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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Strange Story, Complete + +Author: Edward Bulwer-Lytton + +Release Date: March 16, 2009 [EBook #7701] +Last Updated: August 28, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A STRANGE STORY, COMPLETE *** + + + + +Produced by Andrew Heath and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + A STRANGE STORY + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Edward Bulwer Lytton + </h2> + <h3> + (Lord Lytton) + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XXII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER XXVI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER XXIX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0030"> CHAPTER XXX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0031"> CHAPTER XXXI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0032"> CHAPTER XXXII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0033"> CHAPTER XXXIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0034"> CHAPTER XXXIV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0035"> CHAPTER XXXV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0036"> CHAPTER XXXVI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0037"> CHAPTER XXXVII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0038"> CHAPTER XXXVIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0039"> CHAPTER XXXIX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0040"> CHAPTER XL. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0041"> CHAPTER XLI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0042"> CHAPTER XLII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0043"> CHAPTER XLIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0044"> CHAPTER XLIV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0045"> CHAPTER XLV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0046"> CHAPTER XLVI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0047"> CHAPTER XLVII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0048"> CHAPTER XLVIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0049"> CHAPTER XLIX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0050"> CHAPTER L. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0051"> CHAPTER LI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0052"> CHAPTER LII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0053"> CHAPTER LIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0054"> CHAPTER LIV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0055"> CHAPTER LV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0056"> CHAPTER LVI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0057"> CHAPTER LVII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0058"> CHAPTER LVIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0059"> CHAPTER LIX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0060"> CHAPTER LX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0061"> CHAPTER LXI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0062"> CHAPTER LXII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0063"> CHAPTER LXIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0064"> CHAPTER LXIV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0065"> CHAPTER LXV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0066"> CHAPTER LXVI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0067"> CHAPTER LXVII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0068"> CHAPTER LXVIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0069"> CHAPTER LXIX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0070"> CHAPTER LXX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0071"> CHAPTER LXXI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0072"> CHAPTER LXXII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0073"> CHAPTER LXXIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0074"> CHAPTER LXXIV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0075"> CHAPTER LXXV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0076"> CHAPTER LXXVI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0077"> CHAPTER LXXVII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0078"> CHAPTER LXXVIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0079"> CHAPTER LXXIX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0080"> CHAPTER LXXX. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0081"> CHAPTER LXXXI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0082"> CHAPTER LXXXII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0083"> CHAPTER LXXXIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0084"> CHAPTER LXXXIV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0085"> CHAPTER LXXXV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0086"> CHAPTER LXXXVI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0087"> CHAPTER LXXXVII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0088"> CHAPTER LXXXVIII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0089"> CHAPTER LXXXIX. </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + PREFACE. + </h2> + <p> + Of the many illustrious thinkers whom the schools of France have + contributed to the intellectual philosophy of our age, Victor Cousin, the + most accomplished, assigns to Maine de Biran the rank of the most + original. + </p> + <p> + In the successive developments of his own mind, Maine de Biran may, + indeed, be said to represent the change that has been silently at work + throughout the general mind of Europe since the close of the last century. + He begins his career of philosopher with blind faith in Condillac and + Materialism. As an intellect severely conscientious in the pursuit of + truth expands amidst the perplexities it revolves, phenomena which cannot + be accounted for by Condillac’s sensuous theories open to his eye. To the + first rudimentary life of man, the animal life, “characterized by + impressions, appetites, movements, organic in their origin and ruled by + the Law of Necessity,” (1) he is compelled to add, “the second, or human + life, from which Free-will and Self-consciousness emerge.” He thus arrives + at the union of mind and matter; but still a something is wanted,—some + key to the marvels which neither of these conditions of vital being + suffices to explain. And at last the grand self-completing Thinker attains + to the Third Life of Man in Man’s Soul. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “There are not,” says this philosopher, towards the close of his last + and loftiest work,—“there are not only two principles opposed to + each other in Man,—there are three. For there are in him three + lives and three orders of faculties. Though all should be in accord + and in harmony between the sensitive and the active faculties + which constitute Man, there would still be a nature superior, a + third life which would not be satisfied; which would make felt + (ferait sentir) the truth that there is another happiness, another + wisdom, another perfection, at once above the greatest human + happiness, above the highest wisdom, or intellectual and moral + perfection of which the human being is susceptible.” (2) +</pre> + <p> + Now, as Philosophy and Romance both take their origin in the Principle of + Wonder, so in the “Strange Story” submitted to the Public it will be seen + that Romance, through the freest exercise of its wildest vagaries, + conducts its bewildered hero towards the same goal to which Philosophy + leads its luminous Student, through far grander portents of Nature, far + higher visions of Supernatural Power, than Fable can yield to Fancy. That + goal is defined in these noble words:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The relations (rapports) which exist between the elements and the + products of the three lives of Man are the subjects of meditation, + the fairest and finest, but also the most difficult. The Stoic + Philosophy shows us all which can be most elevated in active life; + but it makes abstraction of the animal nature, and absolutely fails + to recognize all which belongs to the life of the spirit. + Its practical morality is beyond the forces of humanity. Christianity + alone embraces the whole Man. It dissimulates none of the sides of + his nature, and avails itself of his miseries and his weakness in + order to conduct him to his end in showing him all the want that he + has of a succor more exalted.” (3) +</pre> + <p> + In the passages thus quoted, I imply one of the objects for which this + tale has been written; and I cite them, with a wish to acknowledge one of + those priceless obligations which writings the lightest and most fantastic + often incur to reasoners the most serious and profound. + </p> + <p> + But I here construct a romance which should have, as a romance, some + interest for the general reader. I do not elaborate a treatise submitted + to the logic of sages. And it is only when “in fairy fiction drest” that + Romance gives admission to “truths severe.” + </p> + <p> + I venture to assume that none will question my privilege to avail myself + of the marvellous agencies which have ever been at the legitimate command + of the fabulist. + </p> + <p> + To the highest form of romantic narrative, the Epic, critics, indeed, have + declared that a supernatural machinery is indispensable. That the Drama + has availed itself of the same license as the Epic, it would be + unnecessary to say to the countrymen of Shakspeare, or to the generation + that is yet studying the enigmas of Goethe’s “Faust.” Prose Romance has + immemorially asserted, no less than the Epic or the Drama, its heritage in + the Realm of the Marvellous. The interest which attaches to the + supernatural is sought in the earliest Prose Romance which modern times + take from the ancient, and which, perhaps, had its origin in the lost + Novels of Miletus; (4) and the right to invoke such interest has, ever + since, been maintained by Romance through all varieties of form and fancy,—from + the majestic epopee of “Telemaque” to the graceful fantasies of “Undine,” + or the mighty mockeries of “Gulliver’s Travels” down to such comparatively + commonplace elements of wonder as yet preserve from oblivion “The Castle + of Otranto” and “The Old English Baron.” + </p> + <p> + Now, to my mind, the true reason why a supernatural agency is + indispensable to the conception of the Epic, is that the Epic is the + highest and the completest form in which Art can express either Man or + Nature, and that without some gleams of the supernatural, Man is not man + nor Nature, nature. + </p> + <p> + It is said, by a writer to whom an eminent philosophical critic justly + applies the epithets of “pious and profound:” (5) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Is it unreasonable to confess that we believe in God, not by reason + of the Nature which conceals Him, but by reason of the Supernatural + in Man which alone reveals and proves Him to exist?... Man reveals + God: for Man, by his intelligence, rises above Nature; and in virtue + of this intelligence is conscious of himself as a power not only + independent of, but opposed to, Nature, and capable of resisting, + conquering, and controlling her.” (6) +</pre> + <p> + If the meaning involved in the argument, of which I have here made but + scanty extracts, be carefully studied, I think that we shall find deeper + reasons than the critics who dictated canons of taste to the last century + discovered,—why the supernatural is indispensable to the Epic, and + why it is allowable to all works of imagination, in which Art looks on + Nature with Man’s inner sense of a something beyond and above her. + </p> + <p> + But the Writer who, whether in verse or prose, would avail himself of such + sources of pity or terror as flow from the Marvellous, can only attain his + object in proportion as the wonders he narrates are of a kind to excite + the curiosity of the age he addresses. + </p> + <p> + In the brains of our time, the faculty of Causation is very markedly + developed. People nowadays do not delight in the Marvellous according to + the old childlike spirit. They say in one breath, “Very extraordinary!” + and in the next breath ask, “How do you account for it?” If the Author of + this work has presumed to borrow from science some elements of interest + for Romance, he ventures to hope that no thoughtful reader—and + certainly no true son of science—will be disposed to reproach him. + In fact, such illustrations from the masters of Thought were essential to + the completion of the purpose which pervades the work. + </p> + <p> + That purpose, I trust, will develop itself in proportion as the story + approaches the close; and whatever may appear violent or melodramatic in + the catastrophe, will, perhaps, be found, by a reader capable of + perceiving the various symbolical meanings conveyed in the story, + essential to the end in which those meanings converge, and towards which + the incidents that give them the character and interest of of fiction, + have been planned and directed from the commencement. + </p> + <p> + Of course, according to the most obvious principles of art, the narrator + of a fiction must be as thoroughly in earnest as if he were the narrator + of facts. One could not tell the most extravagant fairy-tale so as to + rouse and sustain the attention of the most infantine listener, if the + tale were told as if the taleteller did not believe in it. But when the + reader lays down this “Strange Story,” perhaps he will detect, through all + the haze of romance, the outlines of these images suggested to his reason: + Firstly, the image of sensuous, soulless Nature, such as the Materialist + had conceived it; secondly, the image of Intellect, obstinately separating + all its inquiries from the belief in the spiritual essence and destiny of + man, and incurring all kinds of perplexity and resorting to all kinds of + visionary speculation before it settles at last into the simple faith + which unites the philosopher and the infant; and thirdly, the image of the + erring but pure-thoughted visionary, seeking over-much on this earth to + separate soul from mind, till innocence itself is led astray by a phantom, + and reason is lost in the space between earth and the stars. Whether in + these pictures there be any truth worth the implying, every reader must + judge for himself; and if he doubt or deny that there be any such truth, + still, in the process of thought which the doubt or denial enforces, he + may chance on a truth which it pleases himself to discover. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Most of the Fables of AEsop,”—thus says Montaigne in his + charming essay “Of Books” (7)—“have several senses and meanings, of + which the Mythologists choose some one that tallies with the fable. + But for the most part ‘t is only what presents itself at the first + view, and is superficial; there being others more lively, essential, + and internal, into which they had not been able to penetrate; + and”—adds Montaigne—“the case is the very same with me.” + </pre> + <p> + (1) OEuvres inedites de Maine de Biran, vol. i. See introduction. + </p> + <p> + (2) OEuvres inedites de Maine de Biran, vol. iii. p. 546 (Anthropologie). + </p> + <p> + (3) OEuvres inedites de Maine de Biran, vol. iii. p. 524. + </p> + <p> + (4) “The Golden Ass” of Apuleius. + </p> + <p> + (5) Sir William Hamilton: Lectures on Metaphysics, p. 40. + </p> + <p> + (6) Jacobi: Von der Gottlichen Dingen; Werke, p. 424-426. + </p> + <p> + (7) Translation, 1776, Yol. ii. p. 103. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. + </h2> + <p> + In the year 18— I settled as a physician at one of the wealthiest of + our great English towns, which I will designate by the initial L——. + I was yet young, but I had acquired some reputation by a professional + work, which is, I believe, still amongst the received authorities on the + subject of which it treats. I had studied at Edinburgh and at Paris, and + had borne away from both those illustrious schools of medicine whatever + guarantees for future distinction the praise of professors may concede to + the ambition of students. On becoming a member of the College of + Physicians, I made a tour of the principal cities of Europe, taking + letters of introduction to eminent medical men, and gathering from many + theories and modes of treatment hints to enlarge the foundations of + unprejudiced and comprehensive practice. I had resolved to fix my + ultimate residence in London. But before this preparatory tour was + completed, my resolve was changed by one of those unexpected events which + determine the fate man in vain would work out for himself. In passing + through the Tyro, on my way into the north of Italy, I found in a small + inn, remote from medical attendance, an English traveller seized with + acute inflammation of the lungs, and in a state of imminent danger. I + devoted myself to him night and day; and, perhaps more through careful + nursing than active remedies, I had the happiness to effect his complete + recovery. The traveller proved to be Julius Faber, a physician of great + distinction, contented to reside, where he was born, in the provincial + city of L——, but whose reputation as a profound and original + pathologist was widely spread, and whose writings had formed no + unimportant part of my special studies. It was during a short holiday + excursion, from which he was about to return with renovated vigour, that + he had been thus stricken down. The patient so accidentally met with + became the founder of my professional fortunes. He conceived a warm + attachment for me,—perhaps the more affectionate because he was a + childless bachelor, and the nephew who would succeed to his wealth evinced + no desire to succeed to the toils by which the wealth had been acquired. + Thus, having an heir for the one, he had long looked about for an heir to + the other, and now resolved on finding that heir in me. So when we parted + Dr. Faber made me promise to correspond with him regularly, and it was not + long before he disclosed by letter the plans he had formed in my favour. + He said that he was growing old; his practice was beyond his strength; he + needed a partner; he was not disposed to put up to sale the health of + patients whom he had learned to regard as his children: money was no + object to him, but it was an object close at his heart that the humanity + he had served, and the reputation he had acquired, should suffer no loss + in his choice of a successor. In fine, he proposed that I should at once + come to L—— as his partner, with the view of succeeding to his + entire practice at the end of two years, when it was his intention to + retire. + </p> + <p> + The opening into fortune thus afforded to me was one that rarely presents + itself to a young man entering upon an overcrowded profession; and to an + aspirant less allured by the desire of fortune than the hope of + distinction, the fame of the physician who thus generously offered to me + the inestimable benefits of his long experience and his cordial + introduction was in itself an assurance that a metropolitan practice is + not essential to a national renown. + </p> + <p> + I went, then, to L——, and before the two years of my + partnership had expired, my success justified my kind friend’s selection, + and far more than realized my own expectations. I was fortunate in + effecting some notable cures in the earliest cases submitted to me, and it + is everything in the career of a physician when good luck wins betimes for + him that confidence which patients rarely accord except to lengthened + experience. To the rapid facility with which my way was made, some + circumstances apart from professional skill probably contributed. I was + saved from the suspicion of a medical adventurer by the accidents of birth + and fortune. I belonged to an ancient family (a branch of the once + powerful border-clan of the Fenwicks) that had for many generations held a + fair estate in the neighbourhood of Windermere. As an only son I had + succeeded to that estate on attaining my majority, and had sold it to pay + off the debts which had been made by my father, who had the costly tastes + of an antiquary and collector. The residue on the sale insured me a modest + independence apart from the profits of a profession; and as I had not been + legally bound to defray my father’s debts, so I obtained that character + for disinterestedness and integrity which always in England tends to + propitiate the public to the successes achieved by industry or talent. + Perhaps, too, any professional ability I might possess was the more + readily conceded, because I had cultivated with assiduity the sciences and + the scholarship which are collaterally connected with the study of + medicine. Thus, in a word, I established a social position which came in + aid of my professional repute, and silenced much of that envy which + usually embitters and sometimes impedes success. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Faber retired at the end of the two years agreed upon. He went abroad; + and being, though advanced in years, of a frame still robust, and habits + of mind still inquiring and eager, he commenced a lengthened course of + foreign travel, during which our correspondence, at first frequent, + gradually languished, and finally died away. + </p> + <p> + I succeeded at once to the larger part of the practice which the labours + of thirty years had secured to my predecessor. My chief rival was a Dr. + Lloyd, a benevolent, fervid man, not without genius, if genius be present + where judgment is absent; not without science, if that may be science + which fails in precision,—one of those clever desultory men who, in + adopting a profession, do not give up to it the whole force and heat of + their minds. Men of that kind habitually accept a mechanical routine, + because in the exercise of their ostensible calling their imaginative + faculties are drawn away to pursuits more alluring. Therefore, in their + proper vocation they are seldom bold or inventive,—out of it they + are sometimes both to excess. And when they do take up a novelty in their + own profession they cherish it with an obstinate tenacity, and an + extravagant passion, unknown to those quiet philosophers who take up + novelties every day, examine them with the sobriety of practised eyes, to + lay down altogether, modify in part, or accept in whole, according as + inductive experiment supports or destroys conjecture. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Lloyd had been esteemed a learned naturalist long before he was + admitted to be a tolerable physician. Amidst the privations of his youth + he had contrived to form, and with each succeeding year he had + perseveringly increased, a zoological collection of creatures, not alive, + but, happily for the beholder, stuffed or embalmed. From what I have + said, it will be truly inferred that Dr. Lloyd’s early career as a + physician had not been brilliant; but of late years he had gradually + rather aged than worked himself into that professional authority and + station which time confers on a thoroughly respectable man whom no one is + disposed to envy, and all are disposed to like. + </p> + <p> + Now in L—— there were two distinct social circles,—that + of the wealthy merchants and traders, and that of a few privileged + families inhabiting a part of the town aloof from the marts of commerce, + and called the Abbey Hill. These superb Areopagites exercised over the + wives and daughters of the inferior citizens to whom all of L——, + except the Abbey Hill, owed its prosperity, the same kind of mysterious + influence which the fine ladies of May Fair and Belgravia are reported to + hold over the female denizens of Bloomsbury and Marylebone. + </p> + <p> + Abbey Hill was not opulent; but it was powerful by a concentration of its + resources in all matters of patronage. Abbey Hill had its own milliner and + its own draper, its own confectioner, butcher, baker, and tea-dealer; and + the patronage of Abbey Hill was like the patronage of royalty,—less + lucrative in itself than as a solemn certificate of general merit. The + shops on which Abbey Hill conferred its custom were certainly not the + cheapest, possibly not the best; but they were undeniably the most + imposing. The proprietors were decorously pompous, the shopmen + superciliously polite. They could not be more so if they had belonged to + the State, and been paid by a public which they benefited and despised. + The ladies of Low Town (as the city subjacent to the Hill had been styled + from a date remote in the feudal ages) entered those shops with a certain + awe, and left them with a certain pride. There they had learned what the + Hill approved; there they had bought what the Hill had purchased. It is + much in this life to be quite sure that we are in the right, whatever that + conviction may cost us. Abbey Hill had been in the habit of appointing, + amongst other objects of patronage, its own physician. But that habit had + fallen into disuse during the latter years of my predecessor’s practice. + His superiority over all other medical men in the town had become so + incontestable, that, though he was emphatically the doctor of Low Town, + the head of its hospitals and infirmaries, and by birth related to its + principal traders, still as Abbey Hill was occasionally subject to the + physical infirmities of meaner mortals, so on those occasions it deemed it + best not to push the point of honour to the wanton sacrifice of life. + Since Low Town possessed one of the most famous physicians in England, + Abbey Hill magnanimously resolved not to crush him by a rival. Abbey Hill + let him feel its pulse. + </p> + <p> + When my predecessor retired, I had presumptuously expected that the Hill + would have continued to suspend its normal right to a special physician, + and shown to me the same generous favour it had shown to him, who had + declared me worthy to succeed to his honours. I had the more excuse for + this presumption because the Hill had already allowed me to visit a fair + proportion of its invalids, had said some very gracious things to me about + the great respectability of the Fenwick family, and sent me some + invitations to dinner, and a great many invitations to tea. + </p> + <p> + But my self-conceit received a notable check. Abbey Hill declared that the + time had come to reassert its dormant privilege; it must have a doctor of + its own choosing,—a doctor who might, indeed, be permitted to visit + Low Town from motives of humanity or gain, but who must emphatically + assert his special allegiance to Abbey Hill by fixing his home on that + venerable promontory. Miss Brabazon, a spinster of uncertain age but + undoubted pedigree, with small fortune but high nose, which she would + pleasantly observe was a proof of her descent from Humphrey Duke of + Gloucester (with whom, indeed, I have no doubt, in spite of chronology, + that she very often dined), was commissioned to inquire of me + diplomatically, and without committing Abbey Hill too much by the + overture, whether I would take a large and antiquated mansion, in which + abbots were said to have lived many centuries ago, and which was still + popularly styled Abbots’ House, situated on the verge of the Hill, as in + that case the “Hill” would think of me. + </p> + <p> + “It is a large house for a single man, I allow,” said Miss Brabazon, + candidly; and then added, with a sidelong glance of alarming sweetness, + “but when Dr. Fenwick has taken his true position (so old a family!) + amongst us, he need not long remain single, unless he prefer it.” + </p> + <p> + I replied, with more asperity than the occasion called for, that I had no + thought of changing my residence at present, and if the Hill wanted me, + the Hill must send for me. + </p> + <p> + Two days afterwards Dr. Lloyd took Abbots’ House, and in less than a week + was proclaimed medical adviser to the Hill. The election had been decided + by the fiat of a great lady, who reigned supreme on the sacred eminence, + under the name and title of Mrs. Colonel Poyntz. + </p> + <p> + “Dr. Fenwick,” said this lady, “is a clever young man and a gentleman, but + he gives himself airs,—the Hill does not allow any airs but its own. + Besides, he is a new comer: resistance to new comers, and, indeed, to all + things new, except caps and novels, is one of the bonds that keep old + established societies together. Accordingly, it is by my advice that Dr. + Lloyd has taken Abbots’ House; the rent would be too high for his means if + the Hill did not feel bound in honour to justify the trust he has placed + in its patronage. I told him that all my friends, when they were in want + of a doctor, would send for him; those who are my friends will do so. What + the Hill does, plenty of common people down there will do also,—so + that question is settled!” And it was settled. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Lloyd, thus taken by the hand, soon extended the range of his visits + beyond the Hill, which was not precisely a mountain of gold to doctors, + and shared with myself, though in a comparatively small degree, the much + more lucrative practice of Low Town. + </p> + <p> + I had no cause to grudge his success, nor did I. But to my theories of + medicine his diagnosis was shallow, and his prescriptions obsolete. When + we were summoned to a joint consultation, our views as to the proper + course of treatment seldom agreed. Doubtless he thought I ought to have + deferred to his seniority in years; but I held the doctrine which youth + deems a truth and age a paradox,—namely, that in science the young + men are the practical elders, inasmuch as they are schooled in the latest + experiences science has gathered up, while their seniors are cramped by + the dogmas they were schooled to believe when the world was some decades + the younger. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile my reputation continued rapidly to advance; it became more than + local; my advice was sought even by patients from the metropolis. That + ambition, which, conceived in early youth, had decided my career and + sweetened all its labours,—the ambition to take a rank and leave a + name as one of the great pathologists to whom humanity accords a grateful, + if calm, renown,—saw before it a level field and a certain goal. + </p> + <p> + I know not whether a success far beyond that usually attained at the age I + had reached served to increase, but it seemed to myself to justify, the + main characteristic of my moral organization,—intellectual pride. + </p> + <p> + Though mild and gentle to the sufferers under my care, as a necessary + element of professional duty, I was intolerant of contradiction from those + who belonged to my calling, or even from those who, in general opinion, + opposed my favourite theories. I had espoused a school of medical + philosophy severely rigid in its inductive logic. My creed was that of + stern materialism. I had a contempt for the understanding of men who + accepted with credulity what they could not explain by reason. My + favourite phrase was “common-sense.” At the same time I had no prejudice + against bold discovery, and discovery necessitates conjecture, but I + dismissed as idle all conjecture that could not be brought to a practical + test. + </p> + <p> + As in medicine I had been the pupil of Broussais, so in metaphysics I was + the disciple of Condillac. I believed with that philosopher that “all our + knowledge we owe to Nature; that in the beginning we can only instruct + ourselves through her lessons; and that the whole art of reasoning + consists in continuing as she has compelled us to commence.” Keeping + natural philosophy apart from the doctrines of revelation, I never + assailed the last; but I contended that by the first no accurate reasoner + could arrive at the existence of the soul as a third principle of being + equally distinct from mind and body. That by a miracle man might live + again, was a question of faith and not of understanding. I left faith to + religion, and banished it from philosophy. How define with a precision to + satisfy the logic of philosophy what was to live again? The body? We know + that the body rests in its grave till by the process of decomposition its + elemental parts enter into other forms of matter. The mind? But the mind + was as clearly the result of the bodily organization as the music of the + harpsichord is the result of the instrumental mechanism. The mind shared + the decrepitude of the body in extreme old age, and in the full vigour of + youth a sudden injury to the brain might forever destroy the intellect of + a Plato or a Shakspeare. But the third principle,—the soul,—the + something lodged within the body, which yet was to survive it? Where was + that soul hidden out of the ken of the anatomist? When philosophers + attempted to define it, were they not compelled to confound its nature and + its actions with those of the mind? Could they reduce it to the mere moral + sense, varying according to education, circumstances, and physical + constitution? But even the moral sense in the most virtuous of men may be + swept away by a fever. Such at the time I now speak of were the views I + held,—views certainly not original nor pleasing; but I cherished + them with as fond a tenacity as if they had been consolatory truths of + which I was the first discoverer. I was intolerant to those who maintained + opposite doctrines,—despised them as irrational, or disliked them as + insincere. Certainly if I had fulfilled the career which my ambition + predicted,—become the founder of a new school in pathology, and + summed up my theories in academical lectures,—I should have added + another authority, however feeble, to the sects which circumscribe the + interest of man to the life that has its close in his grave. + </p> + <p> + Possibly that which I have called my intellectual pride was more nourished + than I should have been willing to grant by the self-reliance which an + unusual degree of physical power is apt to bestow. Nature had blessed me + with the thews of an athlete. Among the hardy youths of the Northern + Athens I had been preeminently distinguished for feats of activity and + strength. My mental labours, and the anxiety which is inseparable from the + conscientious responsibilities of the medical profession, kept my health + below the par of keen enjoyment, but had in no way diminished my rare + muscular force. I walked through the crowd with the firm step and lofty + crest of the mailed knight of old, who felt himself, in his casement of + iron, a match against numbers. Thus the sense of a robust individuality, + strong alike in disciplined reason and animal vigour, habituated to aid + others, needing no aid for itself, contributed to render me imperious in + will and arrogant in opinion. Nor were such defects injurious to me in my + profession; on the contrary, aided as they were by a calm manner, and a + presence not without that kind of dignity which is the livery of + self-esteem, they served to impose respect and to inspire trust. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. + </h2> + <p> + I had been about six years at L—— when I became suddenly + involved in a controversy with Dr. Lloyd. Just as this ill-fated man + appeared at the culminating point of his professional fortunes, he had the + imprudence to proclaim himself not only an enthusiastic advocate of + mesmerism as a curative process, but an ardent believer of the reality of + somnambular clairvoyance as an invaluable gift of certain privileged + organizations. To these doctrines I sternly opposed myself,—the more + sternly, perhaps, because on these doctrines Dr. Lloyd founded an argument + for the existence of soul, independent of mind, as of matter, and built + thereon a superstructure of physiological fantasies, which, could it be + substantiated, would replace every system of metaphysics on which + recognized philosophy condescends to dispute. + </p> + <p> + About two years before he became a disciple rather of Puysegur than Mesmer + (for Mesmer hard little faith in that gift of clairvoyance of which + Puysegur was, I believe, at least in modern times, the first audacious + asserter), Dr. Lloyd had been afflicted with the loss of a wife many years + younger than himself, and to whom he had been tenderly attached. And this + bereavement, in directing the hopes that consoled him to a world beyond + the grave, had served perhaps to render him more credulous of the + phenomena in which he greeted additional proofs of purely spiritual + existence. Certainly, if, in controverting the notions of another + physiologist, I had restricted myself to that fair antagonism which + belongs to scientific disputants anxious only for the truth, I should need + no apology for sincere conviction and honest argument; but when, with + condescending good-nature, as if to a man much younger than himself, who + was ignorant of the phenomena which he nevertheless denied, Dr. Lloyd + invited me to attend his seances and witness his cures, my amour propre + became aroused and nettled, and it seemed to me necessary to put down what + I asserted to be too gross an outrage on common-sense to justify the + ceremony of examination. I wrote, therefore, a small pamphlet on the + subject, in which I exhausted all the weapons that irony can lend to + contempt. Dr. Lloyd replied; and as he was no very skilful arguer, his + reply injured him perhaps more than my assault. Meanwhile, I had made some + inquiries as to the moral character of his favourite clairvoyants. I + imagined that I had learned enough to justify me in treating them as + flagrant cheats, and himself as their egregious dupe. + </p> + <p> + Low Town soon ranged itself, with very few exceptions, on my side. The + Hill at first seemed disposed to rally round its insulted physician, and + to make the dispute a party question, in which the Hill would have been + signally worsted, when suddenly the same lady paramount, who had secured + to Dr. Lloyd the smile of the Eminence, spoke forth against him, and the + Eminence frowned. + </p> + <p> + “Dr. Lloyd,” said the Queen of the Hill, “is an amiable creature, but on + this subject decidedly cracked. Cracked poets may be all the better for + being cracked,—cracked doctors are dangerous. Besides, in deserting + that old-fashioned routine, his adherence to which made his claim to the + Hill’s approbation, and unsettling the mind of the Hill with wild + revolutionary theories, Dr. Lloyd has betrayed the principles on which the + Hill itself rests its social foundations. Of those principles Dr. Fenwick + has made himself champion; and the Hill is bound to support him. There, + the question is settled!” + </p> + <p> + And it was settled. + </p> + <p> + From the moment Mrs. Colonel Poyntz thus issued the word of command, Dr. + Lloyd was demolished. His practice was gone, as well as his repute. + Mortification or anger brought on a stroke of paralysis which, disabling + my opponent, put an end to our controversy. An obscure Dr. Jones, who had + been the special pupil and protege of Dr. Lloyd, offered himself as a + candidate for the Hill’s tongues and pulses. The Hill gave him little + encouragement. It once more suspended its electoral privileges, and, + without insisting on calling me up to it, the Hill quietly called me in + whenever its health needed other advice than that of its visiting + apothecary. Again it invited me, sometimes to dinner, often to tea; and + again Miss Brabazon assured me by a sidelong glance that it was no fault + of hers if I were still single. + </p> + <p> + I had almost forgotten the dispute which had obtained for me so + conspicuous a triumph, when one winter’s night I was roused from sleep by + a summons to attend Dr Lloyd, who, attacked by a second stroke a few hours + previously, had, on recovering sense, expressed a vehement desire to + consult the rival by whom he had suffered so severely. I dressed myself in + haste and hurried to his house. + </p> + <p> + A February night, sharp and bitter; an iron-gray frost below, a spectral + melancholy moon above. I had to ascend the Abbey Hill by a steep, blind + lane between high walls. I passed through stately gates, which stood wide + open, into the garden ground that surrounded the old Abbots’ House. At the + end of a short carriage-drive the dark and gloomy building cleared itself + from leafless skeleton trees,—the moon resting keen and cold on its + abrupt gables and lofty chimney-stacks. An old woman-servant received me + at the door, and, without saying a word, led me through a long low hall, + and up dreary oak stairs, to a broad landing, at which she paused for a + moment, listening. Round and about hall, staircase, and landing were + ranged the dead specimens of the savage world which it had been the pride + of the naturalist’s life to collect. Close where I stood yawned the open + jaws of the fell anaconda, its lower coils hidden, as they rested on the + floor below, by the winding of the massive stairs. Against the dull + wainscot walls were pendent cases stored with grotesque unfamiliar + mummies, seen imperfectly by the moon that shot through the window-panes, + and the candle in the old woman’s hand. And as now she turned towards me, + nodding her signal to follow, and went on up the shadowy passage, rows of + gigantic birds—ibis and vulture, and huge sea glaucus—glared + at me in the false light of their hungry eyes. + </p> + <p> + So I entered the sick-room, and the first glance told me that my art was + powerless there. + </p> + <p> + The children of the stricken widower were grouped round his bed, the + eldest apparently about fifteen, the youngest four; one little girl—the + only female child—was clinging to her father’s neck, her face + pressed to his bosom, and in that room her sobs alone were loud. + </p> + <p> + As I passed the threshold, Dr. Lloyd lifted his face, which had been bent + over the weeping child, and gazed on me with an aspect of strange glee, + which I failed to interpret. Then as I stole towards him softly and + slowly, he pressed his lips on the long fair tresses that streamed wild + over his breast, motioned to a nurse who stood beside his pillow to take + the child away, and in a voice clearer than I could have expected in one + on whose brow lay the unmistakable hand of death, he bade the nurse and + the children quit the room. All went sorrowfully, but silently, save the + little girl, who, borne off in the nurse’s arms, continued to sob as if + her heart were breaking. + </p> + <p> + I was not prepared for a scene so affecting; it moved me to the quick. My + eyes wistfully followed the children so soon to be orphans, as one after + one went out into the dark chill shadow, and amidst the bloodless forms of + the dumb brute nature, ranged in grisly vista beyond the death-room of + man. And when the last infant shape had vanished, and the door closed with + a jarring click, my sight wandered loiteringly around the chamber before I + could bring myself to fix it on the broken form, beside which I now stood + in all that glorious vigour of frame which had fostered the pride of my + mind. In the moment consumed by my mournful survey, the whole aspect of + the place impressed itself ineffaceably on lifelong remembrance. Through + the high, deepsunken casement, across which the thin, faded curtain was + but half drawn, the moonlight rushed, and then settled on the floor in one + shroud of white glimmer, lost under the gloom of the death-bed. The roof + was low, and seemed lower still by heavy intersecting beams, which I might + have touched with my lifted hand. And the tall guttering candle by the + bedside, and the flicker from the fire struggling out through the fuel but + newly heaped on it, threw their reflection on the ceiling just over my + head in a reek of quivering blackness, like an angry cloud. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly I felt my arm grasped; with his left hand (the right side was + already lifeless) the dying man drew me towards him nearer and nearer, + till his lips almost touched my ear, and, in a voice now firm, now + splitting into gasp and hiss, thus he said, “I have summoned you to gaze + on your own work! You have stricken down my life at the moment when it was + most needed by my children, and most serviceable to mankind. Had I lived a + few years longer, my children would have entered on manhood, safe from the + temptations of want and undejected by the charity of strangers. Thanks to + you, they will be penniless orphans. Fellow-creatures afflicted by + maladies your pharmacopoeia had failed to reach came to me for relief, and + they found it. ‘The effect of imagination,’ you say. What matters, if I + directed the imagination to cure? Now you have mocked the unhappy ones out + of their last chance of life. They will suffer and perish. Did you believe + me in error? Still you knew that my object was research into truth. You + employed against your brother in art venomous drugs and a poisoned probe. + Look at me! Are you satisfied with your work?” + </p> + <p> + I sought to draw back and pluck my arm from the dying man’s grasp. I could + not do so without using a force that would have been inhuman. His lips + drew nearer still to my ear. + </p> + <p> + “Vain pretender, do not boast that you brought a genius for epigram to the + service of science. Science is lenient to all who offer experiment as the + test of conjecture. You are of the stuff of which inquisitors are made. + You cry that truth is profaned when your dogmas are questioned. In your + shallow presumption you have meted the dominions of nature, and where your + eye halts its vision, you say, ‘There nature must close;’ in the bigotry + which adds crime to presumption, you would stone the discoverer who, in + annexing new realms to her chart, unsettles your arbitrary landmarks. + Verily, retribution shall await you! In those spaces which your sight has + disdained to explore you shall yourself be a lost and bewildered + straggler. Hist! I see them already! The gibbering phantoms are gathering + round you!” + </p> + <p> + The man’s voice stopped abruptly; his eye fixed in a glazing stare; his + hand relaxed its hold; he fell back on his pillow. I stole from the room; + on the landing-place I met the nurse and the old woman-servant. Happily + the children were not there. But I heard the wail of the female child from + some room not far distant. + </p> + <p> + I whispered hurriedly to the nurse, “All is over!” passed again under the + jaws of the vast anaconda, and on through the blind lane between the dead + walls, on through the ghastly streets, under the ghastly moon, went back + to my solitary home. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. + </h2> + <p> + It was some time before I could shake off the impression made on me by the + words and the look of that dying man. + </p> + <p> + It was not that my conscience upbraided me. What had I done? Denounced + that which I held, in common with most men of sense in or out of my + profession, to be one of those illusions by which quackery draws profit + from the wonder of ignorance. Was I to blame if I refused to treat with + the grave respect due to asserted discovery in legitimate science + pretensions to powers akin to the fables of wizards? Was I to descend from + the Academe of decorous science to examine whether a slumbering sibyl + could read from a book placed at her back, or tell me at L—— + what at that moment was being done by my friend at the Antipodes? + </p> + <p> + And what though Dr. Lloyd himself might be a worthy and honest man, and a + sincere believer in the extravagances for which he demanded an equal + credulity in others, do not honest men every day incur the penalty of + ridicule if, from a defect of good sense, they make themselves ridiculous? + Could I have foreseen that a satire so justly provoked would inflict so + deadly a wound? Was I inhumanly barbarous because the antagonist destroyed + was morbidly sensitive? My conscience, therefore, made me no reproach, and + the public was as little severe as my conscience. The public had been with + me in our contest; the public knew nothing of my opponent’s deathbed + accusations; the public knew only that I had attended him in his last + moments; it saw me walk beside the bier that bore him to his grave; it + admired the respect to his memory which I evinced in the simple tomb that + I placed over his remains, inscribed with an epitaph that did justice to + his unquestionable benevolence and integrity; above all, it praised the + energy with which I set on foot a subscription for his orphan children, + and the generosity with which I headed that subscription by a sum that was + large in proportion to my means. + </p> + <p> + To that sum I did not, indeed, limit my contribution. The sobs of the poor + female child rang still on my heart. As her grief had been keener than + that of her brothers, so she might be subjected to sharper trials than + they, when the time came for her to fight her own way through the world; + therefore I secured to her, but with such precautions that the gift could + not be traced to my hand, a sum to accumulate till she was of marriageable + age, and which then might suffice for a small wedding portion; or if she + remained single, for an income that would place her beyond the temptation + of want, or the bitterness of a servile dependence. + </p> + <p> + That Dr. Lloyd should have died in poverty was a matter of surprise at + first, for his profits during the last few years had been considerable, + and his mode of life far from extravagant. But just before the date of our + controversy he had been induced to assist the brother of his lost wife, + who was a junior partner in a London bank, with the loan of his + accumulated savings. This man proved dishonest; he embezzled that and + other sums intrusted to him, and fled the country. The same sentiment of + conjugal affection which had cost Dr. Lloyd his fortune kept him silent as + to the cause of the loss. It was reserved for his executors to discover + the treachery of the brother-in-law whom he, poor man, would have + generously screened from additional disgrace. + </p> + <p> + The Mayor of L——, a wealthy and public-spirited merchant, + purchased the museum, which Dr. Lloyd’s passion for natural history had + induced him to form; and the sum thus obtained, together with that raised + by subscription, sufficed not only to discharge all debts due by the + deceased, but to insure to the orphans the benefits of an education that + might fit at least the boys to enter fairly armed into that game, more of + skill than of chance, in which Fortune is really so little blinded that we + see, in each turn of her wheel, wealth and its honours pass away from the + lax fingers of ignorance and sloth, to the resolute grasp of labour and + knowledge. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile a relation in a distant county undertook the charge of the + orphans; they disappeared from the scene, and the tides of life in a + commercial community soon flowed over the place which the dead man had + occupied in the thoughts of his bustling townsfolk. + </p> + <p> + One person at L——, and only one, appeared to share and inherit + the rancour with which the poor physician had denounced me on his + death-bed. It was a gentleman named Vigors, distantly related to the + deceased, and who had been, in point of station, the most eminent of Dr. + Lloyd’s partisans in the controversy with myself, a man of no great + scholastic acquirements, but of respectable abilities. He had that kind of + power which the world concedes to respectable abilities when accompanied + with a temper more than usually stern, and a moral character more than + usually austere. His ruling passion was to sit in judgment upon others; + and being a magistrate, he was the most active and the most rigid of all + the magistrates L—— had ever known. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Vigors at first spoke of me with great bitterness, as having ruined, + and in fact killed, his friend, by the uncharitable and unfair acerbity + which he declared I had brought into what ought to have been an + unprejudiced examination of simple matter of fact. But finding no sympathy + in these charges, he had the discretion to cease from making them, + contenting himself with a solemn shake of his head if he heard my name + mentioned in terms of praise, and an oracular sentence or two, such as + “Time will show,” “All’s well that ends well,” etc. Mr. Vigors, however, + mixed very little in the more convivial intercourse of the townspeople. He + called himself domestic; but, in truth, he was ungenial,—a stiff + man, starched with self-esteem. He thought that his dignity of station was + not sufficiently acknowledged by the merchants of Low Town, and his + superiority of intellect not sufficiently recognized by the exclusives of + the Hill. His visits were, therefore, chiefly confined to the houses of + neighbouring squires, to whom his reputation as a magistrate, conjoined + with his solemn exterior, made him one of those oracles by which men + consent to be awed on condition that the awe is not often inflicted. And + though he opened his house three times a week, it was only to a select + few, whom he first fed and then biologized. Electro-biology was very + naturally the special entertainment of a man whom no intercourse ever + pleased in which his will was not imposed upon others. Therefore he only + invited to his table persons whom he could stare into the abnegation of + their senses, willing to say that beef was lamb, or brandy was coffee, + according as he willed them to say. And, no doubt, the persons asked would + have said anything he willed, so long as they had, in substance, as well + as in idea, the beef and the brandy, the lamb and the coffee. I did not, + then, often meet Mr. Vigors at the houses in which I occasionally spent my + evenings. I heard of his enmity as a man safe in his home hears the sough + of a wind on a common without. If now and then we chanced to pass in the + streets, he looked up at me (he was a small man walking on tiptoe) with a + sullen scowl of dislike; and from the height of my stature, I dropped upon + the small man and sullen scowl the affable smile of supreme indifference. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. + </h2> + <p> + I had now arrived at that age when an ambitious man, satisfied with his + progress in the world without, begins to feel in the cravings of + unsatisfied affection the void of a solitary hearth. I resolved to marry, + and looked out for a wife. I had never hitherto admitted into my life the + passion of love. In fact, I had regarded that passion, even in my earlier + youth, with a certain superb contempt,—as a malady engendered by an + effeminate idleness, and fostered by a sickly imagination. + </p> + <p> + I wished to find in a wife a rational companion, an affectionate and + trustworthy friend. No views of matrimony could be less romantic, more + soberly sensible, than those which I conceived. Nor were my requirements + mercenary or presumptuous. I cared not for fortune; I asked nothing from + connections. My ambition was exclusively professional; it could be served + by no titled kindred, accelerated by no wealthy dower. I was no slave to + beauty. I did not seek in a wife the accomplishments of a finishing-school + teacher. + </p> + <p> + Having decided that the time had come to select my helpmate, I imagined + that I should find no difficulty in a choice that my reason would approve. + But day upon day, week upon week, passed away, and though among the + families I visited there were many young ladies who possessed more than + the qualifications with which I conceived that I should be amply + contented, and by whom I might flatter myself that my proposals would not + be disdained, I saw not one to whose lifelong companionship I should not + infinitely have preferred the solitude I found so irksome. + </p> + <p> + One evening, in returning home from visiting a poor female patient whom I + attended gratuitously, and whose case demanded more thought than that of + any other in my list,—for though it had been considered hopeless in + the hospital, and she had come home to die, I felt certain that I could + save her, and she seemed recovering under my care,—one evening—it + was the fifteenth of May—I found myself just before the gates of the + house that had been inhabited by Dr. Lloyd. Since his death the house had + been unoccupied; the rent asked for it by the proprietor was considered + high; and from the sacred Hill on which it was situated, shyness or pride + banished the wealthier traders. The garden gates stood wide open, as they + had stood on the winter night on which I had passed through them to the + chamber of death. The remembrance of that deathbed came vividly before me, + and the dying man’s fantastic threat rang again in my startled ears. An + irresistible impulse, which I could not then account for, and which I + cannot account for now,—an impulse the reverse of that which usually + makes us turn away with quickened step from a spot that recalls + associations of pain,—urged me on through the open gates up the + neglected grass-grown road, urged me to look, under the weltering sun of + the joyous spring, at that house which I had never seen but in the gloom + of a winter night, under the melancholy moon. As the building came in + sight, with dark-red bricks, partially overgrown with ivy, I perceived + that it was no longer unoccupied. I saw forms passing athwart the open + windows; a van laden with articles of furniture stood before the door; a + servant in livery was beside it giving directions to the men who were + unloading. Evidently some family was just entering into possession. I felt + somewhat ashamed of my trespass, and turned round quickly to retrace my + steps. I had retreated but a few yards, when I saw before me, at the + entrance gates, Mr. Vigors, walking beside a lady apparently of middle + age; while, just at hand, a path cut through the shrubs gave view of a + small wicketgate at the end of the grounds. I felt unwilling not only to + meet the lady, whom I guessed to be the new occupier, and to whom I should + have to make a somewhat awkward apology for intrusion, but still more to + encounter the scornful look of Mr. Vigors in what appeared to my pride a + false or undignified position. Involuntarily, therefore, I turned down the + path which would favour my escape unobserved. When about half way between + the house and the wicket-gate, the shrubs that had clothed the path on + either side suddenly opened to the left, bringing into view a circle of + sward, surrounded by irregular fragments of old brickwork partially + covered with ferns, creepers, or rockplants, weeds, or wild flowers; and, + in the centre of the circle, a fountain, or rather well, over which was + built a Gothic monastic dome, or canopy, resting on small Norman columns, + time-worn, dilapidated. A large willow overhung this unmistakable relic of + the ancient abbey. There was an air of antiquity, romance, legend about + this spot, so abruptly disclosed amidst the delicate green of the young + shrubberies. But it was not the ruined wall nor the Gothic well that + chained my footstep and charmed my eye. + </p> + <p> + It was a solitary human form, seated amidst the mournful ruins. + </p> + <p> + The form was so slight, the face so young, that at the first glance I + murmured to myself, “What a lovely child!” But as my eye lingered it + recognized in the upturned thoughtful brow, in the sweet, serious aspect, + in the rounded outlines of that slender shape, the inexpressible dignity + of virgin woman. + </p> + <p> + A book was on her lap, at her feet a little basket, half-filled with + violets and blossoms culled from the rock-plants that nestled amidst the + ruins. Behind her, the willow, like an emerald waterfall, showered down + its arching abundant green, bough after bough, from the tree-top to the + sward, descending in wavy verdure, bright towards the summit, in the smile + of the setting sun, and darkening into shadow as it neared the earth. + </p> + <p> + She did not notice, she did not see me; her eyes were fixed upon the + horizon, where it sloped farthest into space, above the treetops and the + ruins,—fixed so intently that mechanically I turned my own gaze to + follow the flight of hers. It was as if she watched for some expected, + familiar sign to grow out from the depths of heaven; perhaps to greet, + before other eyes beheld it, the ray of the earliest star. + </p> + <p> + The birds dropped from the boughs on the turf around her so fearlessly + that one alighted amidst the flowers in the little basket at her feet. + There is a famous German poem, which I had read in my youth, called the + Maiden from Abroad, variously supposed to be an allegory of Spring, or of + Poetry, according to the choice of commentators: it seemed to me as if the + poem had been made for her. Verily, indeed, in her, poet or painter might + have seen an image equally true to either of those adornments of the + earth; both outwardly a delight to sense, yet both wakening up thoughts + within us, not sad, but akin to sadness. + </p> + <p> + I heard now a step behind me, and a voice which I recognized to be that of + Mr. Vigors. I broke from the charm by which I had been so lingeringly + spell-bound, hurried on confusedly, gained the wicket-gate, from which a + short flight of stairs descended into the common thoroughfare. And there + the every-day life lay again before me. On the opposite side, houses, + shops, church-spires; a few steps more, and the bustling streets! How + immeasurably far from, yet how familiarly near to, the world in which we + move and have being is that fairy-land of romance which opens out from the + hard earth before us, when Love steals at first to our side, fading back + into the hard earth again as Love smiles or sighs its farewell! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. + </h2> + <p> + And before that evening I had looked on Mr. Vigors with supreme + indifference! What importance he now assumed in my eyes! The lady with + whom I had seen him was doubtless the new tenant of that house in which + the young creature by whom my heart was so strangely moved evidently had + her home. Most probably the relation between the two ladies was that of + mother and daughter. Mr. Vigors, the friend of one, might himself be + related to both, might prejudice them against me, might—Here, + starting up, I snapped the thread of conjecture, for right before my eyes, + on the table beside which I had seated myself on entering my room, lay a + card of invitation:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + MRS. POYNTZ. + At Home, + Wednesday, May 15th. + Early. +</pre> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz,—Mrs. Colonel Poyntz, the Queen of the Hill? There, at + her house, I could not fail to learn all about the new comers, who could + never without her sanction have settled on her domain. + </p> + <p> + I hastily changed my dress, and, with beating heart, wound my way up the + venerable eminence. + </p> + <p> + I did not pass through the lane which led direct to Abbots’ House (for + that old building stood solitary amidst its grounds a little apart from + the spacious platform on which the society of the Hill was concentrated), + but up the broad causeway, with vistaed gaslamps; the gayer shops + still-unclosed, the tide of busy life only slowly ebbing from the + still-animated street, on to a square, in which the four main + thoroughfares of the city converged, and which formed the boundary of Low + Town. A huge dark archway, popularly called Monk’s Gate, at the angle of + this square, made the entrance to Abbey Hill. When the arch was passed, + one felt at once that one was in the town of a former day. The pavement + was narrow and rugged; the shops small, their upper stories projecting, + with here and there plastered fronts, quaintly arabesque. An ascent, + short, but steep and tortuous, conducted at once to the old Abbey Church, + nobly situated in a vast quadrangle, round which were the genteel and + gloomy dwellings of the Areopagites of the Hill. More genteel and less + gloomy than the rest—lights at the windows and flowers on the + balcony—stood forth, flanked by a garden wall at either side, the + mansion of Mrs. Colonel Poyntz. + </p> + <p> + As I entered the drawing-room, I heard the voice of the hostess; it was a + voice clear, decided, metallic, bell-like, uttering these words: “Taken + Abbots’ House? I will tell you.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. + </h2> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz was seated on the sofa; at her right sat fat Mrs. Bruce, who + was a Scotch lord’s grand-daughter; at her left thin Miss Brabazon, who + was an Irish baronet’s niece. Around her—a few seated, many standing—had + grouped all the guests, save two old gentlemen, who had remained aloof + with Colonel Poyntz near the whist-table, waiting for the fourth old + gentleman who was to make up the rubber, but who was at that moment + spell-bound in the magic circle which curiosity, that strongest of social + demons, had attracted round the hostess. + </p> + <p> + “Taken Abbots’ House? I will tell you.—Ah, Dr. Fenwick, charmed to + see you. You know Abbots’ House is let at last? Well, Miss Brabazon, dear, + you ask who has taken it. I will inform you,—a particular friend of + mine.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed! Dear me!” said Miss Brabazon, looking confused. “I hope I did not + say anything to—” + </p> + <p> + “Wound my feelings. Not in the least. You said your uncle Sir Phelim + employed a coachmaker named Ashleigh, that Ashleigh was an uncommon name, + though Ashley was a common one; you intimated an appalling suspicion that + the Mrs. Ashleigh who had come to the Hill was the coach maker’s widow. I + relieve your mind,—she is not; she is the widow of Gilbert Ashleigh, + of Kirby Hall.” + </p> + <p> + “Gilbert Ashleigh,” said one of the guests, a bachelor, whose parents had + reared him for the Church, but who, like poor Goldsmith, did not think + himself good enough for it, a mistake of over-modesty, for he matured into + a very harmless creature. “Gilbert Ashleigh? I was at Oxford with him,—a + gentleman commoner of Christ Church. Good-looking man, very; sapped—” + </p> + <p> + “Sapped! what’s that?—Oh, studied. That he did all his life. He + married young,—Anne Chaloner; she and I were girls together; married + the same year. They settled at Kirby Hall—nice place, but dull. + Poyntz and I spent a Christmas there. Ashleigh when he talked was + charming, but he talked very little. Anne, when she talked, was + commonplace, and she talked very much. Naturally, poor thing,—-she + was so happy. Poyntz and I did not spend another Christmas there. + Friendship is long, but life is short. Gilbert Ashleigh’s life was short + indeed; he died in the seventh year of his marriage, leaving only one + child, a girl. Since then, though I never spent another Christmas at Kirby + Hall, I have frequently spent a day there, doing my best to cheer up Anne. + She was no longer talkative, poor dear. Wrapped up in her child, who has + now grown into a beautiful girl of eighteen—such eyes, her father’s—the + real dark blue—rare; sweet creature, but delicate; not, I hope, + consumptive, but delicate; quiet, wants life. My girl Jane adores her. + Jane has life enough for two.” + </p> + <p> + “Is Miss Ashleigh the heiress to Kirby Hall?” asked Mrs. Bruce, who had an + unmarried son. + </p> + <p> + “No. Kirby Hall passed to Ashleigh Sumner, the male heir, a cousin. And + the luckiest of cousins! Gilbert’s sister, showy woman (indeed all show), + had contrived to marry her kinsman, Sir Walter Ashleigh Haughton, the head + of the Ashleigh family,—just the man made to be the reflector of a + showy woman! He died years ago, leaving an only son, Sir James, who was + killed last winter, by a fall from his horse. And here, again, Ashleigh + Summer proved to be the male heir-at-law. During the minority of this + fortunate youth, Mrs. Ashleigh had rented Kirby Hall of his guardian. He + is now just coming of age, and that is why she leaves. Lilian Ashleigh + will have, however, a very good fortune,—is what we genteel paupers + call an heiress. Is there anything more you want to know?” + </p> + <p> + Said thin Miss Brabazon, who took advantage of her thinness to wedge + herself into every one’s affairs, “A most interesting account. What a nice + place Abbots’ House could be made with a little taste! So aristocratic! + Just what I should like if I could afford it! The drawing-room should be + done up in the Moorish style, with geranium-coloured silk curtains, like + dear Lady L——‘s boudoir at Twickenham. And Mrs. Ashleigh has + taken the house on lease too, I suppose!” Here Miss Brabazon fluttered her + fan angrily, and then exclaimed, “But what on earth brings Mrs. Ashleigh + here?” + </p> + <p> + Answered Mrs. Colonel Poyntz, with the military frankness by which she + kept her company in good humour, as well as awe,— + </p> + <p> + “Why do any of us come here? Can any one tell me?” + </p> + <p> + There was a blank silence, which the hostess herself was the first to + break. + </p> + <p> + “None of us present can say why we came here. I can tell you why Mrs. + Ashleigh came. Our neighbour, Mr. Vigors, is a distant connection of the + late Gilbert Ashleigh, one of the executors to his will, and the guardian + to the heir-at-law. About ten days ago Mr. Vigors called on me, for the + first time since I felt it my duty to express my disapprobation of the + strange vagaries so unhappily conceived by our poor dear friend Dr. Lloyd. + And when he had taken his chair, just where you now sit, Dr. Fenwick, he + said in a sepulchral voice, stretching out two fingers, so,—as if I + were one of the what-do-you-call-’ems who go to sleep when he bids them, + ‘Marm, you know Mrs. Ashleigh? You correspond with her?’ ‘Yes, Mr. Vigors; + is there any crime in that? You look as if there were.’ ‘No crime, marm,’ + said the man, quite seriously. ‘Mrs. Ashleigh is a lady of amiable temper, + and you are a woman of masculine understanding.’” + </p> + <p> + Here there was a general titter. Mrs. Colonel Poyntz hushed it with a look + of severe surprise. “What is there to laugh at? All women would be men if + they could. If my understanding is masculine, so much the better for me. I + thanked Mr. Vigors for his very handsome compliment, and he then went on + to say that though Mrs. Ashleigh would now have to leave Kirby Hall in a + very few weeks, she seemed quite unable to make up her mind where to go; + that it had occurred to him that, as Miss Ashleigh was of an age to see a + little of the world, she ought not to remain buried in the country; while, + being of quiet mind, she recoiled from the dissipation of London. Between + the seclusion of the one and the turmoil of the other, the society of L—— + was a happy medium. He should be glad of my opinion. He had put off asking + for it, because he owned his belief that I had behaved unkindly to his + lamented friend, Dr. Lloyd; but he now found himself in rather an awkward + position. His ward, young Sumner, had prudently resolved on fixing his + country residence at Kirby Hall, rather than at Haughton Park, the much + larger seat which had so suddenly passed to his inheritance, and which he + could not occupy without a vast establishment, that to a single man, so + young, would be but a cumbersome and costly trouble. Mr. Vigors was + pledged to his ward to obtain him possession of Kirby Hall, the precise + day agreed upon, but Mrs. Ashleigh did not seem disposed to stir,—could + not decide where else to go. Mr. Vigors was loth to press hard on his old + friend’s widow and child. It was a thousand pities Mrs Ashleigh could not + make up her mind; she had had ample time for preparation. A word from me + at this moment would be an effective kindness. Abbots’ House was vacant, + with a garden so extensive that the ladies would not miss the country. + Another party was after it, but—‘Say no more,’ I cried; ‘no party + but my dear old friend Anne Ashleigh shall have Abbots’ House. So that + question is settled.’ I dismissed Mr. Vigors, sent for my carriage, that + is, for Mr. Barker’s yellow fly and his best horses,—and drove that + very day to Kirby Hall, which, though not in this county, is only + twenty-five miles distant. I slept there that night. By nine o’clock the + next morning I had secured Mrs. Ashleigh’s consent, on the promise to save + her all trouble; came back, sent for the landlord, settled the rent, + lease, agreement; engaged Forbes’ vans to remove the furniture from Kirby + Hall; told Forbes to begin with the beds. When her own bed came, which was + last night, Anne Ashleigh came too. I have seen her this morning. She + likes the place, so does Lilian. I asked them to meet you all here + to-night; but Mrs. Ashleigh was tired. The last of the furniture was to + arrive today; and though dear Mrs. Ashleigh is an undecided character, she + is not inactive. But it is not only the planning where to put tables and + chairs that would have tried her today: she has had Mr. Vigors on her + hands all the afternoon, and he has been—here’s her little note—what + are the words? No doubt ‘most overpowering and oppressive;’ no, ‘most kind + and attentive,’—different words, but, as applied to Mr. Vigors, they + mean the same thing. + </p> + <p> + “And now, next Monday—-we must leave them in peace till then—you + will all call on the Ashleighs. The Hill knows what is due to itself; it + cannot delegate to Mr. Vigors, a respectable man indeed, but who does not + belong to its set, its own proper course of action towards those who would + shelter themselves on its bosom. The Hill cannot be kind and attentive, + overpowering or oppressive by proxy. To those newborn into its family + circle it cannot be an indifferent godmother; it has towards them all the + feelings of a mother,—or of a stepmother, as the case may be. Where + it says ‘This can be no child of mine,’ it is a stepmother indeed; but in + all those whom I have presented to its arms, it has hitherto, I am proud + to say, recognized desirable acquaintances, and to them the Hill has been + a mother. And now, my dear Mr. Sloman, go to your rubber; Poyntz is + impatient, though he don’t show it. Miss Brabazon, love, we all long to + see you seated at the piano,—you play so divinely! Something gay, if + you please; something gay, but not very noisy,—Mr. Leopold Symthe + will turn the leaves for you. Mrs. Bruce, your own favourite set at + vingt-un, with four new recruits. Dr. Fenwick, you are like me, don’t play + cards, and don’t care for music; sit here, and talk or not, as you please, + while I knit.” + </p> + <p> + The other guests thus disposed of, some at the card-tables, some round the + piano, I placed myself at Mrs. Poyntz’s side, on a seat niched in the + recess of a window which an evening unusually warm for the month of May + permitted to be left open. I was next to one who had known Lilian as a + child, one from whom I had learned by what sweet name to call the image + which my thoughts had already shrined. How much that I still longed to + know she could tell me! But in what form of question could I lead to the + subject, yet not betray my absorbing interest in it? Longing to speak, I + felt as if stricken dumb; stealing an unquiet glance towards the face + beside me, and deeply impressed with that truth which the Hill had long + ago reverently acknowledged,—namely, that Mrs. Colonel Poyntz was a + very superior woman, a very powerful creature. + </p> + <p> + And there she sat knitting, rapidly, firmly; a woman somewhat on the other + side of forty, complexion a bronze paleness, hair a bronze brown, in + strong ringlets cropped short behind,—handsome hair for a man; lips + that, when closed, showed inflexible decision, when speaking, became + supple and flexible with an easy humour and a vigilant finesse; eyes of a + red hazel, quick but steady,—observing, piercing, dauntless eyes; + altogether a fine countenance,—would have been a very fine + countenance in a man; profile sharp, straight, clear-cut, with an + expression, when in repose, like that of a sphinx; a frame robust, not + corpulent; of middle height, but with an air and carriage that made her + appear tall; peculiarly white firm hands, indicative of vigorous health, + not a vein visible on the surface. + </p> + <p> + There she sat knitting, knitting, and I by her side, gazing now on + herself, now on her work, with a vague idea that the threads in the skein + of my own web of love or of life were passing quick through those + noiseless fingers. And, indeed, in every web of romance, the fondest, one + of the Parcae is sure to be some matter-of-fact She, Social Destiny, as + little akin to romance herself as was this worldly Queen of the Hill. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. + </h2> + <p> + I have given a sketch of the outward woman of Mrs. Colonel Poyntz. The + inner woman was a recondite mystery deep as that of the sphinx, whose + features her own resembled. But between the outward and the inward woman + there is ever a third woman,—the conventional woman,—such as + the whole human being appears to the world,—always mantled, + sometimes masked. + </p> + <p> + I am told that the fine people of London do not recognize the title of + “Mrs. Colonel.” If that be true, the fine people of London must be clearly + in the wrong, for no people in the universe could be finer than the fine + people of Abbey Hill; and they considered their sovereign had as good a + right to the title of Mrs. Colonel as the Queen of England has to that of + “our Gracious Lady.” But Mrs. Poyntz herself never assumed the title of + Mrs. Colonel; it never appeared on her cards,—any more than the + title of “Gracious Lady” appears on the cards which convey the invitation + that a Lord Steward or Lord Chamberlain is commanded by her Majesty to + issue. To titles, indeed, Mrs. Poyntz evinced no superstitious reverence. + Two peeresses, related to her, not distantly, were in the habit of paying + her a yearly visit which lasted two or three days. The Hill considered + these visits an honour to its eminence. Mrs. Poyntz never seemed to esteem + them an honour to herself; never boasted of them; never sought to show off + her grand relations, nor put herself the least out of the way to receive + them. Her mode of life was free from ostentation. She had the advantage of + being a few hundreds a year richer than any other inhabitant of the Hill; + but she did not devote her superior resources to the invidious exhibition + of superior splendour. Like a wise sovereign, the revenues of her + exchequer were applied to the benefit of her subjects, and not to the + vanity of egotistical parade. As no one else on the Hill kept a carriage, + she declined to keep one. Her entertainments were simple, but numerous. + Twice a week she received the Hill, and was genuinely at home to it. She + contrived to make her parties proverbially agreeable. The refreshments + were of the same kind as those which the poorest of her old maids of + honour might proffer; but they were better of their kind, the best of + their kind,—the best tea, the best lemonade, the best cakes. Her + rooms had an air of comfort, which was peculiar to them. They looked like + rooms accustomed to receive, and receive in a friendly way; well warmed, + well lighted, card-tables and piano each in the place that made cards and + music inviting; on the walls a few old family portraits, and three or four + other pictures said to be valuable and certainly pleasing,—two + Watteaus, a Canaletti, a Weenix; plenty of easy-chairs and settees covered + with a cheerful chintz,—in the arrangement of the furniture + generally an indescribable careless elegance. She herself was studiously + plain in dress, more conspicuously free from jewelry and trinkets than any + married lady on the Hill. But I have heard from those who were authorities + on such a subject that she was never seen in a dress of the last year’s + fashion. She adopted the mode as it came out, just enough to show that she + was aware it was out; but with a sober reserve, as much as to say, “I + adopt the fashion as far as it suits myself; I do not permit the fashion + to adopt me.” In short, Mrs. Colonel Poyntz was sometimes rough, sometimes + coarse, always masculine, and yet somehow or other masculine in a womanly + way; but she was never vulgar because never affected. It was impossible + not to allow that she was a thorough gentlewoman, and she could do things + that lower other gentlewomen, without any loss of dignity. Thus she was an + admirable mimic, certainly in itself the least ladylike condescension of + humour. But when she mimicked, it was with so tranquil a gravity, or so + royal a good humour, that one could only say, “What talents for society + dear Mrs. Colonel has!” As she was a gentlewoman emphatically, so the + other colonel, the he-colonel, was emphatically a gentleman; rather shy, + but not cold; hating trouble of every kind, pleased to seem a cipher in + his own house. If the sole study of Mrs. Colonel had been to make her + husband comfortable, she could not have succeeded better than by bringing + friends about him and then taking them off his hands. Colonel Poyntz, the + he-colonel, had seen, in his youth, actual service; but had retired from + his profession many years ago, shortly after his marriage. He was a + younger brother of one of the principal squires in the country; inherited + the house he lived in, with some other valuable property in and about L——, + from an uncle; was considered a good landlord; and popular in Low Town, + though he never interfered in its affairs. He was punctiliously neat in + his dress; a thin youthful figure, crowned with a thick youthful wig. He + never seemed to read anything but the newspapers and the “Meteorological + Journal:” was supposed to be the most weatherwise man in all L——. + He had another intellectual predilection,—whist; but in that he had + less reputation for wisdom. Perhaps it requires a rarer combination of + mental faculties to win an odd trick than to divine a fall in the glass. + For the rest, the he-colonel, many years older than his wife, despite the + thin youthful figure, was an admirable aid-de-camp to the general in + command, Mrs. Colonel; and she could not have found one more obedient, + more devoted, or more proud of a distinguished chief. + </p> + <p> + In giving to Mrs. Colonel Poyntz the appellation of Queen of the Hill, let + there be no mistake. She was not a constitutional sovereign; her monarchy + was absolute. All her proclamations had the force of laws. + </p> + <p> + Such ascendancy could not have been attained without considerable talents + for acquiring and keeping it. Amidst all her off-hand, brisk, imperious + frankness, she had the ineffable discrimination of tact. Whether civil or + rude, she was never civil or rude but what she carried public opinion + along with her. Her knowledge of general society must have been limited, + as must be that of all female sovereigns; but she seemed gifted with an + intuitive knowledge of human nature, which she applied to her special + ambition of ruling it. I have not a doubt that if she had been suddenly + transferred, a perfect stranger, to the world of London, she would have + soon forced her way to its selectest circles, and, when once there, held + her own against a duchess. + </p> + <p> + I have said that she was not affected: this might be one cause of her sway + over a set in which nearly every other woman was trying rather to seem, + than to be, a somebody. + </p> + <p> + But if Mrs. Colonel Poyntz was not artificial, she was artful, or perhaps + I might more justly say artistic. In all she said and did there were + conduct, system, plan. She could be a most serviceable friend, a most + damaging enemy; yet I believe she seldom indulged in strong likings or + strong hatreds. All was policy,—a policy akin to that of a grand + party chief, determined to raise up those whom, for any reason of state, + it was prudent to favour, and to put down those whom, for any reason of + state, it was expedient to humble or to crush. + </p> + <p> + Ever since the controversy with Dr. Lloyd, this lady had honoured me with + her benignest countenance; and nothing could be more adroit than the + manner in which, while imposing me on others as an oracular authority, she + sought to subject to her will the oracle itself. + </p> + <p> + She was in the habit of addressing me in a sort of motherly way, as if she + had the deepest interest in my welfare, happiness, and reputation. And + thus, in every compliment, in every seeming mark of respect, she + maintained the superior dignity of one who takes from responsible station + the duty to encourage rising merit; so that, somehow or other, despite all + that pride which made me believe that I needed no helping hand to advance + or to clear my way through the world, I could not shake off from my mind + the impression that I was mysteriously patronized by Mrs. Colonel Poyntz. + </p> + <p> + We might have sat together five minutes, side by side in silence as + complete as if in the cave of Trophonius—when without looking up + from her work, Mrs. Poyntz said abruptly,— + </p> + <p> + “I am thinking about you, Dr. Fenwick. And you—are thinking about + some other woman. Ungrateful man!” + </p> + <p> + “Unjust accusation! My very silence should prove how intently my thoughts + were fixed on you, and on the weird web which springs under your hand in + meshes that bewilder the gaze and snare the attention.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz looked up at me for a moment—one rapid glance of the + bright red hazel eye—and said,— + </p> + <p> + “Was I really in your thoughts? Answer truly.” + </p> + <p> + “Truly, I answer, you were.” + </p> + <p> + “That is strange! Who can it be?” + </p> + <p> + “Who can it be? What do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “If you were thinking of me, it was in connection with some other person,—some + other person of my own sex. It is certainly not poor dear Miss Brabazon. + Who else can it be?” + </p> + <p> + Again the red eye shot over me, and I felt my cheek redden beneath it. + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” she said, lowering her voice; “you are in love!” + </p> + <p> + “In love!—I! Permit me to ask you why you think so?” + </p> + <p> + “The signs are unmistakable; you are altered in your manner, even in the + expression of your face, since I last saw you; your manner is generally + quiet and observant,—it is now restless and distracted; your + expression of face is generally proud and serene,—it is now humbled + and troubled. You have something on your mind! It is not anxiety for your + reputation,—that is established; nor for your fortune,—that is + made; it is not anxiety for a patient or you would scarcely be here. But + anxiety it is,—an anxiety that is remote from your profession, that + touches your heart and is new to it!” + </p> + <p> + I was startled, almost awed; but I tried to cover my confusion with a + forced laugh. + </p> + <p> + “Profound observer! Subtle analyst! You have convinced me that I must be + in love, though I did not suspect it before. But when I strive to + conjecture the object, I am as much perplexed as yourself; and with you, I + ask, who can it be?” + </p> + <p> + “Whoever it be,” said Mrs. Poyntz, who had paused, while I spoke, from her + knitting, and now resumed it very slowly and very carefully, as if her + mind and her knitting worked in unison together,—“whoever it be, + love in you would be serious; and, with or without love, marriage is a + serious thing to us all. It is not every pretty girl that would suit Allen + Fenwick.” + </p> + <p> + “Alas! is there any pretty girl whom Allen Fenwick would suit?” + </p> + <p> + “Tut! You should be above the fretful vanity that lays traps for a + compliment. Yes; the time has come in your life and your career when you + would do well to marry. I give my consent to that,” she added with a smile + as if in jest, and a slight nod as if in earnest. The knitting here went + on more decidedly, more quickly. “But I do not yet see the person. No! ‘T + is a pity, Allen Fenwick” (whenever Mrs. Poyntz called me by my Christian + name, she always assumed her majestic motherly manner),—“a pity + that, with your birth, energies, perseverance, talents, and, let me add, + your advantages of manner and person,—a pity that you did not choose + a career that might achieve higher fortunes and louder fame than the most + brilliant success can give to a provincial physician. But in that very + choice you interest me. My choice has been much the same,—a small + circle, but the first in it. Yet, had I been a man, or had my dear Colonel + been a man whom it was in the power of a woman’s art to raise one step + higher in that metaphorical ladder which is not the ladder of the angels, + why, then—what then? No matter! I am contented. I transfer my + ambition to Jane. Do you not think her handsome?” + </p> + <p> + “There can be no doubt of that,” said I, carelessly and naturally. + </p> + <p> + “I have settled Jane’s lot in my own mind,” resumed Mrs. Poyntz, striking + firm into another row of knitting. “She will marry a country gentleman of + large estate. He will go into parliament. She will study his advancement + as I study Poyntz’s comfort. If he be clever, she will help to make him a + minister; if he be not clever, his wealth will make her a personage, and + lift him into a personage’s husband. And, now that you see I have no + matrimonial designs on you, Allen Fenwick, think if it will be worth while + to confide in me. Possibly I may be useful—” + </p> + <p> + “I know not how to thank you; but, as yet, I have nothing to confide.” + </p> + <p> + While thus saying, I turned my eyes towards the open window beside which I + sat. It was a beautiful soft night, the May moon in all her splendour. The + town stretched, far and wide, below with all its numberless lights,—below, + but somewhat distant; an intervening space was covered, here, by the broad + quadrangle (in the midst of which stood, massive and lonely, the grand old + church), and, there, by the gardens and scattered cottages or mansions + that clothed the sides of the hill. + </p> + <p> + “Is not that house,” I said, after a short pause, “yonder with the three + gables, the one in which—in which poor Dr. Lloyd lived—Abbots’ + House?” + </p> + <p> + I spoke abruptly, as if to intimate my desire to change the subject of + conversation. My hostess stopped her knitting, half rose, looked forth. + </p> + <p> + “Yes. But what a lovely night! How is it that the moon blends into harmony + things of which the sun only marks the contrast? That stately old church + tower, gray with its thousand years, those vulgar tile-roofs and + chimney-pots raw in the freshness of yesterday,—now, under the + moonlight, all melt into one indivisible charm!” + </p> + <p> + As my hostess thus spoke, she had left her seat, taking her work with her, + and passed from the window into the balcony. It was not often that Mrs. + Poyntz condescended to admit what is called “sentiment” into the range of + her sharp, practical, worldly talk; but she did so at times,—always, + when she did, giving me the notion of an intellect much too comprehensive + not to allow that sentiment has a place in this life, but keeping it in + its proper place, by that mixture of affability and indifference with + which some high-born beauty allows the genius, but checks the presumption, + of a charming and penniless poet. For a few minutes her eyes roved over + the scene in evident enjoyment; then, as they slowly settled upon the + three gables of Abbots’ House, her face regained that something of + hardness which belonged to its decided character; her fingers again + mechanically resumed her knitting, and she said, in her clear, unsoftened, + metallic chime of voice, “Can you guess why I took so much trouble to + oblige Mr. Vigors and locate Mrs. Ashleigh yonder?” + </p> + <p> + “You favoured us with a full explanation of your reasons.” + </p> + <p> + “Some of my reasons; not the main one. People who undertake the task of + governing others, as I do, be their rule a kingdom or a hamlet, must adopt + a principle of government and adhere to it. The principle that suits best + with the Hill is Respect for the Proprieties. We have not much money; + entre nous, we have no great rank. Our policy is, then, to set up the + Proprieties as an influence which money must court and rank is afraid of. + I had learned just before Mr. Vigors called on me that Lady Sarah Bellasis + entertained the idea of hiring Abbots’ House. London has set its face + against her; a provincial town would be more charitable. An earl’s + daughter, with a good income and an awfully bad name, of the best manners + and of the worst morals, would have made sad havoc among the Proprieties. + How many of our primmest old maids would have deserted tea and Mrs. Poyntz + for champagne and her ladyship! The Hill was never in so imminent a danger. + Rather than Lady Sarah Bellasis should have had that house, I would have + taken it myself, and stocked it with owls. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Ashleigh turned up just in the critical moment. Lady Sarah is + foiled, the Proprieties safe, and so that question is settled.” + </p> + <p> + “And it will be pleasant to have your early friend so near you.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz lifted her eyes full upon me. + </p> + <p> + “Do you know Mrs. Ashleigh?” + </p> + <p> + “Not in the least.” + </p> + <p> + “She has many virtues and few ideas. She is commonplace weak, as I am + commonplace strong. But commonplace weak can be very lovable. Her husband, + a man of genius and learning, gave her his whole heart,—a heart + worth having; but he was not ambitious, and he despised the world.” + </p> + <p> + “I think you said your daughter was very much attached to Miss Ashleigh? + Does her character resemble her mother’s?” + </p> + <p> + I was afraid while I spoke that I should again meet Mrs. Poyntz’s + searching gaze, but she did not this time look up from her work. + </p> + <p> + “No; Lilian is anything but commonplace.” + </p> + <p> + “You described her as having delicate health; you implied a hope that she + was not consumptive. I trust that there is no serious reason for + apprehending a constitutional tendency which at her age would require the + most careful watching!” + </p> + <p> + “I trust not. If she were to die—Dr. Fenwick, what is the matter?” + </p> + <p> + So terrible had been the picture which this woman’s words had brought + before me, that I started as if my own life had received a shock. + </p> + <p> + “I beg pardon,” I said falteringly, pressing my hand to my heart; “a + sudden spasm here,—it is over now. You were saying that—that—” + </p> + <p> + “I was about to say-” and here Mrs. Poyntz laid her hand lightly on mine,—“I + was about to say that if Lilian Ashleigh were to die, I should mourn for + her less than I might for one who valued the things of the earth more. But + I believe there is no cause for the alarm my words so inconsiderately + excited in you. Her mother is watchful and devoted; and if the least thing + ailed Lilian, she would call in medical advice. Mr. Vigors would, I know, + recommend Dr. Jones.” + </p> + <p> + Closing our conference with those stinging words, Mrs. Poyntz here turned + back into the drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + I remained some minutes on the balcony, disconcerted, enraged. With what + consummate art had this practised diplomatist wound herself into my + secret! That she had read my heart better than myself was evident from + that Parthian shaft, barbed with Dr. Jones, which she had shot over her + shoulder in retreat. That from the first moment in which she had decoyed + me to her side, she had detected “the something” on my mind, was perhaps + but the ordinary quickness of female penetration. But it was with no + ordinary craft that the whole conversation afterwards had been so shaped + as to learn the something, and lead me to reveal the some one to whom the + something was linked. For what purpose? What was it to her? What motive + could she have beyond the mere gratification of curiosity? Perhaps, at + first, she thought I had been caught by her daughter’s showy beauty, and + hence the half-friendly, half-cynical frankness with which she had avowed + her ambitious projects for that young lady’s matrimonial advancement. + Satisfied by my manner that I cherished no presumptuous hopes in that + quarter, her scrutiny was doubtless continued from that pleasure in the + exercise of a wily intellect which impels schemers and politicians to an + activity for which, without that pleasure itself, there would seem no + adequate inducement. And besides, the ruling passion of this petty + sovereign was power; and if knowledge be power, there is no better + instrument of power over a contumacious subject than that hold on his + heart which is gained in the knowledge of its secret. + </p> + <p> + But “secret”! Had it really come to this? Was it possible that the mere + sight of a human face, never beheld before, could disturb the whole tenor + of my life,—a stranger of whose mind and character I knew nothing, + whose very voice I had never heard? It was only by the intolerable pang of + anguish that had rent my heart in the words, carelessly, abruptly spoken, + “if she were to die,” that I had felt how the world would be changed to + me, if indeed that face were seen in it no more! Yes, secret it was no + longer to myself, I loved! And like all on whom love descends, sometimes + softly, slowly, with the gradual wing of the cushat settling down into its + nest, sometimes with the swoop of the eagle on his unsuspecting quarry, I + believed that none ever before loved as I loved; that such love was an + abnormal wonder, made solely for me, and I for it. Then my mind insensibly + hushed its angrier and more turbulent thoughts, as my gaze rested upon the + roof-tops of Lilian’s home, and the shimmering silver of the moonlit + willow, under which I had seen her gazing into the roseate heavens. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. + </h2> + <p> + When I returned to the drawing-room, the party was evidently about to + break up. Those who had grouped round the piano were now assembled round + the refreshment-table. The cardplayers had risen, and were settling or + discussing gains and losses. While I was searching for my hat, which I had + somewhere mislaid, a poor gentleman, tormented by tic-doloureux, crept + timidly up to me,—the proudest and the poorest of all the hidalgos + settled on the Hill. He could not afford a fee for a physician’s advice; + but pain had humbled his pride, and I saw at a glance that he was + considering how to take a surreptitious advantage of social intercourse, + and obtain the advice without paying the fee. The old man discovered the + hat before I did, stooped, took it up, extended it to me with the profound + bow of the old school, while the other hand, clenched and quivering, was + pressed into the hollow of his cheek, and his eyes met mine with wistful + mute entreaty. The instinct of my profession seized me at once. I could + never behold suffering without forgetting all else in the desire to + relieve it. + </p> + <p> + “You are in pain,” said I, softly. “Sit down and describe the symptoms. + Here, it is true, I am no professional doctor, but I am a friend who is + fond of doctoring, and knows something about it.” + </p> + <p> + So we sat down a little apart from the other guests, and after a few + questions and answers, I was pleased to find that his “tic” did not belong + to the less curable kind of that agonizing neuralgia. I was especially + successful in my treatment of similar sufferings, for which I had + discovered an anodyne that was almost specific. I wrote on a leaf of my + pocketbook a prescription which I felt sure would be efficacious, and as I + tore it out and placed it in his hand, I chanced to look up, and saw the + hazel eyes of my hostess fixed upon me with a kinder and softer expression + than they often condescended to admit into their cold and penetrating + lustre. At that moment, however, her attention was drawn from me to a + servant, who entered with a note, and I heard him say, though in an + undertone, “From Mrs. Ashleigh.” + </p> + <p> + She opened the note, read it hastily, ordered the servant to wait without + the door, retired to her writing-table, which stood near the place at + which I still lingered, rested her face on her hand, and seemed musing. + Her meditation was very soon over. She turned her head, and to my + surprise, beckoned to me. I approached. + </p> + <p> + “Sit here,” she whispered: “turn your back towards those people, who are + no doubt watching us. Read this.” + </p> + <p> + She placed in my hand the note she had just received. It contained but a + few words, to this effect:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + DEAR MARGARET,—I am so distressed. Since I wrote to you a few + hours ago, Lilian is taken suddenly ill, and I fear seriously. What + medical man should I send for? Let my servant have his name and + address. + + A. A. +</pre> + <p> + I sprang from my seat. + </p> + <p> + “Stay,” said Mrs. Poyntz. “Would you much care if I sent the servant to + Dr. Jones?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, madam, you are cruel! What have I done that you should become my + enemy?” + </p> + <p> + “Enemy! No. You have just befriended one of my friends. In this world of + fools intellect should ally itself with intellect. No; I am not your + enemy! But you have not yet asked me to be your friend.” + </p> + <p> + Here she put into my hands a note she had written while thus speaking. + “Receive your credentials. If there be any cause for alarm, or if I can be + of use, send for me.” Resuming the work she had suspended, but with + lingering, uncertain fingers, she added, “So far, then, this is settled. + Nay, no thanks; it is but little that is settled as yet.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. + </h2> + <p> + In a very few minutes I was once more in the grounds of that old gable + house; the servant, who went before me, entered them by the stairs and the + wicket-gate of the private entrance; that way was the shortest. So again I + passed by the circling glade and the monastic well,—sward, trees, + and ruins all suffused in the limpid moonlight. + </p> + <p> + And now I was in the house; the servant took up-stairs the note with which + I was charged, and a minute or two afterwards returned and conducted me to + the corridor above, in which Mrs. Ashleigh received me. I was the first to + speak. + </p> + <p> + “Your daughter—is—is—not seriously ill, I hope. What is + it?” + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” she said, under her breath. “Will you step this way for a moment?” + She passed through a doorway to the right. I followed her, and as she + placed on the table the light she had been holding, I looked round with a + chill at the heart,—it was the room in which Dr. Lloyd had died. + Impossible to mistake. The furniture indeed was changed, there was no bed + in the chamber; but the shape of the room, the position of the high + casement, which was now wide open, and through which the moonlight + streamed more softly than on that drear winter night, the great square + beams intersecting the low ceiling,—all were impressed vividly on my + memory. The chair to which Mrs. Ashleigh beckoned me was placed just on + the spot where I had stood by the bedhead of the dying man. + </p> + <p> + I shrank back,—I could not have seated myself there. So I remained + leaning against the chimney-piece, while Mrs. Ashleigh told her story. + </p> + <p> + She said that on their arrival the day before, Lilian had been in more + than usually good health and spirits, delighted with the old house, the + grounds, and especially the nook by the Monk’s Well, at which Mrs. + Ashleigh had left her that evening in order to make some purchases in the + town, in company with Mr. Vigors. When Mrs. Ashleigh returned, she and Mr. + Vigors had sought Lilian in that nook, and Mrs. Ashleigh then detected, + with a mother’s eye, some change in Lilian which alarmed her. She seemed + listless and dejected, and was very pale; but she denied that she felt + unwell. On regaining the house she had sat down in the room in which we + then were,—“which,” said Mrs. Ashleigh, “as it is not required for a + sleeping-room, my daughter, who is fond of reading, wished to fit up as + her own morning-room, or study. I left her here and went into the + drawing-room below with Mr. Vigors. When he quitted me, which he did very + soon, I remained for nearly an hour giving directions about the placing of + furniture, which had just arrived, from our late residence. I then went + up-stairs to join my daughter, and to my terror found her apparently + lifeless in her chair. She had fainted away.” + </p> + <p> + I interrupted Mrs. Ashleigh here. “Has Miss Ashleigh been subject to + fainting fits?” + </p> + <p> + “No, never. When she recovered she seemed bewildered, disinclined to + speak. I got her to bed, and as she then fell quietly to sleep, my mind + was relieved. I thought it only a passing effect of excitement, in a + change of abode; or caused by something like malaria in the atmosphere of + that part of the grounds in which I had found her seated.” + </p> + <p> + “Very likely. The hour of sunset at this time of year is trying to + delicate constitutions. Go on.” + </p> + <p> + “About three quarters of an hour ago she woke up with a loud cry, and has + been ever since in a state of great agitation, weeping violently, and + answering none of my questions. Yet she does not seem light-headed, but + rather what we call hysterical.” + </p> + <p> + “You will permit me now to see her. Take comfort; in all you tell me I see + nothing to warrant serious alarm.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. + </h2> + <p> + To the true physician there is an inexpressible sanctity in the sick + chamber. At its threshold the more human passions quit their hold on his + heart. Love there would be profanation; even the grief permitted to others + he must put aside. He must enter that room—a calm intelligence. He + is disabled for his mission if he suffer aught to obscure the keen quiet + glance of his science. Age or youth, beauty or deformity, innocence or + guilt, merge their distinctions in one common attribute—human suffering + appealing to human skill. + </p> + <p> + Woe to the households in which the trusted Healer feels not on his + conscience the solemn obligations of his glorious art! Reverently as in a + temple, I stood in the virgin’s chamber. When her mother placed her hand + in mine, and I felt the throb of its pulse, I was aware of no quicker beat + of my own heart. I looked with a steady eye on the face more beautiful + from the flush that deepened the delicate hues of the young cheek, and the + lustre that brightened the dark blue of the wandering eyes. She did not at + first heed me, did not seem aware of my presence; but kept murmuring to + herself words which I could not distinguish. + </p> + <p> + At length, when I spoke to her, in that low, soothing tone which we learn + at the sick-bed, the expression of her face altered suddenly; she passed + the hand I did not hold over her forehead, turned round, looked at me full + and long, with unmistakable surprise, yet not as if the surprise + displeased her,—less the surprise which recoils from the sight of a + stranger than that which seems doubtfully to recognize an unexpected + friend. Yet on the surprise there seemed to creep something of + apprehension, of fear; her hand trembled, her voice quivered, as she said,— + </p> + <p> + “Can it be, can it be? Am I awake? Mother, who is this?” + </p> + <p> + “Only a kind visitor, Dr. Fenwick, sent by Mrs. Poyntz, for I was uneasy + about you, darling. How are you now?” + </p> + <p> + “Better. Strangely better.” + </p> + <p> + She removed her hand gently from mine, and with an involuntary modest + shrinking turned towards Mrs. Ashleigh, drawing her mother towards + herself, so that she became at once hidden from me. + </p> + <p> + Satisfied that there was here no delirium, nor even more than the slight + and temporary fever which often accompanies a sudden nervous attack in + constitutions peculiarly sensitive, I retired noiselessly from the room, + and went, not into that which had been occupied by the ill-fated + Naturalist, but down-stairs into the drawing-room, to write my + prescription. I had already sent the servant off with it to the chemist’s + before Mrs. Ashleigh joined me. + </p> + <p> + “She seems recovering surprisingly; her forehead is cooler; she is + perfectly self-possessed, only she cannot account for her own seizure,—cannot + account either for the fainting or the agitation with which she awoke from + sleep.” + </p> + <p> + “I think I can account for both. The first room in which she entered—that + in which she fainted—had its window open; the sides of the window + are overgrown with rank creeping plants in full blossom. Miss Ashleigh had + already predisposed herself to injurious effects from the effluvia by + fatigue, excitement, imprudence in sitting out at the fall of a heavy dew. + The sleep after the fainting fit was the more disturbed, because Nature, + always alert and active in subjects so young, was making its own effort to + right itself from an injury. Nature has nearly succeeded. What I have + prescribed will a little aid and accelerate that which Nature has yet to + do, and in a day or two I do not doubt that your daughter will be + perfectly restored. Only let me recommend care to avoid exposure to the + open air during the close of the day. Let her avoid also the room in which + she was first seized, for it is a strange phenomenon in nervous + temperaments that a nervous attack may, without visible cause, be repeated + in the same place where it was first experienced. You had better shut up + the chamber for at least some weeks, burn fires in it, repaint and paper + it, sprinkle chloroform. You are not, perhaps, aware that Dr. Lloyd died + in that room after a prolonged illness. Suffer me to wait till your + servant returns with the medicine, and let me employ the interval in + asking you a few questions. Miss Ashleigh, you say, never had a fainting + fit before. I should presume that she is not what we call strong. But has + she ever had any illness that alarmed you?” + </p> + <p> + “Never.” + </p> + <p> + “No great liability to cold and cough, to attacks of the chest or lungs?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly not. Still I have feared that she may have a tendency to + consumption. Do you think so? Your questions alarm me!” + </p> + <p> + “I do not think so; but before I pronounce a positive opinion, one + question more. You say you have feared a tendency to consumption. Is that + disease in her family? She certainly did not inherit it from you. But on + her father’s side?” + </p> + <p> + “Her father,” said Mrs. Ashleigh, with tears in her eyes, “died young, but + of brain fever, which the medical men said was brought on by over study.” + </p> + <p> + “Enough, my dear madam. What you say confirms my belief that your + daughter’s constitution is the very opposite to that in which the seeds of + consumption lurk. It is rather that far nobler constitution, which the + keenness of the nervous susceptibility renders delicate but elastic,—as + quick to recover as it is to suffer.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you, thank you, Dr. Fenwick, for what you say. You take a load from + my heart; for Mr. Vigors, I know, thinks Lilian consumptive, and Mrs. + Poyntz has rather frightened me at times by hints to the same effect. But + when you speak of nervous susceptibility, I do not quite understand you. + My daughter is not what is commonly called nervous. Her temper is + singularly even.” + </p> + <p> + “But if not excitable, should you also say that she is not impressionable? + The things which do not disturb her temper may, perhaps, deject her + spirits. Do I make myself understood?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I think I understand your distinction; but I am not quite sure if it + applies. To most things that affect the spirits she is not more sensitive + than other girls, perhaps less so; but she is certainly very + impressionable in some things.” + </p> + <p> + “In what?” + </p> + <p> + “She is more moved than any one I ever knew by objects in external nature, + rural scenery, rural sounds, by music, by the books that she reads,—even + books that are not works of imagination. Perhaps in all this she takes + after her poor father, but in a more marked degree,—at least, I + observe it more in her; for he was very silent and reserved. And perhaps + also her peculiarities have been fostered by the seclusion in which she + has been brought up. It was with a view to make her a little more like + girls of her own age that our friend, Mrs. Poyntz, induced me to come + here. Lilian was reconciled to this change; but she shrank from the + thoughts of London, which I should have preferred. Her poor father could + not endure London.” + </p> + <p> + “Miss Ashleigh is fond of reading?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, she is fond of reading, but more fond of musing. She will sit by + herself for hours without book or work, and seem as abstracted as if in a + dream. She was so even in her earliest childhood. Then she would tell me + what she had been conjuring up to herself. She would say that she had seen—positively + seen—beautiful lands far away from earth; flowers and trees not like + ours. As she grew older this visionary talk displeased me, and I scolded + her, and said that if others heard her, they would think that she was not + only silly but very untruthful. So of late years she never ventures to + tell me what, in such dreamy moments, she suffers herself to imagine; but + the habit of musing continues still. Do you not agree with Mrs. Poyntz + that the best cure would be a little cheerful society amongst other young + people?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly,” said I, honestly, though with a jealous pang. “But here comes + the medicine. Will you take it up to her, and then sit with her half an + hour or so? By that time I expect she will be asleep. I will wait here + till you return. Oh, I can amuse myself with the newspapers and books on + your table. Stay! one caution: be sure there are no flowers in Miss + Ashleigh’s sleeping-room. I think I saw a treacherous rose-tree in a stand + by the window. If so, banish it.” + </p> + <p> + Left alone, I examined the room in which, oh, thought of joy! I had surely + now won the claim to become a privileged guest. I touched the books Lilian + must have touched; in the articles of furniture, as yet so hastily + disposed that the settled look of home was not about them, I still knew + that I was gazing on things which her mind must associate with the history + of her young life. That luteharp must be surely hers, and the scarf, with + a girl’s favourite colours,—pure white and pale blue,—and the + bird-cage, and the childish ivory work-case, with implements too pretty + for use,—all spoke of her. + </p> + <p> + It was a blissful, intoxicating revery, which Mrs. Ashleigh’s entrance + disturbed. + </p> + <p> + Lilian was sleeping calmly. I had no excuse to linger there any longer. + </p> + <p> + “I leave you, I trust, with your mind quite at ease,” said I. “You will + allow me to call to-morrow, in the afternoon?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, gratefully.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ashleigh held out her hand as I made towards the door. + </p> + <p> + Is there a physician who has not felt at times how that ceremonious fee + throws him back from the garden-land of humanity into the market-place of + money,—seems to put him out of the pale of equal friendship, and + say, “True, you have given health and life. Adieu! there, you are paid for + it!” With a poor person there would have been no dilemma, but Mrs. + Ashleigh was affluent: to depart from custom here was almost impertinence. + But had the penalty of my refusal been the doom of never again beholding + Lilian, I could not have taken her mother’s gold. So I did not appear to + notice the hand held out to me, and passed by with a quickened step. + </p> + <p> + “But, Dr. Fenwick, stop!” + </p> + <p> + “No, ma’am, no! Miss Ashleigh would have recovered as soon without me. + Whenever my aid is really wanted, then—but Heaven grant that time + may never come! We will talk again about her to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + I was gone,—now in the garden ground, odorous with blossoms; now in + the lane, inclosed by the narrow walls; now in the deserted streets, over + which the moon shone full as in that winter night when I hurried from the + chamber of death. But the streets were not ghastly now, and the moon was + no longer Hecate, that dreary goddess of awe and spectres, but the sweet, + simple Lady of the Stars, on whose gentle face lovers have gazed ever + since (if that guess of astronomers be true) she was parted from earth to + rule the tides of its deeps from afar, even as love, from love divided, + rules the heart that yearns towards it with mysterious law. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. + </h2> + <p> + With what increased benignity I listened to the patients who visited me + the next morning! The whole human race seemed to be worthier of love, and + I longed to diffuse amongst all some rays of the glorious hope that had + dawned upon my heart. My first call, when I went forth, was on the poor + young woman from whom I had been returning the day before, when an + impulse, which seemed like a fate, had lured me into the grounds where I + had first seen Lilian. I felt grateful to this poor patient; without her + Lilian herself might be yet unknown to me. + </p> + <p> + The girl’s brother, a young man employed in the police, and whose pay + supported a widowed mother and the suffering sister, received me at the + threshold of the cottage. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, sir, she is so much better to-day; almost free from pain. Will she + live now; can she live?” + </p> + <p> + “If my treatment has really done the good you say; if she be really better + under it, I think her recovery may be pronounced. But I must first see + her.” + </p> + <p> + The girl was indeed wonderfully better. I felt that my skill was achieving + a signal triumph; but that day even my intellectual pride was forgotten in + the luxurious unfolding of that sense of heart which had so newly waked + into blossom. + </p> + <p> + As I recrossed the threshold, I smiled on the brother, who was still + lingering there,— + </p> + <p> + “Your sister is saved, Wady. She needs now chiefly wine, and good though + light nourishment; these you will find at my house; call there for them + every day.” + </p> + <p> + “God bless you, sir! If ever I can serve you—” His tongue faltered, + he could say no more. + </p> + <p> + Serve me, Allen Fenwick—that poor policeman! Me, whom a king could + not serve! What did I ask from earth but Fame and Lilian’s heart? Thrones + and bread man wins from the aid of others; fame and woman’s heart he can + only gain through himself. + </p> + <p> + So I strode gayly up the hill, through the iron gates, into the fairy + ground, and stood before Lilian’s home. + </p> + <p> + The man-servant, on opening the door, seemed somewhat confused, and said + hastily before I spoke,— + </p> + <p> + “Not at home, sir; a note for you.” + </p> + <p> + I turned the note mechanically in my hand; I felt stunned. + </p> + <p> + “Not at home! Miss Ashleigh cannot be out. How is she?” + </p> + <p> + “Better, sir, thank you.” + </p> + <p> + I still could not open the note; my eyes turned wistfully towards the + windows of the house, and there—at the drawing-room window—I + encountered the scowl of Mr. Vigors. I coloured with resentment, divined + that I was dismissed, and walked away with a proud crest and a firm step. + </p> + <p> + When I was out of the gates, in the blind lane, I opened the note. It + began formally. “Mrs. Ashleigh presents her compliments,” and went on to + thank me, civilly enough, for my attendance the night before, would not + give me the trouble to repeat my visit, and inclosed a fee, double the + amount of the fee prescribed by custom. I flung the money, as an asp that + had stung me, over the high wall, and tore the note into shreds. Having + thus idly vented my rage, a dull gnawing sorrow came heavily down upon all + other emotions, stifling and replacing them. At the mouth of the lane I + halted. I shrank from the thought of the crowded streets beyond; I shrank + yet more from the routine of duties, which stretched before me in the + desert into which daily life was so suddenly smitten. I sat down by the + roadside, shading my dejected face with a nervous hand. I looked up as the + sound of steps reached my ear, and saw Dr. Jones coming briskly along the + lane, evidently from Abbots’ House. He must have been there at the very + time I had called. I was not only dismissed but supplanted. I rose before + he reached the spot on which I had seated myself, and went my way into the + town, went through my allotted round of professional visits; but my + attentions were not so tenderly devoted, my skill so genially quickened by + the glow of benevolence, as my poorer patients had found them in the + morning. I have said how the physician should enter the sick-room. “A Calm + Intelligence!” But if you strike a blow on the heart, the intellect + suffers. Little worth, I suspect, was my “calm intelligence” that day. + Bichat, in his famous book upon Life and Death, divides life into two + classes,—animal and organic. Man’s intellect, with the brain for its + centre, belongs to life animal; his passions to life organic, centred in + the heart, in the viscera. Alas! if the noblest passions through which + alone we lift ourselves into the moral realm of the sublime and beautiful + really have their centre in the life which the very vegetable, that lives + organically, shares with us! And, alas! if it be that life which we share + with the vegetable, that can cloud, obstruct, suspend, annul that life + centred in the brain, which we share with every being howsoever angelic, + in every star howsoever remote, on whom the Creator bestows the faculty of + thought! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. + </h2> + <p> + But suddenly I remembered Mrs. Poyntz. I ought to call on her. So I closed + my round of visits at her door. The day was then far advanced, and the + servant politely informed me that Mrs. Poyntz was at dinner. I could only + leave my card, with a message that I would pay my respects to her the next + day. That evening I received from her this note:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Dear Dr. Fenwick,—I regret much that I cannot have the pleasure of + seeing you to-morrow. Poyntz and I are going to visit his brother, at + the other end of the county, and we start early. We shall be away some + days. Sorry to hear from Mrs. Ashleigh that she has been persuaded by + Mr. Vigors to consult Dr. Jones about Lilian. Vigors and Jones both + frighten the poor mother, and insist upon consumptive tendencies. + Unluckily, you seem to have said there was little the matter. Some + doctors train their practice as some preachers fill their churches,—by + adroit use of the appeals to terror. You do not want patients, Dr. + Jones does. And, after all, better perhaps as it is. + Yours, etc. + M. Poyntz. +</pre> + <p> + To my more selfish grief, anxiety for Lilian was now added. I had seen + many more patients die from being mistreated for consumption than from + consumption itself. And Dr. Jones was a mercenary, cunning, needy man, + with much crafty knowledge of human foibles, but very little skill in the + treatment of human maladies. My fears were soon confirmed. A few days + after I heard from Miss Brabazon that Miss Ashleigh was seriously ill, + kept her room. Mrs. Ashleigh made this excuse for not immediately + returning the visits which the Hill had showered upon her. Miss Brabazon + had seen Dr. Jones, who had shaken his head, said it was a serious case; + but that time and care (his time and his care!) might effect wonders. + </p> + <p> + How stealthily at the dead of the night I would climb the Hill and look + towards the windows of the old sombre house,—one window, in which a + light burned dim and mournful, the light of a sick-room,—of hers! + </p> + <p> + At length Mrs. Poyntz came back, and I entered her house, having fully + resolved beforehand on the line of policy to be adopted towards the + potentate whom I hoped to secure as an ally. It was clear that neither + disguise nor half-confidence would baffle the penetration of so keen an + intellect, nor propitiate the good will of so imperious and resolute a + temper. Perfect frankness here was the wisest prudence; and after all, it + was most agreeable to my own nature, and most worthy of my own honour. + </p> + <p> + Luckily, I found Mrs. Poyntz alone, and taking in both mine the hand she + somewhat coldly extended to me, I said, with the earnestness of suppressed + emotion,— + </p> + <p> + “You observed when I last saw you, that I had not yet asked you to be my + friend. I ask it now. Listen to me with all the indulgence you can + vouchsafe, and let me at least profit by your counsel if you refuse to + give me your aid.” + </p> + <p> + Rapidly, briefly, I went on to say how I had first seen Lilian, and how + sudden, how strange to myself, had been the impression which that first + sight of her had produced. + </p> + <p> + “You remarked the change that had come over me,” said I; “you divined the + cause before I divined it myself,—divined it as I sat there beside + you, thinking that through you I might see, in the freedom of social + intercourse, the face that was then haunting me. You know what has since + passed. Miss Ashleigh is ill; her case is, I am convinced, wholly + misunderstood. All other feelings are merged in one sense of anxiety,—of + alarm. But it has become due to me, due to all, to incur the risk of your + ridicule even more than of your reproof, by stating to you thus candidly, + plainly, bluntly, the sentiment which renders alarm so poignant, and + which, if scarcely admissible to the romance of some wild dreamy boy, may + seem an unpardonable folly in a man of my years and my sober calling,—due + to me, to you, to Mrs. Ashleigh, because still the dearest thing in life + to me is honour. And if you, who know Mrs. Ashleigh so intimately, who + must be more or less aware of her plans or wishes for her daughter’s + future,—if you believe that those plans or wishes lead to a lot far + more ambitious than an alliance with me could offer to Miss Ashleigh, then + aid Mr. Vigors in excluding me from the house; aid me in suppressing a + presumptuous, visionary passion. I cannot enter that house without love + and hope at my heart; and the threshold of that house I must not cross if + such love and such hope would be a sin and a treachery in the eyes of its + owner. I might restore Miss Ashleigh to health; her gratitude might—I + cannot continue. This danger must not be to me nor to her, if her mother + has views far above such a son-in-law. And I am the more bound to consider + all this while it is yet time, because I heard you state that Miss + Ashleigh had a fortune, was what would be here termed an heiress. And the + full consciousness that whatever fame one in my profession may live to + acquire, does not open those vistas of social power and grandeur which are + opened by professions to my eyes less noble in themselves,—that full + consciousness, I say, was forced upon me by certain words of your own. For + the rest, you know my descent is sufficiently recognized as that amidst + well-born gentry to have rendered me no mesalliance to families the most + proud of their ancestry, if I had kept my hereditary estate and avoided + the career that makes me useful to man. But I acknowledge that on entering + a profession such as mine—entering any profession except that of + arms or the senate—all leave their pedigree at its door, an erased + or dead letter. All must come as equals, high-born or low-born, into that + arena in which men ask aid from a man as he makes himself; to them his + dead forefathers are idle dust. Therefore, to the advantage of birth I + cease to have a claim. I am but a provincial physician, whose station + would be the same had he been a cobbler’s son. But gold retains its grand + privilege in all ranks. He who has gold is removed from the suspicion that + attaches to the greedy fortune-hunter. My private fortune, swelled by my + savings, is sufficient to secure to any one I married a larger settlement + than many a wealthy squire can make. I need no fortune with a wife; if she + have one, it would be settled on herself. Pardon these vulgar details. + Now, have I made myself understood?” + </p> + <p> + “Fully,” answered the Queen of the Hill, who had listened to me quietly, + watchfully, and without one interruption, “fully; and you have done well + to confide in me with so generous an unreserve. But before I say further, + let me ask, what would be your advice for Lilian, supposing that you ought + not to attend her? You have no trust in Dr. Jones; neither have I. And + Annie Ashleigh’s note received to-day, begging me to call, justifies your + alarm. Still you think there is no tendency to consumption?” + </p> + <p> + “Of that I am certain so far as my slight glimpse of a case that to me, + however, seems a simple and not uncommon one, will permit. But in the + alternative you put—that my own skill, whatever its worth, is + forbidden—my earnest advice is that Mrs. Ashleigh should take her + daughter at once to London, and consult there those great authorities to + whom I cannot compare my own opinion or experience; and by their counsel + abide.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz shaded her eyes with her hand for a few moments, and seemed in + deliberation with herself. Then she said, with her peculiar smile, half + grave, half ironical,— + </p> + <p> + “In matters more ordinary you would have won me to your side long ago. + That Mr. Vigors should have presumed to cancel my recommendation to a + settler on the Hill was an act of rebellion, and involved the honour of my + prerogative; but I suppressed my indignation at an affront so unusual, + partly out of pique against yourself, but much more, I think, out of + regard for you.” + </p> + <p> + “I understand. You detected the secret of my heart; you knew that Mrs. + Ashleigh would not wish to see her daughter the wife of a provincial + physician.” + </p> + <p> + “Am I sure, or are you sure, that the daughter herself would accept that + fate; or if she accepted it, would not repent?” + </p> + <p> + “Do you not think me the vainest of men when I say this,—that I + cannot believe I should be so enthralled by a feeling at war with my + reason, unfavoured by anything I can detect in my habits of mind, or even + by the dreams of a youth which exalted science and excluded love, unless I + was intimately convinced that Miss Ashleigh’s heart was free, that I could + win, and that I could keep it! Ask me why I am convinced of this, and I + can tell you no more why I think that she could love me than I can tell + you why I love her!” + </p> + <p> + “I am of the world, worldly; but I am a woman, womanly,—though I may + not care to be thought it. And, therefore, though what you say is, + regarded in a worldly point of view, sheer nonsense, regarded in a womanly + point of view, it is logically sound. But still you cannot know Lilian as + I do. Your nature and hers are in strong contrast. I do not think she is a + safe wife for you. The purest, the most innocent creature imaginable, + certainly that, but always in the seventh heaven; and you in the seventh + heaven just at this moment, but with an irresistible gravitation to the + solid earth, which will have its way again when the honeymoon is over—I + do not believe you two would harmonize by intercourse. I do not believe + Lilian would sympathize with you, and I am sure you could not sympathize + with her throughout the long dull course of this workday life. And, + therefore, for your sake, as well as hers, I was not displeased to find + that Dr. Jones had replaced you; and now, in return for your frankness, I + say frankly, do not go again to that house. Conquer this sentiment, fancy, + passion, whatever it be. And I will advise Mrs. Ashleigh to take Lilian to + town. Shall it be so settled?” + </p> + <p> + I could not speak. I buried my face in my hands—misery, misery, + desolation! + </p> + <p> + I know not how long I remained thus silent, perhaps many minutes. At + length I felt a cold, firm, but not ungentle hand placed upon mine; and a + clear, full, but not discouraging voice said to me,— + </p> + <p> + “Leave me to think well over this conversation, and to ponder well the + value of all you have shown that you so deeply feel. The interests of life + do not fill both scales of the balance. The heart, which does not always + go in the same scale with the interests, still has its weight in the scale + opposed to them. I have heard a few wise men say, as many a silly woman + says, ‘Better be unhappy with one we love, than be happy with one we love + not.’ Do you say that too?” + </p> + <p> + “With every thought of my brain, every beat of my pulse, I say it.” + </p> + <p> + “After that answer, all my questionings cease. You shall hear from me + to-morrow. By that time, I shall have seen Annie and Lilian. I shall have + weighed both scales of the balance,—and the heart here, Allen + Fenwick, seems very heavy. Go, now. I hear feet on the stairs, Poyntz + bringing up some friendly gossiper; gossipers are spies.” + </p> + <p> + I passed my hand over my eyes, tearless, but how tears would have relieved + the anguish that burdened them! and, without a word, went down the stairs, + meeting at the landing-place Colonel Poyntz and the old man whose pain my + prescription had cured. The old man was whistling a merry tune, perhaps + first learned on the playground. He broke from it to thank, almost to + embrace me, as I slid by him. I seized his jocund blessing as a good omen, + and carried it with me as I passed into the broad sunlight. Solitary—solitary! + Should I be so evermore? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. + </h2> + <p> + The next day I had just dismissed the last of my visiting patients, and + was about to enter my carriage and commence my round, when I received a + twisted note containing but these words:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Call on me to-day, as soon as you can. + + M. Poyntz. +</pre> + <p> + A few minutes afterwards I was in Mrs. Poyntz’s drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Allen Fenwick” said she, “I do not serve friends by halves. No + thanks! I but adhere to a principle I have laid down for myself. I spent + last evening with the Ashleighs. Lilian is certainly much altered,—very + weak, I fear very ill, and I believe very unskillfully treated by Dr. + Jones. I felt that it was my duty to insist on a change of physician; but + there was something else to consider before deciding who that physician + should be. I was bound, as your confidante, to consult your own scruples + of honour. Of course I could not say point-blank to Mrs. Ashleigh, ‘Dr. + Fenwick admires your daughter, would you object to him as a son-in-law?’ + Of course I could not touch at all on the secret with which you intrusted + me; but I have not the less arrived at a conclusion, in agreement with my + previous belief, that not being a woman of the world, Annie Ashleigh has + none of the ambition which women of the world would conceive for a + daughter who has a good fortune and considerable beauty; that her + predominant anxiety is for her child’s happiness, and her predominant fear + is that her child will die. She would never oppose any attachment which + Lilian might form; and if that attachment were for one who had preserved + her daughter’s life, I believe her own heart would gratefully go with her + daughter’s. So far, then, as honour is concerned, all scruples vanish.” + </p> + <p> + I sprang from my seat, radiant with joy. Mrs. Poyntz dryly continued: “You + value yourself on your common-sense, and to that I address a few words of + counsel which may not be welcome to your romance. I said that I did not + think you and Lilian would suit each other in the long run; reflection + confirms me in that supposition. Do not look at me so incredulously and so + sadly. Listen, and take heed. Ask yourself what, as a man whose days are + devoted to a laborious profession, whose ambition is entwined with its + success, whose mind must be absorbed in its pursuits,—ask yourself + what kind of a wife you would have sought to win; had not this sudden + fancy for a charming face rushed over your better reason, and obliterated + all previous plans and resolutions. Surely some one with whom your heart + would have been quite at rest; by whom your thoughts would have been + undistracted from the channels into which your calling should concentrate + their flow; in short, a serene companion in the quiet holiday of a + trustful home! Is it not so?” + </p> + <p> + “You interpret my own thoughts when they have turned towards marriage. But + what is there in Lilian Ashleigh that should mar the picture you have + drawn?” + </p> + <p> + “What is there in Lilian Ashleigh which in the least accords with the + picture? In the first place, the wife of a young physician should not be + his perpetual patient. The more he loves her, and the more worthy she may + be of love, the more her case will haunt him wherever he goes. When he + returns home, it is not to a holiday; the patient he most cares for, the + anxiety that most gnaws him, awaits him there.” + </p> + <p> + “But, good heavens! why should Lilian Ashleigh be a perpetual patient? The + sanitary resources of youth are incalculable. And—” + </p> + <p> + “Let me stop you; I cannot argue against a physician in love! I will give + up that point in dispute, remaining convinced that there is something in + Lilian’s constitution which will perplex, torment, and baffle you. It was + so with her father, whom she resembles in face and in character. He showed + no symptoms of any grave malady. His outward form was, like Lilian’s, a + model of symmetry, except in this, that, like hers, it was too exquisitely + delicate; but when seemingly in the midst of perfect health, at any slight + jar on the nerves he would become alarmingly ill. I was sure that he would + die young, and he did so.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, but Mrs. Ashleigh said that his death was from brain-fever, brought + on by over-study. Rarely, indeed, do women so fatigue the brain. No female + patient, in the range of my practice, ever died of purely mental + exertion.” + </p> + <p> + “Of purely mental exertion, no; but of heart emotion, many female + patients, perhaps? Oh, you own that! I know nothing about nerves; but I + suppose that, whether they act on the brain or the heart, the result to + life is much the same if the nerves be too finely strung for life’s daily + wear and tear. And this is what I mean, when I say you and Lilian will not + suit. As yet, she is a mere child; her nature undeveloped, and her + affections therefore untried. You might suppose that you had won her + heart; she might believe that she gave it to you, and both be deceived. If + fairies nowadays condescended to exchange their offspring with those of + mortals, and if the popular tradition did not represent a fairy changeling + as an ugly peevish creature, with none of the grace of its parents, I + should be half inclined to suspect that Lilian was one of the elfin + people. She never seems at home on earth; and I do not think she will ever + be contented with a prosaic earthly lot. Now I have told you why I do not + think she will suit you. I must leave it to yourself to conjecture how far + you would suit her. I say this in due season, while you may set a guard + upon your impulse; while you may yet watch, and weigh, and meditate; and + from this moment on that subject I say no more. I lend advice, but I never + throw it away.” + </p> + <p> + She came here to a dead pause, and began putting on her bonnet and scarf, + which lay on the table beside her. I was a little chilled by her words, + and yet more by the blunt, shrewd, hard look and manner which aided the + effect of their delivery; but the chill melted away in the sudden glow of + my heart when she again turned towards me and said,— + </p> + <p> + “Of course you guess, from these preliminary cautions, that you are going + into danger? Mrs. Ashleigh wishes to consult you about Lilian, and I + propose to take you to her house.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, my friend, my dear friend, how can I ever repay you?” I caught her + hand, the white firm hand, and lifted it to my lips. + </p> + <p> + She drew it somewhat hastily away, and laying it gently on my shoulder, + said, in a soft voice, “Poor Allen, how little the world knows either of + us! But how little perhaps we know ourselves! Come, your carriage is here? + That is right; we must put down Dr. Jones publicly and in all our state.” + </p> + <p> + In the carriage Mrs. Poyntz told me the purport of that conversation with + Mrs. Ashleigh to which I owed my re-introduction to Abbots’ House. It + seems that Mr. Vigors had called early the morning after my first visit! + had evinced much discomposure on hearing that I had been summoned! dwelt + much on my injurious treatment of Dr. Lloyd, whom, as distantly related to + himself, and he (Mr. Vigors) being distantly connected with the late + Gilbert Ashleigh, he endeavoured to fasten upon his listener as one of her + husband’s family, whose quarrel she was bound in honour to take up. He + spoke of me as an infidel “tainted with French doctrines,” and as a + practitioner rash and presumptuous; proving his own freedom from + presumption and rashness by flatly deciding that my opinion must be wrong. + Previously to Mrs. Ashleigh’s migration to L——, Mr. Vigors had + interested her in the pretended phenomena of mesmerism. He had consulted a + clairvoyante, much esteemed by poor Dr. Lloyd, as to Lilian’s health, and + the clairvoyante had declared her to be constitutionally predisposed to + consumption. Mr. Vigors persuaded Mrs. Ashleigh to come at once with him + and see this clairvoyante herself, armed with a lock of Lilian’s hair and + a glove she had worn, as the media of mesmerical rapport. + </p> + <p> + The clairvoyante, one of those I had publicly denounced as an impostor, + naturally enough denounced me in return. On being asked solemnly by Mr. + Vigors “to look at Dr. Fenwick and see if his influence would be + beneficial to the subject,” the sibyl had become violently agitated, and + said that, “when she looked at us together, we were enveloped in a black + cloud; that this portended affliction and sinister consequences; that our + rapport was antagonistic.” Mr. Vigors then told her to dismiss my image, + and conjure up that of Dr. Jones. Therewith the somnambule became more + tranquil, and said: “Dr. Jones would do well if he would be guided by + higher lights than his own skill, and consult herself daily as to the + proper remedies. The best remedy of all would be mesmerism. But since Dr. + Lloyd’s death, she did not know of a mesmerist, sufficiently gifted, in + affinity with the patient.” In fine, she impressed and awed Mrs. Ashleigh, + who returned in haste, summoned Dr. Jones, and dismissed myself. + </p> + <p> + “I could not have conceived Mrs. Ashleigh to be so utterly wanting in + common-sense,” said I. “She talked rationally enough when I saw her.” + </p> + <p> + “She has common-sense in general, and plenty of the sense most common,” + answered Mrs. Poyntz; “but she is easily led and easily frightened + wherever her affections are concerned, and therefore, just as easily as + she had been persuaded by Mr. Vigors and terrified by the somnambule, I + persuaded her against the one, and terrified her against the other. I had + positive experience on my side, since it was clear that Lilian had been + getting rapidly worse under Dr. Jones’s care. The main obstacles I had to + encounter in inducing Mrs. Ashleigh to consult you again were, first, her + reluctance to disoblige Mr. Vigors, as a friend and connection of Lilian’s + father; and, secondly, her sentiment of shame in re-inviting your opinion + after having treated you with so little respect. Both these difficulties I + took on myself. I bring you to her house, and, on leaving you, I shall go + on to Mr. Vigors, and tell him what is done is my doing, and not to be + undone by him; so that matter is settled. Indeed, if you were out of the + question, I should not suffer Mr. Vigors to re-introduce all these + mummeries of clairvoyance and mesmerism into the precincts of the Hill. I + did not demolish a man I really liked in Dr. Lloyd, to set up a Dr. Jones, + whom I despise, in his stead. Clairvoyance on Abbey Hill, indeed! I saw + enough of it before.” + </p> + <p> + “True; your strong intellect detected at once the absurdity of the whole + pretence,—the falsity of mesmerism, the impossibility of + clairvoyance.” + </p> + <p> + “No, my strong intellect did nothing of the kind. I do not know whether + mesmerism be false or clairvoyance impossible; and I don’t wish to know. + All I do know is, that I saw the Hill in great danger,—young ladies + allowing themselves to be put to sleep by gentlemen, and pretending they + had no will of their own against such fascination! Improper and shocking! + And Miss Brabazon beginning to prophesy, and Mrs. Leopold Smythe + questioning her maid (whom Dr. Lloyd declared to be highly gifted) as to + all the secrets of her friends. When I saw this, I said, ‘The Hill is + becoming demoralized; the Hill is making itself ridiculous; the Hill must + be saved!’ I remonstrated with Dr. Lloyd as a friend; he remained + obdurate. I annihilated him as an enemy, not to me but to the State. I + slew my best lover for the good of Rome. Now you know why I took your + part,—not because I have any opinion, one way or the other, as to + the truth or falsehood of what Dr. Lloyd asserted; but I have a strong + opinion that, whether they be true or false, his notions were those which + are not to be allowed on the Hill. And so, Allen Fenwick, that matter was + settled.” + </p> + <p> + Perhaps at another time I might have felt some little humiliation to learn + that I had been honoured with the influence of this great potentate not as + a champion of truth, but as an instrument of policy; and I might have + owned to some twinge of conscience in having assisted to sacrifice a + fellow-seeker after science—misled, no doubt, but preferring his + independent belief to his worldly interest—and sacrifice him to + those deities with whom science is ever at war,—the Prejudices of a + Clique sanctified into the Proprieties of the World. But at that moment + the words I heard made no perceptible impression on my mind. The gables of + Abbots’ House were visible above the evergreens and lilacs; another + moment, and the carriage stopped at the door. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. + </h2> + <p> + Mrs. Ashleigh received us in the dining-room. Her manner to me, at first, + was a little confused and shy. But my companion soon communicated + something of her own happy ease to her gentler friend. After a short + conversation we all three went to Lilian, who was in a little room on the + ground-floor, fitted up as her study. I was glad to perceive that my + interdict of the deathchamber had been respected. + </p> + <p> + She reclined on a sofa near the window, which was, however, jealously + closed; the light of the bright May-day obscured by blinds and curtains; a + large fire on the hearth; the air of the room that of a hot-house,—the + ignorant, senseless, exploded system of nursing into consumption those who + are confined on suspicion of it! She did not heed us as we entered + noiselessly; her eyes were drooped languidly on the floor, and with + difficulty I suppressed the exclamation that rose to my lips on seeing + her. She seemed within the last few days so changed, and on the aspect of + the countenance there was so profound a melancholy! But as she slowly + turned at the sound of our footsteps, and her eyes met mine, a quick blush + came into the wan cheek, and she half rose, but sank back as if the effort + exhausted her. There was a struggle for breath, and a low hollow cough. + Was it possible that I had been mistaken, and that in that cough was heard + the warning knell of the most insidious enemy to youthful life? + </p> + <p> + I sat down by her side; I lured her on to talk of indifferent subjects,—the + weather, the gardens, the bird in the cage, which was placed on the table + near her. Her voice, at first low and feeble, became gradually stronger, + and her face lighted up with a child’s innocent, playful smile. No, I had + not been mistaken! That was no lymphatic, nerveless temperament, on which + consumption fastens as its lawful prey; here there was no hectic pulse, no + hurried waste of the vital flame. Quietly and gently I made my + observations, addressed my questions, applied my stethoscope; and when I + turned my face towards her mother’s anxious, eager eyes, that face told my + opinion; for her mother sprang forward, clasped my hand, and said, through + her struggling tears,— + </p> + <p> + “You smile! You see nothing to fear?” + </p> + <p> + “Fear! No, indeed! You will soon be again yourself, Miss Ashleigh, will + you not?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she said, with her sweet laugh, “I shall be well now very soon. But + may I not have the window open; may I not go into the garden? I so long + for fresh air.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no, darling,” exclaimed Mrs. Ashleigh, “not while the east winds + last. Dr. Jones said on no account. On no account, Dr. Fenwick, eh?” + </p> + <p> + “Will you take my arm, Miss Ashleigh, for a few turns up and down the + room?” said I. “We will then see how far we may rebel against Dr. Jones.” + </p> + <p> + She rose with some little effort, but there was no cough. At first her + step was languid; it became lighter and more elastic after a few moments. + </p> + <p> + “Let her come out,” said I to Mrs. Ashleigh. “The wind is not in the east, + and, while we are out, pray bid your servant lower to the last bar in the + grate that fire,—only fit for Christmas.” + </p> + <p> + “But—” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, no buts! He is a poor doctor who is not a stern despot.” + </p> + <p> + So the straw hat and mantle were sent for. Lilian was wrapped with + unnecessary care, and we all went forth into the garden. Involuntarily we + took the way to the Monk’s Well, and at every step Lilian seemed to revive + under the bracing air and temperate sun. We paused by the well. + </p> + <p> + “You do not feel fatigued, Miss Ashleigh?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “But your face seems changed. It is grown sadder.” + </p> + <p> + “Not sadder.” + </p> + <p> + “Sadder than when I first saw it,—saw it when you were seated here!” + I said this in a whisper. I felt her hand tremble as it lay on my arm. + </p> + <p> + “You saw me seated here!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. I will tell you how some day.” + </p> + <p> + Lilian lifted her eyes to mine, and there was in them that same surprise + which I had noticed on my first visit,—a surprise that perplexed me, + blended with no displeasure, but yet with a something of vague alarm. + </p> + <p> + We soon returned to the house. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ashleigh made me a sign to follow her into the drawing-room, leaving + Mrs. Poyntz with Lilian. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” said she, tremblingly. + </p> + <p> + “Permit me to see Dr. Jones’s prescriptions. Thank you. Ay, I thought so. + My dear madam, the mistake here has been in depressing nature instead of + strengthening; in narcotics instead of stimulants. The main stimulants + which leave no reaction are air and light. Promise me that I may have my + own way for a week,—that all I recommend will be implicitly heeded?” + </p> + <p> + “I promise. But that cough,—you noticed it?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. The nervous system is terribly lowered, and nervous exhaustion is a + strange impostor; it imitates all manner of complaints with which it has + no connection. The cough will soon disappear! But pardon my question. Mrs. + Poyntz tells me that you consulted a clairvoyants about your daughter. + Does Miss Ashleigh know that you did so?” + </p> + <p> + “No; I did not tell her.” + </p> + <p> + “I am glad of that. And pray, for Heaven’s sake, guard her against all + that may set her thinking on such subjects. Above all, guard her against + concentring attention on any malady that your fears erroneously ascribe to + her. It is amongst the phenomena of our organization that you cannot + closely rivet your consciousness on any part of the frame, however + healthy, but it will soon begin to exhibit morbid sensibility. Try to fix + all your attention on your little finger for half an hour, and before the + half hour is over the little finger will be uneasy, probably even painful. + How serious, then, is the danger to a young girl, at the age in which + imagination is most active, most intense, if you force upon her a belief + that she is in danger of a mortal disease! It is a peculiarity of youth to + brood over the thought of early death much more resignedly, much more + complacently, than we do in maturer years. Impress on a young imaginative + girl, as free from pulmonary tendencies as you and I are, the conviction + that she must fade away into the grave, and though she may not actually + die of consumption, you instil slow poison into her system. Hope is the + natural aliment of youth. You impoverish nourishment where you discourage + hope. As soon as this temporary illness is over, reject for your daughter + the melancholy care which seems to her own mind to mark her out from + others of her age. Rear her for the air, which is the kindest life-giver; + to sleep with open windows: to be out at sunrise. Nature will do more for + her than all our drugs can do. You have been hitherto fearing Nature; now + trust to her.” + </p> + <p> + Here Mrs. Poyntz joined us, and having, while I had been speaking, written + my prescription and some general injunctions, I closed my advice with an + appeal to that powerful protectress. + </p> + <p> + “This, my dear madam, is a case in which I need your aid, and I ask it. + Miss Ashleigh should not be left with no other companion than her mother. + A change of faces is often as salutary as a change of air. If you could + devote an hour or two this very evening to sit with Miss Ashleigh, to talk + to her with your usual cheerfulness, and—” + </p> + <p> + “Annie,” interrupted Mrs. Poyntz, “I will come and drink tea with you at + half-past seven, and bring my knitting; and perhaps, if you ask him, Dr. + Fenwick will come too! He can be tolerably entertaining when he likes it.” + </p> + <p> + “It is too great a tax on his kindness, I fear,” said Mrs. Ashleigh. + “But,” she added cordially, “I should be grateful indeed if he would spare + us an hour of his time.” + </p> + <p> + I murmured an assent which I endeavoured to make not too joyous. + </p> + <p> + “So that matter is settled,” said Mrs. Poyntz; “and now I shall go to Mr. + Vigors and prevent his further interference.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, but, Margaret, pray don’t offend him,—a connection of my poor + dear Gilbert’s. And so tetchy! I am sure I do not know how you’ll manage + to—” + </p> + <p> + “To get rid of him? Never fear. As I manage everything and everybody,” + said Mrs. Poyntz, bluntly. So she kissed her friend on the forehead, gave + me a gracious nod, and, declining the offer of my carriage, walked with + her usual brisk, decided tread down the short path towards the town. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ashleigh timidly approached me, and again the furtive hand bashfully + insinuated the hateful fee. + </p> + <p> + “Stay,” said I; “this is a case which needs the most constant watching. I + wish to call so often that I should seem the most greedy of doctors if my + visits were to be computed at guineas. Let me be at ease to effect my + cure; my pride of science is involved in it. And when amongst all the + young ladies of the Hill you can point to none with a fresher bloom, or a + fairer promise of healthful life, than the patient you intrust to my care, + why, then the fee and the dismissal. Nay, nay; I must refer you to our + friend Mrs. Poyntz. It was so settled with her before she brought me here + to displace Dr. Jones.” Therewith I escaped. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV. + </h2> + <p> + In less than a week Lilian was convalescent; in less than a fortnight she + regained her usual health,—nay, Mrs. Ashleigh declared that she had + never known her daughter appear so cheerful and look so well. I had + established a familiar intimacy at Abbots’ House; most of my evenings were + spent there. As horse exercise formed an important part of my advice, Mrs. + Ashleigh had purchased a pretty and quiet horse for her daughter; and, + except the weather was very unfavourable, Lilian now rode daily with + Colonel Poyntz, who was a notable equestrian, and often accompanied by + Miss Jane Poyntz, and other young ladies of the Hill. I was generally + relieved from my duties in time to join her as she returned homewards. + Thus we made innocent appointments, openly, frankly, in her mother’s + presence, she telling me beforehand in what direction excursions had been + planned with Colonel Poyntz, and I promising to fall in with the party—if + my avocations would permit. At my suggestion, Mrs. Ashleigh now opened her + house almost every evening to some of the neighbouring families; Lilian + was thus habituated to the intercourse of young persons of her own age. + Music and dancing and childlike games made the old house gay. And the Hill + gratefully acknowledged to Mrs. Poyntz, “that the Ashleighs were indeed a + great acquisition.” + </p> + <p> + But my happiness was not uncheckered. In thus unselfishly surrounding + Lilian with others, I felt the anguish of that jealousy which is + inseparable from those earlier stages of love, when the lover as yet has + won no right to that self-confidence which can only spring from the + assurance that he is loved. + </p> + <p> + In these social reunions I remained aloof from Lilian. I saw her courted + by the gay young admirers whom her beauty and her fortune drew around her,—her + soft face brightening in the exercise of the dance, which the gravity of + my profession rather than my years forbade to join; and her laugh, so + musically subdued, ravishing my ear and fretting my heart as if the laugh + were a mockery on my sombre self and my presumptuous dreams. But no, + suddenly, shyly, her eyes would steal away from those about her, steal to + the corner in which I sat, as if they missed me, and, meeting my own gaze, + their light softened before they turned away; and the colour on her cheek + would deepen, and to her lip there came a smile different from the smile + that it shed on others. And then—and then—all jealousy, all + sadness vanished, and I felt the glory which blends with the growing + belief that we are loved. + </p> + <p> + In that diviner epoch of man’s mysterious passion, when ideas of + perfection and purity, vague and fugitive before, start forth and + concentre themselves round one virgin shape,—that rises out from the + sea of creation, welcomed by the Hours and adorned by the Graces,—how + the thought that this archetype of sweetness and beauty singles himself + from the millions, singles himself for her choice, ennobles and lifts up + his being! Though after-experience may rebuke the mortal’s illusion, that + mistook for a daughter of Heaven a creature of clay like himself, yet for + a while the illusion has grandeur. Though it comes from the senses which + shall later oppress and profane it, the senses at first shrink into shade, + awed and hushed by the presence that charms them. All that is brightest + and best in the man has soared up like long-dormant instincts of Heaven, + to greet and to hallow what to him seems life’s fairest dream of the + heavenly! Take the wings from the image of Love, and the god disappears + from the form! + </p> + <p> + Thus, if at moments jealous doubt made my torture, so the moment’s relief + from it sufficed for my rapture. But I had a cause for disquiet less acute + but less varying than jealousy. + </p> + <p> + Despite Lilian’s recovery from the special illness which had more + immediately absorbed my care, I remained perplexed as to its cause and + true nature. To her mother I gave it the convenient epithet of “nervous;” + but the epithet did not explain to myself all the symptoms I classified by + it. There was still, at times, when no cause was apparent or + conjecturable, a sudden change in the expression of her countenance, in + the beat of her pulse; the eye would become fixed, the bloom would vanish, + the pulse would sink feebler and feebler till it could be scarcely felt; + yet there was no indication of heart disease, of which such sudden + lowering of life is in itself sometimes a warning indication. The change + would pass away after a few minutes, during which she seemed unconscious, + or, at least, never spoke—never appeared to heed what was said to + her. But in the expression of her countenance there was no character of + suffering or distress; on the contrary, a wondrous serenity, that made her + beauty more beauteous, her very youthfulness younger; and when this + spurious or partial kind of syncope passed, she recovered at once without + effort, without acknowledging that she had felt faint or unwell, but + rather with a sense of recruited vitality, as the weary obtain from a + sleep. For the rest her spirits were more generally light and joyous than + I should have premised from her mother’s previous description. She would + enter mirthfully into the mirth of young companions round her: she had + evidently quick perception of the sunny sides of life; an infantine + gratitude for kindness; an infantine joy in the trifles that amuse only + those who delight in tastes pure and simple. But when talk rose into + graver and more contemplative topics, her attention became earnest and + absorbed; and sometimes a rich eloquence, such as I have never before nor + since heard from lips so young, would startle me first into a wondering + silence, and soon into a disapproving alarm: for the thoughts she then + uttered seemed to me too fantastic, too visionary, too much akin to the + vagaries of a wild though beautiful imagination. And then I would seek to + check, to sober, to distract fancies with which my reason had no sympathy, + and the indulgence of which I regarded as injurious to the normal + functions of the brain. + </p> + <p> + When thus, sometimes with a chilling sentence, sometimes with a + half-sarcastic laugh, I would repress outpourings frank and musical as the + songs of a forest-bird, she would look at me with a kind of plaintive + sorrow,—often sigh and shiver as she turned away. Only in those + modes did she show displeasure; otherwise ever sweet and docile, and ever, + if, seeing that I had pained her, I asked forgiveness, humbling herself + rather to ask mine, and brightening our reconciliation with her angel + smile. As yet I had not dared to speak of love; as yet I gazed on her as + the captive gazes on the flowers and the stars through the gratings of his + cell, murmuring to himself, “When shall the doors unclose?” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI. + </h2> + <p> + It was with a wrath suppressed in the presence of the fair ambassadress, + that Mr. Vigors had received from Mrs. Poyntz the intelligence that I had + replaced Dr. Jones at Abbots’ House not less abruptly than Dr. Jones had + previously supplanted me. As Mrs. Poyntz took upon herself the whole + responsibility of this change, Mr. Vigors did not venture to condemn it to + her face; for the Administrator of Laws was at heart no little in awe of + the Autocrat of Proprieties; as Authority, howsoever established, is in + awe of Opinion, howsoever capricious. + </p> + <p> + To the mild Mrs. Ashleigh the magistrate’s anger was more decidedly + manifested. He ceased his visits; and in answer to a long and deprecatory + letter with which she endeavoured to soften his resentment and win him + back to the house, he replied by an elaborate combination of homily and + satire. He began by excusing himself from accepting her invitations, on + the ground that his time was valuable, his habits domestic; and though + ever willing to sacrifice both time and habits where he could do good, he + owed it to himself and to mankind to sacrifice neither where his advice + was rejected and his opinion contemned. He glanced briefly, but not + hastily, at the respect with which her late husband had deferred to his + judgment, and the benefits which that deference had enabled him to bestow. + He contrasted the husband’s deference with the widow’s contumely, and + hinted at the evils which the contumely would not permit him to prevent. + He could not presume to say what women of the world might think due to + deceased husbands, but even women of the world generally allowed the + claims of living children, and did not act with levity where their + interests were concerned, still less where their lives were at stake. As + to Dr. Jones, he, Mr. Vigors, had the fullest confidence in his skill. + Mrs. Ashleigh must judge for herself whether Mrs. Poyntz was as good an + authority upon medical science as he had no doubt she was upon shawls and + ribbons. Dr. Jones was a man of caution and modesty; he did not indulge in + the hollow boasts by which charlatans decoy their dupes; but Dr. Jones had + privately assured him that though the case was one that admitted of no + rash experiments, he had no fear of the result if his own prudent system + were persevered in. What might be the consequences of any other system, + Dr. Jones would not say, because he was too high-minded to express his + distrust of the rival who had made use of underhand arts to supplant him. + But Mr. Vigors was convinced, from other sources of information (meaning, + I presume, the oracular prescience of his clairvoyants), that the time + would come when the poor young lady would herself insist on discarding Dr. + Fenwick, and when “that person” would appear in a very different light to + many who now so fondly admired and so reverentially trusted him. When that + time arrived, he, Mr. Vigors, might again be of use; but, meanwhile, + though he declined to renew his intimacy at Abbots’ House, or to pay + unavailing visits of mere ceremony, his interest in the daughter of his + old friend remained undiminished, nay, was rather increased by compassion; + that he should silently keep his eye upon her; and whenever anything to + her advantage suggested itself to him, he should not be deterred by the + slight with which Mrs. Ashleigh had treated his judgment from calling on + her, and placing before her conscience as a mother his ideas for her + child’s benefit, leaving to herself then, as now, the entire + responsibility of rejecting the advice which he might say, without vanity, + was deemed of some value by those who could distinguish between sterling + qualities and specious pretences. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ashleigh’s was that thoroughly womanly nature which instinctively + leans upon others. She was diffident, trustful, meek, affectionate. Not + quite justly had Mrs. Poyntz described her as “commonplace weak,” for + though she might be called weak, it was not because she was commonplace; + she had a goodness of heart, a sweetness of disposition, to which that + disparaging definition could not apply. She could only be called + commonplace inasmuch as in the ordinary daily affairs of life she had a + great deal of ordinary daily commonplace good-sense. Give her a routine to + follow, and no routine could be better adhered to. In the allotted sphere + of a woman’s duties she never seemed in fault. No household, not even Mrs. + Poyntz’s, was more happily managed. The old Abbots’ House had merged its + original antique gloom in the softer character of pleasing repose. All her + servants adored Mrs. Ashleigh; all found it a pleasure to please her; her + establishment had the harmony of clockwork; comfort diffused itself round + her like quiet sunshine round a sheltered spot. To gaze on her pleasing + countenance, to listen to the simple talk that lapsed from her guileless + lips, in even, slow, and lulling murmur, was in itself a respite from + “eating cares.” She was to the mind what the colour of green is to the + eye. She had, therefore, excellent sense in all that relates to every-day + life. There, she needed not to consult another; there, the wisest might + have consulted her with profit. But the moment anything, however trivial + in itself, jarred on the routine to which her mind had grown wedded, the + moment an incident hurried her out of the beaten track of woman’s daily + life, then her confidence forsook her; then she needed a confidant, an + adviser; and by that confidant or adviser she could be credulously lured + or submissively controlled. Therefore, when she lost, in Mr. Vigors, the + guide she had been accustomed to consult whenever she needed guidance, she + turned; helplessly and piteously, first to Mrs. Poyntz, and then yet more + imploringly to me, because a woman of that character is never quite + satisfied without the advice of a man; and where an intimacy more familiar + than that of his formal visits is once established with a physician, + confidence in him grows fearless and rapid, as the natural result of + sympathy concentrated on an object of anxiety in common between himself + and the home which opens its sacred recess to his observant but tender + eye. Thus Mrs. Ashleigh had shown me Mr. Vigors’s letter, and, forgetting + that I might not be as amiable as herself, besought me to counsel her how + to conciliate and soften her lost husband’s friend and connection. That + character clothed him with dignity and awe in her soft forgiving eyes. So, + smothering my own resentment, less perhaps at the tone of offensive + insinuation against myself than at the arrogance with which this + prejudiced intermeddler implied to a mother the necessity of his guardian + watch over a child under her own care, I sketched a reply which seemed to + me both dignified and placatory, abstaining from all discussion, and + conveying the assurance that Mrs. Ashleigh would be at all times glad to + hear, and disposed to respect, whatever suggestion so esteemed a friend of + her husband would kindly submit to her for the welfare of her daughter. + </p> + <p> + There all communication had stopped for about a month since the date of my + reintroduction to Abbots’ House. One afternoon I unexpectedly met Mr. + Vigors at the entrance of the blind lane, I on my way to Abbots’ House, + and my first glance at his face told me that he was coming from it, for + the expression of that face was more than usually sinister; the sullen + scowl was lit into significant menace by a sneer of unmistakable triumph. + I felt at once that he had succeeded in some machination against me, and + with ominous misgivings quickened my steps. + </p> + <p> + I found Mrs. Ashleigh seated alone in front of the house, under a large + cedar-tree that formed a natural arbour in the centre of the sunny lawn. + She was perceptibly embarrassed as I took my seat beside her. + </p> + <p> + “I hope,” said I, forcing a smile, “that Mr. Vigors has not been telling + you that I shall kill my patient, or that she looks much worse than she + did under Dr. Jones’s care?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” she said. “He owned cheerfully that Lilian had grown quite strong, + and said, without any displeasure, that he had heard how gay she had been, + riding out and even dancing,—which is very kind in him, for he + disapproves of dancing, on principle.” + </p> + <p> + “But still I can see he has said something to vex or annoy you; and, to + judge by his countenance when I met him in the lane, I should conjecture + that that something was intended to lower the confidence you so kindly + repose in me.” + </p> + <p> + “I assure you not; he did not mention your name, either to me or to + Lilian. I never knew him more friendly; quite like old times. He is a good + man at heart, very, and was much attached to my poor husband.” + </p> + <p> + “Did Mr. Ashleigh profess a very high opinion of Mr. Vigors?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I don’t quite know that, because my dear Gilbert never spoke to me + much about him. Gilbert was naturally very silent. But he shrank from all + trouble—all worldly affairs—and Mr. Vigors managed his estate, + and inspected his steward’s books, and protected him through a long + lawsuit which he had inherited from his father. It killed his father. I + don’t know what we should have done without Mr. Vigors, and I am so glad + he has forgiven me.” + </p> + <p> + “Hem! Where is Miss Ashleigh? Indoors?” + </p> + <p> + “No; somewhere in the grounds. But, my dear Dr. Fenwick, do not leave me + yet; you are so very, very kind, and somehow I have grown to look upon you + quite as an old friend. Something has happened which has put me out, quite + put me out.” + </p> + <p> + She said this wearily and feebly, closing her eyes as if she were indeed + put out in the sense of extinguished. + </p> + <p> + “The feeling of friendship you express,” said I, with earnestness, “is + reciprocal. On my side it is accompanied by a peculiar gratitude. I am a + lonely man, by a lonely fireside, no parents, no near kindred, and in this + town, since Dr. Faber left it, without cordial intimacy till I knew you. + In admitting me so familiarly to your hearth, you have given me what I + have never known before since I came to man’s estate,—a glimpse of + the happy domestic life; the charm and relief to eye, heart, and spirit + which is never known but in households cheered by the face of woman. Thus + my sentiment for you and yours is indeed that of an old friend; and in any + private confidence you show me, I feel as if I were no longer a lonely + man, without kindred, without home.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ashleigh seemed much moved by these words, which my heart had forced + from my lips; and, after replying to me with simple unaffected warmth of + kindness, she rose, took my arm, and continued thus as we walked slowly to + and fro the lawn: “You know, perhaps, that my poor husband left a sister, + now a widow like myself, Lady Haughton.” + </p> + <p> + “I remember that Mrs. Poyntz said you had such a sister-in-law, but I + never heard you mention Lady Haughton till now. Well!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, Mr. Vigors has brought me a letter from her, and it is that which + has put me out. I dare say you have not heard me speak before of Lady + Haughton, for I am ashamed to say I had almost forgotten her existence. + She is many years older than my husband was; of a very different + character. Only came once to see him after our marriage. Hurt me by + ridiculing him as a bookworm; offended him by looking a little down on me, + as a nobody without spirit and fashion, which was quite true. And, except + by a cold and unfeeling letter of formal condolence after I lost my dear + Gilbert, I have never heard from her since I have been a widow, till + to-day. But, after all, she is my poor husband’s sister, and his eldest + sister, and Lilian’s aunt; and, as Mr. Vigors says, ‘Duty is duty.’” + </p> + <p> + Had Mrs. Ashleigh said “Duty is torture,” she could not have uttered the + maxim with more mournful and despondent resignation. + </p> + <p> + “And what does this lady require of you, which Mr. Vigors deems it your + duty to comply with?” + </p> + <p> + “Dear me! What penetration! You have guessed the exact truth. But I think + you will agree with Mr. Vigors. Certainly I have no option; yes, I must do + it.” + </p> + <p> + “My penetration is in fault now. Do what? Pray explain.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor Lady Haughton, six months ago, lost her only son, Sir James. Mr. + Vigors says he was a very fine young man, of whom any mother would have + been proud. I had heard he was wild; Mr. Vigors says, however, that he was + just going to reform, and marry a young lady whom his mother chose for + him, when, unluckily, he would ride a steeplechase, not being quite sober + at the time, and broke his neck. Lady Haughton has been, of course, in + great grief. She has retired to Brighton; and she wrote to me from thence, + and Mr. Vigors brought the letter. He will go back to her to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “Will go back to Lady Haughton? What! Has he been to her? Is he, then, as + intimate with Lady Haughton as he was with her brother?” + </p> + <p> + “No; but there has been a long and constant correspondence. She had a + settlement on the Kirby Estate,—a sum which was not paid off during + Gilbert’s life; and a very small part of the property went to Sir James, + which part Mr. Ashleigh Sumner, the heir-at-law to the rest of the estate, + wished Mr. Vigors, as his guardian, to buy during his minority, and as it + was mixed up with Lady Haughton’s settlement her consent was necessary as + well as Sir James’s. So there was much negotiation, and, since then, + Ashleigh Sumner has come into the Haughton property, on poor Sir James’s + decease; so that complicated all affairs between Mr. Vigors and Lady + Haughton, and he has just been to Brighton to see her. And poor Lady + Haughton, in short, wants me and Lilian to go and visit her. I don’t like + it at all. But you said the other day you thought sea air might be good + for Lilian during the heat of the summer, and she seems well enough now + for the change. What do you think?” + </p> + <p> + “She is well enough, certainly. But Brighton is not the place I would + recommend for the summer; it wants shade, and is much hotter than L——” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; but unluckily Lady Haughton foresaw that objection, and she has a + jointure-house some miles from Brighton, and near the sea. She says the + grounds are well wooded, and the place is proverbially cool and healthy, + not far from St. Leonard’s Forest. And, in short, I have written to say we + will come. So we must, unless, indeed, you positively forbid it.” + </p> + <p> + “When do you think of going?” + </p> + <p> + “Next Monday. Mr. Vigors would make me fix the day. If you knew how I + dislike moving when I am once settled; and I do so dread Lady Haughton, + she is so fine, and so satirical! But Mr. Vigors says she is very much + altered, poor thing! I should like to show you her letter, but I had just + sent it to Margaret—Mrs. Poyntz—a minute or two before you + came. She knows something of Lady Haughton. Margaret knows everybody. And + we shall have to go in mourning for poor Sir James, I suppose; and + Margaret will choose it, for I am sure I can’t guess to what extent we + should be supposed to mourn. I ought to have gone in mourning before—poor + Gilbert’s nephew—but I am so stupid, and I had never seen him. And—But + oh, this is kind! Margaret herself,—my dear Margaret!” + </p> + <p> + We had just turned away from the house, in our up-and-down walk; and Mrs. + Poyntz stood immediately fronting us. “So, Anne, you have actually + accepted this invitation—and for Monday next?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. Did I do wrong?” + </p> + <p> + “What does Dr. Fenwick say? Can Lilian go with safety?” + </p> + <p> + I could not honestly say she might not go with safety, but my heart sank + like lead as I answered,— + </p> + <p> + “Miss Ashleigh does not now need merely medical care; but more than half + her cure has depended on keeping her spirits free from depression. She may + miss the cheerful companionship of your daughter, and other young ladies + of her own age. A very melancholy house, saddened by a recent bereavement, + without other guests; a hostess to whom she is a stranger, and whom Mrs. + Ashleigh herself appears to deem formidable,—certainly these do not + make that change of scene which a physician would recommend. When I spoke + of sea air being good for Miss Ashleigh, I thought of our own northern + coasts at a later time of the year, when I could escape myself for a few + weeks and attend her. The journey to a northern watering-place would be + also shorter and less fatiguing; the air there more invigorating.” + </p> + <p> + “No doubt that would be better,” said Mrs. Poyntz, dryly; “but so far as + your objections to visiting Lady Haughton have been stated, they are + groundless. Her house will not be melancholy; she will have other guests, + and Lilian will find companions, young like herself,—young ladies—and + young gentlemen too!” + </p> + <p> + There was something ominous, something compassionate, in the look which + Mrs. Poyntz cast upon me, in concluding her speech, which in itself was + calculated to rouse the fears of a lover. Lilian away from me, in the + house of a worldly-fine lady—such as I judged Lady Haughton to be—surrounded + by young gentlemen, as well as young ladies, by admirers, no doubt, of a + higher rank and more brilliant fashion than she had yet known! I closed my + eyes, and with strong effort suppressed a groan. + </p> + <p> + “My dear Annie, let me satisfy myself that Dr. Fenwick really does consent + to this journey. He will say to me what he may not to you. Pardon me, + then, if I take him aside for a few minutes. Let me find you here again + under this cedar-tree.” + </p> + <p> + Placing her arm in mine, and without waiting for Mrs. Ashleigh’s answer, + Mrs. Poyntz drew me into the more sequestered walk that belted the lawn; + and when we were out of Mrs. Ashleigh’s sight and hearing, said,— + </p> + <p> + “From what you have now seen of Lilian Ashleigh, do you still desire to + gain her as your wife?” + </p> + <p> + “Still? Oh, with an intensity proportioned to the fear with which I now + dread that she is about to pass away from my eyes—from my life!” + </p> + <p> + “Does your judgment confirm the choice of your heart? Reflect before you + answer.” + </p> + <p> + “Such selfish judgment as I had before I knew her would not confirm but + oppose it. The nobler judgment that now expands all my reasonings, + approves and seconds my heart. No, no; do not smile so sarcastically. This + is not the voice of a blind and egotistical passion. Let me explain myself + if I can. I concede to you that Lilian’s character is undeveloped; I + concede to you, that amidst the childlike freshness and innocence of her + nature, there is at times a strangeness, a mystery, which I have not yet + traced to its cause. But I am certain that the intellect is organically as + sound as the heart, and that intellect and heart will ultimately—if + under happy auspices—blend in that felicitous union which + constitutes the perfection of woman. But it is because she does, and may + for years, may perhaps always, need a more devoted, thoughtful care than + natures less tremulously sensitive, that my judgment sanctions my choice; + for whatever is best for her is best for me. And who would watch over her + as I should?” + </p> + <p> + “You have never yet spoken to Lilian as lovers speak?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, indeed.” + </p> + <p> + “And, nevertheless, you believe that your affection would not be + unreturned?” + </p> + <p> + “I thought so once; I doubt now,—yet, in doubting, hope. But why do + you alarm me with these questions? You, too, forebode that in this visit I + may lose her forever?” + </p> + <p> + “If you fear that, tell her so, and perhaps her answer may dispel your + fear.” + </p> + <p> + “What! now, already, when she has scarcely known me a month. Might I not + risk all if too premature?” + </p> + <p> + “There is no almanac for love. With many women love is born the moment + they know they are beloved. All wisdom tells us that a moment once gone is + irrevocable. Were I in your place, I should feel that I approached a + moment that I must not lose. I have said enough; now I shall rejoin Mrs. + Ashleigh.” + </p> + <p> + “Stay—tell me first what Lady Haughton’s letter really contains to + prompt the advice with which you so transport, and yet so daunt, me when + you proffer it.” + </p> + <p> + “Not now; later, perhaps,—not now. If you wish to see Lilian alone, + she is by the Old Monk’s Well; I saw her seated there as I passed that way + to the house.” + </p> + <p> + “One word more,—only one. Answer this question frankly, for it is + one of honour. Do you still believe that my suit to her daughter would not + be disapproved of by Mrs. Ashleigh?” + </p> + <p> + “At this moment I am sure it would not; a week hence I might not give you + the same answer.” + </p> + <p> + So she passed on with her quick but measured tread, back through the shady + walk, on to the open lawn, till the last glimpse of her pale gray robe + disappeared under the boughs of the cedar-tree. Then, with a start, I + broke the irresolute, tremulous suspense in which I had vainly endeavoured + to analyze my own mind, solve my own doubts, concentrate my own will, and + went the opposite way, skirting the circle of that haunted ground,—as + now, on one side its lofty terrace, the houses of the neighbouring city + came full and close into view, divided from my fairy-land of life but by + the trodden murmurous thoroughfare winding low beneath the ivied parapets; + and as now, again, the world of men abruptly vanished behind the screening + foliage of luxuriant June. + </p> + <p> + At last the enchanted glade opened out from the verdure, its borders + fragrant with syringa and rose and woodbine; and there, by the gray + memorial of the gone Gothic age, my eyes seemed to close their unquiet + wanderings, resting spell-bound on that image which had become to me the + incarnation of earth’s bloom and youth. + </p> + <p> + She stood amidst the Past, backed by the fragments of walls which man had + raised to seclude him from human passion, locking, under those lids so + downcast, the secret of the only knowledge I asked from the boundless + Future. + </p> + <p> + Ah! what mockery there is in that grand word, the world’s fierce war-cry,—Freedom! + Who has not known one period of life, and that so solemn that its shadows + may rest over all life hereafter, when one human creature has over him a + sovereignty more supreme and absolute than Orient servitude adores in the + symbols of diadem and sceptre? What crest so haughty that has not bowed + before a hand which could exalt or humble! What heart so dauntless that + has not trembled to call forth the voice at whose sound open the gates of + rapture or despair! That life alone is free which rules, and suffices for + itself. That life we forfeit when we love! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII. + </h2> + <p> + How did I utter it? By what words did my heart make itself known? I + remember not. All was as a dream that falls upon a restless, feverish + night, and fades away as the eyes unclose on the peace of a cloudless + heaven, on the bliss of a golden sun. A new morrow seemed indeed upon the + earth when I woke from a life-long yesterday,—her dear hand in mine, + her sweet face bowed upon my breast. + </p> + <p> + And then there was that melodious silence in which there is no sound + audible from without; yet within us there is heard a lulling celestial + music, as if our whole being, grown harmonious with the universe, joined + from its happy deeps in the hymn that unites the stars. + </p> + <p> + In that silence our two hearts seemed to make each other understood, to be + drawing nearer and nearer, blending by mysterious concord into the + completeness of a solemn union, never henceforth to be rent asunder. + </p> + <p> + At length I said softly: “And it was here on this spot that I first saw + you,—here that I for the first time knew what power to change our + world and to rule our future goes forth from the charm of a human face!” + </p> + <p> + Then Lilian asked me timidly, and without lifting her eyes, how I had so + seen her, reminding me that I promised to tell her, and had never yet done + so. + </p> + <p> + And then I told her of the strange impulse that had led me into the + grounds, and by what chance my steps had been diverted down the path that + wound to the glade; how suddenly her form had shone upon my eyes, + gathering round itself the rose hues of the setting sun, and how wistfully + those eyes had followed her own silent gaze into the distant heaven. + </p> + <p> + As I spoke, her hand pressed mine eagerly, convulsively, and, raising her + face from my breast, she looked at me with an intent, anxious earnestness. + That look!—twice before it had thrilled and perplexed me. + </p> + <p> + “What is there in that look, oh, my Lilian, which tells me that there is + something that startles you,—something you wish to confide, and yet + shrink from explaining? See how, already, I study the fair book from which + the seal has been lifted! but as yet you must aid me to construe its + language.” + </p> + <p> + “If I shrink from explaining, it is only because I fear that I cannot + explain so as to be understood or believed. But you have a right to know + the secrets of a life which you would link to your own. Turn your face + aside from me; a reproving look, an incredulous smile, chill—oh, you + cannot guess how they chill me, when I would approach that which to me is + so serious and so solemnly strange.” + </p> + <p> + I turned my face away, and her voice grew firmer as, after a brief pause, + she resumed,— + </p> + <p> + “As far back as I can remember in my infancy, there have been moments when + there seems to fall a soft hazy veil between my sight and the things + around it, thickening and deepening till it has the likeness of one of + those white fleecy clouds which gather on the verge of the horizon when + the air is yet still, but the winds are about to rise; and then this + vapour or veil will suddenly open, as clouds open, and let in the blue + sky.” + </p> + <p> + “Go on,” I said gently, for here she came to a stop. She continued, + speaking somewhat more hurriedly,— + </p> + <p> + “Then, in that opening, strange appearances present them selves to me, as + in a vision. In my childhood these were chiefly landscapes of wonderful + beauty. I could but faintly describe them then; I could not attempt to + describe them now, for they are almost gone from my memory. My dear mother + chid me for telling her what I saw, so I did not impress it on my mind by + repeating it. As I grew up, this kind of vision—if I may so call it—became + much less frequent, or much less distinct; I still saw the soft veil fall, + the pale cloud form and open, but often what may then have appeared was + entirely forgotten when I recovered myself, waking as from a sleep. + Sometimes, however, the recollection would be vivid and complete; + sometimes I saw the face of my lost father; sometimes I heard his very + voice, as I had seen and heard him in my early childhood, when he would + let me rest for hours beside him as he mused or studied, happy to be so + quietly near him, for I loved him, oh, so dearly! and I remember him so + distinctly, though I was only in my sixth year when he died. Much more + recently—indeed, within the last few months—the images of + things to come are reflected on the space that I gaze into as clearly as + in a glass. Thus, for weeks before I came hither, or knew that such a + place existed, I saw distinctly the old House, yon trees, this sward, this + moss-grown Gothic fount; and, with the sight, an impression was conveyed + to me that in the scene before me my old childlike life would pass into + some solemn change. So that when I came here, and recognized the picture + in my vision, I took an affection for the spot,—an affection not + without awe, a powerful, perplexing interest, as one who feels under the + influence of a fate of which a prophetic glimpse has been vouchsafed. And + in that evening, when you first saw me, seated here—” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Lilian, on that evening—” + </p> + <p> + “I saw you also, but in my vision—yonder, far in the deeps of space,—and—and + my heart was stirred as it had never been before; and near where your + image grew out from the cloud I saw my father’s face, and I heard his + voice, not in my ear, but as in my heart, whispering—” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Lilian—whispering—what?” + </p> + <p> + “These words,—only these,—‘Ye will need one another.’ But + then, suddenly, between my upward eyes and the two forms they had beheld, + there rose from the earth, obscuring the skies, a vague, dusky vapour, + undulous, and coiling like a vast serpent,—nothing, indeed, of its + shape and figure definite, but of its face one abrupt glare; a flash from + two dread luminous eyes, and a young head, like the Medusa’s, changing, + more rapidly than I could have drawn breath, into a grinning skull. Then + my terror made me bow my head, and when I raised it again, all that I had + seen was vanished. But the terror still remained, even when I felt my + mother’s arm round me and heard her voice. And then, when I entered the + house, and sat down again alone, the recollection of what I had seen—those + eyes, that face, that skull—grew on me stronger and stronger till I + fainted, and remember no more, until my eyes, opening, saw you by my side, + and in my wonder there was not terror. No, a sense of joy, protection, + hope, yet still shadowed by a kind of fear or awe, in recognizing the + countenance which had gleamed on me from the skies before the dark vapour + had risen, and while my father’s voice had murmured, ‘Ye will need one + another.’ And now—and now—will you love me less that you know + a secret in my being which I have told to no other,—cannot construe + to myself? Only—only, at least, do not mock me; do not disbelieve + me! Nay, turn from me no longer now: now I ask to meet your eyes. Now, + before our hands can join again, tell me that you do not despise me as + untruthful, do not pity me as insane.” + </p> + <p> + “Hush, hush!” I said, drawing her to my breast. “Of all you tell me we + will talk hereafter. The scales of our science have no weights fine enough + for the gossamer threads of a maiden’s pure fancies. Enough for me—for + us both—if out from all such illusions start one truth, told to you, + lovely child, from the heavens; told to me, ruder man, on the earth; + repeated by each pulse of this heart that woos you to hear and to trust,—now + and henceforth through life unto death, ‘Each has need of the other,’—I + of you, I of you! my Lilian! my Lilian!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII. + </h2> + <p> + In spite of the previous assurance of Mrs. Poyntz, it was not without an + uneasy apprehension that I approached the cedar-tree, under which Mrs. + Ashleigh still sat, her friend beside her. I looked on the fair creature + whose arm was linked in mine. So young, so singularly lovely, and with all + the gifts of birth and fortune which bend avarice and ambition the more + submissively to youth and beauty, I felt as if I had wronged what a parent + might justly deem her natural lot. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, if your mother should disapprove!” said I, falteringly. Lilian leaned + on my arm less lightly. “If I had thought so,” she said with her soft + blush, “should I be thus by your side?” + </p> + <p> + So we passed under the boughs of the dark tree, and Lilian left me and + kissed Mrs. Ashleigh’s cheek; then, seating herself on the turf, laid her + head on her mother’s lap. I looked on the Queen of the Hill, whose keen + eye shot over me. I thought there was a momentary expression of pain or + displeasure on her countenance; but it passed. Still there seemed to me + something of irony, as well as of triumph or congratulation, in the + half-smile with which she quitted her seat, and in the tone with which she + whispered, as she glided by me to the open sward, “So, then, it is + settled.” + </p> + <p> + She walked lightly and quickly down the lawn. When she was out of sight I + breathed more freely. I took the seat which she had left, by Mrs. + Ashleigh’s side, and said, “A little while ago I spoke of myself as a man + without kindred, without home, and now I come to you and ask for both.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ashleigh looked at me benignly, then raised her daughter’s face from + her lap, and whispered, “Lilian;” and Lilian’s lips moved, but I did not + hear her answer. Her mother did. She took Lilian’s hand, simply placed it + in mine, and said, “As she chooses, I choose; whom she loves, I love.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX. + </h2> + <p> + From that evening till the day Mrs. Ashleigh and Lilian went on the + dreaded visit, I was always at their house, when my avocations allowed me + to steal to it; and during those few days, the happiest I had ever known, + it seemed to me that years could not have more deepened my intimacy with + Lilian’s exquisite nature, made me more reverential of its purity, or more + enamoured of its sweetness. I could detect in her but one fault, and I + rebuked myself for believing that it was a fault. We see many who neglect + the minor duties of life, who lack watchful forethought and considerate + care for others, and we recognize the cause of this failing in levity or + egotism. Certainly, neither of those tendencies of character could be + ascribed to Lilian. Yet still in daily trifles there was something of that + neglect, some lack of that care and forethought. She loved her mother with + fondness and devotion, yet it never occurred to her to aid in those petty + household cares in which her mother centred so much of habitual interest. + She was full of tenderness and pity to all want and suffering, yet many a + young lady on the Hill was more actively beneficent,—visiting the + poor in their sickness, or instructing their children in the Infant + Schools. I was persuaded that her love for me was deep and truthful; it + was clearly void of all ambition; doubtless she would have borne, + unflinching and contented, whatever the world considers to be a sacrifice + and privation,—yet I should never have expected her to take her + share in the troubles of ordinary life. I could never have applied to her + the homely but significant name of helpmate. I reproach myself while I + write for noticing such defect—if defect it were—in what may + be called the practical routine of our positive, trivial, human existence. + No doubt it was this that had caused Mrs. Poyntz’s harsh judgment against + the wisdom of my choice. But such chiller shade upon Lilian’s charming + nature was reflected from no inert, unamiable self-love. It was but the + consequence of that self-absorption which the habit of revery had + fostered. I cautiously abstained from all allusion to those visionary + deceptions, which she had confided to me as the truthful impressions of + spirit, if not of sense. To me any approach to what I termed + “superstition” was displeasing; any indulgence of fantasies not within the + measured and beaten track of healthful imagination more than displeased me + in her,—it alarmed. I would not by a word encourage her in + persuasions which I felt it would be at present premature to reason + against, and cruel indeed to ridicule. I was convinced that of themselves + these mists round her native intelligence, engendered by a solitary and + musing childhood, would subside in the fuller daylight of wedded life. She + seemed pained when she saw how resolutely I shunned a subject dear to her + thoughts. She made one or two timid attempts to renew it, but my grave + looks sufficed to check her. Once or twice indeed, on such occasions, she + would turn away and leave me, but she soon came back; that gentle heart + could not bear one unkindlier shade between itself and what it loved. It + was agreed that our engagement should be, for the present, confided only + to Mrs. Poyntz. When Mrs. Ashleigh and Lilian returned, which would be in + a few weeks at furthest, it should be proclaimed; and our marriage could + take place in the autumn, when I should be most free for a brief holiday + from professional toils. + </p> + <p> + So we parted-as lovers part. I felt none of those jealous fears which, + before we were affianced, had made me tremble at the thought of + separation, and had conjured up irresistible rivals. But it was with a + settled, heavy gloom that I saw her depart. From earth was gone a glory; + from life a blessing. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX. + </h2> + <p> + During the busy years of my professional career, I had snatched leisure + for some professional treatises, which had made more or less sensation, + and one of them, entitled “The Vital Principle; its Waste and Supply,” had + gained a wide circulation among the general public. This last treatise + contained the results of certain experiments, then new in chemistry, which + were adduced in support of a theory I entertained as to the + re-invigoration of the human system by principles similar to those which + Liebig has applied to the replenishment of an exhausted soil,—namely, + the giving back to the frame those essentials to its nutrition, which it + has lost by the action or accident of time; or supplying that special + pabulum or energy in which the individual organism is constitutionally + deficient; and neutralizing or counterbalancing that in which it + super-abounds,—a theory upon which some eminent physicians have more + recently improved with signal success. But on these essays, slight and + suggestive, rather than dogmatic, I set no value. I had been for the last + two years engaged on a work of much wider range, endeared to me by a far + bolder ambition,—a work upon which I fondly hoped to found an + enduring reputation as a severe and original physiologist. It was an + Inquiry into Organic Life, similar in comprehensiveness of survey to that + by which the illustrious Muller, of Berlin, has enriched the science of + our age; however inferior, alas! to that august combination of thought and + learning in the judgment which checks presumption, and the genius which + adorns speculation. But at that day I was carried away by the ardour of + composition, and I admired my performance because I loved my labour. This + work had been entirely laid aside for the last agitated month; now that + Lilian was gone, I resumed it earnestly, as the sole occupation that had + power and charm enough to rouse me from the aching sense of void and loss. + </p> + <p> + The very night of the day she went, I reopened my manuscript. I had left + off at the commencement of a chapter Upon Knowledge as derived from our + Senses. As my convictions on this head were founded on the well-known + arguments of Locke and Condillac against innate ideas, and on the + reasonings by which Hume has resolved the combination of sensations into a + general idea to an impulse arising merely out of habit, so I set myself to + oppose, as a dangerous concession to the sentimentalities or mysticism of + a pseudo-philosophy, the doctrine favoured by most of our recent + physiologists, and of which some of the most eminent of German + metaphysicians have accepted the substance, though refining into a + subtlety its positive form,—I mean the doctrine which Muller himself + has expressed in these words:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “That innate ideas may exist cannot in the slightest degree be denied: + it is, indeed, a fact. All the ideas of animals, which are induced by + instinct, are innate and immediate: something presented to the mind, a + desire to attain which is at the same time given. The new-born lamb + and foal have such innate ideas, which lead them to follow their + mother and suck the teats. Is it not in some measure the same with + the intellectual ideas of man?” (1) +</pre> + <p> + To this question I answered with an indignant “No!” A “Yes” would have + shaken my creed of materialism to the dust. I wrote on rapidly, warmly. I + defined the properties and meted the limits of natural laws, which I would + not admit that a Deity himself could alter. I clamped and soldered dogma + to dogma in the links of my tinkered logic, till out from my page, to my + own complacent eye, grew Intellectual Man, as the pure formation of his + material senses; mind, or what is called soul, born from and nurtured by + them alone; through them to act, and to perish with the machine they + moved. Strange, that at the very time my love for Lilian might have taught + me that there are mysteries in the core of the feelings which my analysis + of ideas could not solve, I should so stubbornly have opposed as unreal + all that could be referred to the spiritual! Strange, that at the very + time when the thought that I might lose from this life the being I had + known scarce a month had just before so appalled me, I should thus + complacently sit down to prove that, according to the laws of the nature + which my passion obeyed, I must lose for eternity the blessing I now hoped + I had won to my life! But how distinctly dissimilar is man in his conduct + from man in his systems! See the poet reclined under forest boughs, + conning odes to his mistress; follow him out into the world; no mistress + ever lived for him there!(2) See the hard man of science, so austere in + his passionless problems; follow him now where the brain rests from its + toil, where the heart finds its Sabbath—what child is so tender, so + yielding, and soft? + </p> + <p> + But I had proved to my own satisfaction that poet and sage are dust, and + no more, when the pulse ceases to beat. And on that consolatory conclusion + my pen stopped. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, beside me I distinctly heard a sigh,—a compassionate, + mournful sigh. The sound was unmistakable. I started from my seat, looked + round, amazed to discover no one,—no living thing! The windows were + closed, the night was still. That sigh was not the wail of the wind. But + there, in the darker angle of the room, what was that? A silvery + whiteness, vaguely shaped as a human form, receding, fading, gone! Why, I + know not—for no face was visible, no form, if form it were, more + distinct than the colourless outline,—why, I know not, but I cried + aloud, “Lilian! Lilian!” My voice came strangely back to my own ear; I + paused, then smiled and blushed at my folly. “So I, too, have learned what + is superstition,” I muttered to myself. “And here is an anecdote at my own + expense (as Muller frankly tells us anecdotes of the illusions which would + haunt his eyes, shut or open),—an anecdote I may quote when I come + to my chapter on the Cheats of the Senses and Spectral Phantasms.” I went + on with my book, and wrote till the lights waned in the gray of the dawn. + And I said then, in the triumph of my pride, as I laid myself down to + rest, “I have written that which allots with precision man’s place in the + region of nature; written that which will found a school, form disciples; + and race after race of those who cultivate truth through pure reason shall + accept my bases if they enlarge my building.” And again I heard the sigh, + but this time it caused no surprise. “Certainly,” I murmured, “a very + strange thing is the nervous system!” So I turned on my pillow, and, + wearied out, fell asleep. + </p> + <p> + (1) Muller’s “Elements of Physiology,” vol. ii. p. 134. Translated by Dr. + Baley. + </p> + <p> + (2) Cowley, who wrote so elaborate a series of amatory poems, is said + “never to have been in love but once, and then he never had resolution to + tell his passion.”—Johnson’s “Lives of the Poets:” COWLEY. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXI. + </h2> + <p> + The next day, the last of the visiting patients to whom my forenoons were + devoted had just quitted me, when I was summoned in haste to attend the + steward of a Sir Philip Derval not residing at his family seat, which was + about five miles from L——. It was rarely indeed that persons + so far from the town, when of no higher rank than this applicant, asked my + services. + </p> + <p> + But it was my principle to go wherever I was summoned; my profession was + not gain, it was healing, to which gain was the incident, not the + essential. This case the messenger reported as urgent. I went on + horseback, and rode fast; but swiftly as I cantered through the village + that skirted the approach to Sir Philip Derval’s park, the evident care + bestowed on the accommodation of the cottagers forcibly struck me. I felt + that I was on the lands of a rich, intelligent, and beneficent proprietor. + Entering the park, and passing before the manor-house, the contrast + between the neglect and the decay of the absentee’s stately Hall and the + smiling homes of his villagers was disconsolately mournful. + </p> + <p> + An imposing pile, built apparently by Vanbrugh, with decorated pilasters, + pompous portico, and grand perron (or double flight of stairs to the + entrance), enriched with urns and statues, but discoloured, mildewed, + chipped, half-hidden with unpruned creepers and ivy. Most of the windows + were closed with shutters, decaying for want of paint; in some of the + casements the panes were broken; the peacock perched on the shattered + balustrade, that fenced a garden overgrown with weeds. The sun glared + hotly on the place, and made its ruinous condition still more painfully + apparent. I was glad when a winding in the park-road shut the house from + my sight. Suddenly I emerged through a copse of ancient yew-trees, and + before me there gleamed, in abrupt whiteness, a building evidently + designed for the family mausoleum, classical in its outline, with the + blind iron door niched into stone walls of massive thickness, and + surrounded by a funereal garden of roses and evergreens, fenced with an + iron rail, party-gilt. + </p> + <p> + The suddenness with which this House of the Dead came upon me heightened + almost into pain, if not into awe, the dismal impression which the aspect + of the deserted home in its neighbourhood had made. I spurred my horse, + and soon arrived at the door of my patient, who lived in a fair brick + house at the other extremity of the park. + </p> + <p> + I found my patient, a man somewhat advanced in years, but of a robust + conformation, in bed: he had been seized with a fit, which was supposed to + be apoplectic, a few hours before; but was already sensible, and out of + immediate danger. After I had prescribed a few simple remedies, I took + aside the patient’s wife, and went with her to the parlour below stairs, + to make some inquiry about her husband’s ordinary regimen and habits of + life. These seemed sufficiently regular; I could discover no apparent + cause for the attack, which presented symptoms not familiar to my + experience. “Has your husband ever had such fits before?” + </p> + <p> + “Never!” + </p> + <p> + “Had he experienced any sudden emotion? Had he heard any unexpected news; + or had anything happened to put him out?” + </p> + <p> + The woman looked much disturbed at these inquiries. I pressed them more + urgently. At last she burst into tears, and clasping my hand, said, “Oh, + doctor, I ought to tell you—I sent for you on purpose—yet I + fear you will not believe me: my good man has seen a ghost!” + </p> + <p> + “A ghost!” said I, repressing a smile. “Well, tell me all, that I may + prevent the ghost coming again.” + </p> + <p> + The woman’s story was prolix. Its substance was this. Her husband, + habitually an early riser, had left his bed that morning still earlier + than usual, to give directions about some cattle that were to be sent for + sale to a neighbouring fair. An hour afterwards he had been found by a + shepherd, near the mausoleum, apparently lifeless. On being removed to his + own house, he had recovered speech, and bidding all except his wife leave + the room, he then told her that on walking across the park towards the + cattle-sheds, he had seen what appeared to him at first a pale light by + the iron door of the mausoleum. On approaching nearer, this light changed + into the distinct and visible form of his master, Sir Philip Derval, who + was then abroad,—supposed to be in the East, where he had resided + for many years. The impression on the steward’s mind was so strong, that + he called out, “Oh, Sir Philip!” when looking still more intently, he + perceived that the face was that of a corpse. As he continued to gaze, the + apparition seemed gradually to recede, as if vanishing into the sepulchre + itself. He knew no more; he became unconscious. It was the excess of the + poor woman’s alarm, on hearing this strange tale, that made her resolve to + send for me instead of the parish apothecary. She fancied so astounding a + cause for her husband’s seizure could only be properly dealt with by some + medical man reputed to have more than ordinary learning; and the steward + himself objected to the apothecary in the immediate neighbourhood, as more + likely to annoy him by gossip than a physician from a comparative + distance. + </p> + <p> + I took care not to lose the confidence of the good wife by parading too + quickly my disbelief in the phantom her husband declared that he had seen; + but as the story itself seemed at once to decide the nature of the fit to + be epileptic, I began to tell her of similar delusions which, in my + experience, had occurred to those subjected to epilepsy, and finally + soothed her into the conviction that the apparition was clearly reducible + to natural causes. Afterwards, I led her on to talk about Sir Philip + Derval, less from any curiosity I felt about the absent proprietor than + from a desire to re-familiarize her own mind to his image as a living man. + The steward had been in the service of Sir Philip’s father, and had known + Sir Philip himself from a child. He was warmly attached to his master, + whom the old woman described as a man of rare benevolence and great + eccentricity, which last she imputed to his studious habits. He had + succeeded to the title and estates as a minor. For the first few years + after attaining his majority, he had mixed much in the world. When at + Derval Court his house had been filled with gay companions, and was the + scene of lavish hospitality; but the estate was not in proportion to the + grandeur of the mansion, still less to the expenditure of the owner. He + had become greatly embarrassed; and some love disappointment (so it was + rumoured) occurring simultaneously with his pecuniary difficulties, he had + suddenly changed his way of life, shut himself up from his old friends, + lived in seclusion, taking to books and scientific pursuits, and as the + old woman said vaguely and expressively, “to odd ways.” He had gradually + by an economy that, towards himself, was penurious, but which did not + preclude much judicious generosity to others, cleared off his debts; and, + once more rich, he had suddenly quitted the country, and taken to a life + of travel. He was now about forty-eight years old, and had been eighteen + years abroad. He wrote frequently to his steward, giving him minute and + thoughtful instructions in regard to the employment, comforts, and homes + of the peasantry, but peremptorily ordering him to spend no money on the + grounds and mansion, stating as a reason why the latter might be allowed + to fall into decay, his intention to pull it down whenever he returned to + England. + </p> + <p> + I stayed some time longer than my engagements well warranted at my + patient’s house, not leaving till the sufferer, after a quiet sleep, had + removed from his bed to his armchair, taken food, and seemed perfectly + recovered from his attack. + </p> + <p> + Riding homeward, I mused on the difference that education makes, even + pathologically, between man and man. Here was a brawny inhabitant of rural + fields, leading the healthiest of lives, not conscious of the faculty we + call imagination, stricken down almost to Death’s door by his fright at an + optical illusion, explicable, if examined, by the same simple causes which + had impressed me the night before with a moment’s belief in a sound and a + spectre,—me who, thanks to sublime education, went so quietly to + sleep a few minutes after, convinced that no phantom, the ghostliest that + ear ever heard or eye ever saw, can be anything else but a nervous + phenomenon. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXII. + </h2> + <p> + That evening I went to Mrs. Poyntz’s; it was one of her ordinary + “reception nights,” and I felt that she would naturally expect my + attendance as “a proper attention.” + </p> + <p> + I joined a group engaged in general conversation, of which Mrs. Poyntz + herself made the centre, knitting as usual,—rapidly while she + talked, slowly when she listened. + </p> + <p> + Without mentioning the visit I had paid that morning, I turned the + conversation on the different country places in the neighbourhood, and + then incidentally asked, “What sort of a man is Sir Philip Derval? Is it + not strange that he should suffer so fine a place to fall into decay?” The + answers I received added little to the information I had already obtained. + Mrs. Poyntz knew nothing of Sir Philip Derval, except as a man of large + estates, whose rental had been greatly increased by a rise in the value of + property he possessed in the town of L——, and which lay + contiguous to that of her husband. Two or three of the older inhabitants + of the Hill had remembered Sir Philip in his early days, when he was gay, + high-spirited, hospitable, lavish. One observed that the only person in L—— + whom he had admitted to his subsequent seclusion was Dr. Lloyd, who was + then without practice, and whom he had employed as an assistant in certain + chemical experiments. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +Here a gentleman struck into the conversation. He was a stranger to +me and to L——, a visitor to one of the dwellers on the Hill, who had +asked leave to present him to its queen as a great traveller and an +accomplished antiquary. + + Said this gentleman: “Sir Philip Derval? I know him. I met him in the +East. He was then still, I believe, very fond of chemical science; a +clever, odd, philanthropical man; had studied medicine, or at least +practised it; was said to have made many marvellous cures. I became +acquainted with him in Aleppo. He had come to that town, not much +frequented by English travellers, in order to inquire into the murder of +two men, of whom one was his friend and the other his countryman.” + </pre> + <p> + “This is interesting,” said Mrs. Poyntz, dryly. “We who live on this + innocent Hill all love stories of crime; murder is the pleasantest subject + you could have hit on. Pray give us the details.” + </p> + <p> + “So encouraged,” said the traveller, good-humouredly, “I will not hesitate + to communicate the little I know. In Aleppo there had lived for some years + a man who was held by the natives in great reverence. He had the + reputation of extraordinary wisdom, but was difficult of access; the + lively imagination of the Orientals invested his character with the + fascinations of fable,—in short, Haroun of Aleppo was popularly + considered a magician. Wild stories were told of his powers, of his + preternatural age, of his hoarded treasures. Apart from such disputable + titles to homage, there seemed no question, from all I heard, that his + learning was considerable, his charities extensive, his manner of life + irreproachably ascetic. He appears to have resembled those Arabian sages + of the Gothic age to whom modern science is largely indebted,—a + mystic enthusiast, but an earnest scholar. A wealthy and singular + Englishman, long resident in another part of the East, afflicted by some + languishing disease, took a journey to Aleppo to consult this sage, who, + among his other acquirements, was held to have discovered rare secrets in + medicine,—his countrymen said in ‘charms.’ One morning, not long + after the Englishman’s arrival, Haroun was found dead in his bed, + apparently strangled, and the Englishman, who lodged in another part of + the town, had disappeared; but some of his clothes, and a crutch on which + he habitually supported himself, were found a few miles distant from + Aleppo, near the roadside. There appeared no doubt that he, too, had been + murdered, but his corpse could not be discovered. Sir Philip Derval had + been a loving disciple of this Sage of Aleppo, to whom he assured me he + owed not only that knowledge of medicine which, by report, Sir Philip + possessed, but the insight into various truths of nature, on the + promulgation of which, it was evident, Sir Philip cherished the ambition + to found a philosophical celebrity for himself.” + </p> + <p> + “Of what description were those truths of nature?” I asked, somewhat + sarcastically. + </p> + <p> + “Sir, I am unable to tell you, for Sir Philip did not inform me, nor did I + much care to ask; for what may be revered as truths in Asia are usually + despised as dreams in Europe. To return to my story: Sir Philip had been + in Aleppo a little time before the murder; had left the Englishman under + the care of Haroun. He returned to Aleppo on hearing the tragic events I + have related, and was busy in collecting such evidence as could be + gleaned, and instituting inquiries after our missing countryman at the + time I myself chanced to arrive in the city. I assisted in his researches, + but without avail. The assassins remained undiscovered. I do not myself + doubt that they were mere vulgar robbers. Sir Philip had a darker + suspicion of which he made no secret to me; but as I confess that I + thought the suspicion groundless, you will pardon me if I do not repeat + it. Whether since I left the East the Englishman’s remains have been + discovered, I know not. Very probably; for I understand that his heirs + have got hold of what fortune he left,—less than was generally + supposed. But it was reported that he had buried great treasures, a + rumour, however absurd, not altogether inconsistent with his character.” + </p> + <p> + “What was his character?” asked Mrs. Poyntz. + </p> + <p> + “One of evil and sinister repute. He was regarded with terror by the + attendants who had accompanied him to Aleppo. But he had lived in a very + remote part of the East, little known to Europeans, and, from all I could + learn, had there established an extraordinary power, strengthened by + superstitious awe. He was said to have studied deeply that knowledge which + the philosophers of old called ‘occult,’ not, like the Sage of Aleppo, for + benevolent, but for malignant ends. He was accused of conferring with evil + spirits, and filling his barbaric court (for he lived in a kind of savage + royalty) with charmers and sorcerers. I suspect, after all, that he was + only, like myself, an ardent antiquary, and cunningly made use of the fear + he inspired in order to secure his authority, and prosecute in safety + researches into ancient sepulchres or temples. His great passion was, + indeed, in excavating such remains, in his neighbourhood; with what result + I know not, never having penetrated so far into regions infested by + robbers and pestiferous with malaria. He wore the Eastern dress, and + always carried jewels about him. I came to the conclusion that for the + sake of these jewels he was murdered, perhaps by some of his own servants + (and, indeed, two at least of his suite were missing), who then at once + buried his body, and kept their own secret. He was old, very infirm; could + never have got far from the town without assistance.” + </p> + <p> + “You have not yet told us his name,” said Mrs. Poyntz. + </p> + <p> + “His name was Grayle.” + </p> + <p> + “Grayle!” exclaimed Mrs. Poyntz, dropping her work. “Louis Grayle?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; Louis Grayle. You could not have known him?” + </p> + <p> + “Known him! No; but I have often heard my father speak of him. Such, then, + was the tragic end of that strong dark creature, for whom, as a young girl + in the nursery, I used to feel a kind of fearful admiring interest?” + </p> + <p> + “It is your turn to narrate now,” said the traveller. + </p> + <p> + And we all drew closer round our hostess, who remained silent some + moments, her brow thoughtful, her work suspended. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said she at last, looking round us with a lofty air, which seemed + half defying, “force and courage are always fascinating, even when they + are quite in the wrong. I go with the world, because the world goes with + me; if it did not—” Here she stopped for a moment, clenched the firm + white hand, and then scornfully waved it, left the sentence unfinished, + and broke into another. + </p> + <p> + “Going with the world, of course we must march over those who stand + against it. But when one man stands single-handed against our march, we do + not despise him; it is enough to crush. I am very glad I did not see Louis + Grayle when I was a girl of sixteen.” Again she paused a moment, and + resumed: “Louis Grayle was the only son of a usurer, infamous for the + rapacity with which he had acquired enormous wealth. Old Grayle desired to + rear his heir as a gentleman; sent him to Eton. Boys are always + aristocratic; his birth was soon thrown in his teeth; he was fierce; he + struck boys bigger than himself,—fought till he was half killed. My + father was at school with him; described him as a tiger-whelp. One day he—still + a fag—struck a sixth-form boy. Sixth-form boys do not fight fags; + they punish them. Louis Grayle was ordered to hold out his hand to the + cane; he received the blow, drew forth his schoolboy knife, and stabbed + the punisher. After that, he left Eton. I don’t think he was publicly + expelled—too mere a child for that honour—but he was taken or + sent away; educated with great care under the first masters at home. When + he was of age to enter the University, old Grayle was dead. Louis was sent + by his guardians to Cambridge, with acquirements far exceeding the average + of young men, and with unlimited command of money. My father was at the + same college, and described him again,—haughty, quarrelsome, + reckless, handsome, aspiring, brave. Does that kind of creature interest + you, my dears?” (appealing to the ladies). + </p> + <p> + “La!” said Miss Brabazon; “a horrid usurer’s son!” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, true; the vulgar proverb says it is good to be born with a silver + spoon in one’s mouth: so it is when one has one’s own family crest on it; + but when it is a spoon on which people recognize their family crest, and + cry out, ‘Stolen from our plate chest,’ it is a heritage that outlaws a + babe in his cradle. However, young men at college who want money are less + scrupulous about descent than boys at Eton are. Louis Grayle found, while + at college, plenty of wellborn acquaintances willing to recover from him + some of the plunder his father had extorted from theirs. He was too wild + to distinguish himself by academical honours, but my father said that the + tutors of the college declared there were not six undergraduates in the + University who knew as much hard and dry science as wild Louis Grayle. He + went into the world, no doubt, hoping to shine; but his father’s name was + too notorious to admit the son into good society. The Polite World, it is + true, does not examine a scutcheon with the nice eye of a herald, nor look + upon riches with the stately contempt of a stoic; still the Polite World + has its family pride and its moral sentiment. It does not like to be + cheated,—I mean, in money matters; and when the son of a man who has + emptied its purse and foreclosed on its acres rides by its club-windows, + hand on haunch, and head in the air, no lion has a scowl more awful, no + hyena a laugh more dread, than that same easy, good-tempered, tolerant, + polite, well-bred World which is so pleasant an acquaintance, so languid a + friend, and—so remorseless an—enemy. In short, Louis Grayle + claimed the right to be courted,—he was shunned; to be admired,—he + was loathed. Even his old college acquaintances were shamed out of knowing + him. Perhaps he could have lived through all this had he sought to glide + quietly into position; but he wanted the tact of the well-bred, and strove + to storm his way, not to steal it. Reduced for companions to needy + parasites, he braved and he shocked all decorous opinion by that + ostentation of excess, which made Richelieus and Lauzuns the rage. But + then Richelieus and Lauzuns were dukes! He now very naturally took the + Polite World into hate,—gave it scorn for scorn. He would ally + himself with Democracy; his wealth could not get him into a club, but it + would buy him into parliament; he could not be a Lauzun, nor, perhaps, a + Mirabeau, but he might be a Danton. He had plenty of knowledge and + audacity, and with knowledge and audacity a good hater is sure to be + eloquent. Possibly, then, this poor Louis Grayle might have made a great + figure, left his mark on his age and his name in history; but in + contesting the borough, which he was sure to carry, he had to face an + opponent in a real fine gentleman whom his father had ruined, cool and + highbred, with a tongue like a rapier, a sneer like an adder. A quarrel of + course; Louis Grayle sent a challenge. The fine gentleman, known to be no + coward (fine gentlemen never are), was at first disposed to refuse with + contempt. But Grayle had made himself the idol of the mob; and at a word + from Grayle, the fine gentleman might have been ducked at a pump, or + tossed in a blanket,—that would have made him ridiculous; to be shot + at is a trifle, to be laughed at is serious. He therefore condescended to + accept the challenge, and my father was his second. + </p> + <p> + “It was settled, of course, according to English custom, that both + combatants should fire at the same time, and by signal. The antagonist + fired at the right moment; his ball grazed Louis Grayle’s temple. Louis + Grayle had not fired. He now seemed to the seconds to take slow and + deliberate aim. They called out to him not to fire; they were rushing to + prevent him, when the trigger was pulled, and his opponent fell dead on + the field. The fight was, therefore, considered unfair; Louis Grayle was + tried for his life: he did not stand the trial in person.(1) He escaped to + the Continent; hurried on to some distant uncivilized lands; could not be + traced; reappeared in England no more. The lawyer who conducted his + defence pleaded skilfully. He argued that the delay in firing was not + intentional, therefore not criminal,—the effect of the stun which + the wound in the temple had occasioned. The judge was a gentleman, and + summed up the evidence so as to direct the jury to a verdict against the + low wretch who had murdered a gentleman; but the jurors were not + gentlemen, and Grayle’s advocate had of course excited their sympathy for + a son of the people, whom a gentleman had wantonly insulted. The verdict + was manslaughter; but the sentence emphatically marked the aggravated + nature of the homicide,—three years’ imprisonment. Grayle eluded the + prison, but he was a man disgraced and an exile,—his ambition + blasted, his career an outlaw’s, and his age not yet twenty-three. My + father said that he was supposed to have changed his name; none knew what + had become of him. And so this creature, brilliant and daring, whom if + born under better auspices we might now be all fawning on, cringing to,—after + living to old age, no one knows how,—dies murdered at Aleppo, no + one, you say, knows by whom.” + </p> + <p> + “I saw some account of his death in the papers about three years ago,” + said one of the party; “but the name was misspelled, and I had no idea + that it was the same man who had fought the duel which Mrs. Colonel Poyntz + has so graphically described. I have a very vague recollection of the + trial; it took place when I was a boy, more than forty years since. The + affair made a stir at the time, but was soon forgotten.” + </p> + <p> + “Soon forgotten,” said Mrs. Poyntz; “ay, what is not? Leave your place in + the world for ten minutes, and when you come back somebody else has taken + it; but when you leave the world for good, who remembers that you had ever + a place even in the parish register?” + </p> + <p> + “Nevertheless,” said I, “a great poet has said, finely and truly, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “‘The sun of Homer shines upon us still.’” + </pre> + <p> + “But it does not shine upon Homer; and learned folks tell me that we know + no more who and what Homer was, if there was ever a single Homer at all, + or rather, a whole herd of Homers, than we know about the man in the moon,—if + there be one man there, or millions of men. Now, my dear Miss Brabazon, it + will be very kind in you to divert our thoughts into channels less gloomy. + Some pretty French air—Dr. Fenwick, I have something to say to you.” + She drew me towards the window. “So Annie Ashleigh writes me word that I + am not to mention your engagement. Do you think it quite prudent to keep + it a secret?” + </p> + <p> + “I do not see how prudence is concerned in keeping it secret one way or + the other,—it is a mere matter of feeling. Most people wish to + abridge, as far as they can, the time in which their private arrangements + are the topic of public gossip.” + </p> + <p> + “Public gossip is sometimes the best security for the due completion of + private arrangements. As long as a girl is not known to be engaged, her + betrothed must be prepared for rivals. Announce the engagement, and rivals + are warned off.” + </p> + <p> + “I fear no rivals.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you not? Bold man! I suppose you will write to Lilian?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly.” + </p> + <p> + “Do so, and constantly. By-the-way, Mrs. Ashleigh, before she went, asked + me to send her back Lady Haughton’s letter of invitation. What for,—to + show to you?” + </p> + <p> + “Very likely. Have you the letter still? May I see it?” + </p> + <p> + “Not just at present. When Lilian or Mrs. Ashleigh writes to you, come and + tell me how they like their visit, and what other guests form the party.” + </p> + <p> + Therewith she turned away and conversed apart with the traveller. + </p> + <p> + Her words disquieted me, and I felt that they were meant to do so, + wherefore I could not guess. But there is no language on earth which has + more words with a double meaning than that spoken by the Clever Woman, who + is never so guarded as when she appears to be frank. + </p> + <p> + As I walked home thoughtfully, I was accosted by a young man, the son of + one of the wealthiest merchants in the town. I had attended him with + success some months before, in a rheumatic fever: he and his family were + much attached to me. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, my dear Fenwick, I am so glad to see you; I owe you an obligation of + which you are not aware,—an exceedingly pleasant + travelling-companion. I came with him to-day from London, where I have + been sight-seeing and holidaymaking for the last fortnight.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you mean that you kindly bring me a patient?” + </p> + <p> + “No, only an admirer. I was staying at Fenton’s Hotel. It so happened one + day that I had left in the coffee-room your last work on the Vital + Principle, which, by the by, the bookseller assures me is selling + immensely among readers as non-professional as myself. Coming into the + coffee-room again, I found a gentleman reading the book. I claimed it + politely; he as politely tendered his excuse for taking it. We made + acquaintance on the spot. The next day we were intimate. He expressed + great interest and curiosity about your theory and your experiments. I + told him I knew you. You may guess if I described you as less clever in + your practice than you are in your writings; and, in short, he came with + me to L——, partly to see our flourishing town, principally on + my promise to introduce him to you. My mother, you know, has what she + calls a dejeuner tomorrow,—dejeuner and dance. You will be there?” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you for reminding me of her invitation. I will avail myself of it + if I can. Your new friend will be present? Who and what is he,—a + medical student?” + </p> + <p> + “No, a mere gentleman at ease, but seems to have a good deal of general + information. Very young, apparently very rich, wonderfully good-looking. I + am sure you will like him; everybody must.” + </p> + <p> + “It is quite enough to prepare me to like him that he is a friend of + yours.” And so we shook hands and parted. + </p> + <p> + (1) Mrs. Poyntz here makes a mistake in law which, though very evident, + her listeners do not seem to have noticed. Her mistake will be referred to + later. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIII. + </h2> + <p> + It was late in the afternoon of the following day before I was able to + join the party assembled at the merchant’s house; it was a villa about two + miles out of the town, pleasantly situated amidst flower-gardens + celebrated in the neighbourhood for their beauty. The breakfast had been + long over; the company was scattered over the lawn,—some formed into + a dance on the smooth lawn; some seated under shady awnings; others + gliding amidst parterres, in which all the glow of colour took a glory yet + more vivid under the flush of a brilliant sunshine; and the ripple of a + soft western breeze. Music, loud and lively, mingled with the laughter of + happy children, who formed much the larger number of the party. + </p> + <p> + Standing at the entrance of an arched trellis, that led from the hardier + flowers of the lawn to a rare collection of tropical plants under a lofty + glass dome (connecting, as it were, the familiar vegetation of the North + with that of the remotest East), was a form that instantaneously caught + and fixed my gaze. The entrance of the arcade was covered with parasite + creepers, in prodigal luxuriance, of variegated gorgeous tints,—scarlet, + golden, purple; and the form, an idealized picture of man’s youth fresh + from the hand of Nature, stood literally in a frame of blooms. + </p> + <p> + Never have I seen human face so radiant as that young man’s. There was in + the aspect an indescribable something that literally dazzled. As one + continued to gaze, it was with surprise; one was forced to acknowledge + that in the features themselves there was no faultless regularity; nor was + the young man’s stature imposing, about the middle height. But the effect + of the whole was not less transcendent. Large eyes, unspeakably lustrous; + a most harmonious colouring; an expression of contagious animation and + joyousness; and the form itself so critically fine, that the welded + strength of its sinews was best shown in the lightness and grace of its + movements. + </p> + <p> + He was resting one hand carelessly on the golden locks of a child that had + nestled itself against his knees, looking up to his face in that silent + loving wonder with which children regard something too strangely beautiful + for noisy admiration; he himself was conversing with the host, an old + gray-haired, gouty man, propped on his crutched stick, and listening with + a look of mournful envy. To the wealth of the old man all the flowers in + that garden owed their renewed delight in the summer air and sun. Oh, that + his wealth could renew to himself one hour of the youth whose incarnation + stood beside him, Lord, indeed, of Creation; its splendour woven into his + crown of beauty, its enjoyments subject to his sceptre of hope and + gladness. + </p> + <p> + I was startled by the hearty voice of the merchant’s son. “Ah, my dear + Fenwick, I was afraid you would not come,—you are late. There is the + new friend of whom I spoke to you last night; let me now make you + acquainted with him.” He drew my arm in his, and led me up to the young + man, where he stood under the arching flowers, and whom he then introduced + to me by the name of Margrave. + </p> + <p> + Nothing could be more frankly cordial than Mr. Margrave’s manner. In a few + minutes I found myself conversing with him familiarly, as if we had been + reared in the same home, and sported together in the same playground. His + vein of talk was peculiar, off-hand, careless, shifting from topic to + topic with a bright rapidity. + </p> + <p> + He said that he liked the place; proposed to stay in it some weeks; asked + my address, which I gave to him; promised to call soon at an early hour, + while my time was yet free from professional visits. I endeavoured, when I + went away, to analyze to myself the fascination which this young stranger + so notably exercised over all who approached him; and it seemed to me, + ever seeking to find material causes for all moral effects, that it rose + from the contagious vitality of that rarest of all rare gifts in + highly-civilized circles,—perfect health; that health which is in + itself the most exquisite luxury; which, finding happiness in the mere + sense of existence, diffuses round it, like an atmosphere, the harmless + hilarity of its bright animal being. Health, to the utmost perfection, is + seldom known after childhood; health to the utmost cannot be enjoyed by + those who overwork the brain, or admit the sure wear and tear of the + passions. The creature I had just seen gave me the notion of youth in the + golden age of the poets,—the youth of the careless Arcadian, before + nymph or shepherdess had vexed his heart with a sigh. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIV. + </h2> + <p> + The house I occupied at L—— was a quaint, old-fashioned + building, a corner-house. One side, in which was the front entrance, + looked upon a street which, as there were no shops in it, and it was no + direct thoroughfare to the busy centres of the town, was always quiet, and + at some hours of the day almost deserted. The other side of the house + fronted a lane; opposite to it was the long and high wall of the garden to + a Young Ladies’ Boarding-school. My stables adjoined the house, abutting + on a row of smaller buildings, with little gardens before them, chiefly + occupied by mercantile clerks and retired tradesmen. By the lane there was + a short and ready access both to the high turnpike-road, and to some + pleasant walks through green meadows and along the banks of a river. + </p> + <p> + This house I had inhabited since my arrival at L——, and it had + to me so many attractions, in a situation sufficiently central to be + convenient for patients, and yet free from noise, and favourable to ready + outlet into the country for such foot or horse exercise as my professional + avocations would allow me to carve for myself out of what the Latin poet + calls the “solid day,” that I had refused to change it for one better + suited to my increased income; but it was not a house which Mrs. Ashleigh + would have liked for Lilian. The main objection to it in the eyes of the + “genteel” was, that it had formerly belonged to a member of the healing + profession who united the shop of an apothecary to the diploma of a + surgeon; but that shop had given the house a special attraction to me; for + it had been built out on the side of the house which fronted the lane, + occupying the greater portion of a small gravel court, fenced from the + road by a low iron palisade, and separated from the body of the house + itself by a short and narrow corridor that communicated with the + entrance-hall. This shop I turned into a rude study for scientific + experiments, in which I generally spent some early hours of the morning, + before my visiting patients began to arrive. I enjoyed the stillness of + its separation from the rest of the house; I enjoyed the glimpse of the + great chestnut-trees, which overtopped the wall of the school-garden; I + enjoyed the ease with which, by opening the glazed sash-door, I could get + out, if disposed for a short walk, into the pleasant fields; and so + completely had I made this sanctuary my own, that not only my man-servant + knew that I was never to be disturbed when in it, except by the summons of + a patient, but even the housemaid was forbidden to enter it with broom or + duster, except upon special invitation. The last thing at night, before + retiring to rest, it was the man-servant’s business to see that the + sash-window was closed, and the gate to the iron palisade locked; but + during the daytime I so often went out of the house by that private way + that the gate was then very seldom locked, nor the sash-door bolted from + within. In the town of L—— there was little apprehension of + house-robberies,—especially in the daylight,—and certainly in + this room, cut off from the main building, there was nothing to attract a + vulgar cupidity. A few of the apothecary’s shelves and cases still + remained on the walls, with, here and there, a bottle of some chemical + preparation for experiment; two or three worm-eaten, wooden chairs; two or + three shabby old tables; an old walnut-tree bureau without a lock, into + which odds and ends were confusedly thrust, and sundry ugly-looking + inventions of mechanical science, were, assuredly, not the articles which + a timid proprietor would guard with jealous care from the chances of + robbery. It will be seen later why I have been thus prolix in description. + The morning after I had met the young stranger by whom I had been so + favourably impressed, I was up as usual, a little before the sun, and long + before any of my servants were astir. I went first into the room I have + mentioned, and which I shall henceforth designate as my study, opened the + window, unlocked the gate, and sauntered for some minutes up and down the + silent lane skirting the opposite wall, and overhung by the chestnut-trees + rich in the garniture of a glorious summer; then, refreshed for work, I + re-entered my study, and was soon absorbed in the examination of that now + well-known machine, which was then, to me at least, a novelty,—invented, + if I remember right, by Dubois-Reymond, so distinguished by his researches + into the mysteries of organic electricity. It is a wooden cylinder fixed + against the edge of a table; on the table two vessels filled with salt and + water are so placed that, as you close your hands on the cylinder, the + forefinger of each hand can drop into the water; each of the vessels has a + metallic plate, and communicates by wires with a galvanometer with its + needle. Now the theory is, that if you clutch the cylinder firmly with the + right hand, leaving the left perfectly passive, the needle in the + galvanometer will move from west to south; if, in like manner, you exert + the left arm, leaving the right arm passive, the needle will deflect from + west to north. Hence, it is argued that the electric current is induced + through the agency of the nervous system, and that, as human Will produces + the muscular contraction requisite, so is it human Will that causes the + deflection of the needle. I imagine that if this theory were substantiated + by experiment, the discovery might lead to some sublime and unconjectured + secrets of science. For human Will, thus actively effective on the + electric current, and all matter, animate or inanimate, having more or + less of electricity, a vast field became opened to conjecture. By what + series of patient experimental deduction might not science arrive at the + solution of problems which the Newtonian law of gravitation does not + suffice to solve; and—But here I halt. At the date which my story + has reached, my mind never lost itself long in the Cloudland of Guess. + </p> + <p> + I was dissatisfied with my experiment. The needle stirred, indeed, but + erratically, and not in directions which, according to the theory, should + correspond to my movement. I was about to dismiss the trial with some + uncharitable contempt of the foreign philosopher’s dogmas, when I heard a + loud ring at my street-door. While I paused to conjecture whether my + servant was yet up to attend to the door, and which of my patients was the + most likely to summon me at so unseasonable an hour, a shadow darkened my + window. I looked up, and to my astonishment beheld the brilliant face of + Mr. Margrave. The sash to the door was already partially opened; he raised + it higher, and walked into the room. “Was it you who rang at the + street-door, and at this hour?” said I. + </p> + <p> + “Yes; and observing, after I had rung, that all the shutters were still + closed, I felt ashamed of my own rash action, and made off rather than + brave the reproachful face of some injured housemaid, robbed of her + morning dreams. I turned down that pretty lane,—lured by the green + of the chestnut-trees,—caught sight of you through the window, took + courage, and here I am! You forgive me?” While thus speaking, he continued + to move along the littered floor of the dingy room, with the undulating + restlessness of some wild animal in the confines of its den, and he now + went on, in short fragmentary sentences, very slightly linked together, + but smoothed, as it were, into harmony by a voice musical and fresh as a + sky lark’s warble. “Morning dreams, indeed! dreams that waste the life of + such a morning. Rosy magnificence of a summer dawn! Do you not pity the + fool who prefers to lie a bed, and to dream rather than to live? What! and + you, strong man, with those noble limbs, in this den! Do you not long for + a rush through the green of the fields, a bath in the blue of the river?” + </p> + <p> + Here he came to a pause, standing, still in the gray light of the growing + day, with eyes whose joyous lustre forestalled the sun’s, and lips which + seemed to laugh even in repose. + </p> + <p> + But presently those eyes, as quick as they were bright, glanced over the + walls, the floor, the shelves, the phials, the mechanical inventions, and + then rested full on my cylinder fixed to the table. He approached, + examined it curiously, asked what it was. I explained. To gratify him I + sat down and renewed my experiment, with equally ill success. The needle, + which should have moved from west to south, describing an angle of from + thirty degrees to forty or even fifty degrees, only made a few troubled, + undecided oscillations. + </p> + <p> + “Tut,” cried the young man, “I see what it is; you have a wound in your + right hand.” + </p> + <p> + That was true; I had burned my band a few days before in a chemical + experiment, and the sore had not healed. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said I, “and what does that matter?” + </p> + <p> + “Everything; the least scratch in the skin of the hand produces chemical + actions on the electric current, independently of your will. Let me try.” + </p> + <p> + He took my place, and in a moment the needle in the galvanometer responded + to his grasp on the cylinder, exactly as the inventive philosopher had + stated to be the due result of the experiment. + </p> + <p> + I was startled. + </p> + <p> + “But how came you, Mr. Margrave, to be so well acquainted with a + scientific process little known, and but recently discovered?” + </p> + <p> + “I well acquainted! not so. But I am fond of all experiments that relate + to animal life. Electricity, especially, is full of interest.” + </p> + <p> + On that I drew him out (as I thought), and he talked volubly. I was amazed + to find this young man, in whose brain I had conceived thought kept one + careless holiday, was evidently familiar with the physical sciences, and + especially with chemistry, which was my own study by predilection. But + never had I met with a student in whom a knowledge so extensive was mixed + up with notions so obsolete or so crotchety. In one sentence he showed + that he had mastered some late discovery by Faraday or Liebig; in the next + sentence he was talking the wild fallacies of Cardan or Van Helmont. I + burst out laughing at some paradox about sympathetic powders, which he + enounced as if it were a recognized truth. + </p> + <p> + “Pray tell me,” said I, “who was your master in physics; for a cleverer + pupil never had a more crack-brained teacher.” + </p> + <p> + “No,” he answered, with his merry laugh, “it is not the teacher’s fault. I + am a mere parrot; just cry out a few scraps of learning picked up here and + there. But, however, I am fond of all researches into Nature; all guesses + at her riddles. To tell you the truth, one reason why I have taken to you + so heartily is not only that your published work caught my fancy in the + dip which I took into its contents (pardon me if I say dip, I never do + more than dip into any book), but also because young —— tells + me that which all whom I have met in this town confirm; namely, that you + are one of those few practical chemists who are at once exceedingly + cautious and exceedingly bold,—willing to try every new experiment, + but submitting experiment to rigid tests. Well, I have an experiment + running wild in this giddy head of mine, and I want you, some day when at + leisure, to catch it, fix it as you have fixed that cylinder, make + something of it. I am sure you can.” + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” + </p> + <p> + “Something akin to the theories in your work. You would replenish or + preserve to each special constitution the special substance that may fail + to the equilibrium of its health. But you own that in a large proportion + of cases the best cure of disease is less to deal with the disease itself + than to support and stimulate the whole system, so as to enable Nature to + cure the disease and restore the impaired equilibrium by her own agencies. + Thus, if you find that in certain cases of nervous debility a substance + like nitric acid is efficacious, it is because the nitric acid has a + virtue in locking up, as it were, the nervous energy,—that is, + preventing all undue waste. Again, in some cases of what is commonly + called feverish cold, stimulants like ammonia assist Nature itself to get + rid of the disorder that oppresses its normal action; and, on the same + principle, I apprehend, it is contended that a large average of human + lives is saved in those hospitals which have adopted the supporting system + of ample nourishment and alcoholic stimulants.” + </p> + <p> + “Your medical learning surprises me,” said I, smiling; “and without + pausing to notice where it deals somewhat superficially with disputable + points in general, and my own theory in particular, I ask you for the + deduction you draw from your premises.” + </p> + <p> + “It is simply this: that to all animate bodies, however various, there + must be one principle in common,—the vital principle itself. What if + there be one certain means of recruiting that principle; and what if that + secret can be discovered?” + </p> + <p> + “Pshaw! The old illusion of the mediaeval empirics.” + </p> + <p> + “Not so. But the mediaeval empirics were great discoverers. You sneer at + Van Helmont, who sought, in water, the principle of all things; but Van + Helmont discovered in his search those invisible bodies called gases. Now + the principle of life must be certainly ascribed to a gas.(1) And what + ever is a gas chemistry should not despair of producing! But I can argue + no longer now,—never can argue long at a stretch; we are wasting the + morning; and, joy! the sun is up! See! Out! come out! out! and greet the + great Lifegiver face to face.” + </p> + <p> + I could not resist the young man’s invitation. In a few minutes we were in + the quiet lane under the glinting chestnut-trees. Margrave was chanting, + low, a wild tune,—words in a strange language. + </p> + <p> + “What words are those,—no European language, I think; for I know a + little of most of the languages which are spoken in our quarter of the + globe, at least by its more civilized races.” + </p> + <p> + “Civilized race! What is civilization? Those words were uttered by men who + founded empires when Europe itself was not civilized! Hush, is it not a + grand old air?” and lifting his eyes towards the sun, he gave vent to a + voice clear and deep as a mighty bell! The air was grand; the words had a + sonorous swell that suited it, and they seemed to me jubilant and yet + solemn. He stopped abruptly as a path from the lane had led us into the + fields, already half-bathed in sunlight, dews glittering on the hedgerows. + </p> + <p> + “Your song,” said I, “would go well with the clash of cymbals or the peal + of the organ. I am no judge of melody, but this strikes me as that of a + religious hymn.” + </p> + <p> + “I compliment you on the guess. It is a Persian fire-worshipper’s hymn to + the sun. The dialect is very different from modern Persian. Cyrus the + Great might have chanted it on his march upon Babylon.” + </p> + <p> + “And where did you learn it?” + </p> + <p> + “In Persia itself.” + </p> + <p> + “You have travelled much, learned much,—and are so young and so + fresh. Is it an impertinent question if I ask whether your parents are yet + living, or are you wholly lord of yourself?” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you for the question,—pray make my answer known in the town. + Parents I have not,—never had.” + </p> + <p> + “Never had parents!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I ought rather to say that no parents ever owned me. I am a natural + son, a vagabond, a nobody. When I came of age I received an anonymous + letter, informing me that a sum—I need not say what, but more than + enough for all I need—was lodged at an English banker’s in my name; + that my mother had died in my infancy; that my father was also dead—but + recently; that as I was a child of love, and he was unwilling that the + secret of my birth should ever be traced, he had provided for me, not by + will, but in his life, by a sum consigned to the trust of the friend who + now wrote to me; I need give myself no trouble to learn more. Faith, I + never did! I am young, healthy, rich,—yes, rich! Now you know all, + and you had better tell it, that I may win no man’s courtesy and no + maiden’s love upon false pretences. I have not even a right, you see, to + the name I bear. Hist! let me catch that squirrel.” + </p> + <p> + With what a panther-like bound he sprang! The squirrel eluded his grasp, + and was up the oak-tree; in a moment he was up the oak-tree too. In + amazement I saw him rising from bough to bough; saw his bright eyes and + glittering teeth through the green leaves. Presently I heard the sharp + piteous cry of the squirrel, echoed by the youth’s merry laugh; and down, + through that maze of green, Hargrave came, dropping on the grass and + bounding up, as Mercury might have bounded with his wings at his heels. + </p> + <p> + “I have caught him. What pretty brown eyes!” + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the gay expression of his face changed to that of a savage; the + squirrel had wrenched itself half-loose, and bitten him. The poor brute! + In an instant its neck was wrung, its body dashed on the ground; and that + fair young creature, every feature quivering with rage, was stamping his + foot on his victim again and again! It was horrible. I caught him by the + arm indignantly. He turned round on me like a wild beast disturbed from + its prey,—his teeth set, his hand lifted, his eyes like balls of + fire. + </p> + <p> + “Shame!” said I, calmly; “shame on you!” + </p> + <p> + He continued to gaze on me a moment or so, his eye glaring, his breath + panting; and then, as if mastering himself with an involuntary effort, his + arm dropped to his side, and he said quite humbly, “I beg your pardon; + indeed I do. I was beside myself for a moment; I cannot bear pain;” and he + looked in deep compassion for himself at his wounded hand. “Venomous + brute!” And he stamped again on the body of the squirrel, already crushed + out of shape. + </p> + <p> + I moved away in disgust, and walked on. + </p> + <p> + But presently I felt my arm softly drawn aside, and a voice, dulcet as the + coo of a dove, stole its way into my ears. There was no resisting the + charm with which this extraordinary mortal could fascinate even the hard + and the cold; nor them, perhaps, the least. For as you see in extreme old + age, when the heart seems to have shrunk into itself, and to leave but + meagre and nipped affections for the nearest relations if grown up, the + indurated egotism softens at once towards a playful child; or as you see + in middle life, some misanthrope, whose nature has been soured by wrong + and sorrow, shrink from his own species, yet make friends with inferior + races, and respond to the caress of a dog,—so, for the worldling or + the cynic, there was an attraction in the freshness of this joyous + favourite of Nature,—an attraction like that of a beautiful child, + spoilt and wayward, or of a graceful animal, half docile, half fierce. + </p> + <p> + “But,” said I, with a smile, as I felt all displeasure gone, “such + indulgence of passion for such a trifle is surely unworthy a student of + philosophy!” + </p> + <p> + “Trifle,” he said dolorously. “But I tell you it is pain; pain is no + trifle. I suffer. Look!” + </p> + <p> + I looked at the hand, which I took in mine. The bite no doubt had been + sharp; but the hand that lay in my own was that which the Greek sculptor + gives to a gladiator; not large (the extremities are never large in + persons whose strength comes from the just proportion of all the members, + rather than the factitious and partial force which continued muscular + exertion will give to one part of the frame, to the comparative weakening + of the rest), but with the firm-knit joints, the solid fingers, the + finished nails, the massive palm, the supple polished skin, in which we + recognize what Nature designs the human hand to be,—the skilled, + swift, mighty doer of all those marvels which win Nature herself from the + wilderness. + </p> + <p> + “It is strange,” said I, thoughtfully; “but your susceptibility to + suffering confirms my opinion, which is different from the popular belief,—namely, + that pain is most acutely felt by those in whom the animal organization + being perfect, and the sense of vitality exquisitely keen, every injury or + lesion finds the whole system rise, as it were, to repel the mischief and + communicate the consciousness of it to all those nerves which are the + sentinels to the garrison of life. Yet my theory is scarcely borne out by + general fact. The Indian savages must have a health as perfect as yours; a + nervous system as fine,—witness their marvellous accuracy of ear, of + eye, of scent, probably also of touch; yet they are indifferent to + physical pain; or must I mortify your pride by saying that they have some + moral quality defective in you which enables them to rise superior to it?” + </p> + <p> + “The Indian savages,” said Margrave, sullenly, “have not a health as + perfect as mine, and in what you call vitality—the blissful + consciousness of life—they are as sticks and stones compared to me.” + </p> + <p> + “How do you know?” + </p> + <p> + “Because I have lived with them. It is a fallacy to suppose that the + savage has a health superior to that of the civilized man,—if the + civilized man be but temperate; and even if not, he has the stamina that + can resist for years the effect of excesses which would destroy the savage + in a month. As to the savage’s fine perceptions of sense, such do not come + from exquisite equilibrium of system, but are hereditary attributes + transmitted from race to race, and strengthened by training from infancy. + But is a pointer stronger and healthier than a mastiff, because the + pointer through long descent and early teaching creeps stealthily to his + game and stands to it motionless? I will talk of this later; now I suffer! + Pain, pain! Has life any ill but pain?” + </p> + <p> + It so happened that I had about me some roots of the white lily, which I + meant, before returning home, to leave with a patient suffering from one + of those acute local inflammations, in which that simple remedy often + affords great relief. I cut up one of these roots, and bound the cooling + leaves to the wounded hand with my handkerchief. + </p> + <p> + “There,” said I. “Fortunately if you feel pain more sensibly than others, + you will recover from it more quickly.” And in a few minutes my companion + felt perfectly relieved, and poured out his gratitude with an extravagance + of expression and a beaming delight of countenance which positively + touched me. + </p> + <p> + “I almost feel,” said I, “as I do when I have stilled an infant’s wailing, + and restored it smiling to its mother’s breast.” + </p> + <p> + “You have done so. I am an infant, and Nature is my mother. Oh, to be + restored to the full joy of life, the scent of wild flowers, the song of + birds, and this air—summer air—summer air!” + </p> + <p> + I know not why it was, but at that moment, looking at him and hearing him, + I rejoiced that Lilian was not at L——. “But I came out to + bathe. Can we not bathe in that stream?” + </p> + <p> + “No. You would derange the bandage round your hand; and for all bodily + ills, from the least to the gravest, there is nothing like leaving Nature + at rest the moment we have hit on the means which assist her own efforts + at cure.” + </p> + <p> + “I obey, then; but I so love the water.” + </p> + <p> + “You swim, of course?” + </p> + <p> + “Ask the fish if it swim. Ask the fish if it can escape me! I delight to + dive down—down; to plunge after the startled trout, as an otter + does; and then to get amongst those cool, fragrant reeds and bulrushes, or + that forest of emerald weed which one sometimes finds waving under clear + rivers. Man! man! could you live but an hour of my life you would know how + horrible a thing it is to die!” + </p> + <p> + “Yet the dying do not think so; they pass away calm and smiling, as you + will one day.” + </p> + <p> + “I—I! die one day—die!” and he sank on the grass, and buried + his face amongst the herbage, sobbing aloud. + </p> + <p> + Before I could get through half a dozen words I meant to soothe, he had + once more bounded up, dashed the tears from his eyes, and was again + singing some wild, barbaric chant. Abstracting itself from the appeal to + its outward sense by melodies of which the language was unknown, my mind + soon grew absorbed in meditative conjectures on the singular nature, so + wayward, so impulsive, which had forced intimacy on a man grave and + practical as myself. + </p> + <p> + I was puzzled how to reconcile so passionate a childishness, so + undisciplined a want of self-control, with an experience of mankind so + extended by travel, with an education desultory and irregular indeed, but + which must, at some time or other, have been familiarized to severe + reasonings and laborious studies. In Margrave there seemed to be wanting + that mysterious something which is needed to keep our faculties, however + severally brilliant, harmoniously linked together,—as the string by + which a child mechanically binds the wildflowers it gathers, shaping them + at choice into the garland or the chain. + </p> + <p> + (1) “According to the views we have mentioned, we must ascribe life to a + gas, that is, to an aeriform body.”—Liebig: “Organic Chemistry,” + Mayfair’s translation, p.363.—It is perhaps not less superfluous to + add that Liebig does not support the views “according to which life must + be ascribed to a gas,” than it would be to state, had Dugald Stewart been + quoted as writing, “According to the views we have mentioned the mind is + but a bundle of impressions,” that Dugald Stewart was not supporting, but + opposing, the views of David Hume. The quotation is merely meant to show, + in the shortest possible compass, that there are views entertained by + speculative reasoners of our day which, according to Liebig, would lead to + the inference at which Margrave so boldly arrives. Margrave is, however, + no doubt, led to his belief by his reminiscences of Van Helmont, to whose + discovery of gas he is referring. Van Helmont plainly affirms “that the + arterial spirit of our life is of the nature of a gas;” and in the same + chapter (on the fiction of elementary complexions and mixtures) says, + “Seeing that the spirit of our life, since it is a gas, is most mightily + and swiftly affected by any other gas,” etc. He repeats the same dogma in + his treatise on “Long Life,” and indeed very generally throughout his + writings, observing, in his chapter on the Vital Air, that the spirit of + life is a salt, sharp vapour, made of the arterial blood, etc. Liebig, + therefore, in confuting some modern notions as to the nature of contagion + by miasma, is leading their reasonings back to that assumption in the + Brawn of physiological science by which the discoverer of gas exalted into + the principle of life the substance to which he first gave the name, now + so familiarly known. It is nevertheless just to Van Helmont to add that + his conception of the vital principle was very far from being as purely + materialistic as it would seem to those unacquainted with his writings; + for he carefully distinguishes that principle of life which he ascribes to + a gas, and by which he means the sensuous animal life, from the + intellectual immortal principle of soul. Van Helmont, indeed, was a + sincere believer of Divine Revelation. “The Lord Jesus is the way, the + truth, and the life,” says with earnest humility this daring genius, in + that noble chapter “On the completing of the mind by the ‘prayer of + silence,’ and the loving offering tip of the heart, soul, and strength to + the obedience of the Divine will,” from which some of the most eloquent of + recent philosophers, arguing against materialism, have borrowed largely in + support and in ornament of their lofty cause. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXV. + </h2> + <p> + My intercourse with Margrave grew habitual and familiar. He came to my + house every morning before sunrise; in the evenings we were again brought + together: sometimes in the houses to which we were both invited, sometimes + at his hotel, sometimes in my own home. + </p> + <p> + Nothing more perplexed me than his aspect of extreme youthfulness, + contrasted with the extent of the travels, which, if he were to be + believed, had left little of the known world unexplored. One day I asked + him bluntly how old he was. + </p> + <p> + “How old do I look? How old should you suppose me to be?” + </p> + <p> + “I should have guessed you to be about twenty, till you spoke of having + come of age some years ago.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it a sign of longevity when a man looks much younger than he is?” + </p> + <p> + “Conjoined with other signs, certainly!” + </p> + <p> + “Have I the other signs?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, a magnificent, perhaps a matchless, constitutional organization. But + you have evaded my question as to your age; was it an impertinence to put + it?” + </p> + <p> + “No. I came of age—let me see—three years ago.” + </p> + <p> + “So long since? Is it possible? I wish I had your secret!” + </p> + <p> + “Secret! What secret?” + </p> + <p> + “The secret of preserving so much of boyish freshness in the wear and tear + of man-like passions and man-like thoughts.” + </p> + <p> + “You are still young yourself,—under forty?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes! some years under forty.” + </p> + <p> + “And Nature gave you a grander frame and a finer symmetry of feature than + she bestowed on me.” + </p> + <p> + “Pooh! pooh! You have the beauty that must charm the eyes of woman, and + that beauty in its sunny forenoon of youth. Happy man! if you love and + wish to be sure that you are loved again.” + </p> + <p> + “What you call love—the unhealthy sentiment, the feverish folly—left + behind me, I think forever, when—” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, indeed,—when?” + </p> + <p> + “I came of age!” + </p> + <p> + “Hoary cynic! and you despise love! So did I once. Your time may come.” + </p> + <p> + “I think not. Does any animal, except man, love its fellow she-animal as + man loves woman?” + </p> + <p> + “As man loves woman? No, I suppose not.” + </p> + <p> + “And why should the subject animals be wiser than their king? But to + return: you would like to have my youth and my careless enjoyment of + youth?” + </p> + <p> + “Can you ask,—who would not?” Margrave looked at me for a moment + with unusual seriousness, and then, in the abrupt changes common to his + capricious temperament, began to sing softly one of his barbaric chants,—a + chant different from any I had heard him sing before, made, either by the + modulation of his voice or the nature of the tune, so sweet that, little + as music generally affected me, this thrilled to my very heart’s core. I + drew closer and closer to him, and murmured when he paused,— + </p> + <p> + “Is not that a love-song?” + </p> + <p> + “No;” said he, “it is the song by which the serpent-charmer charms the + serpent.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVI. + </h2> + <p> + Increased intimacy with my new acquaintance did not diminish the charm of + his society, though it brought to light some startling defects, both in + his mental and moral organization. I have before said that his knowledge, + though it had swept over a wide circuit and dipped into curious, + unfrequented recesses, was desultory and erratic. It certainly was not + that knowledge, sustained and aspiring, which the poet assures us is “the + wing on which we mount to heaven.” So, in his faculties themselves there + were singular inequalities, or contradictions. His power of memory in some + things seemed prodigious, but when examined it was seldom accurate; it + could apprehend, but did not hold together with a binding grasp what + metaphysicians call “complex ideas.” He thus seemed unable to put it to + any steadfast purpose in the sciences of which it retained, vaguely and + loosely, many recondite principles. For the sublime and beautiful in + literature he had no taste whatever. A passionate lover of nature, his + imagination had no response to the arts by which nature is expressed or + idealized; wholly unaffected by poetry or painting. Of the fine arts, + music alone attracted and pleased him. His conversation was often + eminently suggestive, touching on much, whether in books or mankind, that + set one thinking; but I never remember him to have uttered any of those + lofty or tender sentiments which form the connecting links between youth + and genius; for if poets sing to the young, and the young hail their own + interpreters in poets, it is because the tendency of both is to idealize + the realities of life,—finding everywhere in the real a something + that is noble or fair, and making the fair yet fairer, and the noble + nobler still. + </p> + <p> + In Margrave’s character there seemed no special vices, no special virtues; + but a wonderful vivacity, joyousness, animal good-humour. He was + singularly temperate, having a dislike to wine, perhaps from that purity + of taste which belongs to health absolutely perfect. No healthful child + likes alcohol; no animal, except man, prefers wine to water. + </p> + <p> + But his main moral defect seemed to me in a want of sympathy, even where + he professed attachment. He who could feel so acutely for himself, be + unmanned by the bite of a squirrel, and sob at the thought that he should + one day die, was as callous to the sufferings of another as a deer who + deserts and butts from him a wounded comrade. + </p> + <p> + I give an instance of this hardness of heart where I should have least + expected to find it in him. + </p> + <p> + He had met and joined me as I was walking to visit a patient on the + outskirts of the town, when we fell in with a group of children, just let + loose for an hour or two from their day-school. Some of these children + joyously recognized him as having played with them at their homes; they + ran up to him, and he seemed as glad as themselves at the meeting. + </p> + <p> + He suffered them to drag him along with them, and became as merry and + sportive as the youngest of the troop. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said I, laughing, “if you are going to play at leap-frog, pray + don’t let it be on the high road, or you will be run over by carts and + draymen; see that meadow just in front to the left,—off with you + there!” + </p> + <p> + “With all my heart,” cried Margrave, “while you pay your visit. Come + along, boys.” + </p> + <p> + A little urchin, not above six years old, but who was lame, began to cry; + he could not run,—he should be left behind. + </p> + <p> + Margrave stooped. “Climb on my shoulder, little one, and I’ll be your + horse.” + </p> + <p> + The child dried its tears, and delightedly obeyed. “Certainly,” said I to + myself, “Margrave, after all, must have a nature as gentle as it is + simple. What other young man, so courted by all the allurements that steal + innocence from pleasure, would stop in the thoroughfares to play with + children?” + </p> + <p> + The thought had scarcely passed through my mind when I heard a scream of + agony. Margrave had leaped the railing that divided the meadow from the + road, and, in so doing, the poor child, perched on his shoulder, had, + perhaps from surprise or fright, loosened its hold and fallen heavily; its + cries were piteous. Margrave clapped his hands to his ears, uttered an + exclamation of anger, and not even stopping to lift up the boy, or examine + what the hurt was, called to the other children to come on, and was soon + rolling with them on the grass, and pelting them with daisies. When I came + up, only one child remained by the sufferer,-his little brother, a year + older than himself. The child had fallen on his arm, which was not broken, + but violently contused. The pain must have been intense. I carried the + child to his home, and had to remain there some time. I did not see + Margrave till the next morning. When he then called, I felt so indignant + that I could scarcely speak to him. When at last I rebuked him for his + inhumanity, he seemed surprised; with difficulty remembered the + circumstance, and then merely said, as if it were the most natural + confession in the world, + </p> + <p> + “Oh, nothing so discordant as a child’s wail. I hate discords. I am + pleased with the company of children; but they must be children who laugh + and play. Well, why do you look at me so sternly? What have I said to + shock you?” + </p> + <p> + “Shock me! you shock manhood itself! Go; I cannot talk to you now. I am + busy.” + </p> + <p> + But he did not go; and his voice was so sweet, and his ways so winning, + that disgust insensibly melted into that sort of forgiveness one accords + (let me repeat the illustration) to the deer that forsakes its comrade. + The poor thing knows no better. And what a graceful beautiful thing this + was! + </p> + <p> + The fascination—I can give it no other name—which Margrave + exercised, was not confined to me; it was universal,—old, young, + high, low, man, woman, child, all felt it. Never in Low Town had stranger, + even the most distinguished by fame, met with a reception so cordial, so + flattering. His frank confession that he was a natural son, far from being + to his injury, served to interest people more in him, and to prevent all + those inquiries in regard to his connections and antecedents which would + otherwise have been afloat. To be sure, he was evidently rich,—at + least he had plenty of money. He lived in the best rooms in the principal + hotel; was very hospitable; entertained the families with whom he had + grown intimate; made them bring their children,—music and dancing + after dinner. Among the houses in which he had established familiar + acquaintance was that of the mayor of the town, who had bought Dr. Lloyd’s + collection of subjects in natural history. To that collection the mayor + had added largely by a very recent purchase. He had arranged these various + specimens, which his last acquisitions had enriched by the interesting + carcasses of an elephant and a hippopotamus, in a large wooden building + contiguous to his dwelling, which had been constructed by a former + proprietor (a retired fox-hunter) as a riding-house; and being a man who + much affected the diffusion of knowledge, he proposed to open this museum + to the admiration of the general public, and, at his death, to bequeath it + to the Athenaeum or Literary Institute of his native town. Margrave, + seconded by the influence of the mayor’s daughters, had scarcely been + three days at L—— before he had persuaded this excellent and + public-spirited functionary to inaugurate the opening of his museum by the + popular ceremony of a ball. A temporary corridor should unite the + drawing-rooms, which were on the ground floor, with the building that + contained the collection; and thus the fete would be elevated above the + frivolous character of a fashionable amusement, and consecrated to the + solemnization of an intellectual institute. Dazzled by the brilliancy of + this idea, the mayor announced his intention to give a ball that should + include the surrounding neighbourhood, and be worthy, in all expensive + respects, of the dignity of himself and the occasion. A night had been + fixed for the ball,—a night that became memorable indeed to me! The + entertainment was anticipated with a lively interest, in which even the + Hill condescended to share. The Hill did not much patronize mayors in + general; but when a Mayor gave a ball for a purpose so patriotic, and on a + scale so splendid, the Hill liberally acknowledged that Commerce was, on + the whole, a thing which the Eminence might, now and then, condescend to + acknowledge without absolutely derogating from the rank which Providence + had assigned to it amongst the High Places of earth. Accordingly, the Hill + was permitted by its Queen to honour the first magistrate of Low Town by a + promise to attend his ball. Now, as this festivity had originated in the + suggestion of Margrave, so, by a natural association of ideas, every one, + in talking of the ball, talked also of Margrave. + </p> + <p> + The Hill had at first affected to ignore a stranger whose debut had been + made in the mercantile circle of Low Town. But the Queen of the Hill now + said, sententiously, “This new man in a few days has become a Celebrity. + It is the policy of the Hill to adopt Celebrities, if the Celebrities pay + respect to the Proprieties. Dr. Fenwick is requested to procure Mr. + Margrave the advantage of being known to the Hill.” + </p> + <p> + I found it somewhat difficult to persuade Margrave to accept the Hill’s + condescending overture. He seemed to have a dislike to all societies + pretending to aristocratic distinction,—a dislike expressed with a + fierceness so unwonted, that it made one suppose he had, at some time or + other, been subjected to mortification by the supercilious airs that blow + upon heights so elevated. However, he yielded to my instances, and + accompanied me one evening to Mrs. Poyntz’s house. The Hill was encamped + there for the occasion. Mrs. Poyntz was exceedingly civil to him, and + after a few commonplace speeches, hearing that he was fond of music, + consigned him to the caressing care of Miss Brabazon, who was at the head + of the musical department in the Queen of the Hill’s administration. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz retired to her favourite seat near the window, inviting me to + sit beside her; and while she knitted in silence, in silence my eye + glanced towards Margrave, in the midst of the group assembled round the + piano. + </p> + <p> + Whether he was in more than usually high spirits, or whether he was + actuated by a malign and impish desire to upset the established laws of + decorum by which the gayeties of the Hill were habitually subdued into a + serene and somewhat pensive pleasantness, I know not; but it was not many + minutes before the orderly aspect of the place was grotesquely changed. + </p> + <p> + Miss Brabazon having come to the close of a complicated and dreary sonata, + I heard Margrave abruptly ask her if she could play the Tarantella, that + famous Neapolitan air which is founded on the legendary belief that the + bite of the tarantula excites an irresistible desire to dance. On that + highbred spinster’s confession that she was ignorant of the air, and had + not even heard of the legend, Margrave said, “Let me play it to you, with + variations of my own.” Miss Brabazon graciously yielded her place at the + instrument. Margrave seated himself,—there was great curiosity to + hear his performance. Margrave’s fingers rushed over the keys, and there + was a general start, the prelude was so unlike any known combination of + harmonious sounds. Then he began a chant—song I can scarcely call it—words + certainly not in Italian, perhaps in some uncivilized tongue, perhaps in + impromptu gibberish. And the torture of the instrument now commenced in + good earnest: it shrieked, it groaned, wilder and noisier. Beethoven’s + Storm, roused by the fell touch of a German pianist, were mild in + comparison; and the mighty voice, dominating the anguish of the cracking + keys, had the full diapason of a chorus. Certainly I am no judge of music, + but to my ear the discord was terrific,—to the ears of better + informed amateurs it seemed ravishing. All were spellbound; even Mrs. + Poyntz paused from her knitting, as the Fates paused from their web at the + lyre of Orpheus. To this breathless delight, however, soon succeeded a + general desire for movement. To my amazement, I beheld these formal + matrons and sober fathers of families forming themselves into a dance, + turbulent as a children’s ball at Christmas; and when, suddenly desisting + from his music, Margrave started up, caught the skeleton hand of lean Miss + Brabazon, and whirled her into the centre of the dance, I could have + fancied myself at a witch’s sabbat. My eye turned in scandalized alarm + towards Mrs. Poyntz. That great creature seemed as much astounded as + myself. Her eyes were fixed on the scene in a stare of positive stupor. + For the first time, no doubt, in her life, she was overcome, deposed, + dethroned. The awe of her presence was literally whirled away. The dance + ceased as suddenly as it had begun. Darting from the galvanized mummy whom + he had selected as his partner, Margrave shot to Mrs. Poyntz’s side, and + said, “Ten thousand pardons for quitting you so soon, but the clock warns + me that I have an engagement elsewhere.” In another moment he was gone. + </p> + <p> + The dance halted, people seemed slowly returning to their senses, looking + at each other bashfully and ashamed. + </p> + <p> + “I could not help it, dear,” sighed Miss Brabazon at last, sinking into a + chair, and casting her deprecating, fainting eyes upon the hostess. + </p> + <p> + “It is witchcraft,” said fat Mrs. Bruce, wiping her forehead. + </p> + <p> + “Witchcraft!” echoed Mrs. Poyntz; “it does indeed look like it. An amazing + and portentous exhibition of animal spirits, and not to be endured by the + Proprieties. Where on earth can that young savage have come from?” + </p> + <p> + “From savage lands,” said I,—“so he says.” + </p> + <p> + “Do not bring him here again,” said Mrs. Poyntz. “He would soon turn the + Hill topsy-turvy. But how charming! I should like to see more of him,” she + added, in an under voice, “if he would call on me some morning, and not in + the presence of those for whose Proprieties I am responsible. Jane must be + out in her ride with the colonel.” + </p> + <p> + Margrave never again attended the patrician festivities of the Hill. + Invitations were poured upon him, especially by Miss Brabazon and the + other old maids, but in vain. + </p> + <p> + “Those people,” said he, “are too tamed and civilized for me; and so few + young persons among them. Even that girl Jane is only young on the + surface; inside, as old as the World or her mother. I like youth, real + youth,—I am young, I am young!” + </p> + <p> + And, indeed, I observed he would attach himself to some young person, + often to some child, as if with cordial and special favour, yet for not + more than an hour or so, never distinguishing them by the same preference + when he next met them. I made that remark to him, in rebuke of his + fickleness, one evening when he had found me at work on my Ambitious Book, + reducing to rule and measure the Laws of Nature. + </p> + <p> + “It is not fickleness,” said he,—“it is necessity.” + </p> + <p> + “Necessity! Explain yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “I seek to find what I have not found,” said he; “it is my necessity to + seek it, and among the young; and disappointed in one, I turn to the + other. Necessity again. But find it at last I must.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you mean what the young usually seek in the young; and if, as + you said the other day, you have left love behind you, you now wander back + to re-find it.” + </p> + <p> + “Tush! If I may judge by the talk of young fools, love may be found every + day by him who looks out for it. What I seek is among the rarest of all + discoveries. You might aid me to find it, and in so doing aid yourself to + a knowledge far beyond all that your formal experiments can bestow.” + </p> + <p> + “Prove your words, and command my services,” said I, smiling somewhat + disdainfully. + </p> + <p> + “You told me that you had examined into the alleged phenomena of animal + magnetism, and proved some persons who pretend to the gift which the + Scotch call second sight to be bungling impostors. You were right. I have + seen the clairvoyants who drive their trade in this town; a common gipsy + could beat them in their own calling. But your experience must have shown + you that there are certain temperaments in which the gift of the Pythoness + is stored, unknown to the possessor, undetected by the common observer; + but the signs of which should be as apparent to the modern physiologist, + as they were to the ancient priest.” + </p> + <p> + “I at least, as a physiologist, am ignorant of the signs: what are they?” + </p> + <p> + “I should despair of making you comprehend them by mere verbal + description. I could guide your observation to distinguish them unerringly + were living subjects before us. But not one in a million has the gift to + an extent available for the purposes to which the wise would apply it. + Many have imperfect glimpses; few, few indeed, the unveiled, lucent sight. + They who have but the imperfect glimpses mislead and dupe the minds that + consult them, because, being sometimes marvellously right, they excite a + credulous belief in their general accuracy; and as they are but + translators of dreams in their own brain, their assurances are no more to + be trusted than are the dreams of commonplace sleepers. But where the gift + exists to perfection, he who knows how to direct and to profit by it + should be able to discover all that he desires to know for the guidance + and preservation of his own life. He will be forewarned of every danger, + forearmed in the means by which danger is avoided. For the eye of the true + Pythoness matter has no obstruction, space no confines, time no + measurement.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear Margrave, you may well say that creatures so gifted are rare; + and, for my part, I would as soon search for a unicorn, as, to use your + affected expression, for a Pythoness.” + </p> + <p> + “Nevertheless, whenever there come across the course of your practice some + young creature to whom all the evil of the world is as yet unknown, to + whom the ordinary cares and duties of the world are strange and unwelcome; + who from the earliest dawn of reason has loved to sit apart and to muse; + before whose eyes visions pass unsolicited; who converses with those who + are not dwellers on the earth, and beholds in the space landscapes which + the earth does not reflect—” + </p> + <p> + “Margrave, Margrave! of whom do you speak?” + </p> + <p> + “Whose frame, though exquisitely sensitive, has still a health and a + soundness in which you recognize no disease; whose mind has a truthfulness + that you know cannot deceive you, and a simple intelligence too clear to + deceive itself; who is moved to a mysterious degree by all the varying + aspects of external nature,—innocently joyous, or unaccountably sad,—when, + I say, such a being comes across your experience, inform me; and the + chances are that the true Pythoness is found.” + </p> + <p> + I had listened with vague terror, and with more than one exclamation of + amazement, to descriptions which brought Lilian Ashleigh before me; and I + now sat mute, bewildered, breathless, gazing upon Margrave, and rejoicing + that, at least, Lilian he had never seen. + </p> + <p> + He returned my own gaze steadily, searchingly, and then, breaking into a + slight laugh, resumed:— + </p> + <p> + “You call my word ‘Pythoness’ affected. I know of no better. My + recollections of classic anecdote and history are confused and dim; but + somewhere I have read or heard that the priests of Delphi were accustomed + to travel chiefly into Thrace or Thessaly, in search of the virgins who + might fitly administer their oracles, and that the oracles gradually + ceased in repute as the priests became unable to discover the organization + requisite in the priestesses, and supplied by craft and imposture, or by + such imperfect fragmentary developments as belong now to professional + clairvoyants, the gifts which Nature failed to afford. Indeed, the demand + was one that mast have rapidly exhausted so limited a supply. The constant + strain upon faculties so wearying to the vital functions in their + relentless exercise, under the artful stimulants by which the priests + heightened their power, was mortal, and no Pythoness ever retained her + life more than three years from the time that her gift was elaborately + trained and developed.” + </p> + <p> + “Pooh! I know of no classical authority for the details you so confidently + cite. Perhaps some such legends may be found in the Alexandrian + Platonists, but those mystics are no authority on such a subject. After + all;” I added, recovering from my first surprise, or awe, “the Delphic + oracles were proverbially ambiguous, and their responses might be read + either way,—a proof that the priests dictated the verses, though + their arts on the unhappy priestess might throw her into real convulsions, + and the real convulsions, not the false gift, might shorten her life. + Enough of such idle subjects! Yet no! one question more. If you found your + Pythoness, what then?” + </p> + <p> + “What then? Why, through her aid I might discover the process of an + experiment which your practical science would assist me to complete.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me of what kind is your experiment; and precisely because such + little science as I possess is exclusively practical, I may assist you + without the help of the Pythoness.” + </p> + <p> + Margrave was silent for some minutes, passing his hand several times + across his forehead, which was a frequent gesture of his, and then rising, + he answered, in listless accents,— + </p> + <p> + “I cannot say more now, my brain is fatigued; and you are not yet in the + right mood to hear me. By the way, how close and reserved you are with + me!” + </p> + <p> + “How so?” + </p> + <p> + “You never told me that you were engaged to be married. You leave me, who + thought to have won your friendship, to hear what concerns you so + intimately from a comparative stranger.” + </p> + <p> + “Who told you?” + </p> + <p> + “That woman with eyes that pry and lips that scheme, to whose house you + took me.” + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Poyntz! is it possible? When?” + </p> + <p> + “This afternoon. I met her in the street; she stopped me, and, after some + unmeaning talk, asked if I had seen you lately; if I did not find you very + absent and distracted: no wonder;—you were in love. The young lady + was away on a visit, and wooed by a dangerous rival.” + </p> + <p> + “Wooed by a dangerous rival!” + </p> + <p> + “Very rich, good-looking, young. Do you fear him? You turn pale.” + </p> + <p> + “I do not fear, except so far as he who loves truly, loves humbly, and + fears not that another may be preferred, but that another may be worthier + of preference than himself. But that Mrs. Poyntz should tell you all this + does amaze me. Did she mention the name of the young lady?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; Lilian Ashleigh. Henceforth be more frank with me. Who knows? I may + help you. Adieu!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVII. + </h2> + <p> + When Margrave had gone, I glanced at the clock,—not yet nine. I + resolved to go at once to Mrs. Poyntz. It was not an evening on which she + received, but doubtless she would see me. She owed me an explanation. How + thus carelessly divulge a secret she had been enjoined to keep; and this + rival, of whom I was ignorant? It was no longer a matter of wonder that + Margrave should have described Lilian’s peculiar idiosyncrasies in his + sketch of his fabulous Pythoness. Doubtless Mrs. Poyntz had, with + unpardonable levity of indiscretion, revealed all of which she disapproved + in my choice. But for what object? Was this her boasted friendship for me? + Was it consistent with the regard she professed for Mrs. Ashleigh and + Lilian? Occupied by these perplexed and indignant thoughts, I arrived at + Mrs. Poyntz’s house, and was admitted to her presence. She was fortunately + alone; her daughter and the colonel had gone to some party on the Hill. I + would not take the hand she held out to me on entrance; seated myself in + stern displeasure, and proceeded at once to inquire if she had really + betrayed to Mr. Margrave the secret of my engagement to Lilian. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Allen Fenwick; I have this day told, not only Mr. Margrave, but + every person I met who is likely to tell it to some one else, the secret + of your engagement to Lilian Ashleigh. I never promised to conceal it; on + the contrary, I wrote word to Anne Ashleigh that I would therein act as my + own judgment counselled me. I think my words to you were that ‘public + gossip was sometimes the best security for the completion of private + engagements.’” + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean that Mrs. or Miss Ashleigh recoils from the engagement with + me, and that I should meanly compel them both to fulfil it by calling in + the public to censure them—if—if—Oh, madam, this is + worldly artifice indeed!” + </p> + <p> + “Be good enough to listen to me quietly. I have never yet showed you the + letter to Mrs. Ashleigh, written by Lady Haughton, and delivered by Mr. + Vigors. That letter I will now show to you; but before doing so I must + enter into a preliminary explanation. Lady Haughton is one of those women + who love power, and cannot obtain it except through wealth and station,—by + her own intellect never obtain it. When her husband died she was reduced + from an income of twelve thousand a year to a jointure of twelve hundred, + but with the exclusive guardianship of a young son, a minor, and adequate + allowances for the charge; she continued, therefore, to preside as + mistress over the establishments in town and country; still had the + administration of her son’s wealth and rank. She stinted his education, in + order to maintain her ascendancy over him. He became a brainless prodigal, + spendthrift alike of health and fortune. Alarmed, she saw that, probably, + he would die young and a beggar; his only hope of reform was in marriage. + She reluctantly resolved to marry him to a penniless, well-born, + soft-minded young lady whom she knew she could control; just before this + marriage was to take place he was killed by a fall from his horse. The + Haughton estate passed to his cousin, the luckiest young man alive,—the + same Ashleigh Sumner who had already succeeded, in default of male issue, + to poor Gilbert Ashleigh’s landed possessions. Over this young man Lady + Haughton could expect no influence. She would be a stranger in his house. + But she had a niece! Mr. Vigors assured her the niece was beautiful. And + if the niece could become Mrs. Ashleigh Sumner, then Lady Haughton would + be a less unimportant Nobody in the world, because she would still have + her nearest relation in a Somebody at Haughton Park. Mr. Vigors has his + own pompous reasons for approving an alliance which he might help to + accomplish. The first step towards that alliance was obviously to bring + into reciprocal attraction the natural charms of the young lady and the + acquired merits of the young gentleman. Mr. Vigors could easily induce his + ward to pay a visit to Lady Haughton, and Lady Haughton had only to extend + her invitations to her niece; hence the letter to Mrs. Ashleigh, of which + Mr. Vigors was the bearer, and hence my advice to you, of which you can + now understand the motive. Since you thought Lilian Ashleigh the only + woman you could love, and since I thought there were other women in the + world who might do as well for Ashleigh Sumner, it seemed to me fair for + all parties that Lilian should not go to Lady Haughton’s in ignorance of + the sentiments with which she had inspired you. A girl can seldom be sure + that she loves until she is sure that she is loved. And now,” added Mrs. + Poyntz, rising and walking across the room to her bureau,—“now I + will show you Lady Haughton’s invitation to Mrs. Ashleigh. Here it is!” + </p> + <p> + I ran my eye over the letter, which she thrust into my hand, resuming her + knitting-work while I read. + </p> + <p> + The letter was short, couched in conventional terms of hollow affection. + The writer blamed herself for having so long neglected her brother’s widow + and child; her heart had been wrapped up too much in the son she had lost; + that loss had made her turn to the ties of blood still left to her; she + had heard much of Lilian from their common friend, Mr. Vigors; she longed + to embrace so charming a niece. Then followed the invitation and the + postscript. The postscript ran thus, so far as I can remember:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Whatever my own grief at my irreparable bereavement, I am no egotist; + I keep my sorrow to myself. You will find some pleasant guests at my + house, among others our joint connection, young Ashleigh Sumner.” + </pre> + <p> + “Woman’s postscripts are proverbial for their significance,” said Mrs. + Poyntz, when I had concluded the letter and laid it on the table; “and if + I did not at once show you this hypocritical effusion, it was simply + because at the name Ashleigh Sumner its object became transparent, not + perhaps to poor Anne Ashleigh nor to innocent Lilian, but to my knowledge + of the parties concerned, as it ought to be to that shrewd intelligence + which you derive partly from nature, partly from the insight into life + which a true physician cannot fail to acquire. And if I know anything of + you, you would have romantically said, had you seen the letter at first, + and understood its covert intention, ‘Let me not shackle the choice of the + woman I love, and to whom an alliance so coveted in the eyes of the world + might, if she were left free, be proffered.’” + </p> + <p> + “I should not have gathered from the postscript all that you see in it; + but had its purport been so suggested to me, you are right, I should have + so said. Well, and as Mr. Margrave tells me that you informed him that I + have a rival, I am now to conclude that the rival is Mr. Ashleigh Sumner?” + </p> + <p> + “Has not Mrs. Ashleigh or Lilian mentioned him in writing to you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, both; Lilian very slightly, Mrs. Ashleigh with some praise, as a + young man of high character, and very courteous to her.” + </p> + <p> + “Yet, though I asked you to come and tell me who were the guests at Lady + Haughton’s, you never did so.” + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me; but of the guests I thought nothing, and letters addressed to + my heart seemed to me too sacred to talk about. And Ashleigh Sumner then + courts Lilian! How do you know?” + </p> + <p> + “I know everything that concerns me; and here, the explanation is simple. + My aunt, Lady Delafield, is staying with Lady Haughton. Lady Delafield is + one of the women of fashion who shine by their own light; Lady Haughton + shines by borrowed light, and borrows every ray she can find.” + </p> + <p> + “And Lady Delafield writes you word—” + </p> + <p> + “That Ashleigh Sumner is caught by Lilian’s beauty.” + </p> + <p> + “And Lilian herself—” + </p> + <p> + “Women like Lady Delafield do not readily believe that any girl could + refuse Ashleigh Sumner; considered in himself, he is steady and + good-looking; considered as owner of Kirby Hall and Haughton Park, he has, + in the eyes of any sensible mother, the virtues of Cato and the beauty of + Antinous.” + </p> + <p> + I pressed my hand to my heart; close to my heart lay a letter from Lilian, + and there was no word in that letter which showed that her heart was gone + from mine. I shook my head gently, and smiled in confiding triumph. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz surveyed me with a bent brow and a compressed lip. + </p> + <p> + “I understand your smile,” she said ironically. “Very likely Lilian may be + quite untouched by this young man’s admiration, but Anne Ashleigh may be + dazzled by so brilliant a prospect for her daughter; and, in short, I + thought it desirable to let your engagement be publicly known throughout + the town to-day. That information will travel; it will reach Ashleigh + Sumner through Mr. Vigors, or others in this neighbourhood, with whom I + know that he corresponds. It will bring affairs to a crisis, and before it + may be too late. I think it well that Ashleigh Sumner should leave that + house; if he leave it for good, so much the better. And, perhaps, the + sooner Lilian returns to L—— the lighter your own heart will + be.” + </p> + <p> + “And for these reasons you have published the secret of—” + </p> + <p> + “Your engagement? Yes. Prepare to be congratulated wherever you go. And + now if you hear either from mother or daughter that Ashleigh Sumner has + proposed, and been, let us say, refused, I do not doubt that, in the pride + of your heart, you will come and tell me.” + </p> + <p> + “Rely upon it, I will; but before I take leave, allow me to ask why you + described to a young man like Mr. Margrave—, whose wild and strange + humours you have witnessed and not approved—any of those traits of + character in Miss Ashleigh which distinguish her from other girls of her + age?” + </p> + <p> + “I? You mistake. I said nothing to him of her character. I mentioned her + name, and said she was beautiful, that was all.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, you said that she was fond of musing, of solitude; that in her + fancies she believed in the reality of visions which might flit before her + eyes as they flit before the eyes of all imaginative dreamers.” + </p> + <p> + “Not a word did I say to Mr. Margrave of such peculiarities in Lilian; not + a word more than what I have told you, on my honour!” + </p> + <p> + Still incredulous, but disguising my incredulity with that convenient + smile by which we accomplish so much of the polite dissimulation + indispensable to the decencies of civilized life, I took my departure, + returned home, and wrote to Lilian. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVIII. + </h2> + <p> + The conversation with Mrs. Poyntz left my mind restless and disquieted. I + had no doubt, indeed, of Lilian’s truth; but could I be sure that the + attentions of a young man, with advantages of fortune so brilliant, would + not force on her thoughts the contrast of the humbler lot and the duller + walk of life in which she had accepted as companion a man removed from her + romantic youth less by disparity of years than by gravity of pursuits? And + would my suit now be as welcomed as it had been by a mother even so + unworldly as Mrs. Ashleigh? Why, too, should both mother and daughter have + left me so unprepared to hear that I had a rival; why not have implied + some consoling assurance that such rivalry need not cause me alarm? + Lilian’s letters, it is true, touched but little on any of the persons + round her; they were filled with the outpourings of an ingenuous heart, + coloured by the glow of a golden fancy. They were written as if in the + wide world we two stood apart alone, consecrated from the crowd by the + love that, in linking us together, had hallowed each to the other. Mrs. + Ashleigh’s letters were more general and diffusive,—detailed the + habits of the household, sketched the guests, intimated her continued fear + of Lady Haughton, but had said nothing more of Mr. Ashleigh Sumner than I + had repeated to Mrs. Poyntz. However, in my letter to Lilian I related the + intelligence that had reached me, and impatiently I awaited her reply. + </p> + <p> + Three days after the interview with Mrs. Poyntz, and two days before the + long-anticipated event of the mayor’s ball, I was summoned to attend a + nobleman who had lately been added to my list of patients, and whose + residence was about twelve miles from L——. The nearest way was + through Sir Philip Derval’s park. I went on horseback, and proposed to + stop on the way to inquire after the steward, whom I had seen but once + since his fit, and that was two days after it, when he called himself at + my house to thank me for my attendance, and to declare that he was quite + recovered. + </p> + <p> + As I rode somewhat fast through the park, I came, however, upon the + steward, just in front of the house. I reined in my horse and accosted + him. He looked very cheerful. + </p> + <p> + “Sir,” said he, in a whisper, “I have heard from Sir Philip; his letter is + dated since—since-my good woman told you what I saw,—well, + since then. So that it must have been all a delusion of mine, as you told + her. And yet, well—well—we will not talk of it, doctor; but I + hope you have kept the secret. Sir Philip would not like to hear of it, if + he comes back.” + </p> + <p> + “Your secret is quite safe with me. But is Sir Philip likely to come + back?” + </p> + <p> + “I hope so, doctor. His letter is dated Paris, and that’s nearer home than + he has been for many years; and—but bless me! some one is coming out + of the house,—a young gentleman! Who can it be?” + </p> + <p> + I looked, and to my surprise I saw Margrave descending the stately stairs + that led from the front door. The steward turned towards him, and I + mechanically followed, for I was curious to know what had brought Margrave + to the house of the long-absent traveller. + </p> + <p> + It was easily explained. Mr. Margrave had heard at L—— much of + the pictures and internal decorations of the mansion. He had, by dint of + coaxing (he said, with his enchanting laugh), persuaded the old + housekeeper to show him the rooms. + </p> + <p> + “It is against Sir Philip’s positive orders to show the house to any + stranger, sir; and the housekeeper has done very wrong,” said the steward. + </p> + <p> + “Pray don’t scold her. I dare say Sir Philip would not have refused me a + permission he might not give to every idle sightseer. Fellow-travellers + have a freemasonry with each other; and I have been much in the same far + countries as himself. I heard of him there, and could tell you more about + him, I dare say, than you know yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “You, sir! pray do then.” + </p> + <p> + “The next time I come,” said Margrave, gayly; and, with a nod to me, he + glided off through the trees of the neighbouring grove, along the winding + footpath that led to the lodge. + </p> + <p> + “A very cool gentleman,” muttered the steward; “but what pleasant ways he + has! You seem to know him, sir. Who is he, may I ask?” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Margrave,—a visitor at L——, and he has been a great + traveller, as he says; perhaps he met Sir Philip abroad.” + </p> + <p> + “I must go and hear what he said to Mrs. Gates; excuse me, sir, but I am + so anxious about Sir Philip.” + </p> + <p> + “If it be not too great a favour, may I be allowed the same privilege + granted to Mr. Margrave? To judge by the outside of the house, the inside + must be worth seeing; still, if it be against Sir Philip’s positive orders—” + </p> + <p> + “His orders were, not to let the Court become a show-house,—to admit + none without my consent; but I should be ungrateful indeed, doctor, if I + refused that consent to you.” + </p> + <p> + I tied my horse to the rusty gate of the terrace-walk, and followed the + steward up the broad stairs of the terrace. The great doors were unlocked. + We entered a lofty hall with a domed ceiling; at the back of the hall the + grand staircase ascended by a double flight. The design was undoubtedly + Vanbrugh’s,—an architect who, beyond all others, sought the effect + of grandeur less in space than in proportion; but Vanbrugh’s designs need + the relief of costume and movement, and the forms of a more pompous + generation, in the bravery of velvets and laces, glancing amid those + gilded columns, or descending with stately tread those broad palatial + stairs. His halls and chambers are so made for festival and throng, that + they become like deserted theatres, inexpressibly desolate, as we miss the + glitter of the lamps and the movement of the actors. + </p> + <p> + The housekeeper had now appeared,—a quiet, timid old woman. She + excused herself for admitting Margrave—not very intelligibly. It was + plain to see that she had, in truth, been unable to resist what the + steward termed his “pleasant ways.” + </p> + <p> + As if to escape from a scolding, she talked volubly all the time, bustling + nervously through the rooms, along which I followed her guidance with a + hushed footstep. The principal apartments were on the ground-floor, or + rather, a floor raised some ten or fifteen feet above the ground; they had + not been modernized since the date in which they were built. Hangings of + faded silk; tables of rare marble, and mouldered gilding; comfortless + chairs at drill against the walls; pictures, of which connoisseurs alone + could estimate the value, darkened by dust or blistered by sun and damp, + made a general character of discomfort. On not one room, on not one nook, + still lingered some old smile of home. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, I gathered from the housekeeper’s rambling answers to questions + put to her by the steward, as I moved on, glancing at the pictures, that + Margrave’s visit that day was not his first. He had been to the house + twice before,—his ostensible excuse that he was an amateur in + pictures (though, as I had before observed, for that department of art he + had no taste); but each time he had talked much of Sir Philip. He said + that though not personally known to him, he had resided in the same towns + abroad, and had friends equally intimate with Sir Philip; but when the + steward inquired if the visitor had given any information as to the + absentee, it became very clear that Margrave had been rather asking + questions than volunteering intelligence. + </p> + <p> + We had now come to the end of the state apartments, the last of which was + a library. “And,” said the old woman, “I don’t wonder the gentleman knew + Sir Philip, for he seemed a scholar, and looked very hard over the books, + especially those old ones by the fireplace, which Sir Philip, Heaven bless + him, was always poring into.” + </p> + <p> + Mechanically I turned to the shelves by the fireplace, and examined the + volumes ranged in that department. I found they contained the works of + those writers whom we may class together under the title of mystics,—Iamblichus + and Plotinus; Swedenborg and Behmen; Sandivogius, Van Helmont, Paracelsus, + Cardan. Works, too, were there, by writers less renowned, on astrology, + geomancy, chiromancy, etc. I began to understand among what class of + authors Margrave had picked up the strange notions with which he was apt + to interpolate the doctrines of practical philosophy. + </p> + <p> + “I suppose this library was Sir Philip’s usual sitting-room?” said I. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir; he seldom sat here. This was his study;” and the old woman + opened a small door, masked by false book backs. I followed her into a + room of moderate size, and evidently of much earlier date than the rest of + the house. “It is the only room left of an older mansion,” said the + steward in answer to my remark. “I have heard it was spared on account of + the chimneypiece. But there is a Latin inscription which will tell you all + about it. I don’t know Latin myself.” + </p> + <p> + The chimneypiece reached to the ceiling. The frieze of the lower part + rested on rude stone caryatides; the upper part was formed of oak panels + very curiously carved in the geometrical designs favoured by the taste + prevalent in the reigns of Elizabeth and James, but different from any I + had ever seen in the drawings of old houses,—and I was not quite + unlearned in such matters, for my poor father was a passionate antiquary + in all that relates to mediaeval art. The design in the oak panels was + composed of triangles interlaced with varied ingenuity, and enclosed in + circular bands inscribed with the signs of the Zodiac. + </p> + <p> + On the stone frieze supported by the caryatides, immediately under the + woodwork, was inserted a metal plate, on which was written, in Latin, a + few lines to the effect that “in this room, Simon Forman, the seeker of + hidden truth, taking refuge from unjust persecution, made those + discoveries in nature which he committed, for the benefit of a wiser age, + to the charge of his protector and patron, the worshipful Sir Miles + Derval, knight.” + </p> + <p> + Forman! The name was not quite unfamiliar to me; but it was not without an + effort that my memory enabled me to assign it to one of the most notorious + of those astrologers or soothsayers whom the superstition of an earlier + age alternately persecuted and honoured. + </p> + <p> + The general character of the room was more cheerful than the statelier + chambers I had hitherto passed through, for it had still the look of + habitation,—the armchair by the fireplace; the kneehole + writing-table beside it; the sofa near the recess of a large bay-window, + with book-prop and candlestick screwed to its back; maps, coiled in their + cylinders, ranged under the cornice; low strong safes, skirting two sides + of the room, and apparently intended to hold papers and title-deeds, seals + carefully affixed to their jealous locks. Placed on the top of these + old-fashioned receptacles were articles familiar to modern use,—a + fowling-piece here, fishing-rods there, two or three simple flower-vases, + a pile of music books, a box of crayons. All in this room seemed to speak + of residence and ownership,—of the idiosyncrasies of a lone single + man, it is true, but of a man of one’s own time,—a country gentleman + of plain habits but not uncultivated tastes. + </p> + <p> + I moved to the window; it opened by a sash upon a large balcony, from + which a wooden stair wound to a little garden, not visible in front of the + house, surrounded by a thick grove of evergreens, through which one broad + vista was cut, and that vista was closed by a view of the mausoleum. + </p> + <p> + I stepped out into the garden,—a patch of sward with a fountain in + the centre, and parterres, now more filled with weeds than flowers. At the + left corner was a tall wooden summer-house or pavilion,—its door + wide open. “Oh, that’s where Sir Philip used to study many a long summer’s + night,” said the steward. + </p> + <p> + “What! in that damp pavilion?” + </p> + <p> + “It was a pretty place enough then, sir; but it is very old,—they + say as old as the room you have just left.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed, I must look at it, then.” + </p> + <p> + The walls of this summer-house had once been painted in the arabesques of + the Renaissance period; but the figures were now scarcely traceable. The + woodwork had started in some places, and the sunbeams stole through the + chinks and played on the floor, which was formed from old tiles quaintly + tessellated and in triangular patterns; similar to those I had observed in + the chimneypiece. The room in the pavilion was large, furnished with old + worm-eaten tables and settles. “It was not only here that Sir Philip + studied, but sometimes in the room above,” said the steward. + </p> + <p> + “How do you get to the room above? Oh, I see; a stair case in the angle.” + I ascended the stairs with some caution, for they were crooked and + decayed; and, on entering the room above, comprehended at once why Sir + Philip had favoured it. + </p> + <p> + The cornice of the ceiling rested on pilasters, within which the + compartments were formed into open unglazed arches, surrounded by a railed + balcony. Through these arches, on three sides of the room, the eye + commanded a magnificent extent of prospect. On the fourth side the view + was bounded by the mausoleum. In this room was a large telescope; and on + stepping into the balcony, I saw that a winding stair mounted thence to a + platform on the top of the pavilion,—perhaps once used as an + observatory by Forman himself. + </p> + <p> + “The gentleman who was here to-day was very much pleased with this + look-out, sir,” said the housekeeper. “Who would not be? I suppose Sir + Philip has a taste for astronomy.” + </p> + <p> + “I dare say, sir,” said the steward, looking grave; “he likes most + out-of-the-way things.” + </p> + <p> + The position of the sun now warned me that my time pressed, and that I + should have to ride fast to reach my new patient at the hour appointed. I + therefore hastened back to my horse, and spurred on, wondering whether, in + the chain of association which so subtly links our pursuits in manhood to + our impressions in childhood, it was the Latin inscription on the + chimneypiece that had originally biassed Sir Philip Derval’s literary + taste towards the mystic jargon of the books at which I had contemptuously + glanced. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIX. + </h2> + <p> + I did not see Margrave the following day, but the next morning, a little + after sunrise, he walked into my study, according to his ordinary habit. + </p> + <p> + “So you know something about Sir Philip Derval?” said I. “What sort of a + man is he?” + </p> + <p> + “Hateful!” cried Margrave; and then checking himself, burst out into his + merry laugh. “Just like my exaggerations! I am not acquainted with + anything to his prejudice. I came across his track once or twice in the + East. Travellers are always apt to be jealous of each other.” + </p> + <p> + “You are a strange compound of cynicism and credulity; but I should have + fancied that you and Sir Philip would have been congenial spirits, when I + found, among his favourite books, Van Helmont and Paracelsus. Perhaps you, + too, study Swedenborg, or, worse still, Ptolemy and Lilly?” + </p> + <p> + “Astrologers? No! They deal with the future! I live for the day; only I + wish the day never had a morrow!” + </p> + <p> + “Have you not, then that vague desire for the something beyond,—that + not unhappy, but grand discontent with the limits of the immediate + Present, from which man takes his passion for improvement and progress, + and from which some sentimental philosophers have deduced an argument in + favour of his destined immortality?” + </p> + <p> + “Eh!” said Margrave, with as vacant a stare as that of a peasant whom one + has addressed in Hebrew. “What farrago of words is this? I do not + comprehend you.” + </p> + <p> + “With your natural abilities,” I asked with interest, “do you never feel a + desire for fame?” + </p> + <p> + “Fame? Certainly not. I cannot even understand it!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, then, would you have no pleasure in the thought that you had + rendered a service to humanity?” + </p> + <p> + Margrave looked bewildered; after a moment’s pause, he took from the table + a piece of bread that chanced to be there, opened the window, and threw + the crumbs into the lane. The sparrows gathered round the crumbs. + </p> + <p> + “Now,” said Margrave, “the sparrows come to that dull pavement for the + bread that recruits their lives in this world; do you believe that one + sparrow would be silly enough to fly to a house-top for the sake of some + benefit to other sparrows, or to be chirruped about after he was dead? I + care for science as the sparrow cares for bread,—it may help me to + something good for my own life; and as for fame and humanity, I care for + them as the sparrow cares for the general interest and posthumous + approbation of sparrows!” + </p> + <p> + “Margrave, there is one thing in you that perplexes me more than all else—human + puzzle as you are—in your many eccentricities and + self-contradictions.” + </p> + <p> + “What is that one thing in me most perplexing?” + </p> + <p> + “This: that in your enjoyment of Nature you have all the freshness of a + child, but when you speak of Man and his objects in the world, you talk in + the vein of some worn-out and hoary cynic. At such times, were I to close + my eyes, I should say to myself, ‘What weary old man is thus venting his + spleen against the ambition which has failed, and the love which has + forsaken him?’ Outwardly the very personation of youth, and revelling like + a butterfly in the warmth of the sun and the tints of the herbage, why + have you none of the golden passions of the young,—their bright + dreams of some impossible love, their sublime enthusiasm for some + unattainable glory? The sentiment you have just clothed in the + illustration by which you place yourself on a level with the sparrows is + too mean and too gloomy to be genuine at your age. Misanthropy is among + the dismal fallacies of gray beards. No man, till man’s energies leave + him, can divorce himself from the bonds of our social kind.” + </p> + <p> + “Our kind! Your kind, possibly; but I—” He swept his hand over his + brow, and resumed, in strange, absent, and wistful accents: “I wonder what + it is that is wanting here, and of which at moments I have a dim + reminiscence.” Again he paused, and gazing on me, said with more + appearance of friendly interest than I had ever before remarked in his + countenance, “You are not looking well. Despite your great physical + strength, you suffer like your own sickly patients.” + </p> + <p> + “True! I suffer at this moment, but not from bodily pain.” + </p> + <p> + “You have some cause of mental disquietude?” + </p> + <p> + “Who in this world has not?” + </p> + <p> + “I never have.” + </p> + <p> + “Because you own you have never loved. Certainly, you never seem to care + for any one but yourself; and in yourself you find an unbroken sunny + holiday,—high spirits, youth, health, beauty, wealth. Happy boy!” + </p> + <p> + At that moment my heart was heavy within me. + </p> + <p> + Margrave resumed,— + </p> + <p> + “Among the secrets which your knowledge places at the command of your art, + what would you give for one which would enable you to defy and to deride a + rival where you place your affections, which could lock to yourself, and + imperiously control, the will of the being whom you desire to fascinate, + by an influence paramount, transcendent?” + </p> + <p> + “Love has that secret,” said I,—“and love alone.” + </p> + <p> + “A power stronger than love can suspend, can change love itself. But if + love be the object or dream of your life, love is the rosy associate of + youth and beauty. Beauty soon fades, youth soon departs. What if in nature + there were means by which beauty and youth can be fixed into blooming + duration,—means that could arrest the course, nay, repair the + effects, of time on the elements that make up the human frame?” + </p> + <p> + “Silly boy! Have the Rosicrucians bequeathed to you a prescription for the + elixir of life?” + </p> + <p> + “If I had the prescription I should not ask your aid to discover its + ingredients.” + </p> + <p> + “And is it in the hope of that notable discovery you have studied + chemistry, electricity, and magnetism? Again I say, Silly boy!” + </p> + <p> + Margrave did not heed my reply. His face was overcast, gloomy, troubled. + </p> + <p> + “That the vital principle is a gas,” said he, abruptly, “I am fully + convinced. Can that gas be the one which combines caloric with oxygen?” + </p> + <p> + “Phosoxygen? Sir Humphrey Davy demonstrates that gas not to be, as + Lavoisier supposed, caloric, but light, combined with oxygen; and he + suggests, not indeed that it is the vital principle itself, but the + pabulum of life to organic beings.” (1) + </p> + <p> + “Does he?” said Margrave, his, face clearing up. “Possibly, possibly, + then, here we approach the great secret of secrets. Look you, Allen + Fenwick: I promise to secure to you unfailing security from all the + jealous fears that now torture your heart; if you care for that fame which + to me is not worth the scent of a flower, the balm of a breeze, I will + impart to you a knowledge which, in the hands of ambition, would dwarf + into commonplace the boasted wonders of recognized science. I will do all + this, if, in return, but for one month you will give yourself up to my + guidance in whatever experiments I ask, no matter how wild they may seem + to you.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear Margrave, I reject your bribes as I would reject the moon and the + stars which a child might offer to me in exchange for a toy; but I may + give the child its toy for nothing, and I may test your experiments for + nothing some day when I have leisure.” + </p> + <p> + I did not hear Margrave’s answer, for at that moment my servant entered + with letters. Lilian’s hand! Tremblingly, breathlessly, I broke the seal. + Such a loving, bright, happy letter; so sweet in its gentle chiding of my + wrongful fears! It was implied rather than said that Ashleigh Sumner had + proposed and been refused. He had now left the house. Lilian and her + mother were coming back; in a few days we should meet. In this letter were + inclosed a few lines from Mrs. Ashleigh. She was more explicit about my + rival than Lilian had been. If no allusion to his attentions had been made + to me before, it was from a delicate consideration for myself. Mrs. + Ashleigh said that “the young man had heard from L—— of our + engagement, and—disbelieved it;” but, as Mrs. Poyntz had so shrewdly + predicted, hurried at once to the avowal of his own attachment, and the + offer of his own hand. On Lilian’s refusal his pride had been deeply + mortified. He had gone away manifestly in more anger than sorrow. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Lady Delafield, dear Margaret Poyntz’s aunt, had been most kind in + trying to soothe Lady Haughton’s disappointment, which was rudely + expressed,—so rudely,” added Mrs. Ashleigh, “that it gives us an + excuse to leave sooner than had been proposed,—which I am very glad + of. Lady Delafield feels much for Mr. Sumner; has invited him to + visit her at a place she has near Worthing. She leaves to-morrow in + order to receive him; promises to reconcile him to our rejection, + which, as he was my poor Gilbert’s heir, and was very friendly at + first, would be a great relief to my mind. Lilian is well, and so + happy at the thoughts of coming back.” + </pre> + <p> + When I lifted my eyes from these letters I was as a new man, and the earth + seemed a new earth. I felt as if I had realized Margrave’s idle dreams,—as + if youth could never fade, love could never grow cold. + </p> + <p> + “You care for no secrets of mine at this moment,” said Margrave, abruptly. + </p> + <p> + “Secrets!” I murmured; “none now are worth knowing. I am loved! I am + loved!” + </p> + <p> + “I bide my time,” said Margrave; and as my eyes met his, I saw there a + look I had never seen in those eyes before, sinister, wrathful, menacing. + He turned away, went out through the sash-door of the study; and as he + passed towards the fields under the luxuriant chestnut-trees, I heard his + musical, barbaric chant,—the song by which the serpent-charmer + charms the serpent,—sweet, so sweet, the very birds on the boughs + hushed their carol as if to listen. + </p> + <p> + (1) See Sir Humphrey Davy on Heat, Light, and the Combinations of Light + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXX. + </h2> + <p> + I called that day on Mrs. Poyntz, and communicated to her the purport of + the glad news I had received. + </p> + <p> + She was still at work on the everlasting knitting, her firm fingers + linking mesh into mesh as she listened; and when I had done, she laid her + skein deliberately down, and said, in her favourite characteristic + formula,— + </p> + <p> + “So at last?—that is settled!” + </p> + <p> + She rose and paced the room as men are apt to do in reflection, women + rarely need such movement to aid their thoughts; her eyes were fixed on + the floor, and one hand was lightly pressed on the palm of the other,—the + gesture of a musing reasoner who is approaching the close of a difficult + calculation. + </p> + <p> + At length she paused, fronting me, and said dryly,— + </p> + <p> + “Accept my congratulations. Life smiles on you now; guard that smile, and + when we meet next, may we be even firmer friends than we are now!” + </p> + <p> + “When we meet next,—that will be to-night—you surely go to the + mayor’s great ball? All the Hill descends to Low Town to-night.” + </p> + <p> + “No; we are obliged to leave L—— this afternoon; in less than + two hours we shall be gone,—a family engagement. We may be weeks + away; you will excuse me, then, if I take leave of you so unceremoniously. + Stay, a motherly word of caution. That friend of yours, Mr. Margrave! + Moderate your intimacy with him; and especially after you are married. + There is in that stranger, of whom so little is known, a something which I + cannot comprehend,—a something that captivates and yet revolts. I + find him disturbing my thoughts, perplexing my conjectures, haunting my + fancies,—I, plain woman of the world! Lilian is imaginative; beware + of her imagination, even when sure of her heart. Beware of Margrave. The + sooner he quits L—— the better, believe me, for your peace of + mind. Adieu! I must prepare for our journey.” + </p> + <p> + “That woman,” muttered I, on quitting her house, “seems to have some + strange spite against my poor Lilian, ever seeking to rouse my own + distrust of that exquisite nature which has just given me such proof of + its truth. And yet—and yet—is that woman so wrong here? True! + Margrave with his wild notions, his strange beauty!—true—true—he + might dangerously encourage that turn for the mystic and visionary which + distresses me in Lilian. Lilian should not know him. How induce him to + leave L——? Ah, those experiments on which he asks my + assistance! I might commence them when he comes again, and then invent + some excuse to send him for completer tests to the famous chemists of Paris + or Berlin.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXI. + </h2> + <p> + It is the night of the mayor’s ball! The guests are assembling fast; + county families twelve miles round have been invited, as well as the + principal families of the town. All, before proceeding to the room set + apart for the dance, moved in procession through the museum,—homage + to science before pleasure! + </p> + <p> + The building was brilliantly lighted, and the effect was striking, perhaps + because singular and grotesque. There, amidst stands of flowers and + evergreens, lit up with coloured lamps, were grouped the dead + representatives of races all inferior—some deadly—to man. The + fancy of the ladies had been permitted to decorate and arrange these types + of the animal world. The tiger glared with glass eyes from amidst + artificial reeds and herbage, as from his native jungle; the grisly white + bear peered from a mimic iceberg. There, in front, stood the sage + elephant, facing a hideous hippopotamus; whilst an anaconda twined its + long spire round the stem of some tropical tree in zinc. In glass cases, + brought into full light by festooned lamps, were dread specimens of the + reptile race,—scorpion and vampire, and cobra capella, with insects + of gorgeous hues, not a few of them with venomed stings. + </p> + <p> + But the chief boast of the collection was in the varieties of the Genus + Simia,—baboons and apes, chimpanzees, with their human visage, + mockeries of man, from the dwarf monkeys perched on boughs lopped from the + mayor’s shrubberies, to the formidable ourangoutang, leaning on his huge + club. + </p> + <p> + Every one expressed to the mayor admiration, to each other antipathy, for + this unwonted and somewhat ghastly, though instructive, addition to the + revels of a ballroom. + </p> + <p> + Margrave, of course, was there, and seemingly quite at home, gliding from + group to group of gayly-dressed ladies, and brilliant with a childish + eagerness to play off the showman. Many of these grim fellow-creatures he + declared he had seen, played, or fought with. He had something true or + false to say about each. In his high spirits he contrived to make the + tiger move, and imitated the hiss of the terribly anaconda. All that he + did had its grace, its charm; and the buzz of admiration and the + flattering glances of ladies’ eyes followed him wherever he moved. + </p> + <p> + However, there was a general feeling of relief when the mayor led the way + from the museum into the ballroom. In provincial parties guests arrive + pretty much within the same hour, and so few who had once paid their + respects to the apes and serpents, the hippopotamus and the tiger, were + disposed to repeat the visit, that long before eleven o’clock the museum + was as free from the intrusion of human life as the wilderness in which + its dead occupants had been born. + </p> + <p> + I had gone my round through the rooms, and, little disposed to be social, + had crept into the retreat of a window-niche, pleased to think myself + screened by its draperies,—not that I was melancholy, far from it; + for the letter I had received that morning from Lilian had raised my whole + being into a sovereignty of happiness high beyond the reach of the young + pleasure-hunters, whose voices and laughter blended with that vulgar + music. + </p> + <p> + To read her letter again I had stolen to my nook, and now, sure that none + saw me kiss it, I replaced it in my bosom. I looked through the parted + curtain; the room was comparatively empty; but there, through the open + folding-doors, I saw the gay crowd gathered round the dancers, and there + again, at right angles, a vista along the corridor afforded a glimpse of + the great elephant in the deserted museum. + </p> + <p> + Presently I heard, close beside me, my host’s voice. + </p> + <p> + “Here’s a cool corner, a pleasant sofa, you can have it all to yourself. + What an honour to receive you under my roof, and on this interesting + occasion! Yes, as you say, there are great changes in L—— + since you left us. Society has much improved. I must look about and find + some persons to introduce to you. Clever! oh, I know your tastes. We have + a wonderful man,—a new doctor. Carries all before him; very high + character, too; good old family, greatly looked up to, even apart from his + profession. Dogmatic a little,—a Sir Oracle,—‘Lets no dog + bark;’ you remember the quotation,—Shakspeare. Where on earth is he? + My dear Sir Philip, I am sure you would enjoy his conversation.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip! Could it be Sir Philip Derval to whom the mayor was giving a + flattering yet scarcely propitiatory description of myself? Curiosity + combined with a sense of propriety in not keeping myself an unsuspected + listener; I emerged from the curtain, but silently, and reached the centre + of the room before the mayor perceived me. He then came up to me eagerly, + linked his arm in mine, and leading me to a gentleman seated on a sofa, + close by the window I had quitted, said,— + </p> + <p> + “Doctor, I must present you to Sir Philip Derval, just returned to + England, and not six hours in L——. If you would like to see + the museum again, Sir Philip, the doctor, I am sure, will accompany you.” + </p> + <p> + “No, I thank you; it is painful to me at present to see, even under your + roof, the collection which my poor dear friend, Dr. Lloyd, was so proudly + beginning to form when I left these parts.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, Sir Philip, Dr. Lloyd was a worthy man in his way, but sadly duped in + his latter years; took to mesmerism, only think! But our young doctor here + showed him up, I can tell you.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip, who had acknowledged my first introduction to his acquaintance + by the quiet courtesy with which a well-bred man goes through a ceremony + that custom enables him to endure with equal ease and indifference, now + evinced by a slight change of manner how little the mayor’s reference to + my dispute with Dr. Lloyd advanced me in his good opinion. He turned away + with a bow more formal than his first one, and said calmly, + </p> + <p> + “I regret to hear that a man so simple-minded and so sensitive as Dr. + Lloyd should have provoked an encounter in which I can well conceive him + to have been worsted. With your leave, Mr. Mayor, I will look into your + ballroom. I may perhaps find there some old acquaintances.” + </p> + <p> + He walked towards the dancers, and the mayor, linking his arm in mine, + followed close behind, saying in his loud hearty tones,— + </p> + <p> + “Come along, you too, Dr. Fenwick, my girls are there; you have not spoken + to them yet.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip, who was then half way across the room, turned round abruptly, + and, looking me full in the face, said,— + </p> + <p> + “Fenwick, is your name Fenwick,—Allen Fenwick?” + </p> + <p> + “That is my name, Sir Philip.” + </p> + <p> + “Then permit me to shake you by the hand; you are no stranger, and no mere + acquaintance to me. Mr. Mayor, we will look into your ballroom later; do + not let us keep you now from your other guests.” + </p> + <p> + The mayor, not in the least offended by being thus summarily dismissed, + smiled, walked on, and was soon lost amongst the crowd. + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip, still retaining my hand, reseated himself on the sofa, and I + took my place by his side. The room was still deserted; now and then a + straggler from the ballroom looked in for a moment, and then sauntered + back to the central place of attraction. + </p> + <p> + “I am trying to guess,” said I, “how my name should be known to you. + Possibly you may, in some visit to the Lakes, have known my father?” + </p> + <p> + “No; I know none of your name but yourself,—if, indeed, as I doubt + not, you are the Allen Fenwick to whom I owe no small obligation. You were + a medical student at Edinburgh in the year ——?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “So! At that time there was also at Edinburgh a young man, named Richard + Strahan. He lodged in a fourth flat in the Old Town.” + </p> + <p> + “I remember him very well.” + </p> + <p> + “And you remember, also, that a fire broke out at night in the house in + which he lodged; that when it was discovered there seemed no hope of + saving him. The flames wrapped the lower part of the house; the staircase + had given way. A boy, scarcely so old as himself, was the only human being + in the crowd who dared to scale the ladder that even then scarcely reached + the windows from which the smoke rolled in volumes; that boy penetrated + into the room, found the inmate almost insensible, rallied, supported, + dragged him to the window, got him on the ladder,—saved his life + then: and his life later, by nursing with a woman’s tenderness, through + the fever caused by terror and excitement, the fellow-creature he had + rescued by a man’s daring. The name of that gallant student was Allen + Fenwick, and Richard Strahan is my nearest living relation. Are we friends + now?” + </p> + <p> + I answered confusedly. I had almost forgotten the circumstances referred + to. Richard Strahan had not been one of my more intimate companions, and I + had never seen nor heard of him since leaving college. I inquired what had + become of him. + </p> + <p> + “He is at the Scotch Bar,” said Sir Philip, “and of course without + practice. I understand that he has fair average abilities, but no + application. If I am rightly informed, he is, however, a thoroughly + honourable, upright man, and of an affectionate and grateful disposition.” + </p> + <p> + “I can answer for all you have said in his praise. He had the qualities + you name too deeply rooted in youth to have lost them now.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip remained for some moments in a musing silence; and I took + advantage of that silence to examine him with more minute attention than I + had done before, much as the first sight of him had struck me. + </p> + <p> + He was somewhat below the common height,—so delicately formed that + one might call him rather fragile than slight. But in his carriage and air + there was remarkable dignity. His countenance was at direct variance with + his figure; for as delicacy was the attribute of the last, so power was + unmistakably the characteristic of the first. He looked fully the age his + steward had ascribed to him,—about forty-eight; at a superficial + glance, more, for his hair was prematurely white,—not gray, but + white as snow. But his eyebrows were still jet black, and his eyes, + equally dark, were serenely bright. His forehead was magnificent,—lofty + and spacious, and with only one slight wrinkle between the brows. His + complexion was sunburnt, showing no sign of weak health. The outline of + his lips was that which I have often remarked in men accustomed to great + dangers, and contracting in such dangers the habit of self-reliance,—firm + and quiet, compressed without an effort. And the power of this very noble + countenance was not intimidating, not aggressive; it was mild, it was + benignant. A man oppressed by some formidable tyranny, and despairing to + find a protector, would, on seeing that face, have said, “Here is one who + can protect me, and who will!” + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip was the first to break the silence. + </p> + <p> + “I have so many relations scattered over England, that fortunately not one + of them can venture to calculate on my property if I die childless, and + therefore not one of them can feel himself injured when, a few weeks + hence, he shall read in the newspapers that Philip Derval is married. But + for Richard Strahan at least, though I never saw him, I must do something + before the newspapers make that announcement. His sister was very dear to + me.” + </p> + <p> + “Your neighbours, Sir Philip, will rejoice at your marriage, since, I + presume, it may induce you to settle amongst them at Derval Court.” + </p> + <p> + “At Derval Court! No! I shall not settle there.” Again he paused a moment + or so, and then went on: “I have long lived a wandering life, and in it + learned much that the wisdom of cities cannot teach. I return to my native + land with a profound conviction that the happiest life is the life most in + common with all. I have gone out of my way to do what I deemed good, and + to avert or mitigate what appeared to me evil. I pause now and ask myself, + whether the most virtuous existence be not that in which virtue flows + spontaneously from the springs of quiet everyday action; when a man does + good without restlessly seeking it, does good unconsciously, simply + because he is good and he lives. Better, perhaps, for me, if I had thought + so long ago! And now I come back to England with the intention of + marrying, late in life though it be, and with such hopes of happiness as + any matter-of-fact man may form. But my hope will not be at Derval Court. + I shall reside either in London or its immediate neighbourhood, and seek + to gather round me minds by which I can correct, if I cannot confide to + them, the knowledge I myself have acquired.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, if, as I have accidentally heard, you are fond of scientific + pursuits, I cannot wonder, that after so long an absence from England, you + should feel interest in learning what new discoveries have been made, what + new ideas are unfolding the germs of discoveries yet to be. But, pardon + me, if in answer to your concluding remark, I venture to say that no man + can hope to correct any error in his own knowledge, unless he has the + courage to confide the error to those who can correct. La Place has said, + ‘Tout se tient dans le chaine immense des verites;’ and the mistake we + make in some science we have specially cultivated is often only to be seen + by the light of a separate science as specially cultivated by another. + Thus, in the investigation of truth, frank exposition to congenial minds + is essential to the earnest seeker.” + </p> + <p> + “I am pleased with what you say,” said Sir Philip, “and I shall be still + more pleased to find in you the very confidant I require. But what was + your controversy with my old friend, Dr. Lloyd? Do I understand our host + rightly, that it related to what in Europe has of late days obtained the + name of mesmerism?” + </p> + <p> + I had conceived a strong desire to conciliate the good opinion of a man + who had treated me with so singular and so familiar a kindness, and it was + sincerely that I expressed my regret at the acerbity with which I had + assailed Dr. Lloyd; but of his theories and pretensions I could not + disguise my contempt. I enlarged on the extravagant fallacies involved in + a fabulous “clairvoyance,” which always failed when put to plain test by + sober-minded examiners. I did not deny the effects of imagination on + certain nervous constitutions. “Mesmerism could cure nobody; credulity + could cure many. There was the well-known story of the old woman tried as + a witch; she cured agues by a charm. She owned the impeachment, and was + ready to endure gibbet or stake for the truth of her talisman,—more + than a mesmerist would for the truth of his passes! And the charm was a + scroll of gibberish sewn in an old bag and given to the woman in a freak + by the judge himself when a young scamp on the circuit. But the charm + cured? Certainly; just as mesmerism cures. Fools believed in it. Faith, + that moves mountains, may well cure agues.” + </p> + <p> + Thus I ran on, supporting my views with anecdote and facts, to which Sir + Philip listened with placid gravity. + </p> + <p> + When I had come to an end he said: “Of mesmerism, as practised in Europe, + I know nothing except by report. I can well understand that medical men + may hesitate to admit it amongst the legitimate resources of orthodox + pathology; because, as I gather from what you and others say of its + practice, it must, at the best, be far too uncertain in its application to + satisfy the requirements of science. Yet an examination of its pretensions + may enable you to perceive the truth that lies hid in the powers ascribed + to witchcraft; benevolence is but a weak agency compared to malignity; + magnetism perverted to evil may solve half the riddles of sorcery. On + this, however, I say no more at present. But as to that which you appear + to reject as the most preposterous and incredible pretension of the + mesmerists, and which you designate by the word ‘clairvoyance,’ it is + clear to me that you have never yourself witnessed even those very + imperfect exhibitions which you decide at once to be imposture. I say + imperfect, because it is only a limited number of persons whom the eye or + the passes of the mesmerist can effect; and by such means, unaided by + other means, it is rarely indeed that the magnetic sleep advances beyond + the first vague shadowy twilight-dawn of that condition to which only in + its fuller developments I would apply the name of ‘trance.’ But still + trance is as essential a condition of being as sleep or as waking, having + privileges peculiar to itself. By means within the range of the science + that explores its nature and its laws, trance, unlike the clairvoyance you + describe, is producible in every human being, however unimpressible to + mere mesmerism.” + </p> + <p> + “Producible in every human being! Pardon me if I say that I will give any + enchanter his own terms who will produce that effect upon me.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you? You consent to have the experiment tried on yourself?” + </p> + <p> + “Consent most readily.” + </p> + <p> + “I will remember that promise. But to return to the subject. By the word + ‘trance’ I do not mean exclusively the spiritual trance of the Alexandrian + Platonists. There is one kind of trance,—that to which all human + beings are susceptible,—in which the soul has no share: for of this + kind of trance, and it was of this I spoke, some of the inferior animals + are susceptible; and, therefore, trance is no more a proof of soul than is + the clairvoyance of the mesmerists, or the dream of our ordinary sleep, + which last has been called a proof of soul, though any man who has kept a + dog must have observed that dogs dream as vividly as we do. But in this + trance there is an extraordinary cerebral activity, a projectile force + given to the mind, distinct from the soul, by which it sends forth its own + emanations to a distance in spite of material obstacles, just as a flower, + in an altered condition of atmosphere, sends forth the particles of its + aroma. This should not surprise you. Your thought travels over land and + sea in your waking state; thought, too, can travel in trance, and in + trance may acquire an intensified force. There is, however, another kind + of trance which is truly called spiritual, a trance much more rare, and in + which the soul entirely supersedes the mere action of the mind.” + </p> + <p> + “Stay!” said I; “you speak of the soul as something distinct from the + mind. What the soul may be, I cannot pretend to conjecture; but I cannot + separate it from the intelligence!” + </p> + <p> + “Can you not? A blow on the brain can destroy the intelligence! Do you + think it can destroy the soul? + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ‘From Marlbro’s eyes the tears of dotage flow, + And Swift expires, a driveller and a show.’ +</pre> + <p> + “Towards the close of his life even Kant’s giant intellect left him. Do + you suppose that in these various archetypes of intellectual man the soul + was worn out by the years that loosened the strings, or made tuneless the + keys, of the perishing instrument on which the mind must rely for all + notes of its music? If you cannot distinguish the operations of the mind + from the essence of the soul, I know not by what rational inductions you + arrive at the conclusion that the soul is imperishable.” + </p> + <p> + I remained silent. Sir Philip fixed on me his dark eyes quietly and + searchingly, and, after a short pause, said,— + </p> + <p> + “Almost every known body in nature is susceptible of three several states + of existence,—the solid, the liquid, the aeriform. These conditions + depend on the quantity of heat they contain. The same object at one moment + may be liquid; at the next moment solid; at the next aeriform. The water + that flows before your gaze may stop consolidated into ice, or ascend into + air as a vapour. Thus is man susceptible of three states of existence,—the + animal, the mental, the spiritual; and according as he is brought into + relation or affinity with that occult agency of the whole natural world, + which we familiarly call heat, and which no science has yet explained, + which no scale can weigh, and no eye discern, one or the other of these + three states of being prevails, or is subjected.” + </p> + <p> + I still continued silent, for I was unwilling discourteously to say to a + stranger so much older than myself, that he seemed to me to reverse all + the maxims of the philosophy to which he made pretence, in founding + speculations audacious and abstruse upon unanalogous comparisons that + would have been fantastic even in a poet. And Sir Philip, after another + pause, resumed with a half smile,— + </p> + <p> + “After what I have said, it will perhaps not very much surprise you when I + add that but for my belief in the powers I ascribe to trance, we should + not be known to each other at this moment.” + </p> + <p> + “How? Pray explain!” + </p> + <p> + “Certain circumstances, which I trust to relate to you in detail + hereafter, have imposed on me the duty to discover, and to bring human + laws to bear upon, a creature armed with terrible powers of evil. This + monster, for without metaphor, monster it is, not man like ourselves, has, + by arts superior to those of ordinary fugitives, however dexterous in + concealment, hitherto for years eluded my research. Through the trance of + an Arab child, who, in her waking state, never heard of his existence, I + have learned that this being is in England, is in L——. I am + here to encounter him. I expect to do so this very night, and under this + very roof.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Philip!” + </p> + <p> + “And if you wonder, as you well may, why I have been talking to you with + this startling unreserve, know that the same Arab child, on whom I thus + implicitly rely, informs me that your life is mixed up with that of the + being I seek to unmask and disarm,—to be destroyed by his arts or + his agents, or to combine in the causes by which the destroyer himself + shall be brought to destruction.” + </p> + <p> + “My life!—your Arab child named me, Allen Fenwick?” + </p> + <p> + “My Arab child told me that the person in whom I should thus naturally + seek an ally was he who had saved the life of the man whom I then meant + for my heir, if I died unmarried and childless. She told me that I should + not be many hours in this town, which she described minutely, before you + would be made known to me. She described this house, with yonder lights, + and yon dancers. In her trance she saw us sitting together, as we now sit. + I accepted the invitation of our host, when he suddenly accosted me on + entering the town, confident that I should meet you here, without even + asking whether a person of your name were a resident in the place; and now + you know why I have so freely unbosomed myself of much that might well + make you, a physician, doubt the soundness of my understanding. The same + infant, whose vision has been realized up to this moment, has warned me + also that I am here at great peril. What that peril may be I have declined + to learn, as I have ever declined to ask from the future what affects only + my own life on this earth. That life I regard with supreme indifference, + conscious that I have only to discharge, while it lasts, the duties for + which it is bestowed on me, to the best of my imperfect power; and aware + that minds the strongest and souls the purest may fall into the sloth + habitual to predestinarians, if they suffer the action due to the present + hour to be awed and paralyzed by some grim shadow on the future! It is + only where, irrespectively of aught that can menace myself, a light not + struck out of my own reason can guide me to disarm evil or minister to + good, that I feel privileged to avail myself of those mirrors on which + things, near and far, reflect themselves calm and distinct as the banks + and the mountain peak are reflected in the glass of a lake. Here, then, + under this roof, and by your side, I shall behold him who—Lo! the + moment has come,—I behold him now!” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke these last words, Sir Philip had risen, and, startled by his + action and voice, I involuntarily rose too. Resting one hand on my + shoulder, he pointed with the other towards the threshold of the ballroom. + There, the prominent figure of a gay group—the sole male amidst a + fluttering circle of silks and lawn, of flowery wreaths, of female + loveliness and female frippery—stood the radiant image of Margrave. + His eyes were not turned towards us. He was looking down, and his light + laugh came soft, yet ringing, through the general murmur. + </p> + <p> + I turned my astonished gaze back to Sir Philip; yes, unmistakably it was + on Margrave that his look was fixed. Impossible to associate crime with + the image of that fair youth! Eccentric notions, fantastic speculations, + vivacious egotism, defective benevolence,—yes. But crime! No! + impossible! + </p> + <p> + “Impossible,” I said aloud. As I spoke, the group had moved on. Margrave + was no longer in sight. At the same moment some other guests came from the + ballroom, and seated themselves near us. + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip looked round, and, observing the deserted museum at the end of + the corridor, drew me into it. + </p> + <p> + When we were alone, he said in a voice quick and low, but decided,— + </p> + <p> + “It is of importance that I should convince you at once of the nature of + that prodigy which is more hostile to mankind than the wolf is to the + sheepfold. No words of mine could at present suffice to clear your sight + from the deception which cheats it. I must enable you to judge for + yourself. It must be now and here. He will learn this night, if he has not + learned already, that I am in the town. Dim and confused though his + memories of myself may be, they are memories still; and he well knows what + cause he has to dread me. I must put another in possession of his secret. + Another, and at once! For all his arts will be brought to bear against me, + and I cannot foretell their issue. Go, then; enter that giddy crowd, + select that seeming young man, bring him hither. Take care only not to + mention my name; and when here, turn the key in the door, so as to prevent + interruption,—five minutes will suffice.” + </p> + <p> + “Am I sure that I guess whom you mean? The young light-hearted man, known + in this place under the name of Margrave? The young man with the radiant + eyes, and the curls of a Grecian statue?” + </p> + <p> + “The same; him whom I pointed out. Quick, bring him hither.” + </p> + <p> + My curiosity was too much roused to disobey. Had I conceived that + Margrave, in the heat of youth, had committed some offence which placed + him in danger of the law and in the power of Sir Philip Derval, I + possessed enough of the old borderer’s black-mail loyalty to have given + the man whose hand I had familiarly clasped a hint and a help to escape. + But all Sir Philip’s talk had been so out of the reach of common-sense, + that I rather expected to see him confounded by some egregious illusion + than Margrave exposed to any well-grounded accusation. All, then, that I + felt as I walked into the ballroom and approached Margrave was that + curiosity which, I think, any one of my readers will acknowledge that, in + my position, he himself would have felt. + </p> + <p> + Margrave was standing near the dancers, not joining them, but talking with + a young couple in the ring. I drew him aside. + </p> + <p> + “Come with me for a few minutes into the museum; I wish to talk to you.” + </p> + <p> + “What about,—an experiment?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, an experiment.” + </p> + <p> + “Then I am at your service.” + </p> + <p> + In a minute more, he had followed me into the desolate dead museum. I + looked round, but did not see Sir Philip. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXII. + </h2> + <p> + MARGRAVE threw himself on a seat just under the great anaconda; I closed + and locked the door. When I had done so, my eye fell on the young man’s + face, and I was surprised to see that it had lost its colour; that it + showed great anxiety, great distress; that his hands were visibly + trembling. + </p> + <p> + “What is this?” he said in feeble tones, and raising himself half from his + seat as if with great effort. “Help me up! come away! Something in this + room is hostile to me, hostile, overpowering! What can it be?” + </p> + <p> + “Truth and my presence,” answered a stern, low voice; and Sir Philip + Derval, whose slight form the huge bulk of the dead elephant had before + obscured from my view, came suddenly out from the shadow into the full + rays of the lamps which lit up, as if for Man’s revel, that mocking + catacomb for the playmates of Nature which he enslaves for his service or + slays for his sport. As Sir Philip spoke and advanced, Margrave sank back + into his seat, shrinking, collapsing, nerveless; terror the most abject + expressed in his staring eyes and parted lips. On the other hand, the + simple dignity of Sir Philip Derval’s bearing, and the mild power of his + countenance, were alike inconceivably heightened. A change had come over + the whole man, the more impressive because wholly undefinable. + </p> + <p> + Halting opposite Margrave he uttered some words in a language unknown to + me, and stretched one hand over the young man’s head. Margrave at once + became stiff and rigid, as if turned to stone. Sir Philip said to me,— + </p> + <p> + “Place one of those lamps on the floor,—there, by his feet.” + </p> + <p> + I took down one of the coloured lamps from the mimic tree round which the + huge anaconda coiled its spires, and placed it as I was told. + </p> + <p> + “Take the seat opposite to him, and watch.” + </p> + <p> + I obeyed. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, Sir Philip had drawn from his breast-pocket a small steel + casket, and I observed, as he opened it, that the interior was subdivided + into several compartments, each with its separate lid; from one of these + he took and sprinkled over the flame of the lamp a few grains of a powder, + colourless and sparkling as diamond dust. In a second or so, a delicate + perfume, wholly unfamiliar to my sense, rose from the lamp. + </p> + <p> + “You would test the condition of trance; test it, and in the spirit.” + </p> + <p> + And, as he spoke, his hand rested lightly on my head. Hitherto, amidst a + surprise not unmixed with awe, I had preserved a certain defiance, a + certain distrust. I had been, as it were, on my guard. + </p> + <p> + But as those words were spoken, as that hand rested on my head, as that + perfume arose from the lamp, all power of will deserted me. My first + sensation was that of passive subjugation; but soon I was aware of a + strange intoxicating effect from the odour of the lamp, round which there + now played a dazzling vapour. The room swam before me. Like a man + oppressed by a nightmare, I tried to move, to cry out, feeling that to do + so would suffice to burst the thrall that bound me: in vain. + </p> + <p> + A time that seemed to me inexorably long, but which, as I found + afterwards, could only have occupied a few seconds, elapsed in this + preliminary state, which, however powerless, was not without a vague + luxurious sense of delight. And then suddenly came pain,—pain, that + in rapid gradations passed into a rending agony. Every bone, sinew, nerve, + fibre of the body, seemed as if wrenched open, and as if some hitherto + unconjectured Presence in the vital organization were forcing itself to + light with all the pangs of travail. The veins seemed swollen to bursting, + the heart labouring to maintain its action by fierce spasms. I feel in + this description how language fails me. Enough that the anguish I then + endured surpassed all that I have ever experienced of physical pain. This + dreadful interval subsided as suddenly as it had commenced. I felt as if a + something undefinable by any name had rushed from me, and in that rush + that a struggle was over. I was sensible of the passive bliss which + attends the release from torture, and then there grew on me a wonderful + calm, and, in that calm, a consciousness of some lofty intelligence + immeasurably beyond that which human memory gathers from earthly + knowledge. I saw before me the still rigid form of Margrave, and my sight + seemed, with ease, to penetrate through its covering of flesh, and to + survey the mechanism of the whole interior being. + </p> + <p> + “View that tenement of clay which now seems so fair, as it was when I last + beheld it, three years ago, in the house of Haroun of Aleppo!” + </p> + <p> + I looked, and gradually, and as shade after shade falls on the mountain + side, while the clouds gather, and the sun vanishes at last, so the form + and face on which I looked changed from exuberant youth into infirm old + age,—the discoloured wrinkled skin, the bleared dim eye, the flaccid + muscles, the brittle sapless bones. Nor was the change that of age alone; + the expression of the countenance had passed into gloomy discontent, and + in every furrow a passion or a vice had sown the seeds of grief. + </p> + <p> + And the brain now opened on my sight, with all its labyrinth of cells. I + seemed to have the clew to every winding in the maze. + </p> + <p> + I saw therein a moral world, charred and ruined, as, in some fable I have + read, the world of the moon is described to be; yet withal it was a brain + of magnificent formation. The powers abused to evil had been originally of + rare order,—imagination, and scope, the energies that dare, the + faculties that discover. But the moral part of the brain had failed to + dominate the mental,—defective veneration of what is good or great; + cynical disdain of what is right and just; in fine, a great intellect + first misguided, then perverted, and now falling with the decay of the + body into ghastly but imposing ruins,—such was the world of that + brain as it had been three years ago. And still continuing to gaze + thereon, I observed three separate emanations of light,—the one of a + pale red hue, the second of a pale azure, the third a silvery spark. + </p> + <p> + The red light, which grew paler and paler as I looked, undulated from the + brain along the arteries, the veins, the nerves. And I murmured to myself, + “Is this the principle of animal life?” + </p> + <p> + The azure light equally permeated the frame, crossing and uniting with the + red, but in a separate and distinct ray, exactly as, in the outer world, a + ray of light crosses or unites with a ray of heat, though in itself a + separate individual agency. And again I murmured to myself, “Is this the + principle of intellectual being, directing or influencing that of animal + life; with it, yet not of it?” + </p> + <p> + But the silvery spark! What was that? Its centre seemed the brain; but I + could fix it to no single organ. Nay, wherever I looked through the + system, it reflected itself as a star reflects itself upon water. And I + observed that while the red light was growing feebler and feebler, and the + azure light was confused, irregular,—now obstructed, now hurrying, + now almost lost,—the silvery spark was unaltered, undisturbed. So + independent was it of all which agitated and vexed the frame, that I + became strangely aware that if the heart stopped in its action, and the + red light died out; if the brain were paralyzed, that energetic mind + smitten into idiotcy, and the azure light wandering objectless as a meteor + wanders over the morass,—still that silver spark would shine the + same, indestructible by aught that shattered its tabernacle. And I + murmured to myself, “Can that starry spark speak the presence of the soul? + Does the silver light shine within creatures to which no life immortal has + been promised by Divine Revelation?” + </p> + <p> + Involuntarily I turned my sight towards the dead forms in the motley + collection, and lo, in my trance or my vision, life returned to them all!—to + the elephant and the serpent; to the tiger, the vulture, the beetle, the + moth; to the fish and the polypus, and to yon mockery of man in the giant + ape. + </p> + <p> + I seemed to see each as it lived in its native realm of earth, or of air, + or of water; and the red light played more or less warm through the + structure of each, and the azure light, though duller of hue, seemed to + shoot through the red, and communicate to the creatures an intelligence + far inferior indeed to that of man, but sufficing to conduct the current + of their will, and influence the cunning of their instincts. But in none, + from the elephant to the moth, from the bird in which brain was the + largest to the hybrid in which life seemed to live as in plants,—in + none was visible the starry silver spark. I turned my eyes from the + creatures around, back again to the form cowering under the huge anaconda, + and in terror at the animation which the carcasses took in the awful + illusions of that marvellous trance; for the tiger moved as if scenting + blood, and to the eyes of the serpent the dread fascination seemed slowly + returning. + </p> + <p> + Again I gazed on the starry spark in the form of the man. And I murmured + to myself, “But if this be the soul, why is it so undisturbed and + undarkened by the sins which have left such trace and such ravage in the + world of the brain?” And gazing yet more intently on the spark, I became + vaguely aware that it was not the soul, but the halo around the soul, as + the star we see in heaven is not the star itself, but its circle of rays; + and if the light itself was undisturbed and undarkened, it was because no + sins done in the body could annihilate its essence, nor affect the + eternity of its duration. The light was clear within the ruins of its + lodgment, because it might pass away, but could not be extinguished. + </p> + <p> + But the soul itself in the heart of the light reflected back on my own + soul within me its ineffable trouble, humiliation, and sorrow; for those + ghastly wrecks of power placed at its sovereign command it was + responsible, and, appalled by its own sublime fate of duration, was about + to carry into eternity the account of its mission in time. Yet it seemed + that while the soul was still there, though so forlorn and so guilty, even + the wrecks around it were majestic. And the soul, whatever sentence it + might merit, was not among the hopelessly lost; for in its remorse and its + shame, it might still have retained what could serve for redemption. And I + saw that the mind was storming the soul, in some terrible rebellious war,—all + of thought, of passion, of desire, through which the azure light poured + its restless flow, were surging up round the starry spark, as in siege. + And I could not comprehend the war, nor guess what it was that the mind + demanded the soul to yield. Only the distinction between the two was made + intelligible by their antagonism. And I saw that the soul, sorely tempted, + looked afar for escape from the subjects it had ever so ill controlled, + and who sought to reduce to their vassal the power which had lost + authority as their king. I could feel its terror in the sympathy of my own + terror, the keenness of my own supplicating pity. I knew that it was + imploring release from the perils it confessed its want of strength to + encounter. And suddenly the starry spark rose from the ruins and the + tumult around it,—rose into space and vanished; and where my soul + had recognized the presence of soul, there was a void. But the red light + burned still, becoming more and more vivid; and as it thus repaired and + recruited its lustre, the whole animal form, which had been so decrepit, + grew restored from decay, grew into vigour and youth: and I saw Margrave + as I had seen him in the waking world, the radiant image of animal life in + the beauty of its fairest bloom. + </p> + <p> + And over this rich vitality and this symmetric mechanism now reigned only, + with the animal life, the mind. The starry light fled and the soul + vanished, still was left visible the mind,—mind, by which sensations + convey and cumulate ideas, and muscles obey volition; mind, as in those + animals that have more than the elementary, instincts; mind, as it might + be in men, were men not immortal. As my eyes, in the Vision, followed the + azure light, undulating as before, through the cells of the brain, and + crossing the red amidst the labyrinth of the nerves, I perceived that the + essence of that azure light had undergone a change: it had lost that + faculty of continuous and concentred power by which man improves on the + works of the past, and weaves schemes to be developed in the future of + remote generations; it had lost all sympathy in the past, because it had + lost all conception of a future beyond the grave; it had lost conscience, + it had lost remorse; the being it informed was no longer accountable + through eternity for the employment of time. The azure light was even more + vivid in certain organs useful to the conservation of existence, as in + those organs I had observed it more vivid among some of the inferior + animals than it is in man,—secretiveness, destructiveness, and the + ready perception of things immediate to the wants of the day; and the + azure light was brilliant in cerebral cells, where before it had been + dark, such as those which harbour mirthfulness and hope, for there the + light was recruited by the exuberant health of the joyous animal-being. + But it was lead-like, or dim, in the great social organs, through which + man subordinates his own interest to that of his species, and utterly lost + in those through which man is reminded of his duties to the throne of his + Maker. + </p> + <p> + In that marvellous penetration with which the Vision endowed me, I + perceived that in this mind, though in energy far superior to many; though + retaining, from memories of the former existence, the relics of a culture + wide and in some things profound; though sharpened and quickened into + formidable, if desultory, force whenever it schemed or aimed at the animal + self-conservation which now made its master—impulse or instinct; and + though among the reminiscences of its state before its change were arts + which I could not comprehend, but which I felt were dark and terrible, + lending to a will never checked by remorse arms that no healthful + philosophy has placed in the arsenal of disciplined genius; though the + mind in itself had an ally in a body as perfect in strength and elasticity + as man can take from the favour of nature,—still, I say, I felt that + the mind wanted the something without which men never could found cities, + frame laws, bind together, beautify, exalt the elements of this world, by + creeds that habitually subject them to a reference to another. The ant and + the bee and the beaver congregate and construct; but they do not improve. + Man improves because the future impels onward that which is not found in + the ant, the bee, and the beaver,—that which was gone from the being + before me. + </p> + <p> + I shrank appalled into myself, covered my face with my hands, and groaned + aloud: “Have I ever then doubted that soul is distinct from mind?” + </p> + <p> + A hand here again touched my forehead, the light in the lamp was + extinguished, I became insensible; and when I recovered I found myself + back in the room in which I had first conversed with Sir Philip Derval, + and seated, as before, on the sofa, by his side. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIII. + </h2> + <p> + My recollections of all which I have just attempted to describe were + distinct and vivid; except with respect to time, it seemed to me as if + many hours must have elapsed since I had entered the museum with Margrave; + but the clock on the mantelpiece met my eyes as I turned them wistfully + round the room; and I was indeed amazed to perceive that five minutes had + sufficed for all which it has taken me so long to narrate, and which in + their transit had hurried me through ideas and emotions so remote from + anterior experience. + </p> + <p> + To my astonishment now succeeded shame and indignation,—shame that + I, who had scoffed at the possibility of the comparatively credible + influences of mesmeric action, should have been so helpless a puppet under + the hand of the slight fellow-man beside me, and so morbidly impressed by + phantasmagorieal illusions; indignation that, by some fumes which had + special potency over the brain, I had thus been, as it were, conjured out + of my senses; and looking full into the calm face at my side, I said, with + a smile to which I sought to convey disdain,— + </p> + <p> + “I congratulate you, Sir Philip Derval, on having learned in your travels + in the East so expert a familiarity with the tricks of its jugglers.” + </p> + <p> + “The East has a proverb,” answered Sir Philip, quietly, “that the juggler + may learn much from the dervish, but the dervish can learn nothing from + the juggler. You will pardon me, however, for the effect produced on you + for a few minutes, whatever the cause of it may be, since it may serve to + guard your whole life from calamities, to which it might otherwise have + been exposed. And however you may consider that which you have just + experienced to be a mere optical illusion, or the figment of a brain + super-excited by the fumes of a vapour, look within yourself, and tell me + if you do not feel an inward and unanswerable conviction that there is + more reason to shun and to fear the creature you left asleep under the + dead jaws of the giant serpent, than there would be in the serpent itself, + could hunger again move its coils, and venom again arm its fangs.” + </p> + <p> + I was silent, for I could not deny that that conviction had come to me. + </p> + <p> + “Henceforth, when you recover from the confusion or anger which now + disturbs your impressions, you will be prepared to listen to my + explanations and my recital in a spirit far different from that with which + you would have received them before you were subjected to the experiment, + which, allow me to remind you, you invited and defied. You will now, I + trust, be fitted to become my confidant and my assistant; you will advise + with me how, for the sake of humanity, we should act together against the + incarnate lie, the anomalous prodigy which glides through the crowd in the + image of joyous beauty. For the present I quit you. I have an engagement, + on worldly affairs, in the town this night. I am staying at L——, + which I shall leave for Derval Court tomorrow evening. Come to me there + the day after to-morrow, at any hour that may suit you the best. Adieu!” + </p> + <p> + Here Sir Philip Derval rose and left the room. I made no effort to detain + him. My mind was too occupied in striving to recompose itself and account + for the phenomena that had scared it, and for the strength of the + impressions it still retained. + </p> + <p> + I sought to find natural and accountable causes for effects so abnormal. + </p> + <p> + Lord Bacon suggests that the ointments with which witches anointed + themselves might have had the effect of stopping the pores and congesting + the rain, and thus impressing the sleep of the unhappy dupes of their own + imagination with dreams so vivid that, on waking, they were firmly + convinced that they had been borne through the air to the Sabbat. + </p> + <p> + I remember also having heard a distinguished French traveller—whose + veracity was unquestionable—say, that he had witnessed extraordinary + effects produced on the sensorium by certain fumigations used by an + African pretender to magic. A person, of however healthy a brain; + subjected to the influence of these fumigations, was induced to believe + that he saw the most frightful apparitions. + </p> + <p> + However extraordinary such effects, they were not incredible,—not at + variance with our notions of the known laws of nature. And to the vapour + or the odours which a powder applied to a lamp had called forth, I was, + therefore, prepared to ascribe properties similar to those which Bacon’s + conjecture ascribed to the witches’ ointment, and the French traveller to + the fumigations of the African conjuror. + </p> + <p> + But, as I came to that conclusion, I was seized with an intense curiosity + to examine for myself those chemical agencies with which Sir Philip Derval + appeared so familiar; to test the contents in that mysterious casket of + steel. I also felt a curiosity no less eager, but more, in spite of + myself, intermingled with fear, to learn all that Sir Philip had to + communicate of the past history of Margrave. I could but suppose that the + young man must indeed be a terrible criminal, for a person of years so + grave, and station so high, to intimate accusations so vaguely dark, and + to use means so extraordinary, in order to enlist my imagination rather + than my reason against a youth in whom there appeared none of the signs + which suspicion interprets into guilt. + </p> + <p> + While thus musing, I lifted my eyes and saw Margrave himself there at the + threshold of the ballroom,—there, where Sir Philip had first pointed + him out as the criminal he had come to L—— to seek and disarm; + and now, as then, Margrave was the radiant centre of a joyous group. Not + the young boy-god Iacchus, amidst his nymphs, could, in Grecian frieze or + picture, have seemed more the type of the sportive, hilarious vitality of + sensuous nature. He must have passed unobserved by me, in my preoccupation + of thought, from the museum and across the room in which I sat; and now + there was as little trace in that animated countenance of the terror it + had exhibited at Sir Philip’s approach, as of the change it had undergone + in my trance or my fantasy. + </p> + <p> + But he caught sight of me, left his young companions, came gayly to my + side. + </p> + <p> + “Did you not ask me to go with you into that museum about half an hour + ago, or did I dream that I went with you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; you went with me into that museum.” + </p> + <p> + “Then pray what dull theme did you select to set me asleep there?” + </p> + <p> + I looked hard at him, and made no reply. Somewhat to my relief, I now + heard my host’s voice,— + </p> + <p> + “Why, Fenwick, what has become of Sir Philip Derval?” + </p> + <p> + “He has left; he had business.” And, as I spoke, again I looked hard on + Margrave. + </p> + <p> + His countenance now showed a change; not surprise, not dismay, but rather + a play of the lip, a flash of the eye, that indicated complacency,—even + triumph. + </p> + <p> + “So! Sir Philip Derval! He is in L——; he has been here + to-night? So! as I expected.” + </p> + <p> + “Did you expect it?” said our host. “No one else did. Who could have told + you?” + </p> + <p> + “The movements of men so distinguished need never take us by surprise. I + knew he was in Paris the other day. It is natural eno’ that he should come + here. I was prepared for his coming.” + </p> + <p> + Margrave here turned away towards the window, which he threw open and + looked out. + </p> + <p> + “There is a storm in the air,” said he, as he continued to gaze into the + night. + </p> + <p> + Was it possible that Margrave was so wholly unconscious of what had passed + in the museum as to include in oblivion even the remembrance of Sir Philip + Derval’s presence before he had been rendered insensible, or laid asleep? + Was it now only for the first time that he learned of Sir Philip’s arrival + in L——, and visit to that house? Was there any intimation of + menace in his words and his aspect? + </p> + <p> + I felt that the trouble of my thoughts communicated itself to my + countenance and manner; and, longing for solitude and fresh air, I quitted + the house. When I found myself in the street I turned round and saw + Margrave still standing at the open window, but he did not appear to + notice me; his eyes seemed fixed abstractedly on space. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0034" id="link2HCH0034"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIV. + </h2> + <p> + I walked on slowly and with the downcast brow of a man absorbed in + meditation. I had gained the broad place in which the main streets of the + town converged, when I was overtaken by a violent storm of rain. I sought + shelter under the dark archway of that entrance to the district of Abbey + Hill which was still called Monk’s Gate. The shadow within the arch was so + deep that I was not aware that I had a companion till I heard my own name, + close at my side. I recognized the voice before I could distinguish the + form of Sir Philip Derval. + </p> + <p> + “The storm will soon be over,” said he, quietly. “I saw it coming on in + time. I fear you neglected the first warning of those sable clouds, and + must be already drenched.” + </p> + <p> + I made no reply, but moved involuntarily away towards the mouth of the + arch. + </p> + <p> + “I see that you cherish a grudge against me!” resumed Sir Philip. “Are + you, then, by nature vindictive?” + </p> + <p> + Somewhat softened by the friendly tone of this reproach, I answered, half + in jest, half in earnest,— + </p> + <p> + “You must own, Sir Philip, that I have some little reason for the + uncharitable anger your question imputes to me. But I can forgive you, on + one condition.” + </p> + <p> + “What is that?” + </p> + <p> + “The possession for half an hour of that mysterious steel casket which you + carry about with you, and full permission to analyze and test its + contents.” + </p> + <p> + “Your analysis of the contents,” returned Sir Philip, dryly, “would leave + you as ignorant as before of the uses to which they can be applied; but I + will own to you frankly, that it is my intention to select some confidant + among men of science, to whom I may safely communicate the wonderful + properties which certain essences in that casket possess. I invite your + acquaintance, nay, your friendship, in the hope that I may find such a + confidant in you. But the casket contains other combinations, which, if + wasted, could not be resupplied,—at least by any process which the + great Master from whom I received them placed within reach of my + knowledge. In this they resemble the diamond; when the chemist has found + that the diamond affords no other substance by its combustion than pure + carbonic-acid gas, and that the only chemical difference between the + costliest diamond and a lump of pure charcoal is a proportion of hydrogen + less than 1/100000 part of the weight of the substance, can the chemist + make you a diamond? + </p> + <p> + “These, then, the more potent, but also the more perilous of the casket’s + contents, shall be explored by no science, submitted to no test. They are + the keys to masked doors in the ramparts of Nature, which no mortal can + pass through without rousing dread sentries never seen upon this side her + wall. The powers they confer are secrets locked in my breast, to be lost + in my grave; as the casket which lies on my breast shall not be + transferred to the hands of another, till all the rest of my earthly + possessions pass away with my last breath in life and my first in + eternity.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Philip Derval,” said I, struggling against the appeals to fancy or to + awe, made in words so strange, uttered in a tone of earnest conviction, + and heard amidst the glare of the lightning, the howl of the winds, and + the roll of the thunder,—“Sir Philip Derval, you accost me in a + language which, but for my experience of the powers at your command, I + should hear with the contempt that is due to the vaunts of a mountebank, + or the pity we give to the morbid beliefs of his dupe. As it is, I decline + the confidence with which you would favour me, subject to the conditions + which it seems you would impose. My profession abandons to quacks all + drugs which may not be analyzed, all secrets which may not be fearlessly + told. I cannot visit you at Derval Court. I cannot trust myself, + voluntarily, again in the power of a man, who has arts of which I may not + examine the nature, by which he can impose on my imagination and steal + away my reason.” + </p> + <p> + “Reflect well before you decide,” said Sir Philip, with a solemnity that + was stern. “If you refuse to be warned and to be armed by me, your reason + and your imagination will alike be subjected to influences which I can + only explain by telling you that there is truth in those immemorial + legends which depose to the existence of magic.” + </p> + <p> + “Magic!” + </p> + <p> + “There is magic of two kinds,—the dark and evil, appertaining to + witchcraft or necromancy; the pure and beneficent, which is but + philosophy, applied to certain mysteries in Nature remote from the beaten + tracks of science, but which deepened the wisdom of ancient sages, and can + yet unriddle the myths of departed races.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Philip,” I said, with impatient and angry interruption, “if you think + that a jargon of this kind be worthy a man of your acquirements and + station, it is at least a waste of time to address it to me. I am led to + conclude that you desire to make use of me for some purpose which I have a + right to suppose honest and blameless, because all you know of me is, that + I rendered to your relation services which can not lower my character in + your eyes. If your object be, as you have intimated, to aid you in + exposing and disabling man whose antecedents have been those of guilt, and + who threatens with danger the society which receives him, you must give me + proofs that are not reducible to magic; and you must prepossess me against + the person you accuse, not by powders and fumes that disorder the brain, + but by substantial statements, such as justify one man in condemning + another. And, since you have thought fit to convince me that there are + chemical means at your disposal, by which the imagination can be so + affected as to accept, temporarily, illusions for realities, so I again + demand, and now still more decidedly than before, that while you address + yourself to my reason, whether to explain your object or to vindicate your + charges against a man whom I have admitted to my acquaintance, you will + divest yourself of all means and agencies to warp my judgment so illicit + and fraudulent as those which you own yourself to possess. Let the casket, + with all its contents, be transferred to my hands, and pledge me your word + that, in giving that casket, you reserve to yourself no other means by + which chemistry can be abused to those influences over physical + organization, which ignorance or imposture may ascribe to—magic.” + </p> + <p> + “I accept no conditions for my confidence, though I think the better of + you for attempting to make them. If I live, you will seek me yourself, and + implore my aid. Meanwhile, listen to me, and—” + </p> + <p> + “No; I prefer the rain and the thunder to the whispers that steal to my + ear in the dark from one of whom I have reason to beware.” + </p> + <p> + So saying, I stepped forth, and at that moment the lightning flashed + through the arch, and brought into full view the face of the man beside + me. Seen by that glare, it was pale as the face of a corpse, but its + expression was compassionate and serene. + </p> + <p> + I hesitated, for the expression of that hueless countenance touched me; it + was not the face which inspires distrust or fear. + </p> + <p> + “Come,” said I, gently; “grant my demand. The casket—” + </p> + <p> + “It is no scruple of distrust that now makes that demand; it is a + curiosity which in itself is a fearful tempter. Did you now possess what + at this moment you desire, how bitterly you would repent!” + </p> + <p> + “Do you still refuse my demand?” + </p> + <p> + “I refuse.” + </p> + <p> + “If then you really need me, it is you who will repent.” + </p> + <p> + I passed from the arch into the open space. The rain had passed, the + thunder was more distant. I looked back when I had gained the opposite + side of the way, at the angle of a street which led to my own house. As I + did so, again the skies lightened, but the flash was comparatively slight + and evanescent; it did not penetrate the gloom of the arch; it did not + bring the form of Sir Philip into view; but, just under the base of the + outer buttress to the gateway, I descried the outline of a dark figure, + cowering down, huddled up for shelter, the outline so indistinct, and so + soon lost to sight as the flash faded, that I could not distinguish if it + were man or brute. If it were some chance passer-by, who had sought refuge + from the rain, and overheard any part of our strange talk, “the listener,” + thought I with a half-smile, “must have been mightily perplexed.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0035" id="link2HCH0035"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXV. + </h2> + <p> + On reaching my own home, I found my servant sitting up for me with the + information that my attendance was immediately required. The little boy + whom Margrave’s carelessness had so injured, and for whose injury he had + shown so little feeling, had been weakened by the confinement which the + nature of the injury required, and for the last few days had been + generally ailing. The father had come to my house a few minutes before I + reached it, in great distress of mind, saying that his child had been + seized with fever, and had become delirious. Hearing that I was at the + mayor’s house, he had hurried thither in search of me. + </p> + <p> + I felt as if it were almost a relief to the troubled and haunting thoughts + which tormented me, to be summoned to the exercise of a familiar + knowledge. I hastened to the bedside of the little sufferer, and soon + forgot all else in the anxious struggle for a human life. The struggle + promised to be successful; the worst symptoms began to yield to remedies + prompt and energetic, if simple. I remained at the house, rather to + comfort and support the parents, than because my continued attendance was + absolutely needed, till the night was well-nigh gone; and all cause of + immediate danger having subsided, I then found myself once more in the + streets. An atmosphere palely clear in the gray of dawn had succeeded to + the thunder-clouds of the stormy night; the streetlamps, here and there, + burned wan and still. I was walking slowly and wearily, so tired out that + I was scarcely conscious of my own thoughts, when, in a narrow lane, my + feet stopped almost mechanically before a human form stretched at full + length in the centre of the road right in my path. The form was dark in + the shadow thrown from the neighbouring houses. “Some poor drunkard,” + thought I, and the humanity inseparable from my calling not allowing me to + leave a fellow-creature thus exposed to the risk of being run over by the + first drowsy wagoner who might pass along the thoroughfare, I stooped to + rouse and to lift the form. What was my horror when my eyes met the rigid + stare of a dead man’s. I started, looked again; it was the face of Sir + Philip Derval! He was lying on his back, the countenance upturned, a dark + stream oozing from the breast,—murdered by two ghastly wounds, + murdered not long since, the blood was still warm. Stunned and + terror-stricken, I stood bending over the body. Suddenly I was touched on + the shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “Hollo! what is this?” said a gruff voice. + </p> + <p> + “Murder!” I answered in hollow accents, which sounded strangely to my own + ear. + </p> + <p> + “Murder! so it seems.” And the policeman who had thus accosted me lifted + the body. + </p> + <p> + “A gentleman by his dress. How did this happen? How did you come here?” + and the policeman glanced suspiciously at me. + </p> + <p> + At this moment, however, there came up another policeman, in whom I + recognized the young man whose sister I had attended and cured. + </p> + <p> + “Dr. Fenwick,” said the last, lifting his hat respectfully, and at the + sound of my name his fellow-policeman changed his manner and muttered an + apology. + </p> + <p> + I now collected myself sufficiently to state the name and rank of the + murdered man. The policemen bore the body to their station, to which I + accompanied them. I then returned to my own house, and had scarcely sunk + on my bed when sleep came over me. But what a sleep! Never till then had I + known how awfully distinct dreams can be. The phantasmagoria of the + naturalist’s collection revived. Life again awoke in the serpent and the + tiger, the scorpion moved, and the vulture flapped its wings. And there + was Margrave, and there Sir Philip; but their position of power was + reversed, and Margrave’s foot was on the breast of the dead man. Still I + slept on till I was roused by the summons to attend on Mr. Vigors, the + magistrate to whom the police had reported the murder. + </p> + <p> + I dressed hastily and went forth. As I passed through the street, I found + that the dismal news had already spread. I was accosted on my way to the + magistrate by a hundred eager, tremulous, inquiring tongues. + </p> + <p> + The scanty evidence I could impart was soon given. + </p> + <p> + My introduction to Sir Philip at the mayor’s house, our accidental meeting + under the arch, my discovery of the corpse some hours afterwards on my + return from my patient, my professional belief that the deed must have + been done a very short time, perhaps but a few minutes, before I chanced + upon its victim. But, in that case, how account for the long interval that + had elapsed between the time in which I had left Sir Philip under the arch + and the time in which the murder must have been committed? Sir Philip + could not have been wandering through the streets all those hours. This + doubt, however, was easily and speedily cleared up. A Mr. Jeeves, who was + one of the principal solicitors in the town, stated that he had acted as + Sir Philip’s legal agent and adviser ever since Sir Philip came of age, + and was charged with the exclusive management of some valuable + house-property which the deceased had possessed in L——; that + when Sir Philip had arrived in the town late in the afternoon of the + previous day, he had sent for Mr. Jeeves; informed him that he, Sir + Philip, was engaged to be married; that he wished to have full and minute + information as to the details of his house property (which had greatly + increased in value since his absence from England), in connection with the + settlements his marriage would render necessary; and that this information + was also required by him in respect to a codicil he desired to add to his + will. + </p> + <p> + He had, accordingly, requested Mr. Jeeves to have all the books and + statements concerning the property ready for his inspection that night, + when he would call, after leaving the ball which he had promised the + mayor, whom he had accidentally met on entering the town, to attend. Sir + Philip had also asked Mr. Jeeves to detain one of his clerks in his + office, in order to serve, conjointly with Mr. Jeeves, as a witness to the + codicil he desired to add to his will. Sir Philip had accordingly come to + Mr. Jeeves’s house a little before midnight; had gone carefully through + all the statements prepared for him, and had executed the fresh codicil to + his testament, which testament he had in their previous interview given to + Mr. Jeeves’s care, sealed up. Mr. Jeeves stated that Sir Philip, though a + man of remarkable talents and great acquirements, was extremely eccentric, + and of a very peremptory temper, and that the importance attached to a + promptitude for which there seemed no pressing occasion did not surprise + him in Sir Philip as it might have done in an ordinary client. Sir Philip + said, indeed, that he should devote the next morning to the draft for his + wedding settlements, according to the information of his property which he + had acquired; and after a visit of very brief duration to Derval Court, + should quit the neighbourhood and return to Paris, where his intended + bride then was, and in which city it had been settled that the marriage + ceremony should take place. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Jeeves had, however, observed to him, that if he were so soon to be + married, it was better to postpone any revision of testamentary bequests, + since after marriage he would have to make a new will altogether. + </p> + <p> + And Sir Philip had simply answered,— + </p> + <p> + “Life is uncertain; who can be sure of the morrow?” + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip’s visit to Mr. Jeeves’s house had lasted some hours, for the + conversation between them had branched off from actual business to various + topics. Mr. Jeeves had not noticed the hour when Sir Philip went; he could + only say that as he attended him to the street-door, he observed, rather + to his own surprise, that it was close upon daybreak. + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip’s body had been found not many yards distant from the hotel at + which he had put up, and to which, therefore, he was evidently returning + when he left Mr. Jeeves,—an old-fashioned hotel, which had been the + principal one at L—— when Sir Philip left England, though now + outrivalled by the new and more central establishment in which Margrave + was domiciled. + </p> + <p> + The primary and natural supposition was that Sir Philip had been murdered + for the sake of plunder; and this supposition was borne out by the fact to + which his valet deposed, namely,— + </p> + <p> + That Sir Philip had about his person, on going to the mayor’s house, a + purse containing notes and sovereigns; and this purse was now missing. + </p> + <p> + The valet, who, though an Albanian, spoke English fluently, said that the + purse had a gold clasp, on which Sir Philip’s crest and initials were + engraved. Sir Philip’s watch was, however, not taken. + </p> + <p> + And now, it was not without a quick beat of the heart that I heard the + valet declare that a steel casket, to which Sir Philip attached + extraordinary value, and always carried about with him, was also missing. + </p> + <p> + The Albanian described this casket as of ancient Byzantine workmanship, + opening with a peculiar spring, only known to Sir Philip, in whose + possession it had been, so far as the servant knew, about three years: + when, after a visit to Aleppo, in which the servant had not accompanied + him, he had first observed it in his master’s hands. He was asked if this + casket contained articles to account for the value Sir Philip set on it,—such + as jewels, bank-notes, letters of credit, etc. The man replied that it + might possibly do so; he had never been allowed the opportunity of + examining its contents; but that he was certain the casket held medicines, + for he had seen Sir Philip take from it some small phials, by which he had + performed great cures in the East, and especially during a pestilence + which had visited Damascus, just after Sir Philip had arrived at that city + on quitting Aleppo. Almost every European traveller is supposed to be a + physician; and Sir Philip was a man of great benevolence, and the servant + firmly believed him also to be of great medical skill. After this + statement, it was very naturally and generally conjectured that Sir Philip + was an amateur disciple of homoeopathy, and that the casket contained the + phials or globules in use among homoeopathists. + </p> + <p> + Whether or not Mr. Vigors enjoyed a vindictive triumph in making me feel + the weight of his authority, or whether his temper was ruffled in the + excitement of so grave a case, I cannot say, but his manner was stern and + his tone discourteous in the questions which he addressed to me. Nor did + the questions themselves seem very pertinent to the object of + investigation. + </p> + <p> + “Pray, Dr. Fenwick,” said he, knitting his brows, and fixing his eyes on + me rudely, “did Sir Philip Derval in his conversation with you mention the + steel casket which it seems he carried about with him?” + </p> + <p> + I felt my countenance change slightly as I answered, “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Did he tell you what it contained?” + </p> + <p> + “He said it contained secrets.” + </p> + <p> + “Secrets of what nature,—medicinal or chemical? Secrets which a + physician might be curious to learn and covetous to possess?” + </p> + <p> + This question seemed to me so offensively significant that it roused my + indignation, and I answered haughtily, that “a physician of any degree of + merited reputation did not much believe in, and still less covet, those + secrets in his art which were the boast of quacks and pretenders.” + </p> + <p> + “My question need not offend you, Dr. Fenwick. I put it in another shape: + Did Sir Philip Derval so boast of the secrets contained in his casket that + a quack or pretender might deem such secrets of use to him?” + </p> + <p> + “Possibly he might, if he believed in such a boast.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!—he might if he so believed. I have no more questions to put + to you at present, Dr. Fenwick.” + </p> + <p> + Little of any importance in connection with the deceased or his murder + transpired in the course of that day’s examination and inquiries. + </p> + <p> + The next day, a gentleman distantly related to the young lady to whom Sir + Philip was engaged, and who had been for some time in correspondence with + the deceased, arrived at L——. He had been sent for at the + suggestion of the Albanian servant, who said that Sir Philip had stayed a + day at this gentleman’s house in London, on his way to L——, + from Dover. + </p> + <p> + The new comer, whose name was Danvers, gave a more touching pathos to the + horror which the murder had excited. It seemed that the motives which had + swayed Sir Philip in the choice of his betrothed were singularly pure and + noble. The young lady’s father—an intimate college friend—had + been visited by a sudden reverse of fortune, which had brought on a fever + that proved mortal. He had died some years ago, leaving his only child + penniless, and had bequeathed her to the care and guardianship of Sir + Philip. + </p> + <p> + The orphan received her education at a convent near Paris; and when Sir + Philip, a few weeks since, arrived in that city from the East, he offered + her his hand and fortune. + </p> + <p> + “I know,” said Mr. Danvers, “from the conversation I held with him when he + came to me in London, that he was induced to this offer by the + conscientious desire to discharge the trust consigned to him by his old + friend. Sir Philip was still of an age that could not permit him to take + under his own roof a female ward of eighteen, without injury to her good + name. He could only get over that difficulty by making the ward his wife. + ‘She will be safer and happier with the man she will love and honour for + her father’s sake,’ said the chivalrous gentleman, ‘than she will be under + any other roof I could find for her.’” + </p> + <p> + And now there arrived another stranger to L——, sent for by Mr. + Jeeves, the lawyer,—a stranger to L——, but not to me; my + old Edinburgh acquaintance, Richard Strahan. + </p> + <p> + The will in Mr. Jeeves’s keeping, with its recent codicil, was opened and + read. The will itself bore date about six years anterior to the testator’s + tragic death: it was very short, and, with the exception of a few + legacies, of which the most important was L10,000 to his ward, the whole + of his property was left to Richard Strahan, on the condition that he took + the name and arms of Derval within a year from the date of Sir Philip’s + decease. The codicil, added to the will the night before his death, + increased the legacy to the young lady from L10,000 to L30,000, and + bequeathed an annuity of L100 a year to his Albanian servant. Accompanying + the will, and within the same envelope, was a sealed letter, addressed to + Richard Strahan, and dated at Paris two weeks before Sir Philip’s + decease. Strahan brought that letter to me. It ran thus:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Richard Strahan, I advise you to pull down the house called Derval + Court, and to build another on a better site, the plans of which, to + be modified according to your own taste and requirements, will be + found among my papers. This is a recommendation, not a command. But + I strictly enjoin you entirely to demolish the more ancient part, + which was chiefly occupied by myself, and to destroy by fire, without + perusal, all the books and manuscripts found in the safes in my study. + I have appointed you my sole executor, as well as my heir, because I + have no personal friends in whom I can confide as I trust I may do in + the man I have never seen, simply because he will bear my name and + represent my lineage. There will be found in my writing-desk, which + always accompanies me in my travels, an autobiographical work, a + record of my own life, comprising discoveries, or hints at discovery, + in science, through means little cultivated in our age. You will not + be surprised that before selecting you as my heir and executor, from a + crowd of relations not more distant, I should have made inquiries in + order to justify my selection. The result of those inquiries informs + me that you have not yourself the peculiar knowledge nor the habits of + mind that could enable you to judge of matters which demand the + attainments and the practice of science; but that you are of an + honest, affectionate nature, and will regard as sacred the last + injunctions of a benefactor. I enjoin you, then, to submit the + aforesaid manuscript memoir to some man on whose character for + humanity and honour you can place confidential reliance, and who is + accustomed to the study of the positive sciences, more especially + chemistry, in connection with electricity and magnetism. My desire is + that he shall edit and arrange this memoir for publication; and that, + wherever he feels a conscientious doubt whether any discovery, or hint + of discovery, therein contained would not prove more dangerous than + useful to mankind, he shall consult with any other three men of + science whose names are a guarantee for probity and knowledge, and + according to the best of his judgment, after such consultation, + suppress or publish the passage of which he has so doubted. I own the + ambition which first directed me towards studies of a very unusual + character, and which has encouraged me in their pursuit through many + years of voluntary exile, in lands where they could be best + facilitated or aided,—the ambition of leaving behind me the renown of + a bold discoverer in those recesses of nature which philosophy has + hitherto abandoned to superstition. But I feel, at the moment in + which I trace these lines, a fear lest, in the absorbing interest of + researches which tend to increase to a marvellous degree the power of + man over all matter, animate or inanimate, I may have blunted my own + moral perceptions; and that there may be much in the knowledge which I + sought and acquired from the pure desire of investigating hidden + truths, that could be more abused to purposes of tremendous evil than + be likely to conduce to benignant good. And of this a mind + disciplined to severe reasoning, and uninfluenced by the enthusiasm + which has probably obscured my own judgment, should be the + unprejudiced arbiter. Much as I have coveted and still do covet + that fame which makes the memory of one man the common inheritance of + all, I would infinitely rather that my name should pass away with my + breath, than that I should transmit to my fellowmen any portion of + a knowledge which the good might forbear to exercise and the bad might + unscrupulously pervert. I bear about with me, wherever I wander, a + certain steel casket. I received this casket, with its contents, from + a man whose memory I hold in profound veneration. Should I live to + find a person whom, after minute and intimate trial of his character, + I should deem worthy of such confidence, it is my intention to + communicate to him the secret how to prepare and how to use such of + the powders and essences stored within that casket as I myself have + ventured to employ. Others I have never tested, nor do I know how + they could be resupplied if lost or wasted. But as the contents of + this casket, in the hands of any one not duly instructed as to the + mode of applying them, would either be useless, or conduce, through + inadvertent and ignorant misapplication, to the most dangerous + consequences; so, if I die without having found, and in writing named, + such a confidant as I have described above, I command you immediately + to empty all the powders and essences found therein into any running + stream of water, which will at once harmlessly dissolve them. On + no account must they be cast into fire! + + “This letter, Richard Strahan, will only come under your eyes in case + the plans and the hopes which I have formed for my earthly future + should be frustrated by the death on which I do not calculate, but + against the chances of which this will and this letter provide. I am + about to revisit England, in defiance of a warning that I shall be + there subjected to some peril which I refused to have defined, because + I am unwilling that any mean apprehension of personal danger should + enfeeble my nerves in the discharge of a stern and solemn duty. If I + overcome that peril, you will not be my heir; my testament will be + remodelled; this letter will be recalled and destroyed. I shall form + ties which promise me the happiness I have never hitherto found, + though it is common to all men,—the affections of home, the caresses + of children, among whom I may find one to whom hereafter I may + bequeath, in my knowledge, a far nobler heritage than my lands. In + that case, however, my first care would be to assure your own + fortunes. And the sum which this codicil assures to my betrothed + would be transferred to yourself on my wedding-day. Do you know why, + never having seen you, I thus select you for preference to all my + other kindred; why my heart, in writing thus, warms to your image? + Richard Strahan, your only sister, many years older than yourself—you + were then a child—was the object of my first love. We were to have + been wedded, for her parents deceived me into the belief that she + returned my affection. With a rare and nobler candour, she herself + informed me that her heart was given to another, who possessed not my + worldly gifts of wealth and station. In resigning my claims to her + hand, I succeeded in propitiating her parents to her own choice. I + obtained for her husband the living which he held, and I settled on + your sister the dower which, at her death, passed to you as the + brother to whom she had shown a mother’s love, and the interest of + which has secured you a modest independence. + + “If these lines ever reach you, recognize my title to reverential + obedience to commands which may seem to you wild, perhaps irrational; + and repay, as if a debt due from your own lost sister, the affection + I have borne to you for her sake.” + </pre> + <p> + While I read this long and strange letter, Strahan sat by my side, + covering his face with his hands, and weeping with honest tears for the + man whose death had made him powerful and rich. + </p> + <p> + “You will undertake the trust ordained to me in this letter,” said he, + struggling to compose himself. “You will read and edit this memoir; you + are the very man he himself would have selected. Of your honour and + humanity there can be no doubt, and you have studied with success the + sciences which he specifies as requisite for the discharge of the task he + commands.” + </p> + <p> + At this request, though I could not be wholly unprepared for it, my first + impulse was that of a vague terror. It seemed to me as if I were becoming + more and more entangled in a mysterious and fatal web. But this impulse + soon faded in the eager yearnings of an ardent and irresistible curiosity. + </p> + <p> + I promised to read the manuscript, and in order that I might fully imbue + my mind with the object and wish of the deceased, I asked leave to make a + copy of the letter I had just read. To this Strahan readily assented, and + that copy I have transcribed in the preceding pages. + </p> + <p> + I asked Strahan if he had yet found the manuscript. He said, “No, he had + not yet had the heart to inspect the papers left by the deceased. He would + now do so. He should go in a day or two to Derval Court, and reside there + till the murderer was discovered, as doubtless he soon must be through the + vigilance of the police. Not till that discovery was made should Sir + Philip’s remains, though already placed in their coffin, be consigned to + the family vault.” + </p> + <p> + Strahan seemed to have some superstitious notion that the murderer might + be more secure from justice if his victim were thrust unavenged into the + tomb. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0036" id="link2HCH0036"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXVI. + </h2> + <p> + The belief prevalent in the town ascribed the murder of Sir Philip to the + violence of some vulgar robber, probably not an inhabitant of L——. + Mr. Vigors did not favour that belief. He intimated an opinion, which + seemed extravagant and groundless, that Sir Philip had been murdered, for + the sake not of the missing purse, but of the missing casket. It was + currently believed that the solemn magistrate had consulted one of his + pretended clairvoyants, and that this impostor had gulled him with + assurances, to which he attached a credit that perverted into egregiously + absurd directions his characteristic activity and zeal. + </p> + <p> + Be that as it may, the coroner’s inquest closed without casting any light + on so mysterious a tragedy. + </p> + <p> + What were my own conjectures I scarcely dared to admit,—I certainly + could not venture to utter them; but my suspicions centred upon Margrave. + That for some reason or other he had cause to dread Sir Philip’s presence + in L—— was clear, even to my reason. And how could my reason + reject all the influences which had been brought to bear on my + imagination, whether by the scene in the museum or my conversation with + the deceased? But it was impossible to act on such suspicions,—impossible + even to confide them. Could I have told to any man the effect produced on + me in the museum, he would have considered me a liar or a madman. And in + Sir Philip’s accusations against Margrave, there was nothing tangible,—nothing + that could bear repetition. Those accusations, if analyzed, vanished into + air. What did they imply?—that Margrave was a magician, a monstrous + prodigy, a creature exceptional to the ordinary conditions of humanity. + Would the most reckless of mortals have ventured to bring against the + worst of characters such a charge, on the authority of a deceased witness, + and to found on evidence so fantastic the awful accusation of murder? But + of all men, certainly I—a sober, practical physician—was the + last whom the public could excuse for such incredible implications; and + certainly, of all men, the last against whom any suspicion of heinous + crime would be readily entertained was that joyous youth in whose sunny + aspect life and conscience alike seemed to keep careless holiday. But I + could not overcome, nor did I attempt to reason against, the horror akin + to detestation, that had succeeded to the fascinating attraction by which + Margrave had before conciliated a liking founded rather on admiration than + esteem. + </p> + <p> + In order to avoid his visits I kept away from the study in which I had + habitually spent my mornings, and to which he had been accustomed to so + ready an access; and if he called at the front door, I directed my servant + to tell him that I was either from home or engaged. He did attempt for the + first few days to visit me as before, but when my intention to shun him + became thus manifest, desisted naturally enough, as any other man so + pointedly repelled would have done. + </p> + <p> + I abstained from all those houses in which I was likely to meet him, and + went my professional round of visits in a close carriage, so that I might + not be accosted by him in his walks. + </p> + <p> + One morning, a very few days after Strahan had shown me Sir Philip + Derval’s letter, I received a note from my old college acquaintance, + stating that he was going to Derval Court that afternoon; that he should + take with him the memoir which he had found, and begging me to visit him + at his new home the next day, and commence my inspection of the + manuscript. I consented eagerly. + </p> + <p> + That morning, on going my round, my carriage passed by another drawn up to + the pavement, and I recognized the figure of Margrave standing beside the + vehicle, and talking to some one seated within it. I looked back, as my + own carriage whirled rapidly by, and saw with uneasiness and alarm that it + was Richard Strahan to whom Margrave was thus familiarly addressing + himself. How had the two made acquaintance? + </p> + <p> + Was it not an outrage on Sir Philip Derval’s memory, that the heir he had + selected should be thus apparently intimate with the man whom he had so + sternly denounced? I became still more impatient to read the memoir: in + all probability it would give such explanations with respect to Margrave’s + antecedents, as, if not sufficing to criminate him of legal offences, + would at least effectually terminate any acquaintance between Sir Philip’s + successor and himself. + </p> + <p> + All my thoughts were, however, diverted to channels of far deeper interest + even than those in which my mind had of late been so tumultuously whirled + along, when, on returning home, I found a note from Mrs. Ashleigh. She and + Lilian had just come back to L——, sooner than she had led me + to anticipate. Lilian had not seemed quite well the last day or two, and + had been anxious to return. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0037" id="link2HCH0037"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXVII. + </h2> + <p> + Let me recall it—softly,—softly! Let me recall that evening + spent with her!—that evening, the last before darkness rose between + us like a solid wall. + </p> + <p> + It was evening, at the close of summer. The sun had set, the twilight was + lingering still. We were in the old monastic garden,—garden so + quiet, so cool, so fragrant. She was seated on a bench under the one great + cedar-tree that rose sombre in the midst of the grassy lawn with its + little paradise of flowers. I had thrown myself on the sward at her feet; + her hand so confidingly lay in the clasp of mine. I see her still,—how + young, how fair, how innocent! + </p> + <p> + Strange, strange! So inexpressibly English; so thoroughly the creature of + our sober, homely life! The pretty delicate white robe that I touch so + timorously, and the ribbon-knots of blue that so well become the soft + colour of the fair cheek, the wavy silk of the brown hair! She is + murmuring low her answer to my trembling question. + </p> + <p> + “As well as when last we parted? Do you love me as well still?” + </p> + <p> + “There is no ‘still’ written here,” said she, softly pressing her hand to + her heart. “Yesterday is as to-morrow in the Forever.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, Lilian! if I could reply to you in words as akin to poetry as your + own!” + </p> + <p> + “Fie! you who affect not to care for poetry!” + </p> + <p> + “That was before you went away; before I missed you from my eyes, from my + life; before I was quite conscious how precious you were to me, more + precious than common words can tell! Yes, there is one period in love when + all men are poets, however the penury of their language may belie the + luxuriance of their fancies. What would become of me if you ceased to love + me?” + </p> + <p> + “Or of me, if you could cease to love?” + </p> + <p> + “And somehow it seems to me this evening as if my heart drew nearer to + you,—nearer as if for shelter.” + </p> + <p> + “It is sympathy,” said she, with tremulous eagerness,—“that sort of + mysterious sympathy which I have often heard you deny or deride; for I, + too, feel drawn nearer to you, as if there were a storm at hand. I was + oppressed by an indescribable terror in returning home, and the moment I + saw you there came a sense of protection.” + </p> + <p> + Her head sank on my shoulder: we were silent some moments; then we both + rose by the same involuntary impulse, and round her slight form I twined + my strong arm of man. And now we are winding slow under the lilacs and + acacias that belt the lawn. Lilian has not yet heard of the murder, which + forms the one topic of the town, for all tales of violence and blood + affected her as they affect a fearful child. Mrs. Ashleigh, therefore, had + judiciously concealed from her the letters and the journals by which the + dismal news had been carried to herself. I need scarcely say that the grim + subject was not broached by me. In fact, my own mind escaped from the + events which had of late so perplexed and tormented it; the tranquillity + of the scene, the bliss of Lilian’s presence, had begun to chase away even + that melancholy foreboding which had overshadowed me in the first moments + of our reunion. So we came gradually to converse of the future,—of + the day, not far distant, when we two should be as one. We planned our + bridal excursion. We would visit the scenes endeared to her by song, to me + by childhood,—the banks and waves of my native Windermere,—our + one brief holiday before life returned to labour, and hearts now so + disquieted by hope and joy settled down to the calm serenity of home. + </p> + <p> + As we thus talked, the moon, nearly rounded to her full, rose amidst skies + without a cloud. We paused to gaze on her solemn haunting beauty, as where + are the lovers who have not paused to gaze? We were then on the terrace + walk, which commanded a view of the town below. Before us was a parapet + wall, low on the garden side, but inaccessible on the outer side, forming + part of a straggling irregular street that made one of the boundaries + dividing Abbey Hill from Low Town. The lamps of the thoroughfares, in many + a line and row beneath us, stretched far away, obscured, here and there, + by intervening roofs and tall church towers. The hum of the city came to + our ears, low and mellowed into a lulling sound. It was not displeasing to + be reminded that there was a world without, as close and closer we drew + each to each,—worlds to one another! Suddenly there carolled forth + the song of a human voice,—a wild, irregular, half-savage melody, + foreign, uncomprehended words,—air and words not new to me. I + recognized the voice and chant of Margrave. I started, and uttered an + angry exclamation. + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” whispered Lilian, and I felt her frame shiver within my encircling + arm. “Hush! listen! Yes; I have heard that voice before—last night—” + </p> + <p> + “Last night! you were not here; you were more than a hundred miles away.” + </p> + <p> + “I heard it in a dream! Hush, hush!” + </p> + <p> + The song rose louder; impossible to describe its effect, in the midst of + the tranquil night, chiming over the serried rooftops, and under the + solitary moon. It was not like the artful song of man, for it was + defective in the methodical harmony of tune; it was not like the song of + the wild-bird, for it had no monotony in its sweetness: it was wandering + and various as the sounds from an AEolian harp. But it affected the senses + to a powerful degree, as in remote lands and in vast solitudes I have + since found the note of the mocking-bird, suddenly heard, affects the + listener half with delight, half with awe, as if some demon creature of + the desert were mimicking man for its own merriment. The chant now had + changed into an air of defying glee, of menacing exultation; it might have + been the triumphant war-song of some antique barbarian race. The note was + sinister; a shadow passed through me, and Lilian had closed her eyes, and + was sighing heavily; then with a rapid change, sweet as the coo with which + an Arab mother lulls her babe to sleep, the melody died away. “There, + there, look,” murmured Lilian, moving from me, “the same I saw last night + in sleep; the same I saw in the space above, on the evening I first knew + you!” + </p> + <p> + Her eyes were fixed, her hand raised; my look followed hers, and rested on + the face and form of Margrave. The moon shone full upon him, so full as if + concentrating all its light upon his image. The place on which he stood (a + balcony to the upper story of a house about fifty yards distant) was + considerably above the level of the terrace from which we gazed on him. + His arms were folded on his breast, and he appeared to be looking straight + towards us. Even at that distance, the lustrous youth of his countenance + appeared to me terribly distinct, and the light of his wondrous eye seemed + to rest upon us in one lengthened, steady ray through the limpid + moonshine. Involuntarily I seized Lilian’s hand, and drew her away almost + by force, for she was unwilling to move, and as I led her back, she turned + her head to look round; I, too, turned in jealous rage! I breathed more + freely. Margrave had disappeared! + </p> + <p> + “How came he there? It is not his hotel. Whose house is it?” I said aloud, + though speaking to myself. + </p> + <p> + Lilian remained silent, her eyes fixed upon the ground as if in deep + revery. I took her hand; it did not return my pressure. I felt cut to the + heart when she drew coldly from me that hand, till then so frankly + cordial. I stopped short: “Lilian, what is this? you are chilled towards + me. Can the mere sound of that man’s voice, the mere glimpse of that man’s + face, have—” I paused; I did not dare to complete my question. + </p> + <p> + Lilian lifted her eyes to mine, and I saw at once in those eyes a change. + Their look was cold; not haughty, but abstracted. “I do not understand + you,” she said, in a weary, listless accent. “It is growing late; I must + go in.” + </p> + <p> + So we walked on moodily, no longer arm in arm, nor hand in hand. Then it + occurred to me that, the next day, Lilian would be in that narrow world of + society; that there she could scarcely fail to hear of Margrave, to meet, + to know him. Jealousy seized me with all its imaginary terrors, and amidst + that jealousy, a nobler, purer apprehension for herself. Had I been + Lilian’s brother instead of her betrothed, I should not have trembled less + to foresee the shadow of Margrave’s mysterious influence passing over a + mind so predisposed to the charm which Mystery itself has for those whose + thoughts fuse their outlines in fancies, whose world melts away into + Dreamland. Therefore I spoke. + </p> + <p> + “Lilian, at the risk of offending you-alas! I have never done so before + this night—I must address to you a prayer which I implore you not to + regard as the dictate of a suspicion unworthy you and myself. The person + whom you have just heard and seen is, at present, much courted in the + circles of this town. I entreat you not to permit any one to introduce him + to you. I entreat you not to know him. I cannot tell you all my reasons + for this petition; enough that I pledge you my honour that those reasons + are grave. Trust, then, in my truth, as I trust in yours. Be assured that + I stretch not the rights which your heart has bestowed upon mine in the + promise I ask, as I shall be freed from all fear by a promise which I know + will be sacred when once it is given.” + </p> + <p> + “What promise?” asked Lilian, absently, as if she had not heard my words. + </p> + <p> + “What promise? Why, to refuse all acquaintance with that man; his name is + Margrave. Promise me, dearest, promise me.” + </p> + <p> + “Why is your voice so changed?” said Lilian. “Its tone jars on my ear,” + she added, with a peevishness so unlike her, that it startled me more than + it offended; and without a word further, she quickened her pace, and + entered the house. + </p> + <p> + For the rest of the evening we were both taciturn and distant towards each + other. In vain Mrs. Ashleigh kindly sought to break down our mutual + reserve. I felt that I had the right to be resentful, and I clung to that + right the more because Lilian made no attempt at reconciliation. This, + too, was wholly unlike herself, for her temper was ordinarily sweet,—sweet + to the extreme of meekness; saddened if the slightest misunderstanding + between us had ever vexed me, and yearning to ask forgiveness if a look or + a word had pained me. I was in hopes that, before I went away, peace + between us would be restored. But long ere her usual hour for retiring to + rest, she rose abruptly, and, complaining of fatigue and headache, wished + me “good-night,” and avoided the hand I sorrowfully held out to her as I + opened the door. + </p> + <p> + “You must have been very unkind to poor Lilian,” said Mrs. Ashleigh, + between jest and earnest, “for I never saw her so cross to you before. And + the first day of her return, too!” + </p> + <p> + “The fault is not mine,” said I, somewhat sullenly; “I did but ask Lilian, + and that as a humble prayer, not to make the acquaintance of a stranger in + this town against whom I have reasons for distrust and aversion. I know + not why that prayer should displease her.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor I. Who is the stranger?” + </p> + <p> + “A person who calls himself Margrave. Let me at least entreat you to avoid + him!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I have no desire to make acquaintance with strangers. But, now Lilian + is gone, do tell me all about this dreadful murder. The servants are full + of it, and I cannot keep it long concealed from Lilian. I was in hopes + that you would have broken it to her.” + </p> + <p> + I rose impatiently; I could not bear to talk thus of an event the tragedy + of which was associated in my mind with circumstances so mysterious. I + became agitated and even angry when Mrs. Ashleigh persisted in rambling + woman-like inquiries,—“Who was suspected of the deed? Who did I + think had committed it? What sort of a man was Sir Philip? What was that + strange story about a casket?” Breaking from such interrogations, to which + I could give but abrupt and evasive answers, I seized my hat and took my + departure. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0038" id="link2HCH0038"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXVIII. + </h2> + <h3> + Letter from Allen Fenwick to Lilian Ashleigh. + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I have promised to go to Derval Court to-day, and shall not return + till to-morrow. I cannot bear the thought that so many hours should + pass away with one feeling less kind than usual resting like a cloud + upon you and me. Lilian, if I offended you, forgive me! Send me one + line to say so!—one line which I can place next to my heart and + cover with grateful kisses till we meet again!” + </pre> + <p> + Reply. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I scarcely know what you mean, nor do I quite understand my own state + of mind at this moment. It cannot be that I love you less—and + yet—but I will not write more now. I feel glad that we shall not + meet for the next day or so, and then I hope to be quite recovered. I + am not well at this moment. Do not ask me to forgive you; but if it + is I who am in fault, forgive me, oh, forgive me, Allen!” + </pre> + <p> + And with this unsatisfactory note, not worn next to my heart, not covered + with kisses, but thrust crumpled into my desk like a creditor’s unwelcome + bill, I flung myself on my horse and rode to Derval Court. I am naturally + proud; my pride came now to my aid. I felt bitterly indignant against + Lilian, so indignant that I resolved on my return to say to her, “If in + those words, ‘And yet,’ you implied a doubt whether you loved me less, I + cancel your vows, I give you back your freedom.” And I could have passed + from her threshold with a firm foot, though with the certainty that I + should never smile again. + </p> + <p> + Does her note seem to you who may read these pages to justify such + resentment? Perhaps not. But there is an atmosphere in the letters of the + one we love which we alone—we who love—can feel, and in the + atmosphere of that letter I felt the chill of the coming winter. + </p> + <p> + I reached the park lodge of Derval Court late in the day. I had occasion + to visit some patients whose houses lay scattered many miles apart, and + for that reason, as well as from the desire for some quick bodily exercise + which is so natural an effect of irritable perturbation of mind, I had + made the journey on horseback instead of using a carriage that I could not + have got through the lanes and field-paths by which alone the work set to + myself could be accomplished in time. + </p> + <p> + Just as I entered the park, an uneasy thought seized hold of me with the + strength which is ascribed to presentiments. I had passed through my study + (which has been so elaborately described) to my stables, as I generally + did when I wanted my saddle-horse, and, in so doing, had doubtless left + open the gate to the iron palisade, and probably the window of the study + itself. I had been in this careless habit for several years, without ever + once having cause for self-reproach. As I before said, there was nothing + in my study to tempt a thief; the study was shut out from the body of the + house, and the servant sure at nightfall both to close the window and lock + the gate; yet now, for the first time, I felt an impulse, urgent, keen, + and disquieting, to ride back to the town, and see those precautions + taken. I could not guess why, but something whispered to me that my + neglect had exposed me to some great danger. I even checked my horse and + looked at my watch; too late!—already just on the stroke of + Strahan’s dinner-hour as fixed in his note; my horse, too, was fatigued + and spent: besides, what folly! what bearded man can believe in the + warnings of a “presentiment”? I pushed on, and soon halted before the + old-fashioned flight of stairs that led up to the Hall. Here I was + accosted by the old steward; he had just descended the stairs, and as I + dismounted he thrust his arm into mine unceremoniously, and drew me a + little aside. + </p> + <p> + “Doctor, I was right; it was his ghost that I saw by the iron door of the + mausoleum. I saw it again at the same place last night, but I had no fit + then. Justice on his murderer! Blood for blood!” + </p> + <p> + “Ay!” said I, sternly; for if I suspected Margrave before, I felt + convinced now that the inexpiable deed was his. Wherefore convinced? + Simply because I now hated him more, and hate is so easily convinced! + “Lilian! Lilian!” I murmured to myself that name; the flame of my hate was + fed by my jealousy. “Ay!” said I, sternly, “murder will out.” + </p> + <p> + “What are the police about?” said the old man, querulously; “days pass on + days, and no nearer the truth. But what does the new owner care? He has + the rents and acres; what does he care for the dead? I will never serve + another master. I have just told Mr. Strahan so. How do I know whether he + did not do the deed? Who else had an interest in it?” + </p> + <p> + “Hush, hush!” I cried; “you do not know how wildly you are talking.” + </p> + <p> + The old man stared at me, shook his head, released my arm, and strode + away. + </p> + <p> + A labouring man came out of the garden, and having unbuckled the + saddle-bags, which contained the few things required for so short a visit, + I consigned my horse to his care, and ascended the perron. The old + housekeeper met me in the hall, and conducted me up the great staircase, + showed me into a bedroom prepared for me, and told me that Mr. Strahan was + already waiting dinner for me. I should find him in the study. I hastened + to join him. He began apologizing, very unnecessarily, for the state of + his establishment. He had as yet engaged no new servants. The housekeeper + with the help of a housemaid did all the work. + </p> + <p> + Richard Strahan at college had been as little distinguishable from other + young men as a youth neither rich nor poor, neither clever nor stupid, + neither handsome nor ugly, neither audacious sinner nor formal saint, + possibly could be. + </p> + <p> + Yet, to those who understood him well, he was not without some of those + moral qualities by which a youth of mediocre intellect often matures into + a superior man. + </p> + <p> + He was, as Sir Philip had been rightly informed, thoroughly honest and + upright. But with a strong sense of duty, there was also a certain latent + hardness. He was not indulgent. He had outward frankness with + acquaintances, but was easily roused to suspicion. He had much of the + thriftiness and self-denial of the North countryman, and I have no doubt + that he had lived with calm content and systematic economy on an income + which made him, as a bachelor, independent of his nominal profession, but + would not have sufficed, in itself, for the fitting maintenance of a wife + and family. He was, therefore, still single. + </p> + <p> + It seems to me even during the few minutes in which we conversed before + dinner was announced, that his character showed a new phase with his new + fortunes. He talked in a grandiose style of the duties of station and the + woes of wealth. He seemed to be very much afraid of spending, and still + more appalled at the idea of being cheated. His temper, too, was ruffled; + the steward had given him notice to quit. Mr. Jeeves, who had spent the + morning with him, had said the steward would be a great loss, and a + steward at once sharp and honest was not to be easily found. + </p> + <p> + What trifles can embitter the possession of great goods! Strahan had taken + a fancy to the old house; it was conformable to his notions, both of + comfort and pomp, and Sir Philip had expressed a desire that the old house + should be pulled down. Strahan had inspected the plans for the new mansion + to which Sir Philip had referred, and the plans did not please him; on the + contrary, they terrified. + </p> + <p> + “Jeeves says that I could not build such a house under L70,000 or L80,000, + and then it will require twice the establishment which will suffice for + this. I shall be ruined,” cried the man who had just come into possession + of at least ten thousand a year. + </p> + <p> + “Sir Philip did not enjoin you to pull down the old house; he only advised + you to do so. Perhaps he thought the site less healthy than that which he + proposes for a new building, or was aware of some other drawback to the + house, which you may discover later. Wait a little and see before + deciding.” + </p> + <p> + “But, at all events, I suppose I must pull down this curious old room,—the + nicest part of the old house!” + </p> + <p> + Strahan, as he spoke, looked wistfully round at the quaint oak + chimneypiece; the carved ceiling; the well-built solid walls, with the + large mullion casement, opening so pleasantly on the sequestered gardens. + He had ensconced himself in Sir Philip’s study, the chamber in which the + once famous mystic, Forman, had found a refuge. + </p> + <p> + “So cozey a room for a single man!” sighed Strahan. “Near the stables and + dog-kennels, too! But I suppose I must pull it down. I am not bound to do + so legally; it is no condition of the will. But in honour and gratitude I + ought not to disobey poor Sir Philip’s positive injunction.” + </p> + <p> + “Of that,” said I, gravely, “there cannot be a doubt.” Here our + conversation was interrupted by Mrs. Gates, who informed us that dinner + was served in the library. Wine of great age was brought from the long + neglected cellars; Strahan filled and re-filled his glass, and, warmed + into hilarity, began to talk of bringing old college friends around him in + the winter season, and making the roof-tree ring with laughter and song + once more. + </p> + <p> + Time wore away, and night had long set in, when Strahan at last rose from + the table, his speech thick and his tongue unsteady. We returned to the + study, and I reminded my host of the special object of my visit to him,—namely, + the inspection of Sir Philip’s manuscript. + </p> + <p> + “It is tough reading,” said Strahan; “better put it off till tomorrow. You + will stay here two or three days.” + </p> + <p> + “No; I must return to L—— to-morrow. I cannot absent myself + from my patients. And it is the more desirable that no time should be lost + before examining the contents of the manuscript, because probably they may + give some clew to the detection of the murderer.” + </p> + <p> + “Why do you think that?” cried Strahan, startled from the drowsiness that + was creeping over him. + </p> + <p> + “Because the manuscript may show that Sir Philip had some enemy, and who + but an enemy could have had a motive for such a crime? Come, bring forth + the book. You of all men are bound to be alert in every research that may + guide the retribution of justice to the assassin of your benefactor.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes. I will offer a reward of L5,000 for the discovery. Allen, that + wretched old steward had the insolence to tell me that I was the only man + in the world who could have an interest in the death of his master; and he + looked at me as if he thought that I had committed the crime. You are + right; it becomes me, of all men, to be alert. The assassin must be found. + He must hang.” + </p> + <p> + While thus speaking, Strahan had risen, unlocked a desk, which stood on + one of the safes, and drawn forth a thick volume, the contents of which + were protected by a clasp and lock. Strahan proceeded to open this lock by + one of a bunch of keys, which he said had been found on Sir Philip’s + person. + </p> + <p> + “There, Allen, this is the memoir. I need not tell you what store I place + on it,—not, between you and me, that I expect it will warrant poor + Sir Philip’s high opinion of his own scientific discoveries; that part of + his letter seems to me very queer, and very flighty. But he evidently set + his heart on the publication of his work, in part if not in whole; and, + naturally, I must desire to comply with a wish so distinctly intimated by + one to whom I owe so much. I beg you, therefore, not to be too fastidious. + Some valuable hints in medicine, I have reason to believe, the manuscript + will contain, and those may help you in your profession, Allen.” + </p> + <p> + “You have reason to believe! Why?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, a charming young fellow, who, with most of the other gentry resident + at L——, called on me at my hotel, told me that he had + travelled in the East, and had there heard much of Sir Philip’s knowledge + of chemistry, and the cures it had enabled him to perform.” + </p> + <p> + “You speak of Mr. Margrave. He called on you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “You did not, I trust, mention to him the existence of Sir Philip’s + manuscript.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed I did; and I said you had promised to examine it. He seemed + delighted at that, and spoke most highly of your peculiar fitness for the + task.” + </p> + <p> + “Give me the manuscript,” said I, abruptly, “and after I have looked at it + to-night, I may have something to say to you tomorrow in reference to Mr. + Margrave.” + </p> + <p> + “There is the book,” said Strahan; “I have just glanced at it, and find + much of it written in Latin; and I am ashamed to say that I have so + neglected the little Latin I learned in our college days that I could not + construe what I looked at.” + </p> + <p> + I sat down and placed the book before me; Strahan fell into a doze, from + which he was wakened by the housekeeper, who brought in the tea-things. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Strahan, languidly, “do you find much in the book that + explains the many puzzling riddles in poor Sir Philip’s eccentric life and + pursuits?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said I. “Do not interrupt me.” + </p> + <p> + Strahan again began to doze, and the housekeeper asked if we should want + anything more that night, and if I thought I could find my way to my + bedroom. + </p> + <p> + I dismissed her impatiently, and continued to read. Strahan woke up again + as the clock struck eleven, and finding me still absorbed in the + manuscript, and disinclined to converse, lighted his candle, and telling + me to replace the manuscript in the desk when I had done with it, and be + sure to lock the desk and take charge of the key, which he took off the + bunch and gave me, went upstairs, yawning. + </p> + <p> + I was alone in the wizard Forman’s chamber, and bending over a stranger + record than had ever excited my infant wonder, or, in later years, + provoked my sceptic smile. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0039" id="link2HCH0039"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIX. + </h2> + <p> + The Manuscript was written in a small and peculiar handwriting, which, + though evidently by the same person whose letter to Strahan I had read, + was, whether from haste or some imperfection in the ink, much more hard to + decipher. Those parts of the Memoir which related to experiments, or + alleged secrets in Nature, that the writer intimated a desire to submit + exclusively to scholars or men of science, were in Latin,—and Latin + which, though grammatically correct, was frequently obscure. But all that + detained the eye and attention on the page necessarily served to impress + the contents more deeply on remembrance. + </p> + <p> + The narrative commenced with the writer’s sketch of his childhood. Both + his parents had died before he attained his seventh year. The orphan had + been sent by his guardians to a private school, and his holidays had been + passed at Derval Court. Here his earliest reminiscences were those of the + quaint old room, in which I now sat, and of his childish wonder at the + inscription on the chimneypiece—who and what was the Simon Forman + who had there found a refuge from persecution? Of what nature were the + studies he had cultivated, and the discoveries he boasted to have made? + </p> + <p> + When he was about sixteen, Philip Derval had begun to read the many mystic + books which the library contained; but without other result on his mind + than the sentiment of disappointment and disgust. The impressions produced + on the credulous imagination of childhood vanished. He went to the + University; was sent abroad to travel: and on his return took that place + in the circles of London which is so readily conceded to a young idler of + birth and fortune. He passed quickly over that period of his life, as one + of extravagance and dissipation, from which he was first drawn by the + attachment for his cousin to which his letter to Strahan referred. + Disappointed in the hopes which that affection had conceived, and his + fortune impaired, partly by some years of reckless profusion, and partly + by the pecuniary sacrifices at which he had effected his cousin’s marriage + with another, he retired to Derval Court, to live there in solitude and + seclusion. On searching for some old title-deeds required for a mortgage, + he chanced upon a collection of manuscripts much discoloured, and, in + part, eaten away by moth or damp. These, on examination, proved to be the + writings of Forman. Some of them were astrological observations and + predictions; some were upon the nature of the Cabbala; some upon the + invocation of spirits and the magic of the dark ages. All had a certain + interest, for they were interspersed with personal remarks, anecdotes of + eminent actors in a very stirring time, and were composed as Colloquies, + in imitation of Erasmus,—the second person in the dialogue being Sir + Miles Derval, the patron and pupil; the first person being Forman, the + philosopher and expounder. + </p> + <p> + But along with these shadowy lucubrations were treatises of a more + uncommon and a more startling character,—discussions on various + occult laws of nature, and detailed accounts of analytical experiments. + These opened a new, and what seemed to Sir Philip a practical, field of + inquiry,—a true border-land between natural science and imaginative + speculation. Sir Philip had cultivated philosophical science at the + University; he resumed the study, and tested himself the truth of various + experiments suggested by Forman. Some, to his surprise, proved successful, + some wholly failed. These lucubrations first tempted the writer of the + memoir towards the studies in which the remainder of his life had been + consumed. But he spoke of the lucubrations themselves as valuable only + where suggestive of some truths which Forman had accidentally approached, + without being aware of their true nature and importance. They were debased + by absurd puerilities, and vitiated by the vain and presumptuous ignorance + which characterized the astrology of the middle ages. For these reasons + the writer intimated his intention (if he lived to return to England) to + destroy Forman’s manuscripts, together with sundry other books, and a few + commentaries of his own upon studies which had for a while misled him,—all + now deposited in the safes of the room in which I sat. + </p> + <p> + After some years passed in the retirement of Derval Court, Sir Philip was + seized with the desire to travel, and the taste he had imbibed for occult + studies led him towards those Eastern lands in which they took their + origin, and still retain their professors. + </p> + <p> + Several pages of the manuscript were now occupied with minute statements + of the writer’s earlier disappointment in the objects of his singular + research. The so-called magicians, accessible to the curiosity of European + travellers, were either but ingenious jugglers, or produced effects that + perplexed him by practices they had mechanically learned, but of the + rationale of which they were as ignorant as himself. It was not till he + had resided some considerable time in the East, and acquired a familiar + knowledge of its current languages and the social habits of its various + populations, that he became acquainted with men in whom he recognized + earnest cultivators of the lore which tradition ascribes to the colleges + and priesthoods of the ancient world,—men generally living remote + from others, and seldom to be bribed by money to exhibit their marvels or + divulge their secrets. In his intercourse with these sages, Sir Philip + arrived at the conviction that there does exist an art of magic, distinct + from the guile of the conjuror, and applying to certain latent powers and + affinities in nature,—a philosophy akin to that which we receive in + our acknowledged schools, inasmuch as it is equally based on experiment, + and produces from definite causes definite results. In support of this + startling proposition, Sir Philip now devoted more than half his volume to + the details of various experiments, to the process and result of which he + pledged his guarantee as the actual operator. As most of these alleged + experiments appeared to me wholly incredible, and as all of them were + unfamiliar to my practical experience, and could only be verified or + falsified by tests that would require no inconsiderable amount of time and + care, I passed with little heed over the pages in which they were set + forth. I was impatient to arrive at that part of the manuscript which + might throw light on the mystery in which my interest was the keenest. + What were the links which connected the existence of Margrave with the + history of Sir Philip Derval? Thus hurrying on, page after page, I + suddenly, towards the end of the volume, came upon a name that arrested + all my attention,—Haroun of Aleppo. He who has read the words + addressed to me in my trance may well conceive the thrill that shot + through my heart when I came upon that name, and will readily understand + how much more vividly my memory retains that part of the manuscript to + which I now proceed, than all which had gone before. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It was,” wrote Sir Philip, “in an obscure suburb of Aleppo that I at + length met with the wonderful man from whom I have acquired a + knowledge immeasurably more profound and occult than that which may be + tested in the experiments to which I have devoted so large a share of + this memoir. Haroun of Aleppo had, indeed, mastered every secret in + nature which the nobler, or theurgic, magic seeks to fathom. + + “He had discovered the great Principle of Animal Life, which had + hitherto baffled the subtlest anatomist. Provided only that the great + organs were not irreparably destroyed, there was no disease that he + could not cure; no decrepitude to which he could not restore vigour: + yet his science was based on the same theory as that espoused by the + best professional practitioner of medicine, namely, that the true art + of healing is to assist nature to throw off the disease; to summon, as + it were, the whole system to eject the enemy that has fastened on a + part. And thus his processes, though occasionally varying in the + means employed, all combined in this,—namely, the re-invigourating + and recruiting of the principle of life.” + </pre> + <p> + No one knew the birth or origin of Haroun; no one knew his age. In outward + appearance he was in the strength and prime of mature manhood; but, + according to testimonies in which the writer of the memoir expressed a + belief that, I need scarcely say, appeared to me egregiously credulous, + Haroun’s existence under the same name, and known by the same repute, + could be traced back to more than a hundred years. He told Sir Philip that + he had thrice renewed his own life, and had resolved to do so no more; he + had grown weary of living on. With all his gifts, Haroun owned himself to + be consumed by a profound melancholy. He complained that there was nothing + new to him under the sun; he said that, while he had at his command + unlimited wealth, wealth had ceased to bestow enjoyment, and he preferred + living as simply as a peasant; he had tired out all the affections and all + the passions of the human heart; he was in the universe as in a solitude. + In a word, Haroun would often repeat, with mournful solemnity: “‘The soul + is not meant to inhabit this earth and in fleshy tabernacle for more than + the period usually assigned to mortals; and when by art in repairing the + walls of the body we so retain it, the soul repines, becomes inert or + dejected. He only,” said Haroun, “would feel continued joy in continued + existence who could preserve in perfection the sensual part of man, with + such mind or reason as may be independent of the spiritual essence, but + whom soul itself has quitted!—man, in short, as the grandest of the + animals, but without the sublime discontent of earth, which is the + peculiar attribute of soul.” + </p> + <p> + One evening Sir Philip was surprised to find at Haroun’s house another + European. He paused in his narrative to describe this man. He said that + for three or four years previously he had heard frequent mention, amongst + the cultivators of magic, of an orientalized Englishman engaged in + researches similar to his own, and to whom was ascribed a terrible + knowledge in those branches of the art which, even in the East, are + condemned as instrumental to evil. Sir Philip here distinguished at + length, as he had so briefly distinguished in his conversation with me, + between the two kinds of magic,—that which he alleged to be as pure + from sin as any other species of experimental knowledge, and that by which + the agencies of witchcraft are invoked for the purposes of guilt. + </p> + <p> + The Englishman, to whom the culture of this latter and darker kind of + magic was ascribed, Sir Philip Derval had never hitherto come across. He + now met him at the house of Haroun; decrepit, emaciated, bowed down with + infirmities, and racked with pain. Though little more than sixty, his + aspect was that of extreme old age; but still on his face there were seen + the ruins of a once singular beauty, and still, in his mind, there was a + force that contrasted the decay of the body. Sir Philip had never met with + an intellect more powerful and more corrupt. The son of a notorious + usurer, heir to immense wealth, and endowed with the talents which justify + ambition, he had entered upon life burdened with the odium of his father’s + name. A duel, to which he had been provoked by an ungenerous taunt on his + origin, but in which a temperament fiercely vindictive had led him to + violate the usages prescribed by the social laws that regulate such + encounters, had subjected him to a trial in which he escaped conviction + either by a flaw in the technicalities of legal procedure, or by the + compassion of the jury;(1) but the moral presumptions against him were + sufficiently strong to set an indelible brand on his honour, and an + insurmountable barrier to the hopes which his early ambition had + conceived. After this trial he had quitted his country, to return to it no + more. Thenceforth, much of his life had been passed out of sight or + conjecture of civilized men in remote regions and amongst barbarous + tribes. At intervals, however, he had reappeared in European capitals; + shunned by and shunning his equals, surrounded by parasites, amongst whom + were always to be found men of considerable learning, whom avarice or + poverty subjected to the influences of his wealth. For the last nine or + ten years he had settled in Persia, purchased extensive lands, maintained + the retinue, and exercised more than the power of an Oriental prince. Such + was the man who, prematurely worn out, and assured by physicians that he + had not six weeks of life, had come to Aleppo with the gaudy escort of an + Eastern satrap, had caused himself to be borne in his litter to the + mud-hut of Haroun the Sage, and now called on the magician, in whose art + was his last hope, to reprieve him from the—grave. + </p> + <p> + He turned round to Sir Philip, when the latter entered the room, and + exclaimed in English, “I am here because you are. Your intimacy with this + man was known to me. I took your character as the guarantee of his own. + Tell me that I am no credulous dupe. Tell him that I, Louis Grayle, am no + needy petitioner. Tell me of his wisdom; assure him of my wealth.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip looked inquiringly at Haroun, who remained seated on his carpet + in profound silence. + </p> + <p> + “What is it you ask of Haroun?” + </p> + <p> + “To live on—to live on! For every year of life he can give me, I + will load these floors with gold.” + </p> + <p> + “Gold will not tempt Haroun.” + </p> + <p> + “What will?” + </p> + <p> + “Ask him yourself; you speak his language.” + </p> + <p> + “I have asked him; he vouchsafes me no answer.” + </p> + <p> + Haroun here suddenly roused himself as from a revery. He drew from under + his robe a small phial, from which he let fall a single drop into a cup of + water, and said, “Drink this; send to me tomorrow for such medicaments as + I may prescribe. Return hither yourself in three days; not before!” + </p> + <p> + When Grayle was gone, Sir Philip, moved to pity, asked Haroun if, indeed, + it were within the compass of his art to preserve life in a frame that + appeared so thoroughly exhausted. Haroun answered, “A fever may so waste + the lamp of life that one ruder gust of air could extinguish the flame, + yet the sick man recovers. This sick man’s existence has been one long + fever; this sick man can recover.” + </p> + <p> + “You will aid him to do so?” + </p> + <p> + “Three days hence I will tell you.” + </p> + <p> + On the third day Grayle revisited Haroun, and, at Haroun’s request, Sir + Philip came also. Grayle declared that he had already derived unspeakable + relief from the remedies administered; he was lavish in expressions of + gratitude; pressed large gifts on Haroun, and seemed pained when they were + refused. This time Haroun conversed freely, drawing forth Grayle’s own + irregular, perverted, stormy, but powerful intellect. + </p> + <p> + I can best convey the general nature of Grayle’s share in the dialogue + between himself, Haroun, and Derval—recorded in the narrative in + words which I cannot trust my memory to repeat in detail—by stating + the effect it produced on my own mind. It seemed, while I read, as if + there passed before me some convulsion of Nature,—a storm, an + earthquake,—outcries of rage, of scorn, of despair, a despot’s + vehemence of will, a rebel’s scoff at authority; yet, ever and anon, some + swell of lofty thought, some burst of passionate genius,—abrupt + variations from the vaunt of superb defiance to the wail of intense + remorse. + </p> + <p> + The whole had in it, I know not what of uncouth but colossal,—like + the chant, in the old lyrical tragedy, of one of those mythical giants, + who, proud of descent from Night and Chaos, had held sway over the + elements, while still crude and conflicting, to be crushed under the + rocks, upheaved in their struggle, as Order and Harmony subjected a + brightening Creation to the milder influences throned in Olympus. But it + was not till the later passages of the dialogue in which my interest was + now absorbed, that the language ascribed to this sinister personage lost a + gloomy pathos not the less impressive for the awe with which it was + mingled. For, till then, it seemed to me as if in that tempestuous nature + there were still broken glimpses of starry light; that a character + originally lofty, if irregular and fierce, had been embittered by early + and continuous war with the social world, and had, in that war, become + maimed and distorted; that, under happier circumstances, its fiery + strength might have been disciplined to good; that even now, where remorse + was so evidently poignant, evil could not be irredeemably confirmed. + </p> + <p> + At length all the dreary compassion previously inspired vanished in one + unqualified abhorrence. + </p> + <p> + The subjects discussed changed from those which, relating to the common + world of men, were within the scope of my reason. Haroun led his wild + guest to boast of his own proficiency in magic, and, despite my + incredulity, I could not overcome the shudder with which fictions, however + extravagant, that deal with that dark Unknown abandoned to the chimeras of + poets, will, at night and in solitude, send through the veins of men the + least accessible to imaginary terrors. + </p> + <p> + Grayle spoke of the power he had exercised through the agency of evil + spirits,—a power to fascinate and to destroy. He spoke of the aid + revealed to him, now too late, which such direful allies could afford, not + only to a private revenge, but to a kingly ambition. Had he acquired the + knowledge he declared himself to possess before the feebleness of the + decaying body made it valueless, how he could have triumphed over that + world which had expelled his youth from its pale! He spoke of means by + which his influence could work undetected on the minds of others, control + agencies that could never betray, and baffle the justice that could never + discover. He spoke vaguely of a power by which a spectral reflection of + the material body could be cast, like a shadow, to a distance; glide + through the walls of a prison, elude the sentinels of a camp,—a + power that he asserted to be when enforced by concentrated will, and + acting on the mind, where in each individual temptation found mind the + weakest—almost infallible in its effect to seduce or to appall. And + he closed these and similar boasts of demoniacal arts, which I remember + too obscurely to repeat, with a tumultuous imprecation on their + nothingness to avail against the gripe of death. All this lore he would + communicate to Haroun, in return for what? A boon shared by the meanest + peasant,—life, common life; to breathe yet a while the air, feel yet + a while the sun. + </p> + <p> + Then Haroun replied. He said, with a quiet disdain, that the dark art to + which Grayle made such boastful pretence was the meanest of all abuses of + knowledge, rightly abandoned, in all ages, to the vilest natures. And + then, suddenly changing his tone, he spoke, so far as I can remember the + words assigned to him in the manuscript, to this effect,— + </p> + <p> + “Fallen and unhappy wretch, and you ask me for prolonged life!—a + prolonged curse to the world and to yourself. Shall I employ spells to + lengthen the term of the Pestilence, or profane the secrets of Nature to + restore vigour and youth to the failing energies of Crime?” + </p> + <p> + Grayle, as if stunned by the rebuke, fell on his knees with despairing + entreaties that strangely contrasted his previous arrogance. “And it was,” + he said, “because his life had been evil that he dreaded death. If life + could be renewed he would repent, he would change; he retracted his + vaunts, he would forsake the arts he had boasted, he would re-enter the + world as its benefactor.” + </p> + <p> + “So ever the wicked man lies to himself when appalled by the shadow of + death,” answered Haroun. “But know, by the remorse which preys on thy + soul, that it is not thy soul that addresses this prayer to me. Couldst + thou hear, through the storms of the Mind, the Soul’s melancholy whisper, + it would dissuade thee from a wish to live on. While I speak, I behold it, + that Soul,—sad for the stains on its essence, awed by the account it + must render, but dreading, as the direst calamity, a renewal of years + below, darker stains and yet heavier accounts! Whatever the sentence it + may now undergo, it has a hope for mercy in the remorse which the mind + vainly struggles to quell. But darker its doom if longer retained to + earth, yoked to the mind that corrupts it, and enslaved to the senses + which thou bidst me restore to their tyrannous forces.” + </p> + <p> + And Grayle bowed his head and covered his face with his hands in silence + and in trembling. + </p> + <p> + Then Sir Philip, seized with compassion, pleaded for him. “At least, could + not the soul have longer time on earth for repentance?” And while Sir + Philip was so pleading, Grayle fell prostrate in a swoon like that of + death. When he recovered, his head was leaning on Haroun’s knee, and his + opening eyes fixed on the glittering phial which Haroun held, and from + which his lips had been moistened. + </p> + <p> + “Wondrous!” he murmured: “how I feel life flowing back to me. And that, + then, is the elixir! it is no fable!” + </p> + <p> + His hands stretched greedily as to seize the phial, and he cried + imploringly, “More, more!” Haroun replaced the vessel in the folds of his + robe, and answered,— + </p> + <p> + “I will not renew thy youth, but I will release thee from bodily + suffering: I will leave the mind and the soul free from the pangs of the + flesh, to reconcile, if yet possible, their long war. My skill may afford + thee months yet for repentance; Seek, in that interval, to atone for the + evil of sixty years; apply thy wealth where it may most compensate for + injury done, most relieve the indigent, and most aid the virtuous. Listen + to thy remorse; humble thyself in prayer.” + </p> + <p> + Grayle departed, sighing heavily and muttering to himself. The next day + Haroun summoned Sir Philip Derval, and said to him,— + </p> + <p> + “Depart to Damascus. In that city the Pestilence has appeared. Go thither + thou, to heal and to save. In this casket are stored the surest antidotes + to the poison of the plague. Of that essence, undiluted and pure, which + tempts to the undue prolongation of soul in the prison of flesh, this + casket contains not a drop. I curse not my friend with so mournful a boon. + Thou hast learned enough of my art to know by what simples the health of + the temperate is easily restored to its balance, and their path to the + grave smoothed from pain. Not more should Man covet from Nature for the + solace and weal of the body. Nobler gifts far than aught for the body this + casket contains. Herein are the essences which quicken the life of those + duplicate senses that lie dormant and coiled in their chrysalis web, + awaiting the wings of a future development,—the senses by which we + can see, though not with the eye, and hear, but not by the ear. Herein are + the links between Man’s mind and Nature’s; herein are secrets more + precious even than these,—those extracts of light which enable the + Soul to distinguish itself from the Mind, and discriminate the spiritual + life, not more from life carnal than life intellectual. Where thou seest + some noble intellect, studious of Nature, intent upon Truth, yet ignoring + the fact that all animal life has a mind and Man alone on the earth ever + asked, and has asked, from the hour his step trod the earth, and his eye + sought the Heaven, ‘Have I not a soul; can it perish?’—there, such + aids to the soul, in the innermost vision vouchsafed to the mind, thou + mayst lawfully use. But the treasures contained in this casket are like + all which a mortal can win from the mines he explores,—good or ill + in their uses as they pass to the hands of the good or the evil. Thou wilt + never confide them but to those who will not abuse! and even then, thou + art an adept too versed in the mysteries of Nature not to discriminate + between the powers that may serve the good to good ends, and the powers + that may tempt the good—where less wise than experience has made + thee and me—to the ends that are evil; and not even to thy friend + the most virtuous—if less proof against passion than thou and I have + become—wilt thou confide such contents of the casket as may work on + the fancy, to deafen the conscience and imperil the soul.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip took the casket, and with it directions for use, which he did + not detail. He then spoke to Haroun about Louis Grayle, who had inspired + him with a mingled sentiment of admiration and abhorrence, of pity and + terror. And Haroun answered thus, repeating the words ascribed to him, so + far as I can trust, in regard to them—as to all else in this + marvellous narrative—to a memory habitually tenacious even in + ordinary matters, and strained to the utmost extent of its power, by the + strangeness of the ideas presented to it, and the intensity of my personal + interest in whatever admitted a ray into that cloud which, gathering fast + over my reason, now threatened storm to my affections,— + </p> + <p> + “When the mortal deliberately allies himself to the spirits of evil, he + surrenders the citadel of his being to the guard of its enemies; and those + who look from without can only dimly guess what passes within the + precincts abandoned to Powers whose very nature we shrink to contemplate, + lest our mere gaze should invite them. This man, whom thou pitiest, is not + yet everlastingly consigned to the fiends, because his soul still + struggles against them. His life has been one long war between his + intellect, which is mighty, and his spirit, which is feeble. The + intellect, armed and winged by the passions, has besieged and oppressed + the soul; but the soul has never ceased to repine and to repent. And at + moments it has gained its inherent ascendancy, persuaded revenge to drop + the prey it had seized, turned the mind astray from hatred and wrath into + unwonted paths of charity and love. In the long desert of guilt, there + have been green spots and fountains of good. The fiends have occupied the + intellect which invoked them, but they have never yet thoroughly mastered + the soul which their presence appalls. In the struggle that now passes + within that breast, amidst the flickers of waning mortality, only Allah, + whose eye never slumbers, can aid.” + </p> + <p> + Haroun then continued, in words yet more strange and yet more deeply + graved in my memory,— + </p> + <p> + “There have been men (thou mayst have known such), who, after an illness + in which life itself seemed suspended, have arisen, as out of a sleep, + with characters wholly changed. Before, perhaps, gentle and good and + truthful, they now become bitter, malignant, and false. To the persons and + the things they had before loved, they evince repugnance and loathing. + Sometimes this change is so marked and irrational that their kindred + ascribe it to madness,—not the madness which affects them in the + ordinary business of life, but that which turns into harshness and discord + the moral harmony that results from natures whole and complete. But there + are dervishes who hold that in that illness, which had for its time the + likeness of death, the soul itself has passed away, and an evil genius has + fixed itself into the body and the brain, thus left void of their former + tenant, and animates them in the unaccountable change from the past to the + present existence. Such mysteries have formed no part of my study, and I + tell you the conjecture received in the East without hazarding a comment + whether of incredulity or belief. But if, in this war between the mind + which the fiends have seized, and the soul which implores refuge of Allah; + if, while the mind of yon traveller now covets life lengthened on earth + for the enjoyments it had perverted its faculties to seek and to find in + sin, and covets so eagerly that it would shrink from no crime and revolt + from no fiend that could promise the gift, the soul shudderingly implores + to be saved from new guilt, and would rather abide by the judgment of + Allah on the sins that have darkened it than pass forever irredeemably + away to the demons,—if this be so, what if the soul’s petition be + heard; what if it rise from the ruins around it; what if the ruins be left + to the witchcraft that seeks to rebuild them? There, if demons might + enter, that which they sought as their prize has escaped them; that which + they find would mock them by its own incompleteness even in evil. In vain + might animal life the most perfect be given to the machine of the flesh; + in vain might the mind, freed from the check of the soul, be left to roam + at will through a brain stored with memories of knowledge and skilled in + the command of its faculties; in vain, in addition to all that body and + brain bestow on the normal condition of man, might unhallowed + reminiscences gather all the arts and the charms of the sorcery by which + the fiends tempted the soul, before it fled, through the passions of flesh + and the cravings of mind: the Thing, thus devoid of a soul, would be an + instrument of evil, doubtless,—but an instrument that of itself + could not design, invent, and complete. The demons themselves could have + no permanent hold on the perishable materials. They might enter it for + some gloomy end which Allah permits in his inscrutable wisdom; but they + could leave it no trace when they pass from it, because there is no + conscience where soul is wanting. The human animal without soul, but + otherwise made felicitously perfect in its mere vital organization, might + ravage and destroy, as the tiger and the serpent may destroy and ravage, + and, the moment after, would sport in the sunlight harmless and rejoicing, + because, like the serpent and the tiger, it is incapable of remorse.” + </p> + <p> + “Why startle my wonder,” said Derval, “with so fantastic an image?” + </p> + <p> + “Because, possibly, the image may come into palpable form! I know, while I + speak to thee, that this miserable man is calling to his aid the evil + sorcery over which he boasts his control. To gain the end he desires, he + must pass through a crime. Sorcery whispers to him how to pass through it, + secure from the detection of man. The soul resists, but in resisting, is + weak against the tyranny of the mind to which it has submitted so long. + Question me no more. But if I vanish from thine eyes, if thou hear that + the death which, to my sorrow and in my foolishness I have failed to + recognize as the merciful minister of Heaven, has removed me at last from + the earth, believe that the pale Visitant was welcome, and that I humbly + accept as a blessed release the lot of our common humanity.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip went to Damascus. There he found the pestilence raging, there + he devoted himself to the cure of the afflicted; in no single instance, so + at least he declared, did the antidotes stored in the casket fail in their + effect. The pestilence had passed, his medicaments were exhausted, when + the news reached him that Haroun was no more. The Sage had been found, one + morning, lifeless in his solitary home, and, according to popular rumour, + marks on his throat betrayed the murderous hand of the strangler. + Simultaneously, Louis Grayle had disappeared from the city, and was + supposed to have shared the fate of Haroun, and been secretly buried by + the assassins who had deprived him of life. Sir Philip hastened to Aleppo. + There he ascertained that on the night in which Haroun died, Grayle did + not disappear alone; with him were also missing two of his numerous suite,—the + one, an Arab woman, named Ayesha, who had for some years been his constant + companion, his pupil and associate in the mystic practices to which his + intellect had been debased, and who was said to have acquired a singular + influence over him, partly by her beauty and partly by the tenderness with + which she had nursed him through his long decline; the other, an Indian, + specially assigned to her service, of whom all the wild retainers of + Grayle spoke with detestation and terror. He was believed by them to + belong to that murderous sect of fanatics whose existence as a community + has only recently been made known to Europe, and who strangle their + unsuspecting victim in the firm belief that they thereby propitiate the + favour of the goddess they serve. The current opinion at Aleppo was, that + if those two persons had conspired to murder Haroun, perhaps for the sake + of the treasures he was said to possess, it was still more certain that + they had made away with their own English lord, whether for the sake of + the jewels he wore about him, or for the sake of treasures less doubtful + than those imputed to Haroun, and of which the hiding-place would be to + them much better known. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I did not share that opinion,” wrote the narrator, “for I assured + myself that Ayesha sincerely loved her awful master; and that love + need excite no wonder, for Louis Grayle was one whom if a woman, and + especially a woman of the East, had once loved, before old age and + infirmity fell on him, she would love and cherish still more devotedly + when it became her task to protect the being who, in his day of power + and command, had exalted his slave into the rank of his pupil and + companion. And the Indian whom Grayle had assigned to her service was + allowed to have that brute kind of fidelity which, though it recoils + from no crime for a master, refuses all crime against him. + + “I came to the conclusion that Haroun had been murdered by order + of Louis Grayle,—for the sake of the elixir of life,—murdered by + Juma the Strangler; and that Grayle himself had been aided in his + flight from Aleppo, and tended, through the effects of the + life-giving drug thus murderously obtained, by the womanly love of the + Arab woman Ayesha. These convictions (since I could not, without + being ridiculed as the wildest of dupes, even hint at the vital + elixir) I failed to impress on the Eastern officials, or even on a + countryman of my own whom I chanced to find at Aleppo. They only + arrived at what seemed the common-sense verdict,—namely, that Haroun + might have been strangled, or might have died in a fit (the body, + little examined, was buried long before I came to Aleppo); and that + Louis Grayle was murdered by his own treacherous dependents. But all + trace of the fugitives was lost. + + “And now,” wrote Sir Philip, “I will state by what means I discovered + that Louis Grayle still lived,—changed from age into youth; a new + form, a new being; realizing, I verily believe, the image which + Haroun’s words had raised up, in what then seemed to me the + metaphysics of fantasy,—-criminal, without consciousness of crime; + the dreadest of the mere animal race; an incarnation of the blind + powers of Nature,—beautiful and joyous, wanton and terrible and + destroying! Such as ancient myths have personified in the idols of + Oriental creeds; such as Nature, of herself, might form man in her + moments of favour, if man were wholly the animal, and spirit were no + longer the essential distinction between himself and the races to + which by superior formation and subtler perceptions he would still be + the king. + + “But this being is yet more dire and portentous than the mere animal + man, for in him are not only the fragmentary memories of a pristine + intelligence which no mind, unaided by the presence of soul, could + have originally compassed, but amidst that intelligence are the + secrets of the magic which is learned through the agencies of spirits + the most hostile to our race. And who shall say whether the fiends do + not enter at their will this void and deserted temple whence the soul + has departed, and use as their tools, passive and unconscious, all the + faculties which, skilful in sorcery, still place a mind at the + control of their malice? + + “It was in the interest excited in me by the strange and terrible fate + that befell an Armenian family with which I was slightly acquainted, + that I first traced—in the creature I am now about to describe, and + whose course I devote myself to watch, and trust to bring to a + close—the murderer of Haroun for the sake of the elixir of youth. + + “In this Armenian family there were three daughters; one of them—” + </pre> + <p> + I had just read thus far when a dim shadow fell over the page, and a cold + air seemed to breathe on me,—cold, so cold, that my blood halted in + my veins as if suddenly frozen! Involuntarily I started, and looked up, + sure that some ghastly presence was in the room. And then, on the opposite + side of the wall, I beheld an unsubstantial likeness of a human form. + Shadow I call it, but the word is not strictly correct, for it was + luminous, though with a pale shine. In some exhibition in London there is + shown a curious instance of optical illusion; at the end of a corridor you + see, apparently in strong light, a human skull. You are convinced it is + there as you approach; it is, however, only a reflection from a skull at a + distance. The image before me was less vivid, less seemingly prominent + than is the illusion I speak of. I was not deceived. I felt it was a + spectrum, a phantasm; but I felt no less surely that it was a reflection + from an animate form,—the form and face of Margrave; it was there, + distinct, unmistakable. Conceiving that he himself must be behind me, I + sought to rise, to turn round, to examine. I could not move: limb and + muscle were overmastered by some incomprehensible spell. Gradually my + senses forsook me; I became unconscious as well as motionless. When I + recovered, I heard the clock strike three. I must have been nearly two + hours insensible! The candles before me were burning low. My eyes rested + on the table; the dead man’s manuscript was gone! + </p> + <p> + (1) The reader will here observe a discrepancy between Mrs. Poyntz’s + account and Sir Philip Derval’s narrative. According to the former, Louis + Grayle was tried in his absence from England, and sentenced to three + years’ imprisonment, which his flight enabled him to evade. According to + the latter, Louis Grayle stood his trial, and obtained an acquittal. Sir + Philip’s account must, at least, be nearer the truth than the lady’s, + because Louis Grayle could not, according to English law, have been tried + on a capital charge without being present in court. Mrs. Poyntz tells her + story as a woman generally does tell a story,—sure to make a mistake + when she touches on a question of law; and—unconsciously perhaps to + herself—the woman of the World warps the facts in her narrative so + as to save the personal dignity of the hero, who has captivated her + interest, not from the moral odium of a great crime, but the debasing + position of a prisoner at the bar. Allen Fenwick, no doubt, purposely + omits to notice the discrepancy between these two statements, or to + animadvert on the mistake which, in the eyes of a lawyer, would discredit + Mrs. Poyntz’s. It is consistent with some of the objects for which Allen + Fenwick makes public his Strange Story, to invite the reader to draw his + own inferences from the contradictions by which, even in the most + commonplace matters (and how much more in any tale of wonder!), a fact + stated by one person is made to differ from the same fact stated by + another. The rapidity with which a truth becomes transformed into fable, + when it is once sent on its travels from lip to lip, is illustrated by an + amusement at this moment in fashion. The amusement is this: In a party of + eight or ten persons, let one whisper to another an account of some + supposed transaction, or a piece of invented gossip relating to absent + persons, dead or alive; let the person, who thus first hears the story, + proceed to whisper it, as exactly as he can remember what he has just + heard, to the next; the next does the same to his neighbour, and so on, + till the tale has run the round of the party. Each narrator, as soon as he + has whispered his version of the tale, writes down what he has whispered. + And though, in this game, no one has had any interest to misrepresent, + but, on the contrary, each for his own credit’s sake strives to repeat + what he has heard as faithfully as he can, it will be almost invariably + found that the story told by the first person has received the most + material alterations before it has reached the eighth or the tenth. + Sometimes the most important feature of the whole narrative is altogether + omitted; sometimes a feature altogether new and preposterously absurd has + been added. At the close of the experiment one is tempted to exclaim, + “How, after this, can any of those portions of history which the + chronicler took from hearsay be believed?” But, above all, does not every + anecdote of scandal which has passed, not through ten lips, but perhaps + through ten thousand, before it has reached us, become quite as perplexing + to him who would get at the truth, as the marvels he recounts are to the + bewildered reason of Fenwick the Sceptic? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0040" id="link2HCH0040"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XL. + </h2> + <p> + The dead man’s manuscript was gone. But how? A phantom might delude my + eye, a human will, though exerted at a distance, might, if the tales of + mesmerism be true, deprive me of movement and of consciousness; but + neither phantom nor mesmeric will could surely remove from the table + before me the material substance of the book that had vanished! Was I to + seek explanation in the arts of sorcery ascribed to Louis Grayle in the + narrative? I would not pursue that conjecture. Against it my reason rose + up half alarmed, half disdainful. Some one must have entered the room, + some one have removed the manuscript. I looked round. The windows were + closed, the curtains partly drawn over the shutters, as they were before + my consciousness had left me: all seemed undisturbed. Snatching up one of + the candles, fast dying out, I went into the adjoining library, the + desolate state-rooms, into the entrance-hall, and examined the outer door, + barred and locked! The robber had left no vestige of his stealthy + presence. + </p> + <p> + I resolved to go at once to Strahan’s room and tell him of the loss + sustained. A deposit had been confided to me, and I felt as if there were + a slur on my honour every moment in which I kept its abstraction concealed + from him to whom I was responsible for the trust. I hastily ascended the + great staircase, grim with faded portraits, and found myself in a long + corridor opening on my own bedroom; no doubt also on Strahan’s. Which was + his? I knew not. I opened rapidly door after door, peered into empty + chambers, went blundering on, when to the right, down a narrow passage. I + recognized the signs of my host’s whereabouts,—signs familiarly + commonplace and vulgar; signs by which the inmate of any chamber in + lodging-house or inn makes himself known,—a chair before a doorway, + clothes negligently thrown on it, beside it a pair of shoes. And so + ludicrous did such testimony of common every-day life, of the habits which + Strahan would necessarily have contracted in his desultory unluxurious + bachelor’s existence,—so ludicrous, I say, did these homely details + seem to me, so grotesquely at variance with the wonders of which I had + been reading, with the wonders yet more incredible of which I myself had + been witness and victim, that as I turned down the passage, I heard my own + unconscious half-hysterical laugh; and, startled by the sound of that + laugh as if it came from some one else, I paused, my hand on the door, and + asked myself: “Do I dream? Am I awake? And if awake what am I to say to + the commonplace mortal I am about to rouse? Speak to him of a phantom! + Speak to him of some weird spell over this strong frame! Speak to him of a + mystic trance in which has been stolen what he confided to me, without my + knowledge! What will he say? What should I have said a few days ago to any + man who told such a tale to me?” I did not wait to resolve these + questions. I entered the room. There was Strahan sound asleep on his bed. + I shook him roughly. He started up, rubbed his eyes. “You, Allen,—you! + What the deuce?—what ‘s the matter?” + </p> + <p> + “Strahan, I have been robbed!—robbed of the manuscript you lent me. + I could not rest till I had told you.” + </p> + <p> + “Robbed, robbed! Are you serious?” + </p> + <p> + By this time Strahan had thrown off the bed-clothes, and sat upright, + staring at me. + </p> + <p> + And then those questions which my mind had suggested while I was standing + at his door repeated themselves with double force. Tell this man, this + unimaginative, hard-headed, raw-boned, sandy-haired North countryman,—tell + this man a story which the most credulous school-girl would have rejected + as a fable! Impossible! + </p> + <p> + “I fell asleep,” said I, colouring and stammering, for the slightest + deviation from truth was painful to me, “and-and—when I awoke—the + manuscript was gone. Some one must have entered and committed the theft—” + </p> + <p> + “Some one entered the house at this hour of the night and then only stolen + a manuscript which could be of no value to him! Absurd! If thieves have + come in it must be for other objects,—for plate, for money. I will + dress; we will see!” + </p> + <p> + Strahan hurried on his clothes, muttering to himself and avoiding my eye. + He was embarrassed. He did not like to say to an old friend what was on + his mind; but I saw at once that he suspected I had resolved to deprive + him of the manuscript, and had invented a wild tale in order to conceal my + own dishonesty. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, he proceeded to search the house. I followed him in silence, + oppressed with my own thoughts, and longing for solitude in my own + chamber. We found no one, no trace of any one, nothing to excite + suspicion. There were but two female servants sleeping in the house,—the + old housekeeper, and a country girl who assisted her. It was not possible + to suspect either of these persons; but in the course of our search we + opened the doors of their rooms. We saw that they were both in bed, both + seemingly asleep: it seemed idle to wake and question them. When the + formality of our futile investigation was concluded, Strahan stopped at + the door of my bedroom, and for the first time fixing his eyes on me + steadily, said,— + </p> + <p> + “Allen Fenwick, I would have given half the fortune I have come into + rather than this had happened. The manuscript, as you know, was bequeathed + to me as a sacred trust by a benefactor whose slightest wish it is my duty + to observe religiously. If it contained aught valuable to a man of your + knowledge and profession, why, you were free to use its contents. Let me + hope, Allen, that the book will reappear to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + He said no more, drew himself away from the hand I involuntarily extended, + and walked quickly back towards his own room. + </p> + <p> + Alone once more, I sank on a seat, buried my face in my hands, and strove + in vain to collect into some definite shape my own tumultuous and + disordered thoughts. Could I attach serious credit to the marvellous + narrative I had read? Were there, indeed, such powers given to man, such + influences latent in the calm routine of Nature? I could not believe it; I + must have some morbid affection of the brain; I must be under an + hallucination. Hallucination? The phantom, yes; the trance, yes. But + still, how came the book gone? That, at least, was not hallucination. + </p> + <p> + I left my room the next morning with a vague hope that I should find the + manuscript somewhere in the study; that, in my own trance, I might have + secreted it, as sleep-walkers are said to secrete things, without + remembrance of their acts in their waking state. + </p> + <p> + I searched minutely in every conceivable place. Strahan found me still + employed in that hopeless task. He had breakfasted in his own room, and it + was past eleven o’clock when he joined me. His manner was now hard, cold, + and distant, and his suspicion so bluntly shown that my distress gave way + to resentment. + </p> + <p> + “Is it possible,” I cried indignantly, “that you, who have known me so + well, can suspect me of an act so base, and so gratuitously base? Purloin, + conceal a book confided to me, with full power to copy from it whatever I + might desire, use its contents in any way that might seem to me + serviceable to science, or useful to me in my own calling!” + </p> + <p> + “I have not accused you,” answered Strahan, sullenly. “But what are we to + say to Mr. Jeeves; to all others who know that this manuscript existed? + Will they believe what you tell me?” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Jeeves,” I said, “cannot suspect a fellow-townsman, whose character + is as high as mine, of untruth and theft. And to whom else have you + communicated the facts connected with a memoir and a request of so + extraordinary a nature?” + </p> + <p> + “To young Margrave; I told you so!” + </p> + <p> + “True, true. We need not go farther to find the thief. Margrave has been + in this house more than once. He knows the position of the rooms. You have + named the robber!” + </p> + <p> + “Tut! what on earth could a gay young fellow like Margrave want with a + work of such dry and recondite nature as I presume my poor kinsman’s + memoir must be?” + </p> + <p> + I was about to answer, when the door was abruptly opened, and the + servant-girl entered, followed by two men, in whom I recognized the + superintendent of the L—— police and the same subordinate who + had found me by Sir Philip’s corpse. + </p> + <p> + The superintendent came up to me with a grave face, and whispered in my + ear. I did not at first comprehend him. “Come with you,” I said, “and to + Mr. Vigors, the magistrate? I thought my deposition was closed.” + </p> + <p> + The superintendent shook his head. “I have the authority here, Dr. + Fenwick.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I will come, of course. Has anything new transpired?” + </p> + <p> + The superintendent turned to the servant-girl, who was standing with + gaping mouth and staring eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Show us Dr. Fenwick’s room. You had better put up, sir, whatever things + you have brought here. I will go upstairs with you,” he whispered again. + “Come, Dr. Fenwick, I am in the discharge of my duty.” + </p> + <p> + Something in the man’s manner was so sinister and menacing that I felt at + once that some new and strange calamity had befallen me. I turned towards + Strahan. He was at the threshold, speaking in a low voice to the + subordinate policeman, and there was an expression of amazement and horror + in his countenance. As I came towards him he darted away without a word. + </p> + <p> + I went up the stairs, entered my bedroom, the superintendent close behind + me. As I took up mechanically the few things I had brought with me, the + police-officer drew them from me with an abruptness that appeared + insolent, and deliberately searched the pockets of the coat which I had + worn the evening before, then opened the drawers in the room, and even + pried into the bed. + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” I asked haughtily. + </p> + <p> + “Excuse me, sir. Duty. You are-” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I am what?” + </p> + <p> + “My prisoner; here is the warrant.” + </p> + <p> + “Warrant! on what charge?” + </p> + <p> + “The murder of Sir Philip Derval.” + </p> + <p> + “I—I! Murder!” I could say no more. + </p> + <p> + I must hurry over this awful passage in my marvellous record. It is + torture to dwell on the details; and indeed I have so sought to chase them + from my recollection, that they only come back to me in hideous fragments, + like the incoherent remains of a horrible dream. + </p> + <p> + All that I need state is as follows: Early on the very morning on which I + had been arrested, a man, a stranger in the town, had privately sought Mr. + Vigors, and deposed that on the night of the murder, he had been taking + refuge from a sudden storm under shelter of the eaves and buttresses of a + wall adjoining an old archway; that he had heard men talking within the + archway; had heard one say to the other, “You still bear me a grudge.” The + other had replied, “I can forgive you on one condition.” That he then lost + much of the conversation that ensued, which was in a lower voice; but he + gathered enough to know that the condition demanded by the one was the + possession of a casket which the other carried about with him; that there + seemed an altercation on this matter between the two men, which, to judge + by the tones of voice, was angry on the part of the man demanding the + casket; that, finally, this man said in a loud key, “Do you still refuse?” + and on receiving the answer, which the witness did not overhear, exclaimed + threateningly, “It is you who will repent,” and then stepped forth from + the arch into the street. The rain had then ceased, but by a broad flash + of lightning the witness saw distinctly the figure of the person thus + quitting the shelter of the arch,—a man of tall stature, powerful + frame, erect carriage. A little time afterwards, witness saw a slighter + and older man come forth from the arch, whom he could only examine by the + flickering ray of the gas-lamp near the wall, the lightning having ceased, + but whom he fully believed to be the person he afterwards discovered to be + Sir Philip Derval. + </p> + <p> + He said that he himself had only arrived at the town a few hours before; a + stranger to L——, and indeed to England, having come from the + United States of America, where he had passed his life from childhood. He + had journeyed on foot to L——, in the hope of finding there + some distant relatives. He had put up at a small inn, after which he had + strolled through the town, when the storm had driven him to seek shelter. + He had then failed to find his way back to the inn, and after wandering + about in vain, and seeing no one at that late hour of night of whom he + could ask the way, he had crept under a portico and slept for two or + three hours. Waking towards the dawn, he had then got up, and again sought + to find his way to the inn, when he saw, in a narrow street before him, + two men, one of whom he recognized as the taller of the two to whose + conversation he had listened under the arch; the other he did not + recognize at the moment. The taller man seemed angry and agitated, and he + heard him say, “The casket; I will have it.” There then seemed to be a + struggle between these two persons, when the taller one struck down the + shorter, knelt on his breast, and he caught distinctly the gleam of some + steel instrument. That he was so frightened that he could not stir from + the place, and that though he cried out, he believed his voice was not + heard. He then saw the taller man rise, the other resting on the pavement + motionless; and a minute or so afterwards beheld policemen coming to the + place, on which he, the witness, walked away. He did not know that a + murder had been committed; it might be only an assault; it was no business + of his, he was a stranger. He thought it best not to interfere, the police + having cognizance of the affair. He found out his inn; for the next few + days he was absent from L—— in search of his relations, who + had left the town, many years ago, to fix their residence in one of the + neighbouring villages. + </p> + <p> + He was, however, disappointed; none of these relations now survived. He + had now returned to L——, heard of the murder, was in doubt + what to do, might get himself into trouble if, a mere stranger, he gave an + unsupported testimony. But, on the day before the evidence was + volunteered, as he was lounging in the streets, he had seen a gentleman + pass by on horseback, in whom he immediately recognized the man who, in + his belief, was the murderer of Sir Philip Derval. He inquired of a + bystander the name of the gentleman; the answer was “Dr. Fenwick.” That, + the rest of the day, he felt much disturbed in his mind, not liking to + volunteer such a charge against a man of apparent respectability and + station; but that his conscience would not let him sleep that night, and + he had resolved at morning to go to the magistrate and make a clean breast + of it. + </p> + <p> + The story was in itself so improbable that any other magistrate but Mr. + Vigors would perhaps have dismissed it in contempt. But Mr. Vigors, + already so bitterly prejudiced against me, and not sorry, perhaps, to + subject me to the humiliation of so horrible a charge, immediately issued + his warrant to search my house. I was absent at Derval Court; the house + was searched. In the bureau in my favourite study, which was left + unlocked, the steel casket was discovered, and a large case-knife, on the + blade of which the stains of blood were still perceptible. On this + discovery I was apprehended; and on these evidences, and on the deposition + of this vagrant stranger, I was not, indeed, committed to take my trial + for murder, but placed in confinement, all bail for my appearance refused, + and the examination adjourned to give time for further evidence and + inquiries. I had requested the professional aid of Mr. Jeeves. To my + surprise and dismay, Mr. Jeeves begged me to excuse him. He said he was + pre-engaged by Mr. Strahan to detect and prosecute the murderer of Sir P. + Derval, and could not assist one accused of the murder. I gathered from + the little he said that Strahan had already been to him that morning and + told him of the missing manuscript, that Strahan had ceased to be my + friend. I engaged another solicitor, a young man of ability, and who + professed personal esteem for me. Mr. Stanton (such was the lawyer’s name) + believed in my innocence; but he warned me that appearances were grave, he + implored me to be perfectly frank with him. Had I held conversation with + Sir Philip under the archway as reported by the witness? Had I used such + or similar words? Had the deceased said, “I had a grudge against him”? Had + I demanded the casket? Had I threatened Sir Philip that he would repent? + And of what,—his refusal? + </p> + <p> + I felt myself grow pale, as I answered, “Yes; I thought such or similar + expressions had occurred in my conversation with the deceased.” + </p> + <p> + “What was the reason of the grudge? What was the nature of this casket, + that I should so desire its possession?” + </p> + <p> + There, I became terribly embarrassed. What could I say to a keen, + sensible, worldly man of law,—tell him of the powder and the fumes, + of the scene in the museum, of Sir Philip’s tale, of the implied identity + of the youthful Margrave with the aged Grayle, of the elixir of life, and + of magic arts? I—I tell such a romance! I,—the noted adversary + of all pretended mysticism; I,—I a sceptical practitioner of + medicine! Had that manuscript of Sir Philip’s been available,—a + substantial record of marvellous events by a man of repute for intellect + and learning,—I might perhaps have ventured to startle the solicitor + of L——— with my revelations. But the sole proof that all which the + solicitor urged me to confide was not a monstrous fiction or an insane + delusion had disappeared; and its disappearance was a part of the terrible + mystery that enveloped the whole. I answered therefore, as composedly as I + could, that “I could have no serious grudge against Sir Philip, whom I had + never seen before that evening; that the words which applied to my + supposed grudge were lightly said by Sir Philip, in reference to a + physiological dispute on matters connected with mesmerical phenomena; that + the deceased had declared his casket, which he had shown me at the mayor’s + house, contained drugs of great potency in medicine; that I had asked + permission to test those drugs myself; and that when I said he would + repent of his refusal, I merely meant that he would repent of his reliance + on drugs not warranted by the experiments of professional science.” + </p> + <p> + My replies seemed to satisfy the lawyer so far, but “how could I account + for the casket and the knife being found in my room?” + </p> + <p> + “In no way but this; the window of my study is a door-window opening on + the lane, from which any one might enter the room. I was in the habit, not + only of going out myself that way, but of admitting through that door any + more familiar private acquaintance.” + </p> + <p> + “Whom, for instance?” + </p> + <p> + I hesitated a moment, and then said, with a significance I could not + forbear, “Mr. Margrave! He would know the locale perfectly; he would know + that the door was rarely bolted from within during the daytime: he could + enter at all hours; he could place, or instruct any one to deposit, the + knife and casket in my bureau, which he knew I never kept locked; it + contained no secrets, no private correspondence,—chiefly surgical + implements, or such things as I might want for professional experiments.” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Margrave! But you cannot suspect him—a lively, charming young + man, against whose character not a whisper was ever heard—of + connivance with such a charge against you,—a connivance that would + implicate him in the murder itself; for if you are accused wrongfully, he + who accuses you is either the criminal or the criminal’s accomplice, his + instigator or his tool.” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Stanton,” I said firmly, after a moment’s pause, “I do suspect Mr. + Margrave of a hand in this crime. Sir Philip, on seeing him at the mayor’s + house, expressed a strong abhorrence of him, more than hinted at crimes he + had committed, appointed me to come to Derval Court the day after that on + which the murder was committed. Sir Philip had known something of this + Margrave in the East; Margrave might dread exposure, revelations—of + what I know not; but, strange as it may seem to you, it is my conviction + that this young man, apparently so gay and so thoughtless, is the real + criminal, and in some way which I cannot conjecture has employed this + lying vagabond in the fabrication of a charge against myself. Reflect: of + Mr. Margrave’s antecedents we know nothing; of them nothing was known even + by the young gentleman who first introduced him to the society of this + town. If you would serve and save me, it is to that quarter that you will + direct your vigilant and unrelaxing researches.” + </p> + <p> + I had scarcely so said when I repented my candour, for I observed in the + face of Mr. Stanton a sudden revulsion of feeling, an utter incredulity of + the accusation I had thus hazarded, and for the first time a doubt of my + own innocence. The fascination exercised by Margrave was universal; nor + was it to be wondered at: for besides the charm of his joyous presence, he + seemed so singularly free from even the errors common enough with the + young,—so gay and boon a companion, yet a shunner of wine; so + dazzling in aspect, so more than beautiful, so courted, so idolized by + women, yet no tale of seduction, of profligacy, attached to his name! As + to his antecedents, he had so frankly owned himself a natural son, a + nobody, a traveller, an idler; his expenses, though lavish, were so + unostentatious, so regularly defrayed; he was so wholly the reverse of the + character assigned to criminals, that it seemed as absurd to bring a + charge of homicide against a butterfly or a goldfinch as against this + seemingly innocent and delightful favourite of humanity and nature. + </p> + <p> + However, Mr. Stanton said little or nothing, and shortly afterwards left + me, with a dry expression of hope that my innocence would be cleared in + spite of evidence that, he was bound to say, was of the most serious + character. + </p> + <p> + I was exhausted. I fell into a profound sleep early that night; it might + be a little after twelve when I woke, and woke as fully, as completely, as + much restored to life and consciousness, as it was then my habit to be at + the break of day. And so waking, I saw, on the wall opposite my bed, the + same luminous phantom I had seen in the wizard’s study at Derval Court. I + have read in Scandinavian legends of an apparition called the Scin-Laeca, + or shining corpse. It is supposed in the northern superstition, sometimes + to haunt sepulchres, sometimes to foretell doom. It is the spectre of a + human body seen in a phosphoric light; and so exactly did this phantom + correspond to the description of such an apparition in Scandinavian fable + that I knew not how to give it a better name than that of Scin-Laeca,—the + shining corpse. + </p> + <p> + There it was before me, corpse-like, yet not dead; there, as in the + haunted study of the wizard Forman!—the form and the face of + Margrave. Constitutionally, my nerves are strong, and my temper hardy, and + now I was resolved to battle against any impression which my senses might + receive from my own deluding fancies. Things that witnessed for the first + time daunt us witnessed for the second time lose their terror. I rose from + my bed with a bold aspect, I approached the phantom with a firm step; but + when within two paces of it, and my hand outstretched to touch it, my arm + became fixed in air, my feet locked to the ground. I did not experience + fear; I felt that my heart beat regularly, but an invincible something + opposed itself to me. I stood as if turned to stone. And then from the + lips of this phantom there came a voice, but a voice which seemed borne + from a great distance,—very low, muffled, and yet distinct; I could + not even be sure that my ear heard it, or whether the sound was not + conveyed to me by an inner sense. + </p> + <p> + “I, and I alone, can save and deliver you,” said the voice. “I will do so; + and the conditions I ask, in return, are simple and easy.” + </p> + <p> + “Fiend or spectre, or mere delusion of my own brain,” cried I, “there can + be no compact between thee and me. I despise thy malice, I reject thy + services; I accept no conditions to escape from the one or to obtain the + other.” + </p> + <p> + “You may give a different answer when I ask again.” + </p> + <p> + The Scin-Laeca slowly waned, and, fading first into a paler shadow, then + vanished. I rejoiced at the reply I had given. Two days elapsed before Mr. + Stanton again came to me; in the interval the Scin-Laeca did not reappear. + I had mustered all my courage, all my common-sense, noted down all the + weak points of the false evidence against me, and felt calm and supported + by the strength of my innocence. + </p> + <p> + The first few words of the solicitor dashed all my courage to the ground; + for I was anxious to hear news of Lilian, anxious to have some message + from her that might cheer and strengthen me, and my first question was + this,— + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Stanton, you are aware that I am engaged in marriage to Miss + Ashleigh. Your family are not unacquainted with her. What says, what + thinks she of this monstrous charge against her betrothed?” + </p> + <p> + “I was for two hours at Mrs. Ashleigh’s house last evening,” replied the + lawyer; “she was naturally anxious to see me as employed in your defence. + Who do you think was there? Who, eager to defend you, to express his + persuasion of your innocence, to declare his conviction that the real + criminal would be soon discovered,—who but that same Mr. Margrave; + whom, pardon me my frankness, you so rashly and groundlessly suspected.” + </p> + <p> + “Heavens! Do you say that he is received in that house; that he—he + is familiarly admitted to her presence?” + </p> + <p> + “My good sir, why these unjust prepossessions against a true friend? It + was as your friend that, as soon as the charge against you amazed and + shocked the town of L——, Mr. Margrave called on Mrs. Ashleigh, + presented to her by Miss Brabazon, and was so cheering and hopeful that—” + </p> + <p> + “Enough!” I exclaimed,—“enough!” + </p> + <p> + I paced the room in a state of excitement and rage, which the lawyer in + vain endeavoured to calm, until at length I halted abruptly: “Well, and + you saw Miss Ashleigh? What message does she send to me—her + betrothed?” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Stanton looked confused. “Message! Consider, sir, Miss Ashleigh’s + situation—the delicacy—and—and—” + </p> + <p> + “I understand, no message, no word, from a young lady so respectable to a + man accused of murder.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Stanton was silent for some moments, and then said quietly, “Let us + change this subject; let us think of what more immediately presses. I see + you have been making some notes: may I look at them?” + </p> + <p> + I composed myself and sat down. “This accuser! Have inquiries really been + made as to himself, and his statement of his own proceedings? He comes, he + says, from America: in what ship? At what port did he land? Is there any + evidence to corroborate his story of the relations he tried to discover; + of the inn at which he first put up, and to which he could not find his + way?” + </p> + <p> + “Your suggestions are sensible, Dr. Fenwick. I have forestalled them. It + is true that the man lodged at a small inn,—the Rising Sun; true + that he made inquiries about some relations of the name of Walls, who + formerly resided at L——, and afterwards removed to a village + ten miles distant,—two brothers, tradesmen of small means but + respectable character. He at first refused to say at what seaport he + landed, in what ship he sailed. I suspect that he has now told a falsehood + as to these matters. I sent my clerk to Southampton, for it is there he + said that he was put on shore; we shall see: the man himself is detained + in close custody. I hear that his manner is strange and excitable; but + that he preserves silence as much as possible. It is generally believed + that he is a bad character, perhaps a returned convict, and that this is + the true reason why he so long delayed giving evidence, and has been since + so reluctant to account for himself. But even if his testimony should be + impugned, should break down, still we should have to account for the fact + that the casket and the case-knife were found in your bureau; for, + granting that a person could, in your absence, have entered your study and + placed the articles in your bureau, it is clear that such a person must + have been well acquainted with your house, and this stranger to L—— + could not have possessed that knowledge.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course not. Mr. Margrave did possess it!” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Margrave again! oh, sir!” + </p> + <p> + I arose and moved away with an impatient gesture. I could not trust myself + to speak. That night I did not sleep; I watched impatiently, gazing on the + opposite wall for the gleam of the Scin-Laeca. But the night passed away, + and the spectre did not appear. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0041" id="link2HCH0041"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLI. + </h2> + <p> + The lawyer came the next day, and with something like a smile on his lips. + He brought me a few lines in pencil from Mrs. Ashleigh; they were kindly + expressed, bade me be of good cheer; “she never for a moment believed in + my guilt; Lilian bore up wonderfully under so terrible a trial; it was an + unspeakable comfort to both to receive the visits of a friend so attached + to me, and so confident of a triumphant refutation of the hideous calumny + under which I now suffered as Mr. Margrave!” + </p> + <p> + The lawyer had seen Margrave again,—seen him in that house. Margrave + seemed almost domiciled there! + </p> + <p> + I remained sullen and taciturn during this visit. I longed again for the + night. Night came. I heard the distant clock strike twelve, when again the + icy wind passed through my hair, and against the wall stood the luminous + Shadow. + </p> + <p> + “Have you considered?” whispered the voice, still as from afar. “I repeat + it,—I alone can save you.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it among the conditions which you ask, in return, that I shall resign + to you the woman I love?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it one of the conditions that I should commit some crime,—a + crime perhaps heinous as that of which I am accused?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “With such reservations, I accept the conditions you may name, provided I, + in my turn, may demand one condition from yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “Name it.” + </p> + <p> + “I ask you to quit this town. I ask you, meanwhile, to cease your visits + to the house that holds the woman betrothed to me.” + </p> + <p> + “I will cease those visits. And before many days are over, I will quit + this town.” + </p> + <p> + “Now, then, say what you ask from me. I am prepared to concede it. And not + from fear for myself, but because I fear for the pure and innocent being + who is under the spell of your deadly fascination. This is your power over + me. You command me through my love for another. Speak.” + </p> + <p> + “My conditions are simple. You will pledge yourself to desist from all + charges of insinuation against myself, of what nature soever. You will + not, when you meet me in the flesh, refer to what you have known of my + likeness in the Shadow. You will be invited to the house at which I may be + also a guest; you will come; you will meet and converse with me as guest + speaks with guest in the house of a host.” + </p> + <p> + “Is that all?” + </p> + <p> + “It is all.” + </p> + <p> + “Then I pledge you my faith; keep your own.” + </p> + <p> + “Fear not; sleep secure in the certainty that you will soon be released + from these walls.” + </p> + <p> + The Shadow waned and faded. Darkness settled back, and a sleep, profound + and calm, fell over me. + </p> + <p> + The next day Mr. Stanton again visited me. He had received that morning a + note from Mr. Margrave, stating that he had left L—— to + pursue, in person, an investigation which he had already commenced through + another, affecting the man who had given evidence against me, and that, if + his hope should prove well founded, he trusted to establish my innocence, + and convict the real murderer of Sir Philip Derval. In the research he + thus volunteered, he had asked for, and obtained, the assistance of the + policeman Waby, who, grateful to me for saving the life of his sister, had + expressed a strong desire to be employed in my service. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, my most cruel assailant was my old college friend, Richard + Strahan. For Jeeves had spread abroad Strahan’s charge of purloining the + memoir which had been entrusted to me; and that accusation had done me + great injury in public opinion, because it seemed to give probability to + the only motive which ingenuity could ascribe to the foul deed imputed to + me. That motive had been first suggested by Mr. Vigors. Cases are on + record of men whose life had been previously blameless, who have committed + a crime which seemed to belie their nature, in the monomania of some + intense desire. In Spain, a scholar reputed of austere morals murdered and + robbed a traveller for money in order to purchase books,—books + written, too, by Fathers of his Church! He was intent on solving some + problem of theological casuistry. In France, an antiquary, esteemed not + more for his learning than for amiable and gentle qualities, murdered his + most intimate friend for the possession of a medal, without which his own + collection was incomplete. These, and similar anecdotes, tending to prove + how fatally any vehement desire, morbidly cherished, may suspend the + normal operations of reason and conscience, were whispered about by Dr. + Lloyd’s vindictive partisan; and the inference drawn from them and applied + to the assumptions against myself was the more credulously received, + because of that over-refining speculation on motive and act which the + shallow accept, in their eagerness to show how readily they understand the + profound. + </p> + <p> + I was known to be fond of scientific, especially of chemical experiments; + to be eager in testing the truth of any novel invention. Strahan, catching + hold of the magistrate’s fantastic hypothesis, went about repeating + anecdotes of the absorbing passion for analysis and discovery which had + characterized me in youth as a medical student, and to which, indeed, I + owed the precocious reputation I had obtained. + </p> + <p> + Sir Philip Derval, according not only to report, but to the direct + testimony of his servant, had acquired in the course of his travels many + secrets in natural science, especially as connected with the healing art,—his + servant had deposed to the remarkable cures he had effected by the + medicinals stored in the stolen casket. Doubtless Sir Philip, in boasting + of these medicinals in the course of our conversation, had excited my + curiosity, inflamed my imagination; and thus when I afterwards suddenly + met him in a lone spot, a passionate impulse had acted on a brain heated + into madness by curiosity and covetous desire. + </p> + <p> + All these suppositions, reduced into system, were corroborated by + Strahan’s charge that I had made away with the manuscript supposed to + contain the explanations of the medical agencies employed by Sir Philip, + and had sought to shelter my theft by a tale so improbable, that a man of + my reputed talent could not have hazarded it if in his sound senses. I saw + the web that had thus been spread around me by hostile prepossessions and + ignorant gossip: how could the arts of Margrave scatter that web to the + winds? I knew not, but I felt confidence in his promise and his power. + Still, so great had been my alarm for Lilian, that the hope of clearing my + own innocence was almost lost in my joy that Margrave, at least, was no + longer in her presence, and that I had received his pledge to quit the + town in which she lived. + </p> + <p> + Thus, hours rolled on hours, till, I think, on the third day from that + night in which I had last beheld the mysterious Shadow, my door was + hastily thrown open, a confused crowd presented itself at the threshold,—the + governor of the prison, the police superintendent, Mr. Stanton, and other + familiar faces shut out from me since my imprisonment. I knew at the first + glance that I was no longer an outlaw beyond the pale of human friendship. + And proudly, sternly, as I had supported myself hitherto in solitude and + suspense, when I felt warm hands clasping mine, heard joyous voices + proffering congratulations, saw in the eyes of all that my innocence had + been cleared, the revulsion of emotion was too strong for me,—the + room reeled on my sight, I fainted. I pass, as quickly as I can, over the + explanations that crowded on me when I recovered, and that were publicly + given in evidence in court next morning. I had owed all to Margrave. It + seems that he had construed to my favour the very supposition which had + been bruited abroad to my prejudice. “For,” said he, “it is conjectured + that Fenwick committed the crime of which he is accused in the impulse of + a disordered reason. That conjecture is based upon the probability that a + madman alone could have committed a crime without adequate motive. But it + seems quite clear that the accused is not mad; and I see cause to suspect + that the accuser is.” Grounding this assumption on the current reports of + the witness’s manner and bearing since he had been placed under official + surveillance, Margrave had commissioned the policeman Waby to make + inquiries in the village to which the accuser asserted he had gone in + quest of his relations, and Waby had there found persons who remembered to + have heard that the two brothers named Walls lived less by the gains of + the petty shop which they kept than by the proceeds of some property + consigned to them as the nearest of kin to a lunatic who had once been + tried for his life. Margrave had then examined the advertisements in the + daily newspapers. One of them, warning the public against a dangerous + maniac, who had effected his escape from an asylum in the west of England, + caught his attention. To that asylum he had repaired. + </p> + <p> + There he learned that the patient advertised was one whose propensity was + homicide, consigned for life to the asylum on account of a murder, for + which he had been tried. The description of this person exactly tallied + with that of the pretended American. The medical superintendent of the + asylum, hearing all particulars from Margrave, expressed a strong + persuasion that the witness was his missing patient, and had himself + committed the crime of which he had accused another. If so, the + superintendent undertook to coax from him the full confession of all the + circumstances. Like many other madmen, and not least those whose + propensity is to crime, the fugitive maniac was exceedingly cunning, + treacherous, secret, and habituated to trick and stratagem,—more + subtle than even the astute in possession of all their faculties, whether + to achieve his purpose or to conceal it, and fabricate appearances against + another. But while, in ordinary conversation, he seemed rational enough to + those who were not accustomed to study him, he had one hallucination + which, when humoured, led him always, not only to betray himself, but to + glory in any crime proposed or committed. He was under the belief that he + had made a bargain with Satan, who, in return for implicit obedience, + would bear him harmless through all the consequences of such submission, + and finally raise him to great power and authority. It is no unfrequent + illusion of homicidal maniacs to suppose they are under the influence of + the Evil One, or possessed by a Demon. Murderers have assigned as the only + reason they themselves could give for their crime, that “the Devil got + into them,” and urged the deed. But the insane have, perhaps, no attribute + more in common than that of superweening self-esteem. The maniac who has + been removed from a garret sticks straws in his hair and calls them a + crown. So much does inordinate arrogance characterize mental aberration, + that, in the course of my own practice, I have detected, in that + infirmity, the certain symptom of insanity, long before the brain had made + its disease manifest even to the most familiar kindred. + </p> + <p> + Morbid self-esteem accordingly pervaded the dreadful illusion by which the + man I now speak of was possessed. He was proud to be the protected agent + of the Fallen Angel. And if that self-esteem were artfully appealed to, he + would exult superbly in the evil he held himself ordered to perform, as if + a special prerogative, an official rank and privilege; then, he would be + led on to boast gleefully of thoughts which the most cynical of criminals + in whom intelligence was not ruined would shrink from owning; then, he + would reveal himself in all his deformity with as complacent and frank a + self-glorying as some vain good man displays in parading his amiable + sentiments and his beneficent deeds. + </p> + <p> + “If,” said the superintendent, “this be the patient who has escaped from + me, and if his propensity to homicide has been, in some way, directed + towards the person who has been murdered, I shall not be with him a + quarter of an hour before he will inform me how it happened, and detail + the arts he employed in shifting his crime upon another; all will be told + as minutely as a child tells the tale of some school-boy exploit, in which + he counts on your sympathy, and feels sure of your applause.” + </p> + <p> + Margrave brought this gentleman back to L——, took him to the + mayor, who was one of my warmest supporters: the mayor had sufficient + influence to dictate and arrange the rest. The superintendent was + introduced to the room in which the pretended American was lodged. At his + own desire a select number of witnesses were admitted with him. Margrave + excused himself; he said candidly that he was too intimate a friend of + mine to be an impartial listener to aught that concerned me so nearly. + </p> + <p> + The superintendent proved right in his suspicions, and verified his + promises. My false accuser was his missing patient; the man recognized Dr. + —— with no apparent terror, rather with an air of + condescension, and in a very few minutes was led to tell his own tale, + with a gloating complacency both at the agency by which he deemed himself + exalted, and at the dexterous cunning with which he had acquitted himself + of the task, that increased the horror of his narrative. + </p> + <p> + He spoke of the mode of his escape, which was extremely ingenious, but of + which the details, long in themselves, did not interest me, and I + understood them too imperfectly to repeat. He had encountered a sea-faring + traveller on the road, whom he had knocked down with a stone, and robbed + of his glazed hat and pea-jacket, as well as of a small sum in coin, which + last enabled him to pay his fare in a railway that conveyed him eighty + miles away from the asylum. Some trifling remnant of this money still in + his pocket, he then travelled on foot along the high-road till he came to + a town about twenty miles distant from L——; there he had + stayed a day or two, and there he said “that the Devil had told him to buy + a case-knife, which he did.” “He knew by that order that the Devil meant + him to do something great.” “His Master,” as he called the fiend, then + directed him the road he should take. He came to L——, put up, + as he had correctly stated before, at a small inn, wandered at night about + the town, was surprised by the sudden storm, took shelter under the + convent arch, overheard somewhat more of my conversation with Sir Philip + than he had previously deposed,—heard enough to excite his curiosity + as to the casket: “While he listened his Master told him he must get + possession of that casket.” Sir Philip had quitted the archway almost + immediately after I had done so, and he would then have attacked him if he + had not caught sight of a policeman going his rounds. He had followed Sir + Philip to a house (Mr. Jeeves’s). “His Master told him to wait and watch.” + He did so. When Sir Philip came forth, towards the dawn, he followed him, + saw him enter a narrow street, came up to him, seized him by the arm, + demanded all he had about him. Sir Philip tried to shake him off,—struck + at him. What follows I spare the reader. The deed was done. He robbed the + dead man both of the casket and the purse that he found in the pockets; + had scarcely done so when he heard footsteps. He had just time to get + behind the portico of a detached house at angles with the street when I + came up. He witnessed, from his hiding-place, the brief conference between + myself and the policemen, and when they moved on, bearing the body, stole + unobserved away. He was going back towards the inn, when it occurred to + him that it would be safer if the casket and purse were not about his + person; that he asked his Master to direct him how to dispose of them: + that his Master guided him to an open yard (a stone-mason’s) at a very + little distance from the inn; that in this yard there stood an old + wych-elm tree, from the gnarled roots of which the earth was worn away, + leaving chinks and hollows, in one of which he placed the casket and + purse, taking from the latter only two sovereigns and some silver, and + then heaping loose mould over the hiding-place. That he then repaired to + his inn, and left it late in the morning, on the pretence of seeking for + his relations,—persons, indeed, who really had been related to him, + but of whose death years ago he was aware. He returned to L—— + a few days afterwards, and in the dead of the night went to take up the + casket and the money. He found the purse with its contents undisturbed; + but the lid of the casket was unclosed. From the hasty glance he had taken + of it before burying it, it had seemed to him firmly locked,—he was + alarmed lest some one had been to the spot. But his Master whispered to + him not to mind, told him that he might now take the casket, and would be + guided what to do with it; that he did so, and, opening the lid, found the + casket empty-; that he took the rest of the money out of the purse, but + that he did not take the purse itself, for it had a crest and initials on + it, which might lead to the discovery of what had been done; that he + therefore left it in the hollow amongst the roots, heaping the mould over + it as before; that in the course of the day he heard the people at the inn + talk of the murder, and that his own first impulse was to get out of the + town immediately, but that his Master “made him too wise for that,” and + bade him stay; that passing through the streets, he saw me come out of the + sash-window door, go to a stable-yard on the other side of the house, + mount on horseback and ride away; that he observed the sash-door was left + partially open; that he walked by it and saw the room empty; there was + only a dead wall opposite; the place was solitary, unobserved; that his + Master directed him to lift up the sash gently, enter the room, and + deposit the knife and the casket in a large walnut-tree bureau which stood + unlocked near the window. All that followed—his visit to Mr. Vigors, + his accusation against myself, his whole tale—was, he said, dictated + by his Master, who was highly pleased with him, and promised to bring him + safely through. And here he turned round with a hideous smile, as if for + approbation of his notable cleverness and respect for his high employ. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Jeeves had the curiosity to request the keeper to inquire how, in what + form, or in what manner, the Fiend appeared to the narrator, or conveyed + his infernal dictates. The man at first refused to say; but it was + gradually drawn from him that the Demon had no certain and invariable + form: sometimes it appeared to him in the form of a rat; sometimes even of + a leaf, or a fragment of wood, or a rusty nail; but that his Master’s + voice always came to him distinctly, whatever shape he appeared in; only, + he said, with an air of great importance, his Master, this time, had + graciously condescended, ever since he left the asylum, to communicate + with him in a much more pleasing and imposing aspect than he had ever done + before,—in the form of a beautiful youth, or, rather, like a bright + rose-coloured shadow, in which the features of a young man were visible, + and that he had heard the voice more distinctly than usual, though in a + milder tone, and seeming to come to him from a great distance. + </p> + <p> + After these revelations the man became suddenly disturbed. He shook from + limb to limb, he seemed convulsed with terror; he cried out that he had + betrayed the secret of his Master, who had warned him not to describe his + appearance and mode of communication, or he would surrender his servant to + the tormentors. Then the maniac’s terror gave way to fury; his more + direful propensity made itself declared; he sprang into the midst of his + frightened listeners, seized Mr. Vigors by the throat, and would have + strangled him but for the prompt rush of the superintendent and his + satellites. Foaming at the mouth, and horribly raving, he was then + manacled, a strait-waistcoat thrust upon him, and the group so left him in + charge of his captors. Inquiries were immediately directed towards such + circumstantial evidence as might corroborate the details he had so + minutely set forth. The purse, recognized as Sir Philip’s, by the valet of + the deceased, was found buried under the wych-elm. A policeman despatched, + express, to the town in which the maniac declared the knife to have been + purchased, brought back word that a cutler in the place remembered + perfectly to have sold such a knife to a seafaring man, and identified the + instrument when it was shown to him. From the chink of a door ajar, in the + wall opposite my sash-window, a maid-servant, watching for her sweetheart + (a journeyman carpenter, who habitually passed that way on going home to + dine), had, though unobserved by the murderer, seen him come out of my + window at a time that corresponded with the dates of his own story, though + she had thought nothing of it at the moment. He might be a patient, or + have called on business; she did not know that I was from home. The only + point of importance not cleared up was that which related to the opening + of the casket,—the disappearance of the contents; the lock had been + unquestionably forced. No one, however, could suppose that some third + person had discovered the hiding-place and forced open the casket to + abstract its contents and then rebury it. The only probable supposition + was that the man himself had forced it open, and, deeming the contents of + no value, had thrown them away before he had hidden the casket and purse, + and, in the chaos of his reason, had forgotten that he had so done. Who + could expect that every link in a madman’s tale would be found integral + and perfect? In short, little importance was attached to this solitary + doubt. Crowds accompanied me to my door, when I was set free, in open + court, stainless; it was a triumphal procession. The popularity I had + previously enjoyed, superseded for a moment by so horrible a charge, came + back to me tenfold as with the reaction of generous repentance for a + momentary doubt. One man shared the public favour,—the young man + whose acuteness had delivered me from the peril, and cleared the truth + from so awful a mystery; but Margrave had escaped from congratulation and + compliment; he had gone on a visit to Strahan, at Derval Court. + </p> + <p> + Alone, at last, in the welcome sanctuary of my own home, what were my + thoughts? Prominent amongst them all was that assertion of the madman, + which had made me shudder when repeated to me: he had been guided to the + murder and to all the subsequent proceedings by the luminous shadow of the + beautiful youth,—the Scin-Laeca to which I had pledged myself. If + Sir Philip Derval could be believed, Margrave was possessed of powers, + derived from fragmentary recollections of a knowledge acquired in a former + state of being, which would render his remorseless intelligence infinitely + dire and frustrate the endeavours of a reason, unassisted by similar + powers, to thwart his designs or bring the law against his crimes. Had he + then the arts that could thus influence the minds of others to serve his + fell purposes, and achieve securely his own evil ends through agencies + that could not be traced home to himself? + </p> + <p> + But for what conceivable purpose had I been subjected as a victim to + influences as much beyond my control as the Fate or Demoniac Necessity of + a Greek Myth? In the legends of the classic world some august sufferer is + oppressed by powers more than mortal, but with an ethical if gloomy + vindication of his chastisement,—he pays the penalty of crime + committed by his ancestors or himself, or he has braved, by arrogating + equality with the gods, the mysterious calamity which the gods alone can + inflict. But I, no descendant of Pelops, no OEdipus boastful of a wisdom + which could interpret the enigmas of the Sphynx, while ignorant even of + his own birth—what had I done to be singled out from the herd of men + for trials and visitations from the Shadowland of ghosts and sorcerers? It + would be ludicrously absurd to suppose that Dr. Lloyd’s dying imprecation + could have had a prophetic effect upon my destiny; to believe that the + pretences of mesmerizers were specially favoured by Providence, and that + to question their assumptions was an offence of profanation to be punished + by exposure to preternatural agencies. There was not even that congruity + between cause and effect which fable seeks in excuse for its inventions. + Of all men living, I, unimaginative disciple of austere science, should be + the last to become the sport of that witchcraft which even imagination + reluctantly allows to the machinery of poets, and science casts aside into + the mouldy lumber-room of obsolete superstition. + </p> + <p> + Rousing my mind from enigmas impossible to solve, it was with intense and + yet most melancholy satisfaction that I turned to the image of Lilian, + rejoicing, though with a thrill of awe, that the promise so mysteriously + conveyed to my senses had, hereto, been already fulfilled,—Margrave + had left the town; Lilian was no longer subjected to his evil fascination. + But an instinct told me that that fascination had already produced an + effect adverse to all hope of happiness for me. Lilian’s love for myself + was gone. Impossible otherwise that she—in whose nature I had always + admired that generous devotion which is more or less inseparable from the + romance of youth—should have never conveyed to me one word of + consolation in the hour of my agony and trial; that she, who, till the + last evening we had met, had ever been so docile, in the sweetness of a + nature femininely submissive to my slightest wish, should have disregarded + my solemn injunction, and admitted Margrave to acquaintance, nay, to + familiar intimacy,—at the very time, too, when to disobey my + injunctions was to embitter my ordeal, and add her own contempt to the + degradation imposed upon my honour! No, her heart must be wholly gone from + me; her very nature wholly warped. A union between us had become + impossible. My love for her remained unshattered; the more tender, + perhaps, for a sentiment of compassion. But my pride was shocked, my heart + was wounded. My love was not mean and servile. Enough for me to think that + she would be at least saved from Margrave. Her life associated with his!—contemplation + horrible and ghastly!—from that fate she was saved. Later, she would + recover the effect of an influence happily so brief. She might form some + new attachment, some new tie; but love once withdrawn is never to be + restored—and her love was withdrawn from me. I had but to release + her, with my own lips, from our engagement,—she would welcome that + release. Mournful but firm in these thoughts and these resolutions, I + sought Mrs. Ashleigh’s house. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0042" id="link2HCH0042"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLII. + </h2> + <p> + It was twilight when I entered, unannounced (as had been my wont in our + familiar intercourse), the quiet sitting-room in which I expected to find + mother and child. But Lilian was there alone, seated by the open window, + her hands crossed and drooping on her knee, her eye fixed upon the + darkening summer skies, in which the evening star had just stolen forth, + bright and steadfast, near the pale sickle of a half-moon that was dimly + visible, but gave as yet no light. + </p> + <p> + Let any lover imagine the reception he would expect to meet from his + betrothed coming into her presence after he had passed triumphant through + a terrible peril to life and fame—and conceive what ice froze my + blood, what anguish weighed down my heart, when Lilian, turning towards + me, rose not, spoke not, gazed at me heedlessly as if at some indifferent + stranger—and—and—But no matter. I cannot bear to recall + it even now, at the distance of years! I sat down beside her, and took her + hand, without pressing it; it rested languidly, passively in mine, one + moment; I dropped it then, with a bitter sigh. + </p> + <p> + “Lilian,” I said quietly, “you love me no longer. Is it not so?” + </p> + <p> + She raised her eyes to mine, looked at me wistfully, and pressed her hand + on her forehead; then said, in a strange voice, “Did I ever love you? What + do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “Lilian, Lilian, rouse yourself; are you not, while you speak, under some + spell, some influence which you cannot describe nor account for?” + </p> + <p> + She paused a moment before she answered, calmly, “No! Again I ask what do + you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “What do I mean? Do you forget that we are betrothed? Do you forget how + often, and how recently, our vows of affection and constancy have been + exchanged?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I do not forget; but I must have deceived you and myself—” + </p> + <p> + “It is true, then, that you love me no more?” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose so.” + </p> + <p> + “But, oh, Lilian, is it that your heart is only closed to me; or is it—oh, + answer truthfully—is it given to another,—to him—to him—against + whom I warned you, whom I implored you not to receive? Tell me, at least, + that your love is not gone to Margrave—” + </p> + <p> + “To him! love to him! Oh, no—no—” + </p> + <p> + “What, then, is your feeling towards him?” + </p> + <p> + Lilian’s face grew visibly paler, even in that dim light. “I know not,” + she said, almost in a whisper; “but it is partly awe—partly—” + </p> + <p> + “What?” + </p> + <p> + “Abhorrence!” she said almost fiercely, and rose to her feet, with a wild + defying start. + </p> + <p> + “If that be so,” I said gently, “you would not grieve were you never again + to see him—” + </p> + <p> + “But I shall see him again,” she murmured in a tone of weary sadness, and + sank back once more into her chair. + </p> + <p> + “I think not,” said I, “and I hope not. And now hear me and heed me, + Lilian. It is enough for me, no matter what your feelings towards another, + to learn from yourself that the affection you once professed for me is + gone. I release you from your troth. If folks ask why we two henceforth + separate the lives we had agreed to join, you may say, if you please, that + you could not give your hand to a man who had known the taint of a felon’s + prison, even on a false charge. If that seems to you an ungenerous reason, + we will leave it to your mother to find a better. Farewell! For your own + sake I can yet feel happiness,—happiness to hear that you do not + love the man against whom I warn you still more solemnly than before! Will + you not give me your hand in parting—and have I not spoken your own + wish?” + </p> + <p> + She turned away her face, and resigned her hand to me in silence. Silently + I held it in mine, and my emotions nearly stifled me. One symptom of + regret, of reluctance, on her part, and I should have fallen at her feet, + and cried, “Do not let us break a tie which our vows should have made + indisoluble; heed not my offers, wrung from a tortured heart! You cannot + have ceased to love me!” But no such symptom of relenting showed itself in + her, and with a groan I left the room. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0043" id="link2HCH0043"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLIII. + </h2> + <p> + I was just outside the garden door, when I felt an arm thrown round me, my + cheek kissed and wetted with tears. Could it be Lilian? Alas, no! It was + her mother’s voice, that, between laughing and crying, exclaimed + hysterically: “This is joy, to see you again, and on these thresholds. I + have just come from your house; I went there on purpose to congratulate + you, and to talk to you about Lilian. But you have seen her?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; I have but this moment left her. Come this way.” I drew Mrs. + Ashleigh back into the garden, along the old winding walk, which the + shrubs concealed from view of the house. We sat down on a rustic seat + where I had often sat with Lilian, midway between the house and the Monks’ + Well. I told the mother what had passed between me and her daughter; I + made no complaint of Lilian’s coldness and change; I did not hint at its + cause. “Girls of her age will change,” said I, “and all that now remains + is for us two to agree on such a tale to our curious neighbours as may + rest the whole blame on me. Man’s name is of robust fibre; it could not + push its way to a place in the world, if it could not bear, without + sinking, the load idle tongues may lay on it. Not so Woman’s Name: what is + but gossip against Man, is scandal against Woman.” + </p> + <p> + “Do not be rash, my dear Allen,” said Mrs. Ashleigh, in great distress. “I + feel for you, I understand you; in your case I might act as you do. I + cannot blame you. Lilian is changed,—changed unaccountably. Yet sure + I am that the change is only on the surface, that her heart is really + yours, as entirely and as faithfully as ever it was; and that later, when + she recovers from the strange, dreamy kind of torpor which appears to have + come over all her faculties and all her affections, she would awake with a + despair which you cannot conjecture to the knowledge that you had + renounced her.” + </p> + <p> + “I have not renounced her,” said I, impatiently; “I did but restore her + freedom of choice. But pass by this now, and explain to me more fully the + change in your daughter, which I gather from your words is not confined to + me.” + </p> + <p> + “I wished to speak of it before you saw her, and for that reason came to + your house. It was on the morning in which we left her aunt’s to return + hither that I first noticed some thing peculiar in her look and manner. + She seemed absorbed and absent, so much so that I asked her several times + to tell me what made her so grave; but I could only get from her that she + had had a confused dream which she could not recall distinctly enough to + relate, but that she was sure it boded evil. During the journey she became + gradually more herself, and began to look forward with delight to the idea + of seeing you again. Well, you came that evening. What passed between you + and her you know best. You complained that she slighted your request to + shun all acquaintance with Mr. Margrave. I was surprised that, whether + your wish were reasonable or not, she could have hesitated to comply with + it. I spoke to her about it after you had gone, and she wept bitterly at + thinking she had displeased you.” + </p> + <p> + “She wept! You amaze me. Yet the next day what a note she returned to + mine!” + </p> + <p> + “The next day the change in her became very visible to me. She told me, in + an excited manner, that she was convinced she ought not to marry you. Then + came, the following day, the news of your committal. I heard of it, but + dared not break it to her. I went to our friend the mayor, to consult with + him what to say, what to do; and to learn more distinctly than I had done + from terrified, incoherent servants, the rights of so dreadful a story. + When I returned, I found, to my amazement, a young stranger in the + drawing-room; it was Mr. Margrave,—Miss Brabazon had brought him at + his request. Lilian was in the room, too, and my astonishment was + increased, when she said to me with a singular smile, vague but tranquil: + ‘I know all about Allen Fenwick; Mr. Margrave has told me all. He is a + friend of Allen’s. He says there is no cause for fear.’ Mr. Margrave then + apologized to me for his intrusion in a caressing, kindly manner, as if + one of the family. He said he was so intimate with you that he felt that + he could best break to Miss Ashleigh information she might receive + elsewhere, for that he was the only man in the town who treated the charge + with ridicule. You know the wonderful charm of this young man’s manner. I + cannot explain to you how it was, but in a few moments I was as much at + home with him as if he had been your brother. To be brief, having once + come, he came constantly. He had moved, two days before you went to Derval + Court, from his hotel to apartments in Mr. ——‘s house, just + opposite. We could see him on his balcony from our terrace; he would smile + to us and come across. I did wrong in slighting your injunction, and + suffering Lilian to do so. I could not help it, he was such a comfort to + me,—to her, too—in her tribulation. He alone had no doleful + words, wore no long face; he alone was invariably cheerful. ‘Everything,’ + he said, ‘would come right in a day or two.’” + </p> + <p> + “And Lilian could not but admire this young man, he is so beautiful.” + </p> + <p> + “Beautiful? Well, perhaps. But if you have a jealous feeling, you were + never more mistaken. Lilian, I am convinced, does more than dislike him; + he has inspired her with repugnance, with terror. And much as I own I like + him, in his wild, joyous, careless, harmless way, do not think I flatter + you if I say that Mr. Margrave is not the man to make any girl untrue to + you,—untrue to a lover with infinitely less advantages than you may + pretend to. He would be a universal favourite, I grant; but there is + something in him, or a something wanting in him, which makes liking and + admiration stop short of love. I know not why; perhaps, because, with all + his good humour, he is so absorbed in himself, so intensely egotistical, + so light; were he less clever, I should say so frivolous. He could not + make love, he could not say in the serious tone of a man in earnest, ‘I + love you.’ He owned as much to me, and owned, too, that he knew not even + what love was. As to myself, Mr. Margrave appears rich; no whisper against + his character or his honour ever reached me. Yet were you out of the + question, and were there no stain on his birth, nay, were he as high in + rank and wealth as he is favoured by Nature in personal advantages, I + confess I could never consent to trust him with my daughter’s fate. A + voice at my heart would cry, ‘No!’ It may be an unreasonable prejudice, + but I could not bear to see him touch Lilian’s hand!” + </p> + <p> + “Did she never, then—never suffer him even to take her hand?” + </p> + <p> + “Never. Do not think so meanly of her as to suppose that she could be + caught by a fair face, a graceful manner. Reflect: just before she had + refused, for your sake, Ashleigh Sumner, whom Lady Haughton said ‘no girl + in her senses could refuse;’ and this change in Lilian really began before + we returned to L——,—before she had even seen Mr. + Margrave. I am convinced it is something in the reach of your skill as + physician,—it is on the nerves, the system. I will give you a proof + of what I say, only do not betray me to her. It was during your + imprisonment, the night before your release, that I was awakened by her + coming to my bedside. She was sobbing as if her heart would break. ‘O + mother, mother!’ she cried, ‘pity me, help me! I am so wretched.’ ‘What is + the matter, darling?’ ‘I have been so cruel to Allen, and I know I shall + be so again. I cannot help it. Do not question me; only if we are + separated, if he cast me off, or I reject him, tell him some day perhaps + when I am in my grave—not to believe appearances; and that I, in my + heart of hearts, never ceased to love him!’” + </p> + <p> + “She said that! You are not deceiving me?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no! how can you think so?” + </p> + <p> + “There is hope still,” I murmured; and I bowed my head upon my hands, hot + tears forcing their way through the clasped fingers. + </p> + <p> + “One word more,” said I; “you tell me that Lilian has a repugnance to this + Margrave, and yet that she found comfort in his visits,—a comfort + that could not be wholly ascribed to cheering words he might say about + myself, since it is all but certain that I was not, at that time, + uppermost in her mind. Can you explain this apparent contradiction?” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot, otherwise than by a conjecture which you would ridicule.” + </p> + <p> + “I can ridicule nothing now. What is your conjecture?” + </p> + <p> + “I know how much you disbelieve in the stories one hears of animal + magnetism and electro-biology, otherwise—” + </p> + <p> + “You think that Margrave exercises some power of that kind over Lilian? + Has he spoken of such a power?” + </p> + <p> + “Not exactly; but he said that he was sure Lilian possessed a faculty that + he called by some hard name, not clairvoyance, but a faculty, which he + said, when I asked him to explain, was akin to prevision,—to second + sight. Then he talked of the Priestesses who had administered the ancient + oracles. Lilian, he said, reminded him of them, with her deep eyes and + mysterious smile.” + </p> + <p> + “And Lilian heard him? What said she?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing; she seemed in fear while she listened.” + </p> + <p> + “He did not offer to try any of those arts practised by professional + mesmerists and other charlatans?” + </p> + <p> + “I thought he was about to do so, but I forestalled him, saying I never + would consent to any experiment of that kind, either on myself or my + daughter.” + </p> + <p> + “And he replied—” + </p> + <p> + “With his gay laugh, ‘that I was very foolish; that a person possessed of + such a faculty as he attributed to Lilian would, if the faculty were + developed, be an invaluable adviser.’ He would have said more, but I + begged him to desist. Still I fancy at times—do not be angry—that + he does somehow or other bewitch her, unconsciously to herself; for she + always knows when he is coming. Indeed, I am not sure that he does not + bewitch myself, for I by no means justify my conduct in admitting him to + an intimacy so familiar, and in spite of your wish; I have reproached + myself, resolved to shut my door on him, or to show by my manner that his + visits were unwelcome; yet when Lilian has said, in the drowsy lethargic + tone which has come into her voice (her voice naturally earnest and + impressive, though always low), ‘Mother, he will be here in two minutes; I + wish to leave the room and cannot,’ I, too, have felt as if something + constrained me against my will; as if, in short, I were under that + influence which Mr. Vigors—whom I will never forgive for his conduct + to you—would ascribe to mesmerism. But will you not come in and see + Lilian again?” + </p> + <p> + “No, not to-night; but watch and heed her, and if you see aught to make + you honestly believe that she regrets the rupture of the old tic from + which I have released her—why, you know, Mrs. Ashleigh, that—that—” + My voice failed; I wrung the good woman’s hand, and went my way. + </p> + <p> + I had always till then considered Mrs. Ashleigh—if not as Mrs. + Poyntz described her—“commonplace weak”—still of an + intelligence somewhat below mediocrity. I now regarded her with respect as + well as grateful tenderness; her plain sense had divined what all my + boasted knowledge had failed to detect in my earlier intimacy with + Margrave,—namely, that in him there was a something present, or a + something wanting, which forbade love and excited fear. Young, beautiful, + wealthy, seemingly blameless in life as he was, she would not have given + her daughter’s hand to him! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0044" id="link2HCH0044"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLIV. + </h2> + <p> + The next day my house was filled with visitors. I had no notion that I had + so many friends. Mr. Vigors wrote me a generous and handsome letter, + owning his prejudices against me on account of his sympathy with poor Dr. + Lloyd, and begging my pardon for what he now felt to have been harshness, + if not distorted justice. But what most moved me was the entrance of + Strahan, who rushed up to me with the heartiness of old college days. “Oh, + my dear Allen, can you ever forgive me; that I should have disbelieved + your word,—should have suspected you of abstracting my poor cousin’s + memoir?” + </p> + <p> + “Is it found, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes; you must thank Margrave. He, clever fellow, you know, came to me + on a visit yesterday. He put me at once on the right scent. Only guess; + but you never can! It was that wretched old housekeeper who purloined the + manuscript. You remember she came into the room while you were looking at + the memoir. She heard us talk about it; her curiosity was roused; she + longed to know the history of her old master, under his own hand; she + could not sleep; she heard me go up to bed; she thought you might leave + the book on the table when you, too, went to rest. She stole downstairs, + peeped through the keyhole of the library, saw you asleep, the book lying + before you, entered, took away the book softly, meant to glance at its + contents and to return it. You were sleeping so soundly she thought you + would not wake for an hour; she carried it into the library, leaving the + door open, and there began to pore over it. She stumbled first on one of + the passages in Latin; she hoped to find some part in plain English, + turned over the leaves, putting her candle close to them, for the old + woman’s eyes were dim, when she heard you make some sound in your sleep. + Alarmed, she looked round; you were moving uneasily in your seat, and + muttering to yourself. From watching you she was soon diverted by the + consequences of her own confounded curiosity and folly. In moving, she had + unconsciously brought the poor manuscript close to the candle; the leaves + caught the flame; her own cap and hand burning first made her aware of the + mischief done. She threw down the book; her sleeve was in flames; she had + first to tear off the sleeve, which was, luckily for her, not sewn to her + dress. By the time she recovered presence of mind to attend to the book, + half its leaves were reduced to tinder. She did not dare then to replace + what was left of the manuscript on your table; returned with it to her + room, hid it, and resolved to keep her own secret. I should never have + guessed it; I had never even spoken to her of the occurrence; but when I + talked over the disappearance of the book to Margrave last night, and + expressed my disbelief of your story, he said, in his merry way: ‘But do + you think that Fenwick is the only person curious about your cousin’s odd + ways and strange history? Why, every servant in the household would have + been equally curious. You have examined your servants, of course?’ ‘No, I + never thought of it.’ ‘Examine them now, then. Examine especially that old + housekeeper. I observe a great change in her manner since I came here, + weeks ago, to look over the house. She has something on her mind,—I + see it in her eyes.’ Then it occurred to me, too, that the woman’s manner + had altered, and that she seemed always in a tremble and a fidget. I went + at once to her room, and charged her with stealing the book. She fell on + her knees, and told the whole story as I have told it to you, and as I + shall take care to tell it to all to whom I have so foolishly blabbed my + yet more foolish suspicions of yourself. But can you forgive me, old + friend?” + </p> + <p> + “Heartily, heartily! And the book is burned?” + </p> + <p> + “See;” and he produced a mutilated manuscript. Strange, the part burned—reduced, + indeed, to tinder—was the concluding part that related to Haroun,—to + Grayle: no vestige of that part was left; the earlier portions were + scorched and mutilated, though in some places still decipherable; but as + my eye hastily ran over those places, I saw only mangled sentences of the + experimental problems which the writer had so minutely elaborated. + </p> + <p> + “Will you keep the manuscript as it is, and as long as you like?” said + Strahan. + </p> + <p> + “No, no; I will have nothing more to do with it. Consult some other man of + science. And so this is the old woman’s whole story? No accomplice,—none? + No one else shared her curiosity and her task?” + </p> + <p> + “No. Oddly enough, though, she made much the same excuse for her pitiful + folly that the madman made for his terrible crime; she said, ‘the Devil + put it into her head.’ Of course he did, as he puts everything wrong into + any one’s head. That does not mend the matter.” + </p> + <p> + “How! did she, too, say she saw a Shadow and heard a voice?” + </p> + <p> + “No; not such a liar as that, and not mad enough for such a lie. But she + said that when she was in bed, thinking over the book, something + irresistible urged her to get up and go down into the study; swore she + felt something lead her by the hand; swore, too, that when she first + discovered the manuscript was not in English, something whispered in her + ear to turn over the leaves and approach them to the candle. But I had no + patience to listen to all this rubbish. I sent her out of the house, bag + and baggage. But, alas! is this to be the end of all my wise cousin’s + grand discoveries?” + </p> + <p> + True, of labours that aspired to bring into the chart of science new + worlds, of which even the traditionary rumour was but a voice from the + land of fable—nought left but broken vestiges of a daring footstep! + The hope of a name imperishable amidst the loftiest hierarchy of Nature’s + secret temple, with all the pomp of recorded experiment, that applied to + the mysteries of Egypt and Chaldaea the inductions of Bacon, the tests of + Liebig—was there nothing left of this but what, here and there, some + puzzled student might extract, garbled, mutilated, perhaps unintelligible, + from shreds of sentences, wrecks of problems! O mind of man, can the + works, on which thou wouldst found immortality below, be annulled into + smoke and tinder by an inch of candle in the hand of an old woman! + </p> + <p> + When Strahan left me, I went out, but not yet to visit patients. I stole + through by-paths into the fields; I needed solitude to bring my thoughts + into shape and order. What was delusion, and what not? Was I right or the + Public? Was Margrave really the most innocent and serviceable of human + beings, kindly affectionate, employing a wonderful acuteness for benignant + ends? Was I, in truth, indebted to him for the greatest boon one man can + bestow on another,—for life rescued, for fair name justified? Or had + he, by some demoniac sorcery, guided the hand of the murderer against the + life of the person who alone could imperil his own? Had he, by the same + dark spells, urged the woman to the act that had destroyed the only record + of his monstrous being,—the only evidence that I was not the sport + of an illusion in the horror with which he inspired me? + </p> + <p> + But if the latter supposition could be admissible, did he use his agents + only to betray them afterwards to exposure, and that, without any possible + clew to his own detection as the instigator? Then, there came over me + confused recollections of tales of mediaeval witchcraft, which I had read + in boyhood. Were there not on judicial record attestation and evidence, + solemn and circumstantial, of powers analogous to those now exercised by + Margrave,—of sorcerers instigating to sin through influences + ascribed to Demons; making their apparitions glide through guarded walls, + their voices heard from afar in the solitude of dungeons or monastic + cells; subjugating victims to their will, by means which no vigilance + could have detected, if the victims themselves had not confessed the + witchcraft that had ensnared, courting a sure and infamous death in that + confession, preferring such death to a life so haunted? Were stories so + gravely set forth in the pomp of judicial evidence, and in the history of + times comparatively recent, indeed to be massed, pell-mell together, as a + moles indigesta of senseless superstition,—all the witnesses to be + deemed liars; all the victims and tools of the sorcerers, lunatics; all + the examiners or judges, with their solemn gradations—lay and + clerical—from Commissions of Inquiry to Courts of Appeal,—to + be despised for credulity, loathed for cruelty; or, amidst records so + numerous, so imposingly attested, were there the fragments of a terrible + truth? And had our ancestors been so unwise in those laws we now deem so + savage, by which the world was rid of scourges more awful and more potent + than the felon with his candid dagger? Fell instigators of the evil in + men’s secret hearts, shaping into action the vague, half-formed desire, + and guiding with agencies impalpable, unseen, their spell-bound + instruments of calamity and death. + </p> + <p> + Such were the gloomy questions that I—by repute, the sternest + advocate of common-sense against fantastic errors; by profession, the + searcher into flesh and blood, and tissue and nerve and sinew, for the + causes of all that disease the mechanism of the universal human frame; I, + self-boasting physician, sceptic, philosopher, materialist—revolved, + not amidst gloomy pines, under grim winter skies, but as I paced slow + through laughing meadows, and by the banks of merry streams, in the + ripeness of the golden August: the hum of insects in the fragrant grass, + the flutter of birds amid the delicate green of boughs checkered by + playful sunbeams and gentle shadows, and ever in sight of the resorts of + busy workday man,—walls, roof-tops, church-spires rising high; + there, white and modern, the handwriting of our race, in this practical + nineteenth century, on its square plain masonry and Doric shafts, the + Town-Hall, central in the animated marketplace. And I—I—prying + into long-neglected corners and dust-holes of memory for what my reason + had flung there as worthless rubbish; reviving the jargon of French law, + in the proces verbal, against a Gille de Retz, or an Urbain Grandier, and + sifting the equity of sentences on witchcraft! + </p> + <p> + Bursting the links of this ghastly soliloquy with a laugh at my own folly, + I struck into a narrow path that led back towards the city, by a quiet and + rural suburb; the path wound on through a wide and solitary churchyard, at + the base of the Abbey-hill. Many of the former dwellers on that eminence + now slept in the lowly burial-ground at its foot; and the place, + mournfully decorated with the tombs which still jealously mark + distinctions of rank amidst the levelling democracy of the grave, was kept + trim with the care which comes half from piety, and half from pride. + </p> + <p> + I seated myself on a bench, placed between the clipped yew-trees that + bordered the path from the entrance to the church porch, deeming vaguely + that my own perplexing thoughts might imbibe a quiet from the quiet of the + place. + </p> + <p> + “And oh,” I murmured to myself, “oh that I had one bosom friend to whom I + might freely confide all these torturing riddles which I cannot solve,—one + who could read my heart, light up its darkness, exorcise its spectres; one + in whose wisdom I could welcome a guide through the Nature which now + suddenly changes her aspect, opening out from the walls with which I had + fenced and enclosed her as mine own formal garden;—all her pathways, + therein, trimmed to my footstep; all her blooms grouped and harmonized to + my own taste in colour; all her groves, all her caverns, but the soothing + retreats of a Muse or a Science; opening out—opening out, desert on + desert, into clewless and measureless space! Gone is the garden! Were its + confines too narrow for Nature? Be it so! The Desert replaces the garden, + but where ends the Desert? Reft from my senses are the laws which gave + order and place to their old questionless realm. I stand lost and appalled + amidst Chaos. Did my Mind misconstrue the laws it deemed fixed and + immutable? Be it so! But still Nature cannot be lawless; Creation is not a + Chaos. If my senses deceive me in some things, they are still unerring in + others; if thus, in some things, fallacious, still, in other things, + truthful. Are there within me senses finer than those I have cultured, or + without me vistas of knowledge which instincts, apart from my senses, + divine? So long as I deal with the Finite alone, my senses suffice me; but + when the Infinite is obtruded upon me there, are my senses faithless + deserters? If so, is there aught else in my royal resources of Man—whose + ambition it is, from the first dawn of his glory as Thinker, to invade and + to subjugate Nature,—is there aught else to supply the place of + those traitors, the senses, who report to my Reason, their judge and their + sovereign, as truths seen and heard tales which my Reason forfeits her + sceptre if she does not disdain as lies? Oh, for a friend! oh, for a + guide!” + </p> + <p> + And as I so murmured, my eye fell upon the form of a kneeling child,—at + the farther end of the burial-ground, beside a grave with its new + headstone gleaming white amidst the older moss-grown tombs, a female + child, her head bowed, her hands clasped. I could see but the outline of + her small form in its sable dress,—an infant beside the dead. My eye + and my thoughts were turned from that silent figure, too absorbed in my + own restless tumult of doubt and dread, for sympathy with the grief or the + consolation of a kneeling child. And yet I should have remembered that + tomb! Again I murmured with a fierce impatience, “Oh, for a friend! oh, + for a guide!” + </p> + <p> + I heard steps on the walk under the yews; and an old man came in sight, + slightly bent, with long gray hair, but still with enough of vigour for + years to come, in his tread, firm, though slow, in the unshrunken muscle + of his limbs and the steady light of his clear blue eye. I started. Was it + possible? That countenance, marked, indeed, with the lines of laborious + thought, but sweet in the mildness of humanity, and serene in the peace of + conscience! I could not be mistaken. Julius Faber was before me,—the + profound pathologist, to whom my own proud self-esteem acknowledged + inferiority, without humiliation; the generous benefactor to whom I owed + my own smooth entrance into the arduous road of fame and fortune. I had + longed for a friend, a guide; what I sought stood suddenly at my side. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0045" id="link2HCH0045"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLV. + </h2> + <p> + Explanation on Faber’s part was short and simple. The nephew whom he + designed as the heir to his wealth had largely outstripped the liberal + allowance made to him, had incurred heavy debts; and in order to extricate + himself from the debts, had plunged into ruinous speculations. Faber had + come back to England to save his heir from prison or outlawry, at the + expense of more than three-fourths of the destined inheritance. To add to + all, the young man had married a young lady without fortune; the uncle + only heard of this marriage on arriving in England. The spendthrift was + hiding from his creditors in the house of his father-in-law, in one of the + western counties. Faber there sought him; and on becoming acquainted with + his wife, grew reconciled to the marriage, and formed hopes of his + nephew’s future redemption. He spoke, indeed, of the young wife with great + affection. She was good and sensible; willing and anxious to encounter any + privation by which her husband might reprieve the effects of his folly. + “So,” said Faber, “on consultation with this excellent creature—for + my poor nephew is so broken down by repentance, that others must think for + him how to exalt repentance into reform—my plans were determined. I + shall remove my prodigal from all scenes of temptation. He has youth, + strength, plenty of energy, hitherto misdirected. I shall take him from + the Old World into the New. I have decided on Australia. The fortune still + left to me, small here, will be ample capital there. It is not enough to + maintain us separately, so we must all live together. Besides, I feel + that, though I have neither the strength or the experience which could + best serve a young settler on a strange soil, still, under my eye, my poor + boy will be at once more prudent and more persevering. We sail next week.” + </p> + <p> + Faber spoke so cheerfully that I knew not how to express compassion; yet, + at his age, after a career of such prolonged and distinguished labour, to + resign the ease and comforts of the civilized state for the hardships and + rudeness of an infant colony, seemed to me a dreary prospect; and, as + delicately, as tenderly as I could to one whom I loved and honoured as a + father, I placed at his disposal the fortune which, in great part, I owed + to him,—pressing him at least to take from it enough to secure to + himself, in his own country, a home suited to his years and worthy of his + station. He rejected all my offers, however earnestly urged on him, with + his usual modest and gentle dignity; and assuring me that he looked + forward with great interest to a residence in lands new to his experience, + and affording ample scope for the hardy enjoyments which had always most + allured his tastes, he hastened to change the subject. + </p> + <p> + “And who, think you, is the admirable helpmate my scape-grace has had the + saving good luck to find? A daughter of the worthy man who undertook the + care of poor Dr. Lloyd’s orphans,—the orphans who owed so much to + your generous exertions to secure a provision for them; and that child, + now just risen from her father’s grave, is my pet companion, my darling + ewe lamb,—Dr. Lloyd’s daughter Amy.” + </p> + <p> + Here the child joined us, quickening her pace as she recognized the old + man, and nestling to his side as she glanced wistfully towards myself. A + winning, candid, lovable child’s face, somewhat melancholy, somewhat more + thoughtful than is common to the face of childhood, but calm, intelligent, + and ineffably mild. Presently she stole from the old man, and put her hand + in mine. + </p> + <p> + “Are you not the kind gentleman who came to see him that night when he + passed away from us, and who, they all say at home, was so good to my + brothers and me? Yes, I recollect you now.” And she put her pure face to + mine, wooing me to kiss it. + </p> + <p> + I kind! I good! I—I! Alas! she little knew, little guessed, the + wrathful imprecation her father had bequeathed to me that fatal night! + </p> + <p> + I did not dare to kiss Dr. Lloyd’s orphan daughter, but my tears fell over + her hand. She took them as signs of pity, and, in her infant thankfulness, + silently kissed me. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, my friend!” I murmured to Faber, “I have much that I yearn to say to + you—alone—alone! Come to my house with me, be at least my + guest as long as you stay in this town.” + </p> + <p> + “Willingly,” said Faber, looking at me more intently than he had done + before, and with the true eye of the practised Healer, at once soft and + penetrating. + </p> + <p> + He rose, took my arm, and whispering a word in the ear of the little girl, + she went on before us, turning her head, as she gained the gate, for + another look at her father’s grave. As we walked to my house, Julius Faber + spoke to me much of this child. Her brothers were all at school; she was + greatly attached to his nephew’s wife; she had become yet more attached to + Faber himself, though on so short an acquaintance; it had been settled + that she was to accompany the emigrants to Australia. + </p> + <p> + “There,” said he, “the sum, that some munificent, but unknown friend of + her father has settled on her, will provide her no mean dower for a + colonist’s wife, when the time comes for her to bring a blessing to some + other hearth than ours.” He went on to say that she had wished to + accompany him to L——, in order to visit her father’s grave + before crossing the wide seas; “and she has taken such fond care of me all + the way, that you might fancy I were the child of the two. I come back to + this town, partly to dispose of a few poor houses in it which still belong + to me, principally to bid you farewell before quitting the Old World, no + doubt forever. So, on arriving to-day, I left Amy by herself in the + churchyard while I went to your house, but you were from home. And now I + must congratulate you on the reputation you have so rapidly acquired, + which has even surpassed my predictions.” + </p> + <p> + “You are aware,” said I, falteringly, “of the extraordinary charge from + which that part of my reputation dearest to all men has just emerged!” + </p> + <p> + He had but seen a short account in a weekly journal, written after my + release. He asked details, which I postponed. + </p> + <p> + Reaching my home, I hastened to provide for the comfort of my two + unexpected guests; strove to rally myself, to be cheerful. Not till night, + when Julius Faber and I were alone together, did I touch on what was + weighing at my heart. Then, drawing to his side, I told him all,—all + of which the substance is herein written, from the deathscene in Dr. + Lloyd’s chamber to the hour in which I had seen Dr. Lloyd’s child at her + father’s grave. Some of the incidents and conversations which had most + impressed me I had already committed to writing, in the fear that, + otherwise, my fancy might forge for its own thraldom the links of + reminiscence which my memory might let fall from its chain. Faber listened + with a silence only interrupted by short pertinent questions; and when I + had done, he remained thoughtful for some moments; then the great + physician replied thus:— + </p> + <p> + “I take for granted your conviction of the reality of all you tell me, + even of the Luminous Shadow, of the bodiless Voice; but, before admitting + the reality itself, we must abide by the old maxim, not to accept as cause + to effect those agencies which belong to the Marvellous, when causes less + improbable for the effect can be rationally conjectured. In this case are + there not such causes? Certainly there are—” + </p> + <p> + “There are?” + </p> + <p> + “Listen; you are one of those men who attempt to stifle their own + imagination. But in all completed intellect, imagination exists, and will + force its way; deny it healthful vents, and it may stray into morbid + channels. The death-room of Dr. Lloyd deeply impressed your heart, far + more than your pride would own. This is clear from the pains you took to + exonerate your conscience, in your generosity to the orphans. As the heart + was moved, so was the imagination stirred; and, unaware to yourself, + prepared for much that subsequently appealed to it. Your sudden love, + conceived in the very grounds of the house so associated with + recollections in themselves strange and romantic; the peculiar temperament + and nature of the girl to whom your love was attracted; her own visionary + beliefs, and the keen anxiety which infused into your love a deeper poetry + of sentiment,—all insensibly tended to induce the imagination to + dwell on the Wonderful; and, in overstriving to reconcile each rarer + phenomenon to the most positive laws of Nature, your very intellect could + discover no solution but in the Preternatural. + </p> + <p> + “You visit a man who tells you he has seen Sir Philip Derval’s ghost; on + that very evening, you hear a strange story, in which Sir Philip’s name is + mixed up with a tale of murder, implicating two mysterious pretenders to + magic,—Louis Grayle and the Sage of Aleppo. The tale so interests + your fancy that even the glaring impossibility of a not unimportant part + of it escapes your notice,—namely, the account of a criminal trial + in which the circumstantial evidence was more easily attainable than in + all the rest of the narrative, but which could not legally have taken + place as told. Thus it is whenever the mind begins, unconsciously, to + admit the shadow of the Supernatural; the Obvious is lost to the eye that + plunges its gaze into the Obscure. Almost immediately afterwards you + become acquainted with a young stranger, whose traits of character + interest and perplex, attract yet revolt you. All this time you are + engaged in a physiological work which severely tasks the brain, and in + which you examine the intricate question of soul distinct from mind. + </p> + <p> + “And, here, I can conceive a cause deep-hid amongst what metaphysicians + would call latent associations, for a train of thought which disposed you + to accept the fantastic impressions afterwards made on you by the scene in + the Museum and the visionary talk of Sir Philip Derval. Doubtless, when at + college you first studied metaphysical speculation you would have glanced + over Beattie’s ‘Essay on Truth’ as one of the works written in opposition + to your favourite, David Hume.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I read the book, but I have long since forgotten its arguments.” + </p> + <p> + “Well in that essay, Beattie(1) cites the extraordinary instance of Simon + Browne, a learned and pious clergyman, who seriously disbelieved the + existence of his own soul; and imagined that, by interposition of Divine + power, his soul was annulled, and nothing left but a principle of animal + life, which he held in common with the brutes! When, years ago, a + thoughtful imaginative student, you came on that story, probably enough + you would have paused, revolved in your own mind and fancy what kind of a + creature a man might be, if, retaining human life and merely human + understanding, he was deprived of the powers and properties which + reasoners have ascribed to the existence of soul. Something in this young + man, unconsciously to yourself, revives that forgotten train of meditative + ideas. His dread of death as the final cessation of being, his brute-like + want of sympathy with his kind, his incapacity to comprehend the motives + which carry man on to scheme and to build for a future that extends beyond + his grave,—all start up before you at the very moment your reason is + overtasked, your imagination fevered, in seeking the solution of problems + which, to a philosophy based upon your system, must always remain + insoluble. The young man’s conversation not only thus excites your + fancies,—it disturbs your affections. He speaks not only of drugs + that renew youth, but of charms that secure love. You tremble for your + Lilian while you hear him! And the brain thus tasked, the imagination thus + inflamed, the heart thus agitated, you are presented to Sir Philip Derval, + whose ghost your patient had supposed he saw weeks ago. + </p> + <p> + “This person, a seeker after an occult philosophy, which had possibly + acquainted him with some secrets in nature beyond the pale of our + conventional experience, though, when analyzed, they might prove to be + quite reconcilable with sober science, startles you with an undefined + mysterious charge against the young man who had previously seemed to you + different from ordinary mortals. In a room stored with the dead things of + the brute soulless world, your brain becomes intoxicated with the fumes of + some vapour which produces effects not uncommon in the superstitious + practices of the East; your brain, thus excited, brings distinctly before + you the vague impressions it had before received. Margrave becomes + identified with the Louis Grayle of whom you had previously heard an + obscure and, legendary tale, and all the anomalies in his character are + explained by his being that which you had contended, in your physiological + work, it was quite possible for man to be,—namely, mind and body + without soul! You were startled by the monster which man would be were + your own theory possible; and in order to reconcile the contradictions in + this very monster, you account for knowledge, and for powers that mind + without soul could not have attained, by ascribing to this prodigy broken + memories of a former existence, demon attributes from former proficiency + in evil magic. My friend, there is nothing here which your own study of + morbid idiosyncracies should not suffice to solve.” + </p> + <p> + “So, then,” said I, “you would reduce all that have affected my senses as + realities into the deceit of illusions? But,” I added, in a whisper, + terrified by my own question, “do not physiologists agree in this: namely, + that though illusory phantasms may haunt the sane as well as the insane, + the sane know that they are only illusions, and the insane do not.” + </p> + <p> + “Such a distinction,” answered Faber, “is far too arbitrary and rigid for + more than a very general and qualified acceptance. Muller, indeed, who is + perhaps the highest authority on such a subject, says, with prudent + reserve, ‘When a person who is not insane sees spectres and believes, them + to be real, his intellect must be imperfectly exercised.‘(2) He would, + indeed, be a bold physician who maintained that every man who believed he + had really seen a ghost was of unsound mind. In Dr. Abercrombie’s + interesting account of spectral illusions, he tells us of a servant-girl + who believed she saw, at the foot of her bed, the apparition of Curran, in + a sailor’s jacket and an immense pair of whiskers.(3) No doubt the spectre + was an illusion, and Dr. Abercrombie very ingeniously suggests the + association of ideas by which the apparition was conjured up with the + grotesque adjuncts of the jacket and the whiskers; but the servant-girl, + in believing the reality of the apparition, was certainly not insane. When + I read in the American public journals(4) of ‘spirit manifestations,’ in + which large numbers of persons, of at least the average degree of + education, declare that they have actually witnessed various phantasms, + much more extraordinary than all which you have confided to me, and + arrive, at once, at the conclusion that they are thus put into direct + communication with departed souls, I must assume that they are under an + illusion; but I should be utterly unwarranted in supposing that, because + they credited that illusion, they were insane. I should only say with + Muller, that in their reasoning on the phenomena presented to them, ‘their + intellect was imperfectly exercised.’ And an impression made on the + senses, being in itself sufficiently rare to excite our wonder, may be + strengthened till it takes the form of a positive fact, by various + coincidences which are accepted as corroborative testimony, yet which are, + nevertheless, nothing more than coincidences found in every day matters of + business, but only emphatically noticed when we can exclaim, ‘How + astonishing!’ In your case such coincidences have been, indeed, very + signal, and might well aggravate the perplexities into which your reason + was thrown. Sir Philip Derval’s murder, the missing casket, the exciting + nature of the manuscript, in which a superstitious interest is already + enlisted by your expectation to find in it the key to the narrator’s + boasted powers, and his reasons for the astounding denunciation of the man + whom you suspect to be his murderer,—in all this there is much to + confirm, nay, to cause, an illusion; and for that very reason, when + examined by strict laws of evidence, in all this there is but additional + proof that the illusion was—only illusion. Your affections + contribute to strengthen your fancy in its war on your reason. The girl + you so passionately love develops, to your disquietude and terror, the + visionary temperament which, at her age, is ever liable to fantastic + caprices. She hears Margrave’s song, which you say has a wildness of charm + that affects and thrills even you. Who does not know the power of music? + and of all music, there is none so potential as that of the human voice. + Thus, in some languages, charm and song are identical expressions; and + even when a critic, in our own sober newspapers, extols a Malibran or a + Grisi, you may be sure that he will call her ‘enchantress.’ Well, this + lady, your betrothed, in whom the nervous system is extremely + impressionable, hears a voice which, even to your ear, is strangely + melodious, and sees a form and face which, even to your eye, are endowed + with a singular character of beauty. Her fancy is impressed by what she + thus hears and sees; and impressed the more because, by a coincidence not + very uncommon, a face like that which she beholds has before been + presented to her in a dream or a revery. In the nobleness of genuine, + confiding, reverential love, rather than impute to your beloved a levity + of sentiment that would seem to you a treason, you accept the chimera of + ‘magical fascination.’ In this frame of mind you sit down to read the + memoir of a mystical enthusiast. Do you begin now to account for the + Luminous Shadow? A dream! And a dream no less because your eyes were open + and you believed yourself awake. The diseased imagination resembles those + mirrors which, being themselves distorted, represent distorted pictures as + correct. + </p> + <p> + “And even this Memoir of Sir Philip Derval’s—can you be quite sure + that you actually read the part which relates to Haroun and Louis Grayle? + You say that, while perusing the manuscript, you saw the Luminous Shadow, + and became insensible. The old woman says you were fast asleep. May you + not really have fallen into a slumber, and in that slumber have dreamed + the parts of the tale that relate to Grayle,—dreamed that you beheld + the Shadow? Do you remember what is said so well by Dr. Abercrombie, to + authorize the explanation I suggest to you: ‘A person under the influence + of some strong mental impression falls asleep for a few seconds, perhaps + without being sensible of it: some scene or person appears in a dream, and + he starts up under the conviction that it was a spectral appearance.’” (5) + </p> + <p> + “But,” said I, “the apparition was seen by me again, and when, certainly, + I was not sleeping.” + </p> + <p> + “True; and who should know better than a physician so well read as + yourself that a spectral illusion once beheld is always apt to return + again in the same form? Thus, Goethe was long haunted by one image,—the + phantom of a flower unfolding itself, and developing new flowers.(6) Thus, + one of our most distinguished philosophers tells us of a lady known to + himself, who would see her husband, hear him move and speak, when he was + not even in the house.(7) But instances of the facility with which + phantasms, once admitted, repeat themselves to the senses, are numberless. + Many are recorded by Hibbert and Abercrombie, and every physician in + extensive practice can add largely, from his own experience, to the list. + Intense self-concentration is, in itself, a mighty magician. The magicians + of the East inculcate the necessity of fast, solitude, and meditation for + the due development of their imaginary powers. And I have no doubt with + effect; because fast, solitude, and meditation—in other words, + thought or fancy intensely concentred—will both raise apparitions + and produce the invoker’s belief in them. Spinello, striving to conceive + the image of Lucifer for his picture of the Fallen Angels, was at last + actually haunted by the Shadow of the Fiend. Newton himself has been + subjected to a phantom, though to him, Son of Light, the spectre presented + was that of the sun! You remember the account that Newton gives to Locke + of this visionary appearance. He says that ‘though he had looked at the + sun with his right eye only, and not with the left, yet his fancy began to + make an impression upon his left eye as well as his right; for if he shut + his right and looked upon the clouds, or a book, or any bright object with + his left eye, he could see the sun almost as plain as with the right, if + he did but intend his fancy a little while on it;’ nay, ‘for some months + after, as often as he began to meditate on the phenomena, the spectrum of + the sun began to return, even though he lay in bed at midnight, with his + curtains drawn!’ Seeing, then, how any vivid impression once made will + recur, what wonder that you should behold in your prison the Shining + Shadow that had first startled you in a wizard’s chamber when poring over + the records of a murdered visionary? The more minutely you analyze your + own hallucinations—pardon me the word—the more they assume the + usual characteristics of a dream; contradictory, illogical, even in the + marvels they represent. Can any two persons be more totally unlike each + other, not merely as to form and years, but as to all the elements of + character, than the Grayle of whom you read, or believe you read, and the + Margrave in whom you evidently think that Grayle is existent still? The + one represented, you say, as gloomy, saturnine, with vehement passions, + but with an original grandeur of thought and will, consumed by an internal + remorse; the other you paint to me as a joyous and wayward darling of + Nature, acute yet frivolous, free from even the ordinary passions of + youth, taking delight in innocent amusements, incapable of continuous + study, without a single pang of repentance for the crimes you so + fancifully impute to him. And now, when your suspicions, so romantically + conceived, are dispelled by positive facts, now, when it is clear that + Margrave neither murdered Sir Philip Derval nor abstracted the memoir, you + still, unconsciously to yourself, draw on your imagination in order to + excuse the suspicion your pride of intellect declines to banish, and + suppose that this youthful sorcerer tempted the madman to the murder, the + woman to the theft—” + </p> + <p> + “But you forget the madman said ‘that he was led on by the Luminous Shadow + of a beautiful youth,’ that the woman said also that she was impelled by + some mysterious agency.” + </p> + <p> + “I do not forget those coincidences; but how your learning would dismiss + them as nugatory were your imagination not disposed to exaggerate them! + When you read the authentic histories of any popular illusion, such as the + spurious inspirations of the Jansenist Convulsionaries, the apparitions + that invaded convents, as deposed in the trial of Urbain Grandier, the + confessions of witches and wizards in places the most remote from each + other, or, at this day, the tales of ‘spirit-manifestation’ recorded in + half the towns and villages of America,—do not all the superstitious + impressions of a particular time have a common family likeness? What one + sees, another sees, though there has been no communication between the + two. I cannot tell you why these phantasms thus partake of the nature of + an atmospheric epidemic; the fact remains incontestable. And strange as + may be the coincidence between your impressions of a mystic agency and + those of some other brains not cognizant of the chimeras of your own, + still, is it not simpler philosophy to say, ‘They are coincidences of the + same nature which made witches in the same epoch all tell much the same + story of the broomsticks they rode and the sabbats at which they danced to + the fiend’s piping,’ and there leave the matter, as in science we must + leave many of the most elementary and familiar phenomena inexplicable as + to their causes,—is not this, I say, more philosophical than to + insist upon an explanation which accepts the supernatural rather than + leave the extraordinary unaccounted for?” + </p> + <p> + “As you speak,” said I, resting my downcast face upon my hand, “I should + speak to any patient who had confided to me the tale I have told to you.” + </p> + <p> + “And yet the explanation does not wholly satisfy you? Very likely: to some + phenomena there is, as yet, no explanation. Perhaps Newton himself could + not explain quite to his own satisfaction why he was haunted at midnight + by the spectrum of a sun; though I have no doubt that some later + philosopher whose ingenuity has been stimulated by Newton’s account, has, + by this time, suggested a rational solution of that enigma.(8) To return + to your own case. I have offered such interpretations of the mysteries + that confound you as appear to me authorized by physiological science. + Should you adduce other facts which physiological science wants the data + to resolve into phenomena always natural, however rare, still hold fast to + that simple saying of Goethe: ‘Mysteries are not necessarily miracles.’ + And if all which physiological science comprehends in its experience + wholly fails us, I may then hazard certain conjectures in which, by + acknowledging ignorance, one is compelled to recognize the Marvellous (for + as where knowledge enters, the Marvellous recedes, so where knowledge + falters, the Marvellous advances); yet still, even in those conjectures, I + will distinguish the Marvellous from the Supernatural. But, for the + present, I advise you to accept the guess that may best quiet the fevered + imagination which any bolder guess would only more excite.” + </p> + <p> + “You are right,” said I, rising proudly to the full height of my stature, + my head erect and my heart defying. “And so let this subject be renewed no + more between us. I will brood over it no more myself. I regain the + unclouded realm of my human intelligence; and, in that intelligence, I + mock the sorcerer and disdain the spectre.” + </p> + <p> + (1) Beattie’s “Essay on Truth,” part i. c. ii. 3. The story of Simon + Browne is to be found in “The Adventurer.” + </p> + <p> + (2) Miller’s Physiology of the Senses, p. 394. + </p> + <p> + (3) Abercrombie on the Intellectual Powers, p. 281. (15th edition.) + </p> + <p> + (4) At the date of Faber’s conversation with Allen Fenwick, the + (so-called) spirit manifestations had not spread from America over Europe. + But if they had, Faber’s views would, no doubt, have remained the same. + </p> + <p> + (5) Abercrombie on the Intellectual Powers, p. 278. (15th edition.) + </p> + <p> + This author, not more to be admired for his intelligence than his candour, + and who is entitled to praise for a higher degree of original thought than + that to which he modestly pretends, relates a curious anecdote + illustrating “the analogy between dreaming and spectral illusion, which he + received from the gentleman to which it occurred,—an eminent medical + friend:” “Having sat up late one evening, under considerable anxiety for + one of his children, who was ill, he fell asleep in his chair, and had a + frightful dream, in which the prominent figure was an immense baboon. He + awoke with the fright, got up instantly, and walked to a table which was + in the middle of the room. He was then quite awake, and quite conscious of + the articles around him; but close by the wall in the end of the apartment + he distinctly saw the baboon making the same grimaces which he had seen in + his dreams; and this spectre continued visible for about half a minute.” + Now, a man who saw only a baboon would be quite ready to admit that it was + but an optical illusion; but if, instead of a baboon, he had seen an + intimate friend, and that friend, by some coincidence of time, had died + about that date, he would be a very strong-minded man if he admitted for + the mystery of seeing his friend the same natural solution which he would + readily admit for seeing a baboon. + </p> + <p> + (6) See Muller’s observations on this phenomenon, “Physiology of the + Senses,” Baley’s translation, p. 1395. + </p> + <p> + (7) Sir David Brewster’s Letters on Natural Magic, p. 39. + </p> + <p> + (8) Newton’s explanation is as follows: “This story I tell you to let you + understand, that in the observation related by Mr. Boyle, the man’s fancy + probably concurred with the impression made by the sun’s light to produce + that phantasm of the sun which he constantly saw in bright objects, and so + your question about the cause of this phantasm involves another about the + power of the fancy, which I must confess is too hard a knot for me to + untie. To place this effect in a constant motion is hard, because the sun + ought then to appear perpetually. It seems rather to consist in a + disposition of the sensorium to move the imagination strongly, and to be + easily moved both by the imagination and by the light as often as bright + objects are looked upon.”—Letter from Sir I. Newton to Locke, Lord + Kinq’s Life of Locke, vol. i. pp. 405-408. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Roget (Animal and Vegetable Physiology considered with reference to + Natural Theology, “Bridgewater Treatise,” pp. 524, 525) thus refers to + this phenomenon, which he states “all of us may experience “:— + </p> + <p> + “When the impressions are very vivid” (Dr. Roget is speaking of visual + impressions), “another phenomenon often takes place,—namely, their + <i>subsequent recurrence after a certain interval, during which they are + not felt, and quite independently of any renewed application of the cause + which had originally excited them.”</i> (I mark by italics the words which + more precisely coincide with Julius Faber’s explanations.) “If, for + example, we look steadfastly at the sun for a second or two, and then + immediately close our eyes, the image, or spectrum, of the sun remains for + a long time present to the mind, as if the light were still acting on the + retina. It then gradually fades and disappears; but if we continue to keep + the eyes shut, the same impression will, after a certain time, recur, and + again vanish: and this phenomenon will be repeated at intervals, the + sensation becoming fainter at each renewal. It is probable that these + reappearances of the image, after the light which produced the original + impression has been withdrawn, are occasioned by spontaneous affections of + the retina itself which are conveyed to the sensorium. In other cases, + where the impressions are less strong, the physical changes producing + these changes are perhaps confined to the sensorium.” + </p> + <p> + It may be said that there is this difference between the spectrum of the + sun and such a phantom as that which perplexed Allen Fenwick,—namely, + that the sun has been actually beheld before its visionary appearance can + be reproduced, and that Allen Fenwick only imagines he has seen the + apparition which repeats itself to his fancy. “But there are grounds for + the suspicion” (says Dr. Hibbert, “Philosophy of Apparitions,” p. 250), + “that when ideas of vision are vivified to the height of sensation, a + corresponding affection of the optic nerve accompanies the illusion.” + Muller (“Physiology of the Senses,” p. 1392, Baley’s translation) states + the same opinion still more strongly; and Sir David Brewster, quoted by + Dr. Hibbert (p. 251) says: “In examining these mental impressions, I have + found that they follow the motions of the eyeball exactly like the + spectral impressions of luminous objects, and that they resemble them also + in their apparent immobility when the eye is displaced by an external + force. If this result (which I state with much diffidence, from having + only my own experience in its favour) shall be found generally true by + others, it will follow that the objects of mental contemplation may be + seen as distinctly as external objects, and will occupy the same local + position in the axis of vision, as if they had been formed by the agency + of light.” Hence the impression of an image once conveyed to the senses, + no matter how, whether by actual or illusory vision, is liable to renewal, + “independently of any renewed application of the cause which had + originally excited it,” and the image can be seen in that renewal “as + distinctly as external objects,” for indeed “the revival of the fantastic + figure really does affect those points of the retina which had been + previously impressed.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0046" id="link2HCH0046"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLVI. + </h2> + <p> + Julius Faber and Amy Lloyd stayed in my house three days, I and in their + presence I felt a healthful sense of security and peace. Amy wished to + visit her father’s house, and I asked Faber, in taking her there, to seize + the occasion to see Lilian, that he might communicate to me his impression + of a case so peculiar. I prepared Mrs. Ashleigh for this visit by a + previous note. When the old man and the child came back, both brought me + comfort. Amy was charmed with Lilian, who had received her with the + sweetness natural to her real character, and I loved to hear Lilian’s + praise from those innocent lips. + </p> + <p> + Faber’s report was still more calculated to console me. + </p> + <p> + “I have seen, I have conversed with her long and familiarly. You were + quite right,—there is no tendency to consumption in that exquisite, + if delicate, organization; nor do I see cause for the fear to which your + statement had pre-inclined me. That head is too nobly formed for any + constitutional cerebral infirmity. In its organization, ideality, wonder, + veneration, are large, it is true, but they are balanced by other organs, + now perhaps almost dormant, but which will come into play as life passes + from romance into duty. Something at this moment evidently oppresses her + mind. In conversing with her, I observe abstraction, listlessness; but I + am so convinced of her truthfulness, that if she has once told you she + returned your affection, and pledged to you her faith, I should, in your + place, rest perfectly satisfied that whatever be the cloud that now rests + on her imagination, and for the time obscures the idea of yourself, it + will pass away.” + </p> + <p> + Faber was a believer in the main divisions of phrenology, though he did + not accept all the dogmas of Gall and Spurzheim; while, to my mind, the + refutation of phrenology in its fundamental propositions had been + triumphantly established by the lucid arguments of Sir W. Hamilton.(1) But + when Faber rested on phrenological observations assurances in honour of + Lilian, I forgot Sir W. Hamilton, and believed in phrenology. As iron + girders and pillars expand and contract with the mere variations of + temperature, so will the strongest conviction on which the human intellect + rests its judgment vary with the changes of the human heart; and the + building is only safe where these variations are foreseen and allowed for + by a wisdom intent on self-knowledge.(2) + </p> + <p> + There was much in the affection that had sprung up between Julius Faber + and Amy Lloyd which touched my heart and softened all its emotions. This + man, unblessed, like myself, by conjugal and parental ties, had, in his + solitary age, turned for solace to the love of a child, as I, in the pride + of manhood, had turned to the love of woman. But his love was without + fear, without jealousy, without trouble. My sunshine came to me in a + fitful ray, through clouds that had gathered over my noon; his sunshine + covered all his landscape, hallowed and hallowing by the calm of declining + day. + </p> + <p> + And Amy was no common child. She had no exuberant imagination; she was + haunted by no whispers from Afar; she was a creature fitted for the earth,—to + accept its duties and to gladden its cares. Her tender observation, fine + and tranquil, was alive to all the important household trifles by which, + at the earliest age, man’s allotted soother asserts her privilege to tend + and to comfort. It was pleasant to see her moving so noiselessly through + the rooms I had devoted to her venerable protector, knowing all his simple + wants, and providing for them as if by the mechanism of a heart + exquisitely moulded to the loving uses of life. Sometimes when I saw her + setting his chair by the window (knowing, as I did, how much he habitually + loved to be near the light) and smoothing his papers (in which he was apt + to be unmethodical), placing the mark in his book when he ceased to read, + divining, almost without his glance, some wish passing through his mind, + and then seating herself at his feet, often with her work—which was + always destined for him or for one of her absent brothers,—now and + then with the one small book that she had carried with her, a selection of + Bible stories compiled for children,—sometimes when I saw her thus, + how I wished that Lilian, too, could have seen her, and have compared her + own ideal fantasies with those young developments of the natural heavenly + Woman! + </p> + <p> + But was there nothing in that sight from which I, proud of my arid reason + even in its perplexities, might have taken lessons for myself? + </p> + <p> + On the second evening of Faber’s visit I brought to him the draft of deeds + for the sale of his property. He had never been a man of business out of + his profession; he was impatient to sell his property, and disposed to + accept an offer at half its value. I insisted on taking on myself the task + of negotiator; perhaps, too, in this office I was egotistically anxious to + prove to the great physician that which he believed to be my + “hallucination” had in no way obscured my commonsense in the daily + affairs of life. So I concluded, and in a few hours, terms for his + property that were only just, but were infinitely more advantageous than + had appeared to himself to be possible. But as I approached him with the + papers, he put his finger to his lips. Amy was standing by him with her + little book in her hand, and his own Bible lay open on the table. He was + reading to her from the Sacred Volume itself, and impressing on her the + force and beauty of one of the Parables, the adaptation of which had + perplexed her; when he had done, she kissed him, bade him goodnight, and + went away to rest. Then said Faber thoughtfully, and as if to himself more + than me,— + </p> + <p> + “What a lovely bridge between old age and childhood is religion! How + intuitively the child begins with prayer and worship on entering life, and + how intuitively on quitting life the old man turns back to prayer and + worship, putting himself again side by side with the infant!” + </p> + <p> + I made no answer, but, after a pause, spoke of fines and freeholds, + title-deeds and money; and when the business on hand was concluded, asked + my learned guest if, before he departed, he would deign to look over the + pages of my ambitious Physiological Work. There were parts of it on which + I much desired his opinion, touching on subjects in which his special + studies made him an authority as high as our land possessed. + </p> + <p> + He made me bring him the manuscript, and devoted much of that night and + the next day to its perusal. + </p> + <p> + When he gave it me back, which was not till the morning of his departure, + he commenced with eulogies on the scope of its design, and the manner of + its execution, which flattered my vanity so much that I could not help + exclaiming, “Then, at least, there is no trace of ‘hallucination’ here!” + </p> + <p> + “Alas, my poor Allen! here, perhaps, hallucination, or self-deception, is + more apparent than in all the strange tales you confided to me. For here + is the hallucination of the man seated on the shores of Nature, and who + would say to its measureless sea, ‘So far shalt thou go and no farther;’ + here is the hallucination of the creature, who, not content with exploring + the laws of the Creator, ends with submitting to his interpretation of + some three or four laws, in the midst of a code of which all the rest are + in a language unknown to him, the powers and free-will of the Lawgiver + Himself; here is the hallucination by which Nature is left Godless, + because Man is left soulless. What would matter all our speculations on a + Deity who would cease to exist for us when we are in the grave? Why mete + out, like Archytas, the earth and the sea, and number the sands on the + shore that divides them, if the end of this wisdom be a handful of dust + sprinkled over a skull! + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “‘Nec quidquam tibi prodest + Aerias tentasse dornos, animoque rotundum + Percurrisse polum naorituro.’ +</pre> + <p> + “Your book is a proof of the soul that you fail to discover. Without a + soul, no man would work for a Future that begins for his fame when the + breath is gone from his body. Do you remember how you saw that little + child praying at the grave of her father? Shall I tell you that in her + simple orisons she prayed for the benefactor,—who had cared for the + orphan; who had reared over dust that tomb which, in a Christian + burial-ground, is a mute but perceptible memorial of Christian hopes; that + the child prayed, haughty man, for you? And you sat by, knowing nought of + this; sat by, amongst the graves, troubled and tortured with ghastly + doubts, vain of a reason that was sceptical of eternity, and yet shaken + like a reed by a moment’s marvel. Shall I tell the child to pray for you + no more; that you disbelieve in a soul? If you do so, what is the efficacy + of prayer? Speak, shall I tell her this? Shall the infant pray for you + never more?” + </p> + <p> + I was silent; I was thrilled. + </p> + <p> + “Has it never occurred to you, who, in denying all innate perceptions as + well as ideas, have passed on to deductions from which poor Locke, humble + Christian that he was, would have shrunk in dismay,—has it never + occurred to you as a wonderful fact, that the easiest thing in the world + to teach a child is that which seems to metaphysical schoolmen the + abstrusest of all problems? Read all those philosophers wrangling about a + First Cause, deciding on what are miracles, and then again deciding that + such miracles cannot be; and when one has answered another, and left in + the crucible of wisdom a caput mortuum of ignorance, then turn your eyes, + and look at the infant praying to the invisible God at his mother’s knees. + This idea, so miraculously abstract, of a Power the infant has never seen, + that cannot be symbolled forth and explained to him by the most erudite + sage,—a Power, nevertheless, that watches over him, that hears him, + that sees him, that will carry him across the grave, that will enable him + to live on forever,—this double mystery of a Divinity and of a Soul, + the infant learns with the most facile readiness, at the first glimpse of + his reasoning faculty. Before you can teach him a rule in addition, before + you can venture to drill him into his horn-book, he leaps, with one + intuitive spring of all his ideas, to the comprehension of the truths + which are only incomprehensible to blundering sages! And you, as you stand + before me, dare not say, ‘Let the child pray for me no more!’ But will the + Creator accept the child’s prayer for the man who refuses prayer for + himself? Take my advice, pray! And in this counsel I do not overstep my + province. I speak not as a preacher, but as a physician. For health is a + word that comprehends our whole organization, and a just equilibrium of + all faculties and functions is the condition of health. As in your Lilian + the equilibrium is deranged by the over-indulgence of a spiritual + mysticism which withdraws from the nutriment of duty the essential pabulum + of sober sense, so in you the resolute negation of disciplined spiritual + communion between Thought and Divinity robs imagination of its noblest and + safest vent. Thus, from opposite extremes, you and your Lilian meet in the + same region of mist and cloud, losing sight of each other and of the true + ends of life, as her eyes only gaze on the stars and yours only bend to + the earth. Were I advising her, I should say: ‘Your Creator has placed the + scene of your trial below, and not in the stars.’ Advising you, I say: + ‘But in the trial below, man should recognize education for heaven.’ In a + word, I would draw somewhat more downward her fancy, raise somewhat more + upward your reason. Take my advice then,—Pray. Your mental system + needs the support of prayer in order to preserve its balance. In the + embarrassment and confusion of your senses, clearness of perception will + come with habitual and tranquil confidence in Him who alike rules the + universe and reads the heart. I only say here what has been said much + better before by a reasoner in whom all Students of Nature recognize a + guide. I see on your table the very volume of Bacon which contains the + passage I commend to your reflection. Here it is. Listen: ‘Take an example + of a dog, and mark what a generosity and courage he will put on when he + finds himself maintained by a man who, to him, is instead of a God, or + melior natura, which courage is manifestly such as that creature, without + that confidence of a better nature than his own, could never attain. So + man, when he resteth and assureth himself upon Divine protection and + favour, gathereth a force and faith which human nature could not + obtain.‘(3) You are silent, but your gesture tells me your doubt,—a + doubt which your heart, so femininely tender, will not speak aloud lest + you should rob the old man of a hope with which your strength of manhood + dispenses,—you doubt the efficacy of prayer! Pause and reflect, bold + but candid inquirer into the laws of that guide you call Nature. If there + were no efficacy in prayer; if prayer were as mere an illusion of + superstitious fantasy as aught against which your reason now struggles, do + you think that Nature herself would have made it amongst the most common + and facile of all her dictates? Do you believe that if there really did + not exist that tie between Man and his Maker—that link between life + here and life hereafter which is found in what we call Soul alone—that + wherever you look through the universe, you would behold a child at + Prayer? Nature inculcates nothing that is superfluous. Nature does not + impel the leviathan or the lion, the eagle or the moth, to pray; she + impels only man. Why? Because man only has soul, and Soul seeks to commune + with the Everlasting, as a fountain struggles up to its source. Burn your + book. It would found you a reputation for learning and intellect and + courage, I allow; but learning and intellect and courage wasted against a + truth, like spray against a rock! A truth valuable to the world, the world + will never part with. You will not injure the truth, but you will mislead + and may destroy many, whose best security is in the truth which you so + eruditely insinuate to be a fable. Soul and Hereafter are the heritage of + all men; the humblest, journeyman in those streets, the pettiest trader + behind those counters, have in those beliefs their prerogatives of + royalty. You would dethrone and embrute the lords of the earth by your + theories. For my part, having given the greater part of my life to the + study and analysis of facts, I would rather be the author of the tritest + homily, or the baldest poem, that inculcated that imperishable essence of + the soul to which I have neither scalpel nor probe, than be the founder of + the subtlest school, or the framer of the loftiest verse, that robbed my + fellow-men of their faith in a spirit that eludes the dissecting-knife,—in + a being that escapes the grave-digger. Burn your book! Accept This Book + instead; Read and Pray.” + </p> + <p> + He placed his Bible in my hand, embraced me, and, an hour afterwards, the + old man and the child left my hearth solitary once more. + </p> + <p> + (1) The summary of this distinguished lecturer’s objections to phrenology + is to be found in the Appendix to vol i. of “Lectures on Metaphysics,” p. + 404, et seq. Edition 1859. + </p> + <p> + (2) The change of length of iron girders caused by variation of + temperature has not unfrequently brought down the whole edifice into which + they were admitted. Good engineers and architects allow for such changes + produced by temperature. In the tubular bridge across the Menai Straits, a + self-acting record of the daily amount of its contraction and expansion is + ingeniously Contrived. + </p> + <p> + (3) Bacon’s “Essay on Atheism.” This quotation is made with admirable + felicity and force by Dr. Whewell, page 378 of Bridgewater Treatise on + Astronomy and General Physics considered with reference to Natural + Theology. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0047" id="link2HCH0047"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLVII. + </h2> + <p> + That night, as I sat in my study, very thoughtful and very mournful, I + resolved all that Julius Faber had said; and the impression his words had + produced became gradually weaker and weaker, as my reason, naturally + combative, rose up with all the replies which my philosophy suggested. No; + if my imagination had really seduced and betrayed me into monstrous + credulities, it was clear that the best remedy to such morbid tendencies + towards the Superstitious was in the severe exercise of the faculties most + opposed to Superstition,—in the culture of pure reasoning, in the + science of absolute fact. Accordingly, I placed before me the very book + which Julius Faber had advised me to burn; I forced all my powers of mind + to go again over the passages which contained the doctrines that his + admonition had censured; and before daybreak, I had stated the substance + of his argument, and the logical reply to it, in an elaborate addition to + my chapter on “Sentimental Philosophers.” While thus rejecting the purport + of his parting counsels, I embodied in another portion of my work his + views on my own “illusions;” and as here my commonsense was in concord + with his, I disposed of all my own previous doubts in an addition to my + favourite chapter “On the Cheats of the Imagination.” And when the pen + dropped from my hand, and the day-star gleamed through the window, my + heart escaped from the labour of my mind, and flew back to the image of + Lilian. The pride of the philosopher died out of me, the sorrow of the man + reigned supreme, and I shrank from the coming of the sun, despondent. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0048" id="link2HCH0048"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLVIII. + </h2> + <p> + Not till the law had completed its proceedings, and satisfied the public + mind as to the murder of Sir Philip Derval, were the remains of the + deceased consigned to the family mausoleum. The funeral was, as may be + supposed, strictly private, and when it was over, the excitement caused by + an event so tragical and singular subsided. New topics engaged the public + talk, and—in my presence, at least—the delicate consideration + due to one whose name had been so painfully mixed up in the dismal story + forbore a topic which I could not be expected to hear without distressful + emotion. Mrs. Ashleigh I saw frequently at my own house; she honestly + confessed that Lilian had not shown that grief at the cancelling of our + engagement which would alone justify Mrs. Ashleigh in asking me again to + see her daughter, and retract my conclusions against our union. She said + that Lilian was quiet, not uncheerful, never spoke of me nor of Margrave, + but seemed absent and pre-occupied as before, taking pleasure in nothing + that had been wont to please her; not in music, nor books, nor that + tranquil pastime which women call work, and in which they find excuse to + meditate, in idleness, their own fancies. She rarely stirred out, even in + the garden; when she did, her eyes seemed to avoid the house in which + Margrave had lodged, and her steps the old favourite haunt by the Monks’ + Well. She would remain silent for long hours together, but the silence did + not appear melancholy. For the rest, her health was more than usually + good. Still Mrs. Ashleigh persisted in her belief that, sooner or later, + Lilian would return to her former self, her former sentiments for me; and + she entreated me not, as yet, to let the world know that our engagement + was broken off. “For if,” she said, with good sense, “if it should prove + not to be broken off, only suspended, and afterwards happily renewed, + there will be two stories to tell when no story be needed. Besides, I + should dread the effect on Lilian, if offensive gossips babbled to her on + a matter that would excite so much curiosity as the rupture of a union in + which our neighbours have taken so general an interest.” + </p> + <p> + I had no reason to refuse acquiescence in Mrs. Ashleigh’s request, but I + did not share in her hopes; I felt that the fair prospects of my life were + blasted; I could never love another, never wed another; I resigned myself + to a solitary hearth, rejoiced, at least, that Margrave had not revisited + at Mrs. Ashleigh’s,—had not, indeed, reappeared in the town. He was + still staying with Strahan, who told me that his guest had ensconced + himself in Forman’s old study, and amused himself with reading—though + not for long at a time—the curious old books and manuscripts found + in the library, or climbing trees like a schoolboy, and familiarizing + himself with the deer and the cattle, which would group round him quite + tame, and feed from his hand. Was this the description of a criminal? But + if Sir Philip’s assertion were really true; if the criminal were man + without soul; if without soul, man would have no conscience, never be + troubled by repentance, and the vague dread of a future world,—why, + then, should not the criminal be gay despite his crimes, as the white bear + gambols as friskly after his meal on human flesh? These questions would + haunt me, despite my determination to accept as the right solution of all + marvels the construction put on my narrative by Julius Faber. + </p> + <p> + Days passed; I saw and heard nothing of Margrave. I began half to hope + that, in the desultory and rapid changes of mood and mind which + characterized his restless nature, he had forgotten my existence. + </p> + <p> + One morning I went out early on my rounds, when I met Straban + unexpectedly. + </p> + <p> + “I was in search of you,” he said, “for more than one person has told me + that you are looking ill and jaded. So you are! And the town now is hot + and unhealthy. You must come to Derval Court for a week or so. You can + ride into town every day to see your patients. Don’t refuse. Margrave, who + is still with me, sends all kind messages, and bade me say that he + entreats you to come to the house at which he also is a guest!” + </p> + <p> + I started. What had the Scin-Laeca required of me, and obtained to that + condition my promise? “If you are asked to the house at which I also am a + guest, you will come; you will meet and converse with me as guest speaks + to guest in the house of a host!” Was this one of the coincidences which + my reason was bound to accept as coincidences, and nothing more? Tut, tut! + Was I returning again to my “hallucinations”? Granting that Faber and + common-sense were in the right, what was this Margrave? A man to whose + friendship, acuteness, and energy I was under the deepest obligations,—to + whom I was indebted for active services that had saved my life from a + serious danger, acquitted my honour of a horrible suspicion. “I thank + you,” I said to Strahan, “I will come; not, indeed, for a week, but, at + all events, for a day or two.” + </p> + <p> + “That’s right; I will call for you in the carriage at six o’clock. You + will have done your day’s work by then?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; I will so arrange.” + </p> + <p> + On our way to Derval Court that evening, Strahan talked much about + Margrave, of whom, nevertheless, he seemed to be growing weary. + </p> + <p> + “His high spirits are too much for one,” said he; “and then so restless,—so + incapable of sustained quiet conversation. And, clever though he is, he + can’t help me in the least about the new house I shall build. He has no + notion of construction. I don’t think he could build a barn.” + </p> + <p> + “I thought you did not like to demolish the old house, and would content + yourself with pulling down the more ancient part of it?” + </p> + <p> + “True. At first it seemed a pity to destroy so handsome a mansion; but you + see, since poor Sir Philip’s manuscript, on which he set such store, has + been too mutilated, I fear, to allow me to effect his wish with regard to + it, I think I ought at least scrupulously to obey his other whims. And, + besides, I don’t know, there are odd noises about the old house. I don’t + believe in haunted houses; still there is something dreary in strange + sounds at the dead of night, even if made by rats, or winds through + decaying rafters. You, I remember at college, had a taste for + architecture, and can draw plans. I wish to follow out Sir Philip’s + design, but on a smaller scale, and with more attention to comfort.” + </p> + <p> + Thus he continued to run on, satisfied to find me a silent and attentive + listener. We arrived at the mansion an hour before sunset, the westering + light shining full against the many windows cased in mouldering pilasters, + and making the general dilapidation of the old place yet more mournfully + evident. + </p> + <p> + It was but a few minutes to the dinner-hour. I went up at once to the room + appropriated to me,—not the one I had before occupied. Strahan had + already got together a new establishment. I was glad to find in the + servant who attended me an old acquaintance. He had been in my own employ + when I first settled at L——, and left me to get married. He + and his wife were now both in Strahan’s service. He spoke warmly of his + new master and his contentment with his situation, while he unpacked my + carpet-bag and assisted me to change my dress. But the chief object of his + talk and his praise was Mr. Margrave. + </p> + <p> + “Such a bright young gentleman, like the first fine day in May!” + </p> + <p> + When I entered the drawing-room, Margrave and Strahan were both there. The + former was blithe and genial, as usual, in his welcome. At dinner, and + during the whole evening till we retired severally to our own rooms, he + was the principal talker,—recounting incidents of travel, always + very loosely strung together, jesting, good-humouredly enough, at + Strahan’s sudden hobby for building, then putting questions to me about + mutual acquaintances, but never waiting for an answer; and every now and + then, as if at random, startling us with some brilliant aphorism, or some + suggestion drawn from abstract science or unfamiliar erudition. The whole + effect was sparkling, but I could well understand that, if long continued, + it would become oppressive. The soul has need of pauses of repose,—intervals + of escape, not only from the flesh, but even from the mind. A man of the + loftiest intellect will experience times when mere intellect not only + fatigues him, but amidst its most original conceptions, amidst its + proudest triumphs, has a something trite and commonplace compared with one + of those vague intimations of a spiritual destiny which are not within the + ordinary domain of reason; and, gazing abstractedly into space, will leave + suspended some problem of severest thought, or uncompleted some golden + palace of imperial poetry, to indulge in hazy reveries, that do not differ + from those of an innocent, quiet child! The soul has a long road to travel—from + time through eternity. It demands its halting hours of contemplation. + Contemplation is serene. But with such wants of an immortal immaterial + spirit, Margrave had no fellowship, no sympathy; and for myself, I need + scarcely add that the lines I have just traced I should not have written + at the date at which my narrative has now arrived. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0049" id="link2HCH0049"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLIX. + </h2> + <p> + I had no case that necessitated my return to L—— the following + day. The earlier hours of the forenoon I devoted to Strahan and his + building plans. Margrave flitted in and out of the room fitfully as an + April sunbeam, sometimes flinging himself on a sofa, and reading for a few + minutes one of the volumes of the ancient mystics, in which Sir Philip’s + library was so rich. I remember it was a volume of Proclus. He read that + crabbed and difficult Greek with a fluency that surprised me. “I picked up + the ancient Greek,” said he, “years ago, in learning the modern.” But the + book soon tired him; then he would come and disturb us, archly enjoying + Strahan’s peevishness at interruption; then he would throw open the window + and leap down, chanting one of his wild savage airs; and in another moment + he was half hid under the drooping boughs of a broad lime-tree, amidst the + antlers of deer that gathered fondly round him. In the afternoon my host + was called away to attend some visitors of importance, and I found myself + on the sward before the house, right in view of the mausoleum and alone + with Margrave. + </p> + <p> + I turned my eyes from that dumb House of Death wherein rested the corpse + of the last lord of the soil, so strangely murdered, with a strong desire + to speak out to Margrave the doubts respecting himself that tortured me. + But—setting aside the promise to the contrary, which I had given, or + dreamed I had given, to the Luminous Shadow—to fulfil that desire + would have been impossible,—impossible to any one gazing on that + radiant youthful face! I think I see him now as I saw him then: a white + doe, that even my presence could not scare away from him, clung lovingly + to his side, looking up at him with her soft eyes. He stood there like the + incarnate principle of mythological sensuous life. I have before applied + to him that illustration; let the repetition be pardoned. Impossible, I + repeat it, to say to that creature, face to face, “Art thou the master of + demoniac arts, and the instigator of secret murder?” As if from redundant + happiness within himself, he was humming, or rather cooing, a strain of + music, so sweet, so wildly sweet, and so unlike the music one hears from + tutored lips in crowded rooms! I passed my hand over my forehead in + bewilderment and awe. + </p> + <p> + “Are there,” I said unconsciously,—“are there, indeed, such + prodigies in Nature?” + </p> + <p> + “Nature!” he cried, catching up the word; “talk to me of Nature! Talk of + her, the wondrous blissful mother! Mother I may well call her. I am her + spoiled child, her darling! But oh, to die, ever to die, ever to lose + sight of Nature!—to rot senseless, whether under these turfs or + within those dead walls—” + </p> + <p> + I could not resist the answer,— + </p> + <p> + “Like yon murdered man! murdered, and by whom?” + </p> + <p> + “By whom? I thought that was clearly proved.” + </p> + <p> + “The hand was proved; what influence moved the hand?” + </p> + <p> + “Tush! the poor wretch spoke of a Demon. Who can tell? Nature herself is a + grand destroyer. See that pretty bird, in its beak a writhing worm! All + Nature’s children live to take life; none, indeed, so lavishly as man. + What hecatombs slaughtered, not to satisfy the irresistible sting of + hunger, but for the wanton ostentation of a feast, which he may scarcely + taste, or for the mere sport that he finds in destroying! We speak with + dread of the beasts of prey: what beast of prey is so dire a ravager as + man,—so cruel and so treacherous? Look at yon flock of sheep, bred + and fattened for the shambles; and this hind that I caress,—if I + were the park-keeper, and her time for my bullet had come, would you think + her life was the safer because, in my own idle whim, I had tamed her to + trust to the hand raised to slay her?” + </p> + <p> + “It is true,” said I,—“a grim truth. Nature, on the surface so + loving and so gentle, is full of terror in her deeps when our thought + descends into their abyss!” + </p> + <p> + Strahan now joined us with a party of country visitors. “Margrave is the + man to show you the beauties of this park,” said he. “Margrave knows every + bosk and dingle, twisted old thorn-tree, or opening glade, in its + intricate, undulating ground.” + </p> + <p> + Margrave seemed delighted at this proposition; and as he led us through + the park, though the way was long, though the sun was fierce, no one + seemed fatigued. For the pleasure he felt in pointing out detached + beauties which escaped an ordinary eye was contagious. He did not talk as + talks the poet or the painter; but at some lovely effect of light amongst + the tremulous leaves, some sudden glimpse of a sportive rivulet below, he + would halt, point it out to us in silence, and with a kind of childlike + ecstasy in his own bright face, that seemed to reflect the life and the + bliss of the blithe summer day itself. + </p> + <p> + Thus seen, all my doubts in his dark secret nature faded away,—all + my horror, all my hate; it was impossible to resist the charm that + breathed round him, not to feel a tender, affectionate yearning towards + him as to some fair happy child. Well might he call himself the Darling of + Nature. Was he not the mysterious likeness of that awful Mother, beautiful + as Apollo in one aspect, direful as Typhon in another? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0050" id="link2HCH0050"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER L. + </h2> + <p> + “What a strange-looking cane you have, sir!” said a little girl, who was + one of the party, and who had entwined her arm round Margrave’s. “Let me + look at it.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Strahan, “that cane, or rather walking-staff, is worth looking + at. Margrave bought it in Egypt, and declares that it is very ancient.” + </p> + <p> + This staff seemed constructed from a reed: looked at, it seemed light, in + the hand it felt heavy; it was of a pale, faded yellow, wrought with black + rings at equal distances, and graven with half obliterated characters that + seemed hieroglyphic. I remembered to have seen Margrave with it before, + but I had never noticed it with any attention until now, when it was + passed from hand to hand. At the head of the cane there was a large + unpolished stone of a dark blue. + </p> + <p> + “Is this a pebble or a jewel?” asked one of the party. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot tell you its name or nature,” said Margrave; “but it is said to + cure the bite of serpents(1), and has other supposed virtues,—a + talisman, in short.” + </p> + <p> + He here placed the staff in my hands, and bade me look at it with care. + Then he changed the conversation and renewed the way, leaving the staff + with me, till suddenly I forced it back on him. I could not have explained + why, but its touch, as it warmed in my clasp, seemed to send through my + whole frame a singular thrill, and a sensation as if I no longer felt my + own weight,—as if I walked on air. + </p> + <p> + Our rambles came to a close; the visitors went away; I re-entered the + house through the sash-window of Forman’s study. Margrave threw his hat + and staff on the table, and amused himself with examining minutely the + tracery on the mantelpiece. Strahan and myself left him thus occupied, + and, going into the adjoining library, resumed our task of examining the + plans for the new house. I continued to draw outlines and sketches of + various alterations, tending to simplify and contract Sir Philip’s general + design. Margrave soon joined us, and this time took his seat patiently + beside our table, watching me use ruler and compass with unwonted + attention. + </p> + <p> + “I wish I could draw,” he said; “but I can do nothing useful.” + </p> + <p> + “Rich men like you,” said Strahan, peevishly, “can engage others, and are + better employed in rewarding good artists than in making bad drawings + themselves.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I can employ others; and—Fenwick, when you have finished with + Strahan I will ask permission to employ you, though without reward; the + task I would impose will not take you a minute.” + </p> + <p> + He then threw himself back in his chair, and seemed to fall into a doze. + </p> + <p> + The dressing-bell rang; Strahan put away the plans,—indeed, they + were now pretty well finished and decided on. Margrave woke up as our host + left the room to dress, and drawing me towards another table in the room, + placed before me one of his favourite mystic books, and, pointing to an + old woodcut, said, + </p> + <p> + “I will ask you to copy this for me; it pretends to be a facsimile of + Solomon’s famous seal. I have a whimsical desire to have a copy of it. You + observe two triangles interlaced and inserted in a circle?—the + pentacle, in short. Yes, just so. You need not add the astrological + characters: they are the senseless superfluous accessories of the dreamer + who wrote the book. But the pentacle itself has an intelligible meaning; + it belongs to the only universal language, the language of symbol, in + which all races that think—around, and above, and below us—can + establish communion of thought. If in the external universe any one + constructive principle can be detected, it is the geometrical; and in + every part of the world in which magic pretends to a written character, I + find that its hieroglyphics are geometrical figures. Is it not laughable + that the most positive of all the sciences should thus lend its angles and + circles to the use of—what shall I call it?—the ignorance?—ay, + that is the word—the ignorance of dealers in magic?” + </p> + <p> + He took up the paper, on which I had hastily described the triangles and + the circle, and left the room, chanting the serpent-charmer’s song. + </p> + <p> + (1) The following description of a stone at Corfu, celebrated as an + antidote to the venom of the serpent’s bite, was given to me by an eminent + scholar and legal functionary in that island:— + </p> + <p> + DESCRIPTION of THE BLUESTONE.—This stone is of an oval shape 1 2/10 + in. long, 7/10 broad, 3/10 thick, and, having been broken formerly, is now + set in gold. + </p> + <p> + When a person is bitten by a poisonous snake, the bite must be opened by a + cut of a lancet or razor longways, and the stone applied within + twenty-four hours. The stone then attaches itself firmly on the wound, and + when it has done its office falls off; the cure is then complete. The + stone must then be thrown into milk, whereupon it vomits the poison it has + absorbed, which remains green on the top of the milk, and the stone is + then again fit for use. + </p> + <p> + This stone has been from time immemorial in the family of Ventura, of + Corfu, a house of Italian origin, and is notorious, so that peasants + immediately apply for its aid. Its virtue has not been impaired by the + fracture. Its nature or composition is unknown. + </p> + <p> + In a case where two were stung at the same time by serpents, the stone was + applied to one, who recovered; but the other, for whom it could not be + used, died. + </p> + <p> + It never failed but once, and then it was applied after the twenty-four + hours. + </p> + <p> + Its colour is so dark as not to be distinguished from black. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + P. M. COLQUHOUN. +</pre> + <p> + Corfu, 7th Nov., 1860. + </p> + <p> + Sir Emerson Tennent, in his popular and excellent work on Ceylon, gives an + account of “snake stones” apparently similar to the one at Corfu, except + that they are “intensely black and highly polished,” and which are + applied, in much the same manner, to the wounds inflicted by the + cobra-capella. + </p> + <p> + QUERY.-Might it not be worth while to ascertain the chemical properties of + these stones, and, if they be efficacious in the extraction of venom + conveyed by a bite, might they not be as successful if applied to the bite + of a mad dog as to that of a cobra-capella? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0051" id="link2HCH0051"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LI. + </h2> + <p> + When we separated for the night, which we did at eleven o’clock, Margrave + said,— + </p> + <p> + “Good-night and good-by. I must leave you to-morrow, Strahan, and before + your usual hour for rising. I took the liberty of requesting one of your + men to order me a chaise from L——. Pardon my seeming + abruptness, but I always avoid long leave-takings, and I had fixed the + date of my departure almost as soon as I accepted your invitation.” + </p> + <p> + “I have no right to complain. The place must be dull indeed to a gay young + fellow like you. It is dull even to me. I am meditating flight already. + Are you going back to L——?” + </p> + <p> + “Not even for such things as I left at my lodgings. When I settle + somewhere and can give an address, I shall direct them to be sent to me. + There are, I hear, beautiful patches of scenery towards the north, only + known to pedestrian tourists. I am a good walker; and you know, Fenwick, + that I am also a child of Nature. Adieu to you both; and many thanks to + you, Strahan, for your hospitality.” + </p> + <p> + He left the room. + </p> + <p> + “I am not sorry he is going,” said Strahan, after a pause, and with a + quick breath as if of relief. “Do you not feel that he exhausts one? An + excess of oxygen, as you would say in a lecture.” + </p> + <p> + I was alone in my own chamber; I felt indisposed for bed and for sleep; + the curious conversation I had held with Margrave weighed on me. In that + conversation, we had indirectly touched upon the prodigies which I had not + brought myself to speak of with frank courage, and certainly nothing in + Margrave’s manner had betrayed consciousness of my suspicions; on the + contrary, the open frankness with which he evinced his predilection for + mystic speculation, or uttered his more unamiable sentiments, rather + tended to disarm than encourage belief in gloomy secrets or sinister + powers. And as he was about to quit the neighbourhood, he would not again + see Lilian, not even enter the town of L——. Was I to ascribe + this relief from his presence to the promise of the Shadow; or was I not + rather right in battling firmly against any grotesque illusion, and + accepting his departure as a simple proof that my jealous fears had been + amongst my other chimeras, and that as he had really only visited Lilian + out of friendship to me, in my peril, so he might, with his characteristic + acuteness, have guessed my jealousy, and ceased his visits from a kindly + motive delicately concealed? And might not the same motive now have + dictated the words which were intended to assure me that L—— + contained no attractions to tempt him to return to it? Thus, gradually + soothed and cheered by the course to which my reflections led me, I + continued to muse for hours. At length, looking at my watch, I was + surprised to find it was the second hour after midnight. I was just about + to rise from my chair to undress, and secure some hours of sleep, when the + well-remembered cold wind passed through the room, stirring the roots of + my hair; and before me stood, against the wall, the Luminous Shadow. + </p> + <p> + “Rise and follow me,” said the voice, sounding much nearer than it had + ever done before. + </p> + <p> + And at those words I rose mechanically, and like a sleepwalker. + </p> + <p> + “Take up the light.” + </p> + <p> + I took it. The Scin-Laeca glided along the wall towards the threshold, and + motioned me to open the door. I did so. The Shadow flitted on through the + corridor. I followed, with hushed footsteps, down a small stair into + Forman’s study. In all my subsequent proceedings, about to be narrated, + the Shadow guided me, sometimes by voice, sometimes by sign. I obeyed the + guidance, not only unresistingly, but without a desire to resist. I was + unconscious either of curiosity or of awe,—only of a calm and + passive indifference, neither pleasurable nor painful. In this obedience, + from which all will seemed extracted, I took into my hands the staff which + I had examined the day before, and which lay on the table, just where + Margrave had cast it on re-entering the house. I unclosed the shutter to + the casement, lifted the sash, and, with the light in my left hand, the + staff in my right, stepped forth into the garden. The night was still; the + flame of the candle scarcely trembled in the air; the Shadow moved on + before me towards the old pavilion described in an earlier part of this + narrative, and of which the mouldering doors stood wide open. I followed + the Shadow into the pavilion, up the crazy stair to the room above, with + its four great blank unglazed windows, or rather arcades, north, south, + east, and west. I halted on the middle of the floor: right before my eyes, + through the vista made by breathless boughs, stood out from the moonlit + air the dreary mausoleum. Then, at the command conveyed to me, I placed + the candle on a wooden settle, touched a spring in the handle of the + staff; a lid flew back, and I drew from the hollow, first a lump of some + dark bituminous substance, next a smaller slender wand of polished steel, + of which the point was tipped with a translucent material, which appeared + to me like crystal. Bending down, still obedient to the direction conveyed + to me, I described on the floor with the lump of bitumen (if I may so call + it) the figure of the pentacle with the interlaced triangles, in a circle + nine feet in diameter, just as I had drawn it for Margrave the evening + before. The material used made the figure perceptible, in a dark colour of + mingled black and red. I applied the flame of the candle to the circle, + and immediately it became lambent with a low steady splendour that rose + about an inch from the floor; and gradually front this light there + emanated a soft, gray, transparent mist and a faint but exquisite odour. I + stood in the midst of the circle, and within the circle also, close by my + side, stood the Scin-Laeca,—no longer reflected on the wall, but + apart from it, erect, rounded into more integral and distinct form, yet + impalpable, and from it there breathed an icy air. Then lifting the wand, + the broader end of which rested in the palm of my hand, the two + forefingers closing lightly over it in a line parallel with the point, I + directed it towards the wide aperture before me, fronting the mausoleum. I + repeated aloud some words whispered to me in a language I knew not: those + words I would not trace on this paper, could I remember them. As they came + to a close, I heard a howl from the watch-dog in the yard,—a dismal, + lugubrious howl. Other dogs in the distant village caught up the sound, + and bayed in a dirge-like chorus; and the howling went on louder and + louder. Again strange words were whispered to me, and I repeated them in + mechanical submission; and when they, too, were ended, I felt the ground + tremble beneath me, and as my eyes looked straight forward down the vista, + that, stretching from the casement, was bounded by the solitary mausoleum, + vague formless shadows seemed to pass across the moonlight,—below, + along the sward, above, in the air; and then suddenly a terror, not before + conceived, came upon me. + </p> + <p> + And a third time words were whispered; but though I knew no more of their + meaning than I did of those that had preceded them, I felt a repugnance to + utter them aloud. Mutely I turned towards the Scin-Laeca, and the + expression of its face was menacing and terrible; my will became yet more + compelled to the control imposed upon it, and my lips commenced the + formula again whispered into my ear, when I heard distinctly a voice of + warning and of anguish, that murmured “Hold!” I knew the voice; it was + Lilian’s. I paused; I turned towards the quarter from which the voice had + come, and in the space afar I saw the features, the form of Lilian. Her + arms were stretched towards me in supplication, her countenance was deadly + pale, and anxious with unutterable distress. The whole image seemed in + unison with the voice,—the look, the attitude, the gesture of one + who sees another in deadly peril, and cries, “Beware!” + </p> + <p> + This apparition vanished in a moment; but that moment sufficed to free my + mind from the constraint which had before enslaved it. I dashed the wand + to the ground, sprang from the circle, rushed from the place. How I got + into my own room I can remember not,—I know not; I have a vague + reminiscence of some intervening wandering, of giant trees, of shroud-like + moonlight, of the Shining Shadow and its angry aspect, of the blind walls + and the iron door of the House of the Dead, of spectral images,—a + confused and dreary phantasmagoria. But all I can recall with distinctness + is the sight of my own hueless face in the mirror in my own still room, by + the light of the white moon through the window; and, sinking down, I said + to myself, “This, at least, is an hallucination or a dream!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0052" id="link2HCH0052"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LII. + </h2> + <p> + A heavy sleep came over me at daybreak, but I did not undress nor go to + bed. The sun was high in the heavens when, on waking, I saw the servant + who had attended me bustling about the room. + </p> + <p> + “I beg your pardon, sir, I am afraid I disturbed you; but I have been + three times to see if you were not coming down, and I found you so soundly + asleep I did not like to wake you. Mr. Strahan has finished breakfast, and + gone out riding; Mr. Margrave has left,—left before six o’clock.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, he said he was going early.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir; and he seemed so cross when he went. I could never have + supposed so pleasant a gentleman could put himself into such a passion!” + </p> + <p> + “What was the matter?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, his walking-stick could not be found; it was not in the hall. He + said he had left it in the study; we could not find it there. At last he + found it himself in the old summerhouse, and said—I beg pardon—he + said he was sure you had taken it there: that some one, at all events, had + been meddling with it. However, I am very glad it was found, since he + seems to set such store on it.” + </p> + <p> + “Did Mr. Margrave go himself into the summer-house to look for it?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir; no one else would have thought of such a place; no one likes to + go there, even in the daytime.” + </p> + <p> + “Why?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, sir, they say it is haunted since poor Sir Philip’s death; and, + indeed, there are strange noises in every part of the house. I am afraid + you had a bad night, sir,” continued the servant, with evident curiosity, + glancing towards the bed, which I had not pressed, and towards the + evening-dress which, while he spoke, I was rapidly changing for that which + I habitually wore in the morning. “I hope you did not feel yourself ill?” + </p> + <p> + “No! but it seems I fell asleep in my chair.” + </p> + <p> + “Did you hear, sir, how the dogs howled about two o’clock in the morning? + They woke me. Very frightful!” + </p> + <p> + “The moon was at her full. Dogs will bay at the moon.” + </p> + <p> + I felt relieved to think that I should not find Strahan in the + breakfast-room; and hastening through the ceremony of a meal which I + scarcely touched, I went out into the park unobserved, and creeping round + the copses and into the neglected gardens, made my way to the pavilion. I + mounted the stairs; I looked on the floor of the upper room; yes, there + still was the black figure of the pentacle, the circle. So, then, it was + not a dream! Till then I had doubted. Or might it not still be so far a + dream that I had walked in my sleep, and with an imagination preoccupied + by my conversations with Margrave,—by the hieroglyphics on the staff + I had handled, by the very figure associated with superstitious practices + which I had copied from some weird book at his request, by all the strange + impressions previously stamped on my mind,—might I not, in truth, + have carried thither in sleep the staff, described the circle, and all the + rest been but visionary delusion? Surely, surely, so common-sense, and so + Julius Faber would interpret the riddles that perplexed me! Be that as it + may, my first thought was to efface the marks on the floor. I found this + easier than I had ventured to hope. I rubbed the circle and the pentacle + away from the boards with the sole of my foot, leaving but an + undistinguishable smudge behind. I know not why, but I felt the more + nervously anxious to remove all such evidences of my nocturnal visit to + that room, because Margrave had so openly gone thither to seek for the + staff, and had so rudely named me to the servant as having meddled with + it. Might he not awake some suspicion against me? Suspicion, what of? I + knew not, but I feared! + </p> + <p> + The healthful air of day gradually nerved my spirits and relieved my + thoughts. But the place had become hateful to me. I resolved not to wait + for Strahan’s return, but to walk back to L——, and leave a + message for my host. It was sufficient excuse that I could not longer + absent myself from my patients; accordingly I gave directions to have the + few things which I had brought with me sent to my house by any servant who + might be going to L——, and was soon pleased to find myself + outside the park-gates and on the high-road. + </p> + <p> + I had not gone a mile before I met Strahan on horseback. He received my + apologies for not waiting his return to bid him farewell without + observation, and, dismounting, led his horse and walked beside me on my + road. I saw that there was something on his mind; at last he said, looking + down,— + </p> + <p> + “Did you hear the dogs howl last night?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes! the full moon!” + </p> + <p> + “You were awake, then, at the time. Did you hear any other sound? Did you + see anything?” + </p> + <p> + “What should I hear or see?” + </p> + <p> + Strahan was silent for some moments; then he said, with great seriousness,— + </p> + <p> + “I could not sleep when I went to bed last night; I felt feverish and + restless. Somehow or other, Margrave got into my head, mixed up in some + strange way with Sir Philip Derval. I heard the dogs howl, and at the same + time, or rather a few minutes later, I felt the whole house tremble, as a + frail corner-house in London seems to tremble at night when a carriage is + driven past it. The howling had then ceased, and ceased as suddenly as it + had begun. I felt a vague, superstitious alarm; I got up, and went to my + window, which was unclosed (it is my habit to sleep with my windows open); + the moon was very bright, and I saw, I declare I saw along the green alley + that leads from the old part of the house to the mausoleum—No, I + will not say what I saw or believed I saw,—you would ridicule me, + and justly. But, whatever it might be, on the earth without or in the + fancy within my brain, I was so terrified, that I rushed back to my bed, + and buried my face in my pillow. I would have come to you; but I did not + dare to stir. I have been riding hard all the morning in order to recover + my nerves. But I dread sleeping again under that roof, and now that you + and Margrave leave me, I shall go this very day to London. I hope all that + I have told you is no bad sign of any coming disease; blood to the head, + eh?” + </p> + <p> + “No; but imagination overstrained can produce wondrous effects. You do + right to change the scene. Go to London at once, amuse yourself, and—” + </p> + <p> + “Not return, till the old house is razed to the ground. That is my + resolve. You approve? That’s well. All success to you, Fenwick. I will + canter back and get my portmanteau ready and the carriage out, in time for + the five o’clock train.” + </p> + <p> + So then he, too, had seen—what? I did not dare and I did not desire + to ask him. But he, at least, was not walking in his sleep! Did we both + dream, or neither? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0053" id="link2HCH0053"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LIII. + </h2> + <p> + There is an instance of the absorbing tyranny of every-day life which must + have struck all such of my readers as have ever experienced one of those + portents which are so at variance with every-day life, that the ordinary + epithet bestowed on them is “supernatural.” + </p> + <p> + And be my readers few or many, there will be no small proportion of them + to whom once, at least, in the course of their existence, a something + strange and eerie has occurred,—a something which perplexed and + baffled rational conjecture, and struck on those chords which vibrate to + superstition. It may have been only a dream unaccountably verified,—an + undefinable presentiment or forewarning; but up from such slighter and + vaguer tokens of the realm of marvel, up to the portents of ghostly + apparitions or haunted chambers, I believe that the greater number of + persons arrived at middle age, however instructed the class, however + civilized the land, however sceptical the period, to which they belong, + have either in themselves experienced, or heard recorded by intimate + associates whose veracity they accept as indisputable in all ordinary + transactions of life, phenomena which are not to be solved by the wit that + mocks them, nor, perhaps, always and entirely, to the contentment of the + reason or the philosophy that explains them away. Such phenomena, I say, + are infinitely more numerous than would appear from the instances + currently quoted and dismissed with a jest; for few of those who have + witnessed them are disposed to own it, and they who only hear of them + through others, however trustworthy, would not impugn their character for + common-sense by professing a belief to which common-sense is a merciless + persecutor. But he who reads my assertion in the quiet of his own room, + will perhaps pause, ransack his memory, and find there, in some dark + corner which he excludes from “the babbling and remorseless day,” a pale + recollection that proves the assertion not untrue. + </p> + <p> + And it is, I say, an instance of the absorbing tyranny of everyday life, + that whenever some such startling incident disturbs its regular tenor of + thought and occupation, that same every-day life hastens to bury in its + sands the object which has troubled its surface; the more unaccountable, + the more prodigious, has been the phenomenon which has scared and + astounded us, the more, with involuntary effort, the mind seeks to rid + itself of an enigma which might disease the reason that tries to solve it. + We go about our mundane business with renewed avidity; we feel the + necessity of proving to ourselves that we are still sober, practical men, + and refuse to be unfitted for the world which we know, by unsolicited + visitations from worlds into which every glimpse is soon lost amid + shadows. And it amazes us to think how soon such incidents, though not + actually forgotten, though they can be recalled—and recalled too + vividly for health—at our will, are nevertheless thrust, as it were, + out of the mind’s sight as we cast into lumber-rooms the crutches and + splints that remind us of a broken limb which has recovered its strength + and tone. It is a felicitous peculiarity in our organization, which all + members of my profession will have noticed, how soon, when a bodily pain + is once passed, it becomes erased from the recollection,—how soon + and how invariably the mind refuses to linger over and recall it. No man + freed an hour before from a raging toothache, the rack of a neuralgia, + seats himself in his armchair to recollect and ponder upon the anguish he + has undergone. It is the same with certain afflictions of the mind,—not + with those that strike on our affections, or blast our fortunes, + overshadowing our whole future with a sense of loss; but where a trouble + or calamity has been an accident, an episode in our wonted life, where it + affects ourselves alone, where it is attended with a sense of shame and + humiliation, where the pain of recalling it seems idle, and if indulged + would almost madden us,—agonies of that kind we do not brood over as + we do over the death or falsehood of beloved friends, or the train of + events by which we are reduced from wealth to penury. No one, for + instance, who has escaped from a shipwreck, from the brink of a precipice, + from the jaws of a tiger, spends his days and nights in reviving his + terrors past, re-imagining dangers not to occur again, or, if they do + occur, from which the experience undergone can suggest no additional + safeguards. The current of our life, indeed, like that of the rivers, is + most rapid in the midmost channel, where all streams are alike + comparatively slow in the depth and along the shores in which each life, + as each river, has a character peculiar to itself. And hence, those who + would sail with the tide of the world, as those who sail with the tide of + a river, hasten to take the middle of the stream, as those who sail + against the tide are found clinging to the shore. I returned to my + habitual duties and avocations with renewed energy; I did not suffer my + thoughts to dwell on the dreary wonders that had haunted me, from the + evening I first met Sir Philip Derval to the morning on which I had + quitted the house of his heir; whether realities or hallucinations, no + guess of mine could unravel such marvels, and no prudence of mine guard me + against their repetition. But I had no fear that they would be repeated, + any more than the man who had gone through shipwreck, or the hairbreadth + escape from a fall down a glacier, fears again to be found in a similar + peril. Margrave had departed, whither I knew not, and, with his departure, + ceased all sense of his influence. A certain calm within me, a + tranquillizing feeling of relief, seemed to me like a pledge of permanent + delivery. + </p> + <p> + But that which did accompany and haunt me, through all my occupations and + pursuits, was the melancholy remembrance of the love I had lost in Lilian. + I heard from Mrs. Ashleigh, who still frequently visited me, that her + daughter seemed much in the same quiet state of mind,—perfectly + reconciled to our separation, seldom mentioning my name, if mentioning it, + with indifference; the only thing remarkable in her state was her aversion + to all society, and a kind of lethargy that would come over her, often in + the daytime. She would suddenly fall into sleep and so remain for hours, + but a sleep that seemed very serene and tranquil, and from which she woke + of herself. She kept much within her own room, and always retired to it + when visitors were announced. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ashleigh began reluctantly to relinquish the persuasion she had so + long and so obstinately maintained, that this state of feeling towards + myself—and, indeed, this general change in Lilian—was but + temporary and abnormal; she began to allow that it was best to drop all + thoughts of a renewed engagement,—a future union. I proposed to see + Lilian in her presence and in my professional capacity; perhaps some + physical cause, especially for this lethargy, might be detected and + removed. Mrs. Ashleigh owned to me that the idea had occurred to herself: + she had sounded Lilian upon it: but her daughter had so resolutely opposed + it,—had said with so quiet a firmness “that all being over between + us, a visit from me would be unwelcome and painful,”—that Mrs. + Ashleigh felt that an interview thus deprecated would only confirm + estrangement. One day, in calling, she asked my advice whether it would + not be better to try the effect of change of air and scene, and, in some + other place, some other medical opinion might be taken? I approved of this + suggestion with unspeakable sadness. + </p> + <p> + “And,” said Mrs. Ashleigh, shedding tears, “if that experiment prove + unsuccessful, I will write and let you know; and we must then consider + what to say to the world as a reason why the marriage is broken off. I can + render this more easy by staying away. I will not return to L—— + till the matter has ceased to be the topic of talk, and at a distance any + excuse will be less questioned and seem more natural. But still—still—let + us hope still.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you one ground for hope?” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps so; but you will think it very frail and fallacious.” + </p> + <p> + “Name it, and let me judge.” + </p> + <p> + “One night—in which you were on a visit to Derval Court—” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, that night.” + </p> + <p> + “Lilian woke me by a loud cry (she sleeps in the next room to me, and the + door was left open); I hastened to her bedside in alarm; she was asleep, + but appeared extremely agitated and convulsed. She kept calling on your + name in a tone of passionate fondness, but as if in great terror. She + cried, ‘Do not go, Allen—do not go—you know not what you + brave!—what you do!’ Then she rose in her bed, clasping her hands. + Her face was set and rigid; I tried to awake her, but could not. After a + little time, she breathed a deep sigh, and murmured, ‘Allen, Allen! dear + love! did you not hear, did you not see me? What could thus baffle matter + and traverse space but love and soul? Can you still doubt me, Allen?—doubt + that I love you now, shall love you evermore?—yonder, yonder, as + here below?’ She then sank back on her pillow, weeping, and then I woke + her.” + </p> + <p> + “And what did she say on waking?” + </p> + <p> + “She did not remember what she had dreamed, except that she had passed + through some great terror; but added, with a vague smile, ‘It is over, and + I feel happy now.’ Then she turned round and fell asleep again, but + quietly as a child, the tears dried, the smile resting.” + </p> + <p> + “Go, my dear friend, go; take Lilian away from this place as soon as you + can; divert her mind with fresh scenes. I hope!—I do hope! Let me + know where you fix yourself. I will seize a holiday,—I need one; I + will arrange as to my patients; I will come to the same place; she need + not know of it, but I must be by to watch, to hear your news of her. + Heaven bless you for what you have said! I hope!—I do hope!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0054" id="link2HCH0054"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LIV. + </h2> + <p> + Some days after, I received a few lines from Mrs. Ashleigh. Her + arrangements for departure were made. They were to start the next morning. + She had fixed on going into the north of Devonshire, and staying some + weeks either at Ilfracombe or Lynton, whichever place Lilian preferred. + She would write as soon as they were settled. + </p> + <p> + I was up at my usual early hour the next morning. I resolved to go out + towards Mrs. Ashleigh’s house, and watch, unnoticed, where I might, + perhaps, catch a glimpse of Lilian as the carriage that would convey her + to the railway passed my hiding-place. + </p> + <p> + I was looking impatiently at the clock; it was yet two hours before the + train by which Mrs. Ashleigh proposed to leave. A loud ring at my bell! I + opened the door. Mrs. Ashleigh rushed in, falling on my breast. + </p> + <p> + “Lilian! Lilian!” + </p> + <p> + “Heavens! What has happened?” + </p> + <p> + “She has left! she is gone,—gone away! Oh, Allen, how?—whither? + Advise me. What is to be done?” + </p> + <p> + “Come in—compose yourself—tell me all,—clearly, quickly. + Lilian gone,—gone away? Impossible! She must be hid somewhere in the + house,—the garden; she, perhaps, did not like the journey. She may + have crept away to some young friend’s house. But I talk when you should + talk: tell me all.” + </p> + <p> + Little enough to tell! Lilian had seemed unusually cheerful the night + before, and pleased at the thought of the excursion. Mother and daughter + retired to rest early: Mrs. Ashleigh saw Lilian sleeping quietly before + she herself went to bed. She woke betimes in the morning, dressed herself, + went into the next room to call Lilian—Lilian was not there. No + suspicion of flight occurred to her. Perhaps her daughter might be up + already, and gone downstairs, remembering something she might wish to pack + and take with her on the journey. Mrs. Ashleigh was confirmed in this idea + when she noticed that her own room door was left open. She went + downstairs, met a maidservant in the hall, who told her, with alarm and + surprise, that both the street and garden doors were found unclosed. No + one had seen Lilian. Mrs. Ashleigh now became seriously uneasy. On + remounting to her daughter’s room, she missed Lilian’s bonnet and mantle. + The house and garden were both searched in vain. There could be no doubt + that Lilian had gone,—must have stolen noiselessly at night through + her mother’s room, and let herself out of the house and through the + garden. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think she could have received any letter, any message, any visitor + unknown to you?” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot think it. Why do you ask? Oh, Allen, you do not believe there is + any accomplice in this disappearance! No, you do not believe it. But my + child’s honour! What will the world think?” + </p> + <p> + Not for the world cared I at that moment. I could think only of Lilian, + and without one suspicion that imputed blame to her. + </p> + <p> + “Be quiet, be silent; perhaps she has gone on some visit and will return. + Meanwhile, leave inquiry to me.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0055" id="link2HCH0055"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LV. + </h2> + <p> + It seemed incredible that Lilian could wander far without being observed. + I soon ascertained that she had not gone away by the railway—by any + public conveyance—had hired no carriage; she must therefore be still + in the town, or have left it on foot. The greater part of the day was + consumed in unsuccessful inquiries, and faint hopes that she would return; + meanwhile the news of her disappearance had spread: how could such news + fail to do so? + </p> + <p> + An acquaintance of mine met me under the archway of Monks’ Gate. He wrung + my hand and looked at me with great compassion. + </p> + <p> + “I fear,” said he, “that we were all deceived in that young Margrave. He + seemed so well conducted, in spite of his lively manners. But—” + </p> + <p> + “But what?” + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Ashleigh was, perhaps, imprudent to admit him into her house so + familiarly. He was certainly very handsome. Young ladies will be romantic.” + </p> + <p> + “How dare you, sir!” I cried, choked with rage. “And without any colouring + to so calumnious a suggestion! Margrave has not been in the town for many + days. No one knows even where he is.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, it is known where he is. He wrote to order the effects which he + had left here to be sent to Penrith.” + </p> + <p> + “When?” + </p> + <p> + “The letter arrived the day before yesterday. I happened to be calling at + the house where he last lodged, when at L——, the house + opposite Mrs. Ashleigh’s garden. No doubt the servants in both houses + gossip with each other. Miss Ashleigh could scarcely fail to hear of Mr. + Margrave’s address from her maid; and since servants will exchange gossip, + they may also convey letters. Pardon me, you know I am your friend.” + </p> + <p> + “Not from the moment you breathe a word against my betrothed wife,” said + I, fiercely. + </p> + <p> + I wrenched myself from the clasp of the man’s hand, but his words still + rang in my ears. I mounted my horse; I rode into the adjoining suburbs, + the neighbouring villages; there, however, I learned nothing, till, just + at nightfall, in a hamlet about ten miles from L——, a labourer + declared he had seen a young lady dressed as I described, who passed by + him in a path through the fields a little before noon; that he was + surprised to see one so young, so well dressed, and a stranger to the + neighbourhood (for he knew by sight the ladies of the few families + scattered around) walking alone; that as he stepped out of the path to + make way for her, he looked hard into her face, and she did not heed him,—seemed + to gaze right before her, into space. If her expression had been less + quiet and gentle, he should have thought, he could scarcely say why, that + she was not quite right in her mind; there was a strange unconscious stare + in her eyes, as if she were walking in her sleep. Her pace was very + steady,—neither quick nor slow. He had watched her till she passed + out of sight, amidst a wood through which the path wound its way to a + village at some distance. + </p> + <p> + I followed up this clew. I arrived at the village to which my informant + directed me, but night had set in. Most of the houses were closed, so I + could glean no further information from the cottages or at the inn. But + the police superintendent of the district lived in the village, and to him + I gave instructions which I had not given, and, indeed, would have been + disinclined to give, to the police at L——. He was intelligent + and kindly; he promised to communicate at once with the different + police-stations for miles round, and with all delicacy and privacy. It was + not probable that Lilian could have wandered in one day much farther than + the place at which I then was; it was scarcely to be conceived that she + could baffle my pursuit and the practised skill of the police. I rested + but a few hours, at a small public-house, and was on horseback again at + dawn. A little after sunrise I again heard of the wanderer. At a lonely + cottage, by a brick-kiln, in the midst of a wide common, she had stopped + the previous evening, and asked for a draught of milk. The woman who gave + it to her inquired if she had lost her way. She said “No;” and, only + tarrying a few minutes, had gone across the common; and the woman supposed + she was a visitor at a gentleman’s house which was at the farther end of + the waste, for the path she took led to no town, no village. It occurred + to me then that Lilian avoided all high-roads, all places, even the + humblest, where men congregated together. But where could she have passed + the night? Not to fatigue the reader with the fruitless result of frequent + inquiries, I will but say that at the end of the second day I had + succeeded in ascertaining that I was still on her track; and though I had + ridden to and fro nearly double the distance—coming back again to + places I had left behind—it was at the distance of forty miles from + L—— that I last heard of her that second day. She had been + sitting alone by a little brook only an hour before. I was led to the very + spot by a woodman—it was at the hour of twilight when he beheld her; + she was leaning her face on her hand, and seemed weary. He spoke to her; + she did not answer, but rose and resumed her way along the banks of the + streamlet. That night I put up at no inn; I followed the course of the + brook for miles, then struck into every path that I could conceive her to + have taken,—in vain. Thus I consumed the night on foot, tying my + horse to a tree, for he was tired out, and returning to him at sunrise. At + noon, the third day, I again heard of her, and in a remote, savage part of + the country. The features of the landscape were changed; there was little + foliage and little culture, but the ground was broken into moulds and + hollows, and covered with patches of heath and stunted brushwood. She had + been seen by a shepherd, and he made the same observation as the first who + had guided me on her track,—she looked to him “like some one walking + in her sleep.” An hour or two later, in a dell, amongst the furze-bushes, + I chanced on a knot of ribbon. I recognized the colour Lilian habitually + wore; I felt certain that the ribbon was hers. Calculating the utmost + speed I could ascribe to her, she could not be far off, yet still I failed + to discover her. The scene now was as solitary as a desert. I met no one + on my way. At length, a little after sunset, I found myself in view of the + sea. A small town nestled below the cliffs, on which I was guiding my + weary horse. I entered the town, and while my horse was baiting went in + search of the resident policeman. The information I had directed to be + sent round the country had reached him; he had acted on it, but without + result. I was surprised to hear him address me by name, and looking at him + more narrowly, I recognized him for the policeman Waby. This young man had + always expressed so grateful a sense of my attendance on his sister, and + had, indeed, so notably evinced his gratitude in prosecuting with Margrave + the inquiries which terminated in the discovery of Sir Philip Derval’s + murderer, that I confided to him the name of the wanderer, of which he had + not been previously informed; but which it would be, indeed, impossible to + conceal from him should the search in which his aid was asked prove + successful,—as he knew Miss Ashleigh by sight. His face immediately + became thoughtful. He paused a minute or two, and then said,— + </p> + <p> + “I think I have it, but I do not like to say; I may pain you, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Not by confidence; you pain me by concealment.” + </p> + <p> + The man hesitated still: I encouraged him, and then he spoke out frankly. + </p> + <p> + “Sir, did you never think it strange that Mr. Margrave should move from + his handsome rooms in the hotel to a somewhat uncomfortable lodging, from + the window of which he could look down on Mrs. Ashleigh’s garden? I have + seen him at night in the balcony of that window, and when I noticed him + going so frequently into Mrs. Ashleigh’s house during your unjust + detention, I own, sir, I felt for you—” + </p> + <p> + “Nonsense! Mr. Margrave went to Mrs. Ashleigh’s house as my friend. He has + left L—— weeks ago. What has all this to do with—” + </p> + <p> + “Patience, sir; hear me out. I was sent from L—— to this + station (on promotion, sir) a fortnight since last Friday, for there has + been a good deal of crime hereabouts; it is a bad neighbourhood, and full + of smugglers. Some days ago, in watching quietly near a lonely house, of + which the owner is a suspicious character down in my books, I saw, to my + amazement, Mr. Margrave come out of that house,—come out of a + private door in it, which belongs to a part of the building not inhabited + by the owner, but which used formerly, when the house was a sort of inn, + to be let to night lodgers of the humblest description. I followed him; he + went down to the seashore, walked about, singing to himself; then returned + to the house, and re-entered by the same door. I soon learned that he + lodged in the house,—had lodged there for several days. The next + morning, a fine yacht arrived at a tolerably convenient creek about a mile + from the house, and there anchored. Sailors came ashore, rambling down to + this town. The yacht belonged to Mr. Margrave; he had purchased it by + commission in London. It is stored for a long voyage. He had directed it + to come to him in this out-of-the-way place, where no gentleman’s yacht + ever put in before, though the creek or bay is handy enough for such + craft. Well, sir, is it not strange that a rich young gentleman should + come to this unfrequented seashore, put up with accommodation that must be + of the rudest kind, in the house of a man known as a desperate smuggler, + suspected to be worse; order a yacht to meet him here; is not all this + strange? But would it be strange if he were waiting for a young lady? And + if a young lady has fled at night from her home, and has come secretly + along bypaths, which must have been very fully explained to her + beforehand, and is now near that young gentleman’s lodging, if not + actually in it—if this be so, why, the affair is not so very strange + after all. And now do you forgive me, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Where is this house? Lead me to it.” + </p> + <p> + “You can hardly get to it except on foot; rough walking, sir, and about + seven miles off by the shortest cut.” + </p> + <p> + “Come, and at once; come quickly. We must be there before—before—” + </p> + <p> + “Before the young lady can get to the place. Well, from what you say of + the spot in which she was last seen, I think, on reflection, we may easily + do that. I am at your service, sir. But I should warn you that the owners + of the house, man and wife, are both of villanous character,—would + do anything for money. Mr. Margrave, no doubt, has money enough; and if + the young lady chooses to go away with Mr. Margrave, you know I have no + power to help it.” + </p> + <p> + “Leave all that to me; all I ask of you is to show me the house.” + </p> + <p> + We were soon out of the town; the night had closed in; it was very dark, + in spite of a few stars; the path was rugged and precipitous, sometimes + skirting the very brink of perilous cliffs, sometimes delving down to the + seashore—there stopped by rock or wave—and painfully rewinding + up the ascent. + </p> + <p> + “It is an ugly path, sir, but it saves four miles; and anyhow the road is + a bad one.” + </p> + <p> + We came, at last, to a few wretched fishermen’s huts. The moon had now + risen, and revealed the squalor of poverty-stricken ruinous hovels; a + couple of boats moored to the shore, a moaning, fretful sea; and at a + distance a vessel, with lights on board, lying perfectly still at anchor + in a sheltered curve of the bold rude shore. The policeman pointed to the + vessel. + </p> + <p> + “The yacht, sir; the wind will be in her favour if she sails tonight.” + </p> + <p> + We quickened our pace as well as the nature of the path would permit, left + the huts behind us, and about a mile farther on came to a solitary house, + larger than, from the policeman’s description of Margrave’s lodgement, I + should have presupposed: a house that in the wilder parts of Scotland + might be almost a laird’s; but even in the moonlight it looked very + dilapidated and desolate. Most of the windows were closed, some with panes + broken, stuffed with wisps of straw; there were the remains of a wall + round the house; it was broken in some parts (only its foundation left). + On approaching the house I observed two doors,—one on the side + fronting the sea, one on the other side, facing a patch of broken ground + that might once have been a garden, and lay waste within the enclosure of + the ruined wall, encumbered with various litter; heaps of rubbish, a + ruined shed, the carcass of a worn-out boat. This latter door stood wide + open,—the other was closed. The house was still and dark, as if + either deserted, or all within it retired to rest. + </p> + <p> + “I think that open door leads at once to the rooms Mr. Margrave hires; he + can go in and out without disturbing the other inmates. They used to keep, + on the side which they inhabit, a beer-house, but the magistrates shut it + up; still, it is a resort for bad characters. Now, sir, what shall we do? + </p> + <p> + “Watch separately. You wait within the enclosure of the wall, hid by those + heaps of rubbish, near the door; none can enter but what you will observe + them. If you see her, you will accost and stop her, and call aloud for me; + I shall be in hearing. I will go back to the high part of the ground + yonder—it seems to me that she must pass that way; and I would + desire, if possible, to save her from the humiliation, the—the shame + of coming within the precincts of that man’s abode. I feel I may trust you + now and hereafter. It is a great thing for the happiness and honour of + this poor young lady and her mother, that I may be able to declare that I + did not take her from that man, from any man—from that house, from + any house. You comprehend me, and will obey? I speak to you as a + confidant,—a friend.” + </p> + <p> + “I thank you with my whole heart, sir, for so doing. You saved my sister’s + life, and the least I can do is to keep secret all that would pain your + life if blabbed abroad. I know what mischief folks’ tongues can make. I + will wait by the door, never fear, and will rather lose my place than not + strain all the legal power I possess to keep the young lady back from + sorrow.” + </p> + <p> + This dialogue was interchanged in close hurried whisper behind the broken + wall, and out of all hearing. Waby now crept through a wide gap into the + inclosure, and nestled himself silently amidst the wrecks of the broken + boat, not six feet from the open door, and close to the wall of the house + itself. I went back some thirty yards up the road, to the rising ground + which I had pointed out to him. According to the best calculation I could + make—considering the pace at which I had cleared the precipitous + pathway, and reckoning from the place and time at which Lilian had been + last seen-she could not possibly have yet entered that house. I might + presume it would be more than half an hour before she could arrive; I was + in hopes that, during the interval, Margrave might show himself, perhaps + at the door, or from the windows, or I might even by some light from the + latter be guided to the room in which to find him. If, after waiting a + reasonable time, Lilian should fail to appear, I had formed my plan of + action; but it was important for the success of that plan that I should + not lose myself in the strange house, nor bring its owners to Margrave’s + aid,—that I should surprise him alone and unawares. Half an hour, + three quarters, a whole hour thus passed. No sign of my poor wanderer; but + signs there were of the enemy from whom I resolved, at whatever risk, to + free and to save her. A window on the ground-floor, to the left of the + door, which had long fixed my attention because I had seen light through + the chinks of the shutters, slowly unclosed, the shutters fell back, the + casement opened, and I beheld Margrave distinctly; he held something in + his hand that gleamed in the moonlight, directed not towards the mound on + which I stood, nor towards the path I had taken, but towards an open space + beyond the ruined wall to the right. Hid by a cluster of stunted shrubs I + watched him with a heart that beat with rage, not with terror. He seemed + so intent in his own gaze as to be unheeding or unconscious of all else. I + stole from my post, and, still under cover, sometimes of the broken wall, + sometimes of the shaggy ridges that skirted the path, crept on, on till I + reached the side of the house itself; then, there secure from his eyes, + should he turn them, I stepped over the ruined wall, scarcely two feet + high in that place, on—on towards the door. I passed the spot on + which the policeman had shrouded himself; he was seated, his back against + the ribs of the broken boat. I put my hand to his mouth that he might not + cry out in surprise, and whispered in his ear; he stirred not. I shook him + by the arm: still he stirred not. A ray of the moon fell on his face. I + saw that he was in a profound slumber. Persuaded that it was no natural + sleep, and that he had become useless to me, I passed him by. I was at the + threshold of the open door, the light from the window close by falling on + the ground; I was in the passage; a glimmer came through the chinks of a + door to the left; I turned the handle noiselessly, and, the next moment, + Margrave was locked in my grasp. + </p> + <p> + “Call out,” I hissed in his ear, “and I strangle you before any one can + come to your help.” + </p> + <p> + He did not call out; his eye, fixed on mine as he writhed round, saw, + perhaps, his peril if he did. His countenance betrayed fear, but as I + tightened my grasp that expression gave way to one of wrath and + fierceness; and as, in turn, I felt the grip of his hand, I knew that the + struggle between us would be that of two strong men, each equally bent on + the mastery of the other. + </p> + <p> + I was, as I have said before, endowed with an unusual degree of physical + power, disciplined in early youth by athletic exercise and contest. In + height and in muscle I had greatly the advantage over my antagonist; but + such was the nervous vigour, the elastic energy of his incomparable frame, + in which sinews seemed springs of steel, that had our encounter been one + in which my strength was less heightened by rage, I believe that I could + no more have coped with him than the bison can cope with the boa; but I + was animated by that passion which trebles for a time all our forces,—which + makes even the weak man a match for the strong. I felt that if I were + worsted, disabled, stricken down, Lilian might be lost in losing her sole + protector; and on the other hand, Margrave had been taken at the + disadvantage of that surprise which will half unnerve the fiercest of the + wild beasts; while as we grappled, reeling and rocking to and fro in our + struggle, I soon observed that his attention was distracted,—that + his eye was turned towards an object which he had dropped involuntarily + when I first seized him. He sought to drag me towards that object, and + when near it stooped to seize. It was a bright, slender, short wand of + steel. I remembered when and where I had seen it, whether in my waking + state or in vision; and as his hand stole down to take it from the floor, + I set on the wand my strong foot. I cannot tell by what rapid process of + thought and association I came to the belief that the possession of a + little piece of blunted steel would decide the conflict in favor of the + possessor; but the struggle now was concentred on the attainment of that + seemingly idle weapon. I was becoming breathless and exhausted, while + Margrave seemed every moment to gather up new force, when collecting all + my strength for one final effort, I lifted him suddenly high in the air, + and hurled him to the farthest end of the cramped arena to which our + contest was confined. He fell, and with a force by which most men would + have been stunned; but he recovered himself with a quick rebound, and, as + he stood facing me, there was something grand as well as terrible in his + aspect. His eyes literally flamed, as those of a tiger; his rich hair, + flung back from his knitted forehead, seemed to erect itself as an angry + mane; his lips, slightly parted, showed the glitter of his set teeth; his + whole frame seemed larger in the tension of the muscles, and as, gradually + relaxing his first defying and haughty attitude, he crouched as the + panther crouches for its deadly spring, I felt as if it were a wild beast, + whose rush was coming upon me,—wild beast, but still Man, the king + of the animals, fashioned forth from no mixture of humbler races by the + slow revolutions of time, but his royalty stamped on his form when the + earth became fit for his coming.(1) + </p> + <p> + At that moment I snatched up the wand, directed it towards him, and + advancing with a fearless stride, cried,— + </p> + <p> + “Down to my feet, miserable sorcerer!” + </p> + <p> + To my own amaze, the effect was instantaneous. My terrible antagonist + dropped to the floor as a dog drops at the word of his master. The muscles + of his frowning countenance relaxed, the glare of his wrathful eyes grew + dull and rayless; his limbs lay prostrate and unnerved, his head rested + against the wall, his arms limp and drooping by his side. I approached him + slowly and cautiously; he seemed cast into a profound slumber. + </p> + <p> + “You are at my mercy now!” said I. + </p> + <p> + He moved his head as in sign of deprecating submission. + </p> + <p> + “You hear and understand me? Speak!” + </p> + <p> + His lips faintly muttered, “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “I command you to answer truly the questions I shall address to you.” + </p> + <p> + “I must, while yet sensible of the power that has passed to your hand.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it by some occult magnetic property in this wand that you have + exercised so demoniac an influence over a creature so pure as Lilian + Ashleigh?” + </p> + <p> + “By that wand and by other arts which you could not comprehend.” + </p> + <p> + “And for what infamous object,—her seduction, her dishonour?” + </p> + <p> + “No! I sought in her the aid of a gift which would cease did she cease to + be pure. At first I but cast my influence upon her that through her I + might influence yourself. I needed your help to discover a secret. + Circumstances steeled your mind against me. I could no longer hope that + you would voluntarily lend yourself to my will. Meanwhile, I had found in + her the light of a loftier knowledge than that of your science; through + that knowledge, duly heeded and cultivated, I hoped to divine what I + cannot of myself discover. Therefore I deepened over her mind the spells I + command; therefore I have drawn her hither as the loadstone draws the + steel, and therefore I would have borne her with me to the shores to which + I was about this night to sail. I had cast the inmates of the house and + all around it into slumber, in order that none might witness her + departure; had I not done so, I should have summoned others to my aid, in + spite of your threat.” + </p> + <p> + “And would Lilian Ashleigh have passively accompanied you, to her own + irretrievable disgrace?” + </p> + <p> + “She could not have helped it; she would have been unconscious of her + acts; she was, and is, in a trance; nor, had she gone with me, would she + have waked from that state while she lived; that would not have been + long.” + </p> + <p> + “Wretch! and for what object of unhallowed curiosity do you exert an + influence which withers away the life of its victim?” + </p> + <p> + “Not curiosity, but the instinct of self-preservation. I count on no life + beyond the grave. I would defy the grave, and live on.” + </p> + <p> + “And was it to learn, through some ghastly agencies, the secret of + renewing existence, that you lured me by the shadow of your own image on + the night when we met last?” + </p> + <p> + The voice of Margrave here became very faint as he answered me, and his + countenance began to exhibit the signs of an exhaustion almost mortal. + </p> + <p> + “Be quick,” he murmured, “or I die. The fluid which emanates from that + wand, in the hand of one who envenoms that fluid with his own hatred and + rage, will prove fatal to my life. Lower the wand from my forehead! low—low,—lower + still!” + </p> + <p> + “What was the nature of that rite in which you constrained me to share?” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot say. You are killing me. Enough that you were saved from a great + danger by the apparition of the protecting image vouchsafed to your eye; + otherwise you would—you would—Oh, release me! Away! away!” + </p> + <p> + The foam gathered to his lips; his limbs became fearfully convulsed. + </p> + <p> + “One question more: where is Lilian at this moment? Answer that question, + and I depart.” + </p> + <p> + He raised his head, made a visible effort to rally his strength, and + gasped out,— + </p> + <p> + “Yonder. Pass through the open space up the cliff, beside a thorn-tree; + you will find her there, where she halted when the wand dropped from my + hand. But—but—beware! Ha! you will serve me yet, and through + her! They said so that night, though you heard them not. They said it!” + Here his face became death-like; he pressed his hand on his heart, and + shrieked out, “Away! away! or you are my murderer!” + </p> + <p> + I retreated to the other end of the room, turning the wand from him, and + when I gained the door, looked back; his convulsions had ceased, but he + seemed locked in a profound swoon. + </p> + <p> + I left the room,—the house,—paused by Waby; he was still + sleeping. “Awake!” I said, and touched him with the wand. He started up at + once, rubbed his eyes, began stammering out excuses. I checked them, and + bade him follow me. I took the way up the open ground towards which + Margrave had pointed the wand, and there, motionless, beside a gnarled + fantastic thorn-tree, stood Lilian. Her arms were folded across her + breast; her face, seen by the moonlight, looked so innocent and so + infantine, that I needed no other evidence to tell me how unconscious she + was of the peril to which her steps had been drawn. I took her gently by + the hand. “Come with me,” I said in a whisper, and she obeyed me silently, + and with a placid smile. + </p> + <p> + Rough though the way, she seemed unconscious of fatigue. I placed her arm + in mine, but she did not lean on it. We got back to the town. I obtained + there an old chaise and a pair of horses. At morning Lilian was under her + mother’s roof. About the noon of that day fever seized her; she became + rapidly worse, and, to all appearance, in imminent danger. Delirium set + in; I watched beside her night and day, supported by an inward conviction + of her recovery, but tortured by the sight of her sufferings. On the third + day a change for the better became visible; her sleep was calm, her + breathing regular. + </p> + <p> + Shortly afterwards she woke out of danger. Her eyes fell at once on me, + with all their old ineffable tender sweetness. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Allen, beloved, have I not been very ill? But I am almost well now. + Do not weep; I shall live for you,—for your sake.” And she bent + forward, drawing my hand from my streaming eyes, and kissed me with a + child’s guileless kiss on my burning forehead. + </p> + <p> + (1) And yet, even if we entirely omit the consideration of the soul, that + immaterial and immortal principle which is for a time united to his body, + and view him only in his merely animal character, man is still the most + excellent of animals.—Dr. Kidd, On the Adaptation of External Nature + to the Physical Condition of Man (Sect. iii. p. 18). + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0056" id="link2HCH0056"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LVI. + </h2> + <p> + Lilian recovered, but the strange thing was this: all memory of the weeks + that had elapsed since her return from visiting her aunt was completely + obliterated; she seemed in profound ignorance of the charge on which I had + been confined,—perfectly ignorant even of the existence of Margrave. + She had, indeed, a very vague reminiscence of her conversation with me in + the garden,—the first conversation which had ever been embittered by + a disagreement,—but that disagreement itself she did not recollect. + Her belief was that she had been ill and light-headed since that evening. + From that evening to the hour of her waking, conscious and revived, all + was a blank. Her love for me was restored, as if its thread had never been + broken. Some such instances of oblivion after bodily illness or mental + shock are familiar enough to the practice of all medical men;(1) and I was + therefore enabled to appease the anxiety and wonder of Mrs. Ashleigh, by + quoting various examples of loss, or suspension, of memory. We agreed that + it would be necessary to break to Lilian, though very cautiously, the + story of Sir Philip Derval’s murder, and the charge to which I had been + subjected. She could not fail to hear of those events from others. How + shall I express her womanly terror, her loving, sympathizing pity, on + hearing the tale, which I softened as well as I could? + </p> + <p> + “And to think that I knew nothing of this!” she cried, clasping my hand; + “to think that you were in peril, and that I was not by your side!” + </p> + <p> + Her mother spoke of Margrave, as a visitor,—an agreeable, lively + stranger; Lilian could not even recollect his name, but she seemed shocked + to think that any visitor had been admitted while I was in circumstances + so awful! Need I say that our engagement was renewed? Renewed! To her + knowledge and to her heart it had never been interrupted for a moment. But + oh! the malignity of the wrong world! Oh, that strange lust of mangling + reputations, which seizes on hearts the least wantonly cruel! Let two idle + tongues utter a tale against some third person, who never offended the + babblers, and how the tale spreads, like fire, lighted none know how, in + the herbage of an American prairie! Who shall put it out? + </p> + <p> + What right have we to pry into the secrets of other men’s hearths? True or + false, the tale that is gabbled to us, what concern of ours can it be? I + speak not of cases to which the law has been summoned, which law has + sifted, on which law has pronounced. But how, when the law is silent, can + we assume its verdicts? How be all judges where there has been no + witness-box, no cross-examination, no jury? Yet, every day we put on our + ermine, and make ourselves judges,—judges sure to condemn, and on + what evidence? That which no court of law will receive. Somebody has said + something to somebody, which somebody repeats to everybody! + </p> + <p> + The gossip of L—— had set in full current against Lilian’s + fair name. No ladies had called or sent to congratulate Mrs. Ashleigh on + her return, or to inquire after Lilian herself during her struggle between + life and death. + </p> + <p> + How I missed the Queen of the Hill at this critical moment! How I longed + for aid to crush the slander, with which I knew not how to grapple,—aid + in her knowledge of the world and her ascendancy over its judgments! I had + heard from her once since her absence, briefly but kindly expressing her + amazement at the ineffable stupidity which could for a moment have + subjected me to a suspicion of Sir Philip Derval’s strange murder, and + congratulating me heartily on my complete vindication from so monstrous a + charge. To this letter no address was given. I supposed the omission to be + accidental, but on calling at her house to inquire her direction, I found + that the servants did not know it. + </p> + <p> + What, then, was my joy when just at this juncture I received a note from + Mrs. Poyntz, stating that she had returned the night before, and would be + glad to see me. + </p> + <p> + I hastened to her house. “Ah,” thought I, as I sprang lightly up the + ascent to the Hill, “how the tattlers will be silenced by a word from her + imperial lips!” And only just as I approached her door did it strike me + how difficult—nay, how impossible—to explain to her—the + hard positive woman, her who had, less ostensibly but more ruthlessly than + myself, destroyed Dr. Lloyd for his belief in the comparatively rational + pretensions of clairvoyance—all the mystical excuses for Lilian’s + flight from her home? How speak to her—or, indeed, to any one—about + an occult fascination and a magic wand? No matter: surely it would be + enough to say that at the time Lilian had been light-headed, under the + influence of the fever which had afterwards nearly proved fatal, The early + friend of Anne Ashleigh would not be a severe critic on any tale that + might right the good name of Anne Ashleigh’s daughter. So assured, with a + light heart and a cheerful face, I followed the servant into the great + lady’s pleasant but decorous presence-chamber. + </p> + <p> + (1) Such instances of suspense of memory are recorded in most + physiological and in some metaphysical works. Dr. Abercrombie notices + some, more or less similar to that related in the text: “A young lady who + was present at a catastrophe in Scotland, in which many people lost their + lives by the fall of the gallery of a church, escaped without any injury, + but with the complete loss of the recollection of any of the + circumstances; and this extended not only to the accident, but to + everything that had occurred to her for a certain time before going to + church. A lady whom I attended some years ago in a protracted illness, in + which her memory became much impaired, lost the recollection of a period + of about ten or twelve years, but spoke with perfect consistency of things + as they stood before that time.” Dr. Aberercmbie adds: “As far as I have + been able to trace it, the principle in such cases seems to be, that when + the memory is impaired to a certain degree, the loss of it extends + backward to some event or some period by which a particularly deep + impression had been made upon the mind.”—ABERCROMBIE: On the + Intellectual Powers, pp. 118, 119 (15th edition). + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0057" id="link2HCH0057"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LVII. + </h2> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz was on her favourite seat by the window, and for a wonder, not + knitting—that classic task seemed done; but she was smoothing and + folding the completed work with her white comely hand, and smiling over + it, as if in complacent approval, when I entered the room. At the + fire-side sat the he-colonel inspecting a newly-invented barometer; at + another window, in the farthest recess of the room, stood Miss Jane + Poyntz, with a young gentleman whom I had never before seen, but who + turned his eyes full upon me with a haughty look as the servant announced + my name. He was tall, well proportioned, decidedly handsome, but with that + expression of cold and concentred self-esteem in his very attitude, as + well as his countenance, which makes a man of merit unpopular, a man + without merit ridiculous. + </p> + <p> + The he-colonel, always punctiliously civil, rose from his seat, shook + hands with me cordially, and said, “Coldish weather to-day; but we shall + have rain to-morrow. Rainy seasons come in cycles. We are about to + commence a cycle of them with heavy showers.” He sighed, and returned to + his barometer. + </p> + <p> + Miss Jane bowed to me graciously enough, but was evidently a little + confused,—a circumstance which might well attract my notice, for I + had never before seen that high-bred young lady deviate a hairsbreadth + from the even tenor of a manner admirable for a cheerful and courteous + ease, which, one felt convinced, would be unaltered to those around her if + an earthquake swallowed one up an inch before her feet. + </p> + <p> + The young gentleman continued to eye me loftily, as the heir-apparent to + some celestial planet might eye an inferior creature from a half-formed + nebula suddenly dropped upon his sublime and perfected, star. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz extended to me two fingers, and said frigidly, “Delighted to + see you again! How kind to attend so soon to my note!” + </p> + <p> + Motioning me to a seat beside her, she here turned to her husband, and + said, “Poyntz, since a cycle of rain begins tomorrow, better secure your + ride to-day. Take these young people with you. I want to talk with Dr. + Fenwick.” + </p> + <p> + The colonel carefully put away his barometer, and saying to his daughter, + “Come!” went forth. Jane followed her father; the young gentleman followed + Jane. + </p> + <p> + The reception I had met chilled and disappointed me. I felt that Mrs. + Poyntz was changed, and in her change the whole house seemed changed. The + very chairs looked civilly unfriendly, as if preparing to turn their backs + on me. However, I was not in the false position of an intruder; I had been + summoned; it was for Mrs. Poyntz to speak first, and I waited quietly for + her to do so. + </p> + <p> + She finished the careful folding of her work, and then laid it at rest in + the drawer of the table at which she sat. Having so done, she turned to + me, and said,— + </p> + <p> + “By the way, I ought to have introduced to you my young guest, Mr. + Ashleigh Sumner. You would like him. He has talents,—not showy, but + solid. He will succeed in public life.” + </p> + <p> + “So that young man is Mr. Ashleigh Sumner? I do not wonder that Miss + Ashleigh rejected him.” + </p> + <p> + I said this, for I was nettled, as well as surprised, at the coolness with + which a lady who had professed a friendship for me mentioned that + fortunate young gentleman, with so complete an oblivion of all the + antecedents that had once made his name painful to my ear. + </p> + <p> + In turn, my answer seemed to nettle Mrs. Poyntz. + </p> + <p> + “I am not so sure that she did reject; perhaps she rather misunderstood + him; gallant compliments are not always proposals of marriage. However + that be, his spirits were not much damped by Miss Ashleigh’s disdain, nor + his heart deeply smitten by her charms; for he is now very happy, very + much attached to another young lady, to whom he proposed three days ago, + at Lady Delafield’s, and not to make a mystery of what all our little + world will know before tomorrow, that young lady is my daughter Jane.” + </p> + <p> + “Were I acquainted with Mr. Sumner, I should offer to him my sincere + congratulations.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz resumed, without heeding a reply more complimentary to Miss + Jane than to the object of her choice,— + </p> + <p> + “I told you that I meant Jane to marry a rich country gentleman, and + Ashleigh Sumner is the very country gentleman I had then in my thoughts. + He is cleverer and more ambitious than I could have hoped; he will be a + minister some day, in right of his talents, and a peer, if he wishes it, + in right of his lands. So that matter is settled.” + </p> + <p> + There was a pause, during which my mind passed rapidly through links of + reminiscence and reasoning, which led me to a mingled sentiment of + admiration for Mrs. Poyntz as a diplomatist and of distrust for Mrs. + Poyntz as a friend. It was now clear why Mrs. Poyntz, before so little + disposed to approve my love, had urged me at once to offer my hand to + Lilian, in order that she might depart affianced and engaged to the house + in which she would meet Mr. Ashleigh Sumner. Hence Mrs. Poyntz’s anxiety + to obtain all the information I could afford her of the sayings and doings + at Lady Haughton’s; hence, the publicity she had so suddenly given to my + engagement; hence, when Mr. Sumner had gone away a rejected suitor, her + own departure from L——; she had seized the very moment when a + vain and proud man, piqued by the mortification received from one lady, + falls the easier prey to the arts which allure his suit to another. All + was so far clear to me. And I—was my self-conceit less egregious and + less readily duped than that of yon glided popinjay’s! How skilfully this + woman had knitted me into her work with the noiseless turn of her white + hands! and yet, forsooth, I must vaunt the superior scope of my intellect, + and plumb all the fountains of Nature,—I, who could not fathom the + little pool of this female schemer’s mind! + </p> + <p> + But that was no time for resentment to her or rebuke to myself. She was + now the woman who could best protect and save from slander my innocent, + beloved Lilian. But how approach that perplexing subject? + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz approached it, and with her usual decision of purpose, which + bore so deceitful a likeness to candour of mind. + </p> + <p> + “But it was not to talk of my affairs that I asked you to call, Allen + Fenwick.” As she uttered my name, her voice softened, and her manner took + that maternal, caressing tenderness which had sometimes amused and + sometimes misled me. “No, I do not forget that you asked me to be your + friend, and I take without scruple the license of friendship. What are + these stories that I have heard already about Lilian Ashleigh, to whom you + were once engaged?” + </p> + <p> + “To whom I am still engaged.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it possible? Oh, then, of course the stories I have heard are all + false. Very likely; no fiction in scandal ever surprises me. Poor dear + Lilian, then, never ran away from her mother’s house?” + </p> + <p> + I smothered the angry pain which this mode of questioning caused me; I + knew how important it was to Lilian to secure to her the countenance and + support of this absolute autocrat; I spoke of Lilian’s long previous + distemper of mind; I accounted for it as any intelligent physician, + unacquainted with all that I could not reveal, would account. Heaven + forgive me for the venial falsehood, but I spoke of the terrible charge + against myself as enough to unhinge for a time the intellect of a girl so + acutely sensitive as Lilian; I sought to create that impression as to the + origin of all that might otherwise seem strange; and in this state of + cerebral excitement she had wandered from home—but alone. I had + tracked every step of her way; I had found and restored her to her home. A + critical delirium had followed, from which she now rose, cured in health, + unsuspicious that there could be a whisper against her name. And then, + with all the eloquence I could command, and in words as adapted as I could + frame them to soften the heart of a woman, herself a mother, I implored + Mrs. Poyntz’s aid to silence all the cruelties of calumny, and extend her + shield over the child of her own early friend. + </p> + <p> + When I came to an end, I had taken, with caressing force, Mrs. Poyntz’s + reluctant hands in mine. There were tears in my voice, tears in my eyes. + And the sound of her voice in reply gave me hope, for it was unusually + gentle. She was evidently moved. The hope was soon quelled. + </p> + <p> + “Allen Fenwick,” she said, “you have a noble heart; I grieve to see how it + abuses your reason. I cannot aid Lilian Ashleigh in the way you ask. Do + not start back so indignantly. Listen to me as patiently as I have + listened to you. That when you brought back the unfortunate young woman to + her poor mother, her mind was disordered, and became yet more dangerously + so, I can well believe; that she is now recovered, and thinks with shame, + or refuses to think at all, of her imprudent flight, I can believe also; + but I do not believe, the World cannot believe, that she did not, + knowingly and purposely, quit her mother’s roof, and in quest of that + young stranger so incautiously, so unfeelingly admitted to her mother’s + house during the very time you were detained on the most awful of human + accusations. Every one in the town knows that Mr. Margrave visited daily + at Mrs. Ashleigh’s during that painful period; every one in the town knows + in what strange out-of-the-way place this young man had niched himself; + and that a yacht was bought, and lying in wait there. What for? It is said + that the chaise in which you brought Miss Ashleigh back to her home was + hired in a village within an easy reach of Mr. Margrave’s lodging—of + Mr. Margrave’s yacht. I rejoice that you saved the poor girl from ruin; + but her good name is tarnished; and if Anne Ashleigh, whom I sincerely + pity, asks me my advice, I can but give her this: ‘Leave L——, + take your daughter abroad; and if she is not to marry Mr. Margrave, marry + her as quietly and as quickly as possible to some foreigner.’” + </p> + <p> + “Madam! madam! this, then, is your friendship to her—to me! Oh, + shame on you to insult thus an affianced husband! Shame on me ever to have + thought you had a heart!” + </p> + <p> + “A heart, man!” she exclaimed, almost fiercely, springing up, and + startling me with the change in her countenance and voice. “And little you + would have valued, and pitilessly have crushed this heart, if I had + suffered myself to show it to you! What right have you to reproach me? I + felt a warm interest in your career, an unusual attraction in your + conversation and society. Do you blame me for that, or should I blame + myself? Condemned to live amongst brainless puppets, my dull occupation to + pull the strings that moved them, it was a new charm to my life to + establish friendship and intercourse with intellect and spirit and + courage. Ah! I understand that look, half incredulous, half inquisitive.” + </p> + <p> + “Inquisitive, no; incredulous, yes! You desired my friendship, and how + does your harsh judgment of my betrothed wife prove either to me or to her + mother, whom you have known from your girlhood, the first duty of a + friend,—which is surely not that of leaving a friend’s side the + moment that he needs countenance in calumny, succour in trouble!” + </p> + <p> + “It is a better duty to prevent the calumny and avert the trouble. Leave + aside Anne Ashleigh, a cipher that I can add or abstract from my sum of + life as I please. What is my duty to yourself? It is plain. It is to tell + you that your honour commands you to abandon all thoughts of Lilian + Ashleigh as your wife. Ungrateful that you are! Do you suppose it was no + mortification to my pride of woman and friend, that you never approached + me in confidence except to ask my good offices in promoting your courtship + to another; no shock to the quiet plans I had formed as to our familiar + though harmless intimacy, to hear that you were bent on a marriage in + which my friend would be lost to me?” + </p> + <p> + “Not lost! not lost! On the contrary, the regard I must suppose you had + for Lilian would have been a new link between our homes.” + </p> + <p> + “Pooh! Between me and that dreamy girl there could have been no sympathy, + there could have grown up no regard. You would have been chained to your + fireside, and—and—but no matter. I stifled my disappointment + as soon as I felt it,—stifled it, as all my life I have stifled that + which either destiny or duty—duty to myself as to others—forbids + me to indulge. Ah, do not fancy me one of the weak criminals who can + suffer a worthy liking to grow into a debasing love! I was not in love + with you, Allen Fenwick.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you think I was ever so presumptuous a coxcomb as to fancy it?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” she said, more softly; “I was not so false to my household ties and + to my own nature. But there are some friendships which are as jealous as + love. I could have cheerfully aided you in any choice which my sense could + have approved for you as wise; I should have been pleased to have found in + such a wife my most intimate companion. But that silly child!—absurd! + Nevertheless, the freshness and enthusiasm of your love touched me; you + asked my aid, and I gave it. Perhaps I did believe that when you saw more + of Lilian Ashleigh you would be cured of a fancy conceived by the eye—I + should have known better what dupes the wisest men can be to the + witcheries of a fair face and eighteen! When I found your illusion + obstinate, I wrenched myself away from a vain regret, turned to my own + schemes and my own ambition, and smiled bitterly to think that, in + pressing you to propose so hastily to Lilian, I made your blind passion an + agent in my own plans. Enough of this. I speak thus openly and boldly to + you now, because now I have not a sentiment that can interfere with the + dispassionate soundness of my counsels. I repeat, you cannot now marry + Lilian Ashleigh; I cannot take my daughter to visit her; I cannot destroy + the social laws that I myself have set in my petty kingdom.” + </p> + <p> + “Be it as you will. I have pleaded for her while she is still Lilian + Ashleigh. I plead for no one to whom I have once given my name. Before the + woman whom I have taken from the altar, I can place, as a shield + sufficient, my strong breast of man. Who has so deep an interest in + Lilian’s purity as I have? Who is so fitted to know the exact truth of + every whisper against her? Yet when I, whom you admit to have some + reputation for shrewd intelligence,—I, who tracked her way,—I, + who restored her to her home,—when I, Allen Fenwick, am so assured + of her inviolable innocence in thought as in deed, that I trust my honour + to her keeping,—surely, surely, I confute the scandal which you + yourself do not believe, though you refuse to reject and to annul it?” + </p> + <p> + “Do not deceive yourself, Allen Fenwick,” said she, still standing beside + me, her countenance now hard and stern. “Look where I stand, I am the + World! The World, not as satirists depreciate, or as optimists extol its + immutable properties, its all-persuasive authority. I am the World! And my + voice is the World’s voice when it thus warns you. Should you make this + marriage, your dignity of character and position would be gone! If you + look only to lucre and professional success, possibly they may not + ultimately suffer. You have skill, which men need; their need may still + draw patients to your door and pour guineas into your purse. But you have + the pride, as well as the birth of a gentleman, and the wounds to that + pride will be hourly chafed and never healed. Your strong breast of man + has no shelter to the frail name of woman. The World, in its health, will + look down on your wife, though its sick may look up to you. This is not + all. The World, in its gentlest mood of indulgence, will say + compassionately, ‘Poor man! how weak, and how deceived! What an + unfortunate marriage!’ But the World is not often indulgent,—it + looks most to the motives most seen on the surface. And the World will + more frequently say, ‘No; much too clever a man to be duped! Miss Ashleigh + had money. A good match to the man who liked gold better than honour.’” + </p> + <p> + I sprang to my feet, with difficulty suppressing my rage; and, remembering + it was a woman who spoke to me, “Farewell, madam,” said I, through my + grinded teeth. “Were you, indeed, the Personation of The World, whose mean + notions you mouth so calmly, I could not disdain you more.” I turned to + the door, and left her still standing erect and menacing, the hard sneer + on her resolute lip, the red glitter in her remorseless eye. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0058" id="link2HCH0058"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LVIII. + </h2> + <p> + If ever my heart vowed itself to Lilian, the vow was now the most trustful + and the most sacred. I had relinquished our engagement before; but then + her affection seemed, no matter from what cause; so estranged from me, + that though I might be miserable to lose her, I deemed that she would be + unhappy in our union. Then, too, she was the gem and darling of the little + world in which she lived; no whisper assailed her: now I knew that she + loved me; I knew that her estrangement had been involuntary; I knew that + appearances wronged her, and that they never could be explained. I was in + the true position of man to woman: I was the shield, the bulwark, the + fearless confiding protector! Resign her now because the world babbled, + because my career might be impeded, because my good name might be + impeached,—resign her, and, in that resignation, confirm all that + was said against her! Could I do so, I should be the most craven of + gentlemen, the meanest of men! + </p> + <p> + I went to Mrs. Ashleigh, and entreated her to hasten my union with her + daughter, and fix the marriage-day. + </p> + <p> + I found the poor lady dejected and distressed. She was now sufficiently + relieved from the absorbing anxiety for Lilian to be aware of the change + on the face of that World which the woman I had just quitted personified + and concentred; she had learned the cause from the bloodless lips of Miss + Brabazon. + </p> + <p> + “My child! my poor child!” murmured the mother. “And she so guileless,—so + sensitive! Could she know what is said, it would kill her. She would never + marry you, Allen,—she would never bring shame to you!” + </p> + <p> + “She never need learn the barbarous calumny. Give her to me, and at once; + patients, fortune, fame, are not found only at L——. Give her + to me at once. But let me name a condition: I have a patrimonial + independence, I have amassed large savings, I have my profession and my + repute. I cannot touch her fortune—I cannot,—never can! Take + it while you live; when you die, leave it to accumulate for her children, + if children she have; not to me; not to her—unless I am dead or + ruined!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Allen, what a heart! what a heart! No, not heart, Allen,—that + bird in its cage has a heart: soul—what a soul!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0059" id="link2HCH0059"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LIX. + </h2> + <p> + How innocent was Lilian’s virgin blush when I knelt to her, and prayed + that she would forestall the date that had been fixed for our union, and + be my bride before the breath of the autumn had withered the pomp of the + woodland and silenced the song of the birds! Meanwhile, I was so fearfully + anxious that she should risk no danger of hearing, even of surmising, the + cruel slander against her—should meet no cold contemptuous looks, + above all, should be safe from the barbed talk of Mrs. Poyntz—that I + insisted on the necessity of immediate change of air and scene. I proposed + that we should all three depart, the next day, for the banks of my own + beloved and native Windermere. By that pure mountain air, Lilian’s health + would be soon re-established; in the church hallowed to me by the graves + of my fathers our vows should be plighted. No calumny had ever cast a + shadow over those graves. I felt as if my bride would be safer in the + neighbourhood of my mother’s tomb. + </p> + <p> + I carried my point: it was so arranged. Mrs. Ashleigh, however, was + reluctant to leave before she had seen her dear friend, Margaret Poyntz. I + had not the courage to tell her what she might expect to hear from that + dear friend, but, as delicately as I could, I informed her that I had + already seen the Queen of the Hill, and contradicted the gossip that had + reached her; but that as yet, like other absolute sovereigns, the Queen of + the Hill thought it politic to go with the popular stream, reserving all + check on its direction till the rush of its torrent might slacken; and + that it would be infinitely wiser in Mrs. Ashleigh to postpone + conversation with Mrs. Poyntz until Lilian’s return to L—— as + my wife. Slander by that time would have wearied itself out, and Mrs. + Poyntz (assuming her friendship to Mrs. Ashleigh to be sincere) would then + be enabled to say with authority to her subjects, “Dr. Fenwick alone knows + the facts of the story, and his marriage with Miss Ashleigh refutes all + the gossip to her prejudice.” + </p> + <p> + I made that evening arrangements with a young and rising practitioner to + secure attendance on my patients during my absence. I passed the greater + part of the night in drawing up memoranda to guide my proxy in each case, + however humble the sufferer. This task finished, I chanced, in searching + for a small microscope, the wonders of which I thought might interest and + amuse Lilian, to open a drawer in which I kept the manuscript of my + cherished Physiological Work, and, in so doing, my eye fell upon the wand + which I had taken from Margrave. I had thrown it into that drawer on my + return home, after restoring Lilian to her mother’s house, and, in the + anxiety which had subsequently preyed upon my mind, had almost forgotten + the strange possession I had as strangely acquired. There it now lay, the + instrument of agencies over the mechanism of nature which no doctrine + admitted by my philosophy could accept, side by side with the presumptuous + work which had analyzed the springs by which Nature is moved, and decided + the principles by which reason metes out, from the inch of its knowledge, + the plan of the Infinite Unknown. + </p> + <p> + I took up the wand and examined it curiously. It was evidently the work of + an age far remote from our own, scored over with half-obliterated + characters in some Eastern tongue, perhaps no longer extant. I found that + it was hollow within. A more accurate observation showed, in the centre of + this hollow, an exceedingly fine thread-like wire, the unattached end of + which would slightly touch the palm when the wand was taken into the hand. + Was it possible that there might be a natural and even a simple cause for + the effects which this instrument produced? Could it serve to collect, + from that great focus of animal heat and nervous energy which is placed in + the palm of the human hand, some such latent fluid as that which + Reichenbach calls the “odic,” and which, according to him, “rushes through + and pervades universal Nature”? After all, why not? For how many centuries + lay unknown all the virtues of the loadstone and the amber? It is but as + yesterday that the forces of vapour have become to men genii more powerful + than those conjured up by Aladdin; that light, at a touch, springs forth + from invisible air; that thought finds a messenger swifter than the wings + of the fabled Afrite. As, thus musing, my hand closed over the wand, I + felt a wild thrill through my frame. I recoiled; I was alarmed lest + (according to the plain common-sense theory of Julius Faber) I might be + preparing my imagination to form and to credit its own illusions. Hastily + I laid down the wand. But then it occurred to me that whatever its + properties, it had so served the purposes of the dread Fascinator from + whom it had been taken, that he might probably seek to repossess himself + of it; he might contrive to enter my house in my absence; more prudent to + guard in my own watchful keeping the incomprehensible instrument of + incomprehensible arts. I resolved, therefore, to take the wand with me, + and placed it in my travelling-trunk, with such effects as I selected for + use in the excursion that was to commence with the morrow. I now lay down + to rest, but I could not sleep. The recollections of the painful interview + with Mrs. Poyntz became vivid and haunting. It was clear that the + sentiment she had conceived for me was that of no simple friendship,—something + more or something less, but certainly something else; and this conviction + brought before me that proud hard face, disturbed by a pang wrestled + against but not subdued, and that clear metallic voice, troubled by the + quiver of an emotion which, perhaps, she had never analyzed to herself. I + did not need her own assurance to know that this sentiment was not to be + confounded with a love which she would have despised as a weakness and + repelled as a crime; it was an inclination of the intellect, not a passion + of the heart. But still it admitted a jealousy little less keen than that + which has love for its cause,—so true it is that jealousy is never + absent where self-love is always present. Certainly, it was no + susceptibility of sober friendship which had made the stern arbitress of a + coterie ascribe to her interest in me her pitiless judgment of Lilian. + Strangely enough, with the image of this archetype of conventional usages + and the trite social life, came that of the mysterious Margrave, + surrounded by all the attributes with which superstition clothes the being + of the shadowy border-land that lies beyond the chart of our visual world + itself. By what link were creatures so dissimilar riveted together in the + metaphysical chain of association? Both had entered into the record of my + life when my life admitted its own first romance of love. Through the aid + of this cynical schemer I had been made known to Lilian. At her house I + had heard the dark story of that Louis Grayle, with whom, in mocking spite + of my reason, conjectures, which that very reason must depose itself + before it could resolve into distempered fancies, identified the + enigmatical Margrave. And now both she, the representative of the formal + world most opposed to visionary creeds, and he, who gathered round him all + the terrors which haunt the realm of fable, stood united against me,—foes + with whom the intellect I had so haughtily cultured knew not how to cope. + Whatever assault I might expect from either, I was unable to assail again. + Alike, then, in this, are the Slander and the Phantom,—that which + appalls us most in their power over us is our impotence against them. + </p> + <p> + But up rose the sun, chasing the shadows from the earth, and brightening + insensibly the thoughts of man. After all, Margrave had been baffled and + defeated, whatever the arts he had practised and the secrets he possessed. + It was, at least, doubtful whether his evil machinations would be renewed. + He had seemed so incapable of long-sustained fixity of purpose, that it + was probable he was already in pursuit of some new agent or victim; and as + to this commonplace and conventional spectre, the so-called World, if it + is everywhere to him whom it awes, it is nowhere to him who despises it. + What was the good or bad word of a Mrs. Poyntz to me? Ay, but to Lilian? + There, indeed, I trembled; but still, even in trembling, it was sweet to + think that my home would be her shelter,—my choice her vindication. + Ah! how unutterably tender and reverential Love becomes when it assumes + the duties of the guardian, and hallows its own heart into a sanctuary of + refuge for the beloved! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0060" id="link2HCH0060"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LX. + </h2> + <p> + The beautiful lake! We two are on its grassy margin,—twilight + melting into night; the stars stealing forth, one after one. What a + wonderful change is made within us when we come from our callings amongst + men, chafed, wearied, wounded; gnawed by our cares, perplexed by the + doubts of our very wisdom, stung by the adder that dwells in cities,—Slander; + nay, even if renowned, fatigued with the burden of the very names that we + have won! What a change is made within us when suddenly we find ourselves + transported into the calm solitudes of Nature,—into scenes familiar + to our happy dreaming childhood; back, back from the dusty thoroughfares + of our toil-worn manhood to the golden fountain of our youth! Blessed is + the change, even when we have no companion beside us to whom the heart can + whisper its sense of relief and joy. But if the one in whom all our future + is garnered up be with us there, instead of that weary World which has so + magically vanished away from the eye and the thought, then does the change + make one of those rare epochs of life in which the charm is the stillness. + In the pause from all by which our own turbulent struggles for happiness + trouble existence, we feel with a rapt amazement how calm a thing it is to + be happy. And so as the night, in deepening, brightened, Lilian and I + wandered by the starry lake. Conscious of no evil in ourselves, how secure + we felt from evil! A few days more—a few days more, and we two + should be as one! And that thought we uttered in many forms of words, + brooding over it in the long intervals of enamoured silence. + </p> + <p> + And when we turned back to the quiet inn at which we had taken up our + abode, and her mother, with her soft face, advanced to meet us, I said to + Lilian,— + </p> + <p> + “Would that in these scenes we could fix our home for life, away and afar + from the dull town we have left behind us, with the fret of its wearying + cares and the jar of its idle babble!” + </p> + <p> + “And why not, Allen? Why not? But no, you would not be happy.” + </p> + <p> + “Not be happy, and with you? Sceptic, by what reasoning do you arrive at + that ungracious conclusion?” + </p> + <p> + “The heart loves repose and the soul contemplation, but the mind needs + action. Is it not so?” + </p> + <p> + “Where learned you that aphorism, out of place on such rosy lips?” + </p> + <p> + “I learned it in studying you,” murmured Lilian, tenderly. + </p> + <p> + Here Mrs. Ashleigh joined us. For the first time I slept under the same + roof as Lilian. And I forgot that the universe contained an enigma to + solve or an enemy to fear. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0061" id="link2HCH0061"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXI. + </h2> + <p> + Twenty days—the happiest my life had ever known—thus glided + on. Apart from the charm which love bestows on the beloved, there was that + in Lilian’s conversation which made her a delightful companion. Whether it + was that, in this pause from the toils of my career, my mind could more + pliantly supple itself to her graceful imagination, or that her + imagination was less vague and dreamy amidst those rural scenes, which + realized in their loveliness and grandeur its long-conceived ideals, than + it had been in the petty garden-ground neighboured by the stir and hubbub + of the busy town,—in much that I had once slighted or contemned as + the vagaries of undisciplined fancy, I now recognized the sparkle and play + of an intuitive genius, lighting up many a depth obscure to instructed + thought. It is with some characters as with the subtler and more ethereal + order of poets,—to appreciate them we must suspend the course of + artificial life; in the city we call them dreamers, on the mountain-top we + find them interpreters. + </p> + <p> + In Lilian, the sympathy with Nature was not, as in Margrave, from the + joyous sense of Nature’s lavish vitality; it was refined into exquisite + perception of the diviner spirit by which that vitality is informed. Thus, + like the artist, from outward forms of beauty she drew forth the covert + types, lending to things the most familiar exquisite meanings unconceived + before. For it is truly said by a wise critic of old, that “the attribute + of Art is to suggest infinitely more than it expresses;” and such + suggestions, passing from the artist’s innermost thought into the mind + that receives them, open on and on into the Infinite of Ideas, as a + moonlit wave struck by a passing oar impels wave upon wave along one track + of light. + </p> + <p> + So the days glided by, and brought the eve of our bridal morn. It had been + settled that, after the ceremony (which was to be performed by license in + the village church, at no great distance, which adjoined my paternal home, + now passed away to strangers), we should make a short excursion into + Scotland, leaving Mrs. Ashleigh to await our return at the little inn. + </p> + <p> + I had retired to my own room to answer some letters from anxious patients, + and having finished these I looked into my trunk for a Guide-Book to the + North, which I had brought with me. My hand came upon Margrave’s wand, and + remembering that strange thrill which had passed through me when I last + handled it, I drew it forth, resolved to examine calmly if I could detect + the cause of the sensation. It was not now the time of night in which the + imagination is most liable to credulous impressions, nor was I now in the + anxious and jaded state of mind in which such impressions may be the more + readily conceived. The sun was slowly setting over the delicious + landscape; the air cool and serene; my thoughts collected,—heart and + conscience alike at peace. I took, then, the wand, and adjusted it to the + palm of the hand as I had done before. I felt the slight touch of the + delicate wire within, and again the thrill! I did not this time recoil; I + continued to grasp the wand, and sought deliberately to analyze my own + sensations in the contact. There came over me an increased consciousness + of vital power; a certain exhilaration, elasticity, vigour, such as a + strong cordial may produce on a fainting man. All the forces of my frame + seemed refreshed, redoubled; and as such effects on the physical system + are ordinarily accompanied by correspondent effects on the mind, so I was + sensible of a proud elation of spirits,—a kind of defying, superb + self-glorying. All fear seemed blotted out from my thought, as a weakness + impossible to the grandeur and might which belong to Intellectual Man; I + felt as if it were a royal delight to scorn Earth and its opinions, brave + Hades and its spectres. Rapidly this new-born arrogance enlarged itself + into desires vague but daring. My mind reverted to the wild phenomena + associated with its memories of Margrave. I said half-aloud, “if a + creature so beneath myself in constancy of will and completion of thought + can wrest from Nature favours so marvellous, what could not be won from + her by me, her patient persevering seeker? What if there be spirits around + and about, invisible to the common eye, but whom we can submit to our + control; and what if this rod be charged with some occult fluid, that runs + through all creation, and can be so disciplined as to establish + communication wherever life and thought can reach to beings that live and + think? So would the mystics of old explain what perplexes me. Am I sure + that the mystics of old duped them selves or their pupils? This, then, + this slight wand, light as a reed in my grasp, this, then, was the + instrument by which Margrave sent his irresistible will through air and + space, and by which I smote himself, in the midst of his tiger-like wrath, + into the helplessness of a sick man’s swoon! Can the instrument at this + distance still control him; if now meditating evil, disarm and disable his + purpose?” Involuntarily, as I revolved these ideas, I stretched forth the + wand, with a concentred energy of desire that its influence should reach + Margrave and command him. And since I knew not his whereabout, yet was + vaguely aware that, according to any conceivable theory by which the wand + could be supposed to carry its imagined virtues to definite goals in + distant space, it should be pointed in the direction of the object it was + intended to affect, so I slowly moved the wand as if describing a circle; + and thus, in some point of the circle—east, west, north, or south—the + direction could not fail to be true. Before I had performed half the + circle, the wand of itself stopped, resisting palpably the movement of my + hand to impel it onward. Had it, then, found the point to which my will + was guiding it, obeying my will by some magnetic sympathy never yet + comprehended by any recognized science? I know not; but I had not held it + thus fixed for many seconds, before a cold air, well remembered, passed by + me, stirring the roots of my hair; and, reflected against the opposite + wall, stood the hateful Scin-Laeca. The Shadow was dimmer in its light + than when before beheld, and the outline of the features was less + distinct; still it was the unmistakable lemur, or image, of Margrave. + </p> + <p> + And a voice was conveyed to my senses, saying, as from a great distance, + and in weary yet angry accents, + </p> + <p> + “You have summoned me? Wherefore?” + </p> + <p> + I overcame the startled shudder with which, at first, I beheld the Shadow + and heard the Voice. + </p> + <p> + “I summoned you not,” said I; “I sought but to impose upon you my will, + that you should persecute, with your ghastly influences, me and mine no + more. And now, by whatever authority this wand bestows on me, I so abjure + and command you!” + </p> + <p> + I thought there was a sneer of disdain on the lip through which the answer + seemed to come,— + </p> + <p> + “Vain and ignorant, it is but a shadow you command. My body you have cast + into a sleep, and it knows not that the shadow is here; nor, when it + wakes, will the brain be aware of one reminiscence of the words that you + utter or the words that you hear.” + </p> + <p> + “What, then, is this shadow that simulates the body? Is it that which in + popular language is called the soul?” + </p> + <p> + “It is not: soul is no shadow.” + </p> + <p> + “What then?” + </p> + <p> + “Ask not me. Use the wand to invoke Intelligences higher than mine.” + </p> + <p> + “And how?” + </p> + <p> + “I will tell you not. Of yourself you may learn, if you guide the wand by + your own pride of will and desire; but in the hands of him who has learned + not the art, the wand has its dangers. Again I say you have summoned me! + Wherefore?” + </p> + <p> + “Lying shade, I summoned thee not.” + </p> + <p> + “So wouldst thou say to the demons, did they come in their terrible wrath, + when the bungler, who knows not the springs that he moves, calls them up + unawares, and can neither control nor dispel. Less revengeful than they, I + leave thee unharmed, and depart.” + </p> + <p> + “Stay. If, as thou sayest, no command I address to thee—to thee, who + art only the image or shadow—can have effect on the body and mind of + the being whose likeness thou art, still thou canst tell me what passes + now in his brain. Does it now harbour schemes against me through the woman + I love? Answer truly.” + </p> + <p> + “I reply for the sleeper, of whom I am more than a likeness, though only + the shadow. His thought speaks thus: ‘I know, Allen Fenwick, that in thee + is the agent I need for achieving the end that I seek. Through the woman + thou lovest, I hope to subject thee. A grief that will harrow thy heart is + at hand; when that grief shall befall, thou wilt welcome my coming. In me + alone thy hope will be placed; through me alone wilt thou seek a path out + of thy sorrow. I shall ask my conditions: they will make thee my tool and + my slave!’” + </p> + <p> + The shadow waned,—it was gone. I did not seek to detain it, nor, had + I sought, could I have known by what process. But a new idea now possessed + me. This shadow, then, that had once so appalled and controlled me, was, + by its own confession, nothing more than a shadow! It had spoken of higher + Intelligences; from them I might learn what the Shadow could not reveal. + As I still held the wand firmer and firmer in my grasp, my thoughts grew + haughtier and bolder. Could the wand, then, bring those loftier beings + thus darkly referred to before me? With that thought, intense and + engrossing, I guided the wand towards the space, opening boundless and + blue from the casement that let in the skies. The wand no longer resisted + my hand. + </p> + <p> + In a few moments I felt the floors of the room vibrate; the air was + darkened; a vaporous, hazy cloud seemed to rise from the ground without + the casement; an awe, infinitely more deep and solemn than that which the + Scin-Laeca had caused in its earliest apparition, curdled through my + veins, and stilled the very beat of my heart. + </p> + <p> + At that moment I heard, without, the voice of Lilian, singing a simple, + sacred song which I had learned at my mother’s knees, and taught to her + the day before: singing low, and as with a warning angel’s voice. By an + irresistible impulse I dashed the wand to the ground, and bowed my head as + I had bowed it when my infant mind comprehended, without an effort, + mysteries more solemn than those which perplexed me now. Slowly I raised + my eyes, and looked round; the vaporous, hazy cloud had passed away, or + melted into the ambient rose-tints amidst which the sun had sunk. + </p> + <p> + Then, by one of those common reactions from a period of overstrained + excitement, there succeeded to that sentiment of arrogance and daring with + which these wild, half-conscious invocations had been fostered and + sustained, a profound humility, a warning fear. + </p> + <p> + “What!” said I, inly, “have all those sound resolutions, which my reason + founded on the wise talk of Julius Faber, melted away in the wrack of + haggard, dissolving fancies! Is this my boasted intellect, my vaunted + science! I—I, Allen Fenwick, not only the credulous believer, but + the blundering practitioner, of an evil magic! Grant what may be possible, + however uncomprehended,—grant that in this accursed instrument of + antique superstition there be some real powers—chemical, magnetic, + no matter what—by which the imagination can be aroused, inflamed, deluded, + so that it shapes the things I have seen, speaks in the tones I have + heard,—grant this, shall I keep ever ready, at the caprice of will, + a constant tempter to steal away my reason and fool my senses? Or if, on + the other hand, I force my sense to admit what all sober men must reject; + if I unschool myself to believe that in what I have just experienced there + is no mental illusion; that sorcery is a fact, and a demon world has gates + which open to a key that a mortal can forge,—who but a saint would + not shrink from the practice of powers by which each passing thought of + ill might find in a fiend its abettor? In either case—in any case—while + I keep this direful relic of obsolete arts, I am haunted,—cheated + out of my senses, unfitted for the uses of life. If, as my ear or my fancy + informs me, grief—human grief—is about to befall me, shall I, + in the sting of impatient sorrow, have recourse to an aid which, the same + voice declares, will reduce me to a tool and a slave,—tool and slave + to a being I dread as a foe? Out on these nightmares! and away with the + thing that bewitches the brain to conceive them!” + </p> + <p> + I rose; I took up the wand, holding it so that its hollow should not rest + on the palm of the hand. I stole from the house by the back way, in order + to avoid Lilian, whose voice I still heard, singing low, on the lawn in + front. I came to a creek, to the bank of which a boat was moored, undid + its chain, rowed on to a deep part of the lake, and dropped the wand into + its waves. It sank at once; scarcely a ripple furrowed the surface, not a + bubble arose from the deep. And, as the boat glided on, the star mirrored + itself on the spot where the placid waters had closed over the tempter to + evil. + </p> + <p> + Light at heart, I sprang again on the shore, and hastening to Lilian, + where she stood on the silvered, shining sward, clasped her to my breast. + </p> + <p> + “Spirit of my life!” I murmured, “no enchantments for me but thine! Thine + are the spells by which creation is beautified, and, in that beauty, + hallowed. What though we can see not into the measureless future from the + verge of the moment; what though sorrow may smite us while we are dreaming + of bliss, let the future not rob me of thee, and a balm will be found for + each wound! Love me ever as now, oh, my Lilian; troth to troth, side by + side, till the grave!” + </p> + <p> + “And beyond the grave,” answered Lilian, softly. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0062" id="link2HCH0062"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXII. + </h2> + <p> + Our vows are exchanged at the altar, the rite which made Lilian my wife is + performed; we are returned from the church amongst the hills, in which my + fathers had worshipped; the joy-bells that had pealed for my birth had + rung for my marriage. Lilian has gone to her room to prepare for our + bridal excursion; while the carriage we have hired is waiting at the door. + I am detaining her mother on the lawn, seeking to cheer and compose her + spirits, painfully affected by that sense of change in the relations of + child and parent which makes itself suddenly felt by the parent’s heart on + the day that secures to the child another heart on which to lean. + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Ashleigh’s was one of those gentle womanly natures which, if + easily afflicted, are easily consoled. And, already smiling through her + tears, she was about to quit me and join her daughter, when one of the + inn-servants came to me with some letters, which had just been delivered + by the postman. As I took them from the servant, Mrs. Ashleigh asked if + there were any for her. She expected one from her housekeeper at L——, + who had been taken ill in her absence, and about whom the kind mistress + felt anxious. The servant replied that there was no letter for her, but + one directed to Miss Ashleigh, which he had just sent up to the young + lady. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ashleigh did not doubt that her housekeeper had written to Lilian, + whom she had known from the cradle and to whom she was tenderly attached, + instead of to her mistress; and, saying something to me to that effect, + quickened her steps towards the house. + </p> + <p> + I was glancing over my own letters, chiefly from patients, with a rapid + eye, when a cry of agony, a cry as if of one suddenly stricken to the + heart, pierced my ear,—a cry from within the house. “Heavens! was + that Lilian’s voice?” The same doubt struck Mrs. Ashleigh, who had already + gained the door. She rushed on, disappearing within the threshold and + calling to me to follow. I bounded forward, passed her on the stairs, was + in Lilian’s room before her. + </p> + <p> + My bride was on the floor prostrate, insensible: so still, so colourless, + that my first dreadful thought was that life had gone. In her hand was a + letter, crushed as with a convulsive sudden grasp. + </p> + <p> + It was long before the colour came back to her cheek, before the breath + was perceptible on her lip. She woke, but not to health, not to sense. + Hours were passed in violent convulsions, in which I momentarily feared + her death. To these succeeded stupor, lethargy, not benignant sleep. That + night, my bridal night, I passed as in some chamber to which I had been + summoned to save youth from the grave. At length—at length—life + was rescued, was assured! Life came back, but the mind was gone. She knew + me not, nor her mother. She spoke little and faintly; in the words she + uttered there was no reason. + </p> + <p> + I pass hurriedly on; my experience here was in fault, my skill + ineffectual. Day followed day, and no ray came back to the darkened brain. + We bore her, by gentle stages, to London. I was sanguine of good result + from skill more consummate than mine, and more especially devoted to + diseases of the mind. I summoned the first advisers. In vain! in vain! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0063" id="link2HCH0063"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXIII. + </h2> + <p> + And the cause of this direful shock? Not this time could it be traced to + some evil spell, some phantasmal influence. The cause was clear, and might + have produced effects as sinister on nerves of stronger fibre if + accompanied by a heart as delicately sensitive, an honour as exquisitely + pure. + </p> + <p> + The letter found in her hand was without name; it was dated from L——, + and bore the postmark of that town. It conveyed to Lilian, in the biting + words which female malice can make so sharp, the tale we had sought + sedulously to guard from her ear,—her flight, the construction that + scandal put upon it. It affected for my blind infatuation a contemptuous + pity; it asked her to pause before she brought on the name I offered to + her an indelible disgrace. If she so decided, she was warned not to return + to L——, or to prepare there for the sentence that would + exclude her from the society of her own sex. I cannot repeat more, I + cannot minute down all that the letter expressed or implied, to wither the + orange blossoms in a bride’s wreath. The heart that took in the venom cast + its poison on the brain, and the mind fled before the presence of a + thought so deadly to all the ideas which its innocence had heretofore + conceived. + </p> + <p> + I knew not whom to suspect of the malignity of this mean and miserable + outrage, nor did I much care to know. The handwriting, though evidently + disguised, was that of a woman, and, therefore, had I discovered the + author, my manhood would have forbidden me the idle solace of revenge. + Mrs. Poyntz, however resolute and pitiless her hostility when once + aroused, was not without a certain largeness of nature irreconcilable with + the most dastardly of all the weapons that envy or hatred can supply to + the vile. She had too lofty a self-esteem and too decorous a regard for + the moral sentiment of the world that she typified, to do, or connive at, + an act which degrades the gentlewoman. Putting her aside, what other + female enemy had Lilian provoked? No matter! What other woman at L—— + was worth the condescension of a conjecture? + </p> + <p> + After listening to all that the ablest of my professional brethren in the + metropolis could suggest to guide me, and trying in vain their remedies, I + brought back my charge to L——. Retaining my former residence + for the visits of patients, I engaged, for the privacy of my home, a house + two miles from the town, secluded in its own grounds, and guarded by high + walls. + </p> + <p> + Lilian’s mother removed to my mournful dwelling-place. Abbot’s House, in + the centre of that tattling coterie, had become distasteful to her, and to + me it was associated with thoughts of anguish and of terror. I could not, + without a shudder, have entered its grounds,—could not, without a + stab at the heart, have seen again the old fairy-land round the Monks’ + Well, nor the dark cedar-tree under which Lilian’s hand had been placed in + mine; and a superstitious remembrance, banished while Lilian’s angel face + had brightened the fatal precincts, now revived in full force. The dying + man’s curse—had it not been fulfilled? + </p> + <p> + A new occupant for the old house was found within a week after Mrs. + Ashleigh had written from London to a house-agent at L——, + intimating her desire to dispose of the lease. Shortly before we had gone + to Windermere, Miss Brabazon had become enriched by a liberal life-annuity + bequeathed to her by her uncle, Sir Phelim. Her means thus enabled her to + move from the comparatively humble lodging she had hitherto occupied to + Abbot’s House; but just as she had there commenced a series of + ostentatious entertainments, implying an ambitious desire to dispute with + Mrs. Poyntz the sovereignty of the Hill, she was attacked by some severe + malady which appeared complicated with spinal disease, and after my return + to L—— I sometimes met her, on the spacious platform of the + Hill, drawn along slowly in a Bath chair, her livid face peering forth + from piles of Indian shawls and Siberian furs, and the gaunt figure of Dr. + Jones stalking by her side, taciturn and gloomy as some sincere mourner + who conducts to the grave the patron on whose life he himself had + conveniently lived. It was in the dismal month of February that I returned + to L——, and I took possession of my plighted nuptial home on + the anniversary of the very day in which I had passed through the dead + dumb world from the naturalist’s gloomy death-room. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0064" id="link2HCH0064"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXIV. + </h2> + <p> + Lilian’s wondrous gentleness of nature did not desert her in the + suspension of her reason. She was habitually calm,—very silent; when + she spoke it was rarely on earthly things, on things familiar to her past, + things one could comprehend. Her thought seemed to have quitted the earth, + seeking refuge in some imaginary heaven. She spoke of wanderings with her + father as if he were living still; she did not seem to understand the + meaning we attach to the word “Death.” She would sit for hours murmuring + to herself: when one sought to catch the words, they seemed in converse + with invisible spirits. We found it cruel to disturb her at such times, + for if left unmolested, her face was serene,—more serenely beautiful + than I had seen it even in our happiest hours; but when we called her back + to the wrecks of her real life, her eye became troubled, restless, + anxious, and she would sigh—oh, so heavily! At times, if we did not + seem to observe her, she would quietly resume her once favourite + accomplishments,—drawing, music. And in these her young excellence + was still apparent, only the drawings were strange and fantastic: they had + a resemblance to those with which the painter Blake, himself a visionary, + illustrated the Poems of the “Night Thoughts” and “The Grave,”—faces + of exquisite loveliness, forms of aerial grace, coming forth from the + bells of flowers, or floating upwards amidst the spray of fountains, their + outlines melting away in fountain or in flower. So with her music: her + mother could not recognize the airs she played, for a while so sweetly and + with so ineffable a pathos, that one could scarcely hear her without + weeping; and then would come, as if involuntarily, an abrupt discord, and, + starting, she would cease and look around, disquieted, aghast. + </p> + <p> + And still she did not recognize Mrs. Ashleigh nor myself as her mother, + her husband; but she had by degrees learned to distinguish us both from + others. To her mother she gave no name, seemed pleased to see her, but not + sensibly to miss her when away; me she called her brother: if longer + absent than usual, me she missed. When, after the toils of the day, I came + to join her, even if she spoke not, her sweet face brightened. When she + sang, she beckoned me to come near to her, and looked at me fixedly, with + eyes ever tender, often tearful; when she drew she would pause and glance + over her shoulder to see that I was watching her, and point to the + drawings with a smile of strange significance, as if they conveyed in some + covert allegory messages meant for me; so, at least, I interpreted her + smile, and taught myself to say, “Yes, Lilian, I understand!” + </p> + <p> + And more than once, when I had so answered, she rose, and kissed my + forehead. I thought my heart would have broken when I felt that + spirit-like melancholy kiss. + </p> + <p> + And yet how marvellously the human mind teaches itself to extract + consolations from its sorrows. The least wretched of my hours were those + that I had passed in that saddened room, seeking how to establish + fragments of intercourse, invent signs, by which each might interpret + each, between the intellect I had so laboriously cultured, so arrogantly + vaunted, and the fancies wandering through the dark, deprived of their + guide in reason. It was something even of joy to feel myself needed for + her guardianship, endeared and yearned for still by some unshattered + instinct of her heart; and when, parting from her for the night, I stole + the moment in which on her soft face seemed resting least of shadow, to + ask, in a trembling whisper, “Lilian, are the angels watching over you?” + and she would answer “Yes,” sometimes in words, sometimes with a + mysterious happy smile—then—then I went to my lonely room, + comforted and thankful. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0065" id="link2HCH0065"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXV. + </h2> + <p> + The blow that had fallen on my hearth effectually, inevitably killed all + the slander that might have troubled me in joy. Before the awe of a great + calamity the small passions of a mean malignity slink abashed. I had + requested Mrs. Ashleigh not to mention the vile letter which Lilian had + received. I would not give a triumph to the unknown calumniator, nor wring + forth her vain remorse, by the pain of acknowledging an indignity to my + darling’s honour; yet, somehow or other, the true cause of Lilian’s + affliction had crept out,—perhaps through the talk of servants,—and + the public shock was universal. By one of those instincts of justice that + lie deep in human hearts, though in ordinary moments overlaid by many a + worldly layer, all felt (all mothers felt especially) that innocence alone + could have been so unprepared for reproach. The explanation I had + previously given, discredited then, was now accepted without a question. + Lilian’s present state accounted for all that ill nature had before + misconstrued. Her good name was restored to its maiden whiteness, by the + fate that had severed the ties of the bride. The formal dwellers on the + Hill vied with the franker, warmer-hearted households of Low Town in the + nameless attentions by which sympathy and respect are rather delicately + indicated than noisily proclaimed. Could Lilian have then recovered and + been sensible of its repentant homage, how reverently that petty world + would have thronged around her! And, ah! could fortune and man’s esteem + have atoned for the blight of hopes that had been planted and cherished on + ground beyond their reach, ambition and pride might have been well + contented with the largeness of the exchange that courted their + acceptance. Patients on patients crowded on me. Sympathy with my sorrow + seemed to create and endear a more trustful belief in my skill. But the + profession I had once so enthusiastically loved became to me wearisome, + insipid, distasteful; the kindness heaped on me gave no comfort,—it + but brought before me more vividly the conviction that it came too late to + avail me: it could not restore to me the mind, the love, the life of my + life, which lay dark and shattered in the brain of my guileless Lilian. + Secretly I felt a sullen resentment. I knew that to the crowd the + resentment was unjust. The world itself is but an appearance; who can + blame it if appearances guide its laws? But to those who had been detached + from the crowd by the professions of friendship,—those who, when the + slander was yet new, and might have been awed into silence had they stood + by my side,—to the pressure of their hands, now, I had no response. + </p> + <p> + Against Mrs. Poyntz, above all others, I bore a remembrance of unrelaxed, + unmitigable indignation. Her schemes for her daughter’s marriage had + triumphed: Jane was Mrs. Ashleigh Sumner. Her mind was, perhaps, softened + now that the object which had sharpened its worldly faculties was + accomplished: but in vain, on first hearing of my affliction, had this + she-Machiavel owned a humane remorse, and, with all her keen comprehension + of each facility that circumstances gave to her will, availed herself of + the general compassion to strengthen the popular reaction in favour of + Lilian’s assaulted honour; in vain had she written to me with a gentleness + of sympathy foreign to her habitual characteristics; in vain besought me + to call on her; in vain waylaid and accosted me with a humility that + almost implored forgiveness. I vouchsafed no reproach, but I could imply + no pardon. I put between her and my great sorrow the impenetrable wall of + my freezing silence. + </p> + <p> + One word of hers at the time that I had so pathetically besought her aid, + and the parrot-flock that repeated her very whisper in noisy shrillness + would have been as loud to defend as it had been to defame; that vile + letter might never have been written. Whoever its writer, it surely was + one of the babblers who took their malice itself from the jest or the nod + of their female despot; and the writer might have justified herself in + saying she did but coarsely proclaim what the oracle of worldly opinion, + and the early friend of Lilian’s own mother, had authorized her to + believe. + </p> + <p> + By degrees, the bitterness at my heart diffused itself to the + circumference of the circle in which my life went its cheerless mechanical + round. That cordial brotherhood with his patients, which is the true + physician’s happiest gift and humanest duty, forsook my breast. The + warning words of Mrs. Poyntz had come true. A patient that monopolized my + thought awaited me at my own hearth! My conscience became troubled; I felt + that my skill was lessened. I said to myself, “The physician who, on + entering the sick-room, feels, while there, something that distracts the + finest powers of his intellect from the sufferer’s case is unfit for his + calling.” A year had scarcely passed since my fatal wedding day, before I + had formed a resolution to quit L—— and abandon my profession; + and my resolution was confirmed, and my goal determined, by a letter I + received from Julius Faber. + </p> + <p> + I had written at length to him, not many days after the blow that had + fallen on me, stating all circumstances as calmly and clearly as my grief + would allow; for I held his skill at a higher estimate than that of any + living brother of my art, and I was not without hope in the efficacy of + his advice. The letter I now received from him had been begun, and + continued at some length, before my communication reached him; and this + earlier portion contained animated and cheerful descriptions of his + Australian life and home, which contrasted with the sorrowful tone of the + supplement written in reply to the tidings with which I had wrung his + friendly and tender heart. In this, the latter part of his letter, he + suggested that if time had wrought no material change for the better, it + might be advisable to try the effect of foreign travel. Scenes entirely + new might stimulate observation, and the observation of things external + withdraw the sense from that brooding over images delusively formed + within, which characterized the kind of mental alienation I had described. + “Let any intellect create for itself a visionary world, and all reasonings + built on it are fallacious: the visionary world vanishes in proportion as + we can arouse a predominant interest in the actual.” + </p> + <p> + This grand authority, who owed half his consummate skill as a practitioner + to the scope of his knowledge as a philosopher, then proceeded to give me + a hope which I had not dared of myself to form. He said:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I distinguish the case you so minutely detail from that insanity which + is reason lost; here it seems rather to be reason held in suspense. + Where there is hereditary predisposition, where there is organic + change of structure in the brain,—nay, where there is that kind of + insanity which takes the epithet of moral, whereby the whole + character becomes so transformed that the prime element of sound + understanding, conscience itself, is either erased or warped into the + sanction of what in a healthful state it would most disapprove,—it is + only charlatans who promise effectual cure. But here I assume that + there is no hereditary taint; here I am convinced, from my own + observation, that the nobility of the organs, all fresh as yet in the + vigour of youth, would rather submit to death than to the permanent + overthrow of their equilibrium in reason; here, where you tell me the + character preserves all its moral attributes of gentleness and purity, + and but over-indulges its own early habit of estranged contemplation; + here, without deceiving you in false kindness, I give you the + guarantee of my experience when I bid you ‘hope!’ I am persuaded + that, sooner or later, the mind, thus for a time affected, will right + itself; because here, in the cause of the malady, we do but deal with + the nervous system. And that, once righted, and the mind once + disciplined in those practical duties which conjugal life + necessitates, the malady itself will never return; never be + transmitted to the children on whom your wife’s restoration to health + may permit you to count hereafter. If the course of travel I + recommend and the prescriptions I conjoin with that course fail you, + let me know; and though I would fain close my days in this land, I + will come to you. I love you as my son. I will tend your wife as my + daughter.” + </pre> + <p> + Foreign travel! The idea smiled on me. Julius Faber’s companionship, + sympathy, matchless skill! The very thought seemed as a raft to a drowning + mariner. I now read more attentively the earlier portions of his letter. + They described, in glowing colours, the wondrous country in which he had + fixed his home; the joyous elasticity of its atmosphere; the freshness of + its primitive, pastoral life; the strangeness of its scenery, with a Flora + and a Fauna which have no similitudes in the ransacked quarters of the Old + World. And the strong impulse seized me to transfer to the solitudes of + that blithesome and hardy Nature a spirit no longer at home in the + civilized haunts of men, and household gods that shrank from all social + eyes, and would fain have found a wilderness for the desolate hearth, on + which they had ceased to be sacred if unveiled. As if to give practical + excuse and reason for the idea that seized me, Julius Faber mentioned, + incidentally, that the house and property of a wealthy speculator in his + immediate neighbourhood were on sale at a price which seemed to me + alluringly trivial, and, according to his judgment, far below the value + they would soon reach in the hands of a more patient capitalist. He wrote + at the period of the agricultural panic in the colony which preceded the + discovery of its earliest gold-fields. But his geological science had + convinced him that strata within and around the property now for sale were + auriferous, and his intelligence enabled him to predict how inevitably man + would be attracted towards the gold, and how surely the gold would + fertilize the soil and enrich its owners. He described the house thus to + be sold—in case I might know of a purchaser. It had been built at a + cost unusual in those early times, and by one who clung to English tastes + amidst Australian wilds, so that in this purchase a settler would escape + the hardships he had then ordinarily to encounter; it was, in short, a + home to which a man more luxurious than I might bear a bride with wants + less simple than those which now sufficed for my darling Lilian. + </p> + <p> + This communication dwelt on my mind through the avocations of the day on + which I received it, and in the evening I read all, except the supplement, + aloud to Mrs. Ashleigh in her daughter’s presence. I desired to see if + Faber’s descriptions of the country and its life, which in themselves were + extremely spirited and striking, would arouse Lilian’s interest. At first + she did not seem to heed me while I read; but when I came to Faber’s + loving account of little Amy, Lilian turned her eyes towards me, and + evidently listened with attention. He wrote how the child had already + become the most useful person in the simple household. How watchful the + quickness of the heart had made the service of the eye; all their + associations of comfort had grown round her active, noiseless movements; + it was she who had contrived to monopolize the management, or supervision, + of all that added to Home the nameless, interior charm. Under her eyes the + rude furniture of the log-house grew inviting with English neatness; she + took charge of the dairy; she had made the garden gay with flowers + selected from the wild, and suggested the trellised walk, already covered + with hardy vine. She was their confidant in every plan of improvement, + their comforter in every anxious doubt, their nurse in every passing + ailment, her very smile a refreshment in the weariness of daily toil. “How + all that is best in womanhood,” wrote the old man, with the enthusiasm + which no time had reft from his hearty, healthful genius,—“how all + that is best in womanhood is here opening fast into flower from the bud of + the infant’s soul! The atmosphere seems to suit it,—the child-woman + in the child-world!” + </p> + <p> + I heard Lilian sigh; I looked towards her furtively; tears stood in her + softened eyes; her lip was quivering. Presently, she began to rub her + right hand over the left—over the wedding-ring—at first + slowly; then with quicker movement. + </p> + <p> + “It is not here,” she said impatiently; “it is not here!” + </p> + <p> + “What is not here?” asked Mrs. Ashleigh, hanging over her. + </p> + <p> + Lilian leaned back her head on her mother’s bosom, and answered faintly,— + </p> + <p> + “The stain! Some one said there was a stain on this hand. I do not see it, + do you?” + </p> + <p> + “There is no stain, never was,” said I; “the hand is white as your own + innocence, or the lily from which you take your name.” + </p> + <p> + “Hush! you do not know my name. I will whisper it. Soft!—my name is + Nightshade! Do you want to know where the lily is now, brother? I will + tell you. There, in that letter. You call her Amy,—she is the lily; + take her to your breast, hide her. Hist! what are those bells? + Marriage-bells. Do not let her hear them; for there is a cruel wind that + whispers the bells, and the bells ring out what it whispers, louder and + louder, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +“‘Stain on lily Shame on lily, + Wither lily.’ +</pre> + <p> + “If she hears what the wind whispers to the bells, she will creep away + into the dark, and then she, too, will turn to Nightshade.” + </p> + <p> + “Lilian, look up, awake! You have been in a long, long dream: it is + passing away. Lilian, my beloved, my blessed Lilian!” + </p> + <p> + Never till then had I heard from her even so vague an allusion to the + fatal calumny and its dreadful effect, and while her words now pierced my + heart, it beat, amongst its pangs, with a thrilling hope. + </p> + <p> + But, alas! the idea that had gleamed upon her had vanished already. She + murmured something about Circles of Fire, and a Veiled Woman in black + garments; became restless, agitated, and unconscious of our presence, and + finally sank into a heavy sleep. + </p> + <p> + That night (my room was next to hers with the intervening door open) I + heard her cry out. I hastened to her side. She was still asleep, but there + was an anxious labouring expression on her young face, and yet not an + expression wholly of pain—for her lips were parted with a smile,—that + glad yet troubled smile with which one who has been revolving some subject + of perplexity or fear greets a sudden thought that seems to solve the + riddle, or prompt the escape from danger; and as I softly took her hand + she returned my gentle pressure, and inclining towards me, said, still in + sleep,— + </p> + <p> + “Let us go.” + </p> + <p> + “Whither?” I answered, under my breath, so as not to awake her; “is it to + see the child of whom I read, and the land that is blooming out of the + earth’s childhood?” + </p> + <p> + “Out of the dark into the light; where the leaves do not change; where the + night is our day, and the winter our summer. Let us go! let us go!” + </p> + <p> + “We will go. Dream on undisturbed, my bride. Oh, that the dream could tell + you that my love has not changed in our sorrow, holier and deeper than on + the day in which our vows were exchanged! In you still all my hopes fold + their wings; where you are, there still I myself have my dreamland!” + </p> + <p> + The sweet face grew bright as I spoke; all trouble left the smile; softly + she drew her hand from my clasp, and rested it for a moment on my bended + head, as if in blessing. + </p> + <p> + I rose; stole back to my own room, closing the door, lest the sob I could + not stifle should mar her sleep. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0066" id="link2HCH0066"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXVI. + </h2> + <p> + I unfolded my new prospects to Mrs. Ashleigh. She was more easily + reconciled to them than I could have supposed, judging by her habits, + which were naturally indolent, and averse to all that disturbed their even + tenor. But the great grief which had befallen her had roused up that + strength of devotion which lies dormant in all hearts that are capable of + loving another more than self. With her full consent I wrote to Faber, + communicating my intentions, instructing him to purchase the property he + had so commended, and inclosing my banker’s order for the amount, on an + Australian firm. I now announced my intention to retire from my + profession; made prompt arrangements with a successor to my practice; + disposed of my two houses at L——; fixed the day of my + departure. Vanity was dead within me, or I might have been gratified by + the sensation which the news of my design created. My faults became at + once forgotten; such good qualities as I might possess were exaggerated. + The public regret vented and consoled itself in a costly testimonial, to + which even the poorest of my patients insisted on the privilege to + contribute, graced with an inscription flattering enough to have served + for the epitaph on some great man’s tomb. No one who has served an art and + striven for a name is a stoic to the esteem of others; and sweet indeed + would such honours have been to me had not publicity itself seemed a wrong + to the sanctity of that affliction which set Lilian apart from the + movement and the glories of the world. + </p> + <p> + The two persons most active in “getting up” this testimonial were, + nominally, Colonel Poyntz—in truth, his wife—and my old + disparager, Mr. Vigors! It is long since my narrative has referred to Mr. + Vigors. It is due to him now to state that, in his capacity of magistrate, + and in his own way, he had been both active and delicate in the inquiries + set on foot for Lilian during the unhappy time in which she had wandered, + spellbound, from her home. He, alone, of all the more influential magnates + of the town, had upheld her innocence against the gossips that aspersed + it; and during the last trying year of my residence at L——, he + had sought me, with frank and manly confessions of his regret for his + former prejudice against me, and assurances of the respect in which he had + held me ever since my marriage—marriage but in rite—with + Lilian. He had then, strong in his ruling passion, besought me to consult + his clairvoyants as to her case. I declined this invitation so as not to + affront him,—declined it, not as I should once have done, but with + no word nor look of incredulous disdain. The fact was, that I had + conceived a solemn terror of all practices and theories out of the beaten + track of sense and science. Perhaps in my refusal I did wrong. I know not. + I was afraid of my own imagination. He continued not less friendly in + spite of my refusal. And, such are the vicissitudes in human feeling, I + parted from him whom I had regarded as my most bigoted foe with a warmer + sentiment of kindness than for any of those on whom I had counted on + friendship. He had not deserted Lilian. It was not so with Mrs. Poyntz. I + would have paid tenfold the value of the testimonial to have erased, from + the list of those who subscribed to it, her husband’s name. + </p> + <p> + The day before I quitted L——, and some weeks after I had, in + fact, renounced my practice, I received an urgent entreaty from Miss + Brabazon to call on her. She wrote in lines so blurred that I could with + difficulty decipher them, that she was very ill, given over by Dr. Jones, + who had been attending her. She implored my opinion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0067" id="link2HCH0067"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXVII. + </h2> + <p> + On reaching the house, a formal man-servant, with indifferent face, + transferred me to the guidance of a hired nurse, who led me up the stairs, + and, before I was well aware of it, into the room in which Dr. Lloyd had + died. Widely different, indeed, the aspect of the walls, the character of + the furniture! The dingy paperhangings were replaced by airy muslins, + showing a rose-coloured ground through their fanciful openwork; luxurious + fauteuils, gilded wardrobes, full-length mirrors, a toilet-table tricked + out with lace and ribbons; and glittering with an array of silver gewgaws + and jewelled trinkets,—all transformed the sick chamber of the + simple man of science to a boudoir of death for the vain coquette. But the + room itself, in its high lattice and heavy ceiling, was the same—as + the coffin itself has the same confines, whether it be rich in velvets and + bright with blazoning, or rude as a pauper’s shell. + </p> + <p> + And the bed, with its silken coverlet, and its pillows edged with the + thread-work of Louvain, stood in the same sharp angle as that over which + had flickered the frowning smoke-reek above the dying, resentful foe. As I + approached, a man, who was seated beside the sufferer, turned round his + face, and gave me a silent kindly nod of recognition. He was Mr. C——, + one of the clergy of the town, the one with whom I had the most frequently + come into contact wherever the physician resigns to the priest the + language that bids man hope. Mr. C——-, as a preacher, was + renowned for his touching eloquence; as a pastor, revered for his + benignant piety; as friend and neighbour, beloved for a sweetness of + nature which seemed to regulate all the movements of a mind eminently + masculine by the beat of a heart tender as the gentlest woman’s. + </p> + <p> + This good man; then whispering something to the sufferer which I did not + overhear, stole towards me, took me by the hand, and said, also in a + whisper, “Be merciful as Christians are.” He led me to the bedside, there + left me, went out, and closed the door. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think I am really dying, Dr. Fenwick?” said a feeble voice. “I + fear Dr. Jones has misunderstood my case. I wish I had called you in at + the first, but—but I could not—I could not! Will you feel my + pulse? Don’t you think you could do me good?” + </p> + <p> + I had no need to feel the pulse in that skeleton wrist; the aspect of the + face sufficed to tell me that death was drawing near. + </p> + <p> + Mechanically, however, I went through the hackneyed formulae of + professional questions. This vain ceremony done, as gently and delicately + as I could, I implied the expediency of concluding, if not yet settled, + those affairs which relate to this world. + </p> + <p> + “This duty,” I said, “in relieving the mind from care for others to whom + we owe the forethought of affection, often relieves the body also of many + a gnawing pain, and sometimes, to the surprise of the most experienced + physician, prolongs life itself.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said the old maid, peevishly, “I understand! But it is not my will + that troubles me. I should not be left to a nurse from a hospital if my + relations did not know that my annuity dies with me; and I forestalled it + in furnishing this house, Dr. Fenwick, and all these pretty things will be + sold to pay those horrid tradesmen!—very hard!—so hard!—just + as I got things about me in the way I always said I would have them if I + could ever afford it! I always said I would have my bedroom hung with + muslin, like dear Lady L——‘s; and the drawing-room in + geranium-coloured silk: so pretty. You have not seen it: you would not + know the house, Dr. Fenwick. And just when all is finished, to be taken + away and thrust into the grave. It is so cruel!” And she began to weep. + Her emotion brought on a violent paroxysm, which, when she recovered from + it, had produced one of those startling changes of mind that are sometimes + witnessed before death,—changes whereby the whole character of a + life seems to undergo solemn transformation. The hard will becomes gentle, + the proud meek, the frivolous earnest. That awful moment when the things + of earth pass away like dissolving scenes, leaving death visible on the + background by the glare that shoots up in the last flicker of life’s lamp. + </p> + <p> + And when she lifted her haggard face from my shoulder, and heard my + pitying, soothing voice, it was not the grief of a trifler at the loss of + fondled toys that spoke in the fallen lines of her lip, in the woe of her + pleading eyes. + </p> + <p> + “So this is death,” she said. “I feel it hurrying on. I must speak. I + promised Mr. C—— that I would. Forgive me, can you—can + you? That letter—that letter to Lilian Ashleigh, I wrote it! Oh, do + not look at me so terribly; I never thought it could do such evil! And am + I not punished enough? I truly believed when I wrote that Miss Ashleigh + was deceiving you, and once I was silly enough to fancy that you might + have liked me. But I had another motive; I had been so poor all my life—I + had become rich unexpectedly; I set my heart on this house—I had + always fancied it—and I thought if I could prevent Miss Ashleigh + marrying you, and scare her and her mother from coming back to L——, + I could get the house. And I did get it. What for?—to die. I had not + been here a week before I got the hurt that is killing me—a fall + down the stairs,—coming out of this very room; the stairs had been + polished. If I had stayed in my old lodging, it would not have happened. + Oh, say you forgive me! Say, say it, even if you do not feel you can! Say + it!” And the miserable woman grasped me by the arm as Dr. Lloyd had + grasped me. + </p> + <p> + I shaded my averted face with my hands; my heart heaved with the agony of + my suppressed passion. A wrong, however deep, only to myself, I could have + pardoned without effort; such a wrong to Lilian,—no! I could not say + “I forgive.” + </p> + <p> + The dying wretch was perhaps more appalled by my silence than she would + have been by my reproach. Her voice grew shrill in her despair. + </p> + <p> + “You will not pardon me! I shall die with your curse on my head! Mercy! + mercy! That good man, Mr. C——, assured me you would be + merciful. Have you never wronged another? Has the Evil One never tempted + you?” + </p> + <p> + Then I spoke in broken accents: “Me! Oh, had it been I whom you defamed—but + a young creature so harmless, so unoffending, and for so miserable a + motive!” + </p> + <p> + “But I tell you, I swear to you, I never dreamed I could cause such + sorrow; and that young man, that Margrave, put it into my head!” + </p> + <p> + “Margrave! He had left L—— long before that letter was + written!” + </p> + <p> + “But he came back for a day just before I wrote: it was the very day. I + met him in the lane yonder. He asked after you,—after Miss Ashleigh; + and when he spoke he laughed, and I said, ‘Miss Ashleigh had been ill, and + was gone away;’ and he laughed again. And I thought he knew more than he + would tell me, so I asked him if he supposed Mrs. Ashleigh would come + back, and said how much I should like to take this house if she did not; + and again he laughed, and said, ‘Birds never stay in the nest after the + young ones are hurt,’ and went away singing. When I got home, his laugh + and his song haunted me. I thought I saw him still in my room, prompting + me to write, and I sat down and wrote. Oh, pardon, pardon me! I have been + a foolish poor creature, but never meant to do such harm. The Evil One + tempted me! There he is, near me now! I see him yonder! there, at the + doorway. He comes to claim me! As you hope for mercy yourself, free me + from him! Forgive me!” + </p> + <p> + I made an effort over myself. In naming Margrave as her tempter, the woman + had suggested an excuse, echoed from that innermost cell of my mind, which + I recoiled from gazing into, for there I should behold his image. + Inexpiable though the injury she had wrought against me and mine, still + the woman was human—fellow-creature-like myself;—but he? + </p> + <p> + I took the pale hand that still pressed my arm, and said, with firm voice,— + </p> + <p> + “Be comforted. In the name of Lilian, my wife, I forgive you for her and + for me as freely and as fully as we are enjoined by Him, against whose + precepts the best of us daily sin, to forgive—we children of wrath—to + forgive one another!” + </p> + <p> + “Heaven bless you!—oh, bless you!” she murmured, sinking back upon + her pillow. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” thought I, “what if the pardon I grant for a wrong far deeper than I + inflicted on him whose imprecation smote me in this chamber, should indeed + be received as atonement, and this blessing on the lips of the dying annul + the dark curse that the dead has left on my path through the Valley of the + Shadow!” + </p> + <p> + I left my patient sleeping quietly,—the sleep that precedes the + last. As I went down the stairs into the hall, I saw Mrs. Poyntz standing + at the threshold, speaking to the man-servant and the nurse. + </p> + <p> + I would have passed her with a formal bow, but she stopped me. + </p> + <p> + “I came to inquire after poor Miss Brabazon,” said she. + </p> + <p> + “You can tell me more than the servants can: is there no hope?” + </p> + <p> + “Let the nurse go up and watch beside her. She may pass away in the sleep + into which she has fallen.” + </p> + <p> + “Allen Fenwick, I must speak with you—nay, but for a few minutes. I + hear that you leave L—— to-morrow. It is scarcely among the + chances of life that we should meet again.” While thus saying, she drew me + along the lawn down the path that led towards her own home. “I wish,” said + she, earnestly, “that you could part with a kindlier feeling towards me; + but I can scarcely expect it. Could I put myself in your place, and be + moved by your feelings, I know that I should be implacable; but I—” + </p> + <p> + “But you, madam, are The World! and the World governs itself, and dictates + to others, by laws which seem harsh to those who ask from its favour the + services which the World cannot tender, for the World admits favourites, + but ignores friends. You did but act to me as the World ever acts to those + who mistake its favour for its friendship.” + </p> + <p> + “It is true,” said Mrs. Poyntz, with blunt candour; and we continued to + walk on silently. At length she said abruptly, “But do you not rashly + deprive yourself of your only consolation in sorrow? When the heart + suffers, does your skill admit any remedy like occupation to the mind? Yet + you abandon that occupation to which your mind is most accustomed; you + desert your career; you turn aside, in the midst of the race, from the + fame which awaits at the goal; you go back from civilization itself, and + dream that all your intellectual cravings can find content in the life of + a herdsman, amidst the monotony of a wild! No, you will repent, for you + are untrue to your mind!” + </p> + <p> + “I am sick of the word ‘mind’!” said I, bitterly. And therewith I relapsed + into musing. + </p> + <p> + The enigmas which had foiled my intelligence in the unravelled Sibyl Book + of Nature were mysteries strange to every man’s normal practice of + thought, even if reducible to the fraudulent impressions of outward sense; + for illusions in a brain otherwise healthy suggest problems in our human + organization which the colleges that record them rather guess at than + solve. But the blow which had shattered my life had been dealt by the hand + of a fool. Here, there were no mystic enchantments. Motives the most + commonplace and paltry, suggested to a brain as trivial and shallow as + ever made the frivolity of woman a theme for the satire of poets, had + sufficed, in devastating the field of my affections, to blast the uses for + which I had cultured my mind; and had my intellect been as great as heaven + ever gave to man, it would have been as vain a shield as mine against the + shaft that had lodged in my heart. While I had, indeed, been preparing my + reason and my fortitude to meet such perils, weird and marvellous, as + those by which tales round the winter fireside scare the credulous child, + a contrivance—so vulgar and hackneyed that not a day passes but what + some hearth is vexed by an anonymous libel—had wrought a calamity + more dread than aught which my dark guess into the Shadow-Land unpierced + by Philosophy could trace to the prompting of malignant witchcraft. So, + ever this truth runs through all legends of ghost and demon—through + the uniform records of what wonder accredits and science rejects as the + supernatural—lo! the dread machinery whose wheels roll through + Hades! What need such awful engines for such mean results? The first + blockhead we meet in our walk to our grocer’s can tell us more than the + ghost tells us; the poorest envy we ever aroused hurts us more than the + demon. How true an interpreter is Genius to Hell as to Earth! The Fiend + comes to Faust, the tired seeker of knowledge; Heaven and Hell stake their + cause in the Mortal’s temptation. And what does the Fiend to astonish the + Mortal? Turn wine into fire, turn love into crime. We need no + Mephistopheles to accomplish these marvels every day! + </p> + <p> + Thus silently thinking, I walked by the side of the world-wise woman; and + when she next spoke, I looked up, and saw that we were at the Monks’ Well, + where I had first seen Lilian gazing into heaven! + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Poyntz had, as we walked, placed her hand on my arm; and, turning + abruptly from the path into the glade, I found myself standing by her side + in the scene where a new sense of being had first disclosed to my sight + the hues with which Love, the passionate beautifier, turns into purple and + gold the gray of the common air. Thus, when romance has ended in sorrow, + and the Beautiful fades from the landscape, the trite and positive forms + of life, banished for a time, reappear, and deepen our mournful + remembrance of the glories they replace. And the Woman of the World, + finding how little I was induced to respond to her when she had talked of + myself, began to speak, in her habitual clear, ringing accents, of her own + social schemes and devices,— + </p> + <p> + “I shall miss you when you are gone, Allen Fenwick; for though, during the + last year or so, all actual intercourse between us has ceased, yet my + interest in you gave some occupation to my thoughts when I sat alone,—having + lost my main object of ambition in settling my daughter, and having no + longer any one in the house with whom I could talk of the future, or for + whom I could form a project. It is so wearisome to count the changes which + pass within us, that we take interest in the changes that pass without. + Poyntz still has his weather-glass; I have no longer my Jane.” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot linger with you on this spot,” said I, impatiently turning back + into the path; she followed, treading over fallen leaves. And unheeding my + interruption, she thus continued her hard talk,— + </p> + <p> + “But I am not sick of my mind, as you seem to be of yours; I am only + somewhat tired of the little cage in which, since it has been alone, it + ruffles its plumes against the flimsy wires that confine it from wider + space. I shall take up my home for a time with the new-married couple: + they want me. Ashleigh Sumner has come into parliament. He means to attend + regularly and work hard, but he does not like Jane to go into the world by + herself, and he wishes her to go into the world, because he wants a wife + to display his wealth for the improvement of his position. In Ashleigh + Sumner’s house I shall have ample scope for my energies, such as they are. + I have a curiosity to see the few that perch on the wheels of the State + and say, ‘It is we who move the wheels!’ It will amuse me to learn if I + can maintain in a capital the authority I have won in a country town; if + not, I can but return to my small principality. Wherever I live I must + sway, not serve. If I succeed—as I ought, for in Jane’s beauty and + Ashleigh’s fortune I have materials for the woof of ambition, wanting + which here, I fall asleep over my knitting—if I succeed, there will + be enough to occupy the rest of my life. Ashleigh Sumner must be a power; + the power will be represented and enjoyed by my child, and created and + maintained by me! Allen Fenwick, do as I do. Be world with the world, and + it will only be in moments of spleen and chagrin that you will sigh to + think that the heart may be void when the mind is full. Confess you envy + me while you listen.” + </p> + <p> + “Not so; all that to you seems so great appears to me so small! Nature + alone is always grand, in her terrors as well as her charms. The World for + you, Nature for me. Farewell!” + </p> + <p> + “Nature!” said Mrs. Poyntz, compassionately. “Poor Allen Fenwick! Nature + indeed,—intellectual suicide! Nay, shake hands, then, if for the + last time.” + </p> + <p> + So we shook hands and parted, where the wicket-gate and the stone stairs + separated my blighted fairy-land from the common thoroughfare. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0068" id="link2HCH0068"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXVIII. + </h2> + <p> + That night as I was employed in collecting the books and manuscripts which + I proposed to take with me, including my long-suspended physiological + work, and such standard authorities as I might want to consult or refer to + in the portions yet incompleted, my servant entered to inform me, in + answer to the inquiries I had sent him to make, that Miss Brabazon had + peacefully breathed her last an hour before. Well! my pardon had perhaps + soothed her last moments; but how unavailing her death-bed repentance to + undo the wrong she had done! + </p> + <p> + I turned from that thought, and, glancing at the work into which I had + thrown all my learning, methodized into system with all my art, I recalled + the pity which Mrs. Poyntz had expressed for my meditated waste of mind. + The tone of superiority which this incarnation of common-sense accompanied + by uncommon will assumed over all that was too deep or too high for her + comprehension had sometimes amused me; thinking over it now, it piqued. I + said to myself, “After all, I shall bear with me such solace as + intellectual occupation can afford. I shall have leisure to complete this + labour; and a record that I have lived and thought may outlast all the + honours which worldly ambition may bestow upon Ashleigh Summer!” And, as I + so murmured, my hand, mechanically selecting the books I needed, fell on + the Bible that Julius Faber had given to me. + </p> + <p> + It opened at the Second Book of Esdras, which our Church places amongst + the Apocrypha, and is generally considered by scholars to have been + written in the first or second century of the Christian era,(1)—but + in which the questions raised by man in the remotest ages, to which we can + trace back his desire “to comprehend the ways of the Most High,” are + invested with a grandeur of thought and sublimity of word to which I know + of no parallel in writers we call profane. + </p> + <p> + My eye fell on this passage in the lofty argument between the Angel whose + name was Uriel, and the Prophet, perplexed by his own cravings for + knowledge:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “He (the Angel) answered me, and said, I went into a forest, into a + plain, and the trees took counsel, + + “And said, Come, let us go and make war against the sea, that it may + depart away before us, and that we may make us more woods. + + “The floods of the sea also in like manner took counsel, and said, + Come, let us go up and subdue the woods of the plain, that there also + we may make us another country. + + “The thought of the wood was in vain, for the fire came and consumed it. + + “The thought of the floods of the sea came likewise to nought, for the + sand stood up and stopped them. + + “If thou wert judge now betwixt these two, whom wouldst thou begin to + justify; or whom wouldst thou condemn? + + “I answered and said, Verily it is a foolish thought that they both + have devised; for the ground is given unto the wood, and the sea also + hath his place to bear his floods. + + “Then answered he me, and said, Thou hast given a right judgment; but + why judgest thou not thyself also? + + “For like as the ground is given unto the wood, and the sea to his + floods, even so they that dwell upon the earth may understand nothing + but that which is upon the earth; and He that dwelleth above the + heavens may only understand the things that are above the height of + the heavens.” + </pre> + <p> + I paused at those words, and, closing the Sacred Volume, fell into deep, + unquiet thought. + </p> + <p> + (1) Such is the supposition of Jahn. Dr. Lee, however, is of opinion that + the author was contemporary, and, indeed, identical, with the author of + the Book of Enoch. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0069" id="link2HCH0069"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXIX. + </h2> + <p> + I had hoped that the voyage would produce some beneficial effect upon + Lilian; but no effect, good or bad, was perceptible, except, perhaps, a + deeper silence, a gentler calm. She loved to sit on the deck when the + nights were fair, and the stars mirrored on the deep. And once thus, as I + stood beside her, bending over the rail of the vessel, and gazing on the + long wake of light which the moon made amidst the darkness of an ocean to + which no shore could be seen, I said to myself, “Where is my track of + light through the measureless future? Would that I could believe as I did + when a child! Woe is me, that all the reasonings I take from my knowledge + should lead me away from the comfort which the peasant who mourns finds in + faith! Why should riddles so dark have been thrust upon me,—me, no + fond child of fancy; me, sober pupil of schools the severest? Yet what + marvel—the strangest my senses have witnessed or feigned in the + fraud they have palmed on me—is greater than that by which a simple + affection, that all men profess to have known, has changed the courses of + life prearranged by my hopes and confirmed by my judgment? How calmly + before I knew love I have anatomized its mechanism, as the tyro who + dissects the web-work of tissues and nerves in the dead! Lo! it lives, + lives in me; and, in living, escapes from my scalpel, and mocks all my + knowledge. Can love be reduced to the realm of the senses? No; what nun is + more barred by her grate from the realm of the senses than my bride by her + solemn affliction? Is love, then, the union of kindred, harmonious minds? + No, my beloved one sits by my side, and I guess not her thoughts, and my + mind is to her a sealed fountain. Yet I love her more—oh, ineffably + more!—for the doom which destroys the two causes philosophy assigns + to love—in the form, in the mind! How can I now, in my vain + physiology, say what is love, what is not? Is it love which must tell me + that man has a soul, and that in soul will be found the solution of + problems never to be solved in body or mind alone?” + </p> + <p> + My self-questionings halted here as Lilian’s hand touched my shoulder. She + had risen from her seat, and had come to me. + </p> + <p> + “Are not the stars very far from earth?” she said. + </p> + <p> + “Very far.” + </p> + <p> + “Are they seen for the first time to-night?” + </p> + <p> + “They were seen, I presume, as we see them, by the fathers of all human + races!” + </p> + <p> + “Yet close below us they shine reflected in the waters; and yet, see, wave + flows on wave before we can count it!” + </p> + <p> + “Lilian, by what sympathy do you read and answer my thought?” + </p> + <p> + Her reply was incoherent and meaningless. If a gleam of intelligence had + mysteriously lighted my heart to her view, it was gone. But drawing her + nearer towards me, my eye long followed wistfully the path of light, + dividing the darkness on either hand, till it closed in the sloping + horizon. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0070" id="link2HCH0070"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXX. + </h2> + <p> + The voyage is over. At the seaport at which we landed I found a letter + from Faber. My instructions had reached him in time to effect the purchase + on which his descriptions had fixed my desire. The stock, the implements + of husbandry, the furniture of the house, were included in the purchase. + All was prepared for my arrival, and I hastened from the then miserable + village, which may some day rise into one of the mightiest capitals of the + world, to my lodge in the wilderness. + </p> + <p> + It was the burst of the Australian spring, which commences in our autumn + month of October. The air was loaded with the perfume of the acacias. + Amidst the glades of the open forest land, or climbing the craggy banks of + winding silvery creeks,(1) creepers and flowers of dazzling hue contrasted + the olive-green of the surrounding foliage. The exhilarating effect of the + climate in that season heightens the charm of the strange scenery. In the + brilliancy of the sky, in the lightness of the atmosphere, the sense of + life is wondrously quickened. With the very breath the Adventurer draws in + from the racy air, he feels as if inhaling hope. + </p> + <p> + We have reached our home, we are settled in it; the early unfamiliar + impressions are worn away. We have learned to dispense with much that we + at first missed, and are reconciled to much that at first disappointed or + displeased. + </p> + <p> + The house is built but of logs; the late proprietor had commenced, upon a + rising ground, a mile distant, a more imposing edifice of stone, but it is + not half finished. + </p> + <p> + This log-house is commodious, and much has been done, within and without, + to conceal or adorn its primitive rudeness. It is of irregular, + picturesque form, with verandas round three sides of it, to which the + grape-vine has been trained, with glossy leaves that clamber up to the + gable roof. There is a large garden in front, in which many English + fruit-trees have been set, and grow fast amongst the plants of the tropics + and the orange-trees of Southern Europe. Beyond stretch undulous pastures, + studded not only with sheep, but with herds of cattle, which my + speculative predecessor had bred from parents of famous stock, and + imported from England at mighty cost; but as yet the herds had been of + little profit, and they range their luxuriant expanse of pasture with as + little heed. To the left soar up, in long range, the many-coloured hills; + to the right meanders a creek, belted by feathery trees; and on its + opposite bank a forest opens, through frequent breaks, into park-like + glades and alleys. The territory, of which I so suddenly find myself the + lord, is vast, even for a colonial capitalist. + </p> + <p> + It had been originally purchased as “a special survey,” comprising twenty + thousand acres, with the privilege of pasture over forty thousand more. In + very little of this land, though it includes some of the most fertile + districts in the known world, has cultivation been even commenced. At the + time I entered into possession, even sheep were barely profitable; labour + was scarce and costly. Regarded as a speculation, I could not wonder that + my predecessor fled in fear from his domain. Had I invested the bulk of my + capital in this lordly purchase, I should have deemed myself a ruined man; + but a villa near London, with a hundred acres, would have cost me as much + to buy, and thrice as much to keep up. I could afford the investment I had + made. I found a Scotch bailiff already on the estate, and I was contented + to escape from rural occupations, to which I brought no experience, by + making it worth his while to serve me with zeal. Two domestics of my own, + and two who had been for many years with Mrs. Ashleigh, had accompanied + us: they remained faithful and seemed contented. So the clockwork of our + mere household arrangements went on much the same as in our native home. + Lilian was not subjected to the ordinary privations and discomforts that + await the wife even of the wealthy emigrant. Alas! would she have heeded + them if she had been? + </p> + <p> + The change of scene wrought a decided change for the better in her health + and spirits, but not such as implied a dawn of reviving reason. But her + countenance was now more rarely overcast. Its usual aspect was glad with a + soft mysterious smile. She would murmur snatches of songs, that were + partly borrowed from English poets, and partly glided away into what + seemed spontaneous additions of her own,—wanting intelligible + meaning, but never melody nor rhyme. Strange, that memory and imitation—the + two earliest parents of all inventive knowledge—should still be so + active, and judgment—the after faculty, that combines the rest into + purpose and method—be annulled! + </p> + <p> + Julius Faber I see continually, though his residence is a few miles + distant. He is sanguine as to Lilian’s ultimate recovery; and, to my + amazement and to my envy, he has contrived, by some art which I cannot + attain, to establish between her and himself intelligible communion. She + comprehends his questions, when mine, though the simplest, seem to her in + unknown language; and he construes into sense her words, that to me are + meaningless riddles. + </p> + <p> + “I was right,” he said to me one day, leaving her seated in the garden + beside her quiet, patient mother, and joining me where I lay—listless + yet fretful—under the shadeless gum-trees, gazing not on the flocks + and fields that I could call my own, but on the far mountain range, from + which the arch of the horizon seemed to spring,—“I was right,” said + the great physician; “this is reason suspended, not reason lost. Your wife + will recover; but—” + </p> + <p> + “But what?” + </p> + <p> + “Give me your arm as I walk homeward, and I will tell you the conclusion + to which I have come.” + </p> + <p> + I rose, the old man leaned on me, and we went down the valley along the + craggy ridges of the winding creek. The woodland on the opposite bank was + vocal with the chirp and croak and chatter of Australian birds,—all + mirthful, all songless, save that sweetest of warblers, which some early + irreverent emigrant degraded to the name of magpie, but whose note is + sweeter than the nightingale’s, and trills through the lucent air with a + distinct ecstatic melody of joy that dominates all the discords, so + ravishing the sense, that, while it sings, the ear scarcely heeds the + scream of the parrots. + </p> + <p> + (1) Creek is the name given by Australian colonists to precarious water + Courses and tributary streams. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0071" id="link2HCH0071"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXI. + </h2> + <p> + “You may remember,” said Julius Faber, “Sir Humphry Davy’s eloquent + description of the effect produced on him by the inhalation of nitrous + oxide. He states that he began to lose the perception of external things; + trains of vivid visible images rapidly passed through his mind, and were + connected with words in such a manner as to produce perceptions perfectly + novel. ‘I existed,’ he said, ‘in a world of newly-connected and + newly-modified ideas.’ When he recovered, he exclaimed: ‘Nothing exists + but thoughts; the universe is composed of impressions, ideas, pleasures, + and pains!’ + </p> + <p> + “Now observe, that thus a cultivator of positive science, endowed with one + of the healthiest of human brains, is, by the inhalation of a gas, + abstracted from all external life,—enters into a new world, which + consists of images he himself creates and animates so vividly that, on + waking, he resolves the universe itself into thoughts.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said I, “but what inference do you draw from that voluntary + experiment, applicable to the malady of which you bid me hope the cure?” + </p> + <p> + “Simply this: that the effect produced on a healthful brain by the nitrous + oxide may be produced also by moral causes operating on the blood, or on + the nerves. There is a degree of mental excitement in which ideas are more + vivid than sensations, and then the world of external things gives way to + the world within the brain.(1) But this, though a suspension of that + reason which comprehends accuracy of judgment, is no more a permanent + aberration of reason than were Sir Humphry Davy’s visionary ecstasies + under the influence of the gas. The difference between the two states of + suspension is that of time, and it is but an affair of time with our + beloved patient. Yet prepare yourself. I fear that the mind will not + recover without some critical malady of the body!” + </p> + <p> + “Critical! but not dangerous?—say not dangerous! I can endure the + pause of her reason; I could not endure the void in the universe if her + life were to fade from the earth.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor friend! would not you yourself rather lose life than reason?” + </p> + <p> + “I—yes! But we men are taught to set cheap value on our own lives; + we do not estimate at the same rate the lives of those we love. Did we do + so, Humanity would lose its virtues.” + </p> + <p> + “What, then! Love teaches that there is something of nobler value than + mere mind? Yet surely it cannot be the mere body? What is it, if not that + continuance of being which your philosophy declines to acknowledge,—namely, + soul? If you fear so painfully that your Lilian should die, is it not that + you fear to lose her forever?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, cease, cease!” I cried impatiently. “I cannot now argue on + metaphysics. What is it that you anticipate of harm to her life? Her + health has been stronger ever since her affliction. She never seems to + know ailment now. Do you not perceive that her cheek has a more hardy + bloom, her frame a more rounded symmetry, than when you saw her in + England?” + </p> + <p> + “Unquestionably. Her physical forces have been silently recruiting + themselves in the dreams which half lull, half amuse her imagination. + Imagination! that faculty, the most glorious which is bestowed on the + human mind, because it is the faculty which enables thought to create, is + of all others the most exhausting to life when unduly stimulated and + consciously reasoning on its own creations. I think it probable that had + this sorrow not befallen you, you would have known a sorrow yet graver,—you + would have long survived your Lilian. As it is now, when she recovers, her + whole organization, physical and mental, will have undergone a beneficent + change. But, I repeat my prediction,—some severe malady of the body + will precede the restoration of the mind; and it is my hope that the + present suspense or aberration of the more wearing powers of the mind may + fit the body to endure and surmount the physical crisis. I remember a + case, within my own professional experience, in many respects similar to + this, but in other respects it was less hopeful. I was consulted by a + young student of a very delicate physical frame, of great mental energies, + and consumed by an intense ambition. He was reading for university + honours. He would not listen to me when I entreated him to rest his mind. + I thought that he was certain to obtain the distinction for which he + toiled, and equally certain to die a few months after obtaining it. He + falsified both my prognostics. He so overworked himself that, on the day + of examination, his nerves were agitated, his memory failed him; he + passed, not without a certain credit, but fell far short of the rank + amongst his fellow competitors to which he aspired. Here, then, the + irritated mind acted on the disappointed heart, and raised a new train of + emotions. He was first visited by spectral illusions; then he sank into a + state in which the external world seemed quite blotted out. He heeded + nothing that was said to him; seemed to see nothing that was placed before + his eyes,—in a word, sensations became dormant, ideas preconceived + usurped their place, and those ideas gave him pleasure. He believed that + his genius was recognized, and lived amongst its supposed creations + enjoying an imaginary fame. So it went on for two years, during which + suspense of his reason, his frail form became robust and vigorous. At the + end of that time he was seized with a fever, which would have swept him in + three days to the grave had it occurred when I was first called in to + attend him. He conquered the fever, and, in recovering, acquired the full + possession of the intellectual faculties so long suspended. When I last + saw him, many years afterwards, he was in perfect health, and the object + of his young ambition was realized; the body had supported the mind,—he + had achieved distinction. Now what had so, for a time, laid this strong + intellect into visionary sleep? The most agonizing of human emotions in a + noble spirit,—shame! What has so stricken down your Lilian? You have + told me the story: shame!—the shame of a nature pre-eminently pure. + But observe that, in his case as in hers, the shock inflicted does not + produce a succession of painful illusions: on the contrary, in both, the + illusions are generally pleasing. Had the illusions been painful, the body + would have suffered, the patient died. Why did a painful shock produce + pleasing illusions? Because, no matter how a shock on the nerves may + originate, if it affects the reason, it does but make more vivid than + impressions from actual external objects the ideas previously most + cherished. Such ideas in the young student were ideas of earthly fame; + such ideas in the young maiden are ideas of angel comforters and heavenly + Edens. You miss her mind on the earth, and, while we speak, it is in + paradise.” + </p> + <p> + “Much that you say, my friend, is authorized by the speculations of great + writers, with whom I am not unfamiliar; but in none of those writers, nor + in your encouraging words, do I find a solution for much that has no + precedents in my experience,—much, indeed, that has analogies in my + reading, but analogies which I have hitherto despised as old wives’ + fables. I have bared to your searching eye the weird mysteries of my life. + How do you account for facts which you cannot resolve into illusions,—for + the influence which that strange being, Margrave, exercised over Lilian’s + mind or fancy, so that for a time her love for me was as dormant as is her + reason now; so that he could draw her—her whose nature you admit to + be singularly pure and modest—from her mother’s home? The magic + wand; the trance into which that wand threw Margrave himself; the + apparition which it conjured up in my own quiet chamber when my mind was + without a care and my health without a flaw,—how account for all + this: as you endeavoured, and perhaps successfully, to account for all my + impressions of the Vision in the Museum, of the luminous, haunting shadow + in its earlier apparitions, when my fancy was heated, my heart tormented, + and, it might be, even the physical forces of this strong frame + disordered?” + </p> + <p> + “Allen,” said the old pathologist, “here we approach a ground which few + physicians have dared to examine. Honour to those who, like our bold + contemporary, Elliotson, have braved scoff and sacrificed dross in seeking + to extract what is practical in uses, what can be tested by experiment, + from those exceptional phenomena on which magic sought to found a + philosophy, and to which philosophy tracks the origin of magic.” + </p> + <p> + “What! do I understand you? Is it you, Julius Faber, who attach faith to + the wonders attributed to animal magnetism and electro-biology, or + subscribe to the doctrines which their practitioners teach?” + </p> + <p> + “I have not examined into those doctrines, nor seen with my own eyes the + wonders recorded, upon evidence too respectable, nevertheless, to permit + me peremptorily to deny what I have not witnessed.(2) But wherever I look + through the History of Mankind in all ages and all races, I find a + concurrence in certain beliefs which seem to countenance the theory that + there is in some peculiar and rare temperaments a power over forms of + animated organization, with which they establish some unaccountable + affinity; and even, though much more rarely, a power over inanimate + matter. You are familiar with the theory of Descartes, ‘that those + particles of the blood which penetrate to the brain do not only serve to + nourish and sustain its substance, but to produce there a certain very + subtle Aura, or rather a flame very vivid and pure, that obtains the name + of the Animal Spirits;’ (3) and at the close of his great fragment upon + Man, he asserts that ‘this flame is of no other nature than all the fires + which are in inanimate bodies.‘(4) This notion does but forestall the more + recent doctrine that electricity is more or less in all, or nearly all, + known matter. Now, whether in the electric fluid or some other fluid akin + to it of which we know still less, thus equally pervading all matter, + there may be a certain magnetic property more active, more operative upon + sympathy in some human constitutions than in others, and which can account + for the mysterious power I have spoken of, is a query I might suggest, but + not an opinion I would hazard. For an opinion I must have that basis of + experience or authority which I do not need when I submit a query to the + experience and authority of others. Still, the supposition conveyed in the + query is so far worthy of notice, that the ecstatic temperament (in which + phrase I comprehend all constitutional mystics) is peculiarly sensitive to + electric atmospheric influences. This is a fact which most medical + observers will have remarked in the range of their practice. Accordingly, + I was prepared to find Mr. Hare Townshend, in his interesting work,(5) + state that he himself was of ‘the electric temperament,’ sparks flying + from his hair when combed in the dark, etc. That accomplished writer, + whose veracity no one would impugn, affirms that between this electrical + endowment and whatever mesmeric properties he might possess, there is a + remarkable relationship and parallelism. Whatever state of the atmosphere + tends to accumulate and insulate electricity in the body, promotes + equally’ (says Mr. Townshend) ‘the power and facility with which I + influence others mesmerically.’ What Mr. Townshend thus observes in + himself, American physicians and professors of chemistry depose to have + observed in those modern magicians, the mediums of (so-called) ‘spirit + manifestation.’ They state that all such mediums are of the electric + temperament, thus everywhere found allied with the ecstatic, and their + power varies in proportion as the state of the atmosphere serves to + depress or augment the electricity stored in themselves. Here, then, in + the midst of vagrant phenomena, either too hastily dismissed as altogether + the tricks of fraudful imposture, or too credulously accepted as + supernatural portents—here, at least, in one generalized fact, we may, + perhaps, find a starting point, from which inductive experiment may + arrive, soon or late, at a rational theory. But however the power of which + we are speaking (a power accorded to special physical temperament) may or + may not be accounted for by some patient student of nature, I am persuaded + that it is in that power we are to seek for whatever is not wholly + imposture, in the attributes assigned to magic or witchcraft. It is well + said, by a writer who has gone into the depth of these subjects with the + research of a scholar and the science of a pathologist, ‘that if magic had + exclusively reposed on credulity and falsehood, its reign would never have + endured so long; but that its art took its origin in singular phenomena, + proper to certain affections of the nerves, or manifested in the + conditions of sleep. These phenomena, the principle of which was at first + unknown, served to root faith in magic, and often abused even enlightened + minds. The enchanters and magicians arrived, by divers practices, at the + faculty of provoking in other brains a determined order of dreams, of + engendering hallucinations of all kinds, of inducing fits of hypnotism, + trance, mania, during which the persons so affected imagined that they + saw, heard, touched, supernatural beings, conversed with them, proved + their influences, assisted at prodigies of which magic proclaimed itself + to possess the secret. The public, the enchanters, and the enchanted were + equally dupes.‘(6) Accepting this explanation, unintelligible to no + physician of a practice so lengthened as mine has been, I draw from it the + corollary, that as these phenomena are exhibited only by certain special + affections, to which only certain special constitutions are susceptible, + so not in any superior faculties of intellect, or of spiritual endowment, + but in peculiar physical temperaments, often strangely disordered, the + power of the sorcerer in affecting the imagination of others is to be + sought. In the native tribes of Australasia the elders are instructed in + the arts of this so-called sorcery, but only in a very few constitutions + does instruction avail to produce effects in which the savages recognize + the powers of a sorcerer: it is so with the Obi of the negroes. The + fascination of Obi is an unquestionable fact, but the Obi man cannot be + trained by formal lessons; he is born a fascinator, as a poet is born a + poet. It is so with the Laplanders, of whom Tornoeus reports that of those + instructed in the magical art ‘only a few are capable of it.’ ‘Some,’ he + says, ‘are naturally magicians.’ And this fact is emphatically insisted + upon by the mystics of our own middle ages, who state that a man must be + born a magician; in other words, that the gift is constitutional, though + developed by practice and art. Now, that this gift and its practice should + principally obtain in imperfect states of civilization, and fade into + insignificance in the busy social enlightenment of cities, may be + accounted for by reference to the known influences of imagination. In the + cruder states of social life not only is imagination more frequently + predominant over all other faculties, but it has not the healthful vents + which the intellectual competition of cities and civilization affords. The + man who in a savage tribe, or in the dark feudal ages, would be a + magician, is in our century a poet, an orator, a daring speculator, an + inventive philosopher. In other words, his imagination is drawn to + pursuits congenial to those amongst whom it works. It is the tendency of + all intellect to follow the directions of the public opinion amidst which + it is trained. Where a magician is held in reverence or awe, there will be + more practitioners of magic than where a magician is despised as an + impostor or shut up as a lunatic. In Scandinavia, before the introduction + of Christianity, all tradition records the wonderful powers of the Vala, + or witch, who was then held in reverence and honour. Christianity was + introduced, and the early Church denounced the Vala as the instrument of + Satan, and from that moment down dropped the majestic prophetess into a + miserable and execrated old hag!” + </p> + <p> + “The ideas you broach,” said I, musingly, “have at moments crossed me, + though I have shrunk from reducing them to a theory which is but one of + pure hypothesis. But this magic, after all, then, you would place in the + imagination of the operator, acting on the imagination of those whom it + affects? Here, at least, I can follow you, to a certain extent, for here + we get back into the legitimate realm of physiology.” + </p> + <p> + “And possibly,” said Faber, “we may find hints to guide us to useful + examination, if not to complete solution of problems that, once + demonstrated, may lead to discoveries of infinite value,—hints, I + say, in two writers of widely opposite genius, Van Helmont and Bacon. Van + Helmont, of all the mediaeval mystics, is, in spite of his many + extravagant whims, the one whose intellect is the most suggestive to the + disciplined reasoners of our day. He supposed that the faculty which he + calls Fantasy, and which we familiarly call Imagination,—is invested + with the power of creating for itself ideas independent of the senses, + each idea clothed in a form fabricated by the imagination, and becoming an + operative entity. This notion is so far favoured by modern physiologists, + that Lincke reports a case where the eye itself was extirpated; yet the + extirpation was followed by the appearance of luminous figures before the + orbit. And again, a woman, stone-blind, complained of ‘luminous images, + with pale colours, before her eyes.’ Abercrombie mentions the case ‘of a + lady quite blind, her eyes being also disorganized and sunk, who never + walked out without seeing a little old woman in a red cloak, who seemed to + walk before her.‘(7) Your favourite authority, the illustrious Miller, who + was himself in the habit of ‘seeing different images in the field of + vision when he lay quietly down to sleep, asserts that these images are + not merely presented to the fancy, but that even the images of dreams are + really seen,’ and that ‘any one may satisfy himself of this by accustoming + himself regularly to open his eyes when waking after a dream,—the + images seen in the dream are then sometimes visible, and can be observed + to disappear gradually.’ He confirms this statement not only by the result + of his own experience, but by the observations made by Spinoza, and the + yet higher authority of Aristotle, who accounts for spectral appearance as + the internal action of the sense of vision.(8) And this opinion is + favoured by Sir David Brewster, whose experience leads him to suggest + ‘that the objects of mental contemplation may be seen as distinctly as + external objects, and will occupy the same local position in the axis of + vision as if they had been formed by the agency of light.’ Be this as it + may, one fact remains,—that images can be seen even by the blind as + distinctly and vividly as you and I now see the stream below our feet and + the opossums at play upon yonder boughs. Let us come next to some + remarkable suggestions of Lord Bacon. In his Natural History, treating of + the force of the imagination, and the help it receives ‘by one man working + by another,’ he cites an instance he had witnessed of a kind of juggler, + who could tell a person what card he thought of. He mentioned this ‘to a + pretended learned man, curious in such things,’ and this sage said to him, + ‘It is not the knowledge of the man’s thought, for that is proper to God, + but the enforcing of a thought upon him, and binding his imagination by a + stronger, so that he could think of no other card.’ You see this sage + anticipated our modern electro-biologists! And the learned man then + shrewdly asked Lord Bacon, ‘Did the juggler tell the card to the man + himself who had thought of it, or bid another tell it?’ ‘He bade another + tell it,’ answered Lord Bacon. ‘I thought so,’ returned his learned + acquaintance, ‘for the juggler himself could not have put on so strong an + imagination; but by telling the card to the other, who believed the + juggler was some strange man who could do strange things, that other man + caught a strong imagination.‘(9) The whole story is worth reading, because + Lord Bacon evidently thinks it conveys a guess worth examining. And Lord + Bacon, were he now living, would be the man to solve the mysteries that + branch out of mesmerism or (so-called) spiritual manifestation, for he + would not pretend to despise their phenomena for fear of hurting his + reputation for good sense. Bacon then goes on to state that there are + three ways to fortify the imagination. ‘First, authority derived from + belief in an art and in the man who exercises it; secondly, means to + quicken and corroborate the imagination; thirdly, means to repeat and + refresh it.’ For the second and the third he refers to the practices of + magic, and proceeds afterwards to state on what things imagination has + most force,—‘upon things that have the lightest and easiest motions, + and, therefore, above all, upon the spirits of men, and, in them, on such + affections as move lightest,—in love, in fear, in irresolution. + And,’ adds Bacon, earnestly, in a very different spirit from that which + dictates to the sages of our time the philosophy of rejecting without + trial that which belongs to the Marvellous,—‘and whatsoever is of + this kind, should be thoroughly inquired into.’ And this great founder or + renovator of the sober inductive system of investigation even so far + leaves it a matter of speculative inquiry, whether imagination may not be + so powerful that it can actually operate upon a plant, that he says: ‘This + likewise should be made upon plants, and that diligently; as if you should + tell a man that such a tree would die this year, and will him, at these + and these times, to go unto it and see how it thriveth.’ I presume that no + philosopher has followed such recommendations: had some great philosopher + done so, possibly we should by this time know all the secrets of what is + popularly called witchcraft.” + </p> + <p> + And as Faber here paused, there came a strange laugh from the fantastic + she-oak-tree overhanging the stream,—a wild, impish laugh. + </p> + <p> + “Pooh! it is but the great kingfisher, the laughing-bird of the Australian + bush,” said Julius Faber, amused at my start of superstitious alarm. + </p> + <p> + We walked on for some minutes in musing silence, and the rude log-hut in + which my wise companion had his home came in view,—the flocks + grazing on undulous pastures, the lone drinking at a watercourse fringed + by the slender gum-trees, and a few fields, laboriously won from the + luxuriant grassland, rippling with the wave of corn. + </p> + <p> + I halted, and said, “Rest here for a few moments, till I gather up the + conclusions to which your speculative reasoning seems to invite me.” + </p> + <p> + We sat down on a rocky crag, half mantled by luxuriant creepers with + vermilion buds. + </p> + <p> + “From the guesses,” said I, “which you have drawn from the erudition of + others and your own ingenious and reflective inductions, I collect this + solution of the mysteries, by which the experience I gain from my senses + confounds all the dogmas approved by my judgment. To the rational + conjectures by which, when we first conversed on the marvels that + perplexed me, you ascribe to my imagination, predisposed by mental + excitement, physical fatigue or derangement, and a concurrence of singular + events tending to strengthen such predisposition, the phantasmal + impressions produced on my senses,—to these conjectures you now add + a new one, more startling and less admitted by sober physiologists. You + conceive it possible that persons endowed with a rare and peculiar + temperament can so operate on imagination, and, through the imagination, + on the senses of others, as to exceed even the powers ascribed to the + practitioners of mesmerism and electro-biology, and give a certain + foundation of truth to the old tales of magic and witchcraft. You imply + that Margrave may be a person thus gifted, and hence the influence he + unquestionably exercised over Lilian, and over, perhaps, less innocent + agents, charmed or impelled by his will. And not discarding, as I own I + should have been originally induced to do, the queries or suggestions + adventured by Bacon in his discursive speculations on Nature, to wit, + ‘that there be many things, some of them inanimate, that operate upon the + spirits of men by secret sympathy and antipathy,’ and to which Bacon gave + the quaint name of ‘imaginants,’ so even that wand, of which I have + described to you the magic-like effects, may have had properties + communicated to it by which it performs the work of the magician, as + mesmerists pretend that some substance mesmerized by them can act on the + patient as sensibly as if it were the mesmerizer himself. Do I state your + suppositions correctly?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; always remembering that they are only suppositions, and volunteered + with the utmost diffidence. But since, thus seated in the early + wilderness, we permit ourselves the indulgence of childlike guess, may it + not be possible, apart from the doubtful question whether a man can + communicate to an inanimate material substance a power to act upon the + mind or imagination of another man—may it not, I say, be possible + that such a substance may contain in itself such a virtue or property + potent over certain constitutions, though not over all. For instance, it + is in my experience that the common hazel-wood will strongly affect some + nervous temperaments, though wholly without effect on others. I remember a + young girl, who having taken up a hazel-stick freshly cut, could not relax + her hold of it; and when it was wrenched away from her by force, was + irresistibly attracted towards it, repossessed herself of it, and, after + holding it a few minutes, was cast into a kind of trance, in which she + beheld phantasmal visions. Mentioning this curious case, which I supposed + unique, to a learned brother of our profession, he told me that he had + known other instances of the effect of the hazel upon nervous temperaments + in persons of both sexes. Possibly it was some such peculiar property in + the hazel that made it the wood selected for the old divining-rod. Again, + we know that the bay-tree, or laurel, was dedicated to the oracular + Pythian Apollo. Now wherever, in the old world, we find that the learning + of the priests enabled them to exhibit exceptional phenomena, which + imposed upon popular credulity, there was a something or other which is + worth a philosopher’s while to explore; and, accordingly, I always + suspected that there was in the laurel some property favourable to + ecstatic vision in highly impressionable temperaments. My suspicion, a few + years ago, was justified by the experience of a German physician, who had + under his care a cataleptic or ecstatic patient, and who assured me that + he found nothing in this patient so stimulated the state of + ‘sleep-waking,’ or so disposed that state to indulge in the hallucinations + of prevision, as the berry of the laurel.(10) Well, we do not know what + this wand that produced a seemingly magical effect upon you was really + composed of. You did not notice the metal employed in the wire, which you + say communicated a thrill to the sensitive nerves in the palm of the hand. + You cannot tell how far it might have been the vehicle of some fluid force + in nature. Or still more probably, whether the pores of your hand + insensibly imbibed, and communicated to the brain, some of those powerful + narcotics from which the Buddhists and the Arabs make unguents that induce + visionary hallucinations, and in which substances undetected in the hollow + of the wand, or the handle of the wand itself, might be steeped.(11) One + thing we do know, namely, that amongst the ancients, and especially in the + East, the construction of wands for magical purposes was no commonplace + mechanical craft, but a special and secret art appropriated to men who + cultivated with assiduity all that was then known of natural science in + order to extract from it agencies that might appear supernatural. + Possibly, then, the rods or wands of the East, of which Scripture makes + mention, were framed upon some principles of which we in our day are very + naturally ignorant, since we do not ransack science for the same secrets; + and thus, in the selection or preparation of the material employed, mainly + consisted whatever may be referrible to natural philosophical causes in + the antique science of Rhabdomancy, or divination and enchantment by + wands. The staff, or wand, of which you tell me, was, you say, made of + iron or steel and tipped with crystal. Possibly iron and crystal do really + contain some properties not hitherto scientifically analyzed, and only, + indeed, potential over exceptional temperaments, which may account for the + fact that iron and crystal have been favourites with all professed + mystics, ancient and modern. The Delphic Pythoness had her iron tripod, + Mesmer his iron bed; and many persons, indisputably honest, cannot gaze + long upon a ball of crystal but what they begin to see visions. I suspect + that a philosophical cause for such seemingly preternatural effects of + crystal and iron will be found in connection with the extreme + impressionability to changes in temperatures which is the characteristic + both of crystal and iron. But if these materials do contain certain powers + over exceptional constitutions, we do not arrive at a supernatural but at + a natural phenomenon.” + </p> + <p> + “Still,” said I, “even granting that your explanatory hypotheses hit or + approach the truth;—still what a terrible power you would assign to + man’s will over men’s reason and deeds!” + </p> + <p> + “Man’s will,” answered Faber, “has over men’s deeds and reason, habitual + and daily, power infinitely greater and, when uncounterbalanced, + infinitely more dangerous than that which superstition exaggerates in + magic. Man’s will moves a war that decimates a race, and leaves behind it + calamities little less dire than slaughter. Man’s will frames, but it also + corrupts laws; exalts, but also demoralizes opinion; sets the world mad + with fanaticism, as often as it curbs the heart’s fierce instincts by the + wisdom of brother-like mercy. You revolt at the exceptional, limited sway + over some two or three individuals which the arts of a sorcerer (if + sorcerer there be) can effect; and yet, at the very moment in which you + were perplexed and appalled by such sway, or by your reluctant belief in + it, your will was devising an engine to unsettle the reason and wither the + hopes of millions!” + </p> + <p> + “My will! What engine?” + </p> + <p> + “A book conceived by your intellect, adorned by your learning, and + directed by your will, to steal from the minds of other men their + persuasion of the soul’s everlasting Hereafter.” + </p> + <p> + I bowed my head, and felt myself grow pale. + </p> + <p> + “And if we accept Bacon’s theory of ‘secret sympathy,’ or the plainer + physiological maxim that there must be in the imagination, morbidly + impressed by the will of another, some trains of idea in affinity with + such influence and preinclined to receive it, no magician could warp you + to evil, except through thoughts that themselves went astray. Grant that + the Margrave who still haunts your mind did really, by some occult, + sinister magnetism, guide the madman to murder, did influence the + servant-woman’s vulgar desire to pry into the secrets of her ill-fated + master, or the old maid’s covetous wish and envious malignity: what could + this awful magician do more than any commonplace guilty adviser, to a mind + predisposed to accept the advice?” + </p> + <p> + “You forget one example which destroys your argument,—the spell + which this mysterious fascinator could cast upon a creature so pure from + all guilt as Lilian!” + </p> + <p> + “Will you forgive me if I answer frankly?” + </p> + <p> + “Speak.” + </p> + <p> + “Your Lilian is spotless and pure as you deem her, and the fascination, + therefore, attempts no lure through a sinful desire; it blends with its + attraction no sentiment of affection untrue to yourself. Nay, it is + justice to your Lilian, and may be melancholy comfort to you, to state my + conviction, based on the answers my questions have drawn from her, that + you were never more cherished by her love than when that love seemed to + forsake you. Her imagination impressed her with the illusion that through + your love for her you were threatened with a great peril. What seemed the + levity of her desertion was the devotion of self-sacrifice. And, in her + strange, dream-led wanderings, do not think that she was conscious of the + fascination you impute to this mysterious Margrave: in her belief it was + your own guardian angel that guided her steps, and her pilgrimage was + ordained to disarm the foe that menaced you, and dissolve the spell that + divided her life from yours! But had she not, long before this, willingly + prepared herself to be so deceived? Had not her fancies been deliberately + encouraged to dwell remote from the duties we are placed on the earth to + perform? The loftiest faculties in our nature are those that demand the + finest poise, not to fall from their height and crush all the walls that + they crown. With exquisite beauty of illustration, Hume says of the + dreamers of ‘bright fancies,’ ‘that they may be compared to those angels + whom the Scriptures represent as covering their eyes with their wings.’ + Had you been, like my nephew, a wrestler for bread with the wilderness, + what helpmate would your Lilian have been to you? How often would you have + cried out in justifiable anger, ‘I, son of Adam, am on earth, not in + Paradise! Oh, that my Eve were at home on my hearth, and not in the skies + with the seraphs!’ No Margrave, I venture to say, could have suspended the + healthful affections, or charmed into danger the wide-awake soul of my + Amy. When she rocks in its cradle the babe the young parents intrust to + her heed; when she calls the kine to the milking, the chicks to their + corn; when she but flits through my room to renew the flowers on the + stand, or range in neat order the books that I read, no spell on her fancy + could lead her a step from the range of her provident cares! At day she is + contented to be on the commonplace earth; at evening she and I knock + together at the one door of heaven, which opes to thanksgiving and prayer; + and thanksgiving and prayer send us back, calm and hopeful, to the task + that each morrow renews.” + </p> + <p> + I looked up as the old man paused, and in the limpid clearness of the + Australian atmosphere, I saw the child he thus praised standing by the + garden-gate, looking towards us, and though still distant she seemed near. + I felt wroth with her. My heart so cherished my harmless, defenceless + Lilian, that I was jealous of the praise taken from her to be bestowed on + another. + </p> + <p> + “Each of us,” said I, coldly, “has his or her own nature, and the uses + harmonious to that nature’s idiosyncrasy. The world, I grant, would get on + very ill if women were not more or less actively useful and quietly good, + like your Amy. But the world would lose standards that exalt and refine, + if no woman were permitted to gain, through the indulgence of fancy, + thoughts exquisite as those which my Lilian conceived, while thought, + alas! flowed out of fancy. I do not wound you by citing your Amy as a type + of the mediocre; I do not claim for Lilian the rank we accord to the type + of genius. But both are alike to such types in this: namely, that the uses + of mediocrity are for every-day life, and the uses of genius, amidst a + thousand mistakes which mediocrity never commits, are to suggest and + perpetuate ideas which raise the standard of the mediocre to a nobler + level. There would be fewer Amys in life if there were no Lilian! as there + would be far fewer good men of sense if there were no erring dreamer of + genius!” + </p> + <p> + “You say well, Allen Fenwick. And who should be so indulgent to the + vagaries of the imagination as the philosophers who taught your youth to + doubt everything in the Maker’s plan of creation which could not be + mathematically proved? ‘The human mind,’ said Luther, ‘is like a drunkard + on horseback; prop it on one side, and it falls on the other.’ So the man + who is much too enlightened to believe in a peasant’s religion, is always + sure to set up some insane superstition of his own. Open biographical + volumes wherever you please, and the man who has no faith in religion is a + man who has faith in a nightmare. See that type of the elegant sceptics,—Lord + Herbert of Cherbury. He is writing a book against Revelation; he asks a + sign from heaven to tell him if his book is approved by his Maker, and the + man who cannot believe in the miracles performed by his Saviour gravely + tells us of a miracle vouchsafed to himself. Take the hardest and + strongest intellect which the hardest and strongest race of mankind ever + schooled and accomplished. See the greatest of great men, the great Julius + Caesar! Publicly he asserts in the Senate that the immortality of the soul + is a vain chimera. He professes the creed which Roman voluptuaries deduced + from Epicurus, and denies all Divine interference in the affairs of the + earth. A great authority for the Materialists—they have none + greater! They can show on their side no intellect equal to Caesar’s! And + yet this magnificent freethinker, rejecting a soul and a Deity, habitually + entered his chariot muttering a charm; crawled on his knees up the steps + of a temple to propitiate the abstraction called ‘Nemesis;’ and did not + cross the Rubicon till he had consulted the omens. What does all this + prove?—a very simple truth. Man has some instincts with the brutes; + for instance, hunger and sexual love. Man has one instinct peculiar to + himself, found universally (or with alleged exceptions in savage States so + rare, that they do not affect the general law(12)),—an instinct of + an invisible power without this earth, and of a life beyond the grave, + which that power vouchsafes to his spirit. But the best of us cannot + violate an instinct with impunity. Resist hunger as long as you can, and, + rather than die of starvation, your instinct will make you a cannibal; + resist love when youth and nature impel to it, and what pathologist does + not track one broad path into madness or crime? So with the noblest + instinct of all. Reject the internal conviction by which the grandest + thinkers have sanctioned the hope of the humblest Christian, and you are + servile at once to some faith inconceivably more hard to believe. The + imagination will not be withheld from its yearnings for vistas beyond the + walls of the flesh, and the span of the present hour. Philosophy itself, + in rejecting the healthful creeds by which man finds his safeguards in + sober prayer and his guide through the wilderness of visionary doubt, + invents systems compared to which the mysteries of theology are simple. + Suppose any man of strong, plain understanding had never heard of a Deity + like Him whom we Christians adore, then ask this man which he can the + better comprehend in his mind, and accept as a natural faith,—namely, + the simple Christianity of his shepherd or the Pantheism of Spinoza? Place + before an accomplished critic (who comes with a perfectly unprejudiced + mind to either inquiry), first, the arguments of David Hume against the + gospel miracles, and then the metaphysical crotchets of David Hume + himself. This subtle philosopher, not content, with Berkeley, to get rid + of matter,—not content, with Condillac, to get rid of spirit or + mind,—proceeds to a miracle greater than any his Maker has yet + vouchsafed to reveal. He, being then alive and in the act of writing, gets + rid of himself altogether. Nay, he confesses he cannot reason with any one + who is stupid enough to think he has a self. His words are: ‘What we call + a mind is nothing but a heap or collection of different perceptions or + objects united together by certain relations, and supposed, though + falsely, to be endowed with perfect simplicity and identity. If any one, + upon serious and candid reflection, thinks he has a different notion of + himself, I must confess I can reason with him no longer.’ Certainly I + would rather believe all the ghost stories upon record than believe that I + am not even a ghost, distinct and apart from the perceptions conveyed to + me, no matter how,—just as I am distinct and apart from the + furniture in my room, no matter whether I found it there or whether I + bought it. If some old cosmogonist asked you to believe that the primitive + cause of the solar system was not to ‘be traced to a Divine Intelligence, + but to a nebulosity, originally so diffused that its existence can with + difficulty be conceived, and that the origin of the present system of + organized beings equally dispensed with the agency of a creative mind, and + could be referred to molecules formed in the water by the power of + attraction, till by modifications of cellular tissue in the gradual lapse + of ages, one monad became an oyster and another a Man,—would you not + say this cosmogony could scarce have misled the human understanding even + in the earliest dawn of speculative inquiry? Yet such are the hypotheses + to which the desire to philosophize away that simple proposition of a + Divine First Cause, which every child can comprehend, led two of the + greatest geniuses and profoundest reasoners of modern times,—La + Place and La Marck.(13) Certainly, the more you examine those arch + phantasmagorists, the philosophers who would leave nothing in the universe + but their own delusions, the more your intellectual pride may be humbled. + The wildest phenomena which have startled you are not more extravagant + than the grave explanations which intellectual presumption adventures on + the elements of our own organism and the relations between the world of + matter and the world of ideas.” + </p> + <p> + Here our conversation stopped, for Amy had now joined us, and, looking up + to reply, I saw the child’s innocent face between me and the furrowed brow + of the old man. + </p> + <p> + (1) See, on the theory elaborated from this principle, Dr. Hibbert’s + interesting and valuable work on the “Philosophy of Apparitions.” + </p> + <p> + (2) What Faber here says is expressed with more authority by one of the + most accomplished metaphysicians of our time (Sir W. Hamilton): + </p> + <p> + “Somnambulism is a phenomenon still more astonishing (than dreaming). In + this singular state a person performs a regular series of rational + actions, and those frequently of the most difficult and delicate nature; + and what is still more marvellous, with a talent to which he could make no + pretension when awake. (Cr. Ancillon, Essais Philos. ii. 161.) His memory + and reminiscence supply him with recollections of words and things which, + perhaps, never were at his disposal in the ordinary state,—he speaks + more fluently a more refined language. And if we are to credit what the + evidence on which it rests hardly allows us to disbelieve, he has not only + perception of things through other channels than the common organs of + sense, but the sphere of his cognition is amplified to an extent far + beyond the limits to which sensible perception is confined. This subject + is one of the most perplexing in the whole compass of philosophy; for, on + the one hand, the phenomena are so remarkable that they cannot be + believed, and yet, on the other, they are of so unambiguous and palpable a + character, and the witnesses to their reality are so numerous, so + intelligent, and so high above every suspicion of deceit, that it is + equally impossible to deny credit to what is attested by such ample and un + exceptionable evidence.”—Sir W. Hamilton: Lectures on Metaphysics + and Logic, vol. ii. p. 274. + </p> + <p> + This perplexity, in which the distinguished philosopher leaves the + judgment so equally balanced that it finds it impossible to believe, and + yet impossible to disbelieve, forms the right state of mind in which a + candid thinker should come to the examination of those more extraordinary + phenomena which he has not himself yet witnessed, but the fair inquiry + into which may be tendered to him by persons above the imputation of + quackery and fraud. Muffler, who is not the least determined, as he is + certainly one of the most distinguished, disbelievers of mesmeric + phenomena, does not appear to have witnessed, or at least to have + carefully examined, them, or he would, perhaps, have seen that even the + more extraordinary of those phenomena confirm, rather than contradict, his + own general theories, and may be explained by the sympathies one sense has + with another,—“the laws of reflection through the medium of the + brain.” (Physiology of the Senses, p. 1311.) And again by the maxim “that + the mental principle, or cause of the mental phenomena, cannot be confined + to the brain, but that it exists in a latent state in every part of the + organism.” (Ibid., p. 1355.) The “nerve power,” contended for by Mr. Bain, + also may suggest a rational solution of much that has seemed incredible to + those physiologists who have not condescended to sift the genuine + phenomena of mesmerism from the imposture to which, in all ages, the + phenomena exhibited by what may be called the ecstatic temperament have + been applied. + </p> + <p> + (3) Descartes, L’Homme, vol. iv. p. 345. Cousin’s Edition. + </p> + <p> + (4) Ibid., p. 428. + </p> + <p> + (5) Facts in Mesmerism. + </p> + <p> + (6) La Magic et l’Astrologie dans l’Antiquitd et an Moyen-Age. Par L. F. + Alfred Maury, Membre de Institut. p. 225. + </p> + <p> + (7) “She had no illusions when within doors.”—Abercrombie, On the + Intellectual Powers, p. 277. (15th Edition.) + </p> + <p> + (8) Muller, Physiology of the Senses, Baley’s translation, pp. 1068-1395, + and elsewhere. Mr. Bain, in his thoughtful and suggestive work on the + “Senses and Intellect,” makes very powerful use of these statements in + support of his proposition, which Faber advances in other words, namely, + “the return of the nervous currents exactly on their old track in revived + sensations.” + </p> + <p> + (9) Perhaps it is for the reason suggested in the text, namely, that the + magician requires the interposition of a third imagination between his own + and that of the consulting believer, that any learned adept in (so-called) + magic will invariably refuse to exhibit without the presence of a third + person. Hence the author of “Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magic,” printed + at Parisy 1852-53—a book less remarkable for its learning than for + the earnest belief of a scholar of our own day in the reality of the art + of which he records the history—insists much on the necessity of + rigidly observing Le Ternaire, in the number of persons who assist in an + enchanter’s experiments. + </p> + <p> + (10) I may add that Dr. Kerner instances the effect of laurel-berries on + the Seeress of Prevorst, corresponding with that asserted by Julius Faber + in the text. + </p> + <p> + (11) See for these unguents the work of M. Maury, before quoted, “La Magic + et l’Astrologie,” etc., p. 417. + </p> + <p> + (12) It seems extremely doubtful whether the very few instances in which + it has been asserted that a savage race has been found without recognition + of a Deity and a future state would bear searching examination. It is set + forth, for example, in most of the popular works on Australia, that the + Australian savages have no notion of a Deity or a Hereafter, that they + only worship a devil, or evil spirit. This assumption, though made more + peremptorily, and by a greater number of writers than any similar one + regarding other savages, is altogether erroneous, and has no other + foundation than the ignorance of the writers. The Australian savages + recognize a Deity, but He is too august for a name in their own language; + in English they call Him the Great Master,—an expression synonymous + with “The Great Lord.” They believe in a hereafter of eternal joy, and + place it amongst the stars.—See Strzelecki’s Physical Description of + New South Wales. + </p> + <p> + (13) See the observations on La Place and La Marck in the Introduction to + Kirby’s “Bridgewater Treatise.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0072" id="link2HCH0072"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXII. + </h2> + <p> + I turned back alone. The sun was reddening the summits of the distant + mountain-range, but dark clouds, that portended rain, were gathering + behind my way and deepening the shadows in many a chasm and hollow which + volcanic fires had wrought on the surface of uplands undulating like + diluvian billows fixed into stone in the midst of their stormy swell. I + wandered on and away from the beaten track, absorbed in thought. Could I + acknowledge in Julius Faber’s conjectures any basis for logical + ratiocination; or were they not the ingenious fancies of that empirical + Philosophy of Sentiment by which the aged, in the decline of severer + faculties, sometimes assimilate their theories to the hazy romance of + youth? I can well conceive that the story I tell will be regarded by most + as a wild and fantastic fable; that by some it may be considered a vehicle + for guesses at various riddles of Nature, without or within us, which are + free to the license of romance, though forbidden to the caution of + science. But, I—I—know unmistakably my own identity, my own + positive place in a substantial universe. And beyond that knowledge, what + do I know? Yet had Faber no ground for his startling parallels between the + chimeras of superstition and the alternatives to faith volunteered by the + metaphysical speculations of knowledge? On the theorems of Condillac, I, + in common with numberless contemporaneous students (for, in my youth, + Condillac held sway in the schools, as now, driven forth from the schools, + his opinions float loose through the talk and the scribble of men of the + world, who perhaps never opened his page),—on the theorems of + Condillac I had built up a system of thought designed to immure the + swathed form of material philosophy from all rays and all sounds of a + world not material, as the walls of some blind mausoleum shut out, from + the mummy within, the whisper of winds and the gleaming of stars. + </p> + <p> + And did not those very theorems, when carried out to their strict and + completing results by the close reasonings of Hume, resolve my own living + identity, the one conscious indivisible me, into a bundle of memories + derived from the senses which had bubbled and duped my experience, and + reduce into a phantom, as spectral as that of the Luminous Shadow, the + whole solid frame of creation? + </p> + <p> + While pondering these questions, the storm whose forewarnings I had + neglected to heed burst forth with all the suddenness peculiar to the + Australian climes. The rains descended like the rushing of floods. In the + beds of watercourses, which, at noon, seemed dried up and exhausted, the + torrents began to swell and to rave; the gray crags around them were + animated into living waterfalls. I looked round, and the landscape was as + changed as a scene that replaces a scene on the player’s stage. I was + aware that I had wandered far from my home, and I knew not what direction + I should take to regain it. Close at hand, and raised above the torrents + that now rushed in many a gully and tributary creek, around and before me, + the mouth of a deep cave, overgrown with bushes and creeping flowers + tossed wildly to and fro between the rain from above and the spray of + cascades below, offered a shelter from the storm. I entered,—scaring + innumerable flocks of bats striking against me, blinded by the glare of + the lightning that followed me into the cavern, and hastening to resettle + themselves on the pendants of stalactites, or the jagged buttresses of + primaeval wall. + </p> + <p> + From time to time the lightning darted into the gloom and lingered amongst + its shadows; and I saw, by the flash, that the floors on which I stood + were strewed with strange bones, some amongst them the fossilized relics + of races destroyed by the Deluge. The rain continued for more than two + hours with unabated violence; then it ceased almost as suddenly as it had + come on, and the lustrous moon of Australia burst from the clouds shining + bright as an English dawn, into the hollows of the cave. And then + simultaneously arose all the choral songs of the wilderness,—creatures + whose voices are heard at night,—the loud whir of the locusts, the + musical boom of the bullfrog, the cuckoo note of the morepork, and, + mournful amidst all those merrier sounds, the hoot of the owl, through the + wizard she-oaks and the pale green of the gum-trees. + </p> + <p> + I stepped forth into the open air and gazed, first instinctively on the + heavens, next, with more heedful eye, upon the earth. The nature of the + soil bore the evidence of volcanic fires long since extinguished. Just + before my feet, the rays fell full upon a bright yellow streak in the + block of quartz half imbedded in the soft moist soil. In the midst of all + the solemn thoughts and the intense sorrows which weighed upon heart and + mind, that yellow gleam startled the mind into a direction remote from + philosophy, quickened the heart to a beat that chimed with no household + affections. Involuntarily I stooped; impulsively I struck the block with + the hatchet, or tomahawk, I carried habitually about me, for the purpose + of marking the trees that I wished to clear from the waste of my broad + domain. The quartz was shattered by the stroke, and left disburied its + glittering treasure. My first glance had not deceived me. I, vain seeker + after knowledge, had, at least, discovered gold. I took up the bright + metal—gold! I paused; I looked round; the land that just before had + seemed to me so worthless took the value of Ophir. Its features had before + been as unknown to me as the Mountains of the Moon, and now my memory + became wonderfully quickened. I recalled the rough map of my possessions, + the first careless ride round their boundaries. Yes, the land on which I + stood—for miles, to the spur of those farther mountains—the + land was mine, and, beneath its surface, there was gold! I closed my eyes; + for some moments visions of boundless wealth, and of the royal power which + such wealth could command, swept athwart my brain. But my heart rapidly + settled back to its real treasure. “What matters,” I sighed, “all this + dross? Could Ophir itself buy back to my Lilian’s smile one ray of the + light which gave ‘glory to the grass and splendour to the flower’?” + </p> + <p> + So muttering, I flung the gold into the torrent that raged below, and went + on through the moonlight, sorrowing silently,—only thankful for the + discovery that had quickened my reminiscence of the landmarks by which to + steer my way through the wilderness. + </p> + <p> + The night was half gone, for even when I had gained the familiar track + through the pastures, the swell of the many winding creeks that now + intersected the way obliged me often to retrace my steps; to find, + sometimes, the bridge of a felled tree which had been providently left + unremoved over the now foaming torrent, and, more than once, to swim + across the current, in which swimmers less strong or less practised would + have been dashed down the falls, where loose logs and torn trees went + clattering and whirling: for I was in danger of life. A band of the savage + natives were stealthily creeping on my track,—the natives in those + parts were not then so much awed by the white man as now. A boomerang(1) + had whirred by me, burying itself amongst the herbage close before my + feet. I had turned, sought to find and to face these dastardly foes; they + contrived to elude me. But when I moved on, my ear, sharpened by danger, + heard them moving, too, in my rear. Once only three hideous forms suddenly + faced me, springing up from a thicket, all tangled with honeysuckles and + creepers of blue and vermilion. I walked steadily up to them. They halted + a moment or so in suspense; but perhaps they were scared by my stature or + awed by my aspect; and the Unfamiliar, though Human, had terror for them, + as the Unfamiliar, although but a Shadow, had had terror for me. They + vanished, and as quickly as if they had crept into the earth. + </p> + <p> + At length the air brought me the soft perfume of my well-known acacias, + and my house stood before me, amidst English flowers and English + fruit-trees, under the effulgent Australian moon. Just as I was opening + the little gate which gave access from the pastureland into the garden, a + figure in white rose up from under light, feathery boughs, and a hand was + laid on my arm. I started; but my surprise was changed into fear when I + saw the pale face and sweet eyes of Lilian. + </p> + <p> + “Heavens! you here! you! at this hour! Lilian, what is this?” + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” she whispered, clinging to me; “hush! do not tell: no one knows. I + missed you when the storm came on; I have missed you ever since. Others + went in search of you and came back. I could not sleep, but the rest are + sleeping, so I stole down to watch for you. Brother, brother, if any harm + chanced to you, even the angels could not comfort me; all would be dark, + dark! But you are safe, safe, safe!” And she clung to me yet closer. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, Lilian, Lilian, your vision in the hour I first beheld you was indeed + prophetic,—‘each has need of the other.’ Do you remember?” + </p> + <p> + “Softly, softly,” she said, “let me think!” She stood quietly by my side, + looking up into the sky, with all its numberless stars, and its solitary + moon now sinking slow behind the verge of the forest. “It comes back to + me,” she murmured softly,—“the Long ago,—the sweet Long ago!” + </p> + <p> + I held my breath to listen. + </p> + <p> + “There, there!” she resumed, pointing to the heavens; “do you see? You are + there, and my father, and—and—Oh! that terrible face, those + serpent eyes, the dead man’s skull! Save me! save me!” + </p> + <p> + She bowed her head upon my bosom, and I led her gently back towards the + house. As we gained the door which she had left open, the starlight + shining across the shadowy gloom within, she lifted her face from my + breast, and cast a hurried fearful look round the shining garden, then + into the dim recess beyond the threshold. + </p> + <p> + “It is there—there!—the Shadow that lured me on, whispering + that if I followed it I should join my beloved. False, dreadful Shadow! it + will fade soon,—fade into the grinning horrible skull. Brother, + brother, where is my Allen? Is he dead—dead—or is it I who am + dead to him?” + </p> + <p> + I could but clasp her again to my breast, and seek to mantle her shivering + form with my dripping garments, all the while my eyes—following the + direction which hers had taken—dwelt on the walls of the nook within + the threshold, half lost in darkness, half white in starlight. And there + I, too, beheld the haunting Luminous Shadow, the spectral effigies of the + mysterious being, whose very existence in the flesh was a riddle unsolved + by my reason. Distinctly I saw the Shadow, but its light was far paler, + its outline far more vague, than when I had beheld it before. I took + courage, as I felt Lilian’s heart beating against my own. I advanced, I + crossed the threshold,—the Shadow was gone. + </p> + <p> + “There is no Shadow here,—no phantom to daunt thee, my life’s life,” + said I, bending over Lilian. + </p> + <p> + “It has touched me in passing; I feel it—cold, cold, cold!” she + answered faintly. + </p> + <p> + I bore her to her room, placed her on her bed, struck a light, watched + over her. At dawn there was a change in her face, and from that time + health gradually left her; strength slowly, slowly, yet to me perceptibly, + ebbed from her life away. + </p> + <p> + (1) A missile weapon peculiar to the Australian savages. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0073" id="link2HCH0073"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXIII. + </h2> + <p> + Months upon months have rolled on since the night in which Lilian had + watched for my coming amidst the chilling airs—under the haunting + moon. I have said that from the date of that night her health began + gradually to fail, but in her mind there was evidently at work some slow + revolution. Her visionary abstractions were less frequent; when they + occurred, less prolonged. There was no longer in her soft face that + celestial serenity which spoke her content in her dreams, but often a look + of anxiety and trouble. She was even more silent than before; but when she + did speak, there were now evident some struggling gleams of memory. She + startled us, at times, by a distinct allusion to the events and scenes of + her early childhood. More than once she spoke of commonplace incidents and + mere acquaintances at L——. At last she seemed to recognize + Mrs. Ashleigh as her mother; but me, as Allen Fenwick, her betrothed, her + bridegroom, no! Once or twice she spoke to me of her beloved as of a + stranger to myself, and asked me not to deceive her—should she ever + see him again? There was one change in this new phase of her state that + wounded me to the quick. She had always previously seemed to welcome my + presence; now there were hours, sometimes days together, in which my + presence was evidently painful to her. She would become agitated when I + stole into her room, make signs to me to leave her, grow yet more + disturbed if I did not immediately obey, and become calm again when I was + gone. + </p> + <p> + Faber sought constantly to sustain my courage and administer to my hopes + by reminding me of the prediction he had hazarded,—namely, that + through some malady to the frame the reason would be ultimately restored. + </p> + <p> + He said, “Observe! her mind was first roused from its slumber by the + affectionate, unconquered impulse of her heart. You were absent; the storm + alarmed her, she missed you,—feared for you. The love within her, + not alienated, though latent, drew her thoughts into definite human + tracks. And thus, the words that you tell me she uttered when you appeared + before her were words of love, stricken, though as yet irregularly, as the + winds strike the harp-strings from chords of awakened memory. The same + unwonted excitement, together with lengthened exposure to the cold + night-air, will account for the shock to her physical system, and the + languor and waste of strength by which it has been succeeded.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, and the Shadow that we both saw within the threshold. What of that?” + </p> + <p> + “Are there no records on evidence, which most physicians of very extended + practice will perhaps allow that their experience more or less tend to + confirm—no records of the singular coincidences between individual + impressions which are produced by sympathy? Now, whether you or your + Lilian were first haunted by this Shadow I know not. Perhaps before it + appeared to you in the wizard’s chamber it had appeared to her by the + Monks’ Well. Perhaps, as it came to you in the prison, so it lured her + through the solitudes, associating its illusory guidance with dreams of + you. And again, when she saw it within your threshold, your fantasy, so + abruptly invoked, made you see with the eyes of your Lilian! Does this + doctrine of sympathy, though by that very mystery you two loved each other + at first,—though, without it, love at first sight were in itself an + incredible miracle,—does, I say, this doctrine of sympathy seem to + you inadmissible? Then nothing is left for us but to revolve the + conjecture I before threw out. Have certain organizations like that of + Margrave the power to impress, through space, the imaginations of those + over whom they have forced a control? I know not. But if they have, it is + not supernatural; it is but one of those operations in Nature so rare and + exceptional, and of which testimony and evidence are so imperfect and so + liable to superstitious illusions, that they have not yet been traced—as, + if truthful, no doubt they can be, by the patient genius of science—to + one of those secondary causes by which the Creator ordains that Nature + shall act on Man.” + </p> + <p> + By degrees I became dissatisfied with my conversations with Faber. I + yearned for explanations; all guesses but bewildered me more. In his + family, with one exception, I found no congenial association. His nephew + seemed to me an ordinary specimen of a very trite human nature,—a + young man of limited ideas, fair moral tendencies, going mechanically + right where not tempted to wrong. The same desire of gain which had urged + him to gamble and speculate when thrown in societies rife with such + example, led him, now in the Bush, to healthful, industrious, persevering + labour. “Spes fovet agricolas,” says the poet; the same Hope which entices + the fish to the hook impels the plough of the husband-man. The young + farmer’s young wife was somewhat superior to him; she had more refinement + of taste, more culture of mind, but, living in his life, she was + inevitably levelled to his ends and pursuits; and, next to the babe in the + cradle, no object seemed to her so important as that of guarding the sheep + from the scab and the dingoes. I was amazed to see how quietly a man whose + mind was so stored by life and by books as that of Julius Faber—a + man who had loved the clash of conflicting intellects, and acquired the + rewards of fame—could accommodate himself to the cabined range of + his kinsfolks’ half-civilized existence, take interest in their trivial + talk, find varying excitement in the monotonous household of a + peasant-like farmer. I could not help saying as much to him once. “My + friend,” replied the old man, “believe me that the happiest art of + intellect, however lofty, is that which enables it to be cheerfully at + home with the Real!” + </p> + <p> + The only one of the family in which Faber was domesticated in whom I found + an interest, to whose talk I could listen without fatigue, was the child + Amy. Simple though she was in language, patient of labour as the most + laborious, I recognized in her a quiet nobleness of sentiment, which + exalted above the commonplace the acts of her commonplace life. She had no + precocious intellect, no enthusiastic fancies, but she had an exquisite + activity of heart. It was her heart that animated her sense of duty, and + made duty a sweetness and a joy. She felt to the core the kindness of + those around her; exaggerated, with the warmth of her gratitude, the + claims which that kindness imposed. Even for the blessing of life, which + she shared with all creation, she felt as if singled out by the undeserved + favour of the Creator, and thus was filled with religion, because she was + filled with love. + </p> + <p> + My interest in this child was increased and deepened by my saddened and + not wholly unremorseful remembrance of the night on which her sobs had + pierced my ear,—the night from which I secretly dated the mysterious + agencies that had wrenched from their proper field and career both my mind + and my life. But a gentler interest endeared her to my thoughts in the + pleasure that Lilian felt in her visits, in the affectionate intercourse + that sprang up between the afflicted sufferer and the harmless infant. + Often when we failed to comprehend some meaning which Lilian evidently + wished to convey to us—we, her mother and her husband—she was + understood with as much ease by Amy, the unlettered child, as by Faber, + the gray-haired thinker. + </p> + <p> + “How is it,—how is it?” I asked, impatiently and jealously, of + Faber. “Love is said to interpret where wisdom fails, and you yourself + talk of the marvels which sympathy may effect between lover and beloved; + yet when, for days together, I cannot succeed in unravelling Lilian’s wish + or her thought—and her own mother is equally in fault—you or + Amy, closeted alone with her for five minutes, comprehend and are + comprehended.” + </p> + <p> + “Allen,” answered Faber, “Amy and I believe in spirit; and she, in whom + mind is dormant but spirit awake, feels in such belief a sympathy which + she has not, in that respect, with yourself, nor even with her mother. You + seek only through your mind to conjecture hers. Her mother has sense clear + enough where habitual experience can guide it, but that sense is confused, + and forsakes her when forced from the regular pathway in which it has been + accustomed to tread. Amy and I through soul guess at soul, and though + mostly contented with earth, we can both rise at times into heaven. We + pray.” + </p> + <p> + “Alas!” said I, half mournfully, half angrily, “when you thus speak of + Mind as distinct from Soul, it was only in that Vision which you bid me + regard as the illusion of a fancy stimulated by chemical vapours, + producing on the brain an effect similar to that of opium or the + inhalation of the oxide gas, that I have ever seen the silver spark of the + Soul distinct from the light of the Mind. And holding, as I do, that all + intellectual ideas are derived from the experiences of the body, whether I + accept the theory of Locke, or that of Condillac, or that into which their + propositions reach their final development in the wonderful subtlety of + Hume, I cannot detect the immaterial spirit in the material substance,—much + less follow its escape from the organic matter in which the principle of + thought ceases with the principle of life. When the metaphysician, + contending for the immortality of the thinking faculty, analyzes Mind, his + analysis comprehends the mind of the brute, nay, of the insect, as well as + that of man. Take Reid’s definition of Mind, as the most comprehensive + which I can at the moment remember: ‘By the mind of a man we understand + that in him which thinks, remembers, reasons, and wills.(1) But this + definition only distinguishes the mind of man from that of the brute by + superiority in the same attributes, and not by attributes denied to the + brute. An animal, even an insect, thinks, remembers, reasons, and + wills.(1) Few naturalists will now support the doctrine that all the + mental operations of brute or insect are to be exclusively referred to + instincts; and, even if they do, the word ‘instinct’ is a very vague word,—loose + and large enough to cover an abyss which our knowledge has not sounded. + And, indeed, in proportion as an animal like the dog becomes cultivated by + intercourse, his instincts grow weaker, and his ideas formed by experience + (namely, his mind), more developed, often to the conquest of the instincts + themselves. Hence, with his usual candour, Dr. Abercrombie—in + contending ‘that everything mental ceases to exist after death, when we + know that everything corporeal continues to exist, is a gratuitous + assumption contrary to every rule of philosophical inquiry’—feels + compelled, by his reasoning, to admit the probability of a future life + even to the lower animals. His words are: ‘To this anode of reasoning it + has been objected that it would go to establish an immaterial principle in + the lower animals which in them exhibits many of the phenomena of mind. I + have only to answer, Be it so. There are in the lower animals many of the + phenomena of mind, and with regard to these, we also contend that they are + entirely distinct from anything we know of the properties of matter, which + is all that we mean, or can mean, by being immaterial.‘(2) Am I then + driven to admit that if man’s mind is immaterial and imperishable, so also + is that of the ape and the ant?” + </p> + <p> + “I own,” said Faber, with his peculiar smile, arch and genial, “that if I + were compelled to make that admission, it would not shock my pride. I do + not presume to set any limit to the goodness of the Creator; and should be + as humbly pleased as the Indian, if in— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “‘yonder sky, + My faithful dog should bear me company.’ +</pre> + <p> + “You are too familiar with the works of that Titan in wisdom and error, + Descartes, not to recollect the interesting correspondence between the + urbane philosopher and our combative countryman, Henry More,(3) on this + very subject; in which certainly More has the best of it when Descartes + insists on reducing what he calls the soul (l’ame) of brutes into the same + kind of machines as man constructs from inorganized matter. The learning, + indeed, lavished on the insoluble question involved in the psychology of + the inferior animals is a proof at least of the all-inquisitive, redundant + spirit of man.(4) We have almost a literature in itself devoted to + endeavours to interpret the language of brutes.(5) Dupont de Nemours has + discovered that dogs talk in vowels, using only two consonants, G, Z, when + they are angry. He asserts that cats employ the same vowels as dogs; but + their language is more affluent in consonants, including M, N, B, R, V, F. + How many laborious efforts have been made to define and to construe the + song of the nightingale! One version of that song, by Beckstein, the + naturalist, published in 1840, I remember to have seen. And I heard a + lady, gifted with a singularly charming voice, chant the mysterious vowels + with so exquisite a pathos, that one could not refuse to believe her when + she declared that she fully comprehended the bird’s meaning, and gave to + the nightingale’s warble the tender interpretation of her own woman’s + heart. + </p> + <p> + “But leaving all such discussions to their proper place amongst the + Curiosities of Literature, I come in earnest to the question you have so + earnestly raised; and to me the distinction between man and the lower + animals in reference to a spiritual nature designed for a future + existence, and the mental operations whose uses are bounded to an + existence on earth, seems ineffaceably clear. Whether ideas or even + perceptions be innate or all formed by experience is a speculation for + metaphysicians, which, so far as it affects the question of as immaterial + principle, I am quite willing to lay aside. I can well understand that a + materialist may admit innate ideas in Man, as he must admit them in the + instinct of brutes, tracing them to hereditary predispositions. On the + other hand, we know that the most devout believers in our spiritual nature + have insisted, with Locke, in denying any idea, even of the Deity, to be + innate. + </p> + <p> + “But here comes my argument. I care not how ideas are formed,—the + material point is, how are the capacities to receive ideas formed? The + ideas may all come from experience, but the capacity to receive the ideas + must be inherent. I take the word ‘capacity’ as a good plain English word, + rather than the more technical word ‘receptivity,’ employed by Kant. And + by capacity I mean the passive power(6) to receive ideas, whether in man + or in any living thing by which ideas are received. A man and an elephant + is each formed with capacities to receive ideas suited to the several + places in the universe held by each. + </p> + <p> + “The more I look through Nature the more I find that on all varieties of + organized life is carefully bestowed the capacity to receive the + impressions, be they called perceptions or ideas, which are adapted to the + uses each creature is intended to derive from them. I find, then, that Man + alone is endowed with the capacity to receive the ideas of a God, of Soul, + of Worship, of a Hereafter. I see no trace of such a capacity in the + inferior races; nor, however their intelligence may be refined by culture, + is such capacity ever apparent in them. + </p> + <p> + “But wherever capacities to receive impressions are sufficiently general + in any given species of creature to be called universal to that species, + and yet not given to another species, then, from all analogy throughout + Nature, those capacities are surely designed by Providence for the + distinct use and conservation of the species to which they are given. + </p> + <p> + “It is no answer to me to say that the inherent capacities thus bestowed + on Man do not suffice in themselves to make him form right notions of a + Deity or a Hereafter; because it is plainly the design of Providence that + Man must learn to correct and improve all his notions by his own study and + observation. He must build a hut before he can build a Parthenon; he must + believe with the savage or the heathen before he can believe with the + philosopher or Christian. In a word, in all his capacities, Man has only + given to him, not the immediate knowledge of the Perfect, but the means to + strive towards the Perfect. And thus one of the most accomplished of + modern reasoners, to whose lectures you must have listened with delight, + in your college days, says well:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “‘Accordingly the sciences always studied with keenest interest are + those in a state of progress and uncertainty; absolute certainty and + absolute completion would be the paralysis of any study, and the last + worst calamity that could befall Man, as he is at present + constituted, would be that full and final possession of speculative + truth which he now vainly anticipates as the consummation of his + intellectual happiness.‘(7) +</pre> + <p> + “Well, then, in all those capacities for the reception of impressions from + external Nature which are given to Man and not to the brutes, I see the + evidence of Man’s Soul. I can understand why the inferior animal has no + capacity to receive the idea of a Deity and of Worship—simply + because the inferior animal, even if graciously admitted to a future life, + may not therein preserve the sense of its identity. I can understand even + why that sympathy with each other which we men possess and which + constitutes the great virtue we emphatically call Humanity, is not + possessed by the lesser animals (or, at least, in a very rare and + exceptional degree) even where they live in communities, like beavers, or + bees, or ants; because men are destined to meet, to know, and to love each + other in the life to come, and the bond between the brute ceases here. + </p> + <p> + “Now the more, then, we examine the inherent capacities bestowed + distinctly and solely on Man, the more they seem to distinguish him from + the other races by their comprehension of objects beyond his life upon + this earth. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “‘Man alone,’ says Muller, ‘can conceive abstract notions; and it is in + abstract notions—such as time, space, matter, spirit, light, form, + quantity, essence—that man grounds, not only all philosophy, all + science, but all that practically improves one generation for the + benefit of the next.’ +</pre> + <p> + “And why? Because all these abstract notions unconsciously lead the mind + away from the material into the immaterial,—from the present into + the future. But if Man ceases to exist when he disappears in the grave, + you must be compelled to affirm that he is the only creature in existence + whom Nature or Providence has condescended to deceive and cheat by + capacities for which there are no available objects. How nobly and how + truly has Chalmers said:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “‘What inference shall we draw from this remarkable law in Nature that + there is nothing waste and nothing meaningless in the feelings and + faculties wherewith living creatures are endowed? For each desire + there is a counterpart object; for each faculty there is room and + opportunity for exercise either in the present or the coming + futurity. Now, but for the doctrine of immortality, Man would be an + exception to this law,-he would stand forth as an anomaly in Nature, + with aspirations in his heart for which the universe had no antitype + to offer, with capacities of understanding and thought that never + were to be followed by objects of corresponding greatness through the + whole history of his being! + + ............ + + “‘With the inferior animals there is a certain squareness of + adjustment, if we may so term it, between each desire and its + correspondent gratification. The one is evenly met by the other, and + there is a fulness and definiteness of enjoyment up to the capacity + of enjoyment. Not so with Man, who, both from the vastness of his + propensities and the vastness of his powers, feels himself chained + and beset in a field too narrow for him. He alone labours under the + discomfort of an incongruity between his circumstances and his + powers; and unless there be new circumstances awaiting him in a more + advanced state of being, he, the noblest of Nature’s products here, + would turn out to be the greatest of her failures.‘(8) +</pre> + <p> + “This, then, I take to be the proof of Soul in Man, not that he has a mind—because, + as you justly say, inferior animals have that, though in a lesser degree—but + because he has the capacities to comprehend, as soon as he is capable of + any abstract ideas whatsoever, the very truths not needed for + self-conservation on earth, and therefore not given to yonder ox and + opossum,—namely, the nature of Deity, Soul, Hereafter. And in the + recognition of these truths, the Human society, that excels the society of + beavers, bees, and ants, by perpetual and progressive improvement on the + notions inherited from its progenitors, rests its basis. Thus, in fact, + this world is benefited for men by their belief in the next, while the + society of brutes remains age after age the same. Neither the bee nor the + beaver has, in all probability, improved since the Deluge. + </p> + <p> + “But inseparable from the conviction of these truths is the impulse of + prayer and worship. It does not touch my argument when a philosopher of + the school of Bolingbroke or Lucretius says, ‘that the origin of prayer is + in Man’s ignorance of the phenomena of Nature.’ That it is fear or + ignorance which, ‘when rocked the mountains or when groaned the ground, + taught the weak to bend, the proud to pray.’ My answer is, the brutes are + much more forcibly impressed by natural phenomena than Man is; the bird + and the beast know before you and I do when the mountain will rock and the + ground groan, and their instinct leads them to shelter; but it does not + lead them to prayer. If my theory be right that Soul is to be sought not + in the question whether mental ideas be innate or formed by experience, by + the sense, by association or habit, but in the inherent capacity to + receive ideas, then, the capacity bestowed on Man alone, to be impressed + by Nature herself with the idea of a Power superior to Nature, with which + Power he can establish commune, is a proof that to Man alone the Maker has + made Nature itself proclaim His existence,—that to Man alone the + Deity vouchsafes the communion with Himself which comes from prayer.” + </p> + <p> + “Even were this so,” said I, “is not the Creator omniscient? If all-wise, + all-foreseeing? If all-foreseeing, all-pre-ordaining? Can the prayer of + His creature alter the ways of His will?” + </p> + <p> + “For the answer to a question,” returned Faber, “which is not unfrequently + asked by the clever men of the world, I ought to refer you to the skilled + theologians who have so triumphantly carried the reasoner over that ford + of doubt which is crossed every day by the infant. But as we have not + their books in the wilderness, I am contented to draw my reply as a + necessary and logical sequence from the propositions I have sought to + ground on the plain observation of Nature. I can only guess at the Deity’s + Omniscience, or His modes of enforcing His power by the observation of His + general laws; and of all His laws, I know of none more general than the + impulse which bids men pray,—which makes Nature so act, that all the + phenomena of Nature we can conceive, however startling and inexperienced, + do not make the brute pray, but there is not a trouble that can happen to + Man, but what his impulse is to pray,—always provided, indeed, that + he is not a philosopher. I say not this in scorn of the philosopher, to + whose wildest guess our obligations are infinite, but simply because for + all which is impulsive to Man, there is a reason in Nature which no + philosophy can explain away. I do not, then, bewilder myself by seeking to + bind and limit the Omniscience of the Deity to my finite ideas. I content + myself with supposing that somehow or other, He has made it quite + compatible with His Omniscience that Man should obey the impulse which + leads him to believe that, in addressing a Deity, he is addressing a + tender, compassionate, benignant Father, and in that obedience shall + obtain beneficial results. If that impulse be an illusion, then we must + say that Heaven governs the earth by a lie; and that is impossible, + because, reasoning by analogy, all Nature is truthful,—that is, + Nature gives to no species instincts or impulses which are not of service + to it. Should I not be a shallow physician if, where I find in the human + organization a principle or a property so general that I must believe it + normal to the healthful conditions of that organization, I should refuse + to admit that Nature intended it for use? Reasoning by all analogy, must I + not say the habitual neglect of its use must more or less injure the + harmonious well-being of the whole human system? I could have much to add + upon the point in dispute by which the creed implied in your question + would enthrall the Divine mercy by the necessities of its Divine wisdom, + and substitute for a benignant Deity a relentless Fate. But here I should + exceed my province. I am no theologian. Enough for me that in all my + afflictions, all my perplexities, an impulse, that I obey as an instinct, + moves me at once to prayer. Do I find by experience that the prayer is + heard, that the affliction is removed, the doubt is solved? That, indeed, + would be presumptuous to say. But it is not presumptuous to think that by + the efficacy of prayer my heart becomes more fortified against the sorrow, + and my reason more serene amidst the doubt.” + </p> + <p> + I listened, and ceased to argue. I felt as if in that solitude, and in the + pause of my wonted mental occupations, my intellect was growing languid, + and its old weapons rusting in disuse. My pride took alarm. I had so from + my boyhood cherished the idea of fame, and so glorified the search after + knowledge, that I recoiled in dismay from the thought that I had + relinquished knowledge, and cut myself off from fame. I resolved to resume + my once favourite philosophical pursuits, re-examine and complete the Work + to which I had once committed my hopes of renown; and, simultaneously, a + restless desire seized me to communicate, though but at brief intervals, + with other minds than those immediately within my reach,—minds fresh + from the old world, and reviving the memories of its vivid civilization. + Emigrants frequently passed my doors, but I had hitherto shrunk from + tendering the hospitalities so universally accorded in the colony. I could + not endure to expose to such rough strangers my Lilian’s mournful + affliction, and that thought was not less intolerable to Mrs. Ashleigh. I + now hastily constructed a log-building a few hundred yards from the house, + and near the main track taken by travellers through the spacious pastures. + I transported to this building my books and scientific instruments. In an + upper story I placed my telescopes and lenses, my crucibles and retorts. I + renewed my chemical experiments; I sought to invigorate my mind by other + branches of science which I had hitherto less cultured,—meditated + new theories on Light and Colour, collected specimens in Natural History, + subjected animalcules to my microscope, geological fossils to my hammer. + With all these quickened occupations of thought, I strove to distract + myself from sorrow, and strengthen my reason against the illusion of my + fantasy. The Luminous Shadow was not seen again on my wall, and the + thought of Margrave himself was banished. + </p> + <p> + In this building I passed many hours of each day; more and more earnestly + plunging my thoughts into depths of abstract study, as Lilian’s + unaccountable dislike to my presence became more and more decided. When I + thus ceased to think that my life cheered and comforted hers, my heart’s + occupation was gone. I had annexed to the apartment reserved for myself in + the log-hut a couple of spare rooms, in which I could accommodate passing + strangers. I learned to look forward to their coming with interest, and to + see them depart with regret; yet, for the most part, they were of the + ordinary class of colonial adventurers,—bankrupt tradesmen, unlucky + farmers, forlorn mechanics, hordes of unskilled labourers, now and then a + briefless barrister, or a sporting collegian who had lost his all on the + Derby. One day, however, a young man of education and manners that + unmistakably proclaimed the cultured gentleman of Europe, stopped at my + door. He was a cadet of a noble Prussian family, which for some political + reasons had settled itself in Paris; there he had become intimate with + young French nobles, and living the life of a young French noble had soon + scandalized his German parents, forestalled his slender inheritance, and + been compelled to fly his father’s frown and his tailor’s bills. All this + he told me with a lively frankness which proved how much the wit of a + German can be quickened in the atmosphere of Paris. An old college friend, + of birth inferior to his own, had been as unfortunate in seeking to make + money as this young prodigal had been an adept in spending it. The friend, + a few years previously, had accompanied other Germans in a migration to + Australia, and was already thriving; the spendthrift noble was on his way + to join the bankrupt trader, at a German settlement fifty miles distant + from my house. This young man was unlike any German I ever met. He had all + the exquisite levity by which the well-bred Frenchman gives to the + doctrines of the Cynic the grace of the Epicurean. He owned himself to be + good for nothing with an elegance of candour which not only disarmed + censure, but seemed to challenge admiration; and, withal, the happy + spendthrift was so inebriate with hope,—sure that he should be rich + before he was thirty. How and wherefore rich, he could have no more + explained than I can square the circle. When the grand serious German + nature does Frenchify itself, it can become so extravagantly French! + </p> + <p> + I listened, almost enviously, to this light-hearted profligate’s babble, + as we sat by my rude fireside,—I, sombre man of science and sorrow, + he, smiling child of idleness and pleasure, so much one of Nature’s + courtier-like nobles, that there, as he smoked his villanous pipe, in his + dust-soiled shabby garments, and with his ruffianly revolver stuck into + his belt, I would defy the daintiest Aristarch who ever presided as critic + over the holiday world not to have said, “There smiles the genius beyond + my laws, the born darling of the Graces, who in every circumstance, in + every age, like Aristippus, would have socially charmed; would have been + welcome to the orgies of a Caesar or a Clodius, to the boudoirs of a + Montespan or a Pompadour; have lounged through the Mulberry Gardens with a + Rochester and a Buckingham, or smiled from the death-cart, with a + Richelieu and a Lauzun, a gentleman’s disdain of a mob!” + </p> + <p> + I was so thinking as we sat, his light talk frothing up from his careless + lips, when suddenly from the spray and the sparkle of that light talk was + flung forth the name of Margrave. + </p> + <p> + “Margrave!” I exclaimed. “Pardon me. What of him?” + </p> + <p> + “What of him! I asked if, by chance, you knew the only Englishman I ever + had the meanness to envy?” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps you speak of one person, and I thought of another.” + </p> + <p> + “Pardieu, my dear host, there can scarcely be two Margraves! The one of + whom I speak flashed like a meteor upon Paris, bought from a prince of the + Bourse a palace that might have lodged a prince of the blood-royal, + eclipsed our Jew bankers in splendour, our jeunesse doree in good looks + and hair-brain adventures, and, strangest of all, filled his salons with + philosophers and charlatans, chemists and spirit-rappers; insulting the + gravest dons of the schools by bringing them face to face with the most + impudent quacks, the most ridiculous dreamers,—and yet, withal, + himself so racy and charming, so bon prince, so bon enfant! For six months + he was the rage at Paris: perhaps he might have continued to be the rage + there for six years, but all at once the meteor vanished as suddenly as it + had flashed. Is this the Margrave whom you know?” + </p> + <p> + “I should not have thought the Margrave whom I knew could have reconciled + his tastes to the life of cities.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor could this man: cities were too tame for him. He has gone to some + far-remote wilds in the East,—some say in search of the + Philosopher’s Stone; for he actually maintained in his house a Sicilian + adventurer, who, when at work on that famous discovery, was stifled by the + fumes of his own crucible. After that misfortune, Margrave took Paris in + disgust, and we lost him.” + </p> + <p> + “So this is the only Englishman whom you envy! Envy him? Why?” + </p> + <p> + “Because he is the only Englishman I ever met who contrived to be rich and + yet free from the spleen; I envied him because one had only to look at his + face and see how thoroughly he enjoyed the life of which your countrymen + seem to be so heartily tired. But now that I have satisfied your + curiosity, pray satisfy mine. Who and what is this Englishman?” + </p> + <p> + “Who and what was he supposed at Paris to be?” + </p> + <p> + “Conjectures were numberless. One of your countrymen suggested that which + was the most generally favoured. This gentleman, whose name I forget, but + who was one of those old roues who fancy themselves young because they + live with the young, no sooner set eyes upon Margrave, than he exclaimed, + ‘Louis Grayle come to life again, as I saw him forty-four years ago! But + no—still younger, still handsomer—it must be his son!” + </p> + <p> + “Louis Grayle, who was said to be murdered at Aleppo?” + </p> + <p> + “The same. That strange old man was enormously rich; but it seems that he + hated his lawful heirs, and left behind him a fortune so far below that + which he was known to possess that he must certainly have disposed of it + secretly before his death. Why so dispose of it, if not to enrich some + natural son, whom, for private reasons, he might not have wished to + acknowledge, or point out to the world by the signal bequest of his will? + All that Margrave ever said of himself and the source of his wealth + confirmed this belief. He frankly proclaimed himself a natural son, + enriched by a father whose name he knew not nor cared to know.” + </p> + <p> + “It is true. And Margrave quitted Paris for the East. When?” + </p> + <p> + “I can tell you the date within a day or two, for his flight preceded mine + by a week; and, happily, all Paris was so busy in talking of it, that I + slipped away without notice.” + </p> + <p> + And the Prussian then named a date which it thrilled me to hear, for it + was in that very month, and about that very day, that the Luminous Shadow + had stood within my threshold. + </p> + <p> + The young count now struck off into other subjects of talk: nothing more + was said of Margrave. An hour or two afterwards he went on his way, and I + remained long gazing musingly on the embers of the dying glow on my + hearth. + </p> + <p> + (1) “Are intelligence and instinct, thus differing in their relative + proportion in man as compared with all other animals, yet the same in kind + and manner of operation in both? To this question we must give at once an + affirmative answer. The expression of Cuvier, regarding the faculty of + reasoning in lower animals, ‘Leur intelligence execute des operations du + meme genre,’ is true in its full sense. We can in no manner define reason + so as to exclude acts which are at every moment present to our + observation, and which we find in many instances to contravene the natural + instincts of the species. The demeanour and acts of the dog in reference + to his master, or the various uses to which he is put by man, are as + strictly logical as those we witness in the ordinary transactions of + life.”—Sir Henry Holland, chapters on “Mental Physiology,” p. 220. + </p> + <p> + The whole of the chapter on Instincts and Habits in this work should be + read in connection with the passage just quoted. The work itself, at once + cautious and suggestive, is not one of the least obligations which + philosophy and religion alike owe to the lucubrations of English medical + men. + </p> + <p> + (2) Abercrombie’s Intellectual Powers, p. 26. (15th Edition.) + </p> + <p> + (3) OEuvres de Descartes, vol. x. p. 178, et seq. (Cousin’s Edition.) + </p> + <p> + (4) M. Tissot the distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Dijon, in his + recent work, “La Vie dans l’Homme,” p. 255, gives a long and illustrious + list of philosophers who assign a rational soul (ame) to the inferior + animals, though he truly adds, “that they have not always the courage of + their opinion.” + </p> + <p> + (5) Some idea of the extent of research and imagination bestowed on this + subject may be gleaned from the sprightly work of Pierquin de Gemblouz, + “Idiomologie des Animaux,” published at Paris, 1844. + </p> + <p> + (6) “Faculty is active power: capacity is passive power.”—Sir W. + Hamilton: Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic, vol. i. p.178. + </p> + <p> + (7) Sir W. Hamilton’s “Lectures,” vol. i. p. 10. + </p> + <p> + (8) Chalmers, “Bridgewater Treatise,” vol. ii. pp. 28, 30. Perhaps I + should observe, that here and elsewhere in the dialogues between Faber and + Fenwick, it has generally been thought better to substitute the words of + the author quoted for the mere outline or purport of the quotation which + memory afforded to the interlocutor. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0074" id="link2HCH0074"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXIV. + </h2> + <p> + My Work, my Philosophical Work—the ambitious hope of my intellectual life—how + eagerly I returned to it again! Far away from my household grief, far away + from my haggard perplexities—neither a Lilian nor a Margrave there! + </p> + <p> + As I went over what I had before written, each link in its chain of + reasoning seemed so serried, that to alter one were to derange all; and + the whole reasoning was so opposed to the possibility of the wonders I + myself had experienced, so hostile to the subtle hypotheses of a Faber, or + the childlike belief of an Amy, that I must have destroyed the entire work + if I had admitted such contradictions to its design! + </p> + <p> + But the work was I myself!—I, in my solid, sober, healthful mind, + before the brain had been perplexed by a phantom. Were phantoms to be + allowed as testimonies against science? No; in returning to my Book, I + returned to my former Me! + </p> + <p> + How strange is that contradiction between our being as man and our being + as Author! Take any writer enamoured of a system: a thousand things may + happen to him every day which might shake his faith in that system; and + while he moves about as mere man, his faith is shaken. But when he settles + himself back into the phase of his being as author, the mere act of taking + pen in hand and smoothing the paper before him restores his speculations + to their ancient mechanical train. The system, the beloved system, + reasserts its tyrannic sway, and he either ignores, or moulds into fresh + proofs of his theory as author, all which, an hour before, had given his + theory the lie in his living perceptions as man. + </p> + <p> + I adhered to my system,—I continued my work. Here, in the barbarous + desert, was a link between me and the Cities of Europe. All else might + break down under me. The love I had dreamed of was blotted out from the + world, and might never be restored; my heart might be lonely, my life be + an exile’s. My reason might, at last, give way before the spectres which + awed my senses, or the sorrow which stormed my heart. But here at least + was a monument of my rational thoughtful Me,—of my individualized + identity in multiform creation. And my mind, in the noon of its force, + would shed its light on the earth when my form was resolved to its + elements. Alas! in this very yearning for the Hereafter, though but the + Hereafter of a Name, could I see only the craving of Mind, and hear not + the whisper of Soul! + </p> + <p> + The avocation of a colonist, usually so active, had little interest for + me. This vast territorial lordship, in which, could I have endeared its + possession by the hopes that animate a Founder, I should have felt all the + zest and the pride of ownership, was but the run of a common to the + passing emigrant, who would leave no son to inherit the tardy products of + his labour. I was not goaded to industry by the stimulus of need. I could + only be ruined if I risked all my capital in the attempt to improve. I + lived, therefore, amongst my fertile pastures, as careless of culture as + the English occupant of the Highland moor, which he rents for the range of + its solitudes. + </p> + <p> + I knew, indeed, that if ever I became avaricious, I might swell my modest + affluence into absolute wealth. I had revisited the spot in which I had + discovered the nugget of gold, and had found the precious metal in rich + abundance just under the first coverings of the alluvial soil. I concealed + my discovery from all. I knew that, did I proclaim it, the charm of my + bush-life would be gone. My fields would be infested by all the wild + adventurers who gather to gold as the vultures of prey round a carcass; my + servants would desert me, my very flocks would be shepherdless! + </p> + <p> + Months again rolled on months. I had just approached the close of my + beloved Work, when it was again suspended, and by an anguish keener than + all which I had previously known. + </p> + <p> + Lilian became alarmingly ill. Her state of health, long gradually + declining, had hitherto admitted checkered intervals of improvement, and + exhibited no symptoms of actual danger. But now she was seized with a kind + of chronic fever, attended with absolute privation of sleep, an aversion + to even the lightest nourishment, and an acute nervous susceptibility to + all the outward impressions of which she had long seemed so unconscious; + morbidly alive to the faintest sound, shrinking from the light as from a + torture. Her previous impatience at my entrance into her room became + aggravated into vehement emotions, convulsive paroxysms of distress; so + that Faber banished me from her chamber, and, with a heart bleeding at + every fibre, I submitted to the cruel sentence. + </p> + <p> + Faber had taken up his abode in my house and brought Amy with him; one or + the other never left Lilian, night or day. The great physician spoke + doubtfully of the case, but not despairingly. + </p> + <p> + “Remember,” he said, “that in spite of the want of sleep, the abstinence + from food, the form has not wasted as it would do were this fever + inevitably mortal. It is upon that phenomenon I build a hope that I have + not been mistaken in the opinion I hazarded from the first. We are now in + the midst of the critical struggle between life and reason; if she + preserve the one, my conviction is that she will regain the other. That + seeming antipathy to yourself is a good omen. You are inseparably + associated with her intellectual world; in proportion as she revives to + it, must become vivid and powerful the reminiscences of the shock that + annulled, for a time, that world to her. So I welcome, rather than fear, + the over-susceptibility of the awakening senses to external sights and + sounds. A few days will decide if I am right. In this climate the progress + of acute maladies is swift, but the recovery from them is yet more + startlingly rapid. Wait, endure, be prepared to submit to the will of + Heaven; but do not despond of its mercy.” + </p> + <p> + I rushed away from the consoler,—away into the thick of the forests, + the heart of the solitude. All around me, there, was joyous with life; the + locust sang amidst the herbage; the cranes gambolled on the banks of the + creek; the squirrel-like opossums frolicked on the feathery boughs. “And + what,” said I to myself,—“what if that which seems so fabulous in + the distant being whose existence has bewitched my own, be substantially + true? What if to some potent medicament Margrave owes his glorious + vitality, his radiant youth? Oh, that I had not so disdainfully turned + away from his hinted solicitations—to what?—to nothing + guiltier than lawful experiment. Had I been less devoted a bigot to this + vain schoolcraft, which we call the Medical Art, and which, alone in this + age of science, has made no perceptible progress since the days of its + earliest teachers—had I said, in the true humility of genuine + knowledge, ‘these alchemists were men of genius and thought; we owe to + them nearly all the grand hints of our chemical science,—is it + likely that they would have been wholly drivellers and idiots in the one + faith they clung to the most?’—had I said that, I might now have no + fear of losing my Lilian. Why, after all, should there not be in Nature + one primary essence, one master substance; in which is stored the specific + nutriment of life?” + </p> + <p> + Thus incoherently muttering to the woods what my pride of reason would not + have suffered me gravely to say to my fellow-men, I fatigued my tormented + spirits into a gloomy calm, and mechanically retraced my steps at the + decline of day. I seated myself at the door of my solitary log-hut, lean + ing my cheek upon my hand, and musing. Wearily I looked up, roused by a + discord of clattering hoofs and lumbering wheels on the hollow-sounding + grass-track. A crazy groaning vehicle, drawn by four horses, emerged from + the copse of gum-trees,—fast, fast along the road, which no such + pompous vehicle had traversed since that which had borne me—luxurious + satrap for an early colonist—to my lodge in the wilderness. What + emigrant rich enough to squander in the hire of such an equipage more than + its cost in England, could thus be entering on my waste domain? An ominous + thrill shot through me. + </p> + <p> + The driver—perhaps some broken-down son of luxury in the Old World, + fit for nothing in the New World but to ply, for hire, the task that might + have led to his ruin when plied in sport—stopped at the door of my + hut, and called out, “Friend, is not this the great Fenwick Section, and + is not yonder long pile of building the Master’s house?” + </p> + <p> + Before I could answer I heard a faint voice, within the vehicle, speaking + to the driver; the last nodded, descended from his seat, opened the + carriage-door, and offered his arm to a man, who, waving aside the + proffered aid, descended slowly and feebly; paused a moment as if for + breath, and then, leaning on his staff, walked from the road, across the + sward rank with luxuriant herbage, through the little gate in the new-set + fragrant wattle-fence, wearily, languidly, halting often, till he stood + facing me, leaning both wan and emaciated hands upon his staff, and his + meagre form shrinking deep within the folds of a cloak lined thick with + costly sables. His face was sharp, his complexion of a livid yellow, his + eyes shone out from their hollow orbits, unnaturally enlarged and fatally + bright. Thus, in ghastly contrast to his former splendour of youth and + opulence of life, Margrave stood before me. + </p> + <p> + “I come to you,” said Margrave, in accents hoarse and broken, “from the + shores of the East. Give me shelter and rest. I have that to say which + will more than repay you.” + </p> + <p> + Whatever, till that moment, my hate and my fear of this unexpected + visitant, hate would have been inhumanity, fear a meanness, conceived for + a creature so awfully stricken down. + </p> + <p> + Silently, involuntarily, I led him into the house. There he rested a few + minutes, with closed eyes and painful gasps for breath. Meanwhile, the + driver brought from the carriage a travelling-bag and a small wooden chest + or coffer, strongly banded with iron clamps. Margrave, looking up as the + man drew near, exclaimed fiercely, “Who told you to touch that chest? How + dare you? Take it from that man, Fenwick! Place it here,—here by my + side!” + </p> + <p> + I took the chest from the driver, whose rising anger at being so + imperiously rated in the land of democratic equality was appeased by the + gold which Margrave lavishly flung to him. + </p> + <p> + “Take care of the poor gentleman, squire,” he whispered to me, in the + spontaneous impulse of gratitude, “I fear he will not trouble you long. He + must be monstrous rich. Arrived in a vessel hired all to himself, and a + train of outlandish attendants, whom he has left behind in the town + yonder. May I bait my horses in your stables? They have come a long way.” + </p> + <p> + I pointed to the neighbouring stables, and the man nodded his thanks, + remounted his box, and drove off. + </p> + <p> + I returned to Margrave. A faint smile came to his lips as I placed the + chest beside him. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, ay,” he muttered. “Safe! safe! I shall soon be well again,—very + soon! And now I can sleep in peace!” + </p> + <p> + I led him into an inner room, in which there was a bed. He threw himself + on it with a loud sigh of relief. Soon, half raising himself on his elbow, + he exclaimed, “The chest—bring it hither! I need it always beside + me! There, there! Now for a few hours of sleep; and then, if I can take + food, or some such restoring cordial as your skill may suggest, I shall be + strong enough to talk. We will talk! we will talk!” + </p> + <p> + His eyes closed heavily as his voice fell into a drowsy mutter: a moment + more and he was asleep. + </p> + <p> + I watched beside him, in mingled wonder and compassion. Looking into that + face, so altered yet still so young, I could not sternly question what had + been the evil of that mystic life, which seemed now oozing away through + the last sands in the hour-glass. I placed my hand softly on his pulse: it + scarcely beat. I put my ear to his breast, and involuntarily sighed, as I + distinguished in its fluttering heave that dull, dumb sound, in which the + heart seems knelling itself to the greedy grave! + </p> + <p> + Was this, indeed, the potent magician whom I had so feared!—this the + guide to the Rosicrucian’s secret of life’s renewal, in whom, but an hour + or two ago, my fancies gulled my credulous trust! + </p> + <p> + But suddenly, even while thus chiding my wild superstitions, a fear, that + to most would seem scarcely less superstitious, shot across me. Could + Lilian be affected by the near neighbourhood of one to whose magnetic + influence she had once been so strangely subjected? I left Margrave still + sleeping, closed and locked the door of the hut, went back to my dwelling, + and met Amy at the threshold. Her smile was so cheering that I felt at + once relieved. + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” said the child, putting her finger to her lips, “she is so quiet! + I was coming in search of you, with a message from her.” + </p> + <p> + “From Lilian to me—what! to me!” + </p> + <p> + “Hush! About an hour ago, she beckoned me to draw near to her, and then + said, very softly: ‘Tell Allen that light is coming back to me, and it all + settles on him—on him. Tell him that I pray to be spared to walk by + his side on earth, hand-in-hand to that heaven which is no dream, Amy. + Tell him that,—no dream!’” + </p> + <p> + While the child spoke my tears gushed, and the strong hands in which I + veiled my face quivered like the leaf of the aspen. And when I could + command my voice, I said plaintively,— + </p> + <p> + “May I not, then, see her?—only for a moment, and answer her message + though but by a look?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no!” + </p> + <p> + “No! Where is Faber?” + </p> + <p> + “Gone into the forest, in search of some herbs, but he gave me this note + for you.” + </p> + <p> + I wiped the blinding tears from my eyes, and read these lines:— + </p> + <p> + “I have, though with hesitation, permitted Amy to tell you the cheering + words, by which our beloved patient confirms my belief that reason is + coming back to her,—slowly, labouringly, but if she survive, for + permanent restoration. On no account attempt to precipitate or disturb the + work of nature. As dangerous as a sudden glare of light to eyes long blind + and newly regaining vision in the friendly and soothing dark would be the + agitation that your presence at this crisis would cause. Confide in me.” + </p> + <p> + I remained brooding over these lines and over Lilian’s message long and + silently, while Amy’s soothing whispers stole into my ear, soft as the + murmurs of a rill heard in the gloom of forests. Rousing myself at length, + my thoughts returned to Margrave. Doubtless he would soon awake. I bade + Amy bring me such slight nutriment as I thought best suited to his + enfeebled state, telling her it was for a sick traveller, resting himself + in my hut. When Amy returned, I took from her the little basket with which + she was charged, and having, meanwhile, made a careful selection from the + contents of my medicine-chest, went back to the hut. I had not long + resumed my place beside Margrave’s pillow before he awoke. + </p> + <p> + “What o’clock is it?” he asked, with an anxious voice. + </p> + <p> + “About seven.” + </p> + <p> + “Not later? That is well; my time is precious.” + </p> + <p> + “Compose yourself, and eat.” + </p> + <p> + I placed the food before him, and he partook of it, though sparingly, and + as if with effort. He then dozed for a short time, again woke up, and + impatiently demanded the cordial, which I had prepared in the mean while. + Its effect was greater and more immediate than I could have anticipated, + proving, perhaps, how much of youth there was still left in his system, + however undermined and ravaged by disease. Colour came back to his cheek, + his voice grew perceptibly stronger. And as I lighted the lamp on the + table near us—for it was growing dark—he gathered himself up, + and spoke thus,— + </p> + <p> + “You remember that I once pressed on you certain experiments. My object + then was to discover the materials from which is extracted the specific + that enables the organs of life to expel disease and regain vigour. In + that hope I sought your intimacy,—an intimacy you gave, but + withdrew.” + </p> + <p> + “Dare you complain? Who and what was the being from whose intimacy I + shrank appalled?” + </p> + <p> + “Ask what questions you please,” cried Margrave, impatiently, “later—if + I have strength left to answer them; but do not interrupt me, while I + husband my force to say what alone is important to me and to you. + Disappointed in the hopes I had placed in you, I resolved to repair to + Paris,—that great furnace of all bold ideas. I questioned learned + formalists; I listened to audacious empirics. The first, with all their + boasted knowledge, were too timid to concede my premises; the second, with + all their speculative daring, too knavish to let me trust to their + conclusions. I found but one man, a Sicilian, who comprehended the secrets + that are called occult, and had the courage to meet Nature and all her + agencies face to face. He believed, and sincerely, that he was approaching + the grand result, at the very moment when he perished from want of the + common precautions which a tyro in chemistry would have taken. At his + death the gaudy city became hateful; all its pretended pleasures only + served to exhaust life the faster. The true joys of youth are those of the + wild bird and wild brute, in the healthful enjoyment of Nature. In cities, + youth is but old age with a varnish. I fled to the East; I passed through + the tents of the Arabs; I was guided—no matter by whom or by what—to + the house of a Dervish, who had had for his teacher the most erudite + master of secrets occult, whom I knew years ago at Aleppo—-Why that + exclamation?” + </p> + <p> + “Proceed. What I have to say will come—later.” + </p> + <p> + “From this Dervish I half forced and half purchased the secret I sought to + obtain. I now know from what peculiar substance the so-called elixir of + life is extracted; I know also the steps of the process through which that + task is accomplished. You smile incredulously. What is your doubt? State + it while I rest for a moment. My breath labours; give me more of the + cordial.” + </p> + <p> + “Need I tell you my doubt? You have, you say, at your command the elixir + of life of which Cagliostro did not leave his disciples the recipe; and + you stretch out your hand for a vulgar cordial which any village chemist + could give you!” + </p> + <p> + “I can explain this apparent contradiction. The process by which the + elixir is extracted from the material which hoards its essence is one that + requires a hardihood of courage which few possess. This Dervish, who had + passed through that process once, was deaf to all prayer, and unmoved by + all bribes, to attempt it again. He was poor; for the secret by which + metals may be transmuted is not, as the old alchemists seem to imply, + identical with that by which the elixir of life is extracted. He had only + been enabled to discover, in the niggard strata of the lands within range + of his travel, a few scanty morsels of the glorious substance. From these + he had extracted scarcely enough of the elixir to fill a third of that + little glass which I have just drained. He guarded every drop for himself. + Who that holds healthful life as the one boon above all price to the + living, would waste upon others what prolongs and recruits his own being? + Therefore, though he sold me his secret, he would not sell me his + treasure.” + </p> + <p> + “Any quack may sell you the information how to make not only an elixir, + but a sun and a moon, and then scare you from the experiment by tales of + the danger of trying it! How do you know that this essence which the + Dervish possessed was the elixir of life, since, it seems, you have not + tried on yourself what effect its precious drops could produce? Poor + wretch, who once seemed to me so awfully potent! do you come to the + Antipodes in search of a drug that only exists in the fables by which a + child is amused?” + </p> + <p> + “The elixir of life is no fable,” cried Margrave, with a kindling of eye, + a power of voice, a dilatation of form, that startled me in one just + before so feeble. “That elixir was bright in my veins when we last met. + From that golden draught of the life-spring of joy I took all that can + gladden creation. What sage would not have exchanged his wearisome + knowledge for my lusty revels with Nature? What monarch would not have + bartered his crown, with its brain-ache of care, for the radiance that + circled my brows, flashing out from the light that was in me? Oh again, oh + again! to enjoy the freedom of air with the bird, and the glow of the sun + with the lizard; to sport through the blooms of the earth, Nature’s + playmate and darling; to face, in the forest and desert, the pard and the + lion,—Nature’s bravest and fiercest,—her firstborn, the heir + of her realm, with the rest of her children for slaves!” + </p> + <p> + As these words burst from his lips, there was a wild grandeur in the + aspect of this enigmatical being which I had never beheld in the former + time of his affluent, dazzling youth. And, indeed, in his language, and in + the thoughts it clothed, there was an earnestness, a concentration, a + directness, a purpose, which had seemed wanting to his desultory talk in + the earlier days I expected that reaction of languor and exhaustion would + follow his vehement outbreak of passion, but, after a short pause, he went + on with steady accents. His will was sustaining his strength. He was + determined to force his convictions on me, and the vitality, once so rich, + rallied all its lingering forces to the aid of its intense desire. + </p> + <p> + “I tell you, then,” he resumed, with deliberate calmness, “that, years + ago, I tested in my own person that essence which is the sovereign + medicament. In me, as you saw me at L——, you beheld the proof + of its virtues. Feeble and ill as I am now, my state was incalculably more + hopeless when formerly restored by the elixir. He from whom I then took + the sublime restorative died without revealing the secret of its + composition. What I obtained was only just sufficient to recruit the lamp + of my life, then dying down—and no drop was left for renewing the + light which wastes its own rays in the air that it gilds. Though the + Dervish would not sell me his treasure, he permitted me to see it. The + appearance and odour of this essence are strangely peculiar,—unmistakable + by one who has once beheld and partaken of it. In short, I recognized in + the hands of the Dervish the bright life-renewer, as I had borne it away + from the corpse of the Sage of Aleppo.” + </p> + <p> + “Hold! Are you then, in truth, the murderer of Haroun, and is your true + name Louis Grayle?” + </p> + <p> + “I am no murderer, and Louis Grayle did not leave me his name. I again + adjure you to postpone, for this night at least, the questions you wish to + address to me. + </p> + <p> + “Seeing that this obstinate pauper possessed that for which the pale + owners of millions, at the first touch of palsy or gout, would consent to + be paupers, of course I coveted the possession of the essence even more + than the knowledge of the substance from which it is extracted. I had no + coward fear of the experiment, which this timid driveller had not the + nerve to renew. But still the experiment might fail. I must traverse land + and sea to find the fit place for it, while, in the rags of the Dervish, + the unfailing result of the experiment was at hand. The Dervish suspected + my design, he dreaded my power. He fled on the very night in which I had + meant to seize what he refused to sell me. After all, I should have done + him no great wrong; for I should have left him wealth enough to transport + himself to any soil in which the material for the elixir may be most + abundant; and the desire of life would have given his shrinking nerves the + courage to replenish its ravished store. I had Arabs in my pay, who obeyed + me as hounds their master. I chased the fugitive. I came on his track, + reached a house in a miserable village, in which, I was told, he had + entered but an hour before. The day was declining, the light in the room + imperfect. I saw in a corner what seemed to me the form of the Dervish,—stooped + to seize it, and my hand closed on an asp. The artful Dervish had so piled + his rags that they took the shape of the form they had clothed, and he had + left, as a substitute for the giver of life, the venomous reptile of + death. + </p> + <p> + “The strength of my system enabled me to survive the effect of the poison; + but during the torpor that numbed me, my Arabs, alarmed, gave no chase to + my quarry. At last, though enfeebled and languid, I was again on my horse. + Again the pursuit, again the track! I learned—but this time by a + knowledge surer than man’s—that the Dervish had taken his refuge in + a hamlet that had sprung up over the site of a city once famed through + Assyria. The same voice that informed me of his whereabouts warned me not + to pursue. I rejected the warning. In my eager impatience I sprang on to + the chase; in my fearless resolve I felt sure of the prey. I arrived at + the hamlet wearied out, for my forces were no longer the same since the + bite of the asp. The Dervish eluded me still; he had left the floor, on + which I sank exhausted, but a few minutes before my horse stopped at the + door. The carpet, on which he had rested, still lay on the ground. I + dismissed the youngest and keenest of my troop in search of the fugitive. + Sure that this time he would not escape, my eyes closed in sleep. + </p> + <p> + “How long I slept I know not,—a long dream of solitude, fever, and + anguish. Was it the curse of the Dervish’s carpet? Was it a taint in the + walls of the house, or of the air, which broods sickly and rank over + places where cities lie buried? I know not; but the Pest of the East had + seized me in slumber. When my senses recovered I found myself alone, + plundered of my arms, despoiled of such gold as I had carried about me. + All had deserted and left me, as the living leave the dead whom the Plague + has claimed for its own. As soon as I could stand I crawled from the + threshold. The moment my voice was heard, my face seen, the whole squalid + populace rose as on a wild beast,—a mad dog. I was driven from the + place with imprecations and stones, as a miscreant whom the Plague had + overtaken while plotting the death of a holy man. Bruised and bleeding, + but still defying, I turned in wrath on that dastardly rabble; they slunk + away from my path. I knew the land for miles around. I had been in that + land years, long years ago. I came at last to the road which the caravans + take on their way to Damascus. There I was found, speechless and seemingly + lifeless, by some European travellers. Conveyed to Damascus, I languished + for weeks between life and death. But for the virtue of that essence, + which lingered yet in my veins, I could not have survived—even thus + feeble and shattered. I need not say that I now abandoned all thought of + discovering the Dervish. I had at least his secret, if I had failed of the + paltry supply he had drawn from its uses. Such appliances as he had told + me were needful are procured in the East with more ease than in Europe. To + sum up, I am here, instructed in all the knowledge, and supplied with all + the aids, which warrant me in saying, ‘Do you care for new life in its + richest enjoyments, if not for yourself, for one whom you love and would + reprieve from the grave? Then, share with me in a task that a single night + will accomplish, and ravish a prize by which the life that you value the + most will be saved from the dust and the worm, to live on, ever young, + ever blooming, when each infant, new-born while I speak, shall have passed + to the grave. Nay, where is the limit to life, while the earth hides the + substance by which life is renewed?” + </p> + <p> + I give as faithfully as I can recall them the words in which Margrave + addressed me. But who can guess by cold words transcribed, even were they + artfully ranged by a master of language, the effect words produce when + warm from the breath of the speaker? Ask one of an audience which some + orator held enthralled, why his words do not quicken a beat in the + reader’s pulse, and the answer of one who had listened will be, “The words + took their charm from the voice and the eye, the aspect, the manner, the + man!” So it was with the incomprehensible being before me. Though his + youth was faded, though his beauty was dimmed, though my fancies clothed + him with memories of abhorrent dread, though my reason opposed his + audacious beliefs and assumptions, still he charmed and spell-bound me; + still he was the mystical fascinator; still, if the legends of magic had + truth for their basis, he was the born magician,—as genius, in what + calling soever, is born with the gift to enchant and subdue us. + </p> + <p> + Constraining myself to answer calmly, I said, “You have told me your + story; you have defined the object of the experiment in which you ask me + to aid. You do right to bid me postpone my replies or my questions. Seek + to recruit by sleep the strength you have so sorely tasked. To-morrow—” + </p> + <p> + “To-morrow, ere night, you will decide whether the man whom out of all + earth I have selected to aid me shall be the foe to condemn me to perish! + I tell you plainly I need your aid, and your prompt aid. Three days from + this, and all aid will be too late!” + </p> + <p> + I had already gained the door of the room, when he called to me to come + back. + </p> + <p> + “You do not live in this but, but with your family yonder. Do not tell + them that I am here; let no one but yourself see me as I now am. Lock the + door of the hut when you quit it. I should not close my eyes if I were not + secure from intruders.” + </p> + <p> + “There is but one in my house, or in these parts, whom I would except from + the interdict you impose. You are aware of your own imminent danger; the + life, which you believe the discovery of a Dervish will indefinitely + prolong, seems to my eye of physician to hang on a thread. I have already + formed my own conjecture as to the nature of the disease that enfeebles + you. But I would fain compare that conjecture with the weightier opinion + of one whose experience and skill are superior to mine. Permit me, then, + when I return to you to-morrow, to bring with me the great physician to + whom I refer. His name will not, perhaps, be unknown to you: I speak of + Julius Faber.” + </p> + <p> + “A physician of the schools! I can guess well enough how learnedly he + would prate, and how little he could do. But I will not object to his + visit, if it satisfies you that, since I should die under the hands of the + doctors, I may be permitted to indulge my own whim in placing my hopes in + a Dervish. Yet stay. You have, doubtless, spoken of me to this Julius + Faber, your fellow-physician and friend? Promise me, if you bring him + here, that you will not name me,—that you will not repeat to him the + tale I have told you, or the hope which has led me to these shores. What I + have told you, no matter whether, at this moment, you consider me the dupe + of a chimera, is still under the seal of the confidence which a patient + reposes in the physician he himself selects for his confidant. I select + you, and not Julius Faber!” + </p> + <p> + “Be it as you will,” said I, after a moment’s reflection. “The moment you + make yourself my patient, I am bound to consider what is best for you. And + you may more respect, and profit by, an opinion based upon your purely + physical condition than by one in which you might suppose the advice was + directed rather to the disease of the mind than to that of the body.” + </p> + <p> + “How amazed and indignant your brother-physician will be if he ever see me + a second time! How learnedly he will prove that, according to all correct + principles of science and nature, I ought to be dead!” + </p> + <p> + He uttered this jest with a faint weary echo of his old merry, melodious + laugh, then turned his face to the wall; and so I left him to repose. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0075" id="link2HCH0075"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXV. + </h2> + <p> + I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room. She was in + tears. She had begun to despond of Lilian’s recovery, and she infected me + with her own alarm. However, I disguised my participation in her fears, + soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to + rest. I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber. He + assured me that there was no perceptible change for the worse in Lilian’s + physical state since he had last seen me, and that her mind, even within + the last few hours, had become decidedly more clear. He thought that, + within the next twenty-four hours, the reason would make a strong and + successful effort for complete recovery; but he declined to hazard more + than a hope that the effort would not exhaust the enfeebled powers of the + frame. He himself was so in need of a few hours of rest that I ceased to + harass him with questions which he could not answer, and fears which he + could not appease. Before leaving him for the night, I told him briefly + that there was a traveller in my but smitten by a disease which seemed to + me so grave that I would ask his opinion of the case, if he could + accompany me to the hut the next morning. + </p> + <p> + My own thoughts that night were not such as would suffer me to sleep. + </p> + <p> + Before Margrave’s melancholy state much of my former fear and abhorrence + faded away. This being, so exceptional that fancy might well invest him + with preternatural attributes, was now reduced by human suffering to human + sympathy and comprehension; yet his utter want of conscience was still as + apparent as in his day of joyous animal spirits. With what hideous candour + he had related his perfidy and ingratitude to the man to whom, in his + belief, he owed an inestimable obligation, and with what insensibility to + the signal retribution which in most natures would have awakened remorse! + </p> + <p> + And by what dark hints and confessions did he seem to confirm the + incredible memoir of Sir Philip Derval! He owned that he had borne from + the corpse of Haroun the medicament to which he ascribed his recovery from + a state yet more hopeless than that under which he now laboured! He had + alluded, rapidly, obscurely, to some knowledge at his command “surer than + man’s.” And now, even now the mere wreck of his former existence—by + what strange charm did he still control and confuse my reason? And how was + it that I felt myself murmuring, again and again, “But what, after all, if + his hope be no chimera, and if Nature do hide a secret by which I could + save the life of my beloved Lilian?” + </p> + <p> + And again and again, as that thought would force itself on me, I rose and + crept to Lilian’s threshold, listening to catch the faintest sound of her + breathing. All still, all dark! In that sufferer recognized science + detects no mortal disease, yet dares not bid me rely on its amplest + resources of skill to turn aside from her slumber the stealthy advance of + death; while in yon log-hut one whose malady recognized science could not + doubt to be mortal has composed himself to sleep, confident of life! + Recognized science?—recognized ignorance! The science of to-day is + the ignorance of to-morrow! Every year some bold guess lights up a truth + to which, but the year before, the schoolmen of science were as blinded as + moles. + </p> + <p> + “What, then,” my lips kept repeating,—“what if Nature do hide a + secret by which the life of my life can be saved? What do we know of the + secrets of Nature? What said Newton himself of his knowledge? ‘I am like a + child picking up pebbles and shells on the sand, while the great ocean of + Truth lies all undiscovered around me!’ And did Newton himself, in the + ripest growth of his matchless intellect, hold the creed of the alchemists + in scorn? Had he not given to one object of their research, in the + transmutation of metals, his days and his nights? Is there proof that he + ever convinced himself that the research was the dream, which we, who are + not Newtons, call it?(1) And that other great sage, inferior only to + Newton—the calculating doubt-weigher, Descartes—had he not + believed in the yet nobler hope of the alchemists,—believed in some + occult nostrum or process by which human life could attain to the age of + the Patriarchs?” (2) + </p> + <p> + In thoughts like these the night wore away, the moonbeams that streamed + through my window lighting up the spacious solitudes beyond,—mead + and creek, forest-land, mountaintop,—and the silence without broken + by the wild cry of the night hawk and the sibilant melancholy dirge of the + shining chrysococyx,(3)—bird that never sings but at night, and + obstinately haunts the roofs of the sick and dying, ominous of woe and + death. + </p> + <p> + But up sprang the sun, and, chasing these gloomy sounds, out burst the + wonderful chorus of Australian groves, the great kingfisher opening the + jocund melodious babble with the glee of his social laugh. + </p> + <p> + And now I heard Faber’s step in Lilian’s room,—heard through the + door her soft voice, though I could not distinguish the words. It was not + long before I saw the kind physician standing at the threshold of my + chamber. He pressed his finger to his lip, and made me a sign to follow + him. I obeyed, with noiseless tread and stifled breathing. He awaited me + in the garden under the flowering acacias, passed his arm in mine, and + drew me into the open pasture-land. + </p> + <p> + “Compose yourself,” he then said; “I bring you tidings both of gladness + and of fear. Your Lilian’s mind is restored: even the memories which had + been swept away by the fever that followed her return to her home in L—— + are returning, though as yet indistinct. She yearns to see you, to bless + you for all your noble devotion, your generous, greathearted love; but I + forbid such interview now. If, in a few hours, she become either decidedly + stronger or decidedly more enfeebled, you shall be summoned to her side. + Even if you are condemned to a loss for which the sole consolation must be + placed in the life hereafter, you shall have, at least, the last mortal + commune of soul with soul. Courage! courage! You are man! Bear as man what + you have so often bid other men submit to endure.” + </p> + <p> + I had flung myself on the ground,—writhing worm that had no home but + on earth! Man, indeed! Man! All, at that moment, I took from manhood was + its acute sensibility to love and to anguish! + </p> + <p> + But after all such paroxysms of mortal pain, there comes a strange lull. + Thought itself halts, like the still hush of water between two descending + torrents. I rose in a calm, which Faber might well mistake for fortitude. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” I said quietly, “fulfil your promise. If Lilian is to pass away + from me, I shall see her, at least, again; no wall, you tell me, between + our minds; mind to mind once more,—once more!” + </p> + <p> + “Allen,” said Faber, mournfully and softly, “why do you shun to repeat my + words—soul to soul?” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, ay,—I understand. Those words mean that you have resigned all + hope that Lilian’s life will linger here, when her mind comes back in full + consciousness; I know well that last lightning flash and the darkness + which swallows it up!” + </p> + <p> + “You exaggerate my fears. I have not resigned the hope that Lilian will + survive the struggle through which she is passing, but it will be cruel to + deceive you—my hope is weaker than it was.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, ay. Again, I understand! Your science is in fault,—it desponds. + Its last trust is in the wonderful resources of Nature, the vitality + stored in the young!” + </p> + <p> + “You have said,—those resources of Nature are wondrous. The vitality + of youth is a fountain springing up from the deeps out of sight, when, a + moment before, we had measured the drops oozing out from the sands, and + thought that the well was exhausted.” + </p> + <p> + “Come with me,—come. I told you of another sufferer yonder. I want + your opinion of his case. But can you be spared a few minutes from + Lilian’s side?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; I left her asleep. What is the case that perplexes your eye of + physician, which is usually keener than mine, despite all the length of my + practice?” + </p> + <p> + “The sufferer is young, his organization rare in its vigour. He has gone + through and survived assaults upon life that are commonly fatal. His + system has been poisoned by the fangs of a venomous asp, and shattered by + the blast of the plague. These alone, I believe, would not suffice to + destroy him. But he is one who has a strong dread of death; and while the + heart was thus languid and feeble, it has been gnawed by emotions of hope + or of fear. I suspect that he is dying, not from the bite of the reptile, + not from the taint of the pestilence, but from the hope and the fear that + have overtasked the heart’s functions. Judge for yourself.” + </p> + <p> + We were now at the door of the hut. I unlocked it: we entered. Margrave + had quitted his bed, and was pacing the room slowly. His step was less + feeble, his countenance less haggard than on the previous evening. + </p> + <p> + He submitted himself to Faber’s questioning with a quiet indifference, and + evidently cared nothing for any opinion which the great physician might + found on his replies. + </p> + <p> + When Faber had learned all he could, he said, with a grave smile: “I see + that my advice will have little weight with you; such as it is, at least + reflect on it. The conclusions to which your host arrived in his view of + your case, and which he confided to me, are, in my humble judgment, + correct. I have no doubt that the great organ of the heart is involved in + the cause of your sufferings; but the heart is a noble and much-enduring + organ. I have known men in whom it has been more severely and + unequivocally affected with disease than it is in you, live on for many + years, and ultimately die of some other disorder. But then life was held, + as yours must be held, upon one condition,—repose. I enjoin you to + abstain from all violent action, to shun all excitements that cause moral + disturbance. You are young: would you live on, you must live as the old. + More than this,—it is my duty to warn you that your tenure on earth + is very precarious; you may attain to many years; you may be suddenly + called hence tomorrow. The best mode to regard this uncertainty with the + calm in which is your only chance of long life, is so to arrange all your + worldly affairs, and so to discipline all your human anxieties, as to feel + always prepared for the summons that may come without warning. For the + rest, quit this climate as soon as you can,—it is the climate in + which the blood courses too quickly for one who should shun all + excitement. Seek the most equable atmosphere, choose the most tranquil + pursuits; and Fenwick himself, in his magnificent pride of stature and + strength, may be nearer the grave than you are.” + </p> + <p> + “Your opinion coincides with that I have just heard?” asked Margrave, + turning to me. + </p> + <p> + “In much—yes.” + </p> + <p> + “It is more favourable than I should have supposed. I am far from + disdaining the advice so kindly offered. Permit me, in turn, two or three + questions, Dr. Faber. Do you prescribe to me no drugs from your + pharmacopoeia?” + </p> + <p> + “Drugs may palliate many sufferings incidental to organic disease, but + drugs cannot reach organic disease itself.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you believe that, even where disease is plainly organic, Nature + herself has no alternative and reparative powers, by which the organ + assailed may recover itself?” + </p> + <p> + “A few exceptional instances of such forces in Nature are upon record; but + we must go by general laws, and not by exceptions.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you never known instances—do you not at this moment know one—in + which a patient whose malady baffles the doctor’s skill, imagines or + dreams of a remedy? Call it a whim if you please, learned sir; do you not + listen to the whim, and, in despair of your own prescriptions, comply with + those of the patient?” + </p> + <p> + Faber changed countenance, and even started. Margrave watched him and + laughed. + </p> + <p> + “You grant that there are such cases, in which the patient gives the law + to the physician. Now, apply your experience to my case. Suppose some + strange fancy had seized upon my imagination—that is the doctor’s + cant word for all phenomena which we call exceptional—some strange + fancy that I had thought of a cure for this disease for which you have no + drugs; and suppose this fancy of mine to be so strong, so vivid, that to + deny me its gratification would produce the very emotion from which you + warn me as fatal,—storm the heart, that you would soothe to repose, + by the passions of rage and despair,—would you, as my trusted + physician, concede or deny me my whim?” + </p> + <p> + “Can you ask? I should grant it at once, if I had no reason to know that + the thing that you fancied was harmful.” + </p> + <p> + “Good man and wise doctor! I have no other question to ask. I thank you.” + </p> + <p> + Faber looked hard on the young, wan face, over which played a smile of + triumph and irony; then turned away with an expression of doubt and + trouble on his own noble countenance. I followed him silently into the + open air. + </p> + <p> + “Who and what is this visitor of yours?” he asked abruptly. + </p> + <p> + “Who and what? I cannot tell you.” + </p> + <p> + Faber remained some moments musing, and muttering slowly to himself, “Tut! + but a chance coincidence,—a haphazard allusion to a fact which he + could not have known!” + </p> + <p> + “Faber,” said I, abruptly, “can it be that Lilian is the patient in whose + self-suggested remedies you confide more than in the various learning at + command of your practised skill?” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot deny it,” replied Faber, reluctantly. “In the intervals of that + suspense from waking sense, which in her is not sleep, nor yet altogether + catalepsy, she has, for the last few days, stated accurately the precise + moment in which the trance—if I may so call it—would pass + away, and prescribed for herself the remedies that should be then + administered. In every instance, the remedies so self-prescribed, though + certainly not those which would have occurred to my mind, have proved + efficacious. Her rapid progress to reason I ascribe to the treatment she + herself ordained in her trance, without remembrance of her own suggestions + when she awoke. I had meant to defer communicating these phenomena in the + idiosyncrasy of her case until our minds could more calmly inquire into + the process by which ideas—not apparently derived, as your + metaphysical school would derive all ideas, from preconceived experiences—will + thus sometimes act like an instinct on the human sufferer for + self-preservation, as the bird is directed to the herb or the berry which + heals or assuages its ailments. We know how the mesmerists would account + for this phenomenon of hygienic introvision and clairvoyance. But here, + there is no mesmerizer, unless the patient can be supposed to mesmerize + herself. Long, however, before mesmerism was heard of, medical history + attests examples in which patients who baffled the skill of the ablest + physicians have fixed their fancies on some remedy that physicians would + call inoperative for good or for harm, and have recovered by the remedies + thus singularly self-suggested. And Hippocrates himself, if I construe his + meaning rightly, recognizes the powers for self-cure which the condition + of trance will sometimes bestow on the sufferer, ‘where’ (says the father + of our art) ‘the sight being closed to the external, the soul more + truthfully perceives the affections of the body.’ In short—I own it—in + this instance, the skill of the physician has been a compliant obedience + to the instinct called forth in the patient; and the hopes I have hitherto + permitted myself to give you were founded on my experience that her own + hopes, conceived in trance, had never been fallacious or exaggerated. The + simples that I gathered for her yesterday she had described; they are not + in our herbal. But as they are sometimes used by the natives, I had the + curiosity to analyze their chemical properties shortly after I came to the + colony, and they seemed to me as innocent as lime-blossoms. They are rare + in this part of Australia, but she told me where I should find them,—a + remote spot, which she has certainly never visited. Last night, when you + saw me disturbed, dejected, it was because, for the first time, the + docility with which she had hitherto, in her waking state, obeyed her own + injunctions in the state of trance, forsook her. She could not be induced + to taste the decoction I had made from the herbs; and if you found me this + morning with weaker hopes than before, this is the real cause,—namely, + that when I visited her at sunrise, she was not in sleep but in trance, + and in that trance she told me that she had nothing more to suggest or + reveal; that on the complete restoration of her senses, which was at hand, + the abnormal faculties vouchsafed to trance would be withdrawn. ‘As for my + life,’ she said quietly, as if unconscious of our temporary joy or woe in + the term of its tenure here,—‘as for my life, your aid is now idle; + my own vision obscure; on my life a dark and cold shadow is resting. I + cannot foresee if it will pass away. When I strive to look around, I see + but my Allen—‘” + </p> + <p> + “And so,” said I, mastering my emotions, “in bidding me hope, you did not + rely on your own resources of science, but on the whisper of Nature in the + brain of your patient?” + </p> + <p> + “It is so.” + </p> + <p> + We both remained silent some moments, and then, as he disappeared within + my house, I murmured,— + </p> + <p> + “And when she strives to look beyond the shadow, she sees only me! Is + there some prophet-hint of Nature there also, directing me not to scorn + the secret which a wanderer, so suddenly dropped on my solitude, assures + me that Nature will sometimes reveal to her seeker? And oh! that dark + wanderer—has Nature a marvel more weird than himself?” + </p> + <p> + (1) “Besides the three great subjects of Newton’s labours—the + fluxional calculus, physical astronomy, and optics—a very large + portion of his time, while resident in his college, was devoted to + researches of which scarcely a trace remains. Alchemy, which had + fascinated so many eager and ambitious minds, seems to have tempted Newton + with an overwhelming force. What theories he formed, what experiments he + tried, in that laboratory where, it is said, the fire was scarcely + extinguished for weeks together, will never be known. It is certain that + no success attended his labours; and Newton was not a man—like + Kepler—to detail to the world all the hopes and disappointments, all + the crude and mystical fancies, which mixed themselves up with his career + of philosophy... Many years later we find Newton in correspondence with + Locke, with reference to a mysterious red earth by which Boyle, who was + then recently dead, had asserted that he could effect the grand + desideratum of multiplying gold. By this time, however, Newton’s faith had + become somewhat shaken by the unsatisfactory communications which he had + himself received from Boyle on the subject of the golden recipe, though he + did not abandon the idea of giving the experiment a further trial as soon + as the weather should become suitable for furnace experiments.”—Quarterly + Review, No. 220, pp. 125, 126. + </p> + <p> + (2) Southey, in his “Doctor,” vol. vi. p. 2, reports the conversation of + Sir Kenelm Digby with Descartes, in which the great geometrician said, + “That as for rendering man immortal, it was what he could not venture to + promise, but that he was very sure he could prolong his life to the + standard of the patriarchs.” And Southey adds, “that St. Evremond, to whom + Digby repeated this, says that this opinion of Descartes was well known + both to his friends in Holland and in France.” By the stress Southey lays + on this hearsay evidence, it is clear that he was not acquainted with the + works and biography of Descartes, or he would have gone to the + fountain-head for authority on Descartes’s opinions, namely, Descartes + himself. It is to be wished that Southey had done so, for no one more than + he would have appreciated the exquisitely candid and lovable nature of the + illustrious Frenchman, and the sincerity with which he cherished in his + heart whatever doctrine he conceived in his understanding. Descartes, + whose knowledge of anatomy was considerable, had that passion for the art + of medicine which is almost inseparable from the pursuit of natural + philosophy. At the age of twenty-four he had sought (in Germany) to obtain + initiation into the brotherhood of the Rosicrucians, but unluckily could + not discover any member of the society to introduce him. “He desired,” + says Cousin, “to assure the health of man, diminish his ills, extend his + existence. He was terrified by the rapid and almost momentary passage of + man upon earth. He believed it was not, perhaps, impossible to prolong its + duration.” There is a hidden recess of grandeur in this idea, and the + means proposed by Descartes for the execution of his project were not less + grand. In his “Discourse on Method,” Descartes says, “If it is possible to + find some means to render generally men more wise and more able than they + have been till now, it is, I believe, in medicine that those means must be + sought... I am sure that there is no one, even in the medical profession, + who will not avow that all which one knows of the medical art is almost + nothing in comparison to that which remains to learn, and that one could + be exempted from an infinity of maladies, both of body and mind, and even, + perhaps, from the decrepitude of old age, if one had sufficient lore of + their causes and of all the remedies which nature provides for them. + Therefore, having design to employ all my life in the research of a + science so necessary, and having discovered a path which appears to me + such that one ought infallibly, in following, to find it, if one is not + hindered prematurely by the brevity of life or by the defects of + experience, I consider that there is no better remedy against those two + hindrances than to communicate faithfully to the public the little I have + found,” etc. (“Discours de la Methode,” vol. i. OEuvres de Descartes, + Cousin’s Edition.) And again, in his “Correspondence” (vol. ix. p. 341), + he says: “The conservation of health has been always the principal object + of my studies, and I have no doubt that there is a means of acquiring much + knowledge touching medicine which, up to this time, is ignored.” He then + refers to his meditated Treatise on Animals as only an entrance upon that + knowledge. But whatever secrets Descartes may have thought to discover, + they are not made known to the public according to his promise. And in a + letter to M. Chanut, written in 1646 (four years before he died), he says + ingenuously: “I will tell you in confidence that the notion, such as it + is, which I have endeavoured to acquire in physical philosophy, had + greatly assisted me to establish certain foundations for moral philosophy; + and that I am more easily satisfied upon this point than I am on many + others touching medicine, to which I have, nevertheless, devoted much more + time. So that”—(adds the grand thinker, with a pathetic nobleness )—“so + that, instead of finding the means to preserve life, I have found another + good, more easy and more sure, which is—not to fear death.” + </p> + <p> + (3) Chrysococyx lucidus,—namely, the bird popularly called the + shining or bronzed cuckoo. “Its note is an exceedingly melancholy whistle, + heard at night, when it is very annoying to any sick or nervous person who + may be inclined to sleep. I have known many instances where the bird has + been perched on a tree in the vicinity of the room of an invalid, uttering + its mournful notes, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that it + could be dislodged from its position.”—Dr. Bennett: Gatherings of a + Naturalist in Australasia. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0076" id="link2HCH0076"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXVI. + </h2> + <p> + I strayed through the forest till noon, in debate with myself, and strove + to shape my wild doubts into purpose, before I could nerve and compose + myself again to face Margrave alone. + </p> + <p> + I re-entered the hut. To my surprise, Margrave was not in the room in + which I had left him, nor in that which adjoined it. I ascended the stairs + to the kind of loft in which I had been accustomed to pursue my studies, + but in which I had not set foot since my alarm for Lilian had suspended my + labours. There I saw Margrave quietly seated before the manuscript of my + Ambitious Work, which lay open on the rude table, just as I had left it, + in the midst of its concluding summary. + </p> + <p> + “I have taken the license of former days, you see,” said Margrave, + smiling, “and have hit by chance on a passage I can understand without + effort. But why such a waste of argument to prove a fact so simple? In + man, as in brute, life once lost is lost forever; and that is why life is + so precious to man.” + </p> + <p> + I took the book from his hand, and flung it aside in wrath. His approval + revolted me more with my own theories than all the argumentative rebukes + of Faber. + </p> + <p> + “And now,” I said, sternly, “the time has come for the explanation you + promised. Before I can aid you in any experiment that may serve to prolong + your life, I must know how far that life has been a baleful and destroying + influence?” + </p> + <p> + “I have some faint recollection of having saved your life from an imminent + danger, and if gratitude were the attribute of man, as it is of the dog, I + should claim your aid to serve mine as a right. Ask me what you will. You + must have seen enough of me to know that I do not affect either the + virtues or vices of others. I regard both with so supreme an indifference, + that I believe I am vicious or virtuous unawares. I know not if I can + explain what seems to have perplexed you, but if I cannot explain I have + no intention to lie. Speak—I listen! We have time enough now before + us.” + </p> + <p> + So saying, he reclined back in the chair, stretching out his limbs + wearily. All round this spoilt darling of Material Nature were the aids + and appliances of Intellectual Science,—books and telescopes and + crucibles, with the light of day coming through a small circular aperture + in the boarded casement, as I had constructed the opening for my + experimental observation of the prismal rays. + </p> + <p> + While I write, his image is as visible before my remembrance as if before + the actual eye,—beautiful even in its decay, awful even in its + weakness, mysterious as is Nature herself amidst all the mechanism by + which our fancied knowledge attempts to measure her laws and analyze her + light. + </p> + <p> + But at that moment no such subtle reflections delayed my inquisitive eager + mind from its immediate purpose,—who and what was this creature + boasting of a secret through which I might rescue from death the life of + her who was my all upon the earth? + </p> + <p> + I gathered rapidly and succinctly together all that I knew and all that I + guessed of Margrave’s existence and arts. I commenced from my vision in + that mimic Golgotha of creatures inferior to man, close by the scene of + man’s most trivial and meaningless pastime. I went on,—Derval’s + murder; the missing contents of the casket; the apparition seen by the + maniac assassin guiding him to the horrid deed; the luminous haunting + shadow; the positive charge in the murdered man’s memoir connecting + Margrave with Louis Grayle, and accusing him of the murder of Haroun; the + night in the moonlit pavilion at Derval Court; the baneful influence on + Lilian; the struggle between me and himself in the house by the seashore,—the + strange All that is told in this Strange Story. + </p> + <p> + But warming as I spoke, and in a kind of fierce joy to be enabled thus to + free my own heart of the doubts that had burdened it, now that I was + fairly face to face with the being by whom my reason had been so perplexed + and my life so tortured. I was restrained by none of the fears lest my own + fancy deceived me, with which in his absence I had striven to reduce to + natural causes the portents of terror and wonder. I stated plainly, + directly, the beliefs, the impressions which I had never dared even to + myself to own without seeking to explain them away. And coming at last to + a close, I said: “Such are the evidences that seem to me to justify + abhorrence of the life that you ask me to aid in prolonging. Your own tale + of last night but confirms them. And why to me—to me—do you + come with wild entreaties to lengthen the life that has blighted my own? + How did you even learn the home in which I sought unavailing refuge? How—as + your hint to Faber clearly revealed—were you aware that, in yon + house, where the sorrow is veiled, where the groan is suppressed, where + the foot-tread falls ghostlike, there struggles now between life and death + my heart’s twin, my world’s sunshine? Ah! through my terror for her, is it + a demon that tells you how to bribe my abhorrence into submission, and + supple my reason into use to your ends?” + </p> + <p> + Margrave had listened to me throughout with a fixed attention, at times + with a bewildered stare, at times with exclamations of surprise, but not + of denial. And when I had done, he remained for some moments silent, + seemingly stupefied, passing his hand repeatedly over his brow, in the + gesture so familiar to him in former days. + </p> + <p> + At length he said quietly, without evincing any sign either of resentment + or humiliation,— + </p> + <p> + “In much that you tell me I recognize myself; in much I am as lost in + amazement as you in wild doubt or fierce wrath. Of the effect that you say + Philip Derval produced on me I have no recollection. Of himself I have + only this,—that he was my foe, that he came to England intent on + schemes to shorten my life or destroy its enjoyments. All my faculties + tend to self-preservation; there, they converge as rays in a focus; in + that focus they illume and—they burn. I willed to destroy my + intended destroyer. Did my will enforce itself on the agent to which it + was guided? Likely enough. Be it so. Would you blame me for slaying the + tiger or serpent—not by the naked hand, but by weapons that arm it? + But what could tiger and serpent do more against me than the man who would + rob me of life? He had his arts for assault, I had mine for self-defence. + He was to me as the tiger that creeps through the jungle, or the serpent + uncoiling his folds for the spring. Death to those whose life is + destruction to mine, be they serpent or tiger or man! Derval perished. + Yes! the spot in which the maniac had buried the casket was revealed to me—no + matter how; the contents of the casket passed into my hands. I coveted + that possession because I believed that Derval had learned from Haroun of + Aleppo the secret by which the elixir of life is prepared, and I supposed + that some stores of the essence would be found in his casket. I was + deceived—not a drop! What I there found I knew not how to use or + apply, nor did I care to learn. What I sought was not there. You see a + luminous shadow of myself; it haunts, it accosts, it compels you. Of this + I know nothing. Was it the emanation of my intense will really producing + this spectre of myself, or was it the thing of your own imagination,—an + imagination which my will impressed and subjugated? I know not. At the + hours when my shadow, real or supposed, was with you, my senses would have + been locked in sleep. It is true, however, that I intensely desire to + learn from races always near to man, but concealed from his every-day + vision, the secret that I believed Philip Derval had carried with him to + the tomb; and from some cause or another I cannot now of myself alone, as + I could years ago, subject those races to my command,—I must, in + that, act through or with the mind of another. It is true that I sought to + impress upon your waking thoughts the images of the circle, the powers of + the wand, which, in your trance or sleep-walking, made you the involuntary + agent of my will. I knew by a dream—for by dreams, more or less + vivid, are the results of my waking will sometimes divulged to myself—that + the spell had been broken, the discovery I sought not effected. All my + hopes were then transferred from yourself, the dull votary of science, to + the girl whom I charmed to my thraldom through her love for you and + through her dreams of a realm which the science of schools never enters. + In her, imagination was all pure and all potent; and tell me, O practical + reasoner, if reason has ever advanced one step into knowledge except + through that imaginative faculty which is strongest in the wisdom of + ignorance, and weakest in the ignorance of the wise. Ponder this, and + those marvels that perplex you will cease to be marvellous. I pass on to + the riddle that puzzles you most. By Philip Derval’s account I am, in + truth, Louis Grayle restored to youth by the elixir, and while yet infirm, + decrepit, murdered Haroun,—a man of a frame as athletic as yours! By + accepting this notion you seem to yourself alone to unravel the mysteries + you ascribe to my life and my powers. O wise philosopher! O profound + logician! you accept that notion, yet hold my belief in the Dervish’s tale + a chimera! I am Grayle made young by the elixir, and yet the elixir itself + is a fable!” + </p> + <p> + He paused and laughed, but the laugh was no longer even an echo of its + former merriment or playfulness,—a sinister and terrible laugh, + mocking, threatening, malignant. + </p> + <p> + Again he swept his hand over his brow, and resumed,— + </p> + <p> + “Is it not easier to so accomplished a sage as you to believe that the + idlers of Paris have guessed the true solution of that problem, my place + on this earth? May I not be the love-son of Louis Grayle? And when Haroun + refused the elixir to him, or he found that his frame was too far + exhausted for even the elixir to repair organic lesions of structure in + the worn frame of old age, may he not have indulged the common illusion of + fathers, and soothed his death-pangs with the thought that he should live + again in his son? Haroun is found dead on his carpet—rumour said + strangled. What proof of the truth of that rumour? Might he not have + passed away in a fit? Will it lessen your perplexity if I state + recollections? They are vague,—they often perplex myself; but so far + from a wish to deceive you, my desire is to relate them so truthfully that + you may aid me to reduce them into more definite form.” + </p> + <p> + His face now became very troubled, the tone of his voice very irresolute,—the + face and the voice of a man who is either blundering his way through an + intricate falsehood, or through obscure reminiscences. + </p> + <p> + “This Louis Grayle! this Louis Grayle! I remember him well, as one + remembers a nightmare. Whenever I look back, before the illness of which I + will presently speak, the image of Louis Grayle returns to me. I see + myself with him in African wilds, commanding the fierce Abyssinians. I see + myself with him in the fair Persian valley,—lofty, snow-covered mountains + encircling the garden of roses. I see myself with him in the hush of the + golden noon, reclined by the spray of cool fountains,—now listening + to cymbals and lutes, now arguing with graybeards on secrets bequeathed by + the Chaldees,—with him, with him in moonlit nights, stealing into + the sepulchres of mythical kings. I see myself with him in the aisles of + dark caverns, surrounded by awful shapes, which have no likeness amongst + the creatures of earth. Louis Grayle! Louis Grayle! all my earlier + memories go back to Louis Grayle! All my arts and powers, all that I have + learned of the languages spoken in Europe, of the sciences taught in her + schools, I owe to Louis Grayle. But am I one and the same with him? No—I + am but a pale reflection of his giant intellect. I have not even a + reflection of his childlike agonies of sorrow. Louis Grayle! He stands + apart from me, as a rock from the tree that grows out from its chasms. + Yes, the gossip was right; I must be his son.” + </p> + <p> + He leaned his face on both hands, rocking himself to and fro. At length, + with a sigh, he resumed,— + </p> + <p> + “I remember, too, a long and oppressive illness, attended with racking + pains, a dismal journey in a wearisome litter, the light hand of the woman + Ayesha, so sad and so stately, smoothing my pillow or fanning my brows. I + remember the evening on which my nurse drew the folds of the litter aside, + and said, ‘See Aleppo! and the star of thy birth shining over its walls!’ + </p> + <p> + “I remember a face inexpressibly solemn and mournful. I remember the chill + that the calm of its ominous eye sent through my veins,—the face of + Haroun, the Sage of Aleppo. I remember the vessel of crystal he bore in + his hand, and the blessed relief from my pains that a drop from the + essence which flashed through the crystal bestowed! And then—and + then—I remember no more till the night on which Ayesha came to my + couch and said, ‘Rise.’ + </p> + <p> + “And I rose, leaning on her, supported by her. We went through dim narrow + streets, faintly lit by wan stars, disturbing the prowl of the dogs, that + slunk from the look of that woman. We came to a solitary house, small and + low, and my nurse said, ‘Wait.’ + </p> + <p> + “She opened the door and went in; I seated myself on the threshold. And + after a time she came out from the house, and led me, still leaning on + her, into her chamber. + </p> + <p> + “A man lay, as in sleep, on the carpet, and beside him stood another man, + whom I recognized as Ayesha’s special attendant,—an Indian. ‘Haroun + is dead,’ said Ayesha. ‘Search for that which will give thee new life. + Thou hast seen, and wilt know it, not I.’ + </p> + <p> + “And I put my hand on the breast of Haroun—for the dead man was he—and + drew from it the vessel of crystal. + </p> + <p> + “Having done so, the frown of his marble brow appalled me. I staggered + back, and swooned away. + </p> + <p> + “I came to my senses, recovering and rejoicing, miles afar from the city, + the dawn red on its distant wall. Ayesha had tended me; the elixir had + already restored me. + </p> + <p> + “My first thought, when full consciousness came back to me, rested on + Louis Grayle, for he also had been at Aleppo; I was but one of his + numerous train. He, too, was enfeebled and suffering; he had sought the + known skill of Haroun for himself as for me; and this woman loved and had + tended him as she had loved and tended me. And my nurse told me that he + was dead, and forbade me henceforth to breathe his name. + </p> + <p> + “We travelled on,—she and I, and the Indian her servant,—my + strength still renewed by the wondrous elixir. No longer supported by her, + what gazelle ever roved through its pasture with a bound more elastic than + mine? + </p> + <p> + “We came to a town, and my nurse placed before me a mirror. I did not + recognize myself. In this town we rested, obscure, till the letter there + reached me by which I learned that I was the offspring of love, and + enriched by the care of a father recently dead. Is it not clear that Louis + Grayle was this father?” + </p> + <p> + “If so, was the woman Ayesha your mother?” + </p> + <p> + “The letter said that ‘my mother had died in my infancy.’ Nevertheless, + the care with which Ayesha had tended me induced a suspicion that made me + ask her the very question you put. She wept when I asked her, and said, + ‘No, only my nurse. And now I needed a nurse no more.’ The day after I + received the letter which announced an inheritance that allowed me to vie + with the nobles of Europe, this woman left me, and went back to her + tribe.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you never seen her since?” + </p> + <p> + Margrave hesitated a moment, and then answered, though with seeming + reluctance, “Yes, at Damascus. Not many days after I was borne to that + city by the strangers who found me half-dead on their road, I woke one + morning to find her by my side. And she said, ‘In joy and in health you + did not need me. I am needed now.”’ + </p> + <p> + “Did you then deprive yourself of one so devoted? You have not made this + long voyage—from Egypt to Australia—alone,—you, to whom + wealth gave no excuse for privation?” + </p> + <p> + “The woman came with me; and some chosen attendants. I engaged to + ourselves the vessel we sailed in.” + </p> + <p> + “Where have you left your companions?” + </p> + <p> + “By this hour,” answered Margrave, “they are in reach of my summons; and + when you and I have achieved the discovery—in the results of which + we shall share—I will exact no more from your aid. I trust all that + rests for my cure to my nurse and her swarthy attendants. You will aid me + now, as a matter of course; the physician whose counsel you needed to + guide your own skill enjoins you to obey my whim—if whim you still + call it; you will obey it, for on that whim rests your own sole hope of + happiness,—you, who can love—I love nothing but life. Has my + frank narrative solved all the doubts that stood between you and me, in + the great meeting-grounds of an interest in common?” + </p> + <p> + “Solved all the doubts! Your wild story but makes some the darker, leaving + others untouched: the occult powers of which you boast, and some of which + I have witnessed,—your very insight into my own household sorrows, + into the interests I have, with yourself, in the truth of a faith so + repugnant to reason—” + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me,” interrupted Margrave, with that slight curve of the lip which + is half smile and half sneer, “if, in my account of myself, I omitted what + I cannot explain, and you cannot conceive: let me first ask how many of + the commonest actions of the commonest men are purely involuntary and + wholly inexplicable. When, for instance, you open your lips and utter a + sentence, you have not the faintest idea beforehand what word will follow + another. When you move a muscle can you tell me the thought that prompts + to the movement? And, wholly unable thus to account for your own simple + sympathies between impulse and act, do you believe that there exists a man + upon earth who can read all the riddles in the heart and brain of another? + Is it not true that not one drop of water, one atom of matter, ever really + touches another? Between each and each there is always a space, however + infinitesimally small. How, then, could the world go on, if every man + asked another to make his whole history and being as lucid as daylight + before he would buy and sell with him? All interchange and alliance rest + but on this,—an interest in common. You and I have established that + interest: all else, all you ask more, is superfluous. Could I answer each + doubt you would raise, still, whether the answer should please or revolt + you, your reason would come back to the same starting-point,—namely, + In one definite proposal have we two an interest in common?” + </p> + <p> + And again Margrave laughed, not in mirth, but in mockery. The laugh and + the words that preceded it were not the laugh and the words of the young. + Could it be possible that Louis Grayle had indeed revived to false youth + in the person of Margrave, such might have been his laugh and such his + words. The whole mind of Margrave seemed to have undergone change since I + last saw him; more rich in idea, more crafty even in candour, more + powerful, more concentred. As we see in our ordinary experience, that some + infirmity, threatening dissolution, brings forth more vividly the + reminiscences of early years, when impressions were vigorously stamped, so + I might have thought that as Margrave neared the tomb, the memories he had + retained from his former existence, in a being more amply endowed, more + formidably potent, struggled back to the brain; and the mind that had + lived in Louis Grayle moved the lips of the dying Margrave. + </p> + <p> + “For the powers and the arts that it equally puzzles your reason to assign + or deny to me,” resumed my terrible guest, “I will say briefly but this: + they come from faculties stored within myself, and doubtless conduce to my + self-preservation,—faculties more or less, perhaps (so Van Helmont + asserts), given to all men, though dormant in most; vivid and active in me + because in me self-preservation has been and yet is the strong + master-passion, or instinct; and because I have been taught how to use and + direct such faculties by disciplined teachers,—some by Louis Grayle, + the enchanter; some by my nurse, the singer of charmed songs. But in much + that I will to have done, I know no more than yourself how the agency + acts. Enough for me to will what I wish, and sink calmly into slumber, + sure that the will would work somehow its way. But when I have willed to + know what, when known, should shape my own courses, I could see, without + aid from your pitiful telescopes, all objects howsoever far. What wonder + in that? Have you no learned puzzle-brained metaphysicians who tell you + that space is but an idea, all this palpable universe an idea in the mind, + and no more? Why am I an enigma as dark as the Sibyls, and your + metaphysicians as plain as a hornbook?” Again the sardonic laugh. “Enough: + let what I have said obscure or enlighten your guesses, we come back to + the same link of union, which binds man to man, bids States arise from the + desert, and foeman embrace as brothers. I need you and you need me; + without your aid my life is doomed; without my secret the breath will have + gone from the lips of your Lilian before the sun of to-morrow is red on + the hill-tops.” + </p> + <p> + “Fiend or juggler,” I cried in rage, “you shall not so enslave and + enthrall me by this mystic farrago and jargon. Make your fantastic + experiment on yourself if you will: trust to your arts and your powers. My + Lilian’s life shall not hang on your fiat. I trust it—to—” + </p> + <p> + “To what—to man’s skill? Hear what the sage of the college shall + tell you, before I ask you again for your aid. Do you trust to God’s + saving mercy? Ah, of course you believe in a God? Who, except a + philosopher, can reason a Maker away? But that the Maker will alter His + courses to hear you; that, whether or not you trust in Him, or in your + doctor, it will change by a hairbreadth the thing that must be—do + you believe this, Allen Fenwick?” + </p> + <p> + And there sat this reader of hearts! a boy in his aspect, mocking me and + the graybeards of schools. + </p> + <p> + I could listen no more; I turned to the door and fled down the stairs, and + heard, as I fled, a low chant: feeble and faint, it was still the old + barbaric chant, by which the serpent is drawn from its hole by the + charmer. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0077" id="link2HCH0077"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXVII. + </h2> + <p> + To those of my readers who may seek with Julius Faber to explore, through + intelligible causes, solutions of the marvels I narrate, Margrave’s + confession may serve to explain away much that my own superstitious + beliefs had obscured. To them Margrave is evidently the son of Louis + Grayle. The elixir of life is reduced to some simple restorative, owing + much of its effect to the faith of a credulous patient: youth is so soon + restored to its joy in the sun, with or without an elixir. To them + Margrave’s arts of enchantment are reduced to those idiosyncrasies of + temperament on which the disciples of Mesmer build up their theories,—exaggerated, + in much, by my own superstitions; aided, in part, by such natural, purely + physical magic as, explored by the ancient priest-crafts, is despised by + the modern philosophies, and only remains occult because Science delights + no more in the slides of the lantern which fascinated her childhood with + simulated phantoms. To them Margrave is, perhaps, an enthusiast, but, + because an enthusiast, not less an impostor. “L’Homme se pique,” says + Charron. Man cogs the dice for himself ere he rattles the box for his + dupes. Was there ever successful impostor who did not commence by a fraud + on his own understanding? Cradled in Orient Fableland, what though + Margrave believes in its legends; in a wand, an elixir; in sorcerers or + Afrites? That belief in itself makes him keen to detect, and skilful to + profit by, the latent but kindred credulities of others. In all + illustrations of Duper and Duped through the records of superstition—from + the guile of a Cromwell, a Mahomet, down to the cheats of a gypsy—professional + visionaries are amongst the astutest observers. The knowledge that + Margrave had gained of my abode, of my affliction, or of the innermost + thoughts in my mind, it surely demanded no preternatural aids to acquire. + An Old Bailey attorney could have got at the one, and any quick student of + human hearts have readily mastered the other. In fine, Margrave, thus + rationally criticised, is no other prodigy (save in degree and concurrence + of attributes simple, though not very common) than may be found in each + alley that harbours a fortune-teller who has just faith enough in the + stars or the cards to bubble himself while he swindles his victims; + earnest, indeed, in the self-conviction that he is really a seer, but + reading the looks of his listeners, divining the thoughts that induce them + to listen, and acquiring by practice a startling ability to judge what the + listeners will deem it most seer-like to read in the cards or divine from + the stars. + </p> + <p> + I leave this interpretation unassailed. It is that which is the most + probable; it is clearly that which, in a case not my own, I should have + accepted; and yet I revolved and dismissed it. The moment we deal with + things beyond our comprehension, and in which our own senses are appealed + to and baffled, we revolt from the Probable, as it seems to the senses of + those who have not experienced what we have. And the same principle of + Wonder that led our philosophy up from inert ignorance into restless + knowledge, now winding back into shadow land, reverses its rule by the + way, and, at last, leaves us lost in the maze, our knowledge inert, and + our ignorance restless. + </p> + <p> + And putting aside all other reasons for hesitating to believe that + Margrave was the son of Louis Grayle,—reasons which his own + narrative might suggest,—was it not strange that Sir Philip Derval, + who had instituted inquiries so minute, and reported them in his memoir + with so faithful a care, should not have discovered that a youth, attended + by the same woman who had attended Grayle, had disappeared from the town + on the same night as Grayle himself disappeared? But Derval had related + truthfully, according to Margrave’s account, the flight of Ayesha and her + Indian servant, yet not alluded to the flight, not even to the existence + of the boy, who must have been of no mean importance in the suite of Louis + Grayle, if he were, indeed, the son whom Grayle had made his constant + companion, and constituted his principal heir. Not many minutes did I give + myself up to the cloud of reflections through which no sunbeam of light + forced its way. One thought overmastered all; Margrave had threatened + death to my Lilian, and warned me of what I should learn from the lips of + Faber, “the sage of the college.” I stood, shuddering, at the door of my + home; I did not dare to enter. + </p> + <p> + “Allen,” said a voice, in which my ear detected the unwonted tremulous + faltering, “be firm,—be calm. I keep my promise. The hour is come in + which you may again see the Lilian of old, mind to mind, soul to soul.” + </p> + <p> + Faber’s hand took mine, and led me into the house. + </p> + <p> + “You do, then, fear that this interview will be too much for her + strength?” said I, whisperingly. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot say; but she demands the interview, and I dare not refuse it.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0078" id="link2HCH0078"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXVIII. + </h2> + <p> + I left Faber on the stairs, and paused at the door of Lilian’s room. The + door opened suddenly, noiselessly, and her mother came out with one hand + before her face, and the other locked in Amy’s, who was leading her as a + child leads the blind. Mrs. Ashleigh looked up, as I touched her, with a + vacant, dreary stare. She was not weeping, as was her womanly wont in + every pettier grief, but Amy was. No word was exchanged between us. I + entered, and closed the door; my eyes turned mechanically to the corner in + which was placed the small virgin bed, with its curtains white as a + shroud. Lilian was not there. I looked around, and saw her half reclined + on a couch near the window. She was dressed, and with care. Was not that + her bridal robe? + </p> + <p> + “Allen! Allen!” she murmured. “Again, again my Allen—again, again + your Lilian!” And, striving in vain to rise, she stretched out her arms in + the yearning of reunited love. And as I knelt beside her, those arms + closed round me for the first time in the frank, chaste, holy tenderness + of a wife’s embrace. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” she said, in her low voice (her voice, like Cordelia’s, was ever + low), “all has come back to me,—all that I owe to your protecting, + noble, trustful, guardian love!” + </p> + <p> + “Hush! hush! the gratitude rests with me; it is so sweet to love, to + trust, to guard! my own, my beautiful—still my beautiful! Suffering + has not dimmed the light of those dear eyes to me! Put your lips to my + ear. Whisper but these words: ‘I love you, and for your sake I wish to + live.’” + </p> + <p> + “For your sake, I pray—with my whole weak human heart—I pray + to live! Listen. Some day hereafter, if I am spared, under the purple + blossoms of yonder waving trees I shall tell you all, as I see it now; all + that darkened or shone on me in my long dream, and before the dream closed + around me, like a night in which cloud and star chase each other! Some day + hereafter, some quiet, sunlit, happy, happy day! But now, all I would say + is this: Before that dreadful morning—” Here she paused, shuddered, + and passionately burst forth, “Allen, Allen! you did not believe that + slanderous letter! God bless you! God bless you! Great-hearted, + high-souled—God bless you, my darling! my husband! And He will! Pray + to Him humbly as I do, and He will bless you.” She stooped and kissed away + my tears; then she resumed, feebly, meekly, sorrowfully,— + </p> + <p> + “Before that morning I was not worthy of such a heart, such a love as + yours. No, no; hear me. Not that a thought of love for another ever + crossed me! Never, while conscious and reasoning, was I untrue to you, + even in fancy. But I was a child,—wayward as the child who pines for + what earth cannot give, and covets the moon for a toy. Heaven had been so + kind to my lot on earth, and yet with my lot on earth I was secretly + discontented. When I felt that you loved me, and my heart told me that I + loved again, I said to myself, ‘Now the void that my soul finds on earth + will be filled.’ I longed for your coming, and yet when you went I + murmured, ‘But is this the ideal of which I have dreamed?’ I asked for an + impossible sympathy. Sympathy with what? Nay, smile on me, dearest!—sympathy + with what? I could not have said. Ah, Allen, then, then, I was not worthy + of you! Infant that I was, I asked you to understand me: now I know that I + am a woman, and my task is to study you. Do I make myself clear? Do you + forgive me? I was not untrue to you; I was untrue to my own duties in + life. I believed, in my vain conceit, that a mortal’s dim vision of heaven + raised me above the earth; I did not perceive the truth that earth is a + part of the same universe as heaven! Now, perhaps, in the awful affliction + that darkened my reason, my soul has been made more clear. As if to + chastise but to teach me, my soul has been permitted to indulge its own + presumptuous desire; it has wandered forth from the trammels of mortal + duties and destinies; it comes back, alarmed by the dangers of its own + rash and presumptuous escape from the tasks which it should desire upon + earth to perform. Allen, Allen, I am less unworthy of you now! Perhaps in + my darkness one rapid glimpse of the true world of spirit has been + vouchsafed to me. If so, how unlike to the visions my childhood indulged + as divine! Now, while I know still more deeply that there is a world for + the angels, I know, also, that the mortal must pass through probation in + the world of mortals. Oh, may I pass through it with you, grieving in your + griefs, rejoicing in your joy!” + </p> + <p> + Here language failed her. Again the dear arms embraced me, and the dear + face, eloquent with love, hid itself on my human breast. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0079" id="link2HCH0079"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXIX. + </h2> + <p> + That interview is over! Again I am banished from Lilian’s room; the + agitation, the joy of that meeting has overstrained her enfeebled nerves. + Convulsive tremblings of the whole frame, accompanied with vehement sobs, + succeeded our brief interchange of sweet and bitter thoughts. Faber, in + tearing me from her side, imperiously and sternly warned me that the sole + chance yet left of preserving her life was in the merciful suspense of the + emotions that my presence excited. He and Amy resumed their place in her + chamber. Even her mother shared my sentence of banishment. So Mrs. + Ashleigh and I sat facing each other in the room below; over me a leaden + stupor had fallen, and I heard, as a voice from afar or in a dream, the + mother’s murmured wailings, + </p> + <p> + “She will die! she will die! Her eyes have the same heavenly look as my + Gilbert’s on the day on which his closed forever. Her very words are his + last words,—‘Forgive me all my faults to you.’ She will die! she + will die!” + </p> + <p> + Hours thus passed away. At length Faber entered the room; he spoke first + to Mrs. Ashleigh,—meaningless soothings, familiar to the lips of all + who pass from the chamber of the dying to the presence of mourners, and + know that it is a falsehood to say “hope,” and a mockery as yet, to say, + “endure.” + </p> + <p> + But he led her away to her own room, docile as a wearied child led to + sleep, stayed with her some time, and then returned to me, pressing me to + his breast father-like. + </p> + <p> + “No hope! no hope!” said I, recoiling from his embrace. “You are silent. + Speak! speak! Let me know the worst.” + </p> + <p> + “I have a hope, yet I scarcely dare to bid you share it; for it grows + rather out of my heart as man than my experience as physician. I cannot + think that her soul would be now so reconciled to earth, so fondly, so + earnestly, cling to this mortal life, if it were about to be summoned + away. You know how commonly even the sufferers who have dreaded death the + most become calmly resigned to its coming, when death visibly reveals + itself out from the shadows in which its shape has been guessed and not + seen. As it is a bad sign for life when the patient has lost all will to + live on, so there is hope while the patient, yet young and with no + perceptible breach in the great centres of life (however violently their + forts may be stormed), has still intense faith in recovery, perhaps drawn + (who can say?) from the whispers conveyed from above to the soul. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot bring myself to think that all the uses for which a reason, + always so lovely even in its errors, has been restored, are yet fulfilled. + It seems to me as if your union, as yet so imperfect, has still for its + end that holy life on earth by which two mortal beings strengthen each + other for a sphere of existence to which this is the spiritual ladder. + Through yourself I have hope yet for her. Gifted with powers that rank you + high in the manifold orders of man,—thoughtful, laborious, and + brave; with a heart that makes intellect vibrate to every fine touch of + humanity; in error itself, conscientious; in delusion, still eager for + truth; in anger, forgiving; in wrong, seeking how to repair; and, best of + all, strong in a love which the mean would have shrunk to defend from the + fangs of the slanderer,—a love, raising passion itself out of the + realm of the senses, made sublime by the sorrows that tried its devotion,—with + all these noble proofs in yourself of a being not meant to end here, your + life has stopped short in its uses, your mind itself has been drifted, a + bark without rudder or pilot, over seas without shore, under skies without + stars. And wherefore? Because the mind you so haughtily vaunted has + refused its companion and teacher in Soul. + </p> + <p> + “And therefore, through you, I hope that she will be spared yet to live + on; she, in whom soul has been led dimly astray, by unheeding the checks + and the definite goals which the mind is ordained to prescribe to its + wanderings while here; the mind taking thoughts from the actual and + visible world, and the soul but vague glimpses and hints from the instinct + of its ultimate heritage. Each of you two seems to me as yet incomplete, + and your destinies yet uncompleted. Through the bonds of the heart, + through the trials of time, ye have both to consummate your marriage. I do + not—believe me—I do not say this in the fanciful wisdom of + allegory and type, save that, wherever deeply examined, allegory and type + run through all the most commonplace phases of outward and material life. + I hope, then, that she may yet be spared to you; hope it, not from my + skill as physician, but my inward belief as a Christian. To perfect your + own being and end, ‘Ye will need one another!’” + </p> + <p> + I started—the very words that Lilian had heard in her vision! + </p> + <p> + “But,” resumed Faber, “how can I presume to trace the numberless links of + effect up to the First Cause, far off—oh; far off—out of the + scope of my reason. I leave that to philosophers, who would laugh my meek + hope to scorn. Possibly, probably, where I, whose calling has been but to + save flesh from the worm, deem that the life of your Lilian is needed yet, + to develop and train your own convictions of soul, Heaven in its wisdom + may see that her death would instruct you far more than her life. I have + said, Be prepared for either,—wisdom through joy, or wisdom through + grief. Enough that, looking only through the mechanism by which this moral + world is impelled and improved, you know that cruelty is impossible to + wisdom. Even a man, or man’s law, is never wise but when merciful. But + mercy has general conditions; and that which is mercy to the myriads may + seem hard to the one, and that which seems hard to the one in the pang of + a moment may be mercy when viewed by the eye that looks on through + eternity.” + </p> + <p> + And from all this discourse—of which I now, at calm distance of + time, recall every word—my human, loving heart bore away for the + moment but this sentence, “Ye will need one another;” so that I cried out, + “Life, life, life! Is there no hope for her life? Have you no hope as + physician? I am a physician, too; I will see her. I will judge. I will not + be banished from my post.” + </p> + <p> + “Judge, then, as physician, and let the responsibility rest with you. At + this moment, all convulsion, all struggle, has ceased; the frame is at + rest. Look on her, and perhaps only the physician’s eye could distinguish + her state from death. It is not sleep, it is not trance, it is not the + dooming coma from which there is no awaking. Shall I call it by the name + received in our schools? Is it the catalepsy in which life is suspended, + but consciousness acute? She is motionless, rigid; it is but with a strain + of my own sense that I know that the breath still breathes, and the heart + still beats. But I am convinced that though she can neither speak, nor + stir, nor give sign, she is fully, sensitively conscious of all that + passes around her. She is like those who have seen the very coffin carried + into their chamber, and been unable to cry out, ‘Do not bury me alive!’ + Judge then for yourself, with this intense consciousness and this + impotence to evince it, what might be the effect of your presence,—first + an agony of despair, and then the complete extinction of life!” + </p> + <p> + “I have known but one such case,—a mother whose heart was wrapped up + in a suffering infant. She had lain for two days and two nights, still, as + if in her shroud. All save myself said, ‘Life is gone.’ I said, ‘Life + still is there.’ They brought in the infant, to try what effect its + presence would produce; then her lips moved, and the hands crossed upon + her bosom trembled.” + </p> + <p> + “And the result?” exclaimed Faber, eagerly. “If the result of your + experience sanction your presence, come; the sight of the babe rekindled + life?” + </p> + <p> + “No; extinguished its last spark! I will not enter Lilian’s room. I will + go away,—away from the house itself. That acute consciousness! I + know it well! She may even hear me move in the room below, hear me speak + at this moment. Go back to her, go back! But if hers be the state which I + have known in another, which may be yet more familiar to persons of far + ampler experience than mine, there is no immediate danger of death. The + state will last through to-day, through to-night, perhaps for days to + come. Is it so?” + </p> + <p> + “I believe that for at least twelve hours there will be no change in her + state. I believe also that if she recover from it, calm and refreshed, as + from a sleep, the danger of death will have passed away.” + </p> + <p> + “And for twelve hours my presence would be hurtful?” + </p> + <p> + “Rather say fatal, if my diagnosis be right.” + </p> + <p> + I wrung my friend’s hand, and we parted. + </p> + <p> + Oh, to lose her now!—now that her love and her reason had both + returned, each more vivid than before! Futile, indeed, might be Margrave’s + boasted secret; but at least in that secret was hope. In recognized + science I saw only despair. + </p> + <p> + And at that thought all dread of this mysterious visitor vanished,—all + anxiety to question more of his attributes or his history. His life itself + became to me dear and precious. What if it should fail me in the steps of + the process, whatever that was, by which the life of my Lilian might be + saved! + </p> + <p> + The shades of evening were now closing in. I remembered that I had left + Margrave without even food for many hours. I stole round to the back of + the house, filled a basket with elements more generous than those of the + former day; extracted fresh drugs from my stores, and, thus laden, hurried + back to the hut. I found Margrave in the room below, seated on his + mysterious coffer, leaning his face on his hand. When I entered, he looked + up, and said,— + </p> + <p> + “You have neglected me. My strength is waning. Give me more of the + cordial, for we have work before us to-night, and I need support.” + </p> + <p> + He took for granted my assent to his wild experiment; and he was right. + </p> + <p> + I administered the cordial. I placed food before him, and this time he did + not eat with repugnance. I poured out wine, and he drank it sparingly, but + with ready compliance, saying, “In perfect health, I looked upon wine as + poison; now it is like a foretaste of the glorious elixir.” + </p> + <p> + After he had thus recruited himself, he seemed to acquire an energy that + startlingly contrasted his languor the day before; the effort of breathing + was scarcely perceptible; the colour came back to his cheeks; his bended + frame rose elastic and erect. + </p> + <p> + “If I understood you rightly,” said I, “the experiment you ask me to aid + can be accomplished in a single night?” + </p> + <p> + “In a single night,—this night.” + </p> + <p> + “Command me. Why not begin at once? What apparatus or chemical agencies do + you need?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Margrave, “formerly, how I was misled! Formerly, how my + conjectures blundered! I thought, when I asked you to give a month to the + experiment I wish to make, that I should need the subtlest skill of the + chemist. I then believed, with Van Helmont, that the principle of life is + a gas, and that the secret was but in the mode by which the gas might be + rightly administered. But now all that I need is contained in this coffer, + save one very simple material,—fuel sufficient for a steady fire for + six hours. I see even that is at hand, piled up in your outhouse. And now + for the substance itself,—to that you must guide me.” + </p> + <p> + “Explain.” + </p> + <p> + “Near this very spot is there not gold—in mines yet undiscovered?—and + gold of the purest metal?” + </p> + <p> + “There is. What then? Do you, with the alchemists, blend in one discovery + gold and life?” + </p> + <p> + “No. But it is only where the chemistry of earth or of man produces gold, + that the substance from which the great pabulum of life is extracted by + ferment can be found. Possibly, in the attempts at that transmutation of + metals, which I think your own great chemist, Sir Humphry Davy, allowed + might be possible, but held not to be worth the cost of the process,—possibly, + in those attempts, some scanty grains of this substance were found by the + alchemists, in the crucible, with grains of the metal as niggardly yielded + by pitiful mimicry of Nature’s stupendous laboratory; and from such grains + enough of the essence might, perhaps, have been drawn forth, to add a few + years of existence to some feeble graybeard,—granting, what rests on + no proofs, that some of the alchemists reached an age rarely given to man. + But it is not in the miserly crucible, it is in the matrix of Nature + herself, that we must seek in prolific abundance Nature’s grand principle,—life. + As the loadstone is rife with the magnetic virtue, as amber contains the + electric, so in this substance, to which we yet want a name, is found the + bright life-giving fluid. In the old goldmines of Asia and Europe the + substance exists, but can rarely be met with. The soil for its nutriment + may there be well-nigh exhausted. It is here, where Nature herself is all + vital with youth, that the nutriment of youth must be sought. Near this + spot is gold; guide me to it.” + </p> + <p> + “You cannot come with me. The place which I know as auriferous is some + miles distant, the way rugged. You can not walk to it. It is true I have + horses, but—” + </p> + <p> + “Do you think I have come this distance and not foreseen and forestalled + all that I want for my object? Trouble your self not with conjectures how + I can arrive at the place. I have provided the means to arrive at and + leave it. My litter and its bearers are in reach of my call. Give me your + arm to the rising ground, fifty yards from your door.” + </p> + <p> + I obeyed mechanically, stifling all surprise. I had made my resolve, and + admitted no thought that could shake it. When we reached the summit of the + grassy hillock, which sloped from the road that led to the seaport, + Margrave, after pausing to recover breath, lifted up his voice, in a key, + not loud, but shrill and slow and prolonged, half cry and half chant, like + the nighthawk’s. Through the air—so limpid and still, bringing near + far objects, far sounds—the voice pierced its way, artfully pausing, + till wave after wave of the atmosphere bore and transmitted it on. + </p> + <p> + In a few minutes the call seemed re-echoed, so exactly, so cheerily, that + for the moment I thought that the note was the mimicry of the shy mocking + Lyre-Bird, which mimics so merrily all that it hears in its coverts, from + the whir of the locust to the howl of the wild dog. + </p> + <p> + “What king,” said the mystical charmer, and as he spoke he carelessly + rested his hand on my shoulder, so that I trembled to feel that this dread + son of Nature, Godless and soulless, who had been—and, my heart + whispered, who still could be—my bane and mind-darkener, leaned upon + me for support, as the spoilt younger-born on his brother,—“what + king,” said this cynical mocker, with his beautiful boyish face,—“what + king in your civilized Europe has the sway of a chief of the East? What + link is so strong between mortal and mortal, as that between lord and + slave? I transport yon poor fools from the land of their birth; they + preserve here their old habits,—obedience and awe. They would wait + till they starved in the solitude,—wait to hearken and answer my + call. And I, who thus rule them, or charm them—I use and despise + them. They know that, and yet serve me! Between you and me, my + philosopher, there is but one thing worth living for,—life for + oneself.” + </p> + <p> + Is it age, is it youth, that thus shocks all my sense, in my solemn + completeness of man? Perhaps, in great capitals, young men of pleasure + will answer, “It is youth; and we think what he says!” Young friends, I do + not believe you. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0080" id="link2HCH0080"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXX. + </h2> + <p> + Along the grass-track I saw now, under the moon, just risen, a strange + procession, never seen before in Australian pastures. It moved on, + noiselessly but quickly. We descended the hillock, and met it on the way,—a + sable litter, borne by four men, in unfamiliar Eastern garments; two other + servitors, more bravely dressed, with yataghans and silver-hilted pistols + in their belts, preceded this sombre equipage. Perhaps Margrave divined + the disdainful thought that passed through my mind, vaguely and + half-unconsciously; for he said, with a hollow, bitter laugh that had + replaced the lively peal of his once melodious mirth,— + </p> + <p> + “A little leisure and a little gold, and your raw colonist, too, will have + the tastes of a pacha.” + </p> + <p> + I made no answer. I had ceased to care who and what was my tempter. To me + his whole being was resolved into one problem: Had he a secret by which + death could be turned from Lilian? + </p> + <p> + But now, as the litter halted, from the long dark shadow which it cast + upon the turf the figure of a woman emerged and stood before us. The + outlines of her shape were lost in the loose folds of a black mantle, and + the features of her face were hidden by a black veil, except only the + dark, bright, solemn eyes. Her stature was lofty, her bearing majestic, + whether in movement or repose. + </p> + <p> + Margrave accosted her in some language unknown to me. She replied in what + seemed to me the same tongue. The tones of her voice were sweet, but + inexpressibly mournful. The words that they uttered appeared intended to + warn, or deprecate, or dissuade; but they called to Margrave’s brow a + lowering frown, and drew from his lips a burst of unmistakable anger. The + woman rejoined, in the same melancholy music of voice. And Margrave then, + leaning his arm upon her shoulder, as he had leaned it on mine, drew her + away from the group into a neighbouring copse of the flowering eucalypti,—mystic + trees, never changing the hues of their pale-green leaves, ever shifting + the tints of their ash-gray, shedding bark. For some moments I gazed on + the two human forms, dimly seen by the glinting moonlight through the gaps + in the foliage. Then turning away my eyes, I saw, standing close at my + side, a man whom I had not noticed before. His footstep, as it stole to + me, had fallen on the sward without sound. His dress, though Oriental, + differed from that of his companions, both in shape and colour; fitting + close to the breast, leaving the arms bare to the elbow, and of a uniform + ghastly white, as are the cerements of the grave. His visage was even + darker than those of the Syrians or Arabs behind him, and his features + were those of a bird of prey,—the beak of the eagle, but the eye of + the vulture. His cheeks were hollow; the arms, crossed on his breast, were + long and fleshless. Yet in that skeleton form there was a something which + conveyed the idea of a serpent’s suppleness and strength; and as the + hungry, watchful eyes met my own startled gaze, I recoiled impulsively + with that inward warning of danger which is conveyed to man, as to + inferior animals, in the very aspect of the creatures that sting or + devour. At my movement the man inclined his head in the submissive Eastern + salutation, and spoke in his foreign tongue, softly, humbly, fawningly, to + judge by his tone and his gesture. + </p> + <p> + I moved yet farther away from him with loathing, and now the human thought + flashed upon me: was I, in truth, exposed to no danger in trusting myself + to the mercy of the weird and remorseless master of those hirelings from + the East,—seven men in number, two at least of them formidably + armed, and docile as bloodhounds to the hunter, who has only to show them + their prey? But fear of man like myself is not my weakness; where fear + found its way to my heart, it was through the doubts or the fancies in + which man like myself disappeared in the attributes, dark and unknown, + which we give to a fiend or a spectre. And, perhaps, if I could have + paused to analyze my own sensations, the very presence of this + escort-creatures of flesh and blood-lessened the dread of my + incomprehensible tempter. Rather, a hundred times, front and defy those + seven Eastern slaves—I, haughty son of the Anglo-Saxon who conquers + all races because he fears no odds—than have seen again on the walls + of my threshold the luminous, bodiless Shadow! Besides: Lilian! Lilian! + for one chance of saving her life, however wild and chimerical that chance + might be, I would have shrunk not a foot from the march of an army. + </p> + <p> + Thus reassured and thus resolved, I advanced, with a smile of disdain, to + meet Margrave and his veiled companion, as they now came from the moonlit + copse. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” I said to him, with an irony that unconsciously mimicked his own, + “have you taken advice with your nurse? I assume that the dark form by + your side is that of Ayesha.” + </p> + <p> + The woman looked at me from her sable veil, with her steadfast solemn + eyes, and said, in English, though with a foreign accent: “The nurse born + in Asia is but wise through her love; the pale son of Europe is wise + through his art. The nurse says, ‘Forbear!’ Do you say, ‘Adventure’?” + </p> + <p> + “Peace!” exclaimed Margrave, stamping his foot on the ground. “I take no + counsel from either; it is for me to resolve, for you to obey, and for him + to aid. Night is come, and we waste it; move on.” + </p> + <p> + The woman made no reply, nor did I. He took my arm and walked back to the + hut. The barbaric escort followed. When we reached the door of the + building, Margrave said a few words to the woman and to the + litter-bearers. They entered the hut with us. Margrave pointed out to the + woman his coffer, to the men the fuel stowed in the outhouse. Both were + borne away and placed within the litter. Meanwhile, I took from the table, + on which it was carelessly thrown, the light hatchet that I habitually + carried with me in my rambles. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think that you need that idle weapon?” said Margrave. “Do you fear + the good faith of my swarthy attendants?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, take the hatchet yourself; its use is to sever the gold from the + quartz in which we may find it embedded, or to clear, as this shovel, + which will also be needed, from the slight soil above it, the ore that the + mine in the mountain flings forth, as the sea casts its waifs on the + sands.” + </p> + <p> + “Give me your hand, fellow-labourer!” said Margrave, joyfully. “Ah, there + is no faltering terror in this pulse! I was not mistaken in the Man. What + rests, but the Place and the Hour? I shall live! I shall live!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0081" id="link2HCH0081"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXXI. + </h2> + <p> + Margrave now entered the litter, and the Veiled Woman drew the black + curtains round him. I walked on, as the guide, some yards in advance. The + air was still, heavy, and parched with the breath of the Australasian + sirocco. + </p> + <p> + We passed through the meadow-lands, studded with slumbering flocks; we + followed the branch of the creek, which was linked to its source in the + mountains by many a trickling waterfall; we threaded the gloom of stunted, + misshapen trees, gnarled with the stringy bark which makes one of the + signs of the strata that nourish gold; and at length the moon, now in all + her pomp of light, mid-heaven amongst her subject stars, gleamed through + the fissures of the cave, on whose floor lay the relics of antediluvian + races, and rested in one flood of silvery splendour upon the hollows of + the extinct volcano, with tufts of dank herbage, and wide spaces of paler + sward, covering the gold below,—Gold, the dumb symbol of organized + Matter’s great mystery, storing in itself, according as Mind, the informer + of Matter, can distinguish its uses, evil and good, bane and blessing. + </p> + <p> + Hitherto the Veiled Woman had remained in the rear, with the white-robed, + skeleton-like image that had crept to my side unawares with its noiseless + step. Thus in each winding turn of the difficult path at which the convoy + following behind me came into sight, I had seen, first, the two + gayly-dressed, armed men, next the black bier-like litter, and last the + Black-veiled Woman and the White-robed Skeleton. + </p> + <p> + But now, as I halted on the tableland, backed by the mountain and fronting + the valley, the woman left her companion, passed by the litter and the + armed men, and paused by my side, at the mouth of the moonlit cavern. + </p> + <p> + There for a moment she stood, silent, the procession below mounting upward + laboriously and slow; then she turned to me, and her veil was withdrawn. + </p> + <p> + The face on which I gazed was wondrously beautiful, and severely awful. + There was neither youth nor age, but beauty, mature and majestic as that + of a marble Demeter. + </p> + <p> + “Do you believe in that which you seek?” she asked, in her foreign, + melodious, melancholy accents. + </p> + <p> + “I have no belief,” was my answer. “True science has none. True science + questions all things, takes nothing upon credit. It knows but three states + of the mind,—Denial, Conviction, and that vast interval between the + two, which is not belief, but suspense of judgment.” + </p> + <p> + The woman let fall her veil, moved from me, and seated herself on a crag + above that cleft between mountain and creek, to which, when I had first + discovered the gold that the land nourished, the rain from the clouds had + given the rushing life of the cataract; but which now, in the drought and + the hush of the skies, was but a dead pile of stones. + </p> + <p> + The litter now ascended the height: its bearers halted; a lean hand tore + the curtains aside, and Margrave descended, leaning, this time, not on the + Black-veiled Woman, but on the White-robed Skeleton. + </p> + <p> + There, as he stood, the moon shone full on his wasted form; on his face, + resolute, cheerful, and proud, despite its hollowed outlines and sicklied + hues. He raised his head, spoke in the language unknown to me, and the + armed men and the litter-bearers grouped round him, bending low, their + eyes fixed on the ground. The Veiled Woman rose slowly and came to his + side, motioning away, with a mute sign, the ghastly form on which he + leaned, and passing round him silently, instead, her own sustaining arm. + Margrave spoke again a few sentences, of which I could not even guess the + meaning. When he had concluded, the armed men and the litter-bearers came + nearer to his feet, knelt down, and kissed his hand. They then rose, and + took from the bier-like vehicle the coffer and the fuel. This done, they + lifted again the litter, and again, preceded by the armed men, the + procession descended down the sloping hillside, down into the valley + below. + </p> + <p> + Margrave now whispered, for some moments, into the ear of the hideous + creature who had made way for the Veiled Woman. The grim skeleton bowed + his head submissively, and strode noiselessly away through the long + grasses,—the slender stems, trampled under his stealthy feet, + relifting themselves, as after a passing wind. And thus he, too, sank out + of sight down into the valley below. On the tableland of the hill remained + only we three,—Margrave, myself, and the Veiled Woman. + </p> + <p> + She had reseated herself apart, on the gray crag above the dried torrent. + He stood at the entrance of the cavern, round the sides of which clustered + parasital plants, with flowers of all colours, some amongst them opening + their petals and exhaling their fragrance only in the hours of night; so + that, as his form filled up the jaws of the dull arch, obscuring the + moonbeam that strove to pierce the shadows that slept within, it stood now—wan + and blighted—as I had seen it first, radiant and joyous, literally + “framed in blooms.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0082" id="link2HCH0082"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXXII. + </h2> + <p> + “So,” said Margrave, turning to me, “under the soil that spreads around us + lies the gold which to you and to me is at this moment of no value, except + as a guide to its twin-born,—the regenerator of life!” + </p> + <p> + “You have not yet described to me the nature of the substance which we are + to explore, nor of the process by which the virtues you impute to it are + to be extracted.” + </p> + <p> + “Let us first find the gold, and instead of describing the life-amber, so + let me call it, I will point it out to your own eyes. As to the process, + your share in it is so simple, that you will ask me why I seek aid from a + chemist. The life-amber, when found, has but to be subjected to heat and + fermentation for six hours; it will be placed, in a small caldron which + that coffer contains, over the fire which that fuel will feed. To give + effect to the process, certain alkalies and other ingredients are + required; but these are prepared, and mine is the task to commingle them. + From your science as chemist I need and ask nought. In you I have sought + only the aid of a man.” + </p> + <p> + “If that be so, why, indeed, seek me at all? Why not confide in those + swarthy attendants, who doubtless are slaves to your orders?” + </p> + <p> + “Confide in slaves! when the first task enjoined to them would be to + discover, and refrain from purloining gold! Seven such unscrupulous + knaves, or even one such, and I, thus defenceless and feeble! Such is not + the work that wise masters confide to fierce slaves. But that is the least + of the reasons which exclude them from my choice, and fix my choice of + assistant on you. Do you forget what I told you of the danger which the + Dervish declared no bribe I could offer could tempt him a second time to + brave?” + </p> + <p> + “I remember now; those words had passed away from my mind.” + </p> + <p> + “And because they had passed away from your mind, I chose you for my + comrade. I need a man by whom danger is scorned.” + </p> + <p> + “But in the process of which you tell me I see no possible danger unless + the ingredients you mix in your caldron have poisonous fumes.” + </p> + <p> + “It is not that. The ingredients I use are not poisons.” + </p> + <p> + “What other danger, except you dread your own Eastern slaves? But, if so, + why lead them to these solitudes; and, if so, why not bid me be armed?” + </p> + <p> + “The Eastern slaves, fulfilling my commands, wait for my summons where + their eyes cannot see what we do. The danger is of a kind in which the + boldest son of the East would be more craven, perhaps, than the daintiest + Sybarite of Europe, who would shrink from a panther and laugh at a ghost. + In the creed of the Dervish, and of all who adventure into that realm of + nature which is closed to philosophy and open to magic, there are races in + the magnitude of space unseen as animalcules in the world of a drop. For + the tribes of the drop, science has its microscope. Of the host of yon + azure Infinite magic gains sight, and through them gains command over + fluid conductors that link all the parts of creation. Of these races, some + are wholly indifferent to man, some benign to him, and some dreadly + hostile. In all the regular and prescribed conditions of mortal being, + this magic realm seems as blank and tenantless as yon vacant air. But when + a seeker of powers beyond the rude functions by which man plies the + clockwork that measures his hours, and stops when its chain reaches the + end of its coil, strives to pass over those boundaries at which philosophy + says, ‘Knowledge ends,’—then he is like all other travellers in + regions unknown; he must propitiate or brave the tribes that are hostile,—must + depend for his life on the tribes that are friendly. Though your science + discredits the alchemist’s dogmas, your learning informs you that all + alchemists were not ignorant impostors; yet those whose discoveries prove + them to have been the nearest allies to your practical knowledge, ever + hint in their mystical works at the reality of that realm which is open to + magic,—ever hint that some means less familiar than furnace and + bellows are essential to him who explores the elixir of life. He who once + quaffs that elixir, obtains in his very veins the bright fluid by which he + transmits the force of his will to agencies dormant in nature, to giants + unseen in the space. And here, as he passes the boundary which divides his + allotted and normal mortality from the regions and races that magic alone + can explore, so, here, he breaks down the safeguard between himself and + the tribes that are hostile. Is it not ever thus between man and man? Let + a race the most gentle and timid and civilized dwell on one side a river + or mountain, and another have home in the region beyond, each, if it pass + not the intervening barrier, may with each live in peace. But if ambitious + adventurers scale the mountain, or cross the river, with design to subdue + and enslave the population they boldly invade, then all the invaded arise + in wrath and defiance,—the neighbours are changed into foes. And + therefore this process—by which a simple though rare material of + nature is made to yield to a mortal the boon of a life which brings, with + its glorious resistance to Time, desires and faculties to subject to its + service beings that dwell in the earth and the air and the deep—has + ever been one of the same peril which an invader must brave when he + crosses the bounds of his nation. By this key alone you unlock all the + cells of the alchemist’s lore; by this alone understand how a labour, + which a chemist’s crudest apprentice could perform, has baffled the giant + fathers of all your dwarfed children of science. Nature, that stores this + priceless boon, seems to shrink from conceding it to man; the invisible + tribes that abhor him, oppose themselves to the gain that might give them + a master. The duller of those who were the life-seekers of old would have + told you how some chance, trivial, unlooked-for, foiled their grand hope + at the very point of fruition,—some doltish mistake, some + improvident oversight, a defect in the sulphur, a wild overflow in the + quicksilver, or a flaw in the bellows, or a pupil who failed to replenish + the fuel, by falling asleep by the furnace. The invisible foes seldom + vouchsafe to make themselves visible where they can frustrate the bungler, + as they mock at his toils from their ambush. But the mightier adventurers, + equally foiled in despite of their patience and skill, would have said, + ‘Not with us rests the fault; we neglected no caution, we failed from no + oversight. But out from the caldron dread faces arose, and the spectres or + demons dismayed and baffled us.’ Such, then, is the danger which seems so + appalling to a son of the East, as it seemed to a seer in the dark age of + Europe. But we can deride all its threats, you and I. For myself, I own + frankly I take all the safety that the charms and resources of magic + bestow. You, for your safety, have the cultured and disciplined reason + which reduces all fantasies to nervous impressions; and I rely on the + courage of one who has questioned, unquailing, the Luminous Shadow, and + wrested from the hand of the magician himself the wand which concentred + the wonders of will!” + </p> + <p> + To this strange and long discourse I listened without interruption, and + now quietly answered,— + </p> + <p> + “I do not merit the trust you affect in my courage; but I am now on my + guard against the cheats of the fancy, and the fumes of a vapour can + scarcely bewilder the brain in the open air of this mountain-land. I + believe in no races like those which you tell me lie viewless in space, as + do gases. I believe not in magic; I ask not its aids, and I dread not its + terrors. For the rest, I am confident of one mournful courage,—the + courage that comes from despair. I submit to your guidance, whatever it + be, as a sufferer whom colleges doom to the grave submits to the quack who + says, ‘Take my specific and live!’ My life is nought in itself; my life + lives in another. You and I are both brave from despair; you would turn + death from yourself, I would turn death from one I love more than myself. + Both know how little aid we can win from the colleges, and both, + therefore, turn to the promises most audaciously cheering. Dervish or + magician, alchemist or phantom, what care you and I? And if they fail us, + what then? They cannot fail us more than the colleges do!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0083" id="link2HCH0083"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXXIII. + </h2> + <p> + The gold has been gained with an easy labour. I knew where to seek for it, + whether under the turf or in the bed of the creek. But Margrave’s eyes, + hungrily gazing round every spot from which the ore was disburied, could + not detect the substance of which he alone knew the outward appearance. I + had begun to believe that, even in the description given to him of this + material, he had been credulously duped, and that no such material + existed, when, coming back from the bed of the watercourse, I saw a faint + yellow gleam amidst the roots of a giant parasite plant, the leaves and + blossoms of which climbed up the sides of the cave with its antediluvian + relics. The gleam was the gleam of gold, and on removing the loose earth + round the roots of the plant, we came on—No, I will not, I dare not, + describe it. The gold-digger would cast it aside, the naturalist would + pause not to heed it; and did I describe it, and chemistry deign to + subject it to analysis, could chemistry alone detach or discover its + boasted virtues? + </p> + <p> + Its particles, indeed, are very minute, not seeming readily to crystallize + with each other; each in itself of uniform shape and size, spherical as + the egg which contains the germ of life, and small as the egg from which + the life of an insect may quicken. + </p> + <p> + But Margrave’s keen eye caught sight of the atoms upcast by the light of + the moon. He exclaimed to me, “Found! I shall live!” And then, as he + gathered up the grains with tremulous hands, he called out to the Veiled + Woman, hitherto still seated motionless on the crag. At his word she rose + and went to the place hard by, where the fuel was piled, busying herself + there. I had no leisure to heed her. I continued my search in the soft and + yielding soil that time and the decay of vegetable life had accumulated + over the Pre-Adamite strata on which the arch of the cave rested its + mighty keystone. + </p> + <p> + When we had collected of these particles about thrice as much as a man + might hold in his hand, we seemed to have exhausted their bed. We + continued still to find gold, but no more of the delicate substance, to + which, in our sight, gold was as dross. + </p> + <p> + “Enough,” then said Margrave, reluctantly desisting. “What we have gained + already will suffice for a life thrice as long as legend attributes to + Haroun. I shall live,—I shall live through the centuries.” + </p> + <p> + “Forget not that I claim my share.” + </p> + <p> + “Your share—yours! True—your half of my life! It is true.” He + paused with a low, ironical, malignant laugh; and then added, as he rose + and turned away, “But the work is yet to be done.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0084" id="link2HCH0084"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXXIV. + </h2> + <p> + While we had thus laboured and found, Ayesha had placed the fuel where the + moonlight fell fullest on the sward of the tableland,—a part of it + already piled as for a fire, the rest of it heaped confusedly close at + hand; and by the pile she had placed the coffer. And there she stood, her + arms folded under her mantle, her dark image seeming darker still as the + moonlight whitened all the ground from which the image rose motionless. + Margrave opened his coffer, the Veiled Woman did not aid him, and I + watched in silence, while he as silently made his weird and wizard-like + preparations. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0085" id="link2HCH0085"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXXV. + </h2> + <p> + On the ground a wide circle was traced by a small rod, tipped apparently + with sponge saturated with some combustible naphtha-like fluid, so that a + pale lambent flame followed the course of the rod as Margrave guided it, + burning up the herbage over which it played, and leaving a distinct ring, + like that which, in our lovely native fable-talk, we call the “Fairy’s + Ring,” but yet more visible because marked in phosphorescent light. On the + ring thus formed were placed twelve small lamps, fed with the fluid from + the same vessel, and lighted by the same rod. The light emitted by the + lamps was more vivid and brilliant than that which circled round the ring. + </p> + <p> + Within the circumference, and immediately round the woodpile, Margrave + traced certain geometrical figures, in which—not without a shudder, + that I overcame at once by a strong effort of will in murmuring to myself + the name of “Lilian”—I recognized the interlaced triangles which my + own hand, in the spell enforced on a sleep-walker, had described on the + floor of the wizard’s pavilion. The figures were traced, like the circle, + in flame, and at the point of each triangle (four in number) was placed a + lamp, brilliant as those on the ring. This task performed, the caldron, + based on an iron tripod, was placed on the wood-pile. And then the woman, + before inactive and unheeding, slowly advanced, knelt by the pile, and + lighted it. The dry wood crackled and the flame burst forth, licking the + rims of the caldron with tongues of fire. + </p> + <p> + Margrave flung into the caldron the particles we had collected, poured + over them first a liquid, colourless as water, from the largest of the + vessels drawn from his coffer, and then, more sparingly, drops from small + crystal phials, like the phials I had seen in the hand of Philip Derval. + </p> + <p> + Having surmounted my first impulse of awe, I watched these proceedings, + curious yet disdainful, as one who watches the mummeries of an enchanter + on the stage. + </p> + <p> + “If,” thought I, “these are but artful devices to inebriate and fool my + own imagination, my imagination is on its guard, and reason shall not, + this time, sleep at her post!” + </p> + <p> + “And now,” said Margrave, “I consign to you the easy task by which you are + to merit your share of the elixir. It is my task to feed and replenish the + caldron; it is Ayesha’s to heed the fire, which must not for a moment + relax in its measured and steady heat. Your task is the lightest of all it + is but to renew from this vessel the fluid that burns in the lamps, and on + the ring. Observe, the contents of the vessel must be thriftily husbanded; + there is enough, but not more than enough, to sustain the light in the + lamps, on the lines traced round the caldron, and on the farther ring, for + six hours. The compounds dissolved in this fluid are scarce,—only + obtainable in the East, and even in the East months might have passed + before I could have increased my supply. + </p> + <p> + “I had no months to waste. Replenish, then, the light only when it begins + to flicker or fade. Take heed, above all, that no part of the outer ring—no, + not an inch—and no lamp of the twelve, that are to its zodiac like + stars, fade for one moment in darkness.” + </p> + <p> + I took the crystal vessel from his hand. + </p> + <p> + “The vessel is small,” said I, “and what is yet left of its contents is + but scanty; whether its drops suffice to replenish the lights I cannot + guess,—I can but obey your instructions. But, more important by far + than the light to the lamps and the circle, which in Asia or Africa might + scare away the wild beasts unknown to this land—more important than + light to a lamp, is the strength to your frame, weak magician! What will + support you through six weary hours of night-watch?” + </p> + <p> + “Hope,” answered Margrave, with a ray of his old dazzling style. “Hope! I + shall live,—I shall live through the centuries!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0086" id="link2HCH0086"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXXVI. + </h2> + <p> + One hour passed away; the fagots under the caldron burned clear in the + sullen sultry air. The materials within began to seethe, and their colour, + at first dull and turbid, changed into a pale-rose hue; from time to time + the Veiled Woman replenished the fire, after she had done so reseating + herself close by the pyre, with her head bowed over her knees, and her + face hid under her veil. + </p> + <p> + The lights in the lamps and along the ring and the triangles now began to + pale. I resupplied their nutriment from the crystal vessel. As yet nothing + strange startled my eye or my ear beyond the rim of the circle,—nothing + audible, save, at a distance, the musical wheel-like click of the locusts, + and, farther still, in the forest, the howl of the wild dogs, that never + bark; nothing visible, but the trees and the mountain-range girding the + plains silvered by the moon, and the arch of the cavern, the flush of wild + blooms on its sides, and the gleam of dry bones on its floor, where the + moonlight shot into the gloom. + </p> + <p> + The second hour passed like the first. I had taken my stand by the side of + Margrave, watching with him the process at work in the caldron, when I + felt the ground slightly vibrate beneath my feet, and, looking up, it + seemed as if all the plains beyond the circle were heaving like the swell + of the sea, and as if in the air itself there was a perceptible tremor. + </p> + <p> + I placed my hand on Margrave’s shoulder and whispered, “To me earth and + air seem to vibrate. Do they seem to vibrate to you?” + </p> + <p> + “I know not, I care not,” he answered impetuously. “The essence is + bursting the shell that confined it. Here are my air and my earth! Trouble + me not. Look to the circle! feed the lamps if they fail.” + </p> + <p> + I passed by the Veiled Woman as I walked towards a place in the ring in + which the flame was waning dim; and I whispered to her the same question + which I had whispered to Margrave. She looked slowly around, and answered, + “So is it before the Invisible make themselves visible! Did I not bid him + forbear?” Her head again drooped on her breast, and her watch was again + fixed on the fire. + </p> + <p> + I advanced to the circle and stooped to replenish the light where it + waned. As I did so, on my arm, which stretched somewhat beyond the line of + the ring, I felt a shock like that of electricity. The arm fell to my side + numbed and nerveless, and from my hand dropped, but within the ring, the + vessel that contained the fluid. Recovering my surprise or my stun, + hastily with the other hand I caught up the vessel, but some of the scanty + liquid was already spilled on the sward; and I saw with a thrill of + dismay, that contrasted indeed the tranquil indifference with which I had + first undertaken my charge, how small a supply was now left. + </p> + <p> + I went back to Margrave, and told him of the shock, and of its consequence + in the waste of the liquid. + </p> + <p> + “Beware,” said he, “that not a motion of the arm, not an inch of the foot, + pass the verge of the ring; and if the fluid be thus unhappily stinted, + reserve all that is left for the protecting circle and the twelve outer + lamps! See how the Grand Work advances! how the hues in the caldron are + glowing blood-red through the film on the surface!” + </p> + <p> + And now four hours of the six were gone; my arm had gradually recovered + its strength. Neither the ring nor the lamps had again required + replenishing; perhaps their light was exhausted less quickly, as it was no + longer to be exposed to the rays of the intense Australian moon. Clouds + had gathered over the sky, and though the moon gleamed at times in the + gaps that they left in blue air, her beam was more hazy and dulled. The + locusts no longer were heard in the grass, nor the howl of the dogs in the + forest. Out of the circle, the stillness was profound. + </p> + <p> + And about this time I saw distinctly in the distance a vast Eye! It drew + nearer and nearer, seeming to move from the ground at the height of some + lofty giant. Its gaze riveted mine; my blood curdled in the blaze from its + angry ball; and now as it advanced larger and larger, other Eyes, as if of + giants in its train, grew out from the space in its rear; numbers on + numbers, like the spearheads of some Eastern army, seen afar by pale + warders of battlements doomed to the dust. My voice long refused an + utterance to my awe; at length it burst forth shrill and loud,— + </p> + <p> + “Look! look! Those terrible Eyes! Legions on legions! And hark! that tramp + of numberless feet; they are not seen, but the hollows of earth echo the + sound of their march!” + </p> + <p> + Margrave, more than ever intent on the caldron, in which, from time to + time, he kept dropping powders or essences drawn forth from his coffer, + looked up, defyingly, fiercely. + </p> + <p> + “Ye come,” he said, in a low mutter, his once mighty voice sounding hollow + and labouring, but fearless and firm,—“ye come,—not to + conquer, vain rebels!—ye whose dark chief I struck down at my feet + in the tomb where my spell had raised up the ghost of your first human + master, the Chaldee! Earth and air have their armies still faithful to me, + and still I remember the war-song that summons them up to confront you! + Ayesha! Ayesha! recall the wild troth that we pledged amongst roses; + recall the dread bond by which we united our sway over hosts that yet own + thee as queen, though my sceptre is broken, my diadem reft from my brows!” + </p> + <p> + The Veiled Woman rose at this adjuration. Her veil now was withdrawn, and + the blaze of the fire between Margrave and herself flushed, as with the + rosy bloom of youth, the grand beauty of her softened face. It was seen, + detached as it were, from her dark-mantled form; seen through the mist of + the vapours which rose from the caldron, framing it round like the clouds. + that are yieldingly pierced by the light of the evening star. + </p> + <p> + Through the haze of the vapour came her voice, more musical, more + plaintive than I had heard it before, but far softer, more tender; still + in her foreign tongue; the words unknown to me, and yet their sense, + perhaps, made intelligible by the love, which has one common language and + one common look to all who have loved,—the love unmistakably heard + in the loving tone, unmistakably seen in the loving face. + </p> + <p> + A moment or so more, and she had come round from the opposite side of the + fire-pile, and bending over Margrave’s upturned brow, kissed it quietly, + solemnly; and then her countenance grew fierce, her crest rose erect; it + was the lioness protecting her young. She stretched forth her arm from the + black mantle, athwart the pale front that now again bent over the caldron,—stretched + it towards the haunted and hollow-sounding space beyond, in the gesture of + one whose right hand has the sway of the sceptre. And then her voice stole + on the air in the music of a chant, not loud, yet far-reaching; so + thrilling, so sweet, and yet so solemn, that I could at once comprehend + how legend united of old the spell of enchantment with the power of song. + All that I recalled of the effects which, in the former time, Margrave’s + strange chants had produced on the ear that they ravished and the thoughts + they confused, was but as the wild bird’s imitative carol, compared to the + depth and the art and the soul of the singer, whose voice seemed endowed + with a charm to enthrall all the tribes of creation, though the language + it used for that charm might to them, as to me, be unknown. As the song + ceased, I heard, from behind, sounds like those I had heard in the spaces + before me,—the tramp of invisible feet, the whir of invisible wings, + as if armies were marching to aid against armies in march to destroy. + </p> + <p> + “Look not in front nor around,” said Ayesha. “Look, like him, on the + caldron below. The circle and the lamps are yet bright; I will tell you + when the light again fails.” + </p> + <p> + I dropped my eyes on the caldron. + </p> + <p> + “See,” whispered Margrave, “the sparkles at last begin to arise, and the + rose-hues to deepen,—signs that we near the last process.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0087" id="link2HCH0087"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXXVII. + </h2> + <p> + The fifth hour had passed away, when Ayesha said to me, “Lo! the circle is + fading; the lamps grow dim. Look now without fear on the space beyond; the + eyes that appalled thee are again lost in air, as lightnings that fleet + back into cloud.” + </p> + <p> + I looked up, and the spectres had vanished. The sky was tinged with + sulphurous hues, the red and the black intermixed. I replenished the lamps + and the ring in front, thriftily, heedfully; but when I came to the sixth + lamp, not a drop in the vessel that fed them was left. In a vague dismay, + I now looked round the half of the wide circle in rear of the two bended + figures intent on the caldron. All along that disk the light was already + broken, here and there flickering up, here and there dying down; the six + lamps in that half of the circle still twinkled, but faintly, as stars + shrinking fast from the dawn of day. But it was not the fading shine in + that half of the magical ring which daunted my eye and quickened with + terror the pulse of my heart; the Bushland beyond was on fire. From the + background of the forest rose the flame and the smoke,—the smoke, + there, still half smothering the flame. But along the width of the grasses + and herbage, between the verge of the forest and the bed of the + water-creek just below the raised platform from which I beheld the dread + conflagration, the fire was advancing,—wave upon wave, clear and red + against the columns of rock behind,—as the rush of a flood through + the mists of some Alp crowned with lightnings. + </p> + <p> + Roused from my stun at the first sight of a danger not foreseen by the + mind I had steeled against far rarer portents of Nature, I cared no more + for the lamps and the circle. Hurrying back to Ayesha, I exclaimed: “The + phantoms have gone from the spaces in front; but what incantation or spell + can arrest the red march of the foe, speeding on in the rear! While we + gazed on the caldron of life, behind us, unheeded, behold the Destroyer!” + </p> + <p> + Ayesha looked, and made no reply; but, as by involuntary instinct, bowed + her majestic head, then rearing it erect, placed herself yet more + immediately before the wasted form of the young magician (he still bending + over the caldron, and hearing me not in the absorption and hope of his + watch),—placed herself before him, as the bird whose first care is + her fledgling. + </p> + <p> + As we two there stood, fronting the deluge of fire, we heard Margrave + behind us, murmuring low, “See the bubbles of light, how they sparkle and + dance! I shall live, I shall live!” And his words scarcely died in our + ears before, crash upon crash, came the fall of the age-long trees in the + forest; and nearer, all near us, through the blazing grasses, the hiss of + the serpents, the scream of the birds, and the bellow and tramp of the + herds plunging wild through the billowy red of their pastures. + </p> + <p> + Ayesha now wound her arms around Margrave, and wrenched him, reluctant and + struggling, from his watch over the seething caldron. In rebuke; of his + angry exclamations, she pointed to the march of the fire, spoke in + sorrowful tones a few words in her own language, and then, appealing to me + in English, said,— + </p> + <p> + “I tell him that here the Spirits who oppose us have summoned a foe that + is deaf to my voice, and—” + </p> + <p> + “And,” exclaimed Margrave, no longer with gasp and effort, but with the + swell of a voice which drowned all the discords of terror and of agony + sent forth from the Phlegethon burning below,—“and this witch, whom + I trusted, is a vile slave and impostor, more desiring my death than my + life. She thinks that in life I should scorn and forsake her, that in + death I should die in her arms! Sorceress, avaunt! Art thou useless and + powerless now when I need thee most? Go! Let the world be one funeral + pyre! What to me is the world? My world is my life! Thou knowest that my + last hope is here,—that all the strength left me this night will die + down, like the lamps in the circle, unless the elixir restore it. Bold + friend, spurn that sorceress away. Hours yet ere those flames can assail + us! A few minutes more, and life to your Lilian and me!” + </p> + <p> + Thus having said, Margrave turned from us, and cast into the caldron the + last essence yet left in his empty coffer. Ayesha silently drew her black + veil over her face; and turned, with the being she loved, from the terror + he scorned, to share in the hope that he cherished. + </p> + <p> + Thus left alone, with my reason disenthralled, disenchanted, I surveyed + more calmly the extent of the actual peril with which we were threatened, + and the peril seemed less, so surveyed. + </p> + <p> + It is true all the Bush-land behind, almost up to the bed of the creek, + was on fire; but the grasses, through which the flame spread so rapidly, + ceased at the opposite marge of the creek. Watery pools were still, at + intervals, left in the bed of the creek, shining tremulous, like waves of + fire, in the glare reflected from the burning land; and even where the + water failed, the stony course of the exhausted rivulet was a barrier + against the march of the conflagration. Thus, unless the wind, now still, + should rise, and waft some sparks to the parched combustible herbage + immediately around us, we were saved from the fire, and our work might yet + be achieved. + </p> + <p> + I whispered to Ayesha the conclusion to which I came. “Thinkest thou,” she + answered, without raising her mournful head, “that the Agencies of Nature + are the movements of chance? The Spirits I invoked to his aid are leagued + with the hosts that assail. A mightier than I am has doomed him!” + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had she uttered these words before Margrave exclaimed, “Behold + how the Rose of the alchemist’s dream enlarges its blooms from the folds + of its petals! I shall live, I shall live!” + </p> + <p> + I looked, and the liquid which glowed in the caldron had now taken a + splendour that mocked all comparisons borrowed from the lustre of gems. In + its prevalent colour it had, indeed, the dazzle and flash of the ruby; but + out from the mass of the molten red, broke coruscations of all prismal + hues, shooting, shifting, in a play that made the wavelets them selves + seem living things, sensible of their joy. No longer was there scum or + film upon the surface; only ever and anon a light rosy vapour floating up, + and quick lost in the haggard, heavy, sulphurous air, hot with the + conflagration rushing towards us from behind. And these coruscations + formed, on the surface of the molten ruby, literally the shape of a Rose, + its leaves made distinct in their outlines by sparks of emerald and + diamond and sapphire. + </p> + <p> + Even while gazing on this animated liquid lustre, a buoyant delight seemed + infused into my senses; all terrors conceived before were annulled; the + phantoms, whose armies had filled the wide spaces in front, were + forgotten; the crash of the forest behind was unheard. In the reflection + of that glory, Margrave’s wan cheek seemed already restored to the + radiance it wore when I saw it first in the framework of blooms. + </p> + <p> + As I gazed, thus enchanted, a cold hand touched my own. + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” whispered Ayesha, from the black veil, against which the rays of + the caldron fell blunt, and absorbed into Dark. “Behind us, the light of + the circle is extinct, but there we are guarded from all save the brutal + and soulless destroyers. But before!—but before!—see, two of + the lamps have died out!—see the blank of the gap in the ring Guard + that breach,—there the demons will enter.” + </p> + <p> + “Not a drop is there left in his vessel by which to replenish the lamps on + the ring.” + </p> + <p> + “Advance, then; thou hast still the light of the soul, and the demons may + recoil before a soul that is dauntless and guiltless. If not, Three are + lost!—as it is, One is doomed.” + </p> + <p> + Thus adjured, silently, involuntarily, I passed from the Veiled Woman’s + side, over the sere lines on the turf which had been traced by the + triangles of light long since extinguished, and towards the verge of the + circle. As I advanced, overhead rushed a dark cloud of wings,—birds + dislodged from the forest on fire, and screaming, in dissonant terror, as + they flew towards the farthermost mountains; close by my feet hissed and + glided the snakes, driven forth from their blazing coverts, and glancing + through the ring, unscared by its waning lamps; all undulating by me, + bright-eyed and hissing, all made innocuous by fear,—even the + terrible Death-adder, which I trampled on as I halted at the verge of the + circle, did not turn to bite, but crept harmless away. I halted at the gap + between the two dead lamps, and bowed my head to look again into the + crystal vessel. Were there, indeed, no lingering drops yet left, if but to + recruit the lamps for some priceless minutes more? As I thus stood, right + into the gap between the two dead lamps strode a gigantic Foot. All the + rest of the form was unseen; only, as volume after volume of smoke poured + on from the burning land behind, it seemed as if one great column of + vapour, eddying round, settled itself aloft from the circle, and that out + from that column strode the giant Foot. And, as strode the Foot, so with + it came, like the sound of its tread, a roll of muttered thunder. + </p> + <p> + I recoiled, with a cry that rang loud through the lurid air. + </p> + <p> + “Courage!” said the voice of Ayesha. “Trembling soul, yield not an inch to + the demon!” + </p> + <p> + At the charm, the wonderful charm, in the tone of the Veiled Woman’s + voice, my will seemed to take a force more sublime than its own. I folded + my arms on my breast, and stood as if rooted to the spot, confronting the + column of smoke and the stride of the giant Foot. And the Foot halted, + mute. + </p> + <p> + Again, in the momentary hush of that suspense, I heard a voice,—it + was Margrave’s. + </p> + <p> + “The last hour expires, the work is accomplished! Come! come! Aid me to + take the caldron from the fire; and quick!—or a drop may be wasted + in vapour—the Elixir of Life from the caldron!” + </p> + <p> + At that cry I receded, and the Foot advanced. + </p> + <p> + And at that moment, suddenly, unawares, from behind, I was stricken down. + Over me, as I lay, swept a whirlwind of trampling hoofs and glancing + horns. The herds, in their flight from the burning pastures, had rushed + over the bed of the watercourse, scaled the slopes of the banks. Snorting + and bellowing, they plunged their blind way to the mountains. One cry + alone, more wild than their own savage blare, pierced the reek through + which the Brute Hurricane swept. At that cry of wrath and despair I + struggled to rise, again dashed to earth by the hoofs and the horns. But + was it the dream-like deceit of my reeling senses, or did I see that giant + Foot stride past through the close-serried ranks of the maddening herds? + Did I hear, distinct through all the huge uproar of animal terror, the + roll of low thunder which followed the stride of that Foot? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0088" id="link2HCH0088"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXXVIII. + </h2> + <p> + When my sense had recovered its shock, and my eyes looked dizzily round, + the charge of the beasts had swept by; and of all the wild tribes which + had invaded the magical circle, the only lingerer was the brown + Death-adder, coiled close by the spot where my head had rested. Beside the + extinguished lamps which the hoofs had confusedly scattered, the fire, + arrested by the watercourse, had consumed the grasses that fed it, and + there the plains stretched, black and desert as the Phlegroean Field of + the Poet’s Hell. But the fire still raged in the forest beyond,—white + flames, soaring up from the trunks of the tallest trees, and forming, + through the sullen dark of the smoke-reek, innumerable pillars of fire, + like the halls in the City of fiends. + </p> + <p> + Gathering myself up, I turned my eyes from the terrible pomp of the lurid + forest, and looked fearfully down on the hoof-trampled sward for my two + companions. + </p> + <p> + I saw the dark image of Ayesha still seated, still bending, as I had seen + it last. I saw a pale hand feebly grasping the rim of the magical caldron, + which lay, hurled down from its tripod by the rush of the beasts, yards + away from the dim fading embers of the scattered wood-pyre. I saw the + faint writhings of a frail wasted frame, over which the Veiled Woman was + bending. I saw, as I moved with bruised limbs to the place, close by the + lips of the dying magician, the flash of the ruby-like essence spilled on + the sward, and, meteor-like, sparkling up from the torn tufts of herbage. + </p> + <p> + I now reached Margrave’s side. Bending over him as the Veiled Woman bent, + and as I sought gently to raise him, he turned his face, fiercely + faltering out, “Touch me not, rob me not! You share with me! Never! never! + These glorious drops are all mine! Die all else! I will live! I will + live!” Writhing himself from my pitying arms, he plunged his face amidst + the beautiful, playful flame of the essence, as if to lap the elixir with + lips scorched away from its intolerable burning. Suddenly, with a low + shriek, he fell back, his face upturned to mine, and on that face + unmistakably reigned Death! + </p> + <p> + Then Ayesha tenderly, silently, drew the young head to her lap, and it + vanished from my sight behind her black veil. + </p> + <p> + I knelt beside her, murmuring some trite words of comfort; but she heeded + me not, rocking herself to and fro as the mother who cradles a child to + sleep. Soon the fast-flickering sparkles of the lost elixir died out on + the grass; and with their last sportive diamond-like tremble of light, up, + in all the suddenness of Australian day, rose the sun, lifting himself + royally above the mountain-tops, and fronting the meaner blaze of the + forest as a young king fronts his rebels. And as there, where the + bush-fires had ravaged, all was a desert, so there, where their fury had + not spread, all was a garden. Afar, at the foot of the mountains, the + fugitive herds were grazing; the cranes, flocking back to the pools, + renewed the strange grace of their gambols; and the great kingfisher, + whose laugh, half in mirth, half in mockery, leads the choir that welcome + the morn,—which in Europe is night,—alighted bold on the roof + of the cavern, whose floors were still white with the bones of races, + extinct before—so helpless through instincts, so royal through Soul—rose + Man! + </p> + <p> + But there, on the ground where the dazzling elixir had wasted its virtues,—there + the herbage already had a freshness of verdure which, amid the duller + sward round it, was like an oasis of green in a desert. And there + wild-flowers, whose chill hues the eye would have scarcely distinguished + the day before, now glittered forth in blooms of unfamiliar beauty. + Towards that spot were attracted myriads of happy insects, whose hum of + intense joy was musically loud. But the form of the life-seeking sorcerer + lay rigid and stark; blind to the bloom of the wild-flowers, deaf to the + glee of the insects,—one hand still resting heavily on the rim of + the emptied caldron, and the face still hid behind the Black Veil. What! + the wondrous elixir, sought with such hope and well-nigh achieved through + such dread, fleeting back to the earth from which its material was drawn, + to give bloom, indeed,—but to herbs: joy indeed,—but to + insects! + </p> + <p> + And now, in the flash of the sun, slowly wound up the slopes that led to + the circle the same barbaric procession which had sunk into the valley + under the ray of the moon. The armed men came first, stalwart and tall, + their vests brave with crimson and golden lace, their weapons gayly + gleaming with holiday silver. After them, the Black Litter. As they came + to the place, Ayesha, not raising her head, spoke to them in her own + Eastern tongue. A wail was her answer. The armed men bounded forward, and + the bearers left the litter. + </p> + <p> + All gathered round the dead form with the face concealed under the black + veil; all knelt, and all wept. Far in the distance, at the foot of the + blue mountains, a crowd of the savage natives had risen up as if from the + earth; they stood motionless, leaning on their clubs and spears, and + looking towards the spot on which we were,—strangely thus brought + into the landscape, as if they too, the wild dwellers on the verge which + Humanity guards from the Brute, were among the mourners for the mysterious + Child of mysterious Nature! And still, in the herbage, hummed the small + insects, and still, from the cavern, laughed the great kingfisher. I said + to Ayesha, “Farewell! your love mourns the dead, mine calls me to the + living. You are now with your own people, they may console you; say if I + can assist.” + </p> + <p> + “There is no consolation for me! What mourner can be consoled if the dead + die forever? Nothing for him is left but a grave; that grave shall be in + the land where the song of Ayesha first lulled him to sleep. Thou assist + Me,—thou, the wise man of Europe! From me ask assistance. What road + wilt thou take to thy home?” + </p> + <p> + “There is but one road known to me through the maze of the solitude,—that + which we took to this upland.” + </p> + <p> + “On that road Death lurks, and awaits thee! Blind dupe, couldst thou think + that if the grand secret of life had been won, he whose head rests on my + lap would have yielded thee one petty drop of the essence which had + filched from his store of life but a moment? Me, who so loved and so + cherished him,—me he would have doomed to the pitiless cord of my + servant, the Strangler, if my death could have lengthened a hair-breadth + the span of his being. But what matters to me his crime or his madness? I + loved him! I loved him!” + </p> + <p> + She bowed her veiled head lower and lower; perhaps, under the veil, her + lips kissed the lips of the dead. Then she said whisperingly,— + </p> + <p> + “Juma the Strangler, whose word never failed to his master, whose prey + never slipped from his snare, waits thy step on the road to thy home! But + thy death cannot now profit the dead, the beloved. And thou hast had pity + for him who took but thine aid to design thy destruction. His life is + lost, thine is saved.” + </p> + <p> + She spoke no more in the tongue that I could interpret. She spoke, in the + language unknown, a few murmured words to her swarthy attendants; then the + armed men, still weeping, rose, and made a dumb sign to me to go with + them. I understood by the sign that Ayesha had told them to guard me on my + way; but she gave no reply to my parting thanks. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0089" id="link2HCH0089"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER LXXXIX. + </h2> + <p> + I descended into the valley; the armed men followed. The path, on that + side of the watercourse not reached by the flames, wound through meadows + still green, or amidst groves still unscathed. As a turning in the way + brought in front of my sight the place I had left behind, I beheld the + black litter creeping down the descent, with its curtains closed, and the + Veiled Woman walking by its side. But soon the funeral procession was lost + to my eyes, and the thoughts that it roused were erased. The waves in + man’s brain are like those of the sea, rushing on, rushing over the wrecks + of the vessels that rode on their surface, to sink, after storm, in their + deeps. One thought cast forth into the future now mastered all in the + past: “Was Lilian living still?” Absorbed in the gloom of that thought, + hurried on by the goad that my heart, in its tortured impatience, gave to + my footstep, I outstripped the slow stride of the armed men, and, midway + between the place I had left and the home which I sped to, came, far in + advance of my guards, into the thicket in which the bushmen had started up + in my path on the night that Lilian had watched for my coming. The earth + at my feet was rife with creeping plants and many-coloured flowers, the + sky overhead was half-hid by motionless pines. Suddenly, whether crawling + out from the herbage, or dropping down from the trees, by my side stood + the white-robed and skeleton form,—Ayesha’s attendant, the + Strangler. + </p> + <p> + I sprang from him shuddering, then halted and faced him. The hideous + creature crept towards me, cringing and fawning, making signs of humble + good-will and servile obeisance. Again I recoiled,—wrathfully, + loathingly; turned my face homeward, and fled on. I thought I had baffled + his chase, when, just at the mouth of the thicket, he dropped from a bough + in my path close behind me. Before I could turn, some dark muffling + substance fell between my sight and the sun, and I felt a fierce strain at + my throat. But the words of Ayesha had warned me; with one rapid hand I + seized the noose before it could tighten too closely, with the other I + tore the bandage away from my eyes, and, wheeling round on the dastardly + foe, struck him down with one spurn of my foot. His hand, as he fell, + relaxed its hold on the noose; I freed my throat from the knot, and sprang + from the copse into the broad sunlit plain. I saw no more of the armed men + or the Strangler. Panting and breathless, I paused at last before the + fence, fragrant with blossoms, that divided my home from the solitude. + </p> + <p> + The windows of Lilian’s room were darkened; all within the house seemed + still. + </p> + <p> + Darkened and silenced Home! with the light and sounds of the jocund day + all around it. Was there yet hope in the Universe for me? All to which I + had trusted Hope had broken down! The anchors I had forged for her hold in + the beds of the ocean, her stay from the drifts of the storm, had snapped + like the reeds which pierce the side that leans on the barb of their + points, and confides in the strength of their stems. No hope in the + baffled resources of recognized knowledge! No hope in the daring + adventures of Mind into regions unknown; vain alike the calm lore of the + practised physician, and the magical arts of the fated Enchanter! I had + fled from the commonplace teachings of Nature, to explore in her + Shadow-land marvels at variance with reason. Made brave by the grandeur of + love, I had opposed without quailing the stride of the Demon, and by hope, + when fruition seemed nearest, had been trodden into dust by the hoofs of + the beast! And yet, all the while, I had scorned, as a dream more wild + than the word of a sorcerer, the hope that the old man and the child, the + wise and the ignorant, took from their souls as inborn. Man and fiend had + alike failed a mind, not ignoble, not skilless, not abjectly craven; alike + failed a heart not feeble and selfish, not dead to the hero’s devotion, + willing to shed every drop of its blood for a something more dear than an + animal’s life for itself! What remained—what remained for man’s + hope?—man’s mind and man’s heart thus exhausting their all with no + other result but despair! What remained but the mystery of mysteries, so + clear to the sunrise of childhood, the sunset of age, only dimmed by the + clouds which collect round the noon of our manhood? Where yet was Hope + found? In the soul; in its every-day impulse to supplicate comfort and + light, from the Giver of soul, wherever the heart is afflicted, the mind + is obscured. + </p> + <p> + Then the words of Ayesha rushed over me: “What mourner can be consoled, if + the Dead die forever?” Through every pulse of my frame throbbed that dread + question. All Nature around seemed to murmur it. And suddenly, as by a + flash from heaven, the grand truth in Faber’s grand reasoning shone on me, + and lighted up all, within and without. Man alone, of all earthly + creatures, asks, “Can the Dead die forever?” and the instinct that urges + the question is God’s answer to man! No instinct is given in vain. + </p> + <p> + And born with the instinct of soul is the instinct that leads the soul + from the seen to the unseen, from time to eternity, from the torrent that + foams towards the Ocean of Death, to the source of its stream, far aloft + from the Ocean. + </p> + <p> + “Know thyself,” said the Pythian of old. “That precept descended from + Heaven.” Know thyself! Is that maxim wise? If so, know thy soul. But never + yet did man come to the thorough conviction of soul but what he + acknowledged the sovereign necessity of prayer. In my awe, in my rapture, + all my thoughts seemed enlarged and illumined and exalted. I prayed,—all + my soul seemed one prayer. All my past, with its pride and presumption and + folly, grew distinct as the form of a penitent, kneeling for pardon before + setting forth on the pilgrimage vowed to a shrine. And, sure now, in the + deeps of a soul first revealed to myself, that the Dead do not die + forever, my human love soared beyond its brief trial of terror and sorrow. + Daring not to ask from Heaven’s wisdom that Lilian, for my sake, might not + yet pass away from the earth, I prayed that my soul might be fitted to + bear with submission whatever my Maker might ordain. And if surviving her—without + whom no beam from yon material sun could ever warm into joy a morrow in + human life—so to guide my steps that they might rejoin her at last, + and, in rejoining, regain forever! + </p> + <p> + How trivial now became the weird riddle that, a little while before, had + been clothed in so solemn an awe! What mattered it to the vast interests + involved in the clear recognition of Soul and Hereafter, whether or not my + bodily sense, for a moment, obscured the face of the Nature I should one + day behold as a spirit? Doubtless the sights and the sounds which had + haunted the last gloomy night, the calm reason of Faber would strip of + their magical seemings; the Eyes in the space and the Foot in the circle + might be those of no terrible Demons, but of the wild’s savage children + whom I had seen, halting, curious and mute, in the light of the morning. + The tremor of the ground (if not, as heretofore, explicable by the + illusory impression of my own treacherous senses) might be but the natural + effect of elements struggling yet under a soil unmistakably charred by + volcanoes. The luminous atoms dissolved in the caldron might as little be + fraught with a vital elixir as are the splendours of naphtha or phosphor. + As it was, the weird rite had no magic result. The magician was not rent + limb from limb by the fiends. By causes as natural as ever extinguished + life’s spark in the frail lamp of clay, he had died out of sight—under + the black veil. + </p> + <p> + What mattered henceforth to Faith, in its far grander questions and + answers, whether Reason, in Faber, or Fancy, in me, supplied the more + probable guess at a hieroglyph which, if construed aright, was but a word + of small mark in the mystical language of Nature? If all the arts of + enchantment recorded by Fable were attested by facts which Sages were + forced to acknowledge, Sages would sooner or later find some cause for + such portents—not supernatural. But what Sage, without cause + supernatural, both without and within him, can guess at the wonders he + views in the growth of a blade of grass, or the tints on an insect’s wing? + Whatever art Man can achieve in his progress through time, Man’s reason, + in time, can suffice to explain. But the wonders of God? These belong to + the Infinite; and these, O Immortal! will but develop new wonder on + wonder, though thy sight be a spirit’s, and thy leisure to track and to + solve an eternity. + </p> + <p> + As I raised my face from my clasped hands, my eyes fell full upon a form + standing in the open doorway. There, where on the night in which Lilian’s + long struggle for reason and life had begun, the Luminous Shadow had been + beheld in the doubtful light of a dying moon and a yet hazy dawn; there, + on the threshold, gathering round her bright locks the aureole of the + glorious sun, stood Amy, the blessed child! And as I gazed, drawing nearer + and nearer to the silenced house, and that Image of Peace on its + threshold, I felt that Hope met me at the door,—Hope in the child’s + steadfast eyes, Hope in the child’s welcoming smile! + </p> + <p> + “I was at watch for you,” whispered Amy. “All is well.” + </p> + <p> + “She lives still—she lives! Thank God! thank God!” + </p> + <p> + “She lives,—she will recover!” said another voice, as my head sunk + on Faber’s shoulder. “For some hours in the night her sleep was disturbed, + convulsed. I feared, then, the worst. Suddenly, just before the dawn, she + called out aloud, still in sleep,— + </p> + <p> + “‘The cold and dark shadow has passed away from me and from Allen,—passed + away from us both forever!’ + </p> + <p> + “And from that moment the fever left her; the breathing became soft, the + pulse steady, and the colour stole gradually back to her cheek. The crisis + is past. Nature’s benign Disposer has permitted Nature to restore your + life’s gentle partner, heart to heart, mind to mind—” + </p> + <p> + “And soul to soul,” I cried, in my solemn joy. “Above as below, soul to + soul!” Then, at a sign from Faber, the child took me by the hand and led + me up the stairs into Lilian’s room. + </p> + <p> + Again those clear arms closed around me in wife-like and holy love, and + those true lips kissed away my tears,—even as now, at the distance + of years from that happy morn, while I write the last words of this + Strange Story, the same faithful arms close around me, the same tender + lips kiss away my tears. + </p> + <p> + THE END. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s A Strange Story, Complete, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A STRANGE STORY, COMPLETE *** + +***** This file should be named 7701-h.htm or 7701-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/7/0/7701/ + +Produced by Andrew Heath and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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