leave. My uncle rejoined me. + The pallor which had made such an impression on me was gone. On the + other hand he was in high good humor and very talkative as he wished + good-bye to his guests. He glanced at me from time to time and smiled + broadly as how should say: “Be happy. All goes well.”</p> + + <p>What was the cause of his sudden perturbation during that memorable day?</p> + + <p>Yielding to a latent impulse which had been <span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span>growing in me since the + scene over the portrait, I returned to the drawing-room where the + wedding presents were on show. The portrait was gone.</p> + + <p>I asked old Surdon what had become of the masterpiece. He made answer + that by “Mademoiselle’s” orders—he could not get accustomed to call her + “Madame”—he had himself taken it down into the cellar.</p> + + <p>When I expressed my astonishment, he assured me that it was the very + place for the devil’s own painting.</p> + + <p>I stopped him as he was making off and said:</p> + + <p>“Do you know the man who painted the portrait?”</p> + + <p>“You have other things to do, monsieur, to-day, than to bother about + such nonsense,” he returned, giving me a look and frowning.</p> + + <p>He wanted to slip away, but I held him back.</p> + + <p>“Look here, Surdon, I am going to ask you one question, but you will + have to answer me if we are to remain good friends. When I went to + Hennequeville I saw a man outside <span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span>the garden gate looking up at the + empty house. I was told that this man was an English painter whom + people in the district regarded as slightly ‘touched.’ Is this the man + who sent the portrait to your mistress to-day?”</p> + + <p>But Surdon stubbornly turned away, answering me in words which + exasperated me:</p> + + <p>“I have already told you, monsieur, that the whole thing is nonsense.”</p> + + <p>I was raging within myself and did not know what to say.</p> + + <p>Surdon was right, however. That was a day on which nothing but my + happiness ought to have occupied my mind, and here was I questioning + a servant in secret upon incidents which, obviously, were not now + serious, and from which, to all appearance, it was desired to spare me + out of good feeling.</p> + + <p>I retired in a more or less ill temper to a secluded part of the park, + which I never cared for because of my thinking it was a dreary place. I + was surprised to find myself harboring thoughts which were unworthy of + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span>Cordélia and me. But, as has been said, man is a foolish animal.</p> + + <p>Just then my uncle came up to me. He was in traveling clothes. He had + in fact decided to leave that same evening for Caen. He at once said + that he had something to tell me in confidence; something, however, of + no great importance to which he would certainly not have alluded but + for Surdon, who had acquainted him of my curiosity with regard to the + portrait of Cordélia.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="VI">CHAPTER VI</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">PATRICK</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">I FELT somewhat disconcerted, but as occasionally happens in moments of + trepidation, I managed to overcome the difficulty by a bold stroke.</p> + + <p>“I say, Uncle, you must excuse me,” I began, “but accident led me + across the path of a man who was gazing gloomily at the house at + Hennequeville, and I was told he was a painter. I thought, perhaps, + that there was some connection between this painter and the portrait + which came to-day, and also certain incidents which caused me, before + our marriage, a great deal of pain.”</p> + + <p>“What do you mean?”</p> + + <p>“Your hurried departure to....”</p> + + <p>“Well, that’s true, and it was about this that I wanted to speak to + you, so that the subject should never again be mentioned between us. + You must know that Cordélia came back to the house one evening with a + stranger whom she <span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span>had discovered in a farmyard painting some wench + feeding her fowls. She declared that he was a wonderful artist and she + was very grateful to him for agreeing to accept her as a pupil.</p> + + <p>“The stranger used to laugh at her youthful enthusiasm and he conducted + himself like a gentleman. He was an Englishman of good family, slightly + eccentric, possessing views on most things which were peculiar to + himself. I did not always follow what he meant, but his ideas cast a + spell over Cordélia for the time being. I saw no reason why they should + not work together either in the house or the country round. Patrick, + for such is his christian name, and the only one by which he signs his + paintings, lived in a cottage on the borders of Tongues forest.</p> + + <p>“I was at that time greatly taken up with business which compelled me + to go frequently to Paris, and I failed to perceive the changes which + were taking place in Cordélia.</p> + + <p>“It was Surdon and his wife who called my attention to the fact that + she had lost her vivacity, no longer played at farming, or <span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span>mounted her + horse, but spent her whole time in painting or reading or dreaming, + leaving the house only when the stranger made an appointment to go + sketching in some part of the country, and returning thoughtful and + silent.</p> + + <p>“I then took stock of Cordélia and was amazed to discover a new look + on her face. She was now as grave as she used to be gay, and wore a + curious absorbed expression as though lost in a reverie. I bitterly + reproached myself for my carelessness and oversight. However, I said + nothing, the better to keep a watch over her. I soon saw for myself + that Cordélia was living only through the medium of this man Patrick’s + thought.”</p> + + <p>“Oh, good Heavens! that’s just what I feared,” I gasped.</p> + + <p>“Don’t worry yourself,” went on my uncle, “for as you will see, the + whole business is of no consequence. Do you know the sort of man + Cordélia had to do with?”</p> + + <p>“A rogue,” I returned.</p> + + <p>“That’s just it. A sort of mountebank who tried to persuade her that + the moon was made of green cheese, and told her a pack of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span>silly tales + about his psychic powers and such-like nonsense, which ended by turning + her head.”</p> + + <p>“But did she still love me?” I inquired.</p> + + <p>“I believe she still loved you, only she didn’t want to be married!”</p> + + <p>“Oh, good Heavens!” I exclaimed.</p> + + <p>“I will tell you what happened, and you will see that the whole thing + is of no consequence.”</p> + + <p>“Forgive me, Uncle, but I can plainly see that what you tell me is of + the utmost consequence. I never dreamt that it was going to be of so + much consequence!”</p> + + <p>“Look here, my boy, you make me ill. Are you a man or not? Aren’t + you married to a girl whom you adore and who loves you now that her + eyes have been opened? If to-morrow morning there is any question of + this imposter of a Patrick may the devil take me! I’ll never shake + you by the hand again. So listen to me, for we must have done with + this business.... I discovered in a desk in the studio a regular + correspondence carried on between Cordélia and Patrick in secret.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span></p> + + <p>“Well, that’s about the limit!”</p> + + <p>“This correspondence,” continued my uncle, “is what these people call a + correspondence between souls. And I can assure you, my dear Hector, it + is not this psychic communion, to use their own words, that will make + me a grandfather one of these days!... Almost at the same time I found + in Cordélia’s room, in addition to this rubbish, a new bookcase crammed + with works on magic. Yes, a library of occult science. An incredible + number of books on the unseen world, on faces and souls. Can’t you + picture a book on ‘faces and souls’? Oh and an illustrated work on + stigmatism, mediums, thaumaturgy and what not....</p> + + <p>“To prove to you, my dear fellow, that the whole business is of no + consequence, I must tell you that I had no need even to see Patrick + to get rid of him. Everything came out in the most natural way from + Cordélia, who was always a sensible girl, and herself realized the + danger which she was incurring by listening to this charlatan. When she + discovered me in the thick of all these books and Patrick’s letters + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span>before me, she threw her arms round my neck and cried: ‘Save me, + Papa!’”</p> + + <p>“Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!” I could not help interjecting. “That’s + like her old self. I recognize her there!”</p> + + <p>“‘Yes, I’ll save you from that madman, my Cordélia,’ I replied. ‘Hector + will soon be home from America, and you shall be married.’ And it was + then, my dear Hector, that she said: ‘But I can’t marry Hector. Patrick + has forbidden me.’”</p> + + <p>“Ah, yes!” I said, gasping anew. “Ah yes!... This is too thick.... + Really this Patrick having the cheek to forbid her to marry me!”</p> + + <p>“Yes, she declared that she was morally bound to obey Patrick, as her + mind belonged to him.”</p> + + <p>“Her mind belonged to him! Why hang it all, this beats everything. And + what reply did you make, pray?”</p> + + <p>“I said to her: ‘Pack up your things, my dear, and we’ll make a trip + to some part of Europe where there will be no danger of meeting this + delightful gentleman, and above <span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span>all, let’s have no more letter + writing. We’ll talk about all this again in a couple of months’ + time’.... Well, we left here as you know and there was no need to wait + a couple of months. At the end of six weeks this Patrick was forgotten, + and Cordélia thought only of you. And now, my dear boy, say good-by. + Cordélia is yours, and I hope that you won’t have any difficulty in + keeping her. Bless my soul, do your best to make her happy!”</p> + + <p>Having said which, he clasped me in his arms almost stifling me, and + left me, muttering between his teeth:</p> + + <p>“Stuff and nonsense. Stuff and nonsense.”</p> + + <p>When I got back to the house Mathilde, old Surdon’s wife, told me that + her mistress was expecting me in her room. I entered, and my eyes fell + on a dainty little champagne supper which lay ready for us, and it + was none too soon, for Cordélia and I had eaten nothing or scarcely + anything during the day, our attention being fully occupied in greeting + our guests and returning their civilities.</p> + + <p>The table was set in the boudoir, and the door leading to Cordélia’s + room was closed. I stood <span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span>there like a great stupid. I dared not knock + at the door, and I began to cough as I stared fatuously at the walls + which I myself had papered.</p> + + <p>At that moment the door was softly opened and I heard Cordélia say once + more in her laughing voice: “Gracious, how ugly! Gracious, how ugly!”</p> + + <p>I looked round and joined in the laugh, for this time I knew that she + was not alluding to me.</p> + + <p>I was surprised to see her muffled up in a fur cloak.</p> + + <p>“Hallo, have you caught cold?” I exclaimed.</p> + + <p>“I haven’t caught cold,” she made answer. “I am cold. Don’t you find it + bitterly cold?”</p> + + <p>I thought she was jesting, for as a matter of fact, the day had been + unusually warm for the time of the year, and a pleasant wood fire was + blazing in the boudoir which I could very well have dispensed with.</p> + + <p>“You know that those sables suit you to perfection, and it’s a little + affectation on your part. Not that I have the faintest objection, but + you’ll be suffocated in them.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span></p> + + <p>She replied with a shiver and summoned Mathilde to put more wood on the fire.</p> + + <p>My heart sank within me, for I imagined that she must be really out of + sorts.</p> + + <p>“I tell you there’s nothing the matter with me,” she said, taking + things very simply, “I feel cold. It might happen to any one to feel + cold. I won’t have you worrying yourself about me. I can’t pretend to + be warm when I’m cold. What a tyrant you are!... I say, we’re beginning + our married life well,” she went on in the funniest manner, as she + kissed me before Mathilde, who did not seem to mind, accustomed as she + was for so many years to see us kiss each other.</p> + + <p>It was Cordélia who told Mathilde to leave the room. Then she at once + asked:</p> + + <p>“What has father been talking to you about? You and he have + been wandering about the park, which you dislike, for more than + half-an-hour. What did he tell you?”</p> + + <p>“He told me a lot of things of no consequence,” I returned. “Let’s have + something to eat. Aren’t you hungry?”</p> + + <p>“Oh yes. But you know you may as well <span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span>tell me what he said. It was I + who sent him out to you. I wanted you to know all, dearest, before you + came upstairs to me here. Believe me the whole thing is utter nonsense. + Tell me that you forgive me.”</p> + + <p>“Do I forgive you!... Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!”</p> + + <p>As she carved the truffled galantine, she went on:</p> + + <p>“When I think of it now I see how silly I was, but he was such an odd + person. Indeed he really seems to have fascinated me.”</p> + + <p>“Don’t let us speak of it,” I entreated. “Don’t let us speak of it.”</p> + + <p>“You ought to be glad to hear me speak so calmly of it. It shows that + I am entirely cured. And I can assure you that I am quite as pleased + as you are. One must not touch such things as occultism, hypnotism, + and magic you know. One gets carried away and ceases to be master of + oneself. It is a morbid condition to be in.... What do you think of + this galantine? Come, pour me out some champagne.... And kiss me.... + What are you thinking about? Surely you’re <span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span>not going to trouble about + Patrick now. There! To mention his name makes me feel quite queer.”</p> + + <p>A shiver passed through her.</p> + + <p>“I’m certain, Hector, there’s a draught coming from somewhere.”</p> + + <p>“No, dearest, all the doors are closed.”</p> + + <p>“An ice-cold draught.”</p> + + <p>Her teeth chattered. I rose from the table filled with an indescribable + uneasiness. And suddenly, as I looked at her, I saw her turn pale.</p> + + <p>“What is it? What’s the matter Cordélia dearest?”</p> + + <p>“I see now what’s the matter,” she returned, drawing her cloak more + closely round her. “It’s the portrait.”</p> + + <p>“The portrait! What do you mean?”</p> + + <p>“The portrait which Patrick sent to me and I ordered to be taken down + into the cellar.”</p> + + <p>“Well?”</p> + + <p>“Well, the portrait is cold.”</p> + + <p>Cordélia’s words were Greek to me and the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span>look of blank amazement in + my eyes bore witness, not only to my inability to comprehend her, but + also to my uneasiness.</p> + + <p>“You don’t understand. You don’t understand,” declared Cordélia in + a quavering voice. “That is what they call the externalization of + sensibility. They assert that men of science have made conclusive + experiments in this respect. For instance, the celebrated M. de + Rochas has demonstrated scientifically that one can take a person’s + sensibility from him and transport it to a glass of water and make that + person suffer by plunging a pin into the glass of water.”</p> + + <p>I sprang from my chair utterly dismayed by the tone in which Cordélia + uttered what I regarded as “devil’s tales.”</p> + + <p>“Are you going crazy, Cordélia? Surely you don’t believe in such + preposterous stuff. Come.... Come.... Do say something.”</p> + + <p>“I feel cold,” she replied, in an increasingly quavering and far-away + voice. “I feel cold. I am as cold as my portrait. I see <span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span>that I shall + be ill if the portrait is left in the cellar. Besides it was wrong of + me to send it down there. <em>He</em> must be displeased.”</p> + + <p>I realized with a feeling of intense sorrow that my Cordélia was not so + completely cured of her strange malady as she imagined, and with tears + in my eyes I exclaimed:</p> + + <p>“Where would you like me to put it? I don’t want to go against your + wishes in such a trifling matter.”</p> + + <p>“Wherever you please, wherever you please, but don’t leave it in the + cellar. And be careful not to knock it about.”</p> + + <p>“Of course not. I’ll go and fetch it,” I said, greatly perturbed.</p> + + <p>“You must forgive me, dearest, but it’s not my fault, is it? I’m very + sorry he sent it to us.”</p> + + <p>“So am I.”</p> + + <p>I went downstairs. I was fuming. I called Surdon and gave him + instructions to fetch the portrait and then I told him not to bother + about it, for after what Cordélia had said, I feared lest he should + subject it to rough usage.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span></p> + + <p>I myself descended into the cellar. I seized the wretched canvas and + carried it to the drawing-room on the first floor, taking care in + spite of myself not to knock it against the furniture or walls. Some + people may say—some people are so clever!—that I behaved like a great + simpleton, an ass. May be. But we shall see about that. We shall see + about that.</p> + + <p>The fact is that Cordélia held such sway over my mind that I could not + choose but accede to her wishes.</p> + + <p>Nevertheless after I deposited the portrait against the foot of a + round table I flung wide open the French windows of the balcony which + was not calculated to make it warm. The cool freshness of the night + after a beautiful day, floated into the room. No blame could attach + to me. I had treated the portrait with care and it was not now in the + cellar. That was all that was asked of me, and if Cordélia was no + longer feeling cold I should at once be able to cure her of her strange + obsession.</p> + + <p>When I returned to her she was still shivering <span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span>in her cloak, and she + gave me a mournful look.</p> + + <p>“Why did you put the portrait in a draught?” she asked. “I was certain + that you would play some trick. It’s too bad of you. I am still cold. + Bring it here, and then I shall be quite easy in my mind.”</p> + + <p>“Certainly, that’s the best thing to be done,” I exclaimed, and I went + off again, bitterly regretting my mistaken calculation. I should have + done better to put the thing near the fire; and then, if Cordélia had + taken it into her head that I had left it in the cold, out of spite, + she would have been confounded once for all.</p> + + <p>When the portrait was brought into the boudoir, Cordélia, of course, + declared that she was no longer cold. She removed her fur cloak, and I + perceived that she was clad in a charming loosely-fitting robe. Oh what + a delightful, sweet little thing she was!</p> + + <p>“My dearest, you can’t think how beautiful you are,” I cried. “That’s + the honest truth, and no mere idle fancy, and when I kiss you I don’t + feel as if I am kissing a portrait!”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span></p> + + <p>“I agree with you,” she said laughing merrily. “You are taking my + breath away.”</p> + + <p>Truth to tell I held her somewhat tightly in my arms, for I was + quivering with happiness. She had become entirely normal again, so much + so that she recalled me to the realities of our supper. And we started + afresh to eat with good appetite and a light heart. We drank out of the + same glass like children. Nevertheless, warned by my experience with + the portrait, I was careful to keep the conversation from straying to + the past. Our plans for the future and our impending travel about the + world engrossed our attention.</p> + + <p>“How happy we shall be!” she exclaimed.</p> + + <p>“Yes, my dear Cordélia, we shall be very happy. We must think of + nothing else.”</p> + + <p>I had uttered a word too many.</p> + + <p>“What do you expect me to think about, my dear Hector?” she returned, + as she regarded my air of embarrassment. “Oh, of course, you say that + because of the portrait. I admit that I was greatly impressed by it, + or rather by its being sent here, because I have never seen it, and I + don’t want to see it,”—I had <span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span>placed it in a corner with its face to + the wall—“but the whole thing is over now—quite. Oh quite, I assure + you. And when I think of it, now that I am all right again, I feel a + little foolish of course.”</p> + + <p>Nothing could have given me greater pleasure than these last words. I + did not lose the opportunity to score.</p> + + <p>“You admit, dear, that just now you were not very well. The exertions + of the day, and the necessity to recover your strength—you were simply + hungry—these things were the cause of the trouble and brought about + that fit of shivering, you may be sure.”</p> + + <p>“Yes, I am inclined to think so.”</p> + + <p>I kissed her again for these last words, but I thought it as well to + add with the greatest good humor.</p> + + <p>“Personally, I have no fear of the ‘externalization of sensibility.’”</p> + + <p>I had no sooner made the remark than Cordélia’s face grew serious once + more.</p> + + <p>“We make a mistake, I think, to treat these matters lightly. I may + have given way to fancies, but I repeat that the ‘externalization <span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span>of + sensibility’ has been scientifically proved. It is our modern material + conception of things which has imprisoned the soul within the body, but + in the Middle Ages....”</p> + + <p>Oh come, I say, I thought to myself. We are flying off at a tangent + again. We are in the Middle Ages now!</p> + + <p>“In the Middle Ages the soul was easily liberated from the body.”</p> + + <p>“We are not in the Middle Ages now, my dearest.”</p> + + <p>“How wonderful were its wanderings outside its prison!”</p> + + <p>“Yes, yes, of course.... I say do try some of this fruit.”</p> + + <p>“Have you ever heard of persons being bewitched?”</p> + + <p>“Never, and I don’t want to know anything about them.”</p> + + <p>“What a great big silly you are, Hector! It is impossible to talk + seriously with you. There are certain things you must know, unless you + want to remain a blockhead.”</p> + + <p>“Thank you.”</p> + + <p>“The casting of spells is bound up in the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span>history of France, and + modern discoveries have proved to us that these things are not pure + imagination. When a person wanted to cast a spell on any one, he made a + small wax image which resembled as nearly as possible the person whom + he wished to be rid of.”</p> + + <p>“Indeed, and what then?” I inquired, slyly putting my arm round her + waist.</p> + + <p>“And then after, of course, externalizing the sensibility of this + person to the wax image, he stuck a pin into the image and the person + died.”</p> + + <p>“Are you certain that the person died?”</p> + + <p>“Am I certain! No, I am not certain about it.”</p> + + <p>“I’m glad of that,” I returned as I gazed into my Cordélia’s face with + the tenderest expression.</p> + + <p>“But there are persons who are certain of it; persons who even maintain + that many mysterious deaths in the Middle Ages can be accounted for + only on this assumption.”</p> + + <p>I dared not ask who those persons were. I was greatly perturbed that + the conversation <span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span>should once more stray to a subject which was + distasteful to me. Suddenly she stood up.</p> + + <p>“Show me the portrait,” she requested, “I want to have a look at it.”</p> + + <p>Not five minutes before she had assured me that she had no wish to see it!</p> + + <p>“Is it really necessary, my dear Cordélia?” I asked, not afraid to show + a distrust which I hoped she might share.</p> + + <p>But unfortunately her thoughts were once more entirely centered on the + portrait, and it was with a regret which I shall feel all my life that + I saw her bend over the canvas and turn its face towards us.</p> + + <p>Though it remained in the shadow, the outline of the figure stood out + clearly in its peculiar radiance.</p> + + <p>“Oh how beautiful it is!” whispered Cordélia.</p> + + <p>She stood for a few minutes still and silent, and then asked my opinion:</p> + + <p>“Don’t you think it is beautiful, Hector?”</p> + + <p>“Very beautiful,” I answered. “Very beautiful.”</p> + + <p>To be sure I had no wish to contradict her, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span>and moreover I had + expressed my real opinion. Truth to tell, I did not know how to keep my + countenance. When a woman dabbles in high art the simplest gesture by + a man may appear to her a piece of stupidity.... Still I ventured to + press her hand softly to remind her of my presence. She turned her head + towards me, and with a delightful and gentle look in her eyes, pointing + to the canvas, said:</p> + + <p>“You can say what you like about the man who painted that portrait, + my dear Hector, you can say that he is cracked, and, in fact, I quite + think that he is a bit crazy, but you must admit that he is a great + artist.”</p> + + <p>And as I made the mistake of not replying at once, she went on:</p> + + <p>“Oh, can’t you speak.... Besides he is the first artist to paint the + ‘aura.’”</p> + + <p>“Just so.”</p> + + <p>“What do you mean, ‘Just so’? Do you know what the ‘aura’ is?”</p> + + <p>“No.”</p> + + <p>“Then why did you say ‘Just so’? I will tell you what the ‘aura’ is: + it is the cloud of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span>light which emanates from each individual and is + discernible by the trained consciousness.”</p> + + <p>“Indeed! So the consciousness must be trained?”</p> + + <p>Cordélia released herself from my arm which was round her waist, and + gave me a stern look:</p> + + <p>“Don’t, my dear Hector, adopt an attitude of making game of what you + don’t understand. You would do better to think of all the matter round + us which radiates light. Why should not the human body shed a radiance? + It is not only a trained consciousness which can perceive these + light-rays, but they are visible to the open eyes of certain persons, + I can tell you. Look at this portrait! Besides, the negative of a + photograph can develop these light-rays for us even far from the body + whence they emanate, and sometimes they retain their actual shape. That + is the aura.”</p> + + <p>“Really the negative of a photograph?”</p> + + <p>“You are the only person to be ignorant of it.”</p> + + <p>“I am very sorry.”</p> + + <p>“This fluid substance,” she went on with intense <span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span>seriousness, + “represents our perceptions and something more than our perceptions, + our intellectual life, which emanates from us and precedes us and is + conscious of things long before our body is. It is this force which, + when I am in the street, makes me think of a person whom I shall meet + in another five minutes, because my aura is conscious of him before + he is discernible by my physical vision. Do you follow me? Do you + understand me?”</p> + + <p>“Yes,” I acquiesced, absolutely terrified by the turn which the + conversation had taken, “I am beginning to understand.”</p> + + <p>“Well, it is none too soon! If you only knew how interesting in reality + the whole thing is. It is indeed the new thought—the only one that will + matter in a few years’ time. And this aura—your perceptions and my + perceptions—is a force which can operate from a distance; and be made + to operate from a distance; that is a well-known phenomenon. In this + particular aspect it is called suggestion; and suggestion is a reality + which is as indisputable as a mathematical formula—as two and two make + four, for instance. By means of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span>suggestion, auras have been seen at an + incredible distance from the body, if not separated from it altogether, + for that would involve death at least ... almost to forget the body.”</p> + + <p>And after uttering these last words in tones of rapt excitement which + utterly overwhelmed me, she became once more plunged in thought.</p> + + <p>What was she thinking about? What was she thinking about?</p> + + <p>I sank into a chair and as I gazed at her a sense of hopelessness came + over me. I saw her in profile as she stood erect facing the infernal + picture. The light wrap which covered her shoulders had slipped off, + and I beheld her bare young throat, the adorable outline of her arm + as it hung with infinite grace by her side. My feeling of dejection + gradually gave way to an admiration which longed to find expression.</p> + + <p>I drew myself up cautiously and stole towards her like a thief; and I + closed my arms round her to seize her as though I already feared lest + my dear beauteous treasure should be torn away from me.</p> + + <p>Taken aback, a slight cry escaped her and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span>she turned round with a + peculiar look in her eyes which I had never beheld in them before, and + stared at me as if she no longer knew me.</p> + + <p>“Cordélia, I am your husband and I adore you,” I whispered.</p> + + <p>And I pressed my lips to hers, but the terror of it! I met lips which + were as cold as stone, and I had no sooner placed a kiss upon them than + she became a statue in my arms. I was holding to my heart an inanimate + form; a form not devoid of life, but from which life had taken wing + elsewhere.</p> + + <p>Cordélia had fallen on my shoulders in a cataleptic-like sleep. I + called to her. I used the most endearing words. I implored her to speak + to me. She did not hear me. So far from returning my kisses she was + unconscious of them.</p> + + <p>“Cordélia! Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!” I cried. “Where are you? Where + are you?”</p> + + <p>At last, after laying her on the sofa in her deadly immobility, I began + to shout and summon assistance like a madman.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="VII">CHAPTER VII</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">AFTER THE WEDDING</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">MATHILDE and Surdon came hurrying into the room and were not less + terrified than I was to discover Cordélia in this statue-like + condition. The only thing which we could be certain about was that she + was not dead. I cannot remember all that we attempted, Mathilde and + I, to “bring her back to her senses,” while Surdon went to fetch the + nearest doctor.</p> + + <p>We carried Cordélia in her state of insensibility on to the balcony. We + brought her back again. We tried the effects of cold and heat in turn. + We placed hot bricks to her feet and cold compresses to her forehead. + What alarmed us more than anything else was the complete rigidity in + which she lay in our arms, and nothing that we could do succeeded in + relaxing the tension.</p> + + <p>I employed a phrase just now with the full <span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span>meaning of which I + was unacquainted. I said that Cordélia fell on my shoulder in a + cataleptic-like sleep. That was true, but I more or less learned for + the first time the meaning of catalepsy from the village doctor whom + Surdon brought back.</p> + + <p>And even then I failed to grasp the significance of what he was saying + except that Cordélia was suffering from a nervous malady which had + reached the critical point, and must have been brought about by great + mental and physical strain and the unwonted excitement of a wedding + day. He did not tell us anything new from this point of view, for it + was in this sense that we regarded her illness. To what other cause + could we, in our ignorance, attribute it save to excitement and fatigue?</p> + + <p>Unfortunately this blockhead of a doctor proved his inability to awaken + Cordélia. After blowing on her eyes without effect he seemed greatly + perplexed. He knew more about it than we did, perhaps, but he was as + powerless as we were. To our stormings and complaints he could but + reply: “She will wake up of her <span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span>own accord just as she fell asleep.” + And he counseled me to have patience.</p> + + <p>Have patience!... He was the limit!... I asked him in a voice strained + with anxiety, how long this torpor could last. His only answer was to + shake his head. He exasperated me.</p> + + <p>“But, look here, will it last one hour—two hours?”</p> + + <p>“One can never tell.... One can never tell.”</p> + + <p>“Still it can’t go on for a couple of days, I suppose?” I cried, + incensed.</p> + + <p>“Well, there have been such cases, but generally speaking....”</p> + + <p>I could have struck him. And yet he was a worthy man who strove to + comfort me, to persuade me that the case was not very serious, to lead + me to hope that we were confronted with a phenomenon which, if due + precautions were taken, might not recur, and, moreover, would yield to + treatment. And at the finish he recommended me to consult a specialist + in nervous diseases. Having said so much, he gave me the slip.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span></p> + + <p>I at once sent Surdon in the car to Rouen, whence he was to bring back + Dr. Thurel, celebrated in the district for certain unusual cures which + bordered on the miraculous.</p> + + <p>I turned Mathilde out of the room, for since the doctor’s remedies + and her own nostrums were of no avail, she imagined that we were the + victims of the devil, and she wearied me with her lamentations and + exorcisms. I had the utmost difficulty in preventing her from going for + the priest. What a honeymoon!</p> + + <p>Left alone before the sofa on which Cordélia’s statue-like form lay, I + felt less affected by the pitiable spectacle of my beloved than by a + sort of almost childish frenzy against the fate which had played this + trick upon me. Heaven knows I deserved to be pitied! To have waited + so long for this day and to pass it with a woman who had been turned + to stone! By what fatality had Cordélia fallen asleep at the very + moment when she was in my arms? It was indeed, to use my uncle’s words, + “utterly silly.”</p> + + <p>In my intense selfishness, knowing now that Cordélia’s life was in no + danger, I mourned <span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span>rather for myself than for her. I was, so I thought, + the victim.... Thus many men when they are balked of something on which + they have set their hearts, or when the object of their desire escapes + them, act like brutes. I am ashamed when I think of myself cursing + Heaven in this room in which Cordélia and I were “at last alone.” I + am bound to say, however, in my own favor, that by degrees this blind + resentment which arose in me against things in general, gave way to a + feeling of great compassion and sorrow for the beloved being who still + slept.</p> + + <p>As the hours slipped away I was oppressed by an ever-increasing + anguish. Now I kept watch over Cordélia as though she were dead, + and I bowed in wonder before this great mystery, which was not less + terrifying than the mystery of death itself. Poor, poor, poor Cordélia!</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">DR. THUREL</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">THE day was beginning to dawn when Surdon returned with Dr. Thurel.</p> + + <p>He had to seek the famous doctor at an official function. Not that he + had, however, to drag him away by main force. The story which he told, + straightway induced the doctor to leave, and he did not even take the + trouble to return to his house and change his clothes.</p> + + <p>I shall always remember his arrival in the wan light of day with his + white shirt-front, his long, pallid face, his colorless eyes whose + expression of deep thought it was impossible to forget when once you + had encountered it.</p> + + <p>From that day the image of Dr. Thurel has lingered in my memory. He + brought with him so much that was new to me as I stood struggling on + the threshold of this mysterious drama, and shed so much light on it. + True, I was not at first dazzled, but I was at once “stirred” by the + depths of my ignorance.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span></p> + + <p>While the facts themselves had merely aroused my wrath without making + any impression on my mind, he was able in a few words to reveal a new + world to me. He was a man who was constantly saying the most astounding + things and yet they were always impregnated with good sense. One felt + compelled to understand the meaning and to believe in him unless one + wished to be taken for a fool.</p> + + <p>He gazed at Cordélia for some time, used the stethoscope, drew himself + up and said:</p> + + <p>“This is not exactly a case of catalepsy. It is what is called hypnotic + sleep with muscular rigidity. Have no fear. We shall get the better of + it.”</p> + + <p>Thereupon he bent over her, blew on her eyes and made some curious + gestures, but obtained no greater success than his country colleague. + Nevertheless after each futile experiment he seemed quite satisfied.</p> + + <p>“That must be it. That must be it. Of course,” he muttered.</p> + + <p>Strange to say, whatever he did, and even the fact that his efforts + were of no avail inspired me with perfect confidence. I felt <span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span>sure + that, thanks to him, we should soon be out of our misery.</p> + + <p>He requested me to step into the boudoir and questioned me at great + length. He told me that, on the way, he had drawn out the servant, and + the man had acquainted him of his mistress’s peculiar mental condition + a few months before our marriage. He begged me to confide everything + to him without reserve, and regard him not only as a doctor, but as a + father confessor.</p> + + <p>Then I recounted the story of the English painter and the portrait and + the various incidents relating to it, and how Cordélia had complained + of being “as cold as the portrait.”</p> + + <p>He asked to be allowed to see the canvas, and after examining it, observed:</p> + + <p>“All the trouble comes from this picture. There is no doubt about that. + Your wife, monsieur, is under the influence of this man Patrick, but we + will rid her of it, you may be certain.”</p> + + <p>“But she hasn’t seen the man Patrick for several months.”</p> + + <p>“Very likely, but then there is the portrait. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span>Patrick can do a great + deal through the instrumentality of this portrait. He has renewed the + link with her through it.”</p> + + <p>After that he told me facts about the externalization of sensibility + compared with which Cordélia’s remarks were so much child’s play, and + told them so simply and accompanied them by such logical explanations + that they no longer astounded me.</p> + + <p>There could be no doubt that Dr. Thurel possessed the gift of + persuasion.</p> + + <p>“So my wife’s sensibility was really in the portrait?” I said.</p> + + <p>“Yes, to some extent. The body may be in one place and its sensibility + in another. A clairvoyant’s body, for instance, does not move, but his + individual vision is at the spot which he is describing. In like manner + your wife’s sensibility was transmitted to the portrait by means of + thought.”</p> + + <p>“By means of thought?”</p> + + <p>“Her thought yielded to that of another person. But her sensibility was + there, for thought holding absolute command over sensibility is able + to produce on it the desired <span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span>effect.... Dr. Charcot, the master of us + all, made an experiment in this regard by applying a sheet of paper to + the epidermis of a patient whom he had hypnotized, and indicated by + suggestion that he had employed a blistering plaster. At once the usual + effects of a blistering plaster were apparent, such as the swelling of + the skin and so forth. I am quoting this experiment because it is the + most typical case, and you will see for yourself the conclusion that + may be drawn from it.”</p> + + <p>Suddenly he stopped, looked steadily at the portrait which had been + left in the boudoir. Like every one else, he was enraptured by it. He + lifted it and blew upon it.... He blew sharply upon the eyes.</p> + + <p>Then he replaced it in its position and walked on tiptoe towards the + next room, the door of which had been left ajar, making a sign to me to + remain where I stood. He looked into the room. Almost at once he turned + around with the light of victory shining on his face.</p> + + <p>He came back to me still walking on tiptoe.</p> + + <p>“She’s waking up,” he said in an undertone. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span>“Don’t say anything of all + this to her. Pretend to think that she’s been in a natural sleep. I can + do nothing more here for some hours. I shall go and have a rest. Never + mind about me. Look after her. I must tell you this: If you kiss her, + kiss her as a brother.”</p> + + <p>“What do you mean—as a brother?”</p> + + <p>“Well, be kind and gentle to her as a brother. I assure you....”</p> + + <p>But I did not wait to hear more. Already I stood in the doorway. + Cordélia’s eyes were wide open and she seemed to be looking for me. And + yet when her eyes alighted on me there was a look of astonishment in + them as if she had not expected to see me there.</p> + + <p>“Hullo, there you are,” she breathed. “Where are we now?”</p> + + <p>“Why, at home, my dear Cordélia.”</p> + + <p>I saw her cheeks flush, her eyes smile, her lips bloom again.</p> + + <p>“Oh yes, of course,” she returned. “Oh my dear Hector, what a lovely + night! But why didn’t you go to bed when you came in? You haven’t + caught cold? There was a cool <span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span>breeze by the riverside. What a couple + of sillies we are? Who would have thought of a honeymoon in the + moonlight? Well, what did I tell you about my park? Can you imagine a + more beautiful bridal chamber?”</p> + + <p>I listened to her incomprehensible chatter with a feeling of + consternation. Her first words: “What a lovely night!” struck a pang at + my heart. It was indeed a lovely night! And what did she mean by her + “beautiful bridal chamber?” And why, as she spoke, did she look round + as if she beheld our room for the first time? From what sort of dream + had she awakened? I had no opportunity to put these questions to her. + Her head drooped again on the pillow, her eyes closed, and this time + she fell into a calm, natural sleep. A soft regular breathing escaped + from her lips, and she wore a smile which ought to have delighted, but + which perturbed me. For, after all, what was she smiling at? I was + afraid in my dazed condition to ask myself <em>whom</em> was she smiling + at. She had awakened out of her first torpor but to fall into another, + without giving me time to kiss her even as a <span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span>brother. What was this + walk along the riverside? What was this bridal chamber of which I + knew nothing? I was once more alone, alone with her, and I could not + restrain my tears, while she continued to smile in her sleep. It was + more than I could bear.</p> + + <p>And so the hours went by. At last it was morning.</p> + + <p>I set my forehead against the window-pane and watched as in a sort of + dream the life of the country outside awakening around me. For that + matter the entire episode seemed to me a dream, an optical illusion.</p> + + <p>Was the night through which I had just passed, this incredible wedding + night, a reality? Had I indeed emerged from it and were my eyes now + looking out upon everyday things? Were not those carts which rolled + along the roads, phantom carts? I was in the last stage of exhaustion, + and yet I was conscious that it would be impossible for me to seek + forgetfulness in the sleep which was essential to my physical and + mental health. My suffering mind was never more restless.</p> + + <p>And my thoughts were revolving, endlessly <span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span>revolving, round the + extraordinary language uttered by Cordélia in the interval between the + two sleeps. “Why didn’t you go to bed when you came in?” Well, I said + to myself with a feeling of dull resentment against my wavering and + insensate imagination, well, what is there in all this to cause so much + painful excitement. Cordélia dreamt that she was wandering with you in + the park during the night. Why make such a fuss about it?</p> + + <p>Of course, of course. I wished Dr. Thurel was awake. I longed to talk + to him. I longed to talk to him.</p> + + <p>He had been given a room in the left wing of the château. From where I + stood I could perceive the windows with their closed wooden shutters. + Truth to tell, I stared at nothing else.</p> + + <p>Cordélia on the bed behind me was sleeping her peaceful sleep and + still smiling. I turned away from her. No, and again no! I failed to + understand how she could smile, even in her sleep, when I was so much + to be pitied.</p> + + <p>And then I saw the shutters in the doctor’s room being opened. I + slipped out of the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span>room. I crossed the courtyard. I knocked at his + door.</p> + + <p>“It’s I, Doctor.”</p> + + <p>“Well?” he questioned as I entered.</p> + + <p>“Well, she is still asleep. She is sleeping in the most peaceful manner + as if nothing had happened.”</p> + + <p>“That was to be expected, and all is for the best.”</p> + + <p>“She said a few things before she fell asleep.”</p> + + <p>“What did she say? Tell me what she said.”</p> + + <p>I repeated her words, and observing that the doctor was in deep + thought, added:</p> + + <p>“Apparently she was recalling a dream that she had when she was in her + trance.”</p> + + <p>“A dream! You think it was a dream? It may have been. But....”</p> + + <p>“But what?”</p> + + <p>“Why, there’s another theory which the undoubted fact that your wife + was under the influence of suggestion renders quite plausible.”</p> + + <p>“What theory?”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span></p> + + <p>“Well, we are plainly confronted with the phenomenon which we call the + externalization....”</p> + + <p>“I know, I know.... The externalization of sensibility.”</p> + + <p>“One moment. The phenomenon of the externalization of sensibility finds + its counterpart here in another phenomenon: the externalization of + motive power.”</p> + + <p>“What then?”</p> + + <p>“Why then her active individuality, her vital force, her aura, as the + magicians call it, might really have left her last night, and taken + that walk, and it would have been no dream.”</p> + + <p>“It’s amazing.”</p> + + <p>“Not at all.”</p> + + <p>“Still, if she actually left us, how do you account for her talk about + having a walk with me? I personally did not leave here either in body + or mind.”</p> + + <p>“I have already explained,” returned the doctor, “that we are not + dealing in this case”—these were his own words “in this case” spoken + with the composure of an expert which did but increase my agitation—“we + are <span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span>not dealing with a cataleptic condition, properly so called, for, + in that event, she would not have remembered what she had been doing, + but of a rigid hypnotic condition from which the subject sometimes + awakes with vague recollections.... Here obviously there were vague + recollections.”</p> + + <p>“You mean,” I exclaimed, “that she thinks she remembers going out with + me, but that, in reality, to use your own language, she went for a walk + with another person. It’s ridiculous ... utterly ridiculous.”</p> + + <p>“Or she went alone.... Calm yourself.”</p> + + <p>It was all very well for him to say, “Calm yourself.” I refused to be + pacified.</p> + + <p>“All this, Doctor, seems to me appalling. You don’t mean to say that a + person can do such things while the body is asleep, and not dream of + them?”</p> + + <p>“My dear fellow, have you still to learn that an ignorant person in a + condition of somnambulism can become a scholar, can spend his nights + furnishing his polygon with multifarious learning, and even acquire + foreign <span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span>languages? That is what can be done while one is asleep.”</p> + + <p>“What do you mean by his polygon?”</p> + + <p>“We will deal with that another time, young man. It would lead us too + far from the subject we are discussing.”</p> + + <p>“Meanwhile there is one thing that I do understand,” I returned. “My + wife is suffering from some terrible mental disorder.”</p> + + <p>“But, my dear fellow, there is no reason to lose hope,” returned the + doctor in a confident voice. “An illness of the mind can be cured by + the mind. Have confidence in my treatment, and take me to your wife.”</p> + + <p>Cordélia had just risen. I found her clad in a kimono, her hair falling + loosely over her shoulders, standing in front of the glass making + faces. As soon as she saw me she threw herself into my arms and cried + in a mocking voice:</p> + + <p>“Oh, my poor husband!”</p> + + <p>Then all of a sudden she asked:</p> + + <p>“Who is in the next room?”</p> + + <p>No movement of any kind could be heard. Dr. Thurel had seated himself + in the boudoir <span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span>without a sound, and I had closed the door behind me. I + was so greatly surprised that I made no answer.</p> + + <p>“Is it one of your friends?” she asked. “Why don’t you introduce him to + me?”</p> + + <p>She forgot the place and her incomplete toilette—everything. She made + for the door with a firm tread, opened it softly, caught sight of + the strange-looking old gentleman in evening dress, seemed in no way + disconcerted, smiled, and went up to him with outstretched hand.</p> + + <p>“This is Dr. Thurel,” I said. “He is, in fact, a friend—one of my best + and most reliable friends.”</p> + + <p>“Indeed, I have often heard of you,” she returned. “Oh, doctor, how + pleased I am to meet you.”</p> + + <p>She sat down beside him. He still held her hand. And now he kept his + eyes fixed on hers, and her gaze seemed riveted on him.</p> + + <p>“Leave us,” he whispered peremptorily, “I want to talk to her.”</p> + + <p>I left them together, and I descended into <span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span>the garden, impelled by an + irritability which made my teeth chatter.</p> + + <hr class="tb"> + + <p>Ten minutes elapsed, which seemed so long drawn out that I could have + shouted aloud. At length Dr. Thurel appeared. He was beaming.</p> + + <p>“Cheer up,” said the old gentleman, “I think I have rid her mind of + any thought of the other person. All the same he had exerted a magical + power of attraction over her. Good-bye, my dear fellow.”</p> + + <p>“If that is so,” I cried excitedly, “how shall I ever be able to + express my gratitude to you?”</p> + + <p>“Stuff! Look here, give me the portrait. I will place it in my private + collection.”</p> + + <p>I gave him the portrait and, Heaven only knows, with a glad heart!</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="IX">CHAPTER IX</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">I DISCOVER A CHANGE IN CORDÉLIA</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">I MUST admit that, at first, I thought I should have but to rejoice, + for as the worthy doctor had led me to anticipate, Cordélia displayed, + after his departure, a perfectly free and normal mind.</p> + + <p>It was as though nothing out of the way had happened. When she came + downstairs clad in a gossamer robe, and clung to my arm with a + grace and trustfulness which enchanted me, old Surdon and Mathilde + complimented her on her appearance, and conveyed to me by certain signs + that all was as well as well could be.</p> + + <p>Surdon wanted to saddle Thunder and Monarch, or to get out the gig so + that we might go for a long drive before lunch, but Cordélia would + not hear of it. She expressed a wish to stroll through the fields, to + wander on my arm along the country lanes.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span></p> + + <p>“We don’t want to ride or drive to-day,” she said, leading me away and + gently pressing my hand. “We don’t need anything or anybody. Let us + think only of ourselves. I have so many things to say to you now that I + am your wife.”</p> + + <p>These last words were spoken in a serious and intense voice which I + failed to recognize; and I could not help giving a start when I looked + at her.</p> + + <p>As she uttered them, she lifted her eyes to me and they seemed to + contain an expression which, like her voice, was new to me. I read + in them, beyond the shadow of a doubt, an emotional tenderness and + gratitude which startled me without my knowing exactly why. At all + events, I could not at the moment analyze what was passing within me. + But one thing was certain: I felt distinctly uneasy. I fully expected, + indeed, to see a look in my dear Cordélia’s eyes like that one day; to + see this impulse, this quivering emotion of thankfulness towards the + man who had become everything to her, but I did not expect to see that + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span>look after the dreadful time through which we had just passed.</p> + + <p>In a word, I was unspeakably surprised. Our walk, our conversation at + lunch, the sweet surrender with which, leaning upon my shoulder, she + confided to me her plans for the future—all this did nothing to remove + from my mind the curious impression that I was confronted with a new + Cordélia who was no longer the young girl of the day before. I turned + pale at the thought of it.</p> + + <p>She noticed it and in her turn betrayed a certain anxiety at my + agitation.</p> + + <p>“But dearest what is the matter? Are you not feeling well? You don’t + say anything.”</p> + + <p>I kissed her hair and whispered tritely:</p> + + <p>“I love you.”</p> + + <p>My heart was pounding as though it would burst. She could hear it.</p> + + <p>“I really believe that you do love me,” she said, “and, besides, your + heart tells me so. Listen to my heart which will tell you, too, how it + loves you.”</p> + + <p>She took my head between her two little hands, and placed it on her + young, heaving <span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span>bosom with the quiet gesture of a woman who is giving + herself up to the husband to whom she belongs.</p> + + <p>I was speechless.</p> + + <p>She went on as she stroked my hair:</p> + + <p>“What a night! What a beautiful night! Oh how well you understand me! + You are wonderful, my Hector.”</p> + + <p>I am unable to say whether I really seemed wonderful to her, but I drew + myself up roughly. My face underwent a fierce contortion. She looked at + me with disquiet.</p> + + <p>“What is it? What’s the matter?”</p> + + <p>“Nothing.... Nothing. It’s over—a slight attack of neuralgia.”</p> + + <p>“Ah my love, you are tired. You had no sleep.”</p> + + <p>“Yes, you’re right. I had no sleep.”</p> + + <p>“You ought to have gone to bed. I told you so when we came back from + our walk in the park.”</p> + + <p>“Ah yes.... Our walk in the park.... Of course, of course.”</p> + + <p>“But what is the matter with you?”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span></p> + + <p>“Nothing I tell you.... A slight headache.”</p> + + <p>“Well, be sensible. You must go to bed, dearest.”</p> + + <p>I had to give way. She came with me to the door of my room. I let + myself be led by her little hands. Strange to say I made no effort to + keep her. She left the room, and I threw myself on the bed as an animal + lies down. And soon, in order to cease thinking about things which + seemed either appalling or ridiculous, I fell asleep.</p> + + <p>The light was waning when I woke up feeling greatly refreshed. I have + always been able to sleep soundly. A shower bath helped to restore my + self-possession. My uncle had returned during my nap. He had come from + Caen, and was leaving that same evening for Paris. I discovered from + his first words that he knew nothing of the incidents of the previous + night. Surdon and Mathilde, perceiving that “all was well as well could + be,” had not considered it necessary to enlighten him. I could not but + approve of their discretion.</p> + + <p>My uncle had been for a short walk with <span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span>Cordélia, and when she + returned her face was beaming with happiness.</p> + + <p>“Have you had a good sleep, dearest?” she asked as she threw herself + into my arms. “Has that awful headache gone?”</p> + + <p>I kissed her ardently in return.</p> + + <p>My uncle wore a smile as he contemplated the pleasant spectacle. He + endeavored to take me aside to express his gratification.</p> + + <p>“Well, what did I say? There you are, the happiest of men and she is + the happiest of women. She told me so. I congratulate you—you rascal!”</p> + + <p>I could have struck him. I could have struck him. He gave me no + opportunity. He embraced us and went off muttering repeatedly:</p> + + <p>“What a handsome couple they make!”</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="X">CHAPTER X</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE SECOND NIGHT</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">I HAVE taken particular care to trace in detail the various stages + of this extraordinary story in order that the reader who would fain + judge us, notwithstanding the jury’s verdict, may know as much about + the facts as I do, and be in a position to fix the responsibility + definitely as between me and the man who was the greatest thief + that ever lived. If the reader will follow me step by step he will + understand me, and it will be open to any candid person of average + intelligence to measure the extent of the calamity which befell me.</p> + + <p>I now come to the second night, which will throw a light upon the + events which occurred at Vascoeuil and those which were to follow; + a light which others may regard as supernatural, but which I am + compelled, unfortunately, to proclaim as entirely natural after what I + know and saw with my own eyes.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span></p> + + <p>At least that is what I maintain to-day, but considering that I was + sailing on an unknown sea, it will be realized how far I had to go + before I recognized the truth.</p> + + <p>Cordélia wished to wind up the day, as on the previous evening, by a + little homely supper in her boudoir, and, to be sure, I should have + been the last person to think of raising any objection. Anything that + could bring me closer to her gave me the constantly renewed hope that I + might succeed in driving away, once for all, the delusions which kept + us apart. I use the word delusions advisedly, because that is how I + regarded the matter on that second evening when I sat down beside her + at dinner.</p> + + <p>And how could it have been otherwise? How could I fail to cling to + this word when I take into consideration the abyss over which my + poor distracted mind hung suspended for a moment in the course of + this startling day. Just think. Remember the altogether unforeseen + attitude of a Cordélia filled with gratitude and affection. Delusions! + Delusions! I appealed to you, O delusions, in defense of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span>her, and, as + the lesser of my enemies, to her unhealthy imagination, at once ardent + and poetic—for the whole thing was but the aberration of a highly + sensitive mind. I tried to convince myself of it.</p> + + <p>And thus I no longer wished to remember anything but Dr. Thurel’s + reassuring words: “I have rid her mind of any thought of the other + person. She is cured.”</p> + + <p>Upon my word, when I think of her as I beheld her on that second + evening seated at our little domestic fête, helping me as though I were + a spoiled child, anticipating my every wish, stirring the fire lest I + should catch cold, assuming the superior and tyrannical graces of a + nurse which caused us to burst out laughing, I cannot but cry: “There + she was as God made her, and as He gave her to me—my dear, dear, dear + Cordélia!”</p> + + <p>Before she met the thief, she was sweet and fresh and girlish and + perfectly natural, slightly inclined to be mischievous and self-willed, + but born to make a husband happy who would have made her happy. And, + take it from me, it is not necessary to be clever or <span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span>brilliant to make + a woman happy. It is a question of being an ordinarily decent man; at + least I still think so, and I have yet to meet the person who can prove + the contrary. I know what I mean. One must also be in love with her. + Who ever loved her more than I did? And did she love any one more than + she loved me? Did she love the thief? Lord above, let those persons who + know everything tell me if the dove which is transfixed in its flight + loves the hawk whom it encounters on its way from the nest....</p> + + <p>But let us return to our little supper.</p> + + <p>I forget on what subject Cordélia was good-humoredly making fun of me. + I have always possessed an equable temper. I can allow myself to be + teased without taking offense, just as a pet dog will permit his ears + to be pulled by those to whom he is attached. Thus Cordélia could throw + herself into the game to her heart’s content.</p> + + <p>But suddenly I sprang to my feet with a look of ferocity on my face, + a very excellent look of ferocity, and walked up to her, grinding + my teeth, as if I had sworn to gobble her <span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span>up alive. She started to + run round the table, laughing boisterously. I for my part, while I + continued to give chase, strove to keep my countenance and to assume a + more ferocious air than ever. At length she pretended to be frightened + as I was pretending to be in a rage; and when I mention that in our + race round the room the light wrap which she wore rose higher, caught + on to a piece of furniture and even became torn, revealing a glimpse of + some new loveliness, it will be gathered that the game had become an + extremely attractive one; so much so that I thought the best thing I + could do was to finish it by capturing the fugitive and holding her in + my arms.</p> + + <p>She had taken refuge in a recess of the window, and it was there that I + dived after her. I caught her, but straightway I was impressed by the + fact that she had stopped laughing. I lowered my eyes to her face, but + it was no longer the face of a young girl. She gazed at me with a look + of grave distress yet, I must say, full of love. I felt her young heart + beat against mine. I held her closer, calling her the most endearing + names.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span></p> + + <p>“Oh dearest,” she breathed. “Have you seen the park? Look at the park. + How beautiful it is!”</p> + + <p>She was not now looking at me. Her eyes were turned to the park + which gleamed ghost-like in the moonlight. The night was a dream of + brightness and opalescent light. The tall trees whose leaves had + already fallen, stood erect like huge silver chandeliers, their + wondrous shadows lengthened, as though by the brush of an artist, on + the luminous grassy slopes and gravel paths. In the distance the unseen + mystery of the park into which I had never set foot, stirred under the + motionless, effulgent, impassive moon.</p> + + <p>I tried to turn Cordélia’s eyes away from the ill-omened sight, and + bring her back to our own interests. She thrust me aside with her + little hands and returned to the window, pressing her forehead against + the pane. I may be asked: “Why did you not compel her to leave the + window and the perilous spectacle of the park in the moonlight?” Let + those who are unable to understand that more power sometimes lies in a + young girl’s little finger <span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span>than in an elephant’s foot, cease to read me!</p> + + <p>This is the answer that I have to make:</p> + + <p>Men of science, or those who call themselves men of science, have + not yet, perhaps, given a name to this “psychic” force, but if they + were to take the trouble to study and weigh its power mathematically, + and dignify it with a Latin or Greek name, there would be less + astonishment, perhaps, that the aura of a marriageable girl yielded + to the suggestion of a sham-necromancer than to realize that a + mass of flesh and blood weighing about thirteen stone, for that is + approximately my figure, could offer no more resistance to the little + hand of the maid in question than could the sigh of a new-born babe. + Indeed, here we have in all its wonder the phenomenon of levitation. + And from what I saw, it is the mind only that has any weight!</p> + + <hr class="tb"> + + <p>I was perhaps lacking in mind that evening. It does not become any + one to reproach me. In life one must do the best one can. And I was + powerless against Cordélia’s determination to remain at the window. + It was then <span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span>that she visibly lived over again her experiences of the + night before, and as I listened to her, I began to suffer infinite + pain. It will at once be seen why—at least I hope so.</p> + + <p>Her hand had furtively sought mine and she drew me beside her in the + shining moonlight. Her head was resting on my shoulder and, seen from + below, we must have borne some resemblance to those saints linked + together on stained-glass windows which adorn and illumine the chancel + of a church. I set down this thought because it occurred to me at + the time, which shows that in my mind’s eye I realized that we were + somewhat absurd, but, through that very fact, it indicates also that I + was absolutely bereft of any power of resistance.</p> + + <p>Poor dear Cordélia was able to do anything, anything she pleased with me!</p> + + <p>“Shall we take a stroll in the park as we did yesterday, dearest?”</p> + + <p>“Come, Cordélia, I say....”</p> + + <p>“Let’s take this path,”—we did not stir from the window—“Let’s go along + by the poplars.”</p> + + <p>Here she uttered some curious sentences <span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span>about the song of the poplars + when the wind whispers among the branches.</p> + + <p>“Let’s go by the river side,”—more strange sentences in the form of + stanzas about the floating heart of the water lily and the tiny cradles + of the fairies sailing over the stream. “This is the path which will + lead us to the marriage-chamber.”</p> + + <p>“What marriage-chamber?” I could not help asking.</p> + + <p>“You know as well as I do, dearest. The chamber which has been prepared + for us, all in gold.”</p> + + <p>And thereupon she gave me a description of the marriage-chamber all in + gold. I cannot recount the exact words which Cordélia used in speaking + of this chamber. From that moment onward, indeed, her language seemed + to lose sight of earth and even mundane things, to become a kind of + music befitting the understanding of angels or poets who are never + unduly troubled to discover the significance of unconventional words. + However that might be with the fanciful melody which flowed from my + beloved’s lips, my natural common sense <span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span>restored the dream-palace in + which, in Cordélia’s imagination, I had been wandering for sometime to + its proper proportions. I gathered that this chamber all in gold, was + neither more nor less than a small glade in the wood, shaped like an + arbor, sheltered by lovely trees on whose branches some foliage still + lingered while beneath them, on the earth, lay a rich, dense carpet of + leaves, yellowed by autumn.</p> + + <p>The beginning of my cruel experience on this occasion was that + these flights of fancy, which accompanied our promenade in the + golden chamber, were intoned in English. Cordélia and I knew English + perfectly, but we did not speak it when we were together. My pained + surprise reached its culminating point when Cordélia, with the utmost + seriousness, asked me to recite as, it would appear, I had recited in + the golden chamber the night before, a few lines from “Lara” and “The + Corsair.” I must have opened my eyes in dumb amazement, for Cordélia + became more and more importunate:</p> + + <p>“Come, come, dearest, don’t wait to be pressed. Don’t waste time. It’s + so fine, so <span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span>pathetic, so splendid. And then you can wind up with + Childe Harold’s farewell. You know the lines:</p> + + <div class="center-container"> + <div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="i0">Adieu, adieu! my native shore</div> + <div class="i0">Fades o’er the waters blue:</div> + <div class="i0">*<span class="col2">*</span><span class="col2">*</span><span class="col2">*</span><span class="col2">*</span></div> + <div class="i0">Come hither, hither, my little page:</div> + <div class="i0">*<span class="col2">*</span><span class="col2">*</span><span class="col2">*</span><span class="col2">*</span></div> + <div class="i0">My Native Land—Good Night!</div> + </div> + </div> + </div> + + <p>“And while you are reciting I will place my head on your shoulder, as I + did yesterday, so as to hear your delightful voice.”</p> + + <p>While she was speaking she laid her head on my shoulder, but I raised + it in my trembling hands and forced her to look into my eyes which + doubtless were disturbing to see, for she suddenly grew restless.</p> + + <p>“What’s the matter with you?”</p> + + <p>“A very simple matter, Cordélia. I have never known by heart a line of + Byron or any other poet, and I have never read ‘Lara,’ ‘The Corsair,’ + or ‘Childe Harold.’”</p> + + <p>“What do you say?”</p> + + <p>“I say that it was not I who was with you in the golden chamber.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span></p> + + <p>“Be quiet, you poor dear, be quiet.”</p> + + <p>“I say that it was not on my shoulder that you laid your head.”</p> + + <p>I came to a stop. Her appearance filled me with dismay. Her eyes were + staring at me with a strange light as if she saw me for the first time.</p> + + <p>She gasped a dull moan of despair, and a cry escaped her lips like the + cry of a soul at the point of death striving to cleave to earth:</p> + + <p>“Save me, Hector, save me!”</p> + + <p>She uttered that cry and uttered it to me proving that she belonged to + me, to me alone, and had never belonged to any one but me. The thief + might say what he liked, he was but a thief. It was all very well to + assume an arrogant attitude at the Assize Court; and the world was able + to grasp his meaning when he said that her heart belonged to him. He + had burgled it. The shame of it!</p> + + <p>I replied to Cordélia’s poignant cry of “Save me, Hector, save me!” + with a transport of supreme delight. Yes, my love would indubitably + rescue her from those frightful delusions. It would be no difficult + task for <span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span>my arms to wrench her this time from the accursed window. She + weighed but a feather in my grasp. Her head, with its hair in disarray, + lay adorably on my shoulder. The look of mingled fear and love depicted + on her face immensely stimulated my strength. I really believed that I + was at length able to dominate this frail and quivering anguish, and I + pressed my lips to hers.</p> + + <p>And straightway it seemed as if I had killed her, and was kissing a + dead woman ... I held in my arms, as on the night before, a marble + statue.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="XI">CHAPTER XI</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE GOLDEN CHAMBER</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">I DID not now summon any assistance. I was seized with a cold grim fury + of despair which called for no witnesses. I carried Cordélia into the + next room and laid her on the bed, and gazed at her in impotent rage.</p> + + <p>I called to mind every word that Dr. Thurel had said in describing the + condition of bodily immobility in which I now beheld her, and I had not + a doubt from what I heard from Cordélia’s own lips that her mind, which + a little before had given animation to that now lifeless form, had left + it for some other place.</p> + + <p>What other place? Was it hard to guess? Was she not at the very moment + when she escaped from me making at full flight for the bridal-chamber + of which I knew nothing?—the bridal-chamber to which, it seemed, an + influence that was independent of her will and mine lured her with a + force which I had vainly striven to shatter with a kiss?</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span></p> + + <p>Or rather did it not seem that I had but to press Cordélia’s lips with + my own to cause a repetition of the catastrophe of the night before?</p> + + <p>I remembered then, in the growing irritation of my mind, Dr. Thurel’s + amazing words: “If you kiss her, kiss her as a brother.” What did that + mean? I shook with horror and the most terrible resentment. Was I to + understand that every time my lips united with Cordélia’s I should + stand in fear of this awful phenomenon and that she would never be + anything to me but a wife of stone?</p> + + <p>At the thought that so infernal a suggestion was within the bounds of + possibility, a tremendous wrath made the blood surge in my veins, and I + felt capable of murdering the man who was responsible—the villain who + was making me suffer agonies to say nothing of the hideous ridicule + which would attach to so grotesque a marital position as mine. I was + perfectly aware of that fact also, and I did not fail to derive from it + a capacity for revenge which in the end swept me off my feet.</p> + + <p>In any case I could not consent to remain <span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span>any longer an impassive and + inactive spectator of a scene which offered me but the image of an + inert body; and I made my way in haste towards the spot where I knew + that Cordélia’s mind was wandering in thought with the mind of another + person.</p> + + <p>A few minutes later in the dead silence, under the hostile moon which + looked down, perhaps, upon things invisible to my own eyes, I passed + along the line of tall trees which screened the edge of the park into + which I had never entered.</p> + + <p>As soon as I had traversed this screen I found myself in a wood so + densely entangled that I was at a loss at first which way to go; and I + began to think of Cordélia’s words when she described it; a forest full + of snares for those who did not know it and hospitable only to lovers + of woods and solitude.</p> + + <p>I was certainly no lover of these woods, and in spite of all my + efforts, I did not succeed in ploughing my way through it, and I made + scarcely any progress. The branches laid hold of me on every side and + held me back with their thousand small arms, or transfixed me, by + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span>stealth, with their thorns. The bridal-chamber which lay within its + recesses was well guarded!</p> + + <p>Hardly knowing what she did, however, Cordélia had sufficiently + enlightened me. Nevertheless I knew that before she betook herself, in + mind, to the place, she must have visited it more than once in body, + or else, as I imagined like a simpleton, she would not have described + it to me so fully. That was another opinion which I have since been + constrained to abandon.</p> + + <p>And yet how did she get through? I suddenly remembered that the + bridal-chamber stood beside the river. Cordélia’s actual words were:</p> + + <p>“In the bridal-chamber there is the great mirror of the river set in a + frame of gold and the rays of the moon make the surface of the water + like a silver sheet. You see yourself in it from head to foot. Owing to + this you are never alone. When you think that you are one, you are two, + and when you think that you are two, you are four. You have to keep + your eyes open!”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span></p> + + <p>“If I follow the river’s bank,” I said to myself, “I shall be certain + to reach the bridal-chamber,” and I made for this bank through the + avenue of poplars.</p> + + <p>At first I congratulated myself on my idea, and my path for some way + was properly marked out. My pace, however, began to slacken when I + left the poplars behind me; and soon I had considerable obstacles to + surmount in order to follow the stream. Every trace of a path had + disappeared, and I was forced to hold on to the willows to prevent + myself from falling into the water.</p> + + <p>The Andelle, at Vascoeuil, is not a very imposing river. It cannot be + used for towing, and its banks are visited only by an occasional angler + who wishes to savor the delights of solitude among the reeds.</p> + + <p>Such as it was, it flowed that night with so much quiet grace between + its pleasant banks, reflecting so coquettishly its clumps of reeds and + rushes, like little silvery chignons, in the midst of this wild nature + where all was beauty and delight—the moon smiled strangely at me from + the river—that despite the mortal horror <span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span>which stirred me, I was + impressed by its charm, and I interrupted my course, for a moment, to + exclaim from my heart “I understand you, O Cordélia!”</p> + + <p>What was it that I understood? In truth, was I about to become affected + by it? Was this park, under the moon, so amazing a sight that my mind + would remain for ever impressed, preferring this wild retreat for my + honeymoon, to the luxurious modern nest which I had built at so great a + cost?</p> + + <p>Still, let us pull ourselves together.</p> + + <p>Besides, where was the bridal-chamber? Suddenly I caught sight of it + in the distance, or rather I half-saw it. It was the sort of rotunda + which, in the light of day or the twilight, would resemble a red-gold + arbor fashioned by the miracle of autumn on the bank of the murmuring + stream.</p> + + <p>With infinite caution I drew nearer. I stole through the grass and + sprigs like a Red Indian on the war path. I no longer felt the sting of + thorns. I held my breath.</p> + + <p>And all this—all this—in order to take by <span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span>surprise, two minds which + had made an appointment to meet in a clearing!</p> + + <p>I cannot say if the reader realizes the enormity of my proceedings. + For my part, I performed these actions in a manner at once entirely + unconscious and yet entirely natural. It must be understood from this + that I did not apply my reason, but yielded to a spontaneous impulse + which flung me in the wake of Cordélia’s runaway mind; and while I + experienced the influence of Dr. Thurel’s fantastic though scientific + explanations, I acted altogether like an ordinary, deceived husband, + bent on avoiding the least imprudence which might warn the culprits and + prevent me from obtaining the proof of my misfortune.</p> + + <p>In what shape would the proof become manifest? I certainly could not + tell, nor did I even ask myself the question, but I so little doubted + that I was about to learn the truth through one of those psychic + phenomena with which Dr. Thurel had crammed my brain, that when at last + I stealthily made my way on all fours into the bridal-chamber, I was + completely bewildered to behold merely an empty <span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span>space; that is to say + an atmosphere as pure and clear as crystal, pierced by the brilliant + rays of the moon which had transformed the chamber all in gold into a + chamber all in silver!</p> + + <p>It was none the less beautiful, but truth to tell, the scene and + the charm of this sylvan bower were just then the least of my + preoccupations. An empty space and silence! I rose from my stooping + posture and stood awhile breathing hard before this void.</p> + + <p>An empty space and silence! And perhaps <em>they</em> were there. But I + was unable, with the eyes of the flesh, to see them!</p> + + <p>I looked about me in sheer amazement. I walked round creeping between + the shadow of the trees like a shadow myself searching for two shadows!</p> + + <p>Suddenly I burst out laughing. I felt that I was committing a monstrous + piece of folly.</p> + + <p>But then, if I was acting with such sheer lunacy, why did my laughter + break in the middle? Why did it come to a stop all of a sudden in my + parched throat, when a gleam of light and a slight shade quivered above + an old moss-covered stone bench within the arbor? <span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span>Why did I go towards + the bench, leaning forward with clenched fists? What did I intend to + do with my big fists, the fists of a heavy-weight boxer? Challenge the + light? Knock out a moonbeam? Oh the irony of it all! Why do some people + see while others are blind? I felt that if I could see I should be less + afraid, for now I was afraid.... Well I was afraid of what I was about + to see, for though I could not yet see, I could hear!</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="XII">CHAPTER XII</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE THIEF</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">I HEARD a kind of whisper, a kind of soft whisper. It was still some + distance away, but it indubitably came from a human being who was + drawing nearer, but drawing nearer without making any other sound; and + it was this which filled me with affright.</p> + + <p>I expected to hear the twigs and dead leaves crack under the feet of + the persons who were coming, but there was nothing, no sound in the + dead silence of the night but this human murmur which seemed to be + wafted on the air not far from me, and was approaching closer and + closer.</p> + + <p>I gave no further thought to the stone bench which I had left. The + voice, soft and clear, was growing more and more distinct, so distinct + that I seemed to hear a few words which sent a shiver through me from + head to foot, and made me draw back and conceal myself in the wood.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span></p> + + <p>I withdrew in haste, in great haste, for the voice was drawing still + nearer. It now seemed borne along by the water, and I turned my head + towards the river. A word, a terrible word—I could distinguish only + this one word—reached my ear from the river. It was the one English + word <em>love</em>.</p> + + <p>I was standing at no great distance from the bank of the river. + Suddenly I saw the reeds bend and the hearts of innumerable + water-lilies on the silver surface of the water give way to a small + skiff which glided to the bank facing the bridal-chamber.</p> + + <p>A man was seated in this light skiff and I at once recognized him by + the curious beating of my heart and his strange sad-looking eyes, + eyes like those of a cat, which seemed to light up his pale face. + I recognized him, too, from other details. He was clad in the same + loose clothes, the same sports jacket open at the neck worn by him on + the evening when I encountered him for the first time. And, he was + bare-headed, as on that evening, and his hair was well brushed back, + disclosing the high <span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span>white forehead which he had pressed against the + garden gate.</p> + + <p>My first impulse was to make a rush at him. I had every reason to + settle my account with him once for all. His presence in my park, on + my property, fully entitled me to take the law into my own hands. It + was the finishing touch to his audacity and his felonious love-making. + It explained quite clearly why my poor dear Cordélia was the victim + of these perverse and uncanny influences. Dr. Thurel’s intervention + had been fruitless, because the instigator of the mischief was near at + hand, prowling round us, prowling round <em>her</em>. During the last two + days the scoundrel must have remained hidden in this obscure retreat, + or have left it only to approach Cordélia like a thief; to ensnare, + surprise and recapture her by fixing a gaze upon her which would enable + him to overcome her mind, and carry her away with him to his lair.</p> + + <p>Alas! Why did I not that very night make an end of the man who had + burgled Cordélia’s heart? For he was there right enough in flesh and + blood; and Heaven knows that I could <span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span>have made good use of my fists + despite his great eyes, like the eyes of a mournful cat.</p> + + <p>Now this is what happened: He dropped his sculls and stood up in the + skiff, and I was about to throw myself on him when I heard him utter + this sentence in English: “My love I am yours with all my heart,” and + then leaning over the boat he went on: “There is nothing I would not do + for you.”</p> + + <p>To whom was he speaking, since he was alone in the skiff?</p> + + <p>“Come, come, now,” I said to myself, “You know quite well to whom this + man is speaking these soft words of love and their meaning is obvious. + To whom is he saying ‘My love’? No need to look far. She is seated + beside him. He is leaning over her, whispering in her ear words that + she comprehends as well as you do.... <em>For she is there</em>! Cannot + you see her? Cannot you see her? And yet you know that she is seated in + the skiff.”</p> + + <p>Well, no, I was unable to see her. In truth I did my utmost to see her, + for I was conscious that he saw her, but I did not possess his vision. + Yet there was no doubt that she was <span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span>there ... I had only to look at + him. And to listen to him.</p> + + <p>He affected an attitude as he drew himself up, and then with his airs + and graces sat down beside her. To me he was grotesque, hideous. I + sincerely pitied Cordélia for having to listen to such an unmitigated + bore. At one moment he was spouting poetry to her. What a comedian!</p> + + <p>Suddenly he sat down again, leaned on one side and threw out his arm as + though to place it round her waist. It was more than I could bear. I + resolved to put an end to this grim farce, when a new scene riveted me + to the spot. <em>I could now see her!</em></p> + + <p>I must explain what I saw and endeavor to make myself understood. I am + setting down the facts for public information and to relieve my mind, + and also to lay bare the terrible truth. Thus I confine myself to what + I saw, and I do not wish any person to go beyond my own interpretation + of my testimony, nor do I wish any person to stop short of it.</p> + + <p>I would urge the reader to be not less courageous <span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span>than I was in + venturing on this startling voyage into the abyss of psychical research + in which the best hope for the future of mankind lies.</p> + + <p>Let this terrifying love story serve at least one purpose. Let the + world learn once for all how mortifying it is to remain a heavy-weight, + hermetically closed in a mass of flesh, when faced by the mind which in + its wanderings is unsubstantial and intangible or at least as elusive + as a handful of water.</p> + + <p>The man stood up in the skiff, his head still a little on one side and + his arm round a waist which I was unable to see. For I saw him only + in the skiff; saw him making the gesture of a ladies’ man which had + infuriated me. But though I saw but one person in the skiff, I could + distinguish both of them in the mirror of the water.</p> + + <p>In the slight swirl caused by the swing of the boat I discerned in the + moonlight the reflection of the pair of them standing up.</p> + + <p>Was it an optical illusion? Was it the result of defective vision? Were + my senses playing me false? At the present time, after <span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span>having gathered + together and placed in compact form my recollections, I am bound to + say: No it was no optical illusion. I saw. I saw. I saw the reflection + of the skiff in the water, and below it, also in the water, Patrick and + Cordélia leaning against one another.</p> + + <p>I am convinced of the fact, for though I turned my eyes, after seeing + the double vision on the water, to the boat, to confirm the reality, + and saw only Patrick alone with his arm thrust out and his head a + little on one side, on the other hand, when I looked again at the water + I beheld the double presentment once more.</p> + + <p>I lay stress upon these details because they obviously represent a + phenomenon which unites in a peculiarly interesting manner physical + science with psychic science. I offer it as a subject for investigation + to those men of science who are engaged in their laboratories in + endeavoring to probe the secrets of every aspect of Force.</p> + + <p>It would seem that my eyes passed through Cordélia’s aura, as it stood + in the atmosphere, without being in the least aware of it, while, + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span>on the other hand, I could perceive the outlines—somewhat faint, + I confess, but unmistakable for all that—by fixing my gaze on that + part of the water which had taken the picture, just as photographic + negatives were taken of pictures of Katie King during the time that + one of the most renowned scientists of the last century was making his + experiments in psychical phenomena—I mean Professor Sir William Crookes.</p> + + <p>It will be readily understood that these interesting scientific + considerations, which I set down here by the way, occurred to my mind + subsequently, and that, at the time, I was much more absorbed in the + phenomenon itself than in attempting to discover an explanation of + it. I was unable, unfortunately, to suppress a cry of fury when I + beheld in the mirror of the river the great thief press a kiss upon + my beloved’s forehead. The picture at once vanished, that is to say, + nothing remained on the surface of the water but Patrick’s reflection. + Cordélia’s silhouette had disappeared, while I heard the villain + exclaim: “Remember! Remember!”</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">HAPPINESS CONSISTS IN REALITIES NOT IN DREAMS</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">WHEN I reached the bank, Patrick and the skiff were hidden from view + behind the reeds which had closed in upon him. A few hundred yards + farther on the river made a bend and left the park. I had no hope of + overtaking my man, and after shouting a few offensive remarks at him, + to which he made no response, I returned to the château as quickly as I + could.</p> + + <p>I ran and woke up Surdon telling him that the Englishman was in the + park and ordering him to get his gun out. He grasped the situation at + once.</p> + + <p>“Don’t kill him if you can help it,” I cried, “but send a few shots + through him so as to make him feel sick of the place.”</p> + + <p>“You can rely on me,” replied Surdon, adding: “That explains + everything.”</p> + + <p>“Yes, Surdon, it explains everything.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span></p> + + <p>After that I went up to Cordélia’s room. She had just wakened. I was in + no way surprised.</p> + + <p>“Do you know where you’ve been?” I asked, but she could make no reply. + On this occasion she remembered nothing; at all events she did not seem + to remember anything.</p> + + <p>I then described what I had just witnessed. Events were taking such + a turn that we should have to face them together if we ever hoped to + gain the mastery over them. And moreover I realized quite clearly that I + should be powerless without Cordélia’s assistance. She was either on my + side or on <em>his</em>. If she was with me, she was bound to help me to + wage war on him and I did not doubt her.</p> + + <p>I was sure of her. My intervention on the bank was so involuntary that + I had no time to perceive, from the mirror of the river, Cordélia’s + particular attitude towards him, but I was only too firmly convinced, + since Dr. Thurel’s visit, that she was under the spell of prolonged + magnetization, in other words, her astral body was held captive, so + that I could not find fault with her for not spurning the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span>arm which + clasped her waist with too much affection, or for yielding to a kiss + which she was unable to avert.</p> + + <p>When she learned of the thief’s audacity in setting foot into our + property and of his being, doubtless, still in the neighborhood, she + threw her arms round my neck and cried:</p> + + <p>“Take me away. Take me a long, long way from here. He is capable of + anything. He is capable of keeping me with him for good.”</p> + + <p>Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! I did not wait to be asked a second time, + and a hand-bag was soon packed. Moreover I left word for Surdon to join + us in Paris the following day with our luggage; and we went off in the + small car, which I drove myself.</p> + + <p>I soon congratulated myself on introducing my beloved to the + distractions of Paris. She was so delighted that she forgot the strain + of the terrible forty-eight hours through which we had passed. She + entered into the spirit of everything. A walk in the Avenue des Acacias + in the Bois de Boulogne helped her to forget the amazing promenade + in the park in the moonlight; at least I preferred to think <span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span>so. We + lunched at a smart restaurant in the country, and we emerged from it + laughing at the least thing like children carried away by their first + glass of wine.</p> + + <p>Cordélia for the first time tried to smoke, and she discovered an + Egyptian brand of cigarettes which she liked so well that she consumed + a goodly number of them. The result was that when we returned to the + Palace Hotel she had to lie down and take a short rest. I left her + in the custody of Surdon. When I went out I could not repress an + exclamation, for I recognized, standing at the hotel entrance, Dr. + Thurel.</p> + + <p>He was not less surprised than I was. He at once asked after Cordélia, + and was so greatly interested in my story of what happened on the + second night of my honeymoon, that he took me off with him to his flat. + Here, he got me to repeat the facts in detail, taking notes the while, + and then he said:</p> + + <p>“The thing is quite logical. As long as your wife was under the direct + influence of the man who was close by, anything that I was able to do + to release her was bound, of course, to <span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span>be reduced to naught as soon + as I left you. That is precisely what did happen, but it shows also + that your wife is subject to this influence only when the hypnotizer is + comparatively near. There are patients who are in worse case than she + is,” went on the doctor thoughtfully, “and you certainly must not lose + hope. You did well to bring her away from Vascoeuil. You must travel + about the world. The case will respond to treatment. Everything depends + on you.”</p> + + <p>He repeated this last sentence with emphasis, and I could not help + giving vent to my impatience and ill-humor.</p> + + <p>“Everything depends on me!” I cried. “That is easy enough to say. But + what influence, if you please, can I exert if every time my lips touch + hers she falls into a trance? You must be fair and admit that I am at + least as much to be pitied as she is.”</p> + + <p>“I have advised you to kiss her as a brother.”</p> + + <p>“Do you really believe that a brother’s influence will be enough to rid + her of that man?”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span></p> + + <p>“No, I don’t say that, but I believe that it is absolutely necessary, + if you wish to risk a kiss, to remove your wife’s recollection from + that man’s power of suggestion through time and space. Travel about, + and have patience until you both feel yourselves the master of her ‘O’ + and have nothing more to fear from her ‘polygon.’”</p> + + <p>I held my head in my hands. For the second time this geometrical term + occurred when Dr. Thurel was speaking. What was this “polygon” and what + did he mean by the “O” of which it was incumbent upon me to obtain the + mastery?</p> + + <p>The doctor vouchsafed the explanation that these were figures of + psychical speech employed by Dr. Grasset in his work entitled + “Spiritualism in relation to Science” in order to explain fully certain + characteristics. I should like, in my turn, to enable the reader to + understand them as the kindly old gentleman explained them to me. I + should not attempt to do so if it were not that he had the goodness to + lend me certain books to read; so that I might become acquainted with + a science <span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span>which would prove useful to me in Cordélia’s condition of + mind—books which I strove to assimilate from love of her without her + knowledge.</p> + + <p>It would seem, then, that there is a superior psychicism, that is + to say, there are psychic acts which are deliberate and carried out + by the free will of a person, and preceded by thought which Dr. + Grasset symbolizes by the letter O, and an inferior psychicism which + is quasi-automatic and symbolized by the nervous centers which are + connected together in the shape of a polygon.</p> + + <p>This polygon must be regarded either in its physiological + condition—absent-mindedness, sleep, dreams—or its extra-physical + condition—artificially induced hypnotism—or its pathological + condition—somnambulism, ambulatory automatism and so forth.</p> + + <p>When the O is no longer concerned with the polygon, the latter + does more or less what it pleases, and thus one can do with it + almost what one wills. For this reason it suffices for the O to + be absent-minded—for instance I am thinking of one thing while I + continue with my <span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span>polygon to pour from a jug into a glass which is + already full—and it suffices also for the mind of another to take + possession for the time being of the O. In that case the polygon can be + transmitted to a remote distance.</p> + + <p>All this seemed to me as clear as noonday, so lucidly did the doctor + explain it, and I exclaimed:</p> + + <p>“You can rely on me, Doctor. I will keep a watch over Cordélia’s + polygon! And it won’t be my fault if it slips away from me!”</p> + + <p>“Meanwhile take the train,” returned the worthy doctor. “And be quick + about it. You might possibly meet that man here as you met me. This + Palace Hotel is not a place where one can prevent one’s self from being + seen. And besides, no city in the world is so small as Paris!”</p> + + <p>I hastened to the station and inquired about sleeping-cars, and that + same evening we caught the train for Rome. We took Surdon with us.</p> + + <p>When two days later we beheld the walls of Servius Tullius, Cordélia + uttered shouts of joy. On alighting from the train she had a mind to + make for the Forum, but by hurrying her a <span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span>little I soon managed—the + thing was to acquire some influence over her—to make her forget for + the time being all those old things, and give her a taste of more + modern pleasures such as are found in the thorough comfort of the best + hotel in Rome. We lunched in the Italian manner at the Castello di + Constantino, where we were served on the terrace from which the eye + took in a landscape of rare loveliness, though it was somewhat marred + by the sight of ruins which are supposed to be impressive but which, + for my part, I have always found tedious.</p> + + <p>We had, however, to visit some of the ancient monuments. The Colosseum + greatly attracted Cordélia, who told me mournful stories about the + martyrdom of the early Christians. I hastened to take her away to less + dismal scenes. A promenade at the fashionable hour in the gardens of + Pincio, iced-drinks in a café in the Corso, and in the evening, after + dinner, the tarantella danced by pretty girls in the grand hall of the + hotel, threw us into the vortex of life in Rome.</p> + + <p>Cordélia took an immense pleasure in these <span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span>elegant displays of Italian + manners. I was myself greatly stirred to see her eyes shining with + happiness. She never seemed to me more beautiful. When we returned to + our rooms I held her close and told her so, but I acted cautiously, + and at the same time with a feeling of great anxiety. Had I become + sufficient master of her O to be no longer in fear of the whims of her + polygon? The thought that if I kissed her she might at once fall into + a trance, in my arms, brought beads of perspiration trickling down my + forehead.</p> + + <p>“Good gracious, how hot you are, Hector!” she cried as with an adorable + gesture she wiped my forehead with her handkerchief.</p> + + <p>I no longer knew what I was doing. Her lips smiled at me. The fragrance + that clung to her carried me away, and, in truth, I forgot all my good + resolutions and kissed her passionately.</p> + + <p>Marvel of marvels, she did not fall into a sleep!</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">HAPPY DAYS</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">DEAR, dear, dear Cordélia! What splendid weeks were ours and how + completely we forgot the doleful Patrick! I am bound to say that I + neglected nothing to bring about this result. I proceeded to overwhelm + my Cordélia with every attention that a husband in love could offer to + his young wife in order to divert her thoughts.</p> + + <p>Entertainment followed entertainment, and I wanted my beloved to be the + best-dressed and the most beautiful woman of them all. We made a few + acquaintances. By the good offices of a Secretary to an Embassy who was + a friend of mine, the most exclusive drawing-rooms were open to us, and + Cordélia was the queen of them. She no longer worried me about visits + to ancient ruins. I acted in such a way that her whole time was taken + up by our life of amusement. The museums were <span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span>forgotten. I had very + good reason to be suspicious of pictures!</p> + + <p>When she was weary of Rome we set out for Naples where new joys awaited + us. The wonderful bay with its most beautiful seashore was a witness to + our love. We went to Capri Sorrento and Castellammare. The boatmen sang + as they plied their oars. I burned those little works which are called + “guides,” for I had observed that when Cordélia was carrying them with + her wherever she went, she spoke of nothing but the dead, which was + anything but cheerful.</p> + + <p>My holocaust spared us many a story about Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and + the rest of them. That was something to the good. We could not, of + course, escape Pompeii, which, however, is not a tiresome promenade. + Always a great concourse of people is wandering about the ruins; + tourists dressed in such a way that one feels inclined to laugh, and + they alone are worth the trouble....</p> + + <p>Dear, dear, dear Cordélia! She was all mine in those happy hours when + we thought only of rejoicing at the beauty of the day, and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span>of our + love, without concerning ourselves with what had existed before our + time and would exist after we were gone. Was not that the essential + condition of happiness? We must not let ourselves give way to too much + thought. No, no, we must not let ourselves think too much.</p> + + <p>Observe how happy we had both become since we began to think as + little as possible. In point of fact, though we were always together, + facing each other, we had no occasion to ask the question: “What are + you thinking of?” It is during fits of abstraction, when the mind is + preoccupied, that the “polygon” is up to its tricks. The best method of + preventing one’s thoughts from wandering is to refuse to think at all. + I know what I am talking about.</p> + + <p>But the mind must be occupied. After Naples we retraced our steps to + Florence, and finally we reached Venice which I had reserved for the + last. A disastrous town! But let us not anticipate events.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="XV">CHAPTER XV</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">IN WHICH MY ANXIETY ABOUT CORDÉLIA’S POLYGON IS REVIVED</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">SURDON had engaged a suite of rooms for us at the Hotel Danieli on + the Riva degli Schiavoni. It was in this hotel, it seems, that Alfred + de Musset fell ill and learned the treachery of his lady love, George + Sand. Cordélia heard the story of this lamentable event on the second + day after our arrival, and it seemed unduly to depress her. I hated the + bungler and his story and wanted to leave the hotel. But Cordélia had + taken a fancy to it, and I had to give way to her.</p> + + <p>One day I found her with a book in her hand. It was de Musset’s + correspondence with this George Sand. I read a few lines and threw the + book out of the window, went over to my beloved and embraced her, and + told her that it was a crime to spoil our perfect happiness by opening + the door to disagreeable <span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span>thoughts about two persons who did not know + how to love.</p> + + <p>Was I not right?</p> + + <p>“Oh, my dear, now you are preventing me from reading,” she made answer. + “Think, Hector, you have already refused to let me visit the museums.”</p> + + <p>“Heaven forbid, Cordélia, that I should refuse you anything whatever,” + I exclaimed. “I am your slave as you know. If you are really keen on + seeing some pictures, we’ll go this afternoon to your museum. Would you + like me to countermand our trip to the Lido?”</p> + + <p>“That would be too much,” she returned, smiling. “We’ll go to the Lido + for dinner and supper. All the same I shall be glad if you will show a + little more eagerness to see the ‘wonders of art.’”</p> + + <p>“Lord above, what string are you harping on now?” I exclaimed. “Did we + not go, as was proper to the Doge’s Palace and see the dungeon in which + Marino Faliero was imprisoned?”</p> + + <p>“Oh, Hector, it amused you to slip our cards into the secret letter-box + which was used <span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span>at one time for anonymous accusations to the Council of + Ten. And you call that seeing the ‘wonders of art!’”</p> + + <p>“Yes, and I denounced the proprietor of our hotel, accusing him of + trying to poison us! You had a good laugh at the time, you must admit.”</p> + + <p>She was not laughing now. What new shadow was passing over her brow? + She seemed carried away by a depression of spirits which rendered her + more beautiful still, but which filled me with alarm, because it was + akin to sadness. And, indeed, her eyes were bedewed with tears. I threw + myself at her feet.</p> + + <p>“I have hurt your feelings,” I exclaimed.</p> + + <p>“No, let me cry,” she returned in a broken and far away voice. “Tears + that we owe to the emotion caused by beautiful things are sweet tears. + I remember those happy moments when we left our gondola and entered the + church of Santa Maria della Salute. Just think of the lagoon, the grand + canal—all that marvel of walls and towers and opalescent water.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span></p> + + <p>“A walk in the Salute!” I cried, making no effort to conceal my + amazement. “We were never together in the Salute, dear.”</p> + + <p>“Oh you don’t mean it,” she protested. “We went through the church + thoroughly.”</p> + + <p>Thereupon she took a great deal of trouble to describe it to me. And + then suddenly, observing my bewilderment, she came to a stop, and + declined to say another word about her visit to the Salute. She went as + red as a cherry; and I left her in a state of profound uneasiness.</p> + + <p>I felt the need of being alone to ponder over what had come to pass. + While we were at Venice we had not parted from each other. I left her + sometimes in her room, but I remained in the hotel. She could not, + therefore, have visited the Salute.</p> + + <p>I hurriedly made my way there, and I was dumbfounded to discover that + her description of the church was accurate.</p> + + <p>I was intensely alarmed, for I could no longer doubt that Cordélia’s + polygon was beginning to play its tricks again. While she was supposed + to be asleep her polygon was <span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span>wandering about the Salute! I recalled to + mind Dr. Thurel’s words:</p> + + <p>“Just as cases are quoted in which the subject discovers in a dream, + memories placed therein without his cognizance by his polygon while + awake—the O being then in a state of abstraction—so there are numerous + instances in which the subject while awake discovers memories placed + therein, without his cognizance, by the polygon which has been at work + while he was asleep—the O being lulled to sleep or under the influence + of suggestion.”</p> + + <p>When I landed from the gondola and found myself again on the Riva degli + Schiavoni I could not help exclaiming:</p> + + <p>“The misery of it! It’s that confounded polygon again. Still we in + Venice are a long way from Patrick.”</p> + + <p>I had no sooner uttered these words than a voice behind me exclaimed:</p> + + <p>“You make a mistake, monsieur. Patrick is here!”</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="XVI">CHAPTER XVI</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE APPOINTMENT</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">IT was Surdon who had spoken. He seemed not less perturbed than I was. + I took him in hand with an excitement which may easily be imagined.</p> + + <p>“Patrick here!” I cried. “How do you know that?”</p> + + <p>“I’ve seen him.”</p> + + <p>“When?”</p> + + <p>“This morning.”</p> + + <p>“And since this morning couldn’t you....”</p> + + <p>“I’ve followed him, monsieur, and I can assure you that I haven’t + wasted my time.”</p> + + <p>“Out with it! Tell me what you know. The whole thing is awful.”</p> + + <p>“Yes, monsieur, awful.”</p> + + <p>“I shall kill him.”</p> + + <p>“Of course, that would be the best thing to do, for there’s no question + that he isn’t chasing you.”—The worthy Surdon dared not <span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span>make any + allusion to “madame”—“This Patrick assumed that you would be passing + through Venice. He’s been expecting you here for the last three weeks. + And since you came here he has pretty well lost his head.”</p> + + <p>“Oh, come, he has done that before, Surdon. But tell me everything you + know down to the least detail.”</p> + + <p>“Well, it’s like this. I was brushing your clothes this morning when I + happened to put my nose out of a window, and caught sight of a man in + a gondola staring with such persistence at our windows that I stopped + my work. He did not see me. To come to the point—his eyes were fixed on + madame’s room.”</p> + + <p>“Was madame out?” I inquired breathlessly.</p> + + <p>“No, monsieur, she was getting ready to go out, and you were waiting + for her in the hall. Just then I recognized Patrick, and I continued to + watch his game.”</p> + + <p>“Do you know if madame saw him?”</p> + + <p>“I don’t know. I can’t be positive. The gondola stopped for a moment, + then having <span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span>changed its course turned down towards the lagoon. I + rushed out of the hotel just as you were leaving it with madame, and + had the luck to reach the bend of the Riva degli Schiavoni as Patrick’s + gondola rounded the point. I took a gondola and followed him. My + intention was to find out where he was staying. For hours he dragged + me about to impossible and apparently uninteresting places. Finally he + landed at the Grand Hotel where I was told that he had taken a room + with the windows on the ground floor—I mean on a level with the water + of the Grand Canal opposite Santa Maria della Salute.”—At the mention + of this church I gave another start.—“The servant who waits upon him + had no objection to give me certain particulars which, for that matter, + show Patrick as the laughing-stock of the staff at the Grand Hotel....</p> + + <p>“It seems, monsieur, that during the last four days he has regularly + shut himself up in his room between five and seven o’clock after + ordering a light meal for two persons to be served on a small round + table.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span></p> + + <p>“A meal for two persons between five and seven o’clock!” I exclaimed, + feeling a shiver pass through me from head to foot.</p> + + <p>“Just so, monsieur. The servant has to lay two places, and the beauty + of it is that no one has ever seen our man enter his room with another + person, while he is always seen to come out alone. And yet this + servant hasn’t the least doubt that two persons sit down to this small + round table and partake of the meal which has been served. It’s a + mystery which amuses every one, though Patrick doesn’t appear to be + aware of it, for he never speaks to a soul. He is generally looked + upon as eccentric and even slightly mad. Most sensible people are of + opinion that he is playing a part with himself and living upon past + recollections.... Good Lord, how pale you are! Perhaps I made a mistake + to tell you all this. It would have been better to keep it from you + that he was here.”</p> + + <p>“No, Surdon, you were quite right. You are a sharp and faithful + servant. But, tell me, when did you leave the Grand Hotel?”</p> + + <p>“Just now, monsieur.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span></p> + + <p>“What about Patrick?”</p> + + <p>“I left him shut up in his room as usual at this time.”</p> + + <p>I looked at my watch which shook in my hand.</p> + + <p>“That’s true,” I said. “This is the hour for his meal. Wait for me in + this gondola, Surdon. I shall be back soon.”</p> + + <p>I hastened to the hotel in a state of agitation which bordered on + frenzy. I was unnerved, be it understood, less by the evidence which + Surdon brought me of Patrick’s renewed efforts to secure control of + Cordélia’s O, than by the apparent willingness with which my beloved + consented to allow her polygon to be influenced by this most dangerous + of tempters. The mere thought of it made me shake with fever, but could + I doubt the truth when I recalled what had passed that very day between + Cordélia and me? She had spoken in the most natural terms of her visit + to the church of Santa Maria della Salute, and then perceiving, from my + look of amazement, that her polygon had chattered too <span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span>freely, she at + once enjoined it to be silent, blushing to the roots of her hair.</p> + + <p>Not long before when she observed something abnormal passing between + us, she threw her arms round my neck and cried: “Save me, Hector, save + me!” but now she seemed to display only a certain embarrassment for + having allowed the secret of a psychic condition to be discovered which + ought to have been kept from me; the secret of another existence which + she considered perhaps that I was unworthy to share, and which, in any + case, no longer gave her a fright seeing that her O, after reflection, + made no such request as: “Take me away!”</p> + + <p>Was it not another who now took her away wherever he wished, if not + with her complete assent—for in my delirium I strove to be just—at + least with very little opposition from her? The pity of it! No, she + made very little resistance, or else she would have warned me and cried + aloud: “He has come back, the thief—the man who stole my love!”</p> + + <p>Her O and her polygon were now in league to conceal this ignominy from + me. For after <span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span>all, the nervous fluid, to use Dr. Thurel’s words, is + not strongly united to the body in certain subjects—and obviously + Cordélia was among these—yet it is impossible to lure it far from + its visible focus, the body, without producing a certain amount of + suffering which in Cordélia’s case formerly caused her to resist, while + now she accepted it. Cordélia was failing me, for she was now accepting + her suffering. It was a dreadful thought, a thought beyond all bearing.</p> + + <p>These tragic considerations did not enter my mind, as may be imagined, + only as the result of inferences which I drew from the scene with + Cordélia that morning, but from my memory of various other little + scenes of this kind which had impressed me less, because they were of + less importance, but which now acquired their full significance, and + that, too, from the first hour of our arrival in Venice.</p> + + <p>Still, it was the terrible thought that during the last few days she + had asked me to let her take a short rest before dressing for dinner, + that made me mount the stairs four at a time, for the request, perhaps, + concealed a subterfuge <span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span>intended to keep me away during the great + secret of the polygonal promenade.</p> + + <p>Everything that Surdon had told me about Patrick’s curious behavior at + the Grand Hotel at that hour, merely strengthened the infernal idea + which led to my accusing Cordélia of a veritable crime, the crime of + premeditation, whereas it may have been simply a coincidence; but + jealousy invariably goes to extremes and never feels satisfied unless + it has multiplied its torments by some new supposition.</p> + + <p>When out of breath I reached our rooms, however, I clung for a while to + a last hope, the hope of discovering Cordélia standing before the glass + putting the finishing touches to her evening toilet; but unfortunately + the door of her room was locked and it was in vain that I shook it with + all my strength.</p> + + <p>“Cordélia! Cordélia!” I shouted, but there was no reply. I bent down + and looked through the keyhole, and I saw her lying at full length + on a sofa near the window in the rigid posture which had so greatly + perturbed me at Vascoeuil.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span></p> + + <p>I could not restrain a yell of fury and, clenching my fists and + grinding my teeth, I ran to join Surdon in the gondola.</p> + + <p>“As quickly as you can to the Grand Hotel,” I ordered.</p> + + <p>The gondola took us there in a few minutes. As we drew near, Surdon + pointed to a window which was lit up on the right of the principal + entrance, for at this time of the year it grew dark early.</p> + + <p>“There you are,” he said.</p> + + <p>I at once propelled the gondola forward so that we hugged the foot of + the wall and became merged in its shadow. We did not make the least + sound.</p> + + <p>When the gondola stopped under the window, I stood up and managed + without difficulty to hold on to a small cornice, resting my elbow on + the stone embrasure of the window. The latter was partly opened. I + could thus both see and hear.</p> + + <p>My excitement had reached its height, and I shall not attempt to + describe it. Moreover, it is not difficult to conceive what passed + through my mind from that moment, and the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span>feelings with which I was + stirred by the spectacle which I alone could understand, and from which + I alone was to suffer.</p> + + <p>The two covers on the small round table which occupied the center of + the room were close together; the two chairs were side by side. In one + of them Patrick was seated, leaning over the other in an attitude of + sentimental tenderness, while his face, like the face of a mournful + cat, wore an expression of peace, not to say bliss, which made me long + to rush into the room and box his ears. But I restrained myself.</p> + + <p>A chandelier which shed a soft light on persons and things stood on + the table. Why do I say “persons”? I observed only Patrick, and as to + Cordélia, I failed to perceive her in spite of my concentrated will + and strained attention. I would have given, at that moment, everything + that I possessed to be able to see with the same facility as Patrick, + who was assuredly caressing the exquisite outlines of Cordélia’s astral + figure.</p> + + <p>O those eyes like the eyes of a mournful <span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span>cat, calm and content, while + I was seething with excitement at the window!</p> + + <p>How was it that I had the power to control my impulse?... I wanted to + know more.... And now I listened, for as he stretched out his hand to + take an apple from the fruit-dish and place it on Cordélia’s plate, he + began to speak:</p> + + <p>“A union of minds begets sympathy, and from this sympathy is born real + love, compared with which the other is but the blind instrument of + nature in the fulfilment of its essential functions.”</p> + + <p>I shall remember that sentence for the rest of my life.</p> + + <p>“The bond which unites us, O Cordélia”—he used the words “O Cordélia” + and I felt as if my heart were being pierced with a sword—“the bond + which unites us recognizes no impediment; nothing can restrain it, + nothing can shatter it; it can penetrate walls, traverse space, set + time at defiance. It partakes of the divine essence,” and so on and so + forth.</p> + + <p>I could not repeat everything that he said in this strain while peeling + a pear which he <span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span>shared with her—I mean the half of which he laid on + the plate beside his own.</p> + + <p>I must confess that his gestures perplexed me more than his + speechifying. To me it was unendurable that he should lean over the + next chair, and I experienced an uncanny feeling as I saw him lift a + glass of wine to his lips which he had previously placed in space on + his right on a level with a mouth, which had, perhaps also drunk from + it.</p> + + <p>“The wretches are drinking out of the same glass,” I muttered between + my teeth. “Don’t mind me!”</p> + + <p>I was in such “good training” by the psychic phenomena of which I + had been the victim since my wedding-day, and also by the scientific + explanations to which I had listened, and by that which I still saw, + that nothing could surprise me, and the impossibility for an astral + body to swallow the material substance of a meal did not occur to me + at first. It was not until I had seen for myself that the wine was + entirely drunk by Patrick, and the food on Cordélia’s plate conveyed + in the end to his plate, that I gave up this absurdly <span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span>fantastic idea, + which shows once more that the mind deflected from its accustomed + groove easily loses all sense of proportion, and is ready to open the + door to every form of self-deception; and my delusion at that cruel + moment when others beside myself might likewise have lost their common + sense, was to believe in the reality of this fallacy—of this farce + which was being played between Patrick and Cordélia’s astral body when + under his influence. The real truth was that they provided themselves + with the vision and delight of a little dinner for two in this room, + but the person who was in fact eating it could only be Patrick.</p> + + <p>And as he drank wine for two, which seemed to me to be tokay, he looked + less like a mournful cat, and began to talk nonsense which was not + without a touch of humor.</p> + + <p>As it happened he spoke of the material limits which his magnetic power + encountered.</p> + + <p>“It is a pity,” he said, “that I cannot attract your body here as I + can attract your sensibility, but that is a miracle, for all we know, + which psychic science, which is still in its <span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span>infancy, may achieve + in the near future. See what has already been done in the matter of + table turning. The day when those idiots—I am referring to official + experts—cease to laugh at these phenomena, we shall not be far from + discovering the method which will enable the unseen mind to control + visible matter. On that day we shall learn something that Newton did + not know, namely, that gravitation is a variable quantity in space.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + + <div class="footnote"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Einstein has since merely repeated the words used by + Cordélia’s admirer and given a mathematical formula to his theory. + Author’s Note.</div> + + <p>“That reminds me of a rather amusing story that old Surdon used to + tell, my dear Cordélia”—how it hurt me to hear him say “My dear + Cordélia!”—“He said ‘I can make this table jump out of the window when + and as I please. One day two friends were taking their coffee on it. I + commanded the table to move. It remained motionless. When they left I + lectured the table. Do you know what it said in reply? “They are such + fools!”’”</p> + + <p>Whereupon Patrick began to laugh, and I seemed to hear Cordélia laugh + as well. Their gaiety disturbed me more than their gloom of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span>a few + minutes before. Suddenly they stopped laughing, and began to converse + in complete silence.</p> + + <p>I was absolutely convinced of it.</p> + + <p>They were talking and understanding each other. It is generally + recognized that subjects and mediums and persons who have it in them + to control the mind can converse among themselves without the aid of + sounds, by the mere power of suggestion, and communion. When Patrick + spoke from the throat it was done over and above his psychic power, + from habit, and possibly to give himself the illusion to which, + whatever he may have said, he seemed to set store, of Cordélia’s + bodily presence beside him in his room, but the use of his voice was + unnecessary. He was now speaking to her with the voice of the mind.</p> + + <p>And there could be no doubt that Cordélia was answering him, for it + must not be assumed that I was witnessing, in this extraordinary and + loathsome seance, a monologue. Far from it. But when Patrick used his + ordinary voice there were pauses which were undoubtedly furnished with + Cordélia’s answers. Patrick’s remarks <span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span>which followed were a sufficient + proof of it.</p> + + <p>I was more or less aware of what was passing, but now they were + conversing in silence. What were they saying? Why was Patrick bending + over her with his right arm resting on the back of her chair?... I + could perceive a tremulous movement of his arm....</p> + + <p>Suddenly he raised his head and said aloud: “It is unfair of me to + reproach heaven for not giving you to me body and soul, because your + soul is mine and I have the best part of your body.” And then he took + his glass in his left hand without moving his right hand which still + shook as it lay on the back of Cordélia’s chair, and exclaimed: “I have + tasted your lips, O Cordélia. I have tasted your life. I drink to our + longing for everlasting love!”</p> + + <p>He had no sooner poured the glass of wine down his throat than I sprang + into the room.</p> + + <p>It seemed that I was literally foaming with rage. He himself said so + afterwards, and it was, in truth, quite possible, for my patience which + my restless and insidious curiosity had <span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span>held in check, was exhausted, + and I was overcome with fury.</p> + + <p>I rushed up to <em>them</em> and cried:</p> + + <p>“I’m thirsty too. Aren’t you going to invite me?”</p> + + <p>He stood up and thrust himself in my path as though to shield her.</p> + + <p>“How clumsy you are! You have wounded her,” he murmured, stooping to + pick up a knife which, when I darted to the table had fallen to the + floor.</p> + + <p>“What do you mean—‘wounded her?’” I said excitedly.</p> + + <p>“Calm yourself, monsieur,” he returned with characteristic English + coolness. “Indeed, it’s nothing, though it might have been serious. Let + this be a lesson to you. Another time, don’t forget to knock at the + door or the window.” He spoke in a tone which set me beside myself.</p> + + <p>“It shall never happen again,” I said hoarsely, casting a glance in the + direction of Cordélia’s chair.</p> + + <p>“Oh, you may finish what you were saying,” <span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span>he interrupted with a + gesture of encouragement. “We are alone. She is no longer here.”</p> + + <p>“Well, monsieur, what I wish to say is simply this—there are two of us + here, which is one too many.”</p> + + <p>“That’s my opinion, monsieur,” he acquiesced, “but it’s not I who am in + the way.”</p> + + <p>“We shall see about that—to-morrow!”</p> + + <p>“Just as you please.”</p> + + <p>I had nothing more to say to him that day, and I turned towards the + window, but he opened the door for me, and we bowed to each other with + perfect propriety.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="XVII">CHAPTER XVII</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE DUEL</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">WHEN I read over again the preceding pages I find nothing in them to + eliminate, for they truthfully set down the intolerable situation in + which I found myself after Surdon informed me of Patrick’s presence in + Venice. In my belief I had good reason for suspecting that my beloved’s + ego had yielded without any great resistance to the whims of culpable + hypnotic suggestion. And when I conjure up the vision of the meeting in + the little room in the Grand Hotel, I see myself again as I was then, + that is to say, less distracted by rage against Patrick than tortured + by Cordélia’s apparent acquiescence.</p> + + <p>Fool that I was! Ought I not in my ignorance of the tremendous nature + of psychic mystery, or in my mistrust of it as an entirely new + initiate, to have warned Cordélia of all that appeared <span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span>suspect and + impossible to understand in it? And yet I took a bitter pleasure in my + misery!</p> + + <p>In short, my blood was fired by those fatuous words: “It wouldn’t have + happened if she hadn’t wanted it to happen.” And it was with these + words on my lips and this injustice to her in my heart, that I hastened + back to the Hotel Danieli.</p> + + <hr class="tb"> + + <p>Cordélia, whom I found still lying on the sofa, had just awakened from + her sleep, and was wrapping a piece of linen round her finger, an + incident to which in my agitation I attached no importance. The chamber + maid was offering her a thread of cotton. I requested her to leave us.</p> + + <p>At the sound of my voice Cordélia gave a start and raised her head, and + I perceived that she was deadly pale.</p> + + <p>“Patrick is here and you know it,” I cried savagely. “Why didn’t you + tell me?”</p> + + <p>She contemplated my wrath first with dumb amazement, and then with + dismay. She seemed no longer to know me. I had ceased <span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span>to be her + Hector. She wisely remained silent. What could she say to a raging lion + who neither heard nor understood reason?</p> + + <p>Then I went on wildly:</p> + + <p>“You deny yourself nothing. Trips in gondolas, art galleries, + churches—the Santa Maria della Salute!”</p> + + <p>At these last words she murmured:</p> + + <p>“Oh, good gracious, so it was true! I thought it was only a dream.”</p> + + <p>Her words ought to have enlightened me and taught me that she was still + the victim of the endless machinations of that man. But I had set out + to make us both suffer, and I was not to be stopped mid-way.</p> + + <p>“You meet every day between five and seven o’clock.”</p> + + <p>“What do you say?”</p> + + <p>And Cordélia lifted herself, and opened her eyes wide with wonder, as + if she began to discover from the sound of my voice now that she was + awake, the impressions which had been transmitted to her polygon while + she was asleep.</p> + + <p>“I say that you take advantage of my confidence. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span>While I thought that + you were resting here, you were off having a meal with Patrick in his + room in the Grand Hotel.”</p> + + <p>She uttered a cry and covered her face with her hands.</p> + + <p>“Oh don’t deny it. I saw you. I heard you.”</p> + + <p>“What did you hear? Did I tell him that I loved him?” she asked in a + voice strained with anxiety.</p> + + <p>“I didn’t hear you say that,” I returned, surprised at the tone in + which she asked the question, “but you know quite well that I cannot + hear your ‘silent voice.’”</p> + + <p>“If I didn’t say that I said nothing,” she declared gazing at me with + staring eyes. “All else is beyond me.”</p> + + <p>So saying she lay back on the sofa, her whole body shaken by a fit of + sobbing.</p> + + <p>I fell on my knees. The horror of my conduct and at the same time + Cordélia’s innocence, became manifest to me. Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!</p> + + <p>I hated myself. I strove to assuage her <span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span>grief. I took her hand, and + then I saw that the strip of linen round her finger was quite red.</p> + + <p>“Your finger is bleeding, Cordélia. Have you cut it?”</p> + + <p>“I suppose I knocked it against a piece of furniture when I woke up,” + she said between her tears.</p> + + <p>“It’s not imagination,” I said with a tremor, unwinding the linen, + for Dr. Thurel’s explanation of the meaning of the externalization + of sensibility flashed through my mind. “No, it was not imagination, + unfortunately, and here we have the sad proof of it. When you, in mind, + were at the Grand Hotel, I burst into the room with such violence as + to disturb everything, and a knife which was on the table fell to the + floor and Patrick exclaimed: ‘She is wounded!’”</p> + + <p>This time Cordélia rose to her feet so white-faced, that she might have + been taken for her own ghost.</p> + + <p>“How could you think that I did not love you?” she breathed. “It’s my + heart’s blood that is flowing from the wound which you inflicted <span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span>on me + in Patrick’s room. Do you understand what I mean?”<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> + + <div class="footnote"> + <a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> The following note was discovered among Hector’s papers: + + <p>In regard to pains and wounds transmitted to a subject from a + distance as in the peculiar case of the glass of water mentioned by + Dr. Rochas, see also instances quoted by Dr. Chazalin in his work on + “Materializations.” Cases have been known where violent blows have been + transmitted from a distance to subjects in profound trance, in plain + daylight, with the result that these subjects have borne marks of the + hand and scratches and bruises on the face. Author’s note.</p> + </div> + + <p>I was still on my knees, and when I heard those glorious words I + clasped her in my trembling arms and implored her to forgive me, but + her mind was possessed with some other thought, and I realized that it + was this thought which was the cause of her pallor.</p> + + <p>“What did you say to each other afterwards?” she asked.</p> + + <p>I was at a loss for an answer and could but stammer a falsehood.</p> + + <p>“Swear to me, that there will be no fighting.”</p> + + <p>I was constrained to swear that there should be no fighting, but she + was unconvinced.</p> + + <p>“You have sworn falsely. That’s too bad of you. Never mind. I don’t + want you to fight each other. You mustn’t fight each other. I shall go + with you everywhere.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span></p> + + <p>I could have wished that she had said: “I don’t want you to fight him.”</p> + + <p>She so managed that it was impossible for me to leave the hotel, and as + I was bent on getting rid of my adversary, once for all, I was obliged + to send Surdon to him, without her knowledge, in order to let him know + what was happening, and to request him to take upon himself the burden + of providing weapons, seconds and so forth. I asked that the duel + should take place at dawn, for I intended to slip away while Cordélia + was in her morning sleep which would not fail to be a heavy one after + the excitement through which she had passed.</p> + + <p>Surdon came back to tell me that there was no need for me to trouble + about anything except to appear at daybreak at the Comte de C——’s + house, which stood at the far end of what are called the “public + gardens.”</p> + + <p>Cordélia had regained her composure. We strolled to the Piazzetta, and + even went as far as the Café de Florian, where we drank port to the + music of the guitar. The scene around us was one of great gaiety. I + did my utmost to appear cheerful also, but Cordélia remained <span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span>gloomily + wrapped in thought. When we returned to the hotel she declared that she + would not go to bed.</p> + + <p>“I don’t believe you. You didn’t speak the truth. If I go to bed you’ll + seize the opportunity to leave the hotel and fight a duel. I don’t want + you to fight each other.”</p> + + <p>I shrugged my shoulders to indicate that it was a matter of + indifference to me, but I was intensely annoyed. I had a wonderful + and legitimate opportunity of getting rid of the author of my + misfortunes—we were to fight with pistols, and I was certain of + bringing my man down—and now Cordélia’s obstinacy bid fair to + compromise everything. Fortunately I was able to send Surdon again to + tell Patrick what was happening, for I saw no way out of the difficulty + unless he consented to send Cordélia into a hypnotic trance so that I + might be able to get away and fight him. I would never have believed + that one day I should be making an appeal of this character to the man + whose psychic powers were the cause of my troubles. But let that pass. + The whole incident shows once more that whatever conception we may + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span>form of the world, and the relation which subsists between spirit and + matter, we are but an atom of dust dancing in a momentary ray of the + sun.</p> + + <p>Surdon came back with a message from the Englishman that he was not + less anxious than I was for the duel to take place, and he would carry + out my wishes.</p> + + <p>I passed a grievous night, a night which seemed interminable. The + torture of it! If I had but known what was about to happen! If I had + but known! With what dread I should have counted the minutes as they + all too quickly sped past!</p> + + <p>Cordélia kept her word. Say and do what I might, she would not go to + bed. She lay on the sofa reading, or pretending to read. And I—I stood + watching her.</p> + + <p>I was waiting with impatience for the event which my adversary had + promised to bring about. It occurred shortly after five o’clock in the + morning. Her eyes closed, her book fell from her hands to the floor, + and her body assumed the rigid posture which I recognized only too well.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span></p> + + <p>I locked the door of the room, put the key in my pocket, and then + called Surdon. At six o’clock we arrived at the Comte de C——’s house.</p> + + <p>Patrick had not yet come, but the doctor and the seconds were already + there. Two seconds were allotted to me. I made their acquaintance and + was entirely satisfied. The Comte de C——, who belonged to the old + Venetian nobility, was away, but he was, it seems, greatly interested + in art and artists, and had placed his house at Patrick’s disposal.</p> + + <p>The public gardens in Venice are well known. They occupy one of the + few islets in the old city which have not been encroached upon by + the builder. Nevertheless the Comte de C——’s mansion stood there and + possessed a private entrance to the gardens after the manner of private + houses in the Monceau Gardens in Paris. Here the Comte de C—— alone + enjoyed this privilege, so that at that hour, when the gardens were + closed, it was as though we were in the Comte’s own private property.</p> + + <p>Meantime Patrick made his appearance, unarmed, as I swore at the Assize + Court. The <span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span>revolvers were in the cases which the seconds brought with + them, and which they obtained the evening before at a gunsmith’s. + Patrick had no knowledge of the weapons; at least so he declared, and I + believe him. Moreover we drew lots and agreed that the revolvers which + the seconds had brought with them should be used.</p> + + <p>We were now in the great central walk of the gardens. I have heard that + in spring it is a lovely spot, an enchantment, with beds of roses which + are nothing short of marvelous; but it was the fall of the year, and I + beheld in the wan light of early morning a somewhat dreary place, well + suited to be the scene of a terrible tragedy.</p> + + <p>And, indeed, the thing happened with incredible rapidity. The + twenty-five paces which were to separate us were marked out. We were to + exchange four shots. But I am a crack shot with a revolver, and I felt + certain of bringing my man down at the first attempt. I had made up my + mind to it, and I had no scruple of remorse. I felt that there was no + happiness <span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span>for me with Cordélia in this world as long as Patrick was + alive. Let him go to the devil!</p> + + <p>I was perfectly cool when the words rang out: “Fire! One ... two ... + three!” We fired almost simultaneously as the second in charge of the + duel shouted: “Two!” Patrick, however, fired in the air uttering a + despairing cry. I had already fired my shot on a level with his heart, + and yet I must confess that I was conscious that he had not uttered + that cry because he was struck by my bullet. Indeed he was not hit. To + this cry another cry of unutterable anguish went up. It sprang from my + throat, and my heart, and yet I was not hit either. The only person + whose cry of agony we did not hear, was the person who was smitten. And + I swear before God and man that my cry was torn from me by the vision + of Cordélia’s form which suddenly arose between us at the moment when + our fingers were pressing the trigger; but Patrick had the time to + raise his weapon, while I fired mine.</p> + + <p>The image vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. I swear that + Cordélia’s astral body, which until then—save in the mirror of the + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span>water, and here I must ask myself whether I was not the sport of the + water and my imagination—had remained unseen by my physical vision, + now appeared before me quite distinctly. This phenomenon, moreover, so + fully supported the many other well-known instances where the spirit of + a person has appeared to beloved relatives at the very moment when it + throws off, for ever, its mortal covering, that I grasped the meaning + of Patrick’s cry of dismay, for he too had seen.</p> + + <p>“Unhappy man!” he cried. “Unhappy man, what have you done!”</p> + + <p>My hair must have stood on end with horror and both of us were + conscious only of a feeling of unspeakable dread.</p> + + <p>Without concerning ourselves with the seconds, or making the least + explanation, we left the entire business of the duel and hurriedly + flung ourselves into a gondola. Not a word was spoken on the way. + Moreover I felt that I should go mad.</p> + + <p>On reaching the hotel we made a rush for Cordélia’s room. Everything + seemed quiet, and precisely as I had left it. I was filled with <span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span>a + great hope; and yet my hand shook so much that I was unable to put the + key in the lock. It was Patrick who opened the door.</p> + + <p>We darted into the room. Cordélia was still lying on the sofa, but her + face already wore an unearthly look, and drops of blood stained her + dressing-gown near her throat. She had been killed by a bullet through + the heart.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">AND NOW ...</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">AND now this pierced heart which the greatest thief that ever lived had + burgled from its bodily prison is all mine. I can kneel in peace before + the urn in which I have reverently enclosed it. No one can rob me of it + now.</p> + + <p>It was when it was still swayed by all the emotions of life, it was + when its ardent beating animated an adored wife, that a villain strove + to make a splendid victim of it, and to take it by force from my very + arms; but now when it is no more than a little dust and a great memory, + no one will contend with me for it.</p> + + <p>During the terrible proceedings at the Assize Court, where the case was + regarded as the most extraordinary that had come before the ordinary + judicial bench within the memory of man, I clearly perceived that + the man who stole Cordélia’s heart no longer cared about her who had + been his victim. Not once in the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span>course of the trial, which excited, + without satisfying, the world’s curiosity—not once did the thief cast + a glance on the table in which lay the material evidence—this sacred + relic which had come from the hands of the “experts”; while I, alas, + could not remove my sorrow-stricken eyes from it.</p> + + <p>O heart of Cordélia, I alone loved thee! My rival was never anything + but an artist.... But I, O Cordélia, I was never anything but a poor + man in love, and I am still but a poor man in love before your dead + heart as I was before your living heart.... The little that I may have + of you I am taking away. With a trembling hand I have removed your + beloved heart from its legal receptacle to this funeral urn. It will + never, I think, be stolen from me again.</p> + + <p>I no longer feel the shadow of the thief over me. And yet in spite of + my perfect assurance of peace I have had another lock placed on the + door of the retreat to which I have withdrawn from my fellow-men.</p> + + <p>I have endeavored in this seclusion to fulfil the chief duty which + I owe to myself and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span>others. I have set down here the various + circumstances which, to my knowledge, preceded, paved the way for, + and accompanied the terrible tragedy. I have told in plain language + how these things came to pass, even though they may seem entirely + improbable. If the reader will follow me step by step and believe me, + he will understand.</p> + + <p>It was because the Assize Court did not believe me that they failed to + understand. And yet I did not spare myself. I took on my own shoulders + the responsibility for the whole fatal incident. Why did they not + proceed against me? I say that it was I who killed her.... The misery + of it! I may rejoice to-day that Cordélia’s heart will not again be + stolen from me, because it is dead. And it was I who killed it. I shout + it aloud and I repeat: Do not doubt it since I myself no longer doubt + it.</p> + + <p>The preliminary investigation took some time, and was postponed by the + illness which came upon me as a result of the tragedy. When I was in + a position to give evidence I found that the authorities were on the + wrong scent as was to be expected.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span></p> + + <p>Surdon, for instance, was arrested on the plea that he possessed a + revolver from which one bullet had been discharged. It was alleged that + he had made his way into his mistress’s room while she was asleep in + order to steal her jewelry.</p> + + <p>This was so much obtuseness and stupidity, and how could it be + otherwise? The judges were confronted with the case of a woman killed + by a bullet through the heart in a room every part of which was closed, + the windows being shut on the inside and the door locked.</p> + + <p>The most amazing thing was that a minute search failed to reveal the + bullet. It had passed through the body, but it could not be found + either in the sofa or walls. I myself knew where the bullet was. It was + somewhere in the public gardens in Venice.</p> + + <p>The police were obliged to release Surdon, but they afterwards arrested + Patrick and kept him in custody until the trial at the Assize Court. A + post-mortem examination was held, and the expert’s report showed that + death was caused not by a shot from a revolver, but by a shot from + a pistol of the same bore as that of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span>the pistols which Patrick had + procured for use at the duel.</p> + + <p>As the magisterial enquiries proved that Patrick was prowling round + the Hotel Danieli during the night preceding and the morning of the + duel, nothing more was needed to enable the authorities to accuse + him of having entered Cordélia’s room at the hotel by means of some + master key, or some key that he managed to obtain beforehand from + an accommodating servant whom he had bribed to assist him in his + nefarious purpose. He had shot Cordélia out of jealousy to prevent her + from belonging to another if he were killed in the duel.... It was + simple.... How very simple it was!... Poor human nature!</p> + + <p>The trouble was that a pistol shot causes a concussion, and no one in + the hotel had heard the least sound.</p> + + <p>In vain Patrick denied the charge, recounting stories about the power + of suggestion and the communion of minds which made the Court laugh. + The reason for his presence near the Hotel Danieli on this particular + night was that I had requested him to send Cordélia to sleep <span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span>so + that she should not interfere with our plan to fight each other, and + Cordélia could only be influenced by suggestion within a limited + distance.</p> + + <p>When I corroborated his statement, and gave it as my opinion that + Cordélia had been killed in the Hotel Danieli by a shot fired by me in + the public gardens in Venice, the judges ceased to smile and evinced + considerable wrath. I was looked upon as a madman by some, and a fool + by others, and these people were greatly incensed with me for not + joining them in crushing Patrick. Cordélia’s father could not forgive + me for it, and left me to myself with contempt.</p> + + <p>The press agencies reported the result as far as Patrick was concerned + in a few lines. The material proofs were too slight to justify a + conviction, and the jury acquitted him in spite of the efforts of the + public prosecutor.</p> + + <p>Had the European political situation been less troubled, and had the + trial not taken place in a foreign country, the facts would not have + failed to create a tremendous sensation, as they deserved, for they + brought the judicial bench <span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span>face to face with the greatest conceivable + drama, namely that which is enacted between the seen and the unseen + worlds.</p> + + <p>Those dullards were utterly nonplused. I can still picture to myself + their look of confusion when Dr. Thurel, who was called as a witness + for the defense, explained that it was not absolutely impossible, from + the scientific standpoint, for Cordélia to have been killed by a bullet + which struck her astral body in the public gardens in Venice. That is + what Dr. Thurel called death by astral traumatism....</p> + + <p>There is a Latin phrase which expresses it, a phrase which was in use + in the Middle Ages, but I cannot call it to mind.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="XIX">CHAPTER XIX</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE LAST VISIT</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">O CORDÉLIA, you died by my hand! If I still live, be assured that it is + by way of atonement. How often have I conjured up your image before the + mortal remains of your heart! How often have I called to you! But you + have never come to me!</p> + + <p>For many days I was unable to add a word to these lines, and I + remained, as it were, paralyzed by the inscrutable mystery of life and + death, when one day the door of my cell was opened, and a man came in. + It was Patrick. He was but the shadow of his former self.</p> + + <p>I thrust myself before the urn which contained my beloved’s heart. He + understood me and gave a bitter smile.</p> + + <p>“Have no fear,” he said, “I leave it to you. What is her earthly heart + to me? I possess her heart which is in Heaven.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span></p> + + <p>I rose to my feet staggering like a drunken man under his words which + filled me with an agony of jealousy.</p> + + <p>“What do you mean?” I asked hoarsely. “Do you still see Cordélia?”</p> + + <p>He shook his head.</p> + + <p>“Calm yourself, I do not see her,” he made answer. “She is too remote + from us, and I have never believed in spirits of the dead revisiting + this world. When I say that I possess her heart which is in Heaven, I + mean that I did possess it. Death has deprived me of it,” he went on in + somber, intense tones, “but death will restore it to me.”</p> + + <p>“No more of that,” I exclaimed. “What has all this to do with me?”</p> + + <p>“Well, if you look upon it in that light I don’t know why I am here.”</p> + + <p>“Nor I.”</p> + + <p>“I came to you, monsieur,” he said in a voice of wonderful dignity, + “to ask you if you have any message for her, for she loved you + sincerely—you too!”</p> + + <p>“She loved me only,” I asserted, yet strangely perturbed by his manner + and words.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span></p> + + <p>He sighed and shook his head once more.</p> + + <p>“You thought so, but that was impossible,” he objected gently, + “otherwise she would still be of this world.”</p> + + <p>“So it was you who killed her, or at least were responsible for her + death? I always thought so!”</p> + + <p>“It was you and I. It was both of us,” he declared in a tone of great + dejection. “Yes, I, on my side, was to blame. I was too eager in my + frenzy, in my longing for her spirit, in the love which consumed me + for her ego, to separate her mind from her body, but you—you were too + eager to separate her body from her mind. We were marching toward an + inevitable catastrophe.”</p> + + <p>His words struck me like a sword, and I did not interrupt him.</p> + + <p>“It shows,” he went on, turning toward the door, “that we can only give + happiness to a being of this world if we bring to her a well-balanced + mind which we were unable to do. Had Cordélia met a little of you and + a little of me, in one and the same man, she would have been happy; at + least I like to think so. But <span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span>where she is now her spirit needs only + her mind. I am going to her!... Farewell, monsieur!”</p> + + <hr class="tb"> + + <p>I read this morning in the newspapers the announcement of Patrick’s + death. It shall not be said that I allowed him to pursue Cordélia at + his will. I hear her calling me: “Save me, Hector! Save me!”</p> + + <p>I, too, intend to become a pure spirit, and the sooner to achieve my + purpose, I shall make the same journey as Cordélia, and by the same + route. Though Patrick set out first he will arrive too late. He will + be deceived. The heart of Cordélia points the way that lies before me. + The bullet will enter my heart at the same spot at which it pierced + Cordélia’s heart. I shall breathe the same sigh which will lead me to + the same point in space where she awaits me.... I am persuaded of it!...</p> + + <p>Dear, dear, dear Cordélia!</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="A_TERRIBLE_TALE">A TERRIBLE TALE</h2> + </div> + + <p class="drop-cap">CAPTAIN MICHEL had but one arm, which he found useful when he lit his + pipe. He was an old sea dog whose acquaintance, with that of four + other old salts, I made one evening on the open front of a café in the + Vieille Darse, Toulon, where I was taking an appetizer. And in this way + we fell into the habit of foregathering over a glass within a stone’s + throw of the rippling waves and the swinging dingeys, about the hour + when the sun sinks behind Tamaris.</p> + + <p>The four old marines were known as Zinzin, Dorat—Captain + Dorat—Bagatelle, and Chanlieu—that old fellow Chanlieu. They had, of + course, sailed every sea and met with a thousand adventures; and now + that they were retired on their pensions, they spent their time telling + each other terrible tales.</p> + + <p>Captain Michel alone never indulged in any reminiscences. And as he + seemed in no way <span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span>surprised by anything he heard, his old comrades in + the end grew exasperated with him.</p> + + <p>“Look here, Captain Michel, hasn’t anything out of the way ever + happened to you?”</p> + + <p>“Oh, yes,” the captain made answer, taking his pipe from his mouth. + “Yes, something happened to me once—just once.”</p> + + <p>“Well, let’s have it.”</p> + + <p>“No.”</p> + + <p>“Why not?”</p> + + <p>“Because it’s too awful. You might not be able to stand it. I’ve often + tried to tell the story but people have slipped away before I finished it.”</p> + + <p>The four sea dogs vied with each other in the loudness of their + guffaws, declaring that Captain Michel was trying to find some excuse, + because in reality, nothing extraordinary had ever happened to him.</p> + + <p>The old fellow stared at them a moment, and then suddenly accepting + the situation, laid his pipe on the table. This unusual gesture was in + itself startling!</p> + + <p>“Messieurs, I’ll tell you how I lost my arm,” he began.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span></p> + + <p>“In those days—some twenty years ago—I owned a small villa, in the + suburb of Le Mourillon, which had been left to me, for my family were + long settled in these parts and I myself was born here.</p> + + <p>“It suited me to take a little rest after a long voyage and before + setting sail again. For that matter, I rather liked the place, and + lived quite peaceably among sea-faring men and colonials who troubled + me very little, and whom I rarely saw, occupied as they were as a rule + in opium-smoking with their lady friends, or with other business which + did not concern me. Of course there is no accounting for tastes, but as + long as they didn’t interfere with me, I was satisfied....</p> + + <p>“It so happened that one night they did interfere with my habit of + going to sleep. I was awakened with a start by an extraordinary uproar, + the meaning of which I couldn’t possibly make out. I had left my window + open as usual. I listened in a state of bewilderment to a tremendous + din, which was a cross between the rumbling of thunder and the roll + of a drum, but such a drum! It was as though a couple of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span>hundred + drumsticks were being madly beaten, not on ordinary drum-skin, but on a + wooden drum.</p> + + <p>“The disturbance came from the villa opposite, which had been empty for + some five years, and on which I had noticed, the previous evening, a + board bearing the announcement: ‘To be sold.’</p> + + <p>“I let my gaze stray from the window of my bedroom, on the first floor, + beyond the small garden in which the house stood, and my eye took in + every door and window, even the doors and windows on the ground floor. + They were still closed as I had seen them during the day; but I caught + sight of gleams of light through the chinks in the shutters on the + ground floor. Who and what were these people? How had they found their + way into this solitary house at the far end of Le Mourillon? What + sort of company was it that had obtained admission into this deserted + dwelling, and why were they kicking up such a shindy?</p> + + <p>“The extraordinary din, like the thunderous beating of a wooden drum, + continued. It went on for another hour, and then as dawn was <span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span>breaking, + the front door opened, and there appeared in the doorway the most + radiant creature that I have ever beheld. She was clad in a low-necked + dress, and held with perfect grace a lamp whose beams fell over the + shoulders of a goddess. I distinctly heard her say in the echoing + night, while a kind and quiet smile flickered across her face:</p> + + <p>“‘Good-bye, dear friend, till next year.’</p> + + <p>“To whom was she speaking? It was impossible for me to tell for I could + see no one standing beside her. She remained at the entrance holding + the lamp for some minutes, until the garden gate opened by itself and + closed by itself. Then the front door of the house was shut in its + turn, and I saw nothing more.</p> + + <p>“It seemed to me that I was either losing my head or was the sport of a + dream, for I knew that it was out of the question for any one to pass + through the garden without my perceiving him.</p> + + <p>“I was still planted at the window, incapable of the least movement or + thought, when the door of the house opened a second time, and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span>the same + vision of beauty appeared still carrying a lamp and still alone.</p> + + <p>“‘Hush,’ she said, ‘don’t make a noise, any of you. We mustn’t disturb + our neighbor opposite. I’ll come with you.’</p> + + <p>“And silently and alone she crossed the garden and stopped at the gate + on which the full rays of the lamp shone; so much so, indeed, that I + clearly saw the knob of the gate turn of its own accord without any + hand being placed upon it. And the gate opened once again by itself in + the presence of this woman who, moreover, did not evince any surprise. + Need I explain that from where I was posted, I could see both in front + and behind the gate; in other words, that I saw it sideways?</p> + + <p>“This ‘splendid apparition’ made a charming movement of her head toward + the empty darkness which the glare of the lamp made visible; then she + smiled and said:</p> + + <p>“‘Well, good-bye until next year. My husband is very pleased. Not a + single one of you failed to answer the call. Good-bye, messieurs.’</p> + + <p>“And I heard several voices in unison:</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span></p> + + <p>“‘Good-bye, madame, good-bye, dear madame, until next year.’</p> + + <p>“And as the mysterious hostess was preparing to close the door herself, + I heard a voice:</p> + + <p>“‘Oh, please, don’t trouble.’</p> + + <p>“And the door was once more closed.</p> + + <p>“The next moment the air was filled with a curious sound; it was like + the chirping of a flock of birds, and it seemed as if this beautiful + woman had opened the cage of a whole brood of house sparrows.</p> + + <p>“She quietly walked back to the house. The lights on the ground floor + were then out, but I noticed a glimmer in the windows of the first floor.</p> + + <p>“When she reached the house she said:</p> + + <p>“‘Are you upstairs, Gérard?’</p> + + <p>“I could not hear the answer, but the front door was again closed, and + a few minutes later the light on the first floor went out.</p> + + <p>“I was still standing at my window at eight o’clock in the morning, + staring in blank amazement at the house and garden which had revealed + such strange happenings in darkness, and which now in the full light + of day assumed <span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span>their familiar aspect. The garden was a waste, and the + house itself seemed as desolate as it was the day before.</p> + + <p>“So much so, indeed, that when I told my old charwoman who had just + come, of the queer events which I had witnessed, she tapped my forehead + with her dirty forefinger and muttered that I had smoked one pipe too + many. Now I have never been a smoker of opium, and her answer gave me + a good opportunity of sacking the old sloven whom I had for some time + wanted to get rid of, and who came for a couple of hours each day to + ‘clean up’ the place for me. For that matter I did not need any one, as + I was setting sail again next day.</p> + + <p>“I barely had time to put my things together, make a few purchases, say + farewell to my friends, and catch the train for Havre. I had fixed up + an appointment with the Transatlantic company which would keep me away + from Toulon for some eleven or twelve months.</p> + + <p>“In due course I returned to Toulon, but though I had refrained from + mentioning my adventure to a soul, I still continued to think of it. + The vision of the lady of the lamp obsessed <span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span>me wherever I went, and + the last words which she uttered to her unseen friends still rang in my + ears:</p> + + <p>“‘Well, good-bye until next year.’</p> + + <p>“And I never ceased to think of the meeting. I, too, was determined to + be there and to discover, at whatever cost, the solution of a mystery + which was intensely perplexing to a sensible man like myself, who did + not believe in ghosts or phantom vessels.</p> + + <p>“Unfortunately I was soon to learn that neither heaven nor hell was + concerned in the terrible story.</p> + + <p>“It was six o’clock in the evening when I set foot again in my house + at Toulon; and it was two days before the anniversary of the wonderful + night.</p> + + <p>“The first thing that I did on going inside was to run up to my room + and open the window. It was summer and broad daylight, and my eyes at + once fell upon a lady of great beauty who was placidly walking about + gathering flowers in the garden of the house opposite. At the noise + made by the opening window she looked up.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span></p> + + <p>“It was the lady of the lamp. I recognized her, and she seemed not less + beautiful by day than by night. Her skin was as white as the teeth of + an African nigger, her eyes bluer than the waters at Tamaris, her hair + as soft and fair as the finest flax.</p> + + <p>“Why should I not make the confession? When I beheld this woman of whom + I had been dreaming for a year, a strange feeling came over me. She + was no illusion of a diseased imagination. She stood before me in the + flesh; and every window of the house was open and flower-bedecked by + her hands. There was nothing fantastic in all this.</p> + + <p>“She caught sight of me and at once displayed some degree of annoyance. + She walked a few steps farther in the center path of the garden, and + then shrugging her shoulders as though she were disconcerted said:</p> + + <p>“‘Let’s go in, Gérard. I’m beginning to feel the coolness of the night.’</p> + + <p>“I let my gaze stray round the garden. I could perceive no one. To whom + was she speaking?... Nobody there!</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span></p> + + <p>“Then was she mad? It scarcely seemed so.</p> + + <p>“I watched her return to the house. She passed into it, the door was + closed, and she at once shut the windows.</p> + + <p>“I did not see or hear anything worth noticing that night. Next morning + at ten o’clock I observed my neighbor leaving the garden attired as if + for a walk. She locked the gate after her and set out in the direction + of Toulon.</p> + + <p>“I started off in my turn. Pointing to the fashionably dressed figure + in front of me I asked the first tradesman whom I met if he knew the + lady’s name.</p> + + <p>“‘Why, of course. She’s your neighbor. She is living with her husband + at the Villa Makoko. They moved in about a year ago, just as you went + away. They are regular boors. They never speak to anybody, unless it’s + absolutely necessary, but every one in Le Mourillon, as you know, + goes his own way, and is never surprised at anything. The captain for + one....’</p> + + <p>“‘What captain?’</p> + + <p>“‘Captain Gérard. It seems he is an ex-captain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span> of marines. Well, no + one ever sees him.... Sometimes when food has to be delivered at the + house, and the lady is not in, some person shouts out an order from + behind the door to leave the stuff on the step, and waits until you are + a good distance away before taking it in.’</p> + + <p>“You can imagine that I was growing more and more puzzled. I went to + Toulon in order to ask the agent who let the villa a few questions + about these people. He, likewise, had never seen the husband, but he + told me that his name was Gérard Beauvisage.</p> + + <p>“When I heard the name I uttered a cry: ‘Gérard Beauvisage! Why I know + him!’</p> + + <p>“I had an old friend of that name whom I had not seen for twenty-five + years. He was an officer in the marines and had left Toulon for Tonkin + about that period. How could I doubt that it was he? At all events, I + had a straightforward reason for calling on him, that very evening, + though he was expecting a visit from his friends, for it was the + anniversary of the famous night. I made up my mind to renew my old + friendship with him.</p> + + <p>“When I got back to Le Mourillon I espied <span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span>in front of me, in the sunk + road leading to the Villa Makoko, the figure of my neighbor. I did not + hesitate, but hastened to overtake her.</p> + + <p>“‘Have I the honor of speaking to Madame Beauvisage, the wife of + Captain Gérard Beauvisage?’ I asked with a bow.</p> + + <p>“She colored and tried to pass on without answering me.</p> + + <p>“‘Madame, I am your neighbor, Captain Michel Alban,’ I persisted.</p> + + <p>“‘Oh, please forgive me, monsieur,’ she returned, ‘my husband has often + spoken of you ... Captain Michel Alban....’</p> + + <p>“She seemed terribly ill at ease, and yet in her confusion she was more + beautiful than ever, if that were possible. In spite of her obvious + desire to elude me I went on:</p> + + <p>“‘How comes it that Captain Beauvisage has returned to France without + letting his old friend know? I shall be particularly obliged if you + will tell Gérard that I’m coming to shake hands with him this very + evening.’</p> + + <p>“And observing that she was hastening her steps, I bowed, but as I was + speaking she <span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span>turned round, betraying an agitation which was more and + more difficult to comprehend.</p> + + <p>“‘Impossible to-night.... I promise to tell Gérard of our meeting. + That’s the most I can do. Gérard doesn’t wish to see any one—any one. + He lives alone.... We live alone.... And we took the house because we + were told that the next house was occupied only for a few days once or + twice a year by some one who is never seen!...’</p> + + <p>“And she added in a voice tinged with sadness:</p> + + <p>“‘You must forgive Gérard, monsieur. We do not receive any one—any one. + Good day, monsieur.’</p> + + <p>“‘Madame, the Captain and you receive friends occasionally,’ I returned + with some impatience. ‘For instance, to-night you are expecting friends + with whom you made an appointment a year ago.’</p> + + <p>“She flushed scarlet.</p> + + <p>“‘Oh, but that’s an exceptional case ... that’s an absolutely + exceptional case.... They are our very particular friends.’</p> + + <p>“Having said which she made her escape, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span>but at once stopped her + retreat and turned back.</p> + + <p>“‘Whatever you do, don’t call to-night,’ she entreated, and disappeared + into the garden.</p> + + <p>“I returned to my house and began to keep watch on my neighbors. They + did not show themselves, and long before it was dark I saw the shutters + being closed and lights gleaming through the openings, such as I had + seen on that amazing night a year ago. But I did not hear the same + extraordinary din like the thunderous beating of a wooden drum.</p> + + <p>“At seven o’clock I began to dress for I called to mind the low-necked + robe worn by the lady of the lamp. Madame Beauvisage’s last words had + but strengthened my determination. The captain was seeing some of his + friends that evening; he dared not refuse me admission. After dressing + it crossed my mind, before I went downstairs, to put my revolver in my + pocket, but in the end I left it in its place, considering that to take + it would be an act of stupidity.</p> + + <p>“The stupidity lay in not taking it with me.</p> + + <p>“On reaching the entrance to the Villa <span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span>Makoko I turned the handle of + the gate on the off chance—the handle which last year I had seen turn + by itself. And to my intense surprise the door opened. Therefore my + neighbors were expecting visitors. I walked up to the house and knocked + at the door.</p> + + <p>“‘Come in!’ a voice cried.</p> + + <p>“I recognized Gérard’s voice. I walked gaily into the house. I passed + first through the hall, and then as the door of a small drawing-room + stood open, and the room was lit up, I entered it.</p> + + <p>“‘Gérard it’s me,’ I exclaimed, ‘your old pal Michel Alban.’</p> + + <p>“‘Oh, really, so you made up your mind to come, my dear old Michel! I + told my wife only just now that you would come and I should be glad + to see you.... But you are the only one, apart from our particular + friends.... Do you know, my dear Michel, you haven’t altered much....’</p> + + <p>“It would be impossible for me to describe my stupefaction. I heard + Gérard, but I could not see him. His voice rang in my ears, but no <span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span>one + was near me, no one was in the drawing-room. The Voice went on:</p> + + <p>“‘Sit down, won’t you? My wife will soon be here, for she will remember + that she left me on the mantelpiece!’</p> + + <p>“I looked up, and then discovered above me ... above me resting on a + high mantelpiece—a bust.</p> + + <p>“It was this bust which had been speaking. It resembled Gérard. It was + Gérard’s body. It had been placed there as people are wont to place + busts on mantelpieces. It was a bust like those carved by sculptors, + that is to say, it was without arms.</p> + + <p>“‘I can’t shake hands with you, my dear Michel,’ the voice went on, + ‘for as you see I have no hands, but if you raise yourself on tiptoe + you will be able to take me in your arms and place me on the table. My + wife put me up here in a moment of temper, because she said I was in + the way when she swept the room. She’s a funny thing is my wife.’</p> + + <p>“And the bust burst out laughing.</p> + + <p>“It seemed to me that I was the victim of an optical illusion as + happens in those entertainments <span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span>where you behold living heads and + shoulders suspended in mid-air, the result of tricks with mirrors; but + after setting down my friend on the table, as he requested, I had to + admit that this head and body without arms or legs was indeed all that + remained of the excellent officer whom I had known in days gone by. + His body was resting on a small wheeled platform, such as are used by + cripples without legs, but Gérard did not possess even the stumps of + legs which can be seen in the case of most cripples. To think that my + old friend was nothing but a bust!</p> + + <p>“Small hooks took the place of arms, and language fails me to describe + how, leaning for support on a hook here, or on another there, he set to + work to hop, skip and jump and perform a hundred swift movements which + shot him from the table to a chair, from a chair to the floor, and then + suddenly made him appear on the table once more, where he indulged in + the gayest chatter.</p> + + <p>“Myself, I was in a state of consternation. I was rendered speechless. + I watched this <span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span>freak perform his antics and say with a chuckle which + alarmed me:</p> + + <p>“‘I have greatly changed I daresay. You must admit, my dear Michel, + that you hardly recognize me. You did quite right to call this evening. + We shall see some sport. We have a few very special friends, and, you + know, apart from them I don’t care to meet any one—merely as a matter + of pride. We don’t even keep a servant. Wait for me here. I must get + into my smoking jacket.’</p> + + <p>“He went off, and almost at once the lady of the lamp appeared. She + wore the same low-necked dress of the year before. As soon as her eyes + fell upon me, she seemed strangely perturbed, and said in a strained + voice:</p> + + <p>“‘Oh, so you are here! You’ve made a mistake, Captain Michel. I gave + your message to my husband, but I forbade you to call this evening. + I may tell you that when he learnt that you were in this place, he + asked me to invite you this evening, but I did no such thing because,’ + she went on, ill at ease, ‘I had good reasons. We have certain very + particular friends who are rather a worry—they are very <span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span>fond of + noise—uproar. You must have heard them last year,’ she added, giving me + a look out of the corner of her eye. ‘Well, promise me to leave early.’</p> + + <p>“‘I promise to leave early, madame,’ I returned, and yet a vague + misgiving took possession of me at this conversation, the meaning of + which I was far from understanding. ‘I promise you faithfully, but can + you tell me how it is that I find my old friend in such a state? What + terrible accident happened to him?’</p> + + <p>“‘None at all, monsieur, none.’</p> + + <p>“‘What do you mean, “none at all”? Don’t you know anything about the + accident which deprived him of arms and legs? Yet he must have met with + it since your marriage.’</p> + + <p>“‘No, monsieur, no. I married the captain as he is now.... But excuse + me, our guests will be here presently, and I must help my husband to + put on his smoking jacket.’</p> + + <p>“She left me to myself, dazed by the one stupefying thought: ‘She + married the captain as he is now!’ and almost at once I heard sounds in + the hall, the curious sounds which had accompanied the lady of the lamp + to the garden <span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span>gate and baffled me last year. This noise was followed + by the appearance, on their wheeled platforms, of four cripples without + arms or legs who stared at me in wonder. They were all attired in + perfectly-fitting evening dress with snow-white shirt fronts.</p> + + <p>“One wore gold-rimmed pince-nez, another, an old man, spectacles, the + third a single eyeglass, and the fourth was content to gaze at me out + of his own proud, shrewd eyes with an expression of boredom. All four, + however, saluted me with their little hooks, and asked after Captain + Beauvisage. I told them that he was dressing, and Madame Beauvisage was + quite well. When I took the liberty of speaking of Madame Beauvisage, + I caught an exchange of glances between them which seemed to embody a + certain raillery.</p> + + <p>“‘Haw, haw, I presume you are a great friend of our good old captain,’ + drawled the cripple with the monocle.</p> + + <p>“The others smiled with a look which was by no means pleasant, and then + they all started to talk in the same breath:</p> + + <p>“‘Sorry, sorry, monsieur.... We are quite <span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span>naturally surprised to meet + you at the house of the good old captain, who swore on his wedding day + to shut himself up in the country with his wife, and not to receive any + one—any one but his very special friends, you understand. When one is + so thoroughly a cripple as the captain consented to be, and is married + to such a beautiful woman, it is quite natural—quite natural. But, + after all, if in the course of his life he met a man of honor who does + not happen to be a cripple, we’re glad of it.... We congratulate you.’</p> + + <p>“And they repeated: ‘We’re glad of it.... We congratulate you.’</p> + + <p>“Lord how odd they were, these dwarfs! I watched them and held my + peace. Others arrived in twos and threes and so on. And they all + contemplated me with a look of surprise or uneasiness or irony. For my + part I was rendered speechless by the spectacle of so many cripples + without arms or legs; for after all I was beginning to see through most + of the extraordinary happenings which had so greatly stirred my mind; + and though the cripples, by their presence, explained many things, + the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span>presence of the cripples still required explanation, as also did + the monstrous union of that splendid woman with that awful shred of + humanity.</p> + + <p>“True, I realized now that these little ambulating trunks were bound to + pass unperceived by me in the narrow garden path lined with verbena, + and the road running between two low hedges; and, truth to tell, when + at the time I said to myself that it was impossible to avoid seeing + any person going down those paths, I had in mind persons who would be + standing upright on their two legs.</p> + + <p>“The handle of the garden gate itself no longer puzzled me, and in my + mind’s eye I saw the invisible hook which had turned it.</p> + + <p>“The peculiar noise which I heard was but the creaking made by the + small badly oiled wheels of these cars for freaks. Finally, the + extraordinary sound like the thunderous beating of a wooden drum, was + obviously caused by the many cars and hooks striking the floor when, + after an excellent dinner, our friends the cripples indulged in a dance.</p> + + <p>“Yes, all this was capable of explanation, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span>but I was conscious as I + caught a curious eager gleam in their eyes, and heard the peculiar + sound of their nippers, that something terrible still remained to be + cleared up, and that all else which had surprised me was of no account.</p> + + <p>“Meanwhile Madame Beauvisage promptly appeared, accompanied by her + husband. They were greeted with shouts of delight. The little hooks + ‘applauded’ them with an infernal din. I was deafened by it. Then I was + introduced. Cripples were all over the place: on the tables, chairs, + stools, on stands usually occupied by vases, on the sideboard. One of + them sat on the shelf of a dresser like a Buddha in his recess. And + each one politely held out his hook to me. They seemed for the most + part people of good position, with titles and names indicating their + relationship to aristocratic families, but I learned afterwards that + these were false names given to me for reasons which will be obvious. + Lord Wilmer certainly maintained the best front of them all, with + his fine golden beard and no less fine mustache which he continually + stroked with his hook. He did not leap from chair to table like the + others, nor did <span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span>he have the air of a huge bat taking wing from wall to + wall.</p> + + <hr class="tb"> + + <p>“‘We are only waiting for the doctor,’ said the mistress of the house, + who every now and then gave me a look of obvious gloom, but quickly + resumed her smile for her guests.</p> + + <p>“The doctor arrived. He was a cripple but he possessed both arms.</p> + + <p>“He offered one of them to Madame Beauvisage and led her to the + dining-room. I mean that she touched his arm with the tips of her + fingers.</p> + + <p>“Covers were laid in the room with the closed shutters. The table, + which was laden with flowers and <i lang="fr">hors d’œuvre</i>, was illuminated + by a large candelabrum. There was no fruit. The dozen cripples at once + leapt upon their chairs and began to pick greedily from the dishes + with their hooks. It was not a pleasant sight, and I marveled at the + voracity with which these trunks of men, who seemed just before so + well-mannered, devoured their food.</p> + + <p>“And then suddenly they quietened down; <span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span>their hooks kept still, and + it seemed to me that they lapsed into what is usually described as a + ‘painful silence.’</p> + + <p>“Every eye was turned on Madame Beauvisage, whose husband sat by her + side, and I noticed that she buried her face in her napkin, looking + very uncomfortable. Then my friend Gérard, clapping one hook against + the other with a flourish, said:</p> + + <p>“‘Well, my dear old friends, it can’t be helped. One doesn’t meet the + luck of last year every day. But don’t distress yourselves. With the + exercise of a little imagination we shall succeed in being as merry as + we were then....’</p> + + <p>“And turning to me as he lifted the small handle of the glass which + stood on the table before him:</p> + + <p>“‘Your health my dear Michel. To us all!’</p> + + <p>“And each man raised his glass by its handle with the end of his hook. + The glasses swung over the table in the quaintest fashion.</p> + + <p>“My host went on:</p> + + <p>“‘You don’t seem to be equal to the occasion, my dear Michel. I have + known you in merrier <span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span>mood, more up to the mark. Is it because we are + “like this” that you are so gloomy? What do you expect? We are what we + are. But let us have some amusement. We are met together here, all of + us very special friends, to celebrate the time when we became “like + this.” Is that not true my friends of the <cite>Daphné</cite>?...’</p> + + <p>“Then my old comrade,” Captain Michel went on to explain, heaving a + deep sigh, “told us how the <cite>Daphné</cite>, which sailed between France + and the Far East, was wrecked; how the crew escaped in the boats, and + how these miserable people took refuge on a chance raft.</p> + + <p>“Miss Madge, a beautiful young girl who lost her parents in the + catastrophe, was also picked up by the raft. Some thirteen persons + in all were on it, and at the end of three days the victuals were + consumed, and at the end of a week the survivors were dying of hunger. + It was then that, as the old song says, they agreed to draw lots as to + ‘which should be eaten.’</p> + + <p>“Messieurs,” added Captain Michel, in a serious voice, “such things + have happened more often perhaps than they have been talked <span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span>about, for + the great blue waters close over these peculiar feats of digestion.</p> + + <p>“They were on the point, therefore, of drawing lots on the raft when + the doctor’s voice was heard: ‘Mesdames and Messieurs,’ said the + doctor, ‘you have lost all your belongings in the wreck of the ship, + but I have saved my case of instruments and my forceps for arresting + hemorrhage. This is my suggestion: There is no object in any one of us + running the risk of being eaten as a whole. Let us, to begin with, draw + lots for an arm or leg at will, and we will then see to-morrow what the + day brings forth, and perhaps a sail may appear on the horizon.’”</p> + + <p>At this point in Captain Michel’s story the four old salts, who up to + this had not interrupted, cried:</p> + + <p>“Well done!”</p> + + <p>“What do you mean ‘well done’?” asked Captain Michel with a frown.</p> + + <p>“Yes, ‘well done!’ Your story is a good joke. These people were ready + to lose an arm or leg in turn.... That’s a good joke, but there’s + nothing frightful about it.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span></p> + + <p>“So you really find it a good joke!” growled the Captain, bristling + with annoyance. “Well, I swear that if you had been seated among all + those cripples whose eyes were bulging like live coal, and heard the + story, you wouldn’t have found it such a good joke.... And if you had + noticed how restless they were in their chairs! And how vigorously they + clasped hooks across the table with an obvious delight which I couldn’t + make out, but which was none the less frightful for all that.”</p> + + <p>“No, no,” broke in Chanlieu once more—that old fellow Chanlieu—“your + story is not in the least frightful. It is funny simply because it is + logical. Would you like me to tell you the end of the story? You shall + say whether I am right or not. The people on the raft drew lots. The + lot fell to Miss Madge who was to lose one of her beautiful limbs. + Your friend the captain, who is a gentleman, offered his own instead, + and he had his four limbs amputated so that Miss Madge should remain + unscathed.”</p> + + <p>“Yes, old man, you’ve got it. That is so,” exclaimed Captain Michel, + who felt a longing to break the heads of these imbeciles who <span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span>treated + his story as a good joke. “Yes, and what’s more, when it was a question + of cutting off Miss Madge’s limbs after the survivors, except the young + lady and the doctor—who had been left with both arms because they were + wanted—had lost all their limbs, Captain Beauvisage had the pluck to + have the poor stumps left from the first operation, cut off on a level + with his body.”</p> + + <p>“And the young lady could do no other than offer the Captain her hand + which he had so heroically saved,” interposed Zinzin.</p> + + <p>“Why, of course,” growled the Captain in his beard. “And you consider + it a good joke!”</p> + + <p>“Did they eat all those limbs quite raw?” inquired that ass of a + Bagatelle.</p> + + <p>Captain Michel struck the table such a resounding blow that the glasses + danced like rubber balls.</p> + + <p>“That’ll do, shut up,” he exclaimed. “All that I’ve told you is + nothing. Now comes the frightful part of it.”</p> + + <p>The four friends looked at each other smiling, and Captain Michel grew + pale, whereupon <span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span>seeing that they had carried matters too far they hung + their heads.</p> + + <p>“Yes, the frightful part of it,” went on Michel with his gloomiest air, + “was that these people who were only rescued a month later by a Chinese + sailing vessel which landed them somewhere on the Yang-Tse-Kiang where + they separated—the frightful part of it was that these people retained + a taste for human flesh, and when they returned to Europe arranged to + meet together once a year to renew as far as possible the abominable + banquet. Well, messieurs, it did not take me long to find that out! + First of all there was the scarcely enthusiastic reception accorded to + certain dishes, which Madame Beauvisage herself brought to the table. + Though she ventured to claim, but with no great assurance, that they + were pretty nearly the same thing, the guests were of one mind in + abstaining from congratulating her. Only certain slices of tunny-fish + were received with any sort of favor, because they were, to use the + doctor’s terrible expression, ‘well cut,’ and, ‘if the flavor was not + entirely satisfactory at all events the eye was deceived.’ But the + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span>cripple with the spectacles met with general approval when he declared + that ‘it was not equal to the plumber.’</p> + + <p>“When I heard those words I felt my blood run cold,” growled Captain + Michel huskily, “for I remembered that about this time the year before + a plumber had fallen from a roof near the Arsenal and was killed, and + his body was picked up minus an arm.</p> + + <p>“Then ... O then ... I could not help thinking of the part which my + beautiful neighbor must, of necessity, have played in this horrible, + culinary drama, I turned my eyes to her and I noticed that she had put + on her gloves again, gloves which covered her arms to the shoulder, and + also hastily thrown a wrap over her shoulders which wholly concealed + them. The guest on my right, who was the doctor, and, as I have said, + was the only man among the cripples with both arms intact, had also put + on his gloves.</p> + + <p>“Instead of bothering my head in vain to discover the reason of this + fresh eccentricity, I should have done better to follow the advice + which Madame Beauvisage gave me at the beginning <span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span>of this infernal + party, namely, to leave the place early—advice which she did not repeat.</p> + + <p>“After showing an interest in me during the first part of this amazing + feast in which I seemed to discern—I don’t know why—a sort of pity, + Madame Beauvisage now avoided looking at me and took a part which + greatly grieved me in the most frightful conversation which I have + ever heard. These little people with a vigorous clatter of nippers + and clinking of glasses indulged in bitter recriminations or warm + congratulations with regard to their peculiar appetite.</p> + + <p>“To my horror Lord Wilmer, who until then had been most correct, nearly + ‘came to hooks’ with the cripple with the monocle, because the latter + had once on the raft complained of the former being tough, and the + mistress of the house had the greatest difficulty in putting things in + their true light by retorting to the monocled bust, who was obviously + at the time of the shipwreck a good-looking stripling, that neither was + it particularly agreeable to have to put up with ‘an animal that was + too young.’”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span></p> + + <p>“That’s also funny,” the old salt Dorat could not help interjecting.</p> + + <p>It looked as if Captain Michel would fly at his throat, particularly as + the three other mariners seemed to be shaking with inward joy and gave + vent to queer little clucks. It was as much as the Captain could do to + control himself. After puffing like a seal he turned to the foolhardy + Dorat:</p> + + <p>“Monsieur you have two arms still, and I have no wish for you to lose + one of them, as I did on that particular night, to make you see the + frightful part of the story. The cripples had drunk a great deal. Some + of them jumped on the table round me, and were gazing at my arms in a + very embarrassing manner and I ended by hiding them from sight as far + as possible by thrusting my hands deep into my pockets.</p> + + <p>“I realized then, and it was a startling thought, why Madame Beauvisage + and the doctor, the two persons who still had arms and hands, did not + show them. I grasped the meaning of the sudden ferocity which blazed in + the eyes of some of them. And at that very <span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span>moment, as luck would have + it, I wanted to use my pocket handkerchief, and instinctively I made a + movement which revealed the whiteness of my skin under my sleeve, and + three terrible hooks swooped down at once on my wrist and entered my + flesh. I uttered a fearful shriek.”</p> + + <p>“That’ll do, Captain, that’ll do,” I exclaimed, interrupting Captain + Michel’s story. “You were quite right. I’m off. I can’t stand any more.”</p> + + <p>“Stay, monsieur,” said the Captain in a peremptory tone. “Stay, + monsieur, for I shall soon finish this frightful story which has made + four imbeciles laugh. When a man has Phocean blood in his veins,” + he added with an accent of unspeakable contempt turning to the four + ancient mariners who were obviously choking in their efforts to keep + back their laughter, “when a man has Phocean blood in his veins, he + can’t get over it.</p> + + <p>“And when a man lives in Marseilles he is doomed never to believe in + anything. So it is for you, for you alone, monsieur, that I am telling + this story, and, be assured, I will pass <span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span>over the most loathsome + details, knowing as I do how much the mind of a gentleman can bear. The + tragedy of my martyrdom proceeded so quickly that I can call to mind + only their inhuman cries, the protests of some and the rush of others + while Madame Beauvisage stood up and murmured:</p> + + <p>“‘Be careful not to hurt him!’</p> + + <p>“I tried to leap to my feet, but by this time a posse of mad cripples + was round me who tripped me up and I crashed to the floor. And I felt + their awful hooks hold my flesh captive just as the meat in a butcher’s + shop is held captive on its hooks.</p> + + <p>“Yes, monsieur, I will spare you the details. I pledged you my word; + all the more so as I couldn’t give them to you, for I did not see + the operation. The doctor clapped a plug of cotton wool steeped in + chloroform on my mouth by way of a gag.</p> + + <p>“When I came to myself I was in the kitchen, and I had lost an arm. + The cripples were all around me. They had ceased their wrangling. They + seemed to be united in the most touching harmony; in reality they were + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span>in a state of dazed intoxication which caused them to sway their heads + like children who feel the need to go and lie down after eating their + fill, and I had not a doubt but that they were beginning, alas! to + digest me.... I was stretched at full length on the floor, securely + bound, and deprived of all power of movement, but I could both see and + hear them. My old comrade, Gérard Beauvisage, had tears of joy in his + eyes as he exclaimed:</p> + + <p>“‘I should never have thought you would be so tender!’</p> + + <p>“Madame Beauvisage was not present, but she, too, must have taken part + in the feast, for I heard some one ask Gérard how ‘she liked her share.’</p> + + <p>“Yes, monsieur, I have finished my story. I have finished my story. + Those loathsome cripples having satisfied their weakness, must have at + last realized the full extent of their iniquity. They made themselves + scarce, and Madame Beauvisage, of course, escaped with them. They left + the doors wide open but no one came to set me free until four days + afterwards, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span>when I was pretty well dead with hunger....</p> + + <p>“Those miserable wretches had not even left the bone behind!”</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_GOLD_AXE">THE GOLD AXE</h2> + </div> + + <p class="drop-cap">MANY years ago I was at Gersau, a small health resort on the Lake of + the Four Forest Cantons, a few miles from Lucerne. I wanted to complete + certain work, and I had arranged to spend the autumn in the quiet of + this delightful village whose ancient pointed roofs were reflected in + the romantic waters of the lake on which William Tell sailed in days of + old.</p> + + <p>It was the end of autumn, and tourists had scattered, while the many + hideous Tartarins who had descended upon us from Germany with their + alpenstocks, their puttees and their little round hats decked with + the indispensable feather, had returned to their lager beer, their + sauerkraut and their “big concerts,” leaving the country between + Pilatus, the Mythen and the Rigi free to us at last.</p> + + <p>Not more than half-a-dozen of us foregathered in the hotel at meal + time, and when <span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span>evening came related our experiences of the day or + indulged in a little music.</p> + + <p>An old lady, always enveloped in deep mourning, who when the little + hotel was swarming with noisy visitors had never addressed a word to + any one, and seemed the embodiment of woe, stood revealed as a pianist + of the first rank, and without waiting to be pressed, played Chopin to + us and, in particular, a certain lullaby by Schumann which she rendered + with such exquisite tenderness that she brought tears to our eyes.</p> + + <p>We were all so grateful to her for the pleasant hours which she enabled + us to pass, that we joined together to present her, at the moment of + her departure, with a slight souvenir of our stay at Gersau.</p> + + <p>One of us who went that day to Lucerne undertook to buy the gift. He + returned in the evening with a gold brooch in the form of a small axe.</p> + + <p>Neither on that evening nor the following one did the old lady make her + appearance; and the visitors who were leaving entrusted the gold brooch + to my care.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span></p> + + <p>Her luggage was still in the hotel, and I was prepared to see her + return, sooner or later, reassured as to her well-being by the + proprietor who told me that she was in the habit of disappearing for a + day or two, and he had no reason to feel anxious about her.</p> + + <p>As a matter of fact the day before my departure, as I was making a + final tour of the lake and had pulled up a few steps from Tell’s + Chapel, I saw the old lady standing at the entrance of the building.</p> + + <p>Never until then had I been impressed by the unspeakable distress + depicted on her face down which the tears were coursing, and never had + I so clearly observed the traces, which were still manifest, of her + former beauty. She caught sight of me, lowered her veil, and walked + toward the lake. Nevertheless, I did not hesitate to overtake her, and + bowing, expressed the visitors’ regret that we were about to lose her; + and then, as I had the gift on me, I presented her with the small case + containing the gold axe.</p> + + <p>She opened it with a sweet, far-away smile, but no sooner did she + perceive the jewel inside <span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span>than she began to tremble with emotion, and + drew back some distance from me, as though she had something to fear + from my presence, and with an insensate gesture threw the brooch into + the lake.</p> + + <p>I displayed so much amazement at this unaccountable reception that she + begged my forgiveness and burst into a fit of sobbing. A seat stood in + this secluded spot, and we both sat down. And after a few lamentations + against the decrees of fate which left me quite at a loss, she confided + to me her strange, melancholy story which I was never to forget. For, + in truth, I know of no more terrible destiny than that which befell the + old lady in the black veil, who had played Schumann’s lullaby to us + with such exquisite emotion.</p> + + <hr class="tb"> + + <p>“I will tell you the whole story,” she said, “for I am about to leave + for ever this country which I determined to visit for the last time. + And then you will understand why it was that I threw the little gold + axe into the lake.</p> + + <p>“I was born in Geneva, monsieur. We belonged <span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span>to one of the leading + families and were rich, but some unfortunate speculations on the stock + exchange ruined my father, who died from the shock. When I was eighteen + I was a beautiful girl without a dowry. My mother gave up all hope of + marrying me. And yet she yearned to make sure of my future before she + went to join my father.</p> + + <p>“I was twenty-four when a suitor whom every one looked upon as an + unhoped-for chance appeared.</p> + + <p>“A young man from Briesgau who was accustomed to spend the summer in + Switzerland and whose acquaintance we made in the casino at Evian, + fell in love with me, and I liked him. Herbert Gutmann was a tall + young fellow, kindly, unobtrusive and good-natured. He seemed to unite + qualities alike of heart and mind. He possessed a certain affluence + without being actually wealthy. His father was still engaged in + business, and made him an allowance in order that he might travel until + the time came for him to succeed him in his business. We were all + intending to visit the elder Gutmann at his place in Todtnau, in the + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">236</span>Black Forest, when the state of my mother’s health greatly hastened + the course of events.</p> + + <p>“Conscious that she no longer possessed the physical strength to + travel, my mother hurriedly returned to Geneva, where she received + from the civil authorities of Todtnau, to whom she had written, the + most satisfactory information in respect of Herbert and his family. + Herbert’s father had begun life as an ordinary woodcutter, and then + had left the district, returning to it with a small fortune which he + had ‘made in timber.’ That was all, at least, that was known of him in + Todtnau.</p> + + <p>“This was enough to induce my mother to press forward the formalities + of my marriage, which took place a week before her death. She died with + her mind at rest for, as she said, she felt ‘reassured about my future.’</p> + + <p>“My husband helped me to overcome the grief which this sore trial + caused me by his constant goodness and solicitude. Before we set out + for Todtnau we came here to Gersau to spend a week, and then to my + great surprise we undertook a long journey instead of making our visit + to Herbert’s father. My sorrow <span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span>would have gradually been dispelled if, + as the days sped by, I had not noticed, almost with dismay, that my + husband was more and more becoming a prey to melancholy.</p> + + <p>“I was more surprised than I can express, because Herbert had seemed to + me of a humorous disposition, open, unrestrained and extremely frank. + Was I to discover that the liveliness which he used to display was + forced, and veiled some deep mortification? Alas, his sighs when he + thought himself alone, and the agitation which sometimes disturbed his + night’s rest, scarcely left room for doubt, and I made up my mind to + question him.</p> + + <p>“At the first word that I ventured to speak on the subject he made + answer by bursting into laughter, treating me as a silly little goose + and kissing me passionately, which merely served to strengthen my + conviction that I was in the presence of some painful mystery.</p> + + <p>“I could not hide from myself that there was something in Herbert’s + demeanor which was very like ‘remorse.’ And yet I could have sworn that + he was incapable of committing, I <span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span>will not say a low or mean action, + but even one lacking in propriety.</p> + + <p>“It was then that the fate which had dogged my footsteps, struck us + another blow in the person of my father-in-law of whose death we learnt + whilst we were in Scotland. This grievous piece of news depressed + my husband more than I can say. He remained the whole night without + uttering a word, nor did he shed tears nor appear to listen to the + words of consolation by which I, in my turn, endeavored to rouse his + spirit. He seemed to be overwhelmed. At last, when the light was + beginning to dawn, he rose from the arm-chair in which he had sat + huddled, and turning toward me a face terribly distorted by suffering, + said in a harrowing voice:</p> + + <p>“‘Come, Elizabeth, we shall have to go back. We shall have to go back.’</p> + + <p>“These words seemed to possess a significance from the tone in which + they were spoken which I failed to understand. A return to the land of + his father’s was quite natural at a moment like that, and I could not + see why he should fight against the necessity of going <span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span>home. From that + day onward Herbert changed completely; he grew extraordinarily silent, + and more than once I came upon him sobbing wildly.</p> + + <p>“The grief which the loss of a beloved father might occasion could not + entirely explain the horror of our position, for there is nothing more + terrible than mystery, the deep mystery which steals in between two + beings who are devoted to each other, and separates them from their + happiness....</p> + + <p>“We reached Todtnau in time to breathe a prayer over the newly made + grave.</p> + + <p>“This little town in the Black Forest, at no great distance from + Höllenthal, was a dreary spot; and there was scarcely any society in it + for me. The Gutmann’s house, in which we took up our abode, lay on the + borders of a forest.</p> + + <p>“It was a gloomy chalet standing in its own grounds, and our one + visitor was an old clockmaker in the place, who was said to be rich and + had been the elder Gutmann’s friend. He appeared from time to time at + the lunch or dinner hour, in order to get himself invited.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span></p> + + <p>“I had no liking for this manufacturer of cuckoo-clocks, this petty + usurer, for though he was rich, he was a miser and incapable of the + least nicety of feeling. Nor did Herbert care for Frantz Basckler, + though he continued out of respect for the memory of his father to keep + on friendly terms with him.</p> + + <p>“Basckler, who had no children, had told the elder Gutmann times out of + number that Herbert was his only heir. Herbert spoke to me about it one + day with the most sincere aversion, and I had once more an opportunity + of appreciating the strictness of his conscience.</p> + + <p>“‘Would you like to be the heir of this sordid old miser who made his + fortune by ruining all the clockmakers in Höllenthal?’</p> + + <p>“‘Certainly not,’ I returned. ‘Your father left us a certain amount of + property, and with what you can honestly earn we shall have enough to + live on even if Heaven chooses to send us a child.’</p> + + <p>“I had no sooner uttered these words than I saw my Herbert turn as + white as a sheet. I put my arms round him, for I thought that <span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span>he was + about to faint, but the blood returned to his face, and he exclaimed in + forcible tones:</p> + + <p>“‘Yes, yes, the only true thing is to have the approbation of one’s + conscience.’</p> + + <p>“And so saying he rushed wildly from the room.</p> + + <p>“Sometimes he was away for a day or two on business, which consisted, + he told me, of buying plantations of standing trees and selling them + again to contractors. He did not work the whole thing himself but left + to others the task of turning the trees into sleepers for railways, + if the wood was of inferior quality, and posts and ships’ masts if it + was of the best quality. The essential thing was to display expert + judgment; and he had acquired his knowledge of timber from his father.</p> + + <p>“He never took me away with him on any of his journeys. He left me + alone in the house with an old maid-servant who had received me with + ill-disguised hostility. I kept out of her way and wept in secret, for + I was not happy. I felt convinced that Herbert was hiding something + from me, something which was obsessing his mind, and which I too who + knew <span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span>nothing, was never able to dismiss from my thoughts.</p> + + <p>“And then the great forest frightened me. And the servant frightened + me. And old Basckler frightened me. And the old house! It was very + large with staircases everywhere leading to passages into which I dared + not venture. At the end of one of them in particular, stood a small + room. I had seen my husband enter it two or three times, but I myself + had never set foot in it.</p> + + <p>“I could not pass the door of this room, which was always closed, + without a tremor. It was to this study that Herbert was wont to retire, + so he told me, to make up his accounts and balance his books, but it + was also to this room that he retired alone to bewail his secret.</p> + + <p>“One night after he had set out on one of his journeys and I was vainly + endeavoring to sleep, my attention was attracted by a slight sound + under my window which I had left partly open on account of the extreme + heat. I got out of bed with every precaution. The sky was overcast and + great clouds hid the stars from sight. It was as much as I could do to + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">243</span>discern the threatening shadows of the nearest trees which faced the + house.</p> + + <p>“I could not clearly distinguish my husband and the maid-servant until + they passed under my window, walking on the lawn with infinite caution + so that I should not hear the sound of their footsteps and carrying + between them a sort of long, somewhat narrow trunk which I had never + before seen. They entered the chalet and I did not hear nor see them + again for the next ten minutes.</p> + + <p>“My anguish exceeded anything that it is possible to conceive. Why + were they hiding themselves from me? How was it that I had not heard + the coming of the chaise which usually brought Herbert home? Just then + I seemed to catch in the distance the neighing of a horse, and the + maid-servant appeared, crossed the lawn, vanished into the darkness, + and soon returned leading our mare unharnessed over the soft ground. + Never had they taken so many precautions to prevent me from waking up!</p> + + <p>“Growing more and more surprised that Herbert did not come to our + room as was his <span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">244</span>custom after his return at night, I hastily slipped + on a dressing-gown and wandered into the darkness of the passage. My + steps turned quite naturally toward the little study of which I stood + in so much fear. And I had only just entered the corridor which led + to it when I heard my husband say in a rough, muffled voice to the + maid-servant who was mounting the stairs:</p> + + <p>“‘Water! Bring me some water. Hot water of course. It won’t come off.’</p> + + <p>“I stopped short and held my breath. Besides I could not breathe. I + was stifling. I was filled with the presentiment that some dreadful + misfortune had befallen us. Suddenly I was once more startled by my + husband’s voice:</p> + + <p>“‘Ah, at last! That’s done it. It’s come off.’</p> + + <p>“My husband and the old woman were still talking in low tones and I + heard his step. That brought me to myself and I fled to my bedroom and + locked myself in. Soon he knocked at the door and I went through the + form of pretending to be asleep and to wake <span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">245</span>up, and at last I opened + the door. I held a candle in my hand which fell to the floor when I + caught sight of the look on his face.</p> + + <p>“‘What’s the matter?’ he asked. ‘Are you still asleep? Do go back to + bed.’</p> + + <p>“I made a movement to light the candle again, but he stopped me and I + threw myself on the bed. I spent a cruel night.</p> + + <p>“Herbert turned and tossed and sighed beside me and could not sleep. He + did not speak a word. At daybreak he rose, pressed an icy kiss on my + brow and left the room. When I got downstairs the old woman gave me a + note from him in which he stated that he was obliged to go away again + for a couple of days.</p> + + <p>“At eight o’clock that morning I learned from workmen on their way + to Neustadt, that old Basckler had been found murdered in a small + cottage which he possessed at Höllenthal, where he sometimes spent + the night when his business of money-lending kept him too long among + his peasant-debtors. Basckler had received a terrible blow with an + axe which had split his head in two. It was undoubtedly the work of a + woodman.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">246</span></p> + + <p>“I returned to the house as best I could. And once more my feet led me + toward the little study. I could not explain exactly what was passing + in my mind, but after the words which I had overheard during the night + and the look on Herbert’s face, I felt a need to see what that room + contained. Just then the servant observed me and exclaimed maliciously:</p> + + <p>“‘Leave that room alone. You know quite well that M. Gutmann has + forbidden you to touch it. A lot of good it would do you to know what’s + inside.’</p> + + <p>“And she walked away with a fiendish laugh.</p> + + <p>“I took my bed, suffering from high fever. I was ill for a fortnight. + Herbert looked after me with maternal solicitude. It seemed to me that + I had been the sport of some evil dream, and it was enough now to see + his good-natured face to confirm my impression that I was not in a + normal condition on the night when I fancied that I had seen and heard + so many extraordinary things. Moreover the murderer of Basckler had + been arrested. He was a woodman belonging to Bergen whom the old miser + had ‘bled’ too freely and who had taken his <span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">247</span>revenge by ‘bleeding’ his + persecutor in his turn.</p> + + <p>“This woodman, a man named Mathis Müller, never ceased to protest his + innocence, but though not a single trace of blood was found on his + clothes and his axe was almost like new steel, there was, it seems, + sufficient evidence of his guilt to bring him to justice.</p> + + <p>“Our circumstances were in no way affected, as we imagined they might + be, by old Basckler’s death, and Herbert looked in vain for a will + which did not exist.</p> + + <p>“To my surprise its absence considerably upset him, and one day when I + questioned him about it he answered irritably:</p> + + <p>“‘Well, yes, if you want to know, I was relying a great deal on that + will—a great deal.’</p> + + <p>“And as he spoke a black look came over his face, and the terrible face + which I had seen on the mysterious night rose up before me, and after + that never left me. It was like a mask which I was always ready to + place over Herbert’s face even when it was naturally kind and sad.</p> + + <p>“During Mathis Müller’s trial at Freiburg I eagerly read the + newspapers; and certain <span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span>words which fell from the counsel for the + defense haunted me day and night:</p> + + <p>“‘Until you have discovered the axe with which the deed was done and + the murderer’s blood-stained clothes, you cannot convict Mathis Müller.’</p> + + <p>“Nevertheless Mathis Müller was found guilty and sentenced to death, + and I am bound to say that the verdict strangely affected my husband. + At night he dreamt of nothing but Mathis Müller. I was terrified of him + and my thoughts also terrified me.</p> + + <p>“Oh, I longed to know the truth! I was determined to know the truth. + What was the meaning of those words ‘It won’t come off?’</p> + + <p>“What was the nature of the work upon which he was engaged in the + mysterious little study during the night?</p> + + <p>“One night I rose and groping in the dark stole his keys from him. I + crept into the corridors. I went to the kitchen to fetch a lantern. + With chattering teeth I reached the forbidden room ... I opened the + door and my eyes at once fell on the trunk—the oblong trunk which had + so greatly perplexed me.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span></p> + + <p>“It was locked, but I had no difficulty in finding the small key on the + bunch ... I unlocked it and raised the lid. I went down on my knees in + order to see better, and the sight that met my eyes forced a cry of + horror from me....</p> + + <p>“The trunk contained blood-stained clothes and the axe which had struck + the blow still spotted with rust....</p> + + <hr class="tb"> + + <p>“How I managed, after what I had seen, to live with Herbert through the + few weeks which preceded the convicted man’s execution I cannot tell....</p> + + <p>“I was afraid that he might kill me....</p> + + <p>“How was it that my attitude, the dread that possessed me, failed to + enlighten him? The fact is that at that time his mind was wholly a prey + to fears not less great than my own. The thought of Mathis Müller never + left him.</p> + + <p>“To enable him to escape the obsession, apparently, he now shut himself + up in the little study, and I sometimes heard him delivering tremendous + blows, which made the floor and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span>walls resound, as if he were fighting + with his axe against the ghosts and phantoms which beset him.</p> + + <p>“Strange to say, and it seemed at first impossible to understand, + Herbert recovered his calmness a couple of days before Müller’s + execution—the calmness of marble, the calmness of a statue. That + evening he said:</p> + + <p>“‘I am going away to-morrow morning early. I have some important + business to do near Freiburg. I shall probably be away for a couple of + days. Don’t worry.’</p> + + <p>“It was at Freiburg that the execution was to take place, and I had the + impression that Herbert’s composure was the result of the resolution + that he had taken.</p> + + <p>“He was going to give himself up!</p> + + <p>“The thought was so much of a relief to me that for the first time for + many a night I fell into a sound sleep. It was broad daylight when I + awoke. My husband had already left the house.</p> + + <p>“I dressed in haste and without saying a word to the old servant I + started for Todtnau. Here, I took a conveyance and drove to Freiburg. + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span>I reached Freiburg when the light had begun to wane. I went at once to + the Court House, and the first person whom I saw entering the building + was my husband. I stood rooted to the spot. And as Herbert did not come + out again I felt sure that he had surrendered and was being held there + at the disposal of the authorities.</p> + + <p>“The prison at that time was next the Court House. I walked round + it like a mad-woman. All that night I wandered about the streets, + returning every now and then to this gloomy building, and the first + gleams of day were beginning to break when my eyes encountered two men + clad in black frock-coats mounting the front steps of the Court.</p> + + <p>“I ran up to them and said that I wanted to see the public prosecutor + as soon as possible, as I had a communication of the utmost gravity to + make to him about the Basckler murder.</p> + + <p>“As it happened, one of the gentlemen was the public prosecutor, and he + invited me to accompany him to his office. Here I explained who I was + and said that he must have received a visit from my husband the night + before. He <span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span>told me that he had in fact seen him, and then as he took + refuge in silence I threw myself on my knees before him beseeching him + to have pity on me and tell me whether Herbert had confessed his crime. + He seemed surprised, helped me to rise to my feet, and questioned me.</p> + + <p>“Slowly I told him the story of my life, such as I have told it to + you, and at last I described the awful discovery which I had made in + the little study in the chalet at Todtnau. I ended by declaring that I + should never have allowed an innocent man to be executed, and that had + not my husband given himself up, I should not have hesitated to inform + the police. And then I asked him as a final act of mercy, to be allowed + to see Herbert.</p> + + <p>“‘Yes, you shall see him, madame,’ he returned. ‘Please come with me.’</p> + + <p>“He took me, more dead than alive, to the prison, through the corridors + and up a staircase. Here he stood me before a small barred window which + jutted over a large hall and left me, telling me to have patience. A + number of other persons soon took up their positions <span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span>at this window, + and looked into the hall without speaking.</p> + + <p>“I did as they did. It was as though I was fastened to the bars, and I + had the feeling that I was about to witness some monstrous spectacle.</p> + + <p>“The hall was gradually lined with a number of persons all of whom + maintained a mournful silence. Daylight now rendered the scene more + visible. In the center of the hall we could clearly discern a heavy + block of wood, and some one behind me exclaimed:</p> + + <p>“‘That’s the headman’s block!’</p> + + <p>“So Müller was to be executed! An icy perspiration began to trickle + down my forehead, and I cannot say even now how it was that I did not + fall into a dead faint. A door opened, and a procession appeared headed + by the condemned man, quivering in his shirt which was cut low and + showed his bare neck. His hands were bound behind his back, and he was + supported by two warders. A minister of religion was murmuring in his ear.</p> + + <p>“The wretched man began to speak. In a few trembling words he confessed + his crime <span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span>and asked forgiveness of God and man. A civic officer took + note of the confession and read out the sentence of the Court; and then + the two warders thrust the convict on his knees and placed his head on + the block.</p> + + <p>“Mathis Müller might have already been dead for all the sign of life + he gave, when a man with bare arms carrying an axe on his shoulder, + stepped forward from the side where he had hitherto remained in the + background.</p> + + <p>“This man placed his hand upon the prisoner’s head, waved the two + warders aside, lifted the axe and struck a terrible blow. Nevertheless + he had to strike a second time before the head fell. Then he picked it + up by the hair and stood erect.</p> + + <p>“How was it that I was able to watch the unspeakably horrible sight + until the end? Yet I could not remove my eyes from this scene of blood, + and it seemed as though there was still something for me to see, and + indeed my eyes did see ... they saw, when holding in his shaking hand + the abominable trophy the executioner drew himself up and raised his eyes.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">255</span></p> + + <p>“I uttered a piercing shriek, ‘Herbert!’ and fell unconscious.</p> + + <hr class="tb"> + + <p>“Now, monsieur, you know my story. I had married the public + executioner. The axe which I had discovered in the little study was the + executioner’s axe; the blood-stained clothes were the executioner’s + clothes.</p> + + <p>“Next day I fled to the house of an old relative, and I very nearly + lost my reason; and I don’t know how it is that I am still in this + world.</p> + + <p>“As for my husband, who could not live without me, for he loved me more + than anything on earth, he was found two months later hanging in our + room. I received a last letter from him:</p> + + <p>“‘Forgive me, Elizabeth. I have tried every sort of occupation. I + was dismissed as soon as it was discovered that I was the son of my + father. I was forced at an early age to make up my mind to take up the + succession of his work. You will understand now how it is that the + office of public executioner descends <span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">256</span>from father to son. I was born + an honest man, and the only crime that I have ever committed in my life + was to conceal the truth from you.... Farewell!’”</p> + + <hr class="tb"> + + <p>While I stood gazing in dumb amazement at the spot in the lake where + the lady in black had thrown the little gold axe, she disappeared in + the distance.</p> + + <div class="center small mt10">THE END</div> + + <div class="transnote"> + <div class="large center"><b>Transcriber’s Notes</b></div> + + <ul class="spaced"> + <li>Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).</li> + <li>Text enclosed by pluses is in small caps (+small caps+).</li> + <li>Blank pages have been removed.</li> + <li>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.</li> + </ul> + </div> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76493 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/76493-h/images/cover.jpg b/76493-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9939513 --- /dev/null +++ b/76493-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/76493-h/images/frontispiece.jpg b/76493-h/images/frontispiece.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5d6e77c --- /dev/null +++ b/76493-h/images/frontispiece.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d8ffd76 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook #76493 +(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76493) |
