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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:08:46 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:08:46 -0700 |
| commit | 792ddaf03ac68533489a939bbbb5ee96cd208550 (patch) | |
| tree | 6299fc7292c14adc833a0d567ddff8922f7f722d /37775-h | |
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diff --git a/37775-h/37775-h.htm b/37775-h/37775-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e68dbc0 --- /dev/null +++ b/37775-h/37775-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,15804 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<!-- $Id: header.txt 236 2009-12-07 18:57:00Z vlsimpson $ --> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Etidorhpa, by John Uri Lloyd. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + h1 { text-align:center; line-height:1.5; } + p.title { text-align:center; text-indent:0; + font-weight:bold; + line-height:1.4; margin-bottom:3em; } + small { font-size:60%; } + big { font-size:140%; } + + h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + + ul.decimal {list-style-type: decimal;} + ul.none {list-style-type: none;} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + white-space:nowrap; +} /* page numbers */ + +.linenum { + position: absolute; + top: auto; + left: 4%; +} /* poetry number */ + + +blockquote,.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 5%; + font-size: 90%;} + +p.quotdate { /* date of a letter aligned right */ + text-align: right; + } +p.quotsig { /* author signature at end of letter */ + margin-left: 35%; + text-indent: -4em; /* gimmick to move 2nd line right */ + } + +.TOC { list-style-type:none;} +.TOC li {width:80%;} +.TOC p {margin-top:.25em; text-align:center; margin-bottom:0;} + +.LOI li {list-style-type: none;} +.LOI li p {width:80%;} + +.gap4 {margin-top: 4em;} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.smaller {font-size: smaller;} + +.bigfont {font-size: 1.3em; font-weight: bold;} + +.ralign {position: absolute;right: 11%; top: auto;} + + +.caption {font-weight: bold;} + + +.sidenote { + width: 7em; + float: right; + margin-right: 0; + margin-top: 0; + margin-left: 6px; + border: 1px dotted black; + padding: 0 0 0 4px; + background-color: rgb(90%,90%,90%); + + font-size: smaller; + color: #333; + text-indent: 0; + text-align: right; + line-height: 1.1em; + } + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +.figleft { + float: left; + clear: left; + margin-left: 0; + margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 1em; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; +} + +.figright { + float: right; + clear: right; + margin-left: 1em; + margin-bottom: + 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 0; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; +} +p.caption { + margin-top: 0; /* snuggled up to its image */ + font-size: smaller; + text-align: center; + font-weight: bold; +} + +/* Footnotes */ +.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +/* Poetry */ + + div.poem {border:none; + text-align:left; + margin: 1em auto; + } + .poem .stanza { + margin-top: 1em; + } + .stanza span + {border:none; + display:block; + line-height: 1.2em; + padding-left: 2em; + text-indent: -2em; + margin-top: 0; + } + .stanza br { + display: none; + } + + .poem .i0 {display:block; margin-left: 0em;} + .poem .i1 {display:block; margin-left: 1em;} + .poem .i2 {display:block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem .i3 {display:block; margin-left: 3em;} + .poem .i4 {display:block; margin-left: 4em;} + .poem .i5 {display:block; margin-left: 5em;} + .poem .i6 {display:block; margin-left: 6em;} + + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Etidorhpa or the End of Earth., by John Uri Lloyd + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Etidorhpa or the End of Earth. + The Strange History of a Mysterious Being and The Account + of a Remarkable Journey + +Author: John Uri Lloyd + +Illustrator: J. Augustus Knapp + +Release Date: October 16, 2011 [EBook #37775] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETIDORHPA OR THE END OF EARTH. *** + + + + +Produced by Pat McCoy, Suzanne Shell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 421px;"> +<img src="images/gs1000.jpg" width="421" height="700" alt="" title="I AM THE MAN." /> +</div> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + +<h1>ETIDORHPA<br /> +<br /> +<small>OR<br /> +<br /> +THE END OF EARTH.</small></h1> + + +<p class="title gap4">THE STRANGE HISTORY OF A MYSTERIOUS BEING<br /> +<br /> +<small>AND</small><br /> +<br /> +The Account of a Remarkable Journey</p> + + +<p class="title"><small>AS COMMUNICATED IN MANUSCRIPT TO</small><br /> +<br /> +LLEWELLYN DRURY<br /> +<br /> +<small>WHO PROMISED TO PRINT THE SAME, BUT FINALLY EVADED THE RESPONSIBILITY</small></p> + + +<p class="title"><small>WHICH WAS ASSUMED BY</small><br /> +<br /> +JOHN URI LLOYD</p> + + +<p class="title">WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS BY<br /> +<br /> +J. AUGUSTUS KNAPP</p> + + +<p class="center">SIXTH EDITION<br /> +<br /> + +CINCINNATI<br /> +<br /> +THE ROBERT CLARKE COMPANY</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg ii]</span></p><p class="center">1896</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ASCRIPTION.</h2> + +<p>To Prof. W. H. Venable, who reviewed the manuscript of this +work, I am indebted for many valuable suggestions, and I can not +speak too kindly of him as a critic.</p> + +<p>The illustrations, excepting those mechanical and historical, making +in themselves a beautiful narrative without words, are due to the +admirable artistic conceptions and touch of Mr. J. Augustus Knapp.</p> + +<p>Structural imperfections as well as word selections and phrases +that break all rules in composition, and that the care even of Prof. +Venable could not eradicate, I accept as wholly my own. For much, +on the one hand, that it may seem should have been excluded, and +on the other, for giving place to ideas nearer to empiricism than to +science, I am also responsible. For vexing my friends with problems +that seemingly do not concern in the least men in my position, and for +venturing to think, superficially, it may be, outside the restricted lines +of a science bound to the unresponsive crucible and retort, to which +my life has been given, and amid the problems of which it has nearly +worn itself away, I have no plausible excuse, and shall seek none.</p> + +<p class="quotsig">JOHN URI LLOYD</p> + + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1895, by John Uri Lloyd.<br /> +Copyright, 1896, by John Uri Lloyd.</span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg iii]</span></p><p class="center">[<i>All rights reserved.</i>]</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii"></a></p> +<div class="figleft" style="width: 374px;"> +<img src="images/gs1001b.jpg" width="374" height="600" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + +<p>Books are as tombstones made +by the living for the living, but +destined soon only to remind us +of the dead. The preface, like +an epitaph, seems vainly to "implore +the passing tribute" of a +moment's interest. No man is +allured by either a grave-inscription +or a preface, unless it be +accompanied by that ineffable +charm which age casts over mortal +productions. Libraries, in +one sense, represent cemeteries, +and the rows of silent volumes, +with their dim titles, suggest +burial tablets, many of which, +alas! mark only cenotaphs—empty +tombs. A modern +book, no matter how talented +the author, carries with it a +<span class="pagenum">[Pg iv]</span>familiar personality which may often be treated with neglect or +even contempt, but a volume a century old demands some +reverence; a vellum-bound or hog-skin print, or antique yellow +parchment, two, three, five hundred years old, regardless of its +contents, impresses one with an indescribable feeling akin to awe +and veneration,—as does the wheat from an Egyptian tomb, even +though it be only wheat. +We take such a work from +the shelf carefully, and +replace it gently. While +the productions of modern +writers are handled +familiarly, as men living +jostle men yet alive; those +of authors long dead are +touched as tho' clutched +by a hand from the unseen +world; the reader feels +that a phantom form +opposes his own, and +that spectral eyes scan +the pages as he turns +them.</p> + +<p>The stern face, the +penetrating eye of the +personage whose likeness +forms the frontispiece of +the yellowed volume in my hand, speak across the gulf of two +centuries, and bid me beware. The title page is read with reverence, +and the great tome is replaced with care, for an almost +superstitious sensation bids me be cautious and not offend. Let +those who presume to criticise the intellectual productions of +such men be careful; in a few days the dead will face their +censors—dead.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"></a></p> +<div class="figright" style="width: 233px;"> +<img src="images/gs1002.jpg" width="233" height="300" alt="" title="THE STERN FACE, ... ACROSS THE GULF." /> +<span class="caption">"THE STERN FACE, ... ACROSS THE GULF."</span> +</div> + +<p>Standing in a library of antiquated works, one senses the +shadows of a cemetery. Each volume adds to the oppression, +each old tome casts the influence of its spirit over the beholder, +for have not these old books spirits? The earth-grave covers the +mind as well as the body of its moldering occupant, and while<span class="pagenum">[Pg v]</span> +only a strong imagination +can assume +that a spirit +hovers over and +lingers around inanimate +clay, here +each title is a +voice that speaks +as though the heart +of its creator still +throbbed, the mind +essence of the +dead writer envelops +the living +reader. Take down +that vellum-bound +volume,—it was +written in one of +the centuries long +past. The pleasant +face of its creator, +as fresh as if but a +print of yesterday, +smiles upon you +from the exquisitely +engraved copper-plate +frontispiece; the mind of the author rises from out the +words before you. This man is not dead and his comrades live. +Turn to the shelves about, before each book stands a guardian +spirit,—together they form a phantom army that, invisible to +mortals, encircles the beholder.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v"></a></p> +<div class="figleft" style="width: 210px;"> +<img src="images/gs1003.jpg" width="210" height="300" alt="" title="THE PLEASANT FACE OF ITS CREATOR ... SMILES UPON YOU." /> +<span class="caption">"THE PLEASANT FACE OF ITS CREATOR ... SMILES UPON YOU."</span> +</div> + + +<p>Ah! this antique library is not as is a church graveyard, only +a cemetery for the dead; it is also a mansion for the living. These +alcoves are trysting places for elemental shades. Essences of disenthralled +minds meet here and revel. Thoughts of the past take +shape and live in this atmosphere,—who can say that pulsations +unperceived, beyond the reach of physics or of chemistry, are not +as ethereal mind-seeds which, although unseen, yet, in living brain, +exposed to such an atmosphere as this, formulate embryotic<span class="pagenum">[Pg vi]</span> +thought-expressions destined +to become energetic +intellectual forces? +I sit in such a weird library +and meditate. The +shades of grim authors +whisper in my ear, skeleton +forms oppose my +own, and phantoms possess +the gloomy alcoves +of the library I am +building.</p> + +<p>With the object of +carrying to the future a +section of thought current +from the past, the +antiquarian libraries of +many nations have been +culled, and purchases +made in every book +market of the world. +These books surround me. Naturally many persons have become +interested in the movement, and, considering it a worthy one, +unite to further the project, for the purpose is not personal +gain. Thus it is not unusual for boxes of old chemical or pharmacal +volumes to arrive by freight or express, without a word as to +the donor. The mail brings manuscripts unprinted, and pamphlets +recondite, with no word of introduction. They come unheralded. +The authors or the senders realize that in this unique library a +place is vacant if any work on connected subjects is missing, and +thinking men of the world are uniting their contributions to fill +such vacancies.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi"></a></p> +<div class="figright" style="width: 220px;"> +<img src="images/gs1004.jpg" width="220" height="300" alt="" title="SKELETON FORMS OPPOSE MY OWN." /> +<span class="caption">"SKELETON FORMS OPPOSE MY OWN."</span> +</div> + +<p>Enough has been said concerning the ancient library that has +bred these reflections, and my own personality does not concern +the reader. He can now formulate his conclusions as well perhaps +as I, regarding the origin of the manuscript that is to follow, if he +concerns himself at all over subjects mysterious or historical, and<span class="pagenum">[Pg vii]</span> +my connection therewith is of minor importance. Whether Mr. +Drury brought the strange paper in person, or sent it by express or +mail,—whether it was slipped into a box of books from foreign +lands, or whether my hand held the pen that made the record,—whether +I stood face to face with Mr. Drury in the shadows of +this room, or have but a fanciful conception of his figure,—whether +the artist drew upon his imagination for the vivid likeness +of the several personages figured in the book that follows, +or from reliable data has given fac-similes authentic,—is immaterial. +Sufficient be it to say that the manuscript of this book +has been in my possession for a period of seven years, and my +lips must now be sealed concerning all that transpired in connection +therewith outside the subject-matter recorded therein. +And yet I can not deny that for these seven years I have hesitated +concerning my proper course, and more than once have +decided to cover from sight the fascinating leaflets, hide them +among surrounding volumes, and let them slumber until chance +should bring them to the attention of the future student.</p> + +<p>These thoughts rise before me this gloomy day of December, +1894, as, snatching a moment from the exactions of business, I +sit among these old volumes devoted to science-lore, and again +study over the unique manuscript, and meditate; I hesitate +again: Shall I, or shall I not?—but a duty is a duty. Perhaps +the mysterious part of the subject will be cleared to me only +when my own thought-words come to rest among these venerable +relics of the past—when books that I have written become +companions of ancient works about me—for then I can claim +relationship with the shadows that flit in and out, and can demand +that they, the ghosts of the library, commune with the +shade that guards the book that holds this preface.</p> + +<p class="quotsig">JOHN URI LLOYD.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg viii]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg ix]</span></p> +<h2>PREFACE TO THIS EDITION.</h2> + + +<p>The foot-note on page 160, with the connected matter, has awakened +considerable interest in the life and fate of Professor Daniel Vaughn.</p> + +<p>The undersigned has received many letters imparting interesting information +relating to Professor Vaughn's early history, and asking many +questions concerning a man of whose memory the writer thinks so highly +but whose name is generally unknown.</p> + +<p>Indeed, as some have even argued that the author of Etidorhpa has +no personal existence, the words John Uri Lloyd being a <i>nom de plume</i>, so +others have accepted Professor Vaughn to have been a fanciful creation of +the mystical author.</p> + +<p>Professor Daniel Vaughn was one whose life lines ran nearly parallel +with those of the late Professor C. S. Rafinesque, whose eventful history +has been so graphically written by Professor R. Ellsworth Call. The cups +of these two talented men were filled with privation's bitterness, and in no +other place has this writer known the phrase "The Deadly Parallel" so +aptly appropriate. Both came to America, scholars, scientists by education; +both traveled through Kentucky, teachers; both gave freely to the +world, and both suffered in their old age, dying in poverty—Rafinesque +perishing in misery in Philadelphia and Vaughn in Cincinnati.</p> + +<p>Daniel Vaughn was not a myth, and, in order that the reader may +know something of the life and fate of this eccentric man, an appendix has +been added to this edition of Etidorhpa, in which a picture of his face is +shown as the writer knew it in life, and in which brief mention is made of +his record.</p> + +<p>The author here extends his thanks to Professor Richard Nelson and +to Father Eugene Brady for their kindness to the readers of Etidorhpa +and himself, for to these gentlemen is due the credit of the appended historical +note.</p> + +<p class="quotsig">J. U. L.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg x]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg xi]</span></p> +<h2>A VALUABLE AND UNIQUE LIBRARY.</h2> + +<p class="center">From the Pharmaceutical Era, New York, October, 1894.</p> + + +<p>In Cincinnati is one of the most famous botanical and pharmacal libraries +in the world, and by scientists it is regarded as an invaluable store of knowledge +upon those branches of medical science. So famous is it that one of the +most noted pharmacologists and chemists of Germany, on a recent trip to this +country, availed himself of its rich collection as a necessary means of completing +his study in the line of special drug history. When it is known that he +has devoted a life of nearly eighty years to the study of pharmacology, and is +an emeritus professor in the famous University of Strassburg, the importance +of his action will be understood and appreciated. We refer to Prof. Frederick +Flueckiger, who, in connection with Daniel Hanbury, wrote Pharmacographia +and other standard works. Attached to the library is an herbarium, begun +by Mr. Curtis Gates Lloyd when a schoolboy, in which are to be found over +30,000 specimens of the flora of almost every civilized country on the globe. +The collections are the work of two brothers, begun when in early boyhood. +In money they are priceless, yet it is the intention of the founders that they +shall be placed, either before or at their death, in some college or university +where all students may have access to them without cost or favor, and their +wills are already made to this end, although the institution to receive the bequest +is not yet selected. Eager requests have been made that they be sent +to foreign universities, where only, some persons believe, they can receive the +appreciation they deserve.</p> + +<p>The resting place of this collection is a neat three-story house at 204 West +Court street, rebuilt to serve as a library building. On the door is a plate +embossed with the name Lloyd, the patronymic of the brothers in question. +They are John Uri and Curtis Gates Lloyd. Every hour that can be spent by +these men from business or necessary recreation is spent here. Mr. C. G. +Lloyd devotes himself entirely to the study of botany and connected subjects, +while his brother is equally devoted to materia medica, pharmacy, and +chemistry.</p> + +<p>In the botanical department are the best works obtainable in every country, +and there the study of botany may be carried to any height. In point of +age, some of them go back almost to the time when the art of printing was +discovered. Two copies of Aristotle are notable. A Greek version bound in +vellum was printed in 1584. Another, in parallel columns of Greek and Latin, +by Pacius, was published in 1607. Both are in excellent preservation. A +bibliographical rarity (two editions) is the "Historia Plantarum," by Pinaeus, +which was issued, one in 1561, the other in 1567. It appears to have been a +first attempt at the production of colored plates. Plants that were rare at that +time are colored by hand, and then have a glossy fixative spread over them, +causing the colors still to be as bright and fresh as the day that the three-hundred-years-dead +workmen laid them on. Ranged in their sequence are +fifty volumes of the famous author, Linnĉus. Mr. Lloyd has a very complete +list of the Linnĉan works, and his commissioners in Europe and America are<span class="pagenum">[Pg xii]</span> +looking out for the missing volumes. An extremely odd work is the book of +Dr. Josselyn, entitled "New England Rarities," in which the Puritan author +discusses wisely on "byrds, beastes and fishes" of the New World. Dr. Carolus +Plumierus, a French savant, who flourished in 1762, contributes an exhaustive +work on the "Flora of the Antilles." He is antedated many years, however, by +Dr. John Clayton, who is termed Johannes Claytonus, and Dr. John Frederick +Gronovius. These gentlemen collated a work entitled the "Flora of Virginia," +which is among the first descriptions of botany in the United States. Two +venerable works are those of Mattioli, an Italian writer, who gave his knowledge +to the world in 1586, and Levinus Lemnius, who wrote "De Miraculis +Occultis Naturĉ" in 1628. The father of modern systematized botany is conceded +to be Mons. J. P. Tournefort, whose comprehensive work was published +in 1719. It is the fortune of Mr. Lloyd to possess an original edition in good +condition. His "Histoire des Plantes," Paris (1698), is also on the shelves. In +the modern department of the library are the leading French and German +works. Spanish and Italian authors are also on the shelves, the Lloyd collection +of Spanish flora being among the best extant. Twenty-two volumes of +rice paper, bound in bright yellow and stitched in silk, contain the flora of +Japan. All the leaves are delicately tinted by those unique flower-painters, +the Japanese. This rare work was presented to the Lloyd library by Dr. +Charles Rice, of New York, who informed the Lloyds that only one other set +could be found in America.</p> + +<p>One of the most noted books in the collection of J. U. Lloyd is a Materia +Medica written by Dr. David Schoepf, a learned German scholar, who traveled +through this country in 1787. But a limited number of copies were printed, +and but few are extant. One is in the Erlangen library in Germany. This +Mr. Lloyd secured, and had it copied verbatim. In later years Dr. Charles +Rice obtained an original print, and exchanged it for that copy. A like work +is that of Dr. Jonathan Carver of the provincial troops in America, published +in London in 1796. It treats largely of Canadian materia medica. Manasseh +Cutler's work, 1785, also adorns this part of the library. In addition to almost +every work on this subject, Mr. Lloyd possesses complete editions of the +leading serials and pharmaceutical lists published in the last three quarters +of a century. Another book, famous in its way, is Barton's "Collections +Toward a Materia Medica of the United States," published in 1798, 1801, +and 1804.</p> + +<p>Several noted botanists and chemists have visited the library in recent +years. Prof. Flueckiger formed the acquaintance of the Lloyds through their +work, "Drugs and Medicines of North America," being struck by the exhaustive +references and foot-notes. Students and lovers of the old art of copper-plate +engraving especially find much in the ornate title pages and portraits to +please their ĉsthetic sense. The founders are not miserly, and all students +and delvers into the medical and botanical arts are always welcome. This +library of rare books has been collected without ostentation and with the +sole aim to benefit science and humanity. We must not neglect to state +that the library is especially rich in books pertaining to the American Eclectics +and Thomsonians. Since it has been learned that this library is at the disposal +of students and is to pass intact to some worthy institution of learning, +donations of old or rare books are becoming frequent.<span class="pagenum">[Pg xiii]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + + + +<p><span class="ralign">PAGE.</span> +<br /> +<span class="smcap">Prologue</span>—History of Llewellyn Drury,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_1"> 1</a></span><br /> +<br /> +CHAPTER.</p> + +<ul class="TOC"> +<li>I. Home of Llewellyn Drury—"Never Less Alone than When Alone,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_3"> 3</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>II. A Friendly Conference with Prof. Chickering,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_16"> 16</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>III. A Second Interview with the Mysterious Visitor,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_23"> 23</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>IV. A Search for Knowledge—The Alchemistic Letter,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_34"> 35</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>V. The Writing of "My Confession,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_44"> 44</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>VI. Kidnapped,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_46"> 46</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>VII. A Wild Night—I am Prematurely Aged,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_55"> 55</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>VIII. A Lesson in Mind Study,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_63"> 63</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>IX. I Can Not Establish My Identity,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_67"> 67</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>X. My Journey Towards the End of Earth Begins—The Adepts +Brotherhood,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_74"> 74</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XI. My Journey Continues—Instinct,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_80"> 80</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XII. A Cavern Discovered—Biswell's Hill,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_84"> 84</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XIII. The Punch Bowls and Caverns of Kentucky—"Into the Unknown +Country,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_89"> 89</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XIV. Farewell to God's Sunshine—"The Echo of the Cry,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_99"> 99</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XV. A Zone of Light, Deep Within the Earth,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_105"> 105</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XVI. Vitalized Darkness—The Narrows in Science,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_109"> 109</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XVII. The Fungus Forest—Enchantment,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_119"> 119</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XVIII. The Food of Man,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_123"> 123</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XIX. The Cry from a Distance—I Rebel Against Continuing the +Journey,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_128"> 128</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<p>FIRST INTERLUDE.—THE NARRATIVE INTERRUPTED.</p></li> + +<li>XX. My Unbidden Guest Proves His Statements, and Refutes My Philosophy,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_134"> 134</a></span><br /> + +<br /> +<p>MY UNBIDDEN GUEST CONTINUES HIS MANUSCRIPT.</p></li> + +<li>XXI. My Weight Disappearing,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_142"> 142</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<p>SECOND INTERLUDE.</p></li> + +<li>XXII. The Story Again Interrupted—My Guest Departs,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_149"> 149</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXIII. Scientific Men Questioned—Aristotle's Ether,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_151"> 151</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXIV. The Soliloquy of Prof. Daniel Vaughn—"Gravitation is the Beginning +and Gravitation is the End: All Earthly Bodies +Kneel to Gravitation,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_156"> 156</a></span><br /> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg xiv]</span></p> + +<br /> +<p> +THE UNBIDDEN GUEST RETURNS TO READ HIS MANUSCRIPT,<br /> +CONTINUING THE NARRATIVE.</p></li> + +<li>XXV. The Mother of a Volcano—"You Can Not Disprove, and You +Dare Not Admit,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_162"> 162</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXVI. Motion from Inherent Energy—"Lead Me Deeper Into this +Expanding Study,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_169"> 169</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXVII. Sleep, Dreams, Nightmare—"Strangle the Life from My Body,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_175"> 175</a></span><br /> + +<br /> +<p>THIRD INTERLUDE.—THE NARRATIVE AGAIN INTERRUPTED.</p></li> + +<li>XXVIII. A Challenge—My Unbidden Guest Accepts It,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_179"> 179</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXIX. Beware of Biology—The Science of the Life of Man—The Old +Man relates a Story as an Object Lesson,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_186"> 186</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXX. Looking Backward—The Living Brain,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_193"> 193</a></span><br /> + +<br /> +<p>THE MANUSCRIPT CONTINUED.</p></li> + +<li>XXXI. A Lesson on Volcanoes—Primary Colors are Capable of Farther +Subdivision,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_204"> 204</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXXII. Matter is Retarded Motion—"A Wail of Sadness Inexpressible,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_218"> 218</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXXIII. "A Study of True Science is a Study of God"—Communing +with Angels,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_224"> 224</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXXIV. I Cease to Breathe, and Yet Live,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_226"> 226</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXXV. "A Certain Point Within a Circle"—Men are as Parasites on +the Roof of Earth,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_230"> 230</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXXVI. The Drinks of Man,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_235"> 235</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXXVII. The Drunkard's Voice,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_238"> 238</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXXVIII. The Drunkard's Den,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_240"> 240</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XXXIX. Among the Drunkards,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_247"> 247</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XL. Further Temptation—Etidorhpa Appears,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_252"> 252</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XLI. Misery,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_262"> 262</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XLII. Eternity Without Time,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_272"> 272</a></span><br /> + +<br /> +<p>FOURTH INTERLUDE.</p></li> + +<li>XLIII. The Last Contest,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_277"> 277</a></span><br /> + +<br /> +<p>THE NARRATIVE CONTINUED.</p></li> + +<li>XLIV. The Fathomless Abyss—The Edge of the Earth's Shell,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_306"> 306</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XLV. My Heart-throb is Stilled, and Yet I Live,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_310"> 310</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XLVI. The Inner Circle, or the End of Gravitation—In the Bottomless +Gulf,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_317"> 317</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XLVII. Hearing Without Ears—"What Will Be the End?"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_322"> 322</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XLVIII. Why and How—The Straggling Ray of Light from those +Farthermost Outreaches,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_327"> 327</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>XLIX. Oscillating Through Space—The Earth Shell Above Us,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_333"> 333</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>L. My Weight Annihilated—"Tell me," I cried in alarm, "is this +a Living Tomb?"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_340"> 340</a></span><br /></li> + +<li>LI. Is That a Mortal?—"The End of Earth,"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_345"> 345</a></span><br /> + +<br /> +<p>FIFTH INTERLUDE.</p></li> + +<li>LII. The Last Farewell,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_352"> 352</a></span></li> + +<li><span class="smcap">Epilogue</span>—Letter Accompanying the Mysterious Manuscript,<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_360"> 360</a></span><br /></li> +</ul> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg xv]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> + +<p class="title">FULL-PAGE.</p> +<div class="LOI"><ul> +<li><p>Likeness of The—Man—Who—Did—It.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_i">Frontispiece</a></span></p></li> + +<li> <span class="ralign">PAGE.</span><br /></li> + +<li><p> Preface Introduction—"Here lies the bones," etc.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_iii">iii.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"And to my amazement, saw a white-haired man."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_7">7, 8.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"The same glittering, horrible, mysterious knife."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_29">29, 30.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Fac-simile of the mysterious manuscript of I—Am—The—Man—Who—Did—It.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_35">35, 36.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"My arms were firmly grasped by two persons."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Note_1"><ins title="No illustration is found in the original book for this reference.">47.</ins></a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Map of Kentucky near entrance to cavern."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_85">85, 86.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Confronted by a singular looking being."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_95">95, 96.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"This struggling ray of sunlight is to be your last for years."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_101">101, 102.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"I was in a forest of colossal fungi."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_117">117, 118.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Monstrous cubical crystals."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_131">131, 132.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Far as the eye could reach the glassy barrier spread as a crystal +mirror."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_147">147, 148.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Soliloquy of Prof. Daniel Vaughn—'Gravitation is the beginning, +and gravitation is the end; all earthly bodies kneel to gravitation.'"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_157a">157, 158.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"We came to a metal boat."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_165">165, 166.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Facing the open window he turned the pupils of his eyes upward."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_197">197, 198.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"We finally reached a precipitous bluff."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_205">205, 206.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"The wall descended perpendicularly to seemingly infinite depths."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_209">209, 210.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>Etidorhpa.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_255">255, 256.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"We passed through caverns filled with creeping reptiles."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_297">297, 298.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Flowers and structures beautiful, insects gorgeous."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_303">303, 304.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"With fear and trembling I crept on my knees to his side."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_307">307, 308.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>Diagram descriptive of journey from the Kentucky cavern to the +"End of Earth," showing section of earth's crust.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_332">332, 333.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Suspended in vacancy, he seemed to float."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_347">347, 348.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"I stood alone in my room holding the mysterious manuscript."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_357">357, 358.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>Fac-simile of letter from I—Am—The—Man.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_363">363.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>Manuscript dedication of Author's Edition.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_364">364, 365.</a></span></p></li></ul></div> + + +<p class="title gap4">HALF-PAGE AND TEXT CUTS.</p> +<div class="LOI"><ul> +<li><p> +"The Stern Face." Fac-simile, reduced from copper plate title page +of the botanical work (1708), 917 pages, of Simonis Paulli, D., a +Danish physician. Original plate 7 × 5-1/2 inches.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_iv">iv.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"The Pleasant Face." Fac-simile of the original copper plate frontispiece +to the finely illustrated botanical work of Joannes Burmannus, +M.D., descriptive of the plants collected by Carolus +Plumierus. Antique. Original plate 9 × 13 inches.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_v">v.</a></span></p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg xvi]</span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Skeleton forms oppose my own." Photograph of John Uri Lloyd +in the gloomy alcove of the antiquated library.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_vi">vi.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Let me have your answer now."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_12">12.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"I espied upon the table a long white hair."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_14">14.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Drew the knife twice across the front of the door-knob."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_32">32.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"I was taken from the vehicle, and transferred to a block-house."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_52">52.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"The dead man was thrown overboard."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_54">54.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"A mirror was thrust beneath my gaze."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_58">58.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"I am the man you seek."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_70">70.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"We approach daylight, I can see your face."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_106">106.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Seated himself on a natural bench of stone."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_108">108.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"An endless variety of stony figures."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_129">129.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>Cuts showing water and brine surfaces.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_136">136.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>Cuts showing earth chambers in which water rises above brine.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_137">137.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>Cuts showing that if properly connected, water and brine reverse the +usual law as to the height of their surfaces.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_138">138, 139.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"I bounded upward fully six feet."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_143">143.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"I fluttered to the earth as a leaf would fall."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_144">144.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"We leaped over great inequalities."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_145">145.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"The bit of garment fluttered listlessly away to the distance, and +then—vacancy."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_173">173.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>Cut showing that water may be made to flow from a tube higher +than the surface of the water.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_182">182.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>Cut showing how an artesian fountain may be made without earth +strata.<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_184">184.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Rising abruptly, he grasped my hand."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_191">191.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"A brain, a living brain, my own brain."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_200">200.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Shape of drop of water in the earth cavern."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_211">211.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"We would skip several rods, alighting gently."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_227">227.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"An uncontrollable, inexpressible desire to flee."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_229">229.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"I dropped on my knees before him."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_232">232.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Handing me one of the halves, he spoke the single word, 'Drink.'"<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_234">234.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Each finger pointed towards the open way in front."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_242">242.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Telescoped energy spheres."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_280">280.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"Space dirt on energy spheres."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_281">281.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"I drew back the bar of iron to smite the apparently defenseless +being in the forehead."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_313">313.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"He sprung from the edge of the cliff into the abyss below, carrying +me with him into its depths."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_315">315.</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p>"The Earth and its atmosphere."<span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_336">336.</a></span></p></li></ul></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>PROLOGUE.</h2> + + +<p>My name was Johannes Llewellyn Llongollyn Drury. I was +named Llewellyn at my mother's desire, out of respect to her +father, Dr. Evan Llewellyn, the scientist and speculative philosopher, +well known to curious students as the author of various +rare works on occult subjects. The other given names were +ancestral also, but when I reached the age of appreciation, they +naturally became distasteful; so it is that in early youth I dropped +the first and third of these cumbersome words, and retained only +the second Christian name. While perhaps the reader of these +lines may regard this cognomen with less favor than either of the +others, still I liked it, as it was the favorite of my mother, who +always used the name in full; the world, however, contracted +Llewellyn to Lew, much to the distress of my dear mother, who +felt aggrieved at the liberty. After her death I decided to move +to a western city, and also determined, out of respect to her +memory, to select from and rearrange the letters of my several +names, and construct therefrom three short, terse words, which +would convey to myself only, the resemblance of my former +name. Hence it is that the Cincinnati Directory does not record +my self-selected name, which I have no reason to bring before +the public. To the reader my name is Llewellyn Drury. I might +add that my ancestors were among the early settlers of what is +now New York City, and were direct descendants of the early +Welsh kings; but these matters do not concern the reader, and it +is not of them that I now choose to write. My object in putting +down these preliminary paragraphs is simply to assure the reader +of such facts, and such only, as may give him confidence in my +personal sincerity and responsibility, in order that he may with a +right understanding read the remarkable statements that occur in +the succeeding chapters.</p> + +<p>The story I am about to relate is very direct, and some parts +of it are very strange, not to say marvelous; but not on account<span class="pagenum">[Pg 2]</span> +of its strangeness alone do I ask for the narrative a reading;—that +were mere trifling. What is here set down happened as recorded, +but I shall not attempt to explain things which even to myself +are enigmatical. Let the candid reader read the story as I have +told it, and make out of it what he can, or let him pass the page +by unread—I shall not insist on claiming his further attention. +Only, if he does read, I beg him to read with an open mind, +without prejudice and without predilection.</p> + +<p>Who or what I am as a participant in this work is of small +importance. I mention my history only for the sake of frankness +and fairness. I have nothing to gain by issuing the volume. +Neither do I court praise nor shun censure. My purpose is to +tell the truth.</p> + +<p>Early in the fifties I took up my residence in the Queen City, +and though a very young man, found the employment ready that +a friend had obtained for me with a manufacturing firm engaged +in a large and complicated business. My duties were varied and +peculiar, of such a nature as to tax body and mind to the utmost, +and for several years I served in the most exacting of business +details. Besides the labor which my vocation entailed, with its +manifold and multiform perplexities, I voluntarily imposed upon +myself other tasks, which I pursued in the privacy of my own +bachelor apartments. An inherited love for books on abstruse +and occult subjects, probably in part the result of my blood +connection with Dr. Evan Llewellyn, caused me to collect a +unique library, largely on mystical subjects, in which I took the +keenest delight. My business and my professional duties by day, +and my studies at night, made my life a busy one.</p> + +<p>In the midst of my work and reading I encountered the character +whose strange story forms the essential part of the following +narrative. I may anticipate by saying that the manuscript to +follow only incidentally concerns myself, and that if possible I +would relinquish all connection therewith. It recites the physical, +mental, and moral adventures of one whose life history was +abruptly thrust upon my attention, and as abruptly interrupted. +The vicissitudes of his body and soul, circumstances seemed to +compel me to learn and to make public.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 3]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><b>ETIDORPHA.</b></h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /> +<br /> +"NEVER LESS ALONE THAN WHEN ALONE."</h2> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 204px;"> +<img src="images/gs1005.jpg" width="197" height="295" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<p>ore than thirty years ago occurred the +first of the series of remarkable events +I am about to relate. The exact date I +can not recall; but it was in November, +and, to those familiar with November weather +in the Ohio Valley, it is hardly necessary to +state that the month is one of possibilities. +That is to say, it is liable to bring every variety +of weather, from the delicious, dreamy +Indian summer days that linger late in the +fall, to a combination of rain, hail, snow, sleet,—in +short, atmospheric conditions sufficiently aggravating +to develop a suicidal mania in any one the least +susceptible to such influences. While the general +character of the month is much the same the country over,—showing +dull grey tones of sky, abundant rains that penetrate +man as they do the earth; cold, shifting winds, that search the +very marrow,—it is always safe to count more or less upon the +probability of the unexpected throughout the month.</p> + +<p>The particular day which ushered in the event about to be +chronicled, was one of these possible heterogeneous days presenting +a combination of sunshine, shower, and snow, with winds that +rang all the changes from balmy to blustery, a morning air of +caloric and an evening of numbing cold. The early morning +started fair and sunny; later came light showers suddenly switched +by shifting winds into blinding sleet, until the middle of the +afternoon found the four winds and all the elements commingled +in one wild orgy with clashing and roaring as of a great organ<span class="pagenum">[Pg 4]</span> +with all the stops out, and all the storm-fiends dancing over the +key-boards! Nightfall brought some semblance of order to the +sounding chaos, but still kept up the wild music of a typical +November day, with every accompaniment of bleakness, gloom, +and desolation.</p> + +<p>Thousands of chimneys, exhaling murky clouds of bituminous +soot all day, had covered the city with the proverbial pall which +the winds in their sport had shifted hither and yon, but as, thoroughly +tired out, they subsided into silence, the smoky mesh suddenly +settled over the houses and into the streets, taking possession +of the city and contributing to the melancholy wretchedness of +such of the inhabitants as had to be out of doors. Through this +smoke the red sun when visible had dragged his downward course +in manifest discouragement, and the hastening twilight soon gave +place to the blackness of darkness. Night reigned supreme.</p> + +<p>Thirty years ago electric lighting was not in vogue, and the +system of street lamps was far less complete than at present, +although the gas burned in them may not have been any worse. +The lamps were much fewer and farther between, and the light +which they emitted had a feeble, sickly aspect, and did not reach +any distance into the moist and murky atmosphere. And so the +night was dismal enough, and the few people upon the street +were visible only as they passed directly beneath the lamps, or in +front of lighted windows; seeming at other times like moving +shadows against a black ground.</p> + +<p>As I am like to be conspicuous in these pages, it may be +proper to say that I am very susceptible to atmospheric influences. +I figure among my friends as a man of quiet disposition, but I am +at times morose, although I endeavor to conceal this fact from +others. My nervous system is a sensitive weather-glass. Sometimes +I fancy that I must have been born under the planet Saturn, +for I find myself unpleasantly influenced by moods ascribed to +that depressing planet, more especially in its disagreeable phases, +for I regret to state that I do not find corresponding elation, as I +should, in its brighter aspects. I have an especial dislike for +wintry weather, a dislike which I find growing with my years, +until it has developed almost into positive antipathy and dread. +On the day I have described, my moods had varied with the +weather. The fitfulness of the winds had found its way into my<span class="pagenum">[Pg 5]</span> +feelings, and the somber tone of the clouds into my meditations. +I was restless as the elements, and a deep sense of dissatisfaction +with myself and everything else, possessed me. I could not content +myself in any place or position. Reading was distasteful, +writing equally so; but it occurred to me that a brisk walk, for a +few blocks, might afford relief. Muffling myself up in my overcoat +and fur cap, I took the street, only to find the air gusty and raw, +and I gave up in still greater disgust, and returning home, after +drawing the curtains and locking the doors, planted myself in +front of a glowing grate fire, firmly resolved to rid myself of +myself by resorting to the oblivion of thought, reverie, or dream. +To sleep was impossible, and I sat moodily in an easy chair, +noting the quarter and half-hour strokes as they were chimed out +sweetly from the spire of St. Peter's Cathedral, a few blocks away.</p> + +<p>Nine o'clock passed with its silver-voiced song of "Home, +Sweet Home"; ten, and then eleven strokes of the ponderous +bell which noted the hours, roused me to a strenuous effort to +shake off the feelings of despondency, unrest, and turbulence, +that all combined to produce a state of mental and physical misery +now insufferable. Rising suddenly from my chair, without a +conscious effort I walked mechanically to a book-case, seized a +volume at random, reseated myself before the fire, and opened +the book. It proved to be an odd, neglected volume, "Riley's +Dictionary of Latin Quotations." At the moment there flashed +upon me a conscious duality of existence. Had the old book +some mesmeric power? I seemed to myself two persons, and I +quickly said aloud, as if addressing my double: "If I can not +quiet you, turbulent Spirit, I can at least adapt myself to your +condition. I will read this book haphazard from bottom to top, +or backward, if necessary, and if this does not change the subject +often enough, I will try Noah Webster." Opening the book +mechanically at page 297, I glanced at the bottom line and read, +"Nunquam minus solus quam cum solus" (Never less alone than +when alone). These words arrested my thoughts at once, as, by +a singular chance, they seemed to fit my mood; was it or was it +not some conscious invisible intelligence that caused me to select +that page, and brought the apothegm to my notice?</p> + +<p>Again, like a flash, came the consciousness of duality, and I +began to argue with my other self. "This is arrant nonsense,"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 6]</span> +I cried aloud; "even though Cicero did say it, and, it is on a par +with many other delusive maxims that have for so many years +embittered the existence of our modern youth by misleading +thought. Do you know, Mr. Cicero, that this statement is not +sound? That it is unworthy the position you occupy in history +as a thinker and philosopher? That it is a contradiction in itself, +for if a man is alone he is alone, and that settles it?"</p> + +<p>I mused in this vein a few moments, and then resumed aloud: +"It won't do, it won't do; if one is alone—the word is absolute,—he +is single, isolated, in short, alone; and there can by no manner +of possibility be any one else present. Take myself, for instance: +I am the sole occupant of this apartment; I am alone, and yet +you say in so many words that I was never less alone than at +this instant." It was not without some misgiving that I uttered +these words, for the strange consciousness of my own duality +constantly grew stronger, and I could not shake off the reflection +that even now there were two of myself in the room, and that I +was not so much alone as I endeavored to convince myself.</p> + +<p>This feeling oppressed me like an incubus; I must throw it +off, and, rising, I tossed the book upon the table, exclaiming: +"What folly! I am alone,—positively there is no other living +thing visible or invisible in the room." I hesitated as I spoke, for +the strange, undefined sensation that I was not alone had become +almost a conviction; but the sound of my voice encouraged me, +and I determined to discuss the subject, and I remarked in a full, +strong voice: "I am surely alone; I know I am! Why, I will +wager everything I possess, even to my soul, that I am alone." +I stood facing the smoldering embers of the fire which I had +neglected to replenish, uttering these words to settle the controversy +for good and all with one person of my dual self, but the +other ego seemed to dissent violently, when a soft, clear voice +claimed my ear:</p> + +<p>"You have lost your wager; you are not alone."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/gs1006.jpg" width="410" height="600" alt="" title="TO MY AMAZEMENT SAW A WHITE-HAIRED MAN" /> + +<span class="caption">"AND TO MY AMAZEMENT SAW A WHITE-HAIRED MAN."</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 8]</span></p> + +<p>I turned instantly towards the direction of the sound, and, to +my amazement, saw a white-haired man seated on the opposite +side of the room, gazing at me with the utmost composure. I am +not a coward, nor a believer in ghosts or illusions, and yet that +sight froze me where I stood. It had no supernatural appearance—on +the contrary, was a plain, ordinary, flesh-and-blood man; +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 9]</span>but the weather, the experiences of the day, the weird, inclement +night, had all conspired to strain my nerves to the highest point +of tension, and I trembled from head to foot. Noting this, the +stranger said pleasantly: "Quiet yourself, my dear sir; you have +nothing to fear; be seated." I obeyed, mechanically, and regaining +in a few moments some semblance of composure, took a +mental inventory of my visitor. Who is he? what is he? how +did he enter without my notice, and why? what is his business? +were all questions that flashed into my mind in quick succession, +and quickly flashed out unanswered.</p> + +<p>The stranger sat eying me composedly, even pleasantly, as if +waiting for me to reach some conclusion regarding himself. At +last I surmised: "He is a maniac who has found his way here by +methods peculiar to the insane, and my personal safety demands +that I use him discreetly."</p> + +<p>"Very good," he remarked, as though reading my thoughts; +"as well think that as anything else."</p> + +<p>"But why are you here? What is your business?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"You have made and lost a wager," he said. "You have +committed an act of folly in making positive statements regarding +a matter about which you know nothing—a very common failing, +by the way, on the part of mankind, and concerning which I wish +first to set you straight."</p> + +<p>The ironical coolness with which he said this provoked me, +and I hastily rejoined: "You are impertinent; I must ask you to +leave my house at once."</p> + +<p>"Very well," he answered; "but if you insist upon this, I shall, +on behalf of Cicero, claim the stake of your voluntary wager, +which means that I must first, by natural though violent means, +release your soul from your body." So saying he arose, drew +from an inner pocket a long, keen knife, the blade of which +quiveringly glistened as he laid it upon the table. Moving his +chair so as to be within easy reach of the gleaming weapon, he +sat down, and again regarded me with the same quiet composure +I had noted, and which was fast dispelling my first impression +concerning his sanity.</p> + +<p>I was not prepared for his strange action; in truth, I was not +prepared for anything; my mind was confused concerning the +whole night's doings, and I was unable to reason clearly or<span class="pagenum">[Pg 10]</span> +consecutively, or even to satisfy myself what I did think, if +indeed I thought at all.</p> + +<p>The sensation of fear, however, was fast leaving me; there +was something reassuring in my unbidden guest's perfect ease of +manner, and the mild, though searching gaze of his eyes, which +were wonderful in their expression. I began to observe his +personal characteristics, which impressed me favorably, and yet +were extraordinary. He was nearly six feet tall, and perfectly +straight; well proportioned, with no tendency either to leanness +or obesity. But his head was an object from which I could not +take my eyes,—such a head surely I had never before seen on +mortal shoulders. The chin, as seen through his silver beard, was +rounded and well developed, the mouth straight, with pleasant +lines about it, the jaws square and, like the mouth, indicating +decision, the eyes deep set and arched with heavy eyebrows, and +the whole surmounted by a forehead so vast, so high, that it was +almost a deformity, and yet it did not impress me unpleasantly; it +was the forehead of a scholar, a profound thinker, a deep student. +The nose was inclined to aquiline, and quite large. The contour of +the head and face impressed me as indicating a man of learning, +one who had given a lifetime to experimental as well as speculative +thought. His voice was mellow, clear, and distinct, always pleasantly +modulated and soft, never loud nor unpleasant in the least +degree. One remarkable feature I must not fail to mention—his +hair; this, while thin and scant upon the top of his head, was +long, and reached to his shoulders; his beard was of unusual +length, descending almost to his waist; his hair, eyebrows, and +beard were all of singular whiteness and purity, almost transparent, +a silvery whiteness that seemed an aureolar sheen in the +glare of the gaslight. What struck me as particularly remarkable +was that his skin looked as soft and smooth as that of a child; +there was not a blemish in it. His age was a puzzle none could +guess; stripped of his hair, or the color of it changed, he might +be twenty-five,—given a few wrinkles, he might be ninety. Taken +altogether, I had never seen his like, nor anything approaching his +like, and for an instant there was a faint suggestion to my mind +that he was not of this earth, but belonged to some other planet.</p> + +<p>I now fancy he must have read my impressions of him as these +ideas shaped themselves in my brain, and that he was quietly<span class="pagenum">[Pg 11]</span> +waiting for me to regain a degree of self-possession that would +allow him to disclose the purpose of his visit.</p> + +<p>He was first to break the silence: "I see that you are not +disposed to pay your wager any more than I am to collect it, so we +will not discuss that. I admit that my introduction to-night was +abrupt, but you can not deny that you challenged me to appear." +I was not clear upon the point, and said so. "Your memory is +at fault," he continued, "if you can not recall your experiences +of the day just past. Did you not attempt to interest yourself in +modern book lore, to fix your mind in turn upon history, chemistry, +botany, poetry, and general literature? And all these failing, +did you not deliberately challenge Cicero to a practical demonstration +of an old apothegm of his that has survived for centuries, +and of your own free will did not you make a wager that, as an +admirer of Cicero's, I am free to accept?" To all this I could but +silently assent. "Very good, then; we will not pursue this subject +further, as it is not relevant to my purpose, which is to acquaint +you with a narrative of unusual interest, upon certain conditions, +with which if you comply, you will not only serve yourself, but +me as well."</p> + +<p>"Please name the conditions," I said.</p> + +<p>"They are simple enough," he answered. "The narrative I +speak of is in manuscript. I will produce it in the near future, +and my design is to read it aloud to you, or to allow you to read +it to me, as you may select. Further, my wish is that during the +reading you shall interpose any objection or question that you +deem proper. This reading will occupy many evenings, and I +shall of necessity be with you often. When the reading is concluded, +we will seal the package securely, and I shall leave you +forever. You will then deposit the manuscript in some safe +place, and let it remain for thirty years. When this period has +elapsed, I wish you to publish this history to the world."</p> + +<p>"Your conditions seem easy," I said, after a few seconds' pause.</p> + +<p>"They are certainly very simple; do you accept?"</p> + +<p>I hesitated, for the prospect of giving myself up to a succession +of interviews with this extraordinary and mysterious +personage seemed to require consideration. He evidently divined +my thoughts, for, rising from his chair, he said abruptly: "Let +me have your answer now."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 12]</span></p> + +<p>I debated the matter no further, but answered: "I accept, +conditionally."</p> + +<p>"Name your conditions," the guest replied.</p> + +<p>"I will either publish the work, or induce some other man to +do so."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1007.jpg" width="600" height="497" alt="" title="LET ME HAVE YOUR ANSWER NOW." /> +<span class="caption">"LET ME HAVE YOUR ANSWER NOW."</span> +</div> + + +<p>"Good," he said; "I will see you again," with a polite bow; +and turning to the door which I had previously locked, he opened +it softly, and with a quiet "Good night" disappeared in the +hall-way.</p> + +<p>I looked after him with bewildered senses; but a sudden +impulse caused me to glance toward the table, when I saw that he +had forgotten his knife. With the view of returning this, I reached +to pick it up, but my finger tips no sooner touched the handle +than a sudden chill shivered along my nerves. Not as an electric +shock, but rather as a sensation of extreme cold was the current +that ran through me in an instant. Rushing into the hall-way to<span class="pagenum">[Pg 13]</span> +the landing of the stairs, I called after the mysterious being, +"You have forgotten your knife," but beyond the faint echo of my +voice, I heard no sound. The phantom was gone. A moment +later I was at the foot of the stairs, and had thrown open the +door. A street lamp shed an uncertain light in front of the +house. I stepped out and listened intently for a moment, but not +a sound was audible, if indeed I except the beating of my own +heart, which throbbed so wildly that I fancied I heard it. No +footfall echoed from the deserted streets; all was silent as a +churchyard, and I closed and locked the door softly, tiptoed my +way back to my room, and sank collapsed into an easy chair. I +was more than exhausted; I quivered from head to foot, not with +cold, but with a strange nervous chill that found intensest expression +in my spinal column, and seemed to flash up and down my +back vibrating like a feverous pulse. This active pain was +succeeded by a feeling of frozen numbness, and I sat I know not +how long, trying to tranquilize myself and think temperately of +the night's occurrence. By degrees I recovered my normal +sensations, and directing my will in the channel of sober +reasoning, I said to myself: "There can be no mistake about +his visit, for his knife is here as a witness to the fact. So +much is sure, and I will secure that testimony at all events." +With this reflection I turned to the table, but to my astonishment +I discovered that the knife had disappeared. It needed but this +miracle to start the perspiration in great cold beads from every +pore. My brain was in a whirl, and reeling into a chair, I covered +my face with my hands. How long I sat in this posture +I do not remember. I only know that I began to doubt my own +sanity, and wondered if this were not the way people became +deranged. Had not my peculiar habits of isolation, irregular and +intense study, erratic living, all conspired to unseat reason? +Surely here was every ground to believe so; and yet I was able +still to think consistently and hold steadily to a single line of +thought. Insane people can not do that, I reflected, and gradually +the tremor and excitement wore away. When I had become +calmer and more collected, and my sober judgment said, "Go to +bed; sleep just as long as you can; hold your eyelids down, and +when you awake refreshed, as you will, think out the whole +subject at your leisure," I arose, threw open the shutters, and<span class="pagenum">[Pg 14]</span> +found that day was breaking. Hastily undressing I went to +bed, and closed my eyes, vaguely conscious of some soothing +guardianship. Perhaps because I was physically exhausted, I +soon lost myself in the oblivion of sleep.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 459px;"> +<img src="images/gs1008.jpg" width="459" height="600" alt="" title="I ESPIED UPON THE TABLE A LONG WHITE HAIR." /> +<span class="caption">"I ESPIED UPON THE TABLE A LONG WHITE HAIR."</span> +</div> + + +<p>I did not dream,—at least I could not afterwards remember my +dream if I had one, but I recollect thinking that somebody +struck ten distinct blows on my door, which seemed to me +to be of metal and very sonorous. These ten blows in my +semi-conscious state I counted. I lay very quiet for a time +collecting my thoughts and noting various objects about the +room, until my eye caught the dial of a French clock upon the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 15]</span> +mantel. It was a few minutes past ten, and the blows I had +heard were the strokes of the hammer upon the gong in the +clock. The sun was shining into the room, which was quite cold, +for the fire had gone out. I arose, dressed myself quickly, and +after thoroughly laving my face and hands in ice-cold water, felt +considerably refreshed.</p> + +<p>Before going out to breakfast, while looking around the room +for a few things which I wanted to take with me, I espied upon +the table a long white hair. This was indeed a surprise, for I had +about concluded that my adventure of the previous night was +a species of waking nightmare, the result of overworked brain +and weakened body. But here was tangible evidence to the +contrary, an assurance that my mysterious visitor was not a +fancy or a dream, and his parting words, "I will see you again," +recurred to me with singular effect. "He will see me again; +very well; I will preserve this evidence of his visit for future +use." I wound the delicate filament into a little coil, folded it +carefully in a bit of paper, and consigned it to a corner in my +pocket-book, though not without some misgiving that it too +might disappear as did the knife.</p> + +<p>The strange experience of that night had a good effect on +me; I became more regular in all my habits, took abundant +sleep and exercise, was more methodical in my modes of study +and reasoning, and in a short time found myself vastly improved +in every way, mentally and physically.</p> + +<p>The days went fleeting into weeks, the weeks into months, +and while the form and figure of the white-haired stranger +were seldom absent from my mind, he came no more.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 16]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /> +<br /> +A FRIENDLY CONFERENCE.</h2> + + +<p>It is rare, in our present civilization, to find a man who lives +alone. This remark does not apply to hermits or persons of +abnormal or perverted mental tendencies, but to the majority of +mankind living and moving actively among their fellows, and +engaged in the ordinary occupations of humanity. Every man +must have at least one confidant, either of his own household, or +within the circle of his intimate friends. There may possibly +be rare exceptions among persons of genius in statecraft, war, +or commerce, but it is doubtful even in such instances if any +keep all their thoughts to themselves, hermetically sealed from +their fellows. As a prevailing rule, either a loving wife or very +near friend shares the inner thought of the most secretive +individual, even when secrecy seems an indispensable element +to success. The tendency to a free interchange of ideas and +experiences is almost universal, instinct prompting the natural +man to unburden his most sacred thought, when the proper +confidant and the proper time come for the disclosure.</p> + +<p>For months I kept to myself the events narrated in the +preceding chapter. And this for several reasons: first, the dread +of ridicule that would follow the relation of the fantastic occurrences, +and the possible suspicion of my sanity, that might result +from the recital; second, very grave doubts as to the reality of +my experiences. But by degrees self-confidence was restored, +as I reasoned the matter over and reassured myself by occasional +contemplation of the silvery hair I had coiled in my +pocket-book, and which at first I had expected would vanish as +did the stranger's knife. There came upon me a feeling that I +should see my weird visitor again, and at an early day. I resisted +this impression, for it was a feeling of the idea, rather than a +thought, but the vague expectation grew upon me in spite of +myself, until at length it became a conviction which no argument<span class="pagenum">[Pg 17]</span> +or logic could shake. Curiously enough, as the original incident +receded into the past, this new idea thrust itself into the foreground, +and I began in my own mind to court another interview. +At times, sitting alone after night, I felt that I was watched by +unseen eyes; these eyes haunted me in my solitude, and I was +morally sure of the presence of another than myself in the room. +The sensation was at first unpleasant, and I tried to throw it off, +with partial success. But only for a little while could I banish +the intrusive idea, and as the thought took form, and the invisible +presence became more actual to consciousness, I hoped that the +stranger would make good his parting promise, "I will see you +again."</p> + +<p>On one thing I was resolved; I would at least be better +informed on the subject of hallucinations and apparitions, and +not be taken unawares as I had been. To this end I decided +to confer with my friend, Professor Chickering, a quiet, thoughtful +man, of varied accomplishments, and thoroughly read upon +a great number of topics, especially in the literature of the +marvelous.</p> + +<p>So to the Professor I went, after due appointment, and +confided to him full particulars of my adventure. He listened +patiently throughout, and when I had finished, assured me in a +matter-of-fact way that such hallucinations were by no means +rare. His remark was provoking, for I did not expect from the +patient interest he had shown while I was telling my story, that +the whole matter would be dismissed thus summarily. I said +with some warmth:</p> + +<p>"But this was not a hallucination. I tried at first to persuade +myself that it was illusory, but the more I have thought the +experience over, the more real it becomes to me."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you were dreaming," suggested the Professor.</p> + +<p>"No," I answered; "I have tried that hypothesis, and it will +not do. Many things make that view untenable."</p> + +<p>"Do not be too sure of that," he said; "you were, by your +own account, in a highly nervous condition, and physically tired. +It is possible, perhaps probable, that in this state, as you sat in +your chair, you dozed off for a short interval, during which the +illusion flashed through your mind."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 18]</span></p> + +<p>"How do you explain the fact that incidents occupying a +large portion of the night, occurred in an interval which you +describe as a flash?"</p> + +<p>"Easily enough; in dreams time may not exist: periods +embracing weeks or months may be reduced to an instant. +Long journeys, hours of conversation, or a multitude of transactions, +may be compressed into a term measured by the opening +or closing of a door, or the striking of a clock. In dreams, +ordinary standards of reason find no place, while ideas or events +chase through the mind more rapidly than thought."</p> + +<p>"Conceding all this, why did I, considering the unusual +character of the incidents, accept them as real, as substantial, +as natural as the most commonplace events?"</p> + +<p>"There is nothing extraordinary in that," he replied. "In +dreams all sorts of absurdities, impossibilities, discordancies, +and violation of natural law appear realities, without exciting +the least surprise or suspicion. Imagination runs riot and is +supreme, and reason for the time is dormant. We see ghosts, +spirits, the forms of persons dead or living,—we suffer pain, +pleasure, hunger,—and all sensations and emotions, without a +moment's question of their reality."</p> + +<p>"Do any of the subjects of our dreams or visions leave +tangible evidences of their presence?"</p> + +<p>"Assuredly not," he answered, with an incredulous, half-impatient +gesture; "the idea is absurd."</p> + +<p>"Then I was not dreaming," I mused.</p> + +<p>Without looking at me, the Professor went on: "These false +presentiments may have their origin in other ways, as from mental +disorders caused by indigestion. Nicolai, a noted bookseller of +Berlin, was thus afflicted. His experiences are interesting and +possibly suggestive. Let me read some of them to you."</p> + +<p>The Professor hereupon glanced over his bookshelf, selected +a volume, and proceeded to read:<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + +<blockquote><p>"I generally saw human forms of both sexes; but they usually seemed not +to take the smallest notice of each other, moving as in a market place, where +all are eager to press through the crowd; at times, however, they seemed to be +transacting business with each other. I also saw several times, people on +horseback, dogs, and birds.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 19]</span></p> +<p>"All these phantasms appeared to me in their natural size, and as distinct +as if alive, exhibiting different shades of carnation in the uncovered parts, as +well as different colors and fashions in their dresses, though the colors seemed +somewhat paler than in real nature. None of the figures appeared particularly +terrible, comical, or disgusting, most of them being of indifferent shape, and +some presenting a pleasant aspect. The longer these phantasms continued to +visit me, the more frequently did they return, while at the same time they +increased in number about four weeks after they had first appeared. I also +began to hear them talk: these phantoms conversed among themselves, but +more frequently addressed their discourse to me; their speeches were uncommonly +short, and never of an unpleasant turn. At different times there +appeared to me both dear and sensible friends of both sexes, whose addresses +tended to appease my grief, which had not yet wholly subsided: their consolatory +speeches were in general addressed to me when I was alone. Sometimes, +however, I was accosted by these consoling friends while I was engaged in +company, and not unfrequently while real persons were speaking to me. +These consolatory addresses consisted sometimes of abrupt phrases, and at +other times they were regularly executed."</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> This work I have found to be Vol. IV. of Chambers' Miscellany, +published by Gould and Lincoln, Boston.—J. U. L.</p></div> + +<p>Here I interrupted: "I note, Professor, that Mr. Nicolai +knew these forms to be illusions."</p> + +<p>Without answering my remark, he continued to read:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"There is in imagination a potency far exceeding the fabled power of +Aladdin's lamp. How often does one sit in wintry evening musings, and trace +in the glowing embers the features of an absent friend? Imagination, with its +magic wand, will there build a city with its countless spires, or marshal +contending armies, or drive the tempest-shattered ship upon the ocean. The +following story, related by Scott, affords a good illustration of this principle:</p> + +<p>"'Not long after the death of an illustrious poet, who had filled, while +living, a great station in the eyes of the public, a literary friend, to whom the +deceased had been well known, was engaged during the darkening twilight of +an autumn evening, in perusing one of the publications which professed to +detail the habits and opinions of the distinguished individual who was now no +more. As the reader had enjoyed the intimacy of the deceased to a considerable +degree, he was deeply interested in the publication, which contained some +particulars relating to himself and other friends. A visitor was sitting in the +apartment, who was also engaged in reading. Their sitting-room opened into +an entrance hall, rather fantastically fitted up with articles of armor, skins of +wild animals, and the like. It was when laying down his book, and passing +into this hall, through which the moon was beginning to shine, that the +individual of whom I speak saw right before him, in a standing posture, the +exact representation of his departed friend, whose recollection had been so +strongly brought to his imagination. He stopped for a single moment, so as +to notice the wonderful accuracy with which fancy had impressed upon the +bodily eye the peculiarities of dress and position of the illustrious poet. +Sensible, however, of the delusion, he felt no sentiment save that of wonder at +the extraordinary accuracy of the resemblance, and stepped onward to the +figure, which resolved itself as he approached into the various materials of<span class="pagenum">[Pg 20]</span> +which it was composed. These were merely a screen occupied by great coats, +shawls, plaids, and such other articles as are usually found in a country +entrance hall. The spectator returned to the spot from which he had seen the +illusion, and endeavored with all his power to recall the image which had been +so singularly vivid. But this he was unable to do. And the person who had +witnessed the apparition, or, more properly, whose excited state had been the +means of raising it, had only to return to the apartment, and tell his young +friend under what a striking hallucination he had for a moment labored.'"</p></blockquote> + +<p>Here I was constrained to call the Professor to a halt. "Your +stories are very interesting," I said, "but I fail to perceive any +analogy in either the conditions or the incidents, to my experience. +I was fully awake and conscious at the time, and the man I saw +appeared and moved about in the full glare of the gaslight,"—</p> + +<p>"Perhaps not," he answered; "I am simply giving you some +general illustrations of the subject. But here is a case more to +the point."</p> + +<p>Again he read:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"A lady was once passing through a wood, in the darkening twilight of a +stormy evening, to visit a friend who was watching over a dying child. The +clouds were thick—the rain beginning to fall; darkness was increasing; the +wind was moaning mournfully through the trees. The lady's heart almost +failed her as she saw that she had a mile to walk through the woods in the +gathering gloom. But the reflection of the situation of her friend forbade her +turning back. Excited and trembling, she called to her aid a nervous resolution, +and pressed onward. She had not proceeded far when she beheld in the +path before her the movement of some very indistinct object. It appeared to +keep a little distance ahead of her, and as she made efforts to get nearer to see +what it was, it seemed proportionally to recede. The lady began to feel rather +unpleasantly. There was some pale white object certainly discernible before +her, and it appeared mysteriously to float along, at a regular distance, without +any effort at motion. Notwithstanding the lady's good sense and unusual +resolution, a cold chill began to come over her. She made every effort to resist +her fears, and soon succeeded in drawing nearer the mysterious object, when +she was appalled at beholding the features of her friend's child, cold in death, +wrapt in its shroud. She gazed earnestly, and there it remained distinct and +clear before her eyes. She considered it a premonition that her friend's child +was dead, and that she must hasten to her aid. But there was the apparition +directly in her path. She must pass it. Taking up a little stick, she forced +herself along to the object, and behold, some little animal scampered away. It +was this that her excited imagination had transformed into the corpse of an +infant in its winding sheet."</p></blockquote> + +<p>I was a little irritated, and once more interrupted the reader +warmly: "This is exasperating. Now what resemblance is there +between the vagaries of a hysterical, weak-minded woman, and +my case?"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 21]</span></p> + +<p>He smiled, and again read:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"The numerous stories told of ghosts, or the spirits of persons who are +dead, will in most instances be found to have originated in diseased imagination, +aggravated by some abnormal defect of mind. We may mention a +remarkable case in point, and one which is not mentioned in English works +on this subject; it is told by a compiler of Les Causes Célèbres. Two young +noblemen, the Marquises De Rambouillet and De Precy, belonging to two of +the first families of France, made an agreement, in the warmth of their +friendship, that the one who died first should return to the other with tidings +of the world to come. Soon afterwards De Rambouillet went to the wars in +Flanders, while De Precy remained at Paris, stricken by a fever. Lying alone +in bed, and severely ill, De Precy one day heard a rustling of his bed curtains, +and turning round, saw his friend De Rambouillet, in full military attire. The +sick man sprung over the bed to welcome his friend, but the other receded, and +said that he had come to fulfill his promise, having been killed on that very +day. He further said that it behooved De Precy to think more of the afterworld, +as all that was said of it was true, and as he himself would die in his +first battle. De Precy was then left by the phantom; and it was afterward +found that De Rambouillet had fallen on that day."</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Ah," I said, "and so the phantom predicted an event that +followed as indicated."</p> + +<p>"Spiritual illusions," explained the Professor, "are not +unusual, and well authenticated cases are not wanting in +which they have been induced in persons of intelligence by +functional or organic disorders. In the last case cited, the +prediction was followed by a fulfillment, but this was chance +or mere coincidence. It would be strange indeed if in the +multitude of dreams that come to humanity, some few should +not be followed by events so similar as to warrant the belief +that they were prefigured. But here is an illustration that +fits your case: let me read it:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"In some instances it may be difficult to decide whether spectral appearances +and spectral noises proceed from physical derangement or from an +overwrought state of mind. Want of exercise and amusement may also be a +prevailing cause. A friend mentions to us the following case: An acquaintance +of his, a merchant, in London, who had for years paid very close attention to +business, was one day, while alone in his counting house, very much surprised +to hear, as he imagined, persons outside the door talking freely about him. +Thinking it was some acquaintances who were playing off a trick, he opened +the door to request them to come in, when to his amazement, he found that +nobody was there. He again sat down to his desk, and in a few minutes the +same dialogue recommenced. The language was very alarming. One voice +seemed to say: 'We have the scoundrel in his own counting house; let us go +in and seize him.' 'Certainly,' replied the other voice, 'it is right to take him; +he has been guilty of a great crime, and ought to be brought to condign<span class="pagenum">[Pg 22]</span> +punishment.' Alarmed at these threats, the bewildered merchant rushed to the +door; and there again no person was to be seen. He now locked his door and +went home; but the voices, as he thought, followed him through the crowd, +and he arrived at his house in a most unenviable state of mind. Inclined to +ascribe the voices to derangement in mind, he sent for a medical attendant, and +told his case, and a certain kind of treatment was prescribed. This, however, +failed; the voices menacing him with punishment for purely imaginary crimes +continued, and he was reduced to the brink of despair. At length a friend +prescribed entire relaxation from business, and a daily game of cricket, which, +to his great relief, proved an effectual remedy. The exercise banished the +phantom voices, and they were no more heard."</p></blockquote> + +<p>"So you think that I am in need of out-door exercise?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly."</p> + +<p>"And that my experience was illusory, the result of vertigo, +or some temporary calenture of the brain?"</p> + +<p>"To be plain with you, yes."</p> + +<p>"But I asked you a while ago if specters or phantoms ever +leave tangible evidence of their presence." The Professor's eyes +dilated in interrogation. I continued: "Well, this one did. +After I had followed him out, I found on the table a long, white +hair, which I still have," and producing the little coil from my +pocket-book, I handed it to him. He examined it curiously, +eyed me furtively, and handed it back with the cautious remark:</p> + +<p>"I think you had better commence your exercise at once."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 23]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /> +<br /> +A SECOND INTERVIEW WITH THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR.</h2> + + +<p>It is not pleasant to have one's mental responsibility brought +in question, and the result of my interview with Professor +Chickering was, to put it mildly, unsatisfactory. Not that he +had exactly questioned my sanity, but it was all too evident that +he was disposed to accept my statement of a plain matter-of-fact +occurrence with a too liberal modicum of salt. I say "matter-of-fact +occurrence" in full knowledge of the truth that I myself +had at first regarded the whole transaction as a fantasia or flight +of mind, the result of extreme nervous tension; but in the +interval succeeding I had abundant opportunity to correlate my +thoughts, and to bring some sort of order out of the mental and +physical chaos of that strange, eventful night. True, the +preliminary events leading up to it were extraordinary; the +dismal weather, the depression of body and spirit under which +I labored, the wild whirl of thought keeping pace with the +elements—in short, a general concatenation of events that +seemed to be ordered especially for the introduction of some +abnormal visitor—the night would indeed have been incomplete +without a ghost! But was it a ghost? There was nothing +ghostly about my visitor, except the manner of his entrance and +exit. In other respects, he seemed substantial enough. He +was, in his manners, courteous and polished as a Chesterfield; +learned as a savant in his conversation; human in his thoughtful +regard of my fears and misgivings; but that tremendous +forehead, with its crown of silver hair, the long, translucent +beard of pearly whiteness, and above all the astounding facility +with which he read my hidden thoughts—these were not natural.</p> + +<p>The Professor had been patient with me—I had a right +to expect that; he was entertaining to the extent of reading +such excerpts as he had with him on the subject of hallucinations +and their supposed causes, but had he not spoiled all by<span class="pagenum">[Pg 24]</span> +assigning me at last to a place with the questionable, unbalanced +characters he had cited? I thought so, and the reflection +provoked me; and this thought grew upon me until I came to +regard his stories and attendant theories as so much literary +trash.</p> + +<p>My own reflections had been sober and deliberate, and had +led me to seek a rational explanation of the unusual phenomena. +I had gone to Professor Chickering for a certain measure of +sympathy, and what was more to the point, to secure his +suggestions and assistance in the further unraveling of a +profound mystery that might contain a secret of untold use to +humanity. Repulsed by the mode in which my confidence had +been received, I decided to do what I should have done from +the outset—to keep my own counsel, and to follow alone the +investigation to the end, no matter what the result might be. +I could not forget or ignore the silver hair I had so religiously +preserved. That was genuine; it was as tangible, as real, as +convincing a witness as would have been the entire head of my +singular visitant, whatever might be his nature.</p> + +<p>I began to feel at ease the moment my course was decided, +and the feeling was at once renewed within me that the gray +head would come again, and by degrees that expectation ripened +into a desire, only intensified as the days sped by. The weeks +passed into months; summer came and went; autumn was fast +fading, but the mysterious unknown did not appear. A curious +fancy led me now to regard him as my friend, for the mixed +and indefinite feelings I felt at first towards him had almost +unaccountably been changed to those of sincere regard. He +was not always in my thoughts, for I had abundant occupation +at all times to keep both brain and hands busy, but there were +few evenings in which I did not, just before retiring, give myself +up for a brief period to quiet communion with my own thoughts, +and I must confess at such times the unknown occupied the +larger share of attention. The constant contemplation of any +theme begets a feeling of familiarity or acquaintance with the +same, and if that subject be an individual, as in the present +instance, such contemplation lessens the liability to surprise from +any unexpected development. In fact, I not only anticipated a +visit, but courted it. The old Latin maxim that I had played<span class="pagenum">[Pg 25]</span> +with, "Never less alone than when alone" had domiciled itself +within my brain as a permanent lodger—a conviction, a feeling +rather than a thought defined, and I had but little difficulty in +associating an easy-chair which I had come to place in a certain +position for my expected visitor, with his presence.</p> + +<p>Indian summer had passed, and the fall was nearly gone +when for some inexplicable reason the number seven began to +haunt me. What had I to do with seven, or seven with me? +When I sat down at night this persistent number mixed itself in +my thoughts, to my intense annoyance. Bother take the mystic +numeral! What was I to do with seven? I found myself asking +this question audibly one evening, when it suddenly occurred to +me that I would refer to the date of my friend's visit. I kept no +journal, but reference to a record of some business transactions +that I had associated with that event showed that it took place +on November seventh. That settled the importunate seven! I +should look for whomever he was on the first anniversary of his +visit, which was the seventh, now close at hand. The instant I +had reached this conclusion the number left me, and troubled +me no more.</p> + +<p>November third had passed, the fourth, and the fifth had +come, when a stubborn, protesting notion entered my mind that +I was yielding to a superstitious idea, and that it was time to +control my vacillating will. Accordingly on this day I sent +word to a friend that, if agreeable to him, I would call on him +on the evening of the seventh for a short social chat, but as I +expected to be engaged until later than usual, would he excuse +me if I did not reach his apartments until ten? The request +was singular, but as I was now accounted somewhat odd, it +excited no comment, and the answer was returned, requesting +me to come. The seventh of November came at last. I was +nervous during the day, which seemed to drag tediously, +and several times it was remarked of me that I seemed +abstracted and ill at ease, but I held my peace. Night came +cold and clear, and the stars shone brighter than usual, I +thought. It was a sharp contrast to the night of a year ago. +I took an early supper, for which I had no appetite, after which +I strolled aimlessly about the streets, revolving how I should +put in the time till ten o'clock, when I was to call upon my<span class="pagenum">[Pg 26]</span> +friend. I decided to go to the theater, and to the theater I went. +The play was spectacular, "Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp." +The entertainment, to me, was a flat failure, for I was busy with +my thoughts, and it was not long until my thoughts were busy +with me, and I found myself attempting to answer a series of +questions that finally became embarrassing. "Why did you make +an appointment for ten o'clock instead of eight, if you wished +to keep away from your apartments?" I hadn't thought of that +before; it was stupid to a degree, if not ill-mannered, and I +frankly admitted as much. "Why did you make an appointment +at all, in the face of the fact that you not only expected a +visitor, but were anxious to meet him?" This was easily +answered: because I did not wish to yield to what struck me as +superstition. "But do you expect to extend your call until +morning?" Well, no, I hadn't thought or arranged to do so. +"Well, then, what is to prevent your expected guest from +awaiting your return? Or, what assurance have you that he +will not encounter you in the street, under circumstances that +will provoke or, at the least, embarrass you?" None whatever. +"Then what have you gained by your stupid perversity?" +Nothing, beyond the assertion of my own individuality. "Why +not go home and receive your guest in becoming style?" No; I +would not do that. I had started on this course, and I would +persevere in it. I would be consistent. And so I persisted, +at least until nine o'clock, when I quit the theater in sullen +dejection, and went home to make some slight preparation for +my evening call.</p> + +<p>With my latch-key I let myself into the front door of the +apartment house wherein I lodged, walked through the hall, up +the stair-case, and paused on the threshold of my room, wondering +what I would find inside. Opening the door I entered, leaving +it open behind me so that the light from the hall-way would shine +into the room, which was dark, and there was no transom above +the door. The grate fire had caked into a solid mass of charred +bituminous coal, which shed no illumination beyond a faint red +glow at the bottom, showing that it was barely alive, and no +more. I struck a match on the underside of the mantel shelf, +and as I lit the gas I heard the click of the door latch. I turned +instantly; the door had been gently closed by some unknown<span class="pagenum">[Pg 27]</span> +force if not by unseen hands, for there was no breath of air +stirring. This preternatural interference was not pleasant, for I +had hoped in the event of another visit from my friend, if friend +he was, that he would bring no uncanny or ghostly manifestation +to disturb me. I looked at the clock; the index pointed to half +past nine. I glanced about the room; it was orderly, everything +in proper position, even to the arm-chair that I had been wont to +place for my nondescript visitor. It was time to be going, so I +turned to the dressing case, brushed my hair, put on a clean scarf, +and moved towards the wash-stand, which stood in a little alcove +on the opposite side of the room. My self-command well-nigh +deserted me as I did so, for there, in the arm-chair that a moment +before was empty, sat my guest of a year ago, facing me with +placid features! The room began to revolve, a faint, sick feeling +came over me, and I reeled into the first convenient chair, and +covered my face with my hands. This depression lasted but an +instant, however, and as I recovered self-possession, I felt or +fancied I felt a pair of penetrating eyes fixed upon me with +the same mild, searching gaze I remembered so well. I ventured +to look up; sure enough, there they were, the beaming eyes, and +there was he! Rising from his chair, he towered up to his full +height, smiled pleasantly, and with a slight inclination of the +head, murmured: "Permit me to wish you good evening; I am +profoundly glad to meet you again."</p> + +<p>It was full a minute before I could muster courage to answer: +"I wish I could say as much for myself."</p> + +<p>"And why shouldn't you?" he said, gently and courteously; +"you have realized, for the past six months, that I would return; +more than that—you have known for some time the very day and +almost the exact hour of my coming, have even wished for it, +and, in the face of all this, I find you preparing to evade the +requirements of common hospitality;—are you doing either me +or yourself justice?"</p> + +<p>I was nettled at the knowledge he displayed of my movements, +and of my very thoughts; my old stubbornness asserted +itself, and I was rude enough to say: "Perhaps it is as you say; +at all events, I am obligated to keep an engagement, and with +your permission will now retire."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 28]</span></p> + +<p>It was curious to mark the effect of this speech upon the +intruder. He immediately became grave, reached quietly into an +inner pocket of his coat, drew thence the same glittering, horrible, +mysterious knife that had so terrified and bewildered me a year +before, and looking me steadily in the eye, said coldly, yet with a +certain tone of sadness: "Well, I will not grant permission. It +is unpleasant to resort to this style of argument, but I do it to +save time and controversy."</p> + +<p>I stepped back in terror, and reached for the old-fashioned +bell-cord, with the heavy tassel at the end, that depended from +the ceiling, and was on the point of grasping and giving it a +vigorous pull.</p> + +<p>"Not so fast, if you please," he said, sternly, as he stepped +forward, and gave the knife a rapid swish through the air above +my head, causing the cord to fall in a tangle about my hand, cut +cleanly, high above my reach!</p> + +<p>I gazed in dumb stupor at the rope about my hand, and raised +my eyes to the remnant above. That was motionless; there was +not the slightest perceptible vibration, such as would naturally +be expected. I turned to look at my guest; he had resumed +his seat, and had also regained his pleasant expression, but he +still held the knife in his hand with his arm extended, at rest, +upon the table, which stood upon his right.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 407px;"> +<img src="images/gs1009.jpg" width="407" height="600" alt="" title="THE SAME GLITTERING, MYSTERIOUS KNIFE." /> +<span class="caption">"THE SAME GLITTERING, MYSTERIOUS KNIFE."</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 30]</span></p> + +<p>"Let us have an end to this folly," he said; "think a moment, +and you will see that you are in fault. Your error we will rectify +easily, and then to business. I will first show you the futility of +trying to escape this interview, and then we will proceed to work, +for time presses, and there is much to do." Having delivered +this remark, he detached a single silvery hair from his head, blew +it from his fingers, and let it float gently upon the upturned edge +of the knife, which was still resting on the table. The hair was +divided as readily as had been the bell-cord. I was transfixed +with astonishment, for he had evidently aimed to exhibit the +quality of the blade, though he made no allusion to the feat, but +smilingly went on with his discourse: "It is just a year ago +to-night since we first met. Upon that occasion you made an +agreement with me which you are in honor bound to keep, +and"—here he paused as if to note the effect of his words upon +me, then added significantly—"will keep. I have been at some +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 31]</span>pains to impress upon your mind the fact that I would be here +to-night. You responded, and knew that I was coming, and yet +in obedience to a silly whim, deliberately made a meaningless +engagement with no other purpose than to violate a solemn +obligation. I now insist that you keep your prior engagement +with me, but I do not wish that you should be rude to your +friend, so you had better write him a polite note excusing yourself, +and dispatch it at once."</p> + +<p>I saw that he was right, and that there was no shadow of +justification for my conduct, or at least I was subdued by his +presence, so I wrote the note without delay, and was casting +about for some way to send it, when he said: "Fold it, seal it, +and address it; you seem to forget what is proper." I did as he +directed, mechanically, and, without thinking what I was doing, +handed it to him. He took it naturally, glanced at the superscription, +went to the door which he opened slightly, and handed +the billet as if to some messenger who seemed to be in waiting +outside,—then closed and locked the door. Turning toward me +with the apparent object of seeing if I was looking, he deftly +drew his knife twice across the front of the door-knob, making a +deep cross, and then deposited the knife in his pocket, and +resumed his seat.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> + + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> +I noted afterward that the door-knob, which was of solid metal, was +cut deeply, as though made of putty.</p></div> + +<p>As soon as he was comfortably seated, he again began the +conversation: "Now that we have settled the preliminaries, I +will ask if you remember what I required of you a year ago?" I +thought that I did. "Please repeat it; I wish to make sure that +you do, then we will start fair."</p> + +<p>"In the first place, you were to present me with a manuscript"—</p> + +<p>"Hardly correct," he interrupted; "I was to acquaint you +with a narrative which is already in manuscript, acquaint you +with it, read it to you, if you preferred not to read it to me"—</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon," I answered; "that is correct. You +were to read the manuscript to me, and during the reading I was +to interpose such comments, remarks, or objections, as seemed +proper; to embody as interludes, in the manuscript, as my own +interpolations, however, and not as part of the original."</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 32]</span></p> +<p>"Very good," he replied, "you have the idea exactly; proceed."</p> + +<p>"I agreed that when the reading had been completed, I would +seal the complete manuscript securely, deposit it in some safe +place, there to remain for thirty years, when it must be published."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1010.jpg" width="600" height="598" alt="" title="DREW HIS KNIFE TWICE ACROSS THE FRONT OF THE DOOR-KNOB." /> +<span class="caption">"DREW HIS KNIFE TWICE ACROSS THE FRONT OF THE DOOR-KNOB."</span> +</div> + +<p>"Just so," he answered; "we understand each other as we +should. Before we proceed further, however, can you think of +any point on which you need enlightenment? If so, ask such +questions as you choose, and I will answer them."</p> + +<p>I thought for a moment, but no query occurred to me; after a +pause he said: "Well, if you think of nothing now, perhaps +hereafter questions will occur to you which you can ask; but as +it is late, and you are tired, we will not commence now. I will<span class="pagenum">[Pg 33]</span> +see you just one week from to-night, when we will begin. From +that time on, we will follow the subject as rapidly as you choose, +but see to it that you make no engagements that will interfere +with our work, for I shall be more exacting in the future." I +promised, and he rose to go. A sudden impulse seized me, and I +said: "May I ask one question?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly."</p> + +<p>"What shall I call you?"</p> + +<p>"Why call me aught? It is not necessary in addressing each +other that any name be used."</p> + +<p>"But what are you?" I persisted.</p> + +<p>A pained expression for an instant rested upon his face, and +he said, sadly, pausing between the words: "I—Am—The—Man +Who—Did—It."</p> + +<p>"Did what?"</p> + +<p>"Ask not; the manuscript will tell you. Be content, Llewellyn, +and remember this, that I—Am—The—Man."</p> + +<p>So saying he bade me good night, opened the door, and +disappeared down the broad stair-case.</p> + +<p>One week thereafter he appeared promptly, seated himself, +and producing a roll of manuscript, handed it to me, saying, "I +am listening; you may begin to read."</p> + +<p>On examination I found each page to be somewhat larger +than a sheet of letter paper, with the written matter occupying +a much smaller space, so as to leave a wide white border. One +hundred pages were in the package. The last sentence ending +abruptly indicated that my guest did not expect to complete his +task in one evening, and, I may anticipate by saying that with +each successive interview he drew about the same amount of +writing from his bosom. Upon attempting to read the manuscript +I at first found myself puzzled by a style of chirography +very peculiar and characteristic, but execrably bad. Vainly did I +attempt to read it; even the opening sentence was not deciphered +without long inspection and great difficulty.</p> + +<p>The old man, whom I had promised that I would fulfill the +task, observing my discomfiture, relieved me of the charge, and +without a word of introduction, read fluently as follows:<span class="pagenum">[Pg 34]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE MANUSCRIPT OF I—AM—THE—MAN.</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /> +<br /> +A SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE.—THE ALCHEMISTIC LETTER.</h2> + + +<p>I am the man who, unfortunately for my future happiness, +was dissatisfied with such knowledge as could be derived from +ordinary books concerning semi-scientific subjects in which I had +long been absorbed. I studied the current works of my day +on philosophy and chemistry, hoping therein to find something +tangible regarding the relationship that exists between matter +and spirit, but studied in vain. Astronomy, history, philosophy +and the mysterious, incoherent works of alchemy and occultism +were finally appealed to, but likewise failed to satisfy me. These +studies were pursued in secret, though I am not aware that any +necessity existed for concealment. Be that as it may, at every +opportunity I covertly acquainted myself with such alchemical +lore as could be obtained either by purchase or by correspondence +with others whom I found to be pursuing investigations in the +same direction. A translation of Geber's "De Claritate Alchemiĉ," +by chance came into my possession, and afterwards an +original version from the Latin of Bœrhaave's "Elementa +Chemiĉ," published and translated in 1753 by Peter Shaw. +This magnificent production threw a flood of light upon the +early history of chemistry, being far more elaborate than any +modern work. It inspired me with the deepest regard for its +talented author, and ultimately introduced me to a brotherhood +of adepts, for in this publication, although its author disclaims +occultism, is to be found a talisman that will enable any earnest +searcher after light to become a member of the society of secret +"Chemical Improvers of Natural Philosophy," with which I +affiliated as soon as the key was discovered. Then followed +a systematic investigation of authorities of the Alchemical +School, including Geber, Morienus, Roger Bacon, George Ripley, +Raymond Lully, Bernard, Count of Trevise, Isaac Hollandus, +Arnoldus de la Villanova, Paracelsus, and others, not omitting +the learned researches of the distinguished scientist, Llewellyn.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 36]</span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 441px;"> +<img src="images/m1011.png" width="441" height="600" alt="" title="FAC-SIMILE OF PAGE OF MANUSCRIPT." /> +<span class="caption">FAC-SIMILE OF PAGE OF MANUSCRIPT.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 37]</span></p> + +<p>I discovered that many talented men are still firm believers in +the lost art of alchemy, and that among the followers of the +"thrice-famed Hermes" are to be found statesmen, clergymen, +lawyers, and scientific men who, for various reasons, invariably +conceal with great tact their connection with the fraternity of +adepts. Some of these men had written scientific treatises of +a very different character from those circulating among the +members of our brotherhood, and to their materialistic readers +it would seem scarcely possible that the authors could be +tainted with hallucinations of any description, while others, +conspicuous leaders in the church, were seemingly beyond +occult temptation.</p> + +<p>The larger number, it was evident, hoped by studies of the +works of the alchemists, to find the key to the alkahest of Van +Helmont, that is, to discover the Philosopher's Stone, or the +Elixir of Life, and from their writings it is plain that the inner +consciousness of thoughtful and scientific men rebelled against +confinement to the narrow bounds of materialistic science, within +which they were forced to appear as dogmatic pessimists. To +them scientific orthodoxy, acting as a weight, prohibited intellectual +speculation, as rank heresy. A few of my co-laborers +were expert manipulators, and worked experimentally, following +in their laboratories the suggestions of those gifted students who +had pored over precious old manuscripts, and had attempted to +solve the enigmatical formulas recorded therein, puzzles familiar +to students of Hermetic lore. It was thus demonstrated,—for +what I have related is history,—that in this nineteenth century +there exists a fraternity, the members of which are as earnest +in their belief in the truth of Esoteric philosophy, as were the +followers of Hermes himself; savants who, in secret, circulate +among themselves a literature that the materialism of this selfsame +nineteenth century has relegated to the deluded and murky +periods that produced it.</p> + +<p>One day a postal package came to my address, this being the +manner in which some of our literature circulated, which, on<span class="pagenum">[Pg 38]</span> +examination, I found to be a letter of instruction and advice +from some unknown member of our circle. I was already +becoming disheartened over the mental confusion into which +my studies were leading me, and the contents of the letter, in +which I was greatly interested, made a lasting impression upon +me. It seemed to have been circulating a long time among our +members in Europe and America, for it bore numerous marginal +notes of various dates, but each and every one of its readers had +for one reason or another declined the task therein suggested. +From the substance of the paper, which, written exquisitely, yet +partook of the ambiguous alchemistic style, it was evident that +the author was well versed in alchemy, and, in order that my +position may be clearly understood at this turning point in a life +of remarkable adventure, the letter is appended in full:</p> + +<blockquote><p>THE ALCHEMISTIC LETTER.</p> + +<p>TO THE BROTHER ADEPT WHO DARES TRY TO DISCOVER ZOROASTER'S CAVE, +OR THE PHILOSOPHER'S INTELLECTUAL ECHOES, BY MEANS OF WHICH +THEY COMMUNICATE TO ONE ANOTHER FROM THEIR CAVES.</p> + +<p>Know thou, that Hermes Trismegistus did not originate, but he gave to +our philosophy his name—the Hermetic Art. Evolved in a dim, mystic age, +before antiquity began, it endured through the slowly rolling cycles to be +bandied about by the ever-ready flippancy of nineteenth century students. It +has lived, because it is endowed with that quality which never dies—truth. +Modern philosophy, of which chemistry is but a fragment, draws its sustenance +from the prime facts which were revealed in ancient Egypt through Hermetic +thought, and fixed by the Hermetic stylus.</p> + +<p>"The Hermetic allegories," so various in interpretable susceptibility, led +subsequent thinkers into speculations and experimentations, which have +resulted profitably to the world. It is not strange that some of the followers +of Hermes, especially the more mercurial and imaginative, should have evolved +nebulous theories, no longer explainable, and involving recondite spiritual +considerations. Know thou that the ultimate on psycho-chemical investigation +is the proximate of the infinite. Accordingly, a class came to believe that a +projection of natural mental faculties into an advanced state of consciousness +called the "wisdom faculty" constitutes the final possibility of Alchemy. The +attainment of this exalted condition is still believed practicable by many +earnest savants. Once on this lofty plane, the individual would not be trammelled +by material obstacles, but would abide in that spiritual placidity which +is the exquisite realization of mortal perfection. So exalted, he would be in +naked parallelism with Omniscience, and through his illuminated understanding, +could feast his soul on those exalted pleasures which are only less than +deific.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the exploitings of a number of these philosophers, in +which, by reason of our inability to comprehend, sense seemed lost in a passage<span class="pagenum">[Pg 39]</span> +of incohesive dreamery and resonancy of terminology, some of the purest +spiritual researches the world has ever known, were made in the dawn of +history. The much abused alchemical philosophers existed upon a plane, in +some respects above the level of the science of to-day. Many of them lived +for the good of the world only, in an atmosphere above the materialistic +hordes that people the world, and toiling over their crucibles and alembics, +died in their cells "uttering no voice." Take, for example, Eirenĉus Philalethes, +who, born in 1623, lived contemporaneously with Robert Boyle. A fragment +from his writings will illustrate the purpose which impelled the searcher for +the true light of alchemy to record his discoveries in allegories, and we have +no right to question the honesty of his utterances:</p> + +<p>"The Searcher of all hearts knows that I write the truth; nor is there any +cause to accuse me of envy. I write with an unterrified quill in an unheard of +style, to the honor of God, to the profit of my neighbors, with contempt of the +world and its riches, because Elias, the artist, is already born, and now glorious +things are declared of the city of God. I dare affirm that I do possess more +riches than the whole known world is worth, but I can not make use of it +because of the snares of knaves. I disdain, loathe, and detest the idolizing of +silver and gold, by which the pomps and vanities of the world are celebrated. +Ah! filthy evil! Ah! vain nothingness! Believe ye that I conceal the art out +of envy? No, verily, I protest to you; I grieve from the very bottom of my +soul that we (alchemists) are driven like vagabonds from the face of the Lord +throughout the earth. But what need of many words? The thing that we +have seen, taught, and made, which we have, possess, and know, that we do +declare; being moved with compassion for the studious, and with indignation +of gold, silver, and precious stones. Believe me, the time is at the door, I feel +it in spirit, when we, adeptists, shall return from the four corners of the earth, +nor shall we fear any snares that are laid against our lives, but we shall give +thanks to the Lord our God. I would to God that every ingenious man in the +whole earth understood this science; then it would be valued only for its +wisdom, and virtue only would be had in honor."</p> + +<p>Of course there was a more worldly class, and a large contingent of mercenary +impostors (as science is always encumbered), parasites, whose animus +was shamefully unlike the purity of true esoteric psychologists. These men +devoted their lives to experimentation for selfish advancement. They constructed +alchemical outfits, and carried on a ceaseless inquiry into the nature +of solvents, and studied their influences on earthly bodies, their ultimate +object being the discovery of the Philosopher's Stone, and the alkahest which +Bœhaave asserts was never discovered. Their records were often a verbose +melange, purposely so written, no doubt, to cover their tracks, and to make +themselves conspicuous. Other Hermetic believers occupied a more elevated +position, and connected the intellectual with the material, hoping to gain by +their philosophy and science not only gold and silver, which were secondary +considerations, but the highest literary achievement, the Magnum Opus. +Others still sought to draw from Astrology and Magic the secrets that would +lead them to their ambitious goal. Thus there were degrees of fineness in a +fraternity, which the science of to-day must recognize and admit.</p> + +<p>Bœrhaave, the illustrious, respected Geber, of the alchemistic school, and +none need feel compromised in admiring the talented alchemists who, like<span class="pagenum">[Pg 40]</span> +Geber, wrought in the twilight of morn for the coming world's good. We are +now enjoying a fragment of the ultimate results of their genius and industry +in the materialistic outcomes of present-day chemistry, to be followed by +others more valuable; and at last, when mankind is ripe in the wisdom faculty, +by spiritual contentment in the complacent furtherings beyond. Allow me +briefly to refer to a few men of the alchemistic type whose records may be +considered with advantage.</p> + +<p>Rhasis, a conspicuous alchemist, born in 850, first mentioned orpiment, +borax, compounds of iron, copper, arsenic, and other similar substances. It is +said, too, that he discovered the art of making brandy. About a century later, +Alfarabe (killed in 950), a great alchemist, astonished the King of Syria with +his profound learning, and excited the admiration of the wise men of the East +by his varied accomplishments. Later, Albertus Magnus (born 1205), noted for +his talent and skill, believed firmly in the doctrine of transmutation. His +beloved pupil, Thomas Aquinas, gave us the word amalgam, and it still serves +us. Contemporaneously with these lived Roger Bacon (born 1214), who was a +man of most extraordinary ability. There has never been a greater English +intellect (not excepting his illustrious namesake, Lord Bacon), and his penetrating +mind delved deeper into nature's laws than that of any successor. +He told us of facts concerning the sciences, that scientific men can not fully +comprehend to-day; he told us of other things that lie beyond the science +provings of to-day, that modern philosophers can not grasp. He was an +enthusiastic believer in the Hermetic philosophy, and such were his erudition +and advanced views, that his brother friars, through jealousy and superstition, +had him thrown into prison—a common fate to men who in those days dared +to think ahead of their age. Despite (as some would say) of his mighty +reasoning power and splendid attainments, he believed the Philosopher's +Stone to be a reality; he believed the secret of indefinite prolongation of life +abode in alchemy; that the future could be predicted by means of a mirror +which he called Almuchese, and that by alchemy an adept could produce pure +gold. He asserted that by means of Aristotle's "Secret of Secrets," pure gold +can be made; gold even purer and finer than what men now know as gold. In +connection with other predictions he made an assertion that may with other +seemingly unreasonable predictions be verified in time to come. He said: "It +is equally possible to construct cars which may be set in motion with marvelous +rapidity, independently of horses or other animals." He declared that the +ancients had done this, and he believed the art might be revived.</p> + +<p>Following came various enthusiasts, such as Raymond, the ephemeral +(died 1315), who flared like a meteor into his brief, brilliant career; Arnold de +Villanova (1240), a celebrated adept, whose books were burned by the Inquisition +on account of the heresy they taught; Nicholas Flamel, of France (1350), +loved by the people for his charities, the wonder of his age (our age will not +admit the facts) on account of the vast fortune he amassed without visible +means or income, outside of alchemical lore; Johannes de Rupecissus, a man +of such remarkable daring that he even (1357) reprimanded Pope Innocent VI., +for which he was promptly imprisoned; Basil Valentine (1410), the author of +many works, and the man who introduced antimony (antimonaches) into +medicine; Isaac of Holland who, with his son, skillfully made artificial gems +that could not be distinguished from the natural; Bernard Trevison (born<span class="pagenum">[Pg 41]</span> +1406), who spent $30,000 in the study of alchemy, out of much of which he was +cheated by cruel alchemic pretenders, for even in that day there were plenty of +rogues to counterfeit a good thing. Under stress of his strong alchemic +convictions, Thomas Dalton placed his head on the block by order of the +virtuous (?) and conservative Thomas Herbert, 'squire to King Edward; Jacob +Bohme (born 1575), the sweet, pure spirit of Christian mysticism, "The Voice +of Heaven," than whom none stood higher in true alchemy, was a Christian, +alchemist, theosophist; Robert Boyle, a conspicuous alchemical philosopher, +in 1662 published his "Defense of the Doctrine touching the Spring and +Weight of the Air," and illustrated his arguments by a series of ingenious +and beautiful experiments, that stand to-day so high in the estimation of +scientific men, that his remarks are copied verbatim by our highest authorities, +and his apparatus is the best yet devised for the purpose. Boyle's "Law" was +evolved and carefully defined fourteen years before Mariotte's "Discours de la +Nature de l'Air" appeared, which did not, however, prevent French and +German scientific men from giving the credit to Mariotte, and they still +follow the false teacher who boldly pirated not only Boyle's ideas, but stole +his apparatus.</p> + +<p>Then appeared such men as Paracelsus (born 1493), the celebrated physician, +who taught that occultism (esoteric philosophy) was superior to experimental +chemistry in enlightening us concerning the transmutation of baser +metals into gold and silver; and Gueppo Francisco (born 1627), who wrote a +beautiful treatise on "Elementary Spirits," which was copied without credit by +Compte de Gabalis. It seems incredible that the man (Gueppo Francisco), +whose sweet spirit-thoughts are revivified and breathe anew in "Undine" and +"The Rape of the Lock," should have been thrown into a prison to perish as +a Hermetic follower; and this should teach us not to question the earnestness +of those who left us as a legacy the beauty and truth so abundantly found in +pure alchemy.</p> + +<p>These and many others, cotemporaries, some conspicuous, and others +whose names do not shine in written history, contributed incalculably to the +grand aggregate of knowledge concerning the divine secret which enriched +the world. Compare the benefits of Hermetic philosophy with the result of +bloody wars ambitiously waged by self-exacting tyrants—tyrants whom history +applauds as heroes, but whom we consider as butchers. Among the workers in +alchemy are enumerated nobles, kings, and even popes. Pope John XXII. was +an alchemist, which accounts for his bull against impostors, promulgated in +order that true students might not be discredited; and King Frederick of +Naples sanctioned the art, and protected its devotees.</p> + +<p>At last, Count Cagliostro, the chequered "Joseph Balsamo" (born 1743), +who combined alchemy, magic, astrology, sleight of hand, mesmerism, Free +Masonry, and remarkable personal accomplishments, that altogether have +never since been equalled, burst upon the world. Focusing the gaze of +the church, kings, and the commons upon himself, in many respects the +most audacious pretender that history records, he raised the Hermetic art to a +dazzling height, and finally buried it in a blaze of splendor as he passed from +existence beneath a mantle of shame. As a meteor streams into view from out +the star mists of space, and in corruscating glory sinks into the sea, Cagliostro +blazed into the sky of the eighteenth century, from the nebulĉ of alchemistic<span class="pagenum">[Pg 42]</span> +speculation, and extinguished both himself and his science in the light of the +rising sun of materialism. Cagliostro the visionary, the poet, the inspired, the +erratic comet in the universe of intellect, perished in prison as a mountebank, +and then the plodding chemist of to-day, with his tedious mechanical methods, +and cold, unresponsive, materialistic dogmas, arose from the ashes, and sprang +into prominence.</p> + +<p>Read the story backward, and you shall see that in alchemy we behold the +beginning of all the sciences of to-day; alchemy is the cradle that rocked +them. Fostered with necromancy, astrology, occultism, and all the progeny of +mystic dreamery, the infant sciences struggled for existence through the dark +ages, in care of the once persecuted and now traduced alchemist. The world +owes a monument to-day more to Hermetic heroes, than to all other influences +and instrumentalities, religion excepted, combined, for our present civilization +is largely a legacy from the alchemist. Begin with Hermes Trismegistus, and +close with Joseph Balsamo, and if you are inclined towards science, do not +criticise too severely their verbal logorrhea, and their romanticism, for your +science is treading backward; it will encroach upon their field again, and you +may have to unsay your words of hasty censure. These men fulfilled their +mission, and did it well. If they told more than men now think they knew, +they also knew more than they told, and more than modern philosophy +embraces. They could not live to see all the future they eagerly hoped for, +but they started a future for mankind that will far exceed in sweetness and +light the most entrancing visions of their most imaginative dreamers. They +spoke of the existence of a "red elixir," and while they wrote, the barbarous +world about them ran red with blood,—blood of the pure in heart, blood of the +saints, blood of a Saviour; and their allegory and wisdom formulĉ were +recorded in blood of their own sacrifices. They dreamed of a "white elixir" +that is yet to bless mankind, and a brighter day for man, a period of peace, +happiness, long life, contentment, good will and brotherly love, and in the +name of this "white elixir" they directed the world towards a vision of divine +light. Even pure gold, as they told the materialistic world who worship gold, +was penetrated and whelmed by this subtle, superlatively refined spirit of +matter. Is not the day of the allegorical "white elixir" nearly at hand? +Would that it were!</p> + +<p>I say to you now, brothers of the eighteenth century, as one speaking by +authority to you, cease (some of you) to study this entrancing past, look to the +future by grasping the present, cast aside (some of you) the alchemical lore of +other days, give up your loved allegories; it is a duty, you must relinquish +them. There is a richer field. Do not delay. Unlock this mystic door that +stands hinged and ready, waiting the touch of men who can interpret the +talisman; place before mankind the knowledge that lies behind its rivets. +In the secret lodges that have preserved the wisdom of the days of Enoch and +Elias of Egypt, who propagated the Egyptian Order, a branch of your ancient +brotherhood, is to be found concealed much knowledge that should now be +spread before the world, and added to the treasures of our circle of adepts. +This cabalistic wisdom is not recorded in books nor in manuscript, but has +been purposely preserved from the uninitiated, in the unreadable brains of +unresponsive men. Those who are selected to act as carriers thereof, are, as a +rule, like dumb water bearers, or the dead sheet of paper that mechanically<span class="pagenum">[Pg 43]</span> +preserves an inspiration derived from minds unseen: they serve a purpose as a +child mechanically commits to memory a blank verse to repeat to others, who +in turn commit to repeat again—neither of them speaking understandingly. +Search ye these hidden paths, for the day of mental liberation approaches, and +publish to the world all that is locked within the doors of that antiquated +organization. The world is nearly ripe for the wisdom faculty, and men are +ready to unravel the golden threads that mystic wisdom has inwoven in her +web of secret knowledge. Look for knowledge where I have indicated, and +to gain it do not hesitate to swear allegiance to this sacred order, for so you +must do to gain entrance to the brotherhood, and then you must act what men +will call the traitor. You will, however, be doing a sacred duty, for the world +will profit, humanity will be the gainer, "Peace on Earth, Good Will to Man," +will be closer to mankind, and at last, when the sign appears, the "white elixir" +will no longer be allegorical; it will become a reality. In the name of the +Great Mystic Vase-Man, go thou into these lodges, learn of their secrets, and +spread their treasures before those who can interpret them.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Here this letter ended. It was evident that the writer +referred to a secret society into which I could probably enter; +and taking the advice, I did not hesitate, but applied at once +for membership. I determined, regardless of consequence, to +follow the suggestion of the unknown writer, and by so doing, +for I accepted their pledges, I invited my destiny.</p> + +<p>My guest of the massive forehead paused for a moment, +stroked his long, white beard, and then, after casting an inquiring +glance on me, asked, "Shall I read on?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I replied, and The—Man—Who—Did—It, proceeded +as follows:<span class="pagenum">[Pg 44]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /> +<br /> +THE WRITING OF MY CONFESSION.</h2> + + +<p>Having become a member of the Secret Society as directed +by the writer of the letter I have just read, and having obtained +the secrets hinted at in the mystic directions, my next desire +was to find a secluded spot where, without interruption, I could +prepare for publication what I had gathered surreptitiously in the +lodges of the fraternity I designed to betray. This I entitled +"My Confession." Alas! why did my evil genius prompt me to +write it? Why did not some kind angel withhold my hand +from the rash and wicked deed? All I can urge in defense or +palliation is that I was infatuated by the fatal words of the +letter, "You must act what men will call the traitor, but humanity +will be the gainer."</p> + +<p>In a section of the state in which I resided, a certain +creek forms the boundary line between two townships, and also +between two counties. Crossing this creek, a much traveled +road stretches east and west, uniting the extremes of the great +state. Two villages on this road, about four miles apart, situated +on opposite sides of the creek, also present themselves to my +memory, and midway between them, on the north side of the +road, was a substantial farm house. In going west from the +easternmost of these villages, the traveler begins to descend +from the very center of the town. In no place is the grade +steep, as the road lies between the spurs of the hill abutting +upon the valley that feeds the creek I have mentioned. Having +reached the valley, the road winds a short distance to the +right, then turning to the left, crosses the stream, and immediately +begins to climb the western hill; here the ascent is +more difficult, for the road lies diagonally over the edge of the +hill. A mile of travel, as I recall the scene, sometimes up a +steep, and again among rich, level farm lands, and then on the +very height, close to the road, within a few feet of it, appears<span class="pagenum">[Pg 45]</span> +the square structure which was, at the time I mention, known +as the Stone Tavern. On the opposite side of the road were +located extensive stables, and a grain barn. In the northeast +chamber of that stone building, during a summer in the twenties, +I wrote for publication the description of the mystic work +that my oath should have made forever a secret, a sacred trust. +I am the man who wantonly committed the deplorable act. +Under the infatuation of that alchemical manuscript, I strove +to show the world that I could and would do that which might +never benefit me in the least, but might serve humanity. It +was fate. I was not a bad man, neither malignity, avarice, +nor ambition forming a part of my nature. I was a close +student, of a rather retiring disposition, a stone-mason by trade, +careless and indifferent to public honors, and so thriftless that +many trifling neighborhood debts had accumulated against me.</p> + +<p>What I have reluctantly told, for I am forbidden to give the +names of the localities, comprises an abstract of part of the +record of my early life, and will introduce the extraordinary +narrative which follows. That I have spoken the truth, and in +no manner overdrawn, will be silently evidenced by hundreds +of brethren, both of the occult society and the fraternal brotherhood, +with which I united, who can (if they will) testify to the +accuracy of the narrative. They know the story of my crime +and disgrace; only myself and God know the full retribution +that followed.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 46]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /> +<br /> +KIDNAPPED.</h2> + + +<p>The events just narrated occurred in the prime of my life, and +are partly matters of publicity. My attempted breach of faith in +the way of disclosing their secrets was naturally infamous in the +eyes of my society brethren, who endeavored to prevail upon me +to relent of my design which, after writing my "Confession," I +made no endeavor to conceal. Their importunities and threatenings +had generally been resisted, however, and with an obliquity +that can not be easily explained, I persisted in my unreasonable +design. I was blessed as a husband and father, but neither the +thought of home, wife, nor child, checked me in my inexplicable +course. I was certainly irresponsible, perhaps a monomaniac, +and yet on the subject in which I was absorbed, I preserved my +mental equipoise, and knowingly followed a course that finally +brought me into the deepest slough of trouble, and lost to me +forever all that man loves most dearly. An overruling spirit, +perhaps the shade of one of the old alchemists, possessed me, +and in the face of obstacles that would have caused most men +to reflect, and retrace their steps, I madly rushed onward. The +influence that impelled me, whatever it may have been, was irresistible. +I apparently acted the part of agent, subject to an +ever-present master essence, and under this dominating spirit +or demon my mind was powerless in its subjection. My soul +was driven imperiously by that impelling and indescribable +something, and was as passive and irresponsible as lycopodium +that is borne onward in a steady current of air. Methods were +vainly sought by those who loved me, brethren of the lodge, and +others who endeavored to induce me to change my headstrong +purpose, but I could neither accept their counsels nor heed their +forebodings. Summons by law were served on me in order +to disconcert me, and my numerous small debts became the +pretext for legal warrants, until at last all my papers (excepting<span class="pagenum">[Pg 47]</span> +my "Confession"), and my person also, were seized, upon an execution +served by a constable. Minor claims were quickly satisfied, +but when I regained my liberty, the aggression continued. Even +arson was resorted to, and the printing office that held my manuscript +was fired one night, that the obnoxious revelation which I +persisted in putting into print, might be destroyed. Finally I +found myself separated by process of law from home and friends, +an inmate of a jail. My opponents, as I now came to consider +them, had confined me in prison for a debt of only two dollars, +a sufficient amount at that time, in that state, for my incarceration. +Smarting under the humiliation, my spirit became still +more rebellious, and I now, perhaps justly, came to view myself +as a martyr. It had been at first asserted that I had stolen a +shirt, but I was not afraid of any penalty that could be laid on +me for this trumped-up charge, believing that the imputation +and the arrest would be shown to be designed as willful oppression. +Therefore it was, that when this contemptible arraignment +had been swept aside, and I was freed before a Justice of the +Peace, I experienced more than a little surprise at a rearrest, +and at finding myself again thrown into jail. I knew that it +had been decreed by my brethren that I must retract and destroy +my "Confession," and this fact made me the more determined to +prevent its destruction, and I persisted sullenly in pursuing my +course. On the evening of August 12th, 1826, my jailer's wife +informed me that the debt for which I had been incarcerated had +been paid by unknown "friends," and that I could depart; and I +accepted the statement without question. Upon my stepping +from the door of the jail, however, my arms were firmly grasped +by two persons, one on each side of me, and before I could realize +the fact that I was being kidnapped, I was thrust into a closed +coach, which immediately rolled away, but not until I made an +outcry which, if heard by anyone, was unheeded.</p> + +<p>"For your own sake, be quiet," said one of my companions +in confinement, for the carriage was draped to exclude the light, +and was as dark as a dungeon. My spirit rebelled; I felt that I +was on the brink of a remarkable, perhaps perilous experience, +and I indignantly replied by asking:</p> + +<p>"What have I done that you should presume forcibly to +imprison me? Am I not a freeman of America?"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 48]</span></p> + +<p>"What have you done?" he answered. "Have you not bound +yourself by a series of vows that are sacred and should be +inviolable, and have you not broken them as no other man has +done before you? Have you not betrayed your trust, and +merited a severe judgment? Did you not voluntarily ask +admission into our ancient brotherhood, and in good faith +were you not initiated into our sacred mysteries? Did you +not obligate yourself before man, and on your sacred honor +promise to preserve our secrets?"</p> + +<p>"I did," I replied; "but previously I had sworn before a +higher tribunal to scatter this precious wisdom to the world."</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, "and you know full well the depth of the +self-sought solemn oath that you took with us—more solemn +than that prescribed by any open court on earth."</p> + +<p>"This I do not deny," I said, "and yet I am glad that I accomplished +my object, even though you have now, as is evident, the +power to pronounce my sentence."</p> + +<p>"You should look for the death sentence," was the reply, "but +it has been ordained instead that you are to be given a lengthened +life. You should expect bodily destruction; but on the contrary, +you will pass on in consciousness of earth and earthly concerns +when we are gone. Your name will be known to all lands, and +yet from this time you will be unknown. For the welfare of +future humanity, you will be thrust to a height in our order that +will annihilate you as a mortal being, and yet you will exist, +suspended between life and death, and in that intermediate state +will know that you exist. You have, as you confess, merited a +severe punishment, but we can only punish in accordance with +an unwritten law, that instructs the person punished, and elevates +the human race in consequence. You stand alone among mortals +in that you have openly attempted to give broadly to those who +have not earned it, our most sacred property, a property that did +not belong to you, property that you have only been permitted +to handle, that has been handed from man to man from before +the time of Solomon, and which belongs to no one man, and will +continue to pass in this way from one to another, as a hallowed +trust, until there are no men, as men now exist, to receive it. +You will soon go into the shadows of darkness, and will learn +many of the mysteries of life, the undeveloped mysteries that<span class="pagenum">[Pg 49]</span> +are withheld from your fellows, but which you, who have been +so presumptuous and anxious for knowledge, are destined to +possess and solve. You will find secrets that man, as man is +now constituted, can not yet discover, and yet which the future +man must gain and be instructed in. As you have sowed, so +shall you reap. You wished to become a distributor of knowledge; +you shall now by bodily trial and mental suffering obtain +unsought knowledge to distribute, and in time to come you will +be commanded to make your discoveries known. As your pathway +is surely laid out, so must you walk. It is ordained; to rebel +is useless."</p> + +<p>"Who has pronounced this sentence?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"A judge, neither of heaven nor of earth."</p> + +<p>"You speak in enigmas."</p> + +<p>"No; I speak openly, and the truth. Our brotherhood is +linked with the past, and clasps hands with the antediluvians; +the flood scattered the races of earth, but did not disturb our +secrets. The great love of wisdom has from generation to +generation led selected members of our organization to depths +of study that our open work does not touch upon, and behind +our highest officers there stand, in the occult shades between +the here and the hereafter, unknown and unseen agents who +are initiated into secrets above and beyond those known to the +ordinary craft. Those who are introduced into these inner +recesses acquire superhuman conceptions, and do not give an +open sign of fellowship; they need no talisman. They walk +our streets possessed of powers unknown to men, they concern +themselves as mortals in the affairs of men, and even their brethren +of the initiated, open order are unaware of their exalted +condition. The means by which they have been instructed, their +several individualities as well, have been concealed, because +publicity would destroy their value, and injure humanity's cause."</p> + +<p>Silence followed these vague disclosures, and the carriage +rolled on. I was mystified and alarmed, and yet I knew that, +whatever might be the end of this nocturnal ride, I had invited +it—yes, merited it—and I steeled myself to hear the sentence of +my judges, in whose hands I was powerless. The persons on +the seat opposite me continued their conversation in low tones, +audible only to themselves. An individual by my side neither<span class="pagenum">[Pg 50]</span> +moved nor spoke. There were four of us in the carriage, as I +learned intuitively, although we were surrounded by utter darkness. +At length I addressed the companion beside me, for the +silence was unbearable. Friend or enemy though he might be, +anything rather than this long silence. "How long shall we +continue in this carriage?"</p> + +<p>He made no reply.</p> + +<p>After a time I again spoke.</p> + +<p>"Can you not tell me, comrade, how long our journey will +last? When shall we reach our destination?"</p> + +<p>Silence only.</p> + +<p>Putting out my hand, I ventured to touch my mate, and +found that he was tightly strapped,—bound upright to the seat +and the back of the carriage. Leather thongs held him firmly +in position; and as I pondered over the mystery, I thought to +myself, if I make a disturbance, they will not hesitate to manacle +me as securely. My custodians seemed, however, not to exercise +a guard over me, and yet I felt that they were certain of my +inability to escape. If the man on the seat was a prisoner, why +was he so reticent? Why did he not answer my questions? I +came to the conclusion that he must be gagged as well as bound. +Then I determined to find out if this were so. I began to realize +more forcibly that a terrible sentence must have been meted me, +and I half hoped that I could get from my partner in captivity +some information regarding our destination. Sliding my hand +cautiously along his chest, and under his chin, I intended to +remove the gag from his mouth, when I felt my flesh creep, for +it came in contact with the cold, rigid flesh of a corpse. The +man was dead, and stiff.</p> + +<p>The shock unnerved me. I had begun to experience the +results of a severe mental strain, partly induced by the recent +imprisonment and extended previous persecution, and partly +by the mysterious significance of the language in which I had +recently been addressed. The sentence, "You will now go into +the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and learn the mysteries of +life," kept ringing through my head, and even then I sat beside +a corpse. After this discovery I remained for a time in a semi-stupor, +in a state of profound dejection,—how long I can not say. +Then I experienced an inexplicable change, such as I imagine<span class="pagenum">[Pg 51]</span> +comes over a condemned man without hope of reprieve, and +I became unconcerned as a man might who had accepted his +destiny, and stoically determined to await it. Perhaps moments +passed, it may have been hours, and then indifference gave place +to reviving curiosity. I realized that I could die only once, and +I coolly and complacently revolved the matter, speculating over +my possible fate. As I look back on the night in which I rode +beside that dead man, facing the mysterious agents of an all-powerful +judge, I marvel over a mental condition that permitted +me finally to rest in peace, and slumber in unconcern. So I did, +however, and after a period, the length of which I am not able +to estimate, I awoke, and soon thereafter the carriage stopped, +and our horses were changed, after which our journey was +resumed, to continue hour after hour, and at last I slept again, +leaning back in the corner. Suddenly I was violently shaken +from slumber, and commanded to alight. It was in the gray of +morning, and before I could realize what was happening, I was +transferred by my captors to another carriage, and the dead man +also was rudely hustled along and thrust beside me, my companions +speaking to him as though he were alive. Indeed, as I look +back on these maneuvers, I perceive that, to all appearances, +I was one of the abducting party, and our actions were really +such as to induce an observer to believe that this dead man +was an obstinate prisoner, and myself one of his official guards. +The drivers of the carriages seemed to give us no attention, but +they sat upright and unconcerned, and certainly neither of them +interested himself in our transfer. The second carriage, like that +other previously described, was securely closed, and our journey +was continued. The darkness was as of a dungeon. It may +have been days, I could not tell anything about the passage of +time; on and on we rode. Occasionally food and drink were +handed in, but my captors held to their course, and at last I was +taken from the vehicle, and transferred to a block-house.</p> + +<p>I had been carried rapidly and in secret a hundred or more +miles, perhaps into another state, and probably all traces of my +journey were effectually lost to outsiders. I was in the hands of +men who implicitly obeyed the orders of their superiors, masters +whom they had never seen, and probably did not know. I needed +no reminder of the fact that I had violated every sacred pledge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +voluntarily made to the craft, and now that they held me powerless, +I well knew that, whatever the punishment assigned, I had +invited it, and could not prevent its fulfillment. That it would +be severe, I realized; that it would not be in accordance with +ordinary human law, I accepted.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1012.jpg" width="600" height="445" alt="" title="I WAS TAKEN FROM THE VEHICLE, AND TRANSFERRED TO A BLOCK-HOUSE." /> +<span class="caption">"I WAS TAKEN FROM THE VEHICLE, AND TRANSFERRED TO A BLOCK-HOUSE."</span> +</div> + +<p>Had I not in secret, in my little room in that obscure Stone +Tavern, engrossed on paper the mystic sentences that never +before had been penned, and were unknown excepting to persons +initiated into our sacred mysteries? Had I not previously, +in the most solemn manner, before these words had been imparted +to my keeping, sworn to keep them inviolate and secret? and +had I not deliberately broken that sacred vow, and scattered the +hoarded sentences broadcast? My part as a brother in this +fraternal organization was that of the holder only of property +that belonged to no man, that had been handed from one to +another through the ages, sacredly cherished, and faithfully +protected by men of many tongues, always considered a trust,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 53]</span> +a charge of honor, and never before betrayed. My crime was +deep and dark. I shuddered.</p> + +<p>"Come what may," I mused, reflecting over my perfidy, "I +am ready for the penalty, and my fate is deserved; it can not but +be a righteous one."</p> + +<p>The words of the occupant of the carriage occurred to me +again and again; that one sentence kept ringing in my brain; I +could not dismiss it: "You have been tried, convicted, and we +are of those appointed to carry out the sentence of the judges."</p> + +<p>The black silence of my lonely cell beat against me; I could +feel the absence of sound, I could feel the dismal weight of +nothingness, and in my solitude and distraction I cried out in +anguish to the invisible judge: "I am ready for my sentence, +whether it be death or imprisonment for life"; and still the +further words of the occupant of the carriage passed through +my mind: "You will now go into the Valley of the Shadow of +Death, and will learn the mysteries of Life."</p> + +<p>Then I slept, to awake and sleep again. I kept no note +of time; it may have been days or weeks, so far as my record +could determine. An attendant came at intervals to minister to +my wants, always masked completely, ever silent.</p> + +<p>That I was not entirely separated from mankind, however, I +felt assured, for occasionally sounds of voices came to me from +without. Once I ventured to shout aloud, hoping to attract +attention; but the persons whom I felt assured overheard me, +paid no attention to my lonely cry. At last one night, my door +opened abruptly, and three men entered.</p> + +<p>"Do not fear," said their spokesman, "we aim to protect you; +keep still, and soon you will be a free man."</p> + +<p>I consented quietly to accompany them, for to refuse would +have been in vain; and I was conducted to a boat, which I found +contained a corpse—the one I had journeyed with, I suppose—and +embarking, we were silently rowed to the middle of the river, +our course being diagonally from the shore, and the dead man +was thrown overboard. Then our boat returned to the desolate +bank.</p> + +<p>Thrusting me into a carriage, that, on our return to the river +bank we found awaiting us, my captors gave a signal, and I was +driven away in the darkness, as silently as before, and our journey<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +was continued I believe for fully two days. I was again confined +in another log cabin, with but one door, and destitute of windows. +My attendants were masked, they neither spoke to me as they +day after day supplied my wants, nor did they give me the least +information on any subject, until at last I abandoned all hope of +ever regaining my liberty.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1013.jpg" width="600" height="237" alt="" title="THE DEAD MAN WAS THROWN OVERBOARD." /> +<span class="caption">"THE DEAD MAN WAS THROWN OVERBOARD."</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 55]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /> +<br /> +A WILD NIGHT.—I AM PREMATURELY AGED.</h2> + + +<p>In the depths of night I was awakened by a noise made by +the opening of a door, and one by one seven masked figures +silently stalked into my prison. Each bore a lighted torch, and +they passed me as I lay on the floor in my clothes (for I had +no bedding), and ranged themselves in a line. I arose, and +seated myself as directed to do, upon the only stool in the room. +Swinging into a semi-circle, the weird line wound about me, and +from the one seat on which I rested in the center of the room, +I gazed successively upon seven pairs of gleaming eyes, each +pair directed at myself; and as I turned from one to another, +the black cowl of each deepened into darkness, and grew more +hideous.</p> + +<p>"Men or devils," I cried, "do your worst! Make me, if such +is your will, as that sunken corpse beside which I was once +seated; but cease your persecutions. I have atoned for my +indiscretions a thousand fold, and this suspense is unbearable; +I demand to know what is to be my doom, and I desire its +fulfilment."</p> + +<p>Then one stepped forward, facing me squarely,—the others +closed together around him and me. Raising his forefinger, he +pointed it close to my face, and as his sharp eyes glittered from +behind the black mask, piercing through me, he slowly said: +"Why do you not say brothers?"</p> + +<p>"Horrible," I rejoined; "stop this mockery. Have I not +suffered enough from your persecutions to make me reject that +word as applied to yourselves? You can but murder; do your +duty to your unseen masters, and end this prolonged torture!"</p> + +<p>"Brother," said the spokesman, "you well know that the +sacred rules of our order will not permit us to murder any +human being. We exist to benefit humanity, to lead the wayward +back across the burning desert into the pathways of the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 56]</span> +righteous; not to destroy or persecute a brother. Ours is an +eleemosynary institution, instructing its members, helping them +to seek happiness. You are now expiating the crime you have +committed, and the good in your spirit rightfully revolts against +the bad, for in divulging to the world our mystic signs and +brotherly greetings, you have sinned against yourself more than +against others. The sting of conscience, the bitings of remorse +punish you."</p> + +<p>"True," I cried, as the full significance of what he said burst +upon me, "too true; but I bitterly repent my treachery. Others +can never know how my soul is harrowed by the recollection of +the enormity of that breach of confidence. In spite of my open, +careless, or defiant bearing, my heart is humble, and my spirit +cries out for mercy. By night and by day I have in secret +cursed myself for heeding an unhallowed mandate, and I have +long looked forward to the judgment that I should suffer for my +perfidy, for I have appreciated that the day of reckoning would +surely appear. I do not rebel, and I recall my wild language; I +recant my 'Confession,' I renounce myself! I say to you in all +sincerity, brothers, do your duty, only I beg of you to slay me +at once, and end my suspense. I await my doom. What might +it be?"</p> + +<p>Grasping my hand, the leader said: "You are ready as a +member of our order; we can now judge you as we have been +commanded; had you persisted in calling us devils in your +mistaken frenzy, we should have been forced to reason with you +until you returned again to us, and became one of us. Our +judgment is for you only; the world must not now know its +nature, at least so far as we are concerned. Those you see here, +are not your judges; we are agents sent to labor with you, to +draw you back into our ranks, to bring you into a condition that +will enable you to carry out the sentence that you have drawn +upon yourself, for you must be your own doomsman. In the +first place, we are directed to gain your voluntary consent to +leave this locality. You can no longer take part in affairs that +interested you before. To the people of this State, and to your +home, and kindred, you must become a stranger for all time. +Do you consent?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I answered, for I knew that I must acquiesce.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 57]</span></p> + +<p>"In the next place, you must help us to remove all traces of +your identity. You must, so far as the world is concerned, leave +your body where you have apparently been drowned, for a +world's benefit, a harmless mockery to deceive the people, and +also to make an example for others that are weak. Are you +ready?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Then remove your clothing, and replace it with this suit."</p> + +<p>I obeyed, and changed my garments, receiving others in +return. One of the party then, taking from beneath his gown +a box containing several bottles of liquids, proceeded artfully +to mix and compound them, and then to paint my face with +the combination, which after being mixed, formed a clear +solution.</p> + +<p>"Do not fear to wash;" said the spokesman, "the effect of +this lotion is permanent enough to stay until you are well out of +this State."</p> + +<p>I passed my hand over my face; it was drawn into wrinkles +as a film of gelatine might have been shrivelled under the +influence of a strong tannin or astringent liquid; beneath my +fingers it felt like the furrowed face of a very old man, but I +experienced no pain. I vainly tried to smooth the wrinkles; +immediately upon removing the pressure of my hand, the furrows +reappeared.</p> + +<p>Next, another applied a colorless liquid freely to my hair and +beard; he rubbed it well, and afterward wiped it dry with a +towel. A mirror was thrust beneath my gaze. I started back, +the transformation was complete. My appearance had entirely +changed. My face had become aged and wrinkled, my hair as +white as snow.</p> + +<p>I cried aloud in amazement: "Am I sane, is this a dream?"</p> + +<p>"It is not a dream; but, under methods that are in exact +accordance with natural physiological laws, we have been enabled +to transform your appearance from that of one in the prime +of manhood into the semblance of an old man, and that, +too, without impairment of your vitality." Another of the +masked men opened a curious little casket that I perceived was +surmounted by an alembic and other alchemical figures, and +embossed with an Oriental design. He drew from it a lamp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +which he lighted with a taper; the flame that resulted, first pale +blue, then yellow, next violet and finally red, seemed to become +more weird and ghastly with each mutation, as I gazed spell-bound +upon its fantastic changes. Then, after these transformations, +it burned steadily with the final strange blood-red hue, +and he now held over the blaze a tiny cup, which, in a few +moments, commenced to sputter and then smoked, exhaling a +curious, epipolic, semi-luminous vapor. I was commanded to +inhale the vapor.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1014.jpg" width="600" height="445" alt="" title="A MIRROR WAS THRUST BENEATH MY GAZE." /> +<span class="caption">"A MIRROR WAS THRUST BENEATH MY GAZE."</span> +</div> + +<p>I hesitated; the thought rushed upon me, "Now I am +another person, so cleverly disguised that even my own friends +would perhaps not know me, this vapor is designed to suffocate +me, and my body, if found, will not now be known, and could +not be identified when discovered."</p> + +<p>"Do not fear," said the spokesman, as if divining my +thought, "there is no danger," and at once I realized, by quick +reasoning, that if my death were demanded, my body might long<span class="pagenum">[Pg 59]</span> +since have been easily destroyed, and all this ceremony would +have been unnecessary.</p> + +<p>I hesitated no longer, but drew into my lungs the vapor that +arose from the mysterious cup, freely expanding my chest several +times, and then asked, "Is not that enough?" Despair now +overcame me. My voice, no longer the full, strong tone of a +man in middle life and perfect strength, squeaked and quavered, +as if impaired by palsy. I had seen my image in a mirror, an +old man with wrinkled face and white hair; I now heard myself +speak with the voice of an octogenarian.</p> + +<p>"What have you done?" I cried.</p> + +<p>"We have obeyed your orders; you told us you were ready +to leave your own self here, and the work is complete. The +man who entered has disappeared. If you should now stand +in the streets of your village home, and cry to your former +friends, 'It is I, for whom you seek,' they would smile, and +call you a madman. Know," continued the voice, "that there +is in Eastern metaphysical lore, more true philosophy than is +embodied in the sciences of to-day, and that by means of the +ramifications of our order it becomes possible, when necessary, +for him who stands beyond the inner and upper Worshipful +Master, to draw these treasures from the occult Wisdom possessions +of Oriental sages who forget nothing and lose nothing. +Have we not been permitted to do his bidding well?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I squeaked; "and I wish that you had done it better. +I would that I were dead."</p> + +<p>"When the time comes, if necessary, your dead body will be +fished from the water," was the reply; "witnesses have seen +the drowning tragedy, and will surely identify the corpse."</p> + +<p>"And may I go? am I free now?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Ah," said he, "that is not for us to say; our part of the +work is fulfilled, and we can return to our native lands, and +resume again our several studies. So far as we are concerned, +you are free, but we have been directed to pass you over to the +keeping of others who will carry forward this judgment—there +is another step."</p> + +<p>"Tell me," I cried, once more desponding, "tell me the full +extent of my sentence."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 60]</span></p> + +<p>"That is not known to us, and probably is not known to any +one man. So far as the members of our order are concerned, +you have now vanished. When you leave our sight this night, +we will also separate from one another, we shall know no more +of you and your future than will those of our working order who +live in this section of the country. We have no personal +acquaintance with the guide that has been selected to conduct +you farther, and who will appear in due season, and we make +no surmise concerning the result of your journey, only we know +that you will not be killed, for you have a work to perform, and +will continue to exist long after others of your age are dead. +Farewell, brother; we have discharged our duty, and by your +consent, now we must return to our various pursuits. In a short +time all evidence of your unfortunate mistake, the crime committed +by you in printing our sacred charges, will have vanished. +Even now, emissaries are ordained to collect and destroy the +written record that tells of your weakness, and with the destruction +of that testimony, for every copy will surely be annihilated, +and with your disappearance from among men, for this also is to +follow, our responsibility for you will cease."</p> + +<p>Each of the seven men advanced, and grasped my hand, +giving me the grip of brotherhood, and then, without a word, +they severally and silently departed into the outer darkness. +As the last man disappeared, a figure entered the door, clad and +masked exactly like those who had gone. He removed the +long black gown in which he was enveloped, threw the mask +from his face and stood before me, a slender, graceful, bright-looking +young man. By the light of the candle I saw him +distinctly, and was at once struck by his amiable, cheerful +countenance, and my heart bounded with a sudden hope. I had +temporarily forgotten the transformation that had been made +in my person, which, altogether painless, had left no physical +sensation, and thought of myself as I had formerly existed; my +soul was still my own, I imagined; my blood seemed unchanged, +and must flow as rapidly as before; my strength was unaltered, +indeed I was in self-consciousness still in the prime of life.</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Father," said the stranger, "but my services +have been sought as a guide for the first part of a journey that I +am informed you intend to take."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 61]</span></p> + +<p>His voice was mild and pleasant, his bearing respectful, but +the peculiar manner in which he spoke convinced me that he +knew that, as a guide, he must conduct me to some previously +designated spot, and that he purposed to do so was evident, +with or without my consent.</p> + +<p>"Why do you call me Father?" I attempted to say, but as +the first few words escaped my lips, the recollection of the events +of the night rushed upon me, for instead of my own, I recognized +the piping voice of the old man I had now become, and my +tongue faltered; the sentence was unspoken.</p> + +<p>"You would ask me why I called you Father, I perceive; +well, because I am directed to be a son to you, to care for your +wants, to make your journey as easy and pleasant as possible, to +guide you quietly and carefully to the point that will next prove +of interest to you."</p> + +<p>I stood before him a free man, in the prime of life, full of +energy, and this stripling alone interposed between myself and +liberty. Should I permit the slender youth to carry me away +as a prisoner? would it not be best to thrust him aside, if +necessary, crush him to the earth? go forth in my freedom? +Yet I hesitated, for he might have friends outside; probably +he was not alone.</p> + +<p>"There are no companions near us," said he, reading my +mind, "and, as I do not seem formidable, it is natural you +should weigh in your mind the probabilities of escape; but you +can not evade your destiny, and you must not attempt to +deny yourself the pleasure of my company. You must leave +this locality and leave without a regret. In order that you +may acquiesce willingly I propose that together we return to +your former home, which you will, however, find no longer to be +a home. I will accompany you as a companion, as your son. +You may speak, with one exception, to whomever you care to +address; may call on any of your old associates, may assert +openly who you are, or whatever and whoever you please to +represent yourself, only I must also have the privilege of joining +in the conversation."</p> + +<p>"Agreed," I cried, and extended my hand; he grasped it, and +then by the light of the candle, I saw a peculiar expression flit +over his face, as he added:<span class="pagenum">[Pg 62]</span></p> + +<p>"To one person only, as I have said, and you have promised, +you must not speak—your wife."</p> + +<p>I bowed my head, and a flood of sorrowful reflections swept +over me. Of all the world the one whom I longed to meet, to +clasp in my arms, to counsel in my distress, was the wife of my +bosom, and I begged him to withdraw his cruel injunction.</p> + +<p>"You should have thought of her before; now it is too late. +To permit you to meet, and speak with her would be dangerous; +she might pierce your disguise. Of all others there is no fear."</p> + +<p>"Must I go with you into an unknown future without a +farewell kiss from my little child or from my babe scarce three +months old?"</p> + +<p>"It has been so ordained."</p> + +<p>I threw myself on the floor and moaned. "This is too hard, +too hard for human heart to bear. Life has no charm to a man +who is thrust from all he holds most dear, home, friends, family."</p> + +<p>"The men who relinquish such pleasures and such comforts +are those who do the greatest good to humanity," said the youth. +"The multitude exist to propagate the race, as animal progenitors +of the multitudes that are to follow, and the exceptional +philanthropist is he who denies himself material bliss, and +punishes himself in order to work out a problem such as it has +been ordained that you are to solve. Do not argue further—the +line is marked, and you must walk direct."</p> + +<p>Into the blaze of the old fireplace of that log house, for, +although it was autumn, the night was chilly, he then cast his +black robe and false face, and, as they turned to ashes, the last +evidences of the vivid acts through which I had passed, were +destroyed. As I lay moaning in my utter misery, I tried to +reason with myself that what I experienced was all a hallucination. +I dozed, and awoke startled, half conscious only, as one +in a nightmare; I said to myself, "A dream! a dream!" and +slept again.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 63]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> +<br /> +A LESSON IN MIND STUDY.</h2> + + +<p>The door of the cabin was open when I awoke, the sun shone +brightly, and my friend, apparently happy and unconcerned, +said: "Father, we must soon start on our journey; I have taken +advantage of your refreshing sleep, and have engaged breakfast +at yonder farm-house; our meal awaits us."</p> + +<p>I arose, washed my wrinkled face, combed my white hair, +and shuddered as I saw in a pocket mirror the reflection of my +figure, an aged, apparently decrepit man.</p> + +<p>"Do not be disturbed at your feeble condition," said my +companion; "your infirmities are not real. Few men have ever +been permitted to drink of the richness of the revelations that +await you; and in view of these expectations the fact that you +are prematurely aged in appearance should not unnerve you. +Be of good heart, and when you say the word, we will start on +our journey, which will begin as soon as you have said farewell +to former friends and acquaintances."</p> + +<p>I made no reply, but silently accompanied him, for my thoughts +were in the past, and my reflections were far from pleasant.</p> + +<p>We reached the farm-house, and as I observed the care and +attention extended me by the pleasant-faced housewife, I realized +that, in one respect at least, old age brought its compensation. +After breakfast a man appeared from the farmer's barn, driving +a team of horses attached to an open spring-wagon which, in +obedience to the request of my guide, I entered, accompanied +by my young friend, who directed that we be driven toward the +village from which I had been abducted. He seemed to know my +past life as I knew it; he asked me to select those of my friends +to whom I first wished to bid farewell, even mentioning their +names; he seemed all that a patient, faithful son could be, and I +began to wonder at his audacity, even as much as I admired his +self-confidence.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 64]</span></p> + +<p>As we journeyed onward we engaged in familiar talk. We +sat together on the back seat of the open spring-wagon, in full +sight of passers, no attempt being made to conceal my person. +Thus we traveled for two days, and on our course we passed +through a large city with which I was acquainted, a city that +my abductors had previously carried me through and beyond. I +found that my "son" possessed fine conversational power, and a +rich mine of information, and he became increasingly interesting +as he drew from his fund of knowledge, and poured into my +listening ears an entrancing strain of historical and metaphysical +information. Never at a loss for a word or an idea, he appeared +to discern my cogitations, and as my mind wandered in this +or that direction he fell into the channel of my fancies, and +answered my unspoken thoughts, my mind-questions or meditations, +as pertinently as though I had spoken them.</p> + +<p>His accomplishments, for the methods of his perception were +unaccompanied by any endeavor to draw me into word expression, +made me aware at least, that, in him, I had to deal with a man +unquestionably possessed of more than ordinary intellect and +education, and as this conviction entered my mind he changed +his subject and promptly answered the silent inquiry, speaking +as follows:</p> + +<p>"Have you not sometimes felt that in yourself there may +exist undeveloped senses that await an awakening touch to open +to yourself a new world, senses that may be fully developed, but +which saturate each other and neutralize themselves; quiescent, +closed circles which you can not reach, satisfied circuits slumbering +within your body and that defy your efforts to utilize +them? In your dreams have you not seen sights that words +are inadequate to describe, that your faculties can not retain in +waking moments, and which dissolve into intangible nothingness, +leaving only a vague, shadowy outline as the mind quickens, or +rather when the senses that possess you in sleep relinquish the +body to the returning vital functions and spirit? This unconscious +conception of other planes, a beyond or betwixt, that is +neither mental nor material, neither here nor located elsewhere, +belongs to humanity in general, and is made evident from the +unsatiable desire of men to pry into phenomena latent or recondite +that offer no apparent return to humanity. This desire has<span class="pagenum">[Pg 65]</span> +given men the knowledge they now possess of the sciences; +sciences yet in their infancy. Study in this direction is, at +present, altogether of the material plane, but in time to come, +men will gain control of outlying senses which will enable them +to step from the seen into the consideration of matter or force +that is now subtle and evasive, which must be accomplished +by means of the latent faculties that I have indicated. There +will be an unconscious development of new mind-forces in the +student of nature as the rudiments of these so-called sciences +are elaborated. Step by step, as the ages pass, the faculties of +men will, under progressive series of evolutions, imperceptibly +pass into higher phases until that which is even now possible +with some individuals of the purified esoteric school, but which +would seem miraculous if practiced openly at this day, will prove +feasible to humanity generally and be found in exact accord with +natural laws. The conversational method of men, whereby +communion between human beings is carried on by disturbing +the air by means of vocal organs so as to produce mechanical +pulsations of that medium, is crude in the extreme. Mind craves +to meet mind, but can not yet thrust matter aside, and in order +to communicate one with another, the impression one mind +wishes to convey to another must be first made on the brain +matter that accompanies it, which in turn influences the organs +of speech, inducing a disturbance of the air by the motions of +the vocal organs, which, by undulations that reach to another +being, act on his ear, and secondarily on the earthly matter of his +brain, and finally by this roundabout course, impress the second +being's mind. In this transmission of motions there is great waste +of energy and loss of time, but such methods are a necessity of +the present slow, much-obstructed method of communication. +There is, in cultivated man, an innate craving for something +more facile, and often a partly developed conception, spectral +and vague, appears, and the being feels that there may be for +mortals a richer, brighter life, a higher earthly existence that +science does not now indicate. Such intimation of a deeper +play of faculties is now most vivid with men during the perfect +loss of mental self as experienced in dreams, which as yet man +in the quick can not grasp, and which fade as he awakens. As +mental sciences are developed, investigators will find that the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 66]</span> +medium known as air is unnecessary as a means of conveying +mind conceptions from one person to another; that material +sounds and word pulsations are cumbersome; that thought force +unexpressed may be used to accomplish more than speech can +do, and that physical exertions as exemplified in motion of matter +such as I have described will be unnecessary for mental communication. +As door after door in these directions shall open +before men, mystery after mystery will be disclosed, and vanish +as mysteries to reappear as simple facts. Phenomena that are +impossible and unrevealed to the scientist of to-day will be +familiar to the coming multitude, and at last, as by degrees, +clearer knowledge is evolved, the vocal language of men will +disappear, and humanity, regardless of nationality, will, in +silence and even in darkness, converse eloquently together in +mind language. That which is now esoteric will become exoteric. +Then mind will meet mind as my mind now impinges on your +own, and, in reply to your unuttered question regarding my +apparently unaccountable powers of perception, I say they are +perfectly natural, but while I can read your thoughts, because of +the fact that you can not reciprocate in this direction, I must use +my voice to impress your mind. You will know more of this, +however, at a future day, for it has been ordained that you are to +be educated with an object that is now concealed. At present +you are interested mainly in the affairs of life as you know them, +and can not enter into these purer spheres. We are approaching +one of your former friends, and it may be your pleasure to ask +him some questions and to bid him farewell."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 67]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /> +<br /> +I CAN NOT ESTABLISH MY IDENTITY.</h2> + + +<p>In surprise I perceived coming towards us a light spring +wagon, in which rode one of my old acquaintances. Pleasure +at the discovery led me to raise my hat, wave it around my +head, and salute him even at the considerable distance that then +separated us. I was annoyed at the look of curiosity that passed +over his countenance, and not until the two vehicles had stopped +side by side did it occur to me that I was unrecognized. I had +been so engrossed in my companion's revelations, that I had +forgotten my unfortunate physical condition.</p> + +<p>I stretched out my hand, I leaned over almost into the other +vehicle, and earnestly said:</p> + +<p>"Do you not know me? Only a short time ago we sat and +conversed side by side."</p> + +<p>A look of bewilderment came over his features. "I have +never seen you that I can recall," he answered.</p> + +<p>My spirit sank within me. Could it be possible that I was +really so changed? I begged him to try and recall my former +self, giving my name. "I am that person," I added; but he, +with an expression of countenance that told as plainly as words +could speak that he considered me deranged, touched his horse, +and drove on.</p> + +<p>My companion broke the awkward silence. "Do you know +that I perceived between you two men an unconscious display of +mind-language, especially evident on your part? You wished +with all the earnestness of your soul to bring yourself as you formerly +appeared, before that man, and when it proved impossible, +without a word from him, his mind exhibited itself to your more +earnest intellect, and you realized that he said to himself, 'This +person is a poor lunatic.' He told you his thoughts in mind-language, +as plainly as words could have spoken, because the +intense earnestness on your part quickened your perceptive<span class="pagenum">[Pg 68]</span> +faculties, but he could not see your mental state, and the +pleading voice of the apparent stranger before him could not +convince the unconcerned lethargic mind within him. I observed, +however, in addition to what you noticed, that he is really looking +for you. That is the object of his journey, and I learn that in +every direction men are now spreading the news that you have +been kidnapped and carried from your jail. However, we shall +soon be in the village, and you will then hear more about +yourself."</p> + +<p>We rode in silence while I meditated on my remarkable +situation. I could not resign myself without a struggle to my +approaching fate, and I felt even yet a hope, although I seemed +powerless in the hands of destiny. Could I not, by some +method, convince my friends of my identity? I determined, +forgetting the fact that my guide was even then reading my +mind, that upon the next opportunity I would pursue a different +course.</p> + +<p>"It will not avail," my companion replied. "You must do +one of two things: you will voluntarily go with me, or you will +involuntarily go to an insane asylum. Neither you nor I could +by any method convince others that the obviously decrepit old +man beside me was but yesterday hale, hearty, young and strong. +You will find that you can not prove your identity, and as a +friend, one of the great brotherhood to which you belong, a craft +that deals charitably with all men and all problems, I advise +you to accept the situation as soon as possible after it becomes +evident to your mind that you are lost to former affiliations, and +must henceforth be a stranger to the people whom you know. +Take my advice, and cease to regret the past and cheerfully +turn your thoughts to the future. On one side of you the lunatic +asylum is open; on the other, a journey into an unknown +region, beyond the confines of any known country. On the one +hand, imprisonment and subjection, perhaps abuse and neglect; +on the other, liberation of soul, evolution of faculty, and a +grasping of superior knowledge that is denied most men—yes, +withheld from all but a few persons of each generation, for only +a few, unknown to the millions of this world's inhabitants, have +passed over the road you are to travel. Just now you wished to +meet your jailer of a few hours ago; it is a wise conclusion, and<span class="pagenum">[Pg 69]</span> +if he does not recognize you, I ask in sincerity, who will be +likely to do so? We will drive straight to his home; but, here +he comes."</p> + +<p>Indeed, we were now in the village, where my miserable journey +began, and perhaps by chance—it seems that it could not +have been otherwise—my former jailer actually approached us.</p> + +<p>"If you please," said my companion, "I will assist you to +alight from the wagon, and you may privately converse with him."</p> + +<p>Our wagon stopped, my guide opened a conversation with the +jailer, saying that his friend wished to speak with him, and then +assisted me to alight and retired a distance. I was vexed at +my infirmities, which embarrassed me most exasperatingly, but +which I knew were artificial; my body appeared unwilling +although my spirit was anxious; but do what I could to control +my actions, I involuntarily behaved like a decrepit old man. +However, my mind was made up; this attempt to prove my +personality should be the last; failure now would prove the +turning point, and I would go willingly with my companion +upon the unknown journey if I could not convince the jailer +of my identity.</p> + +<p>Straightening myself before the expectant jailer, who, with +a look of inquisitiveness, regarded me as a stranger, I asked if +he knew my former self, giving my name.</p> + +<p>"That I do," he replied, "and if I could find him at this +moment I would be relieved of a load of worry."</p> + +<p>"Would you surely know him if you met him?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Assuredly," he replied; "and if you bring tidings of his +whereabouts, as your bearing indicates, speak, that I may rid +myself of suspicion and suspense."</p> + +<p>Calling the jailer by name, I asked him if my countenance +did not remind him of the man he wished to find.</p> + +<p>"Not at all."</p> + +<p>"Listen, does not my voice resemble that of your escaped +prisoner?"</p> + +<p>"Not in the least."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1015.jpg" width="600" height="595" alt="" title=""I AM THE MAN YOU SEEK."" /> +<span class="caption">"I AM THE MAN YOU SEEK."</span> +</div> + + +<p>With a violent effort I drew my form as straight as possible, +and stood upright before him, with every facial muscle +strained to its utmost, in a vain endeavor to bring my wrinkled +countenance to its former smoothness, and with the energy that<span class="pagenum">[Pg 70]</span> +a drowning man might exert to grasp a passing object, I tried +to control my voice, and preserve my identity by so doing, +vehemently imploring him, begging him to listen to my story. +"I am the man you seek; I am the prisoner who, a few days +ago, stood in the prime of life before you. I have been spirited +away from you by men who are leagued with occult forces, which +extend forward among hidden mysteries, into forces which +illuminate the present, and reach backward into the past +unseen. These persons, by artful and damnable manipulations +under the guidance of a power that has been evolved in the +secrecy of past ages, and transmitted only to a favored few, have +changed the strong man you knew into the one apparently +feeble, who now confronts you. Only a short period has passed<span class="pagenum">[Pg 71]</span> +since I was your unwilling captive, charged with debt, a trifling +sum; and then, as your sullen prisoner, I longed for freedom. +Now I plead before you, with all my soul, I beg of you to take +me back to my cell. Seal your doors, and hold me again, for +your dungeon will now be to me a paradise."</p> + +<p>I felt that I was becoming frantic, for with each word I realized +that the jailer became more and more impatient and annoyed. I +perceived that he believed me to be a lunatic. Pleadings and +entreaties were of no avail, and my eagerness rapidly changed +into despair until at last I cried: "If you will not believe my +words, I will throw myself on the mercy of my young companion. +I ask you to consider his testimony, and if he says that I +am not what I assert myself to be, I will leave my home and +country, and go with him quietly into the unknown future."</p> + +<p>He turned to depart, but I threw myself before him, and +beckoned the young man who, up to this time, had stood aloof +in respectful silence. He came forward, and addressing the +jailer, called him by name, and corroborated my story. Yes, +strange as it sounded to me, he reiterated the substance of my +narrative as I had repeated it. "Now, you will believe it," I +cried in ecstacy; "now you need no longer question the facts +that I have related."</p> + +<p>Instead, however, of accepting the story of the witness, the +jailer upbraided him.</p> + +<p>"This is a preconcerted arrangement to get me into ridicule +or further trouble. You two have made up an incredible story +that on its face is fit only to be told to men as crazy or designing +as yourselves. This young man did not even overhear your +conversation with me, and yet he repeats his lesson without a +question from me as to what I wish to learn of him."</p> + +<p>"He can see our minds," I cried in despair.</p> + +<p>"Crazier than I should have believed from your countenance," +the jailer replied. "Of all the improbable stories imaginable, +you have attempted to inveigle me into accepting that which is +most unreasonable. If you are leagued together intent on some +swindling scheme, I give you warning now that I am in no +mood for trifling. Go your way, and trouble me no more with +this foolish scheming, which villainy or lunacy of some description +must underlie." He turned in anger and left us.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 72]</span></p> + +<p>"It is as I predicted," said my companion; "you are lost to +man. Those who know you best will turn from you soonest. I +might become as wild as you are, in your interest, and only +serve to make your story appear more extravagant. In human +affairs men judge and act according to the limited knowledge at +command of the multitude. Witnesses who tell the truth are +often, in our courts of law, stunned, as you have been, by the +decisions of a narrow-minded jury. Men sit on juries with little +conception of the facts of the case that is brought before them; +the men who manipulate them are mere tools in unseen hands +that throw their several minds in antagonisms unexplainable to +man. The judge is unconsciously often a tool of his own errors +or those of others. One learned judge unties what another has +fastened, each basing his views on the same testimony, each +rendering his decision in accordance with law derived from the +same authority. Your case is that condition of mind that men +call lunacy. You can see much that is hidden from others +because you have become acquainted with facts that their narrow +education forbids them to accept, but, because the majority is +against you, they consider you mentally unbalanced. The philosophy +of men does not yet comprehend the conditions that have +operated on your person, and as you stand alone, although in the +right, all men will oppose you, and you must submit to the views +of a misguided majority. In the eyes of a present generation +you are crazy. A jury of your former peers could not do else +than so adjudge you, for you are not on the same mental plane, +and I ask, will you again attempt to accomplish that which is as +impossible as it would be for you to drink the waters of Seneca +Lake at one draught? Go to those men and propose to drain that +lake at one gulp, and you will be listened to as seriously as when +you beg your former comrades to believe that you are another +person than what you seem. Only lengthened life is credited +with the production of physical changes that under favorable +conditions, are possible of accomplishment in a brief period, +and such testimony as you could bring, in the present state of +human knowledge, would only add to the proof of your lunacy."</p> + +<p>"I see, I see," I said; "and I submit. Lead on, I am ready. +Whatever my destined career may be, wherever it may be, it can +only lead to the grave."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 73]</span></p> + +<p>"Do not be so sure of that," was the reply.</p> + +<p>I shuddered instinctively, for this answer seemed to imply +that the stillness of the grave would be preferable to my destiny.</p> + +<p>We got into the wagon again, and a deep silence followed +as we rode along, gazing abstractedly on the quiet fields and +lonely farm-houses. Finally we reached a little village. Here +my companion dismissed the farmer, our driver, paying him +liberally, and secured lodgings in a private family (I believe we +were expected), and after a hearty supper we retired. From the +time we left the jailer I never again attempted to reveal my +identity. I had lost my interest in the past, and found myself +craving to know what the future had in store for me.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 74]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /> +<br /> +MY JOURNEY TOWARDS THE END OF EARTH BEGINS.—THE +ADEPTS' BROTHERHOOD.</h2> + + +<p>My companion did not attempt to watch over my motions or +in any way to interfere with my freedom.</p> + +<p>"I will for a time necessarily be absent," he said, "arranging +for our journey, and while I am getting ready you must employ +yourself as best you can. I ask you, however, now to swear +that, as you have promised, you will not seek your wife and +children."</p> + +<p>To this I agreed.</p> + +<p>"Hold up your hand," he said, and I repeated after him: +"All this I most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, with +a firm and steadfast resolution to keep and perform my oath, +without the least equivocation, mental reservation or self-evasion +whatever."</p> + +<p>"That will answer; see that you keep your oath this time," +he said, and he departed. Several days were consumed before +he returned, and during that time I was an inquisitive and silent +listener to the various conjectures others were making regarding +my abduction which event was becoming of general interest. +Some of the theories advanced were quite near the truth, others +wild and erratic. How preposterous it seemed to me that the +actor himself could be in the very seat of the disturbance, willing, +anxious to testify, ready to prove the truth concerning his +position, and yet unable even to obtain a respectful hearing from +those most interested in his recovery. Men gathered together +discussing the "outrage"; women, children, even, talked of little +else, and it was evident that the entire country was aroused. +New political issues took their rise from the event, but the man +who was the prime cause of the excitement was for a period a +willing and unwilling listener, as he had been a willing and +unwilling actor in the tragedy.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 75]</span></p> + +<p>One morning my companion drove up in a light carriage, +drawn by a span of fine, spirited, black horses.</p> + +<p>"We are ready now," he said, and my unprecedented journey +began.</p> + +<p>Wherever we stopped, I heard my name mentioned. Men +combined against men, brother was declaiming against brother, +neighbor was against neighbor, everywhere suspicion was in +the air.</p> + +<p>"The passage of time alone can quiet these people," said I.</p> + +<p>"The usual conception of the term Time—an indescribable +something flowing at a constant rate—is erroneous," replied my +comrade. "Time is humanity's best friend, and should be pictured +as a ministering angel, instead of a skeleton with hour-glass +and scythe. Time does not fly, but is permanent and quiescent, +while restless, force-impelled matter rushes onward. Force and +matter fly; Time reposes. At our birth we are wound up like a +machine, to move for a certain number of years, grating against +Time. We grind against that complacent spirit, and wear not +Time but ourselves away. We hold within ourselves a certain +amount of energy, which, an evanescent form of matter, is the +opponent of Time. Time has no existence with inanimate +objects. It is a conception of the human intellect. Time is +rest, perfect rest, tranquillity such as man never realizes unless +he becomes a part of the sweet silences toward which human life +and human mind are drifting. So much for Time. Now for Life. +Disturbed energy in one of its forms, we call Life; and this Life +is the great enemy of peace, the opponent of steadfast perfection. +Pure energy, the soul of the universe, permeates all things with +which man is now acquainted, but when at rest is imperceptible +to man, while disturbed energy, according to its condition, is +apparent either as matter or as force. A substance or material +body is a manifestation resulting from a disturbance of energy. +The agitating cause removed, the manifestations disappear, and +thus a universe may be extinguished, without unbalancing the +cosmos that remains. The worlds known to man are conditions +of abnormal energy moving on separate planes through what +men call space. They attract to themselves bodies of similar +description, and thus influence one another—they have each a +separate existence, and are swayed to and fro under the influence<span class="pagenum">[Pg 76]</span> +of the various disturbances in energy common to their rank +or order, which we call forms of forces. Unsettled energy also +assumes numerous other expressions that are unknown to man, +but which in all perceptible forms is characterized by motion. +Pure energy can not be appreciated by the minds of mortals. +There are invisible worlds besides those perceived by us in our +planetary system, unreachable centers of ethereal structure about +us that stand in a higher plane of development than earthly +matter which is a gross form of disturbed energy. There are +also lower planes. Man's acquaintance with the forms of energy +is the result of his power of perceiving the forms of matter of +which he is a part. Heat, light, gravitation, electricity and +magnetism are ever present in all perceivable substances, and, +although purer than earth, they are still manifestations of absolute +energy, and for this reason are sensible to men, but more evanescent +than material bodies. Perhaps you can conceive that if these +disturbances could be removed, matter or force would be resolved +back into pure energy, and would vanish. Such a dissociation +is an ethereal existence, and as pure energy the life spirit of all +material things is neither cold nor hot, heavy nor light, solid, +liquid nor gaseous—men can not, as mortals now exist, see, +feel, smell, taste, or even conceive of it. It moves through +space as we do through it, a world of itself as transparent to +matter as matter is to it, insensible but ever present, a reality to +higher existences that rest in other planes, but not to us +an essence subject to scientific test, nor an entity. Of these +problems and their connection with others in the unseen depths +beyond, you are not yet in a position properly to judge, but +before many years a new sense will be given you or a development +of latent senses by the removal of those more gross, and a +partial insight into an unsuspected unseen, into a realm to you +at present unknown.</p> + +<p>"It has been ordained that a select few must from time to time +pass over the threshold that divides a mortal's present life from +the future, and your lot has been cast among the favored ones. +It is or should be deemed a privilege to be permitted to pass +farther than human philosophy has yet gone, into an investigation +of the problems of life; this I say to encourage you. We +have in our order a handful of persons who have received the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 77]</span> +accumulated fruits of the close attention others have given to +these subjects which have been handed to them by the generations +of men who have preceded. You are destined to become +as they are. This study of semi-occult forces has enabled those +selected for the work to master some of the concealed truths of +being, and by the partial development of a new sense or new +senses, partly to triumph over death. These facts are hidden from +ordinary man, and from the earth-bound workers of our brotherhood, +who can not even interpret the words they learn. The +methods by which they are elucidated have been locked from man +because the world is not prepared to receive them, selfishness +being the ruling passion of debased mankind, and publicity, until +the chain of evidence is more complete, would embarrass their +further evolutions, for man as yet lives on the selfish plane."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that, among men, there are a few persons +possessed of powers such as you have mentioned?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; they move here and there through all orders of society, +and their attainments are unknown, except to one another, or, at +most, to but few persons. These adepts are scientific men, and +may not even be recognized as members of our organization; +indeed it is often necessary, for obvious reasons, that they should +not be known as such. These studies must constantly be +prosecuted in various directions, and some monitors must teach +others to perform certain duties that are necessary to the grand +evolution. Hence, when a man has become one of our brotherhood, +from the promptings that made you one of us, and has +been as ready and determined to instruct outsiders in our work +as you have been, it is proper that he should in turn be compelled +to serve our people, and eventually, mankind."</p> + +<p>"Am I to infer from this," I exclaimed, a sudden light +breaking upon me, "that the alchemistic manuscript that led +me to the fraternity to which you are related may have been +artfully designed to serve the interest of that organization?" To +this question I received no reply. After an interval, I again +sought information concerning the order, and with more success.</p> + +<p>"I understand that you propose that I shall go on a journey +of investigation for the good of our order and also of humanity."</p> + +<p>"True; it is necessary that our discoveries be kept alive, and +it is essential that the men who do this work accept the trust of<span class="pagenum">[Pg 78]</span> +their own accord. He who will not consent to add to the common +stock of knowledge and understanding, must be deemed a drone +in the hive of nature—but few persons, however, are called upon +to serve as you must serve. Men are scattered over the world +with this object in view, and are unknown to their families or +even to other members of the order; they hold in solemn trust +our sacred revelations, and impart them to others as is ordained, +and thus nothing perishes; eventually humanity will profit.</p> + +<p>"Others, as you soon will be doing, are now exploring +assigned sections of this illimitable field, accumulating further +knowledge, and they will report results to those whose duty it is +to retain and formulate the collected sum of facts and principles. +So it is that, unknown to the great body of our brotherhood, a +chosen number, under our esoteric teachings, are gradually +passing the dividing line that separates life from death, matter +from spirit, for we have members who have mastered these +problems. We ask, however, no aid of evil forces or of necromancy +or black art, and your study of alchemy was of no avail, +although to save the vital truths alchemy is a part of our work. +We proceed in exact accordance with natural laws, which will +yet be known to all men. Sorrow, suffering, pain of all +descriptions, are enemies to the members of our order, as they +are to mankind broadly, and we hope in the future so to control +the now hidden secrets of Nature as to be able to govern the +antagonistic disturbances in energy with which man now is +everywhere thwarted, to subdue the physical enemies of the race, +to affiliate religious and scientific thought, cultivating brotherly +love, the foundation and capstone, the cement and union of this +ancient fraternity."</p> + +<p>"And am I really to take an important part in this scheme? +Have I been set apart to explore a section of the unknown for a +bit of hidden knowledge, and to return again?"</p> + +<p>"This I will say," he answered, evading a direct reply, "you +have been selected for a part that one in a thousand has been +required to undertake. You are to pass into a field that will +carry you beyond the present limits of human observation. +This much I have been instructed to impart to you in order to +nerve you for your duty. I seem to be a young man; really I +am aged. You seem to be infirm and old, but you are young.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 79]</span> +Many years ago, cycles ago as men record time, I was promoted +to do a certain work because of my zealous nature; like you, I +also had to do penance for an error. I disappeared, as you are +destined to do, from the sight of men. I regained my youth; +yours has been lost forever, but you will regain more than your +former strength. We shall both exist after this generation of +men has passed away, and shall mingle with generations yet to +be born, for we shall learn how to restore our youthful vigor, and +will supply it time and again to earthly matter. Rest assured +also that the object of our labors is of the most laudable nature, +and we must be upheld under all difficulties by the fact that multitudes +of men who are yet to come will be benefited thereby."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 80]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /> +<br /> +MY JOURNEY CONTINUES.—INSTINCT.</h2> + + +<p>It is unnecessary for me to give the details of the first part +of my long journey. My companion was guided by a perceptive +faculty that, like the compass, enabled him to keep in the proper +course. He did not question those whom we met, and made no +endeavor to maintain a given direction; and yet he was traveling +in a part of the country that was new to himself. I marveled at +the accuracy of his intuitive perception, for he seemed never to +be at fault. When the road forked, he turned to the right or +the left in a perfectly careless manner, but the continuity of his +course was never interrupted. I began mentally to question +whether he could be guiding us aright, forgetting that he was +reading my thoughts, and he answered: "There is nothing +strange in this self-directive faculty. Is not man capable of +following where animals lead? One of the objects of my special +study has been to ascertain the nature of the instinct-power of +animals, the sagacity of brutes. The carrier pigeon will fly to its +cote across hundreds of miles of strange country. The young +pig will often return to its pen by a route unknown to it; the +sluggish tortoise will find its home without a guide, without +seeing a familiar object; cats, horses and other animals possess +this power, which is not an unexplainable instinct, but a natural +sense better developed in some of the lower creatures than it is in +man. The power lies dormant in man, but exists, nevertheless. +If we develop one faculty we lose acuteness in some other power. +Men have lost in mental development in this particular direction +while seeking to gain in others. If there were no record of the +fact that light brings objects to the recognition of the mind +through the agency of the eye, the sense of sight in an animal +would be considered by men devoid of it as adaptability to extraordinary +circumstances, or instinct. So it is that animals often +see clearly where to the sense of man there is only darkness;<span class="pagenum">[Pg 81]</span> +such sight is not irresponsive action without consciousness of a +purpose. Man is not very magnanimous. Instead of giving +credit to the lower animals for superior perception in many +directions, he denies to them the conscious possession of powers +imperfectly developed in mankind. We egotistically aim to raise +ourselves, and do so in our own estimation by clothing the actions +of the lower animals in a garment of irresponsibility. Because +we can not understand the inwardness of their power, we assert +that they act by the influence of instinct. The term instinct, as +I would define it, is an expression applied by men to a series +of senses which man possesses, but has not developed. The +word is used by man to characterize the mental superiority of +other animals in certain directions where his own senses are +defective. Instead of crediting animals with these, to them, +invaluable faculties, man conceitedly says they are involuntary +actions. Ignorant of their mental status, man is too arrogant to +admit that lower animals are superior to him in any way. But we +are not consistent. Is it not true that in the direction in which +you question my power, some men by cultivation often become +expert beyond their fellows? and such men have also given very +little systematic study to subjects connected with these undeniable +mental qualities. The hunter will hold his course in utter darkness, +passing inequalities in the ground, and avoiding obstructions +he can not see. The fact of his superiority in this way, over +others, is not questioned, although he can not explain his methods +nor understand how he operates. His quickened sense is often +as much entitled to be called instinct as is the divining power of +the carrier pigeon. If scholars would cease to devote their entire +energies to the development of the material, artistic, or scientific +part of modern civilization, and turn their attention to other +forms of mental culture, many beauties and powers of Nature +now unknown would be revealed. However, this can not be, for +under existing conditions, the strife for food and warmth is the +most important struggle that engages mankind, and controls our +actions. In a time that is surely to come, however, when the +knowledge of all men is united into a comprehensive whole, the +book of life, illuminated thereby, will contain many beautiful +pages that may be easily read, but which are now not suspected +to exist. The power of the magnet is not uniform—engineers<span class="pagenum">[Pg 82]</span> +know that the needle of the compass inexplicably deviates from +time to time as a line is run over the earth's surface, but they +also know that aberrations of the needle finally correct themselves. +The temporary variations of a few degrees that occur in +the running of a compass line are usually overcome after a time, +and without a change of course, the disturbed needle swerves +back, and again points to the calculated direction, as is shown +by the vernier. Should I err in my course, it would be by a +trifle only, and we could not go far astray before I would +unconsciously discover the true path. I carry my magnet in +my mind."</p> + +<p>Many such dissertations or explanations concerning related +questions were subsequently made in what I then considered a +very impressive, though always unsatisfactory, manner. I recall +those episodes now, after other more remarkable experiences +which are yet to be related, and record them briefly with little +wonderment, because I have gone through adventures which +demonstrate that there is nothing improbable in the statements, +and I will not consume time with further details of this part +of my journey.</p> + +<p>We leisurely traversed State after State, crossed rivers, mountains +and seemingly interminable forests. The ultimate object +of our travels, a location in Kentucky, I afterward learned, led +my companion to guide me by a roundabout course to Wheeling, +Virginia, by the usual mountain roads of that day, instead of +going, as he might perhaps have much more easily done, via +Buffalo and the Lake Shore to Northern Ohio, and then southerly +across the country. He said in explanation, that the time lost +at the beginning of our journey by this route, was more than +recompensed by the ease of the subsequent Ohio River trip. +Upon reaching Wheeling, he disposed of the team, and we +embarked on a keel boat, and journeyed down the Ohio to Cincinnati. +The river was falling when we started, and became +very low before Cincinnati was reached, too low for steamers, +and our trip in that flat-bottomed boat, on the sluggish current +of the tortuous stream, proved tedious and slow. Arriving at +Cincinnati, my guide decided to wait for a rise in the river, +designing then to complete our journey on a steamboat. I +spent several days in Cincinnati quite pleasantly, expecting to<span class="pagenum">[Pg 83]</span> +continue our course on the steamer "Tecumseh," then in port, +and ready for departure. At the last moment my guide changed +his mind, and instead of embarking on that boat, we took passage +on the steamer "George Washington," leaving Shipping-Port +Wednesday, December 13, 1826.</p> + +<p>During that entire journey, from the commencement to our +final destination, my guide paid all the bills, and did not want +either for money or attention from the people with whom we +came in contact. He seemed everywhere a stranger, and yet +was possessed of a talisman that opened every door to which he +applied, and which gave us unlimited accommodations wherever +he asked them. When the boat landed at Smithland, Kentucky, +a village on the bank of the Ohio, just above Paducah, we disembarked, +and my guide then for the first time seemed mentally +disturbed.</p> + +<p>"Our journey together is nearly over," he said; "in a few +days my responsibility for you will cease. Nerve yourself for +the future, and bear its trials and its pleasures manfully. I may +never see you again, but as you are even now conspicuous in our +history, and will be closely connected with the development of +the plan in which I am also interested, although I am destined +to take a different part, I shall probably hear of you again."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 84]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /> +<br /> +A CAVERN DISCOVERED.—BISWELL'S HILL.</h2> + + +<p>We stopped that night at a tavern in Smithland. Leaving +this place after dinner the next day, on foot, we struck through +the country, into the bottom lands of the Cumberland River. +traveling leisurely, lingering for hours in the course of a circuitous +tramp of only a few miles. Although it was the month +of December, the climate was mild and balmy. In my former +home, a similar time of year would have been marked with +snow, sleet, and ice, and I could not but draw a contrast +between the two localities. How different also the scenery from +that of my native State. Great timber trees, oak, poplar, hickory, +were in majestic possession of large tracts of territory, in the +solitude of which man, so far as evidences of his presence were +concerned, had never before trodden. From time to time we +passed little clearings that probably were to be enlarged to +thrifty plantations in the future, and finally we crossed the +Cumberland River. That night we rested with Mr. Joseph +Watts, a wealthy and cultured land owner, who resided on +the river's bank. After leaving his home the next morning, +we journeyed slowly, very slowly, my guide seemingly passing +with reluctance into the country. He had become a very +pleasant companion, and his conversation was very entertaining. +We struck the sharp point of a ridge the morning we left Mr. +Watts' hospitable house. It was four or five miles distant, but +on the opposite side of the Cumberland, from Smithland. Here +a steep bluff broke through the bottom land to the river's edge, +the base of the bisected point being washed by the Cumberland +River, which had probably cut its way through the stony +mineral of this ridge in ages long passed. We climbed to its +top and sat upon the pinnacle, and from that point of commanding +observation I drank in the beauties of the scene around me. +The river at our feet wound gracefully before us, and disappeared<span class="pagenum">[Pg 85]</span> +in both directions, its extremes dissolving in a bed of forest. A +great black bluff, far up the stream, rose like a mountain, upon +the left side of the river; bottom lands were about us, and +hills appeared across the river in the far distance—towards the +Tennessee River. With regret I finally drew my eyes from the +vision, and we resumed the journey. We followed the left bank +of the river to the base of the black bluff,—"Biswell's Hill," a +squatter called it,—and then skirted the side of that hill, passing +along precipitous stone bluffs and among stunted cedars. Above +us towered cliff over cliff, almost perpendicularly; below us rolled +the river.</p> +<p><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85"></a></p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/m1016.png" width="600" height="516" alt="" title="SECTION OF KENTUCKY, NEAR SMITHLAND" /> +<span class="caption">SECTION OF KENTUCKY, NEAR SMITHLAND, IN WHICH THE ENTRANCE TO +THE KENTUCKY CAVERN IS SAID TO BE LOCATED.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 86]</span></p> +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align="left"> 1. Paducah.</td><td align="left">15. Salem.</td><td align="left">29. Hurricane Creek.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"> 2. Smithland.</td><td align="left">16. Hampton.</td><td align="left">30. Ford's Ferry.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"> 3. Old Smithland.</td><td align="left">17. Faulkner.</td><td align="left">31. Weston.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"> 4. Patterson.</td><td align="left">18. Mullikin.</td><td align="left">32. Caseyville.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"> 5. Frenchtown.</td><td align="left">19. Back Creek.</td><td align="left">33. Tradewater River.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"> 6. Hickory Creek.</td><td align="left">20. Carrsville.</td><td align="left">34. Dycusburgh.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"> 7. Underwood.</td><td align="left">21. Given's Creek.</td><td align="left">35. Livingstone Creek.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"> 8. Birdsville.</td><td align="left">22. Golconda.</td><td align="left">36. Francis.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left" >9. Bayou Mills.</td><td align="left">23. Elizabethtown.</td><td align="left">37. Harrold. (View.)</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">10. Oak Ridge.</td><td align="left">24. Metropolis City.</td><td align="left">38. Crider.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">11. Moxley's Landing.</td><td align="left">25. Hamletsburgh.</td><td align="left">39. Levias.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">12. Kildare.</td><td align="left">26. Sheridan.</td><td align="left">40. Crayneville.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">13. Lola.</td><td align="left">27. Deer Creek.</td><td align="left">41. Marion.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">14. Pinckneyville.</td><td align="left">28. Hurricane.</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 87]</span></p> + +<p>I was deeply impressed by the changing beauties of this +strange Kentucky scenery, but marveled at the fact that while I +became light-hearted and enthusiastic, my guide grew correspondingly +despondent and gloomy. From time to time he +lapsed into thoughtful silence, and once I caught his eye directed +toward me in a manner that I inferred to imply either pity +or envy. We passed Biswell's Bluff, and left the Cumberland +River at its upper extremity, where another small creek empties +into the river. Thence, after ascending the creek some distance, +we struck across the country, finding it undulating and fertile, +with here and there a small clearing. During this journey we +either camped out at night, or stopped with a resident, when +one was to be found in that sparsely settled country. Sometimes +there were exasperating intervals between our meals; but +we did not suffer, for we carried with us supplies of food, such +as cheese and crackers, purchased in Smithland, for emergencies. +We thus proceeded a considerable distance into Livingston +County, Kentucky.</p> + +<p>I observed remarkable sinks in the earth, sometimes cone-shaped, +again precipitous. These cavities were occasionally of +considerable size and depth, and they were more numerous in +the uplands than in the bottoms. They were somewhat like +the familiar "sink-holes" of New York State, but monstrous +in comparison. The first that attracted my attention was near +the Cumberland River, just before we reached Biswell's Hill. It +was about forty feet deep and thirty in diameter, with precipitous +stone sides, shrubbery growing therein in exceptional spots where +loose earth had collected on shelves of stone that cropped out<span class="pagenum">[Pg 88]</span> +along its rugged sides. The bottom of the depression was flat +and fertile, covered with a luxuriant mass of vegetation. On +one side of the base of the gigantic bowl, a cavern struck down +into the earth. I stood upon the edge of this funnel-like sink, +and marveled at its peculiar appearance. A spirit of curiosity, +such as often influences men when an unusual natural scene +presents itself, possessed me. I clambered down, swinging from +brush to brush, and stepping from shelving-rock to shelving-rock, +until I reached the bottom of the hollow, and placing my hand +above the black hole in its center, I perceived that a current of +cold air was rushing therefrom, upward. I probed with a long +stick, but the direction of the opening was tortuous, and would +not admit of examination in that manner. I dropped a large +pebble-stone into the orifice; the pebble rolled and clanked +down, down, and at last, the sound died away in the distance.</p> + +<p>"I wish that I could go into the cavity as that stone has +done, and find the secrets of this cave," I reflected, the natural +love of exploration possessing me as it probably does most men.</p> + +<p>My companion above, seated on the brink of the stone wall, +replied to my thoughts: "Your wish shall be granted. You +have requested that which has already been laid out for you. +You will explore where few men have passed before, and will +have the privilege of following your destiny into a realm of +natural wonders. A fertile field of investigation awaits you, +such as will surpass your most vivid imaginings. Come and +seat yourself beside me, for it is my duty now to tell you +something about the land we are approaching, the cavern fields +of Kentucky."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 89]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> +<br /> +THE PUNCH-BOWLS AND CAVERNS OF KENTUCKY.—"INTO THE +UNKNOWN COUNTRY."</h2> + + +<p>"This part of Kentucky borders a field of caverns that reaches +from near the State of Tennessee to the Ohio River, and from +the mouth of the Cumberland, eastward to and beyond the +center of the State. This great area is of irregular outline, and +as yet has been little explored. Underneath the surface are +layers of limestone and sandstone rock, the deposits ranging +from ten to one hundred and fifty feet in thickness, and often +great masses of conglomerate appear. This conglomerate sometimes +caps the ridges, and varies in thickness from a few feet +only, to sixty, or even a hundred, feet. It is of a diversified +character, sometimes largely composed of pebbles cemented +together by iron ore into compact beds, while again it passes +abruptly into gritty sandstone, or a fine-grained compact rock +destitute of pebbles. Sometimes the conglomerate rests directly +on the limestone, but in the section about us, more often argillaceous +shales or veins of coal intervene, and occasionally inferior +and superior layers of conglomerate are separated by a bed of +coal. In addition, lead-bearing veins now and then crop up, the +crystals of galena being disseminated through masses of fluor-spar, +calc-spar, limestone and clay, which fill fissures between +tilted walls of limestone and hard quartzose sandstone. Valleys, +hills, and mountains, grow out of this remarkable crust. Rivers +and creeks flow through and under it in crevices, either directly +upon the bedstone or over deposits of clay which underlie it. In +some places, beds of coal or slate alternate with layers of the lime +rock; in others, the interspace is clay and sand. Sometimes the +depth of the several limestone and conglomerate deposits is great, +and they are often honeycombed by innumerable transverse and +diagonal spaces. Water drips have here and there washed out +the more friable earth and stone, forming grottoes which are<span class="pagenum">[Pg 90]</span> +as yet unknown to men, but which will be discovered to be +wonderful and fantastic beyond anything of a like nature now +familiar. In other places cavities exist between shelves of rock +that lie one above the other—monstrous openings caused by +the erosive action of rivers now lost, but that have flowed +during unnumbered ages past; great parallel valleys and gigantic +chambers, one over the other, remaining to tell the story of +these former torrents. Occasionally the weight of a portion of +the disintegrating rock above becomes too great for its tensile +strength and the material crumbles and falls, producing caverns +sometimes reaching so near to the earth's surface, as to cause +sinks in its crust. These sinks, when first formed, as a rule, present +clear rock fractures, and immediately after their formation +there is usually a water-way beneath. In the course of time +soil collects on their sides, they become cone-shaped hollows +from the down-slidings of earth, and then vegetation appears on +the living soil; trees grow within them, and in many places the +sloping sides of great earth bowls of this nature are, after untold +years, covered with the virgin forest; magnificent timber trees +growing on soil that has been stratified over and upon decayed +monarchs of the forest whose remains, imbedded in the earth, +speak of the ages that have passed since the convulsions that +made the depressions which, notwithstanding the accumulated +debris, are still a hundred feet or more in depth. If the drain +or exit at the vortex of one of these sinks becomes clogged, +which often occurs, the entire cavity fills with water, and a pond +results. Again, a slight orifice reaching far beneath the earth's +surface may permit the soil to be gradually washed into a +subterranean creek, and thus are formed great bowls, like +funnels sunk in the earth—Kentucky punch-bowls.</p> + +<p>"Take the country about us, especially towards the Mammoth +Cave, and for miles beyond, the landscape in certain localities is +pitted with this description of sinks, some recent, others very +old. Many are small, but deep; others are large and shallow. +Ponds often of great depth, curiously enough overflowing and +giving rise to a creek, are to be found on a ridge, telling of +underground supply springs, not outlets, beneath. Chains of +such sinks, like a row of huge funnels, often appear; the soil +between them is slowly washed through their exit into the river,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 91]</span> +flowing in the depths below, and as the earth that separates them +is carried away by the subterranean streams, the bowls coalesce +and a ravine, closed at both ends, results. Along the bottom of +such a ravine, a creek may flow, rushing from its natural tunnel +at one end of the line, and disappearing in a gulf at the other. +The stream begins in mystery, and ends in unfathomed darkness. +Near Marion, Hurricane Creek thus disappears, and, so far as +men know, is lost to sight forever. Near Cridersville, in this +neighborhood, a valley such as I have described, takes in the +surface floods of a large tract of country. The waters that run +down its sides, during a storm form a torrent, and fence-rails, +timbers, and other objects are gulped into the chasm where the +creek plunges into the earth, and they never appear again. This +part of Kentucky is the most remarkable portion of the known +world, and although now neglected, in a time to come is surely +destined to an extended distinction. I have referred only to the +surface, the skin formation of this honeycombed labyrinth, the +entrance to the future wonderland of the world. Portions of such +a superficial cavern maze have been traversed by man in the +ramifications known as the Mammoth Cave, but deeper than +man has yet explored, the subcutaneous structure of that series +of caverns is yet to be investigated. The Mammoth Cave as now +traversed is simply a superficial series of grottoes and passages +overlying the deeper cavern field that I have described. The +explored chain of passages is of great interest to men, it is true, +but of minor importance compared to others yet unknown, being +in fact, the result of mere surface erosion. The river that bisects +the cave, just beneath the surface of the earth, and known as +Echo River, is a miniature stream: there are others more magnificent +that flow majestically far, far beneath it. As we descend +into the earth in that locality, caverns multiply in number and +increase in size, retaining the general configuration of those I +have described. The layers of rock are thicker, the intervening +spaces broader; and the spaces stretch in increasingly expanded +chambers for miles, while high above each series of caverns the +solid ceilings of stone arch and interarch. Sheltered under these +subterrene alcoves are streams, lakes, rivers and water-falls. Near +the surface of the earth such waters often teem with aquatic life, +and some of the caves are inhabited by species of birds, reptiles<span class="pagenum">[Pg 92]</span> +and mammals as yet unknown to men, creatures possessed of +senses and organs that are different from any we find with surface +animals, and also apparently defective in particulars that would +startle persons acquainted only with creatures that live in the +sunshine. It is a world beneath a world, a world within a +world—" My guide abruptly stopped.</p> + +<p>I sat entranced, marveling at the young-old adept's knowledge, +admiring his accomplishments. I gazed into the cavity +that yawned beneath me, and imagined its possible but to me +invisible secrets, enraptured with the thought of searching into +them. Who would not feel elated at the prospect of an exploration, +such as I foresaw might be pursued in my immediate +future? I had often been charmed with narrative descriptions +of discoveries, and book accounts of scientific investigations, but +I had never pictured myself as a participant in such fascinating +enterprises.</p> + +<p>"Indeed, indeed," I cried exultingly; "lead me to this Wonderland, +show me the entrance to this Subterranean World, and +I promise willingly to do as you bid."</p> + +<p>"Bravo!" he replied, "your heart is right, your courage +sufficient; I have not disclosed a thousandth part of the wonders +which I have knowledge of, and which await your research, and +probably I have not gained even an insight into the mysteries that, +if your courage permits, you will be privileged to comprehend. +Your destiny lies beyond, far beyond that which I have pictured +or experienced; and I, notwithstanding my opportunities, have +no conception of its end, for at the critical moment my heart +faltered—I can therefore only describe the beginning."</p> + +<p>Thus at the lower extremity of Biswell's Hill, I was made +aware of the fact that, within a short time, I should be separated +from my sympathetic guide, and that it was to be my duty +to explore alone, or in other company, some portion of these +Kentucky cavern deeps, and I longed for the beginning of my +underground journey. Heavens! how different would have been +my future life could I then have realized my position! Would +that I could have seen the end. After a few days of uneventful +travel, we rested, one afternoon, in a hilly country that before +us appeared to be more rugged, even mountainous. We had +wandered leisurely, and were now at a considerable distance from<span class="pagenum">[Pg 93]</span> +the Cumberland River, the aim of my guide being, as I surmised, +to evade a direct approach to some object of interest which I must +not locate exactly, and yet which I shall try to describe accurately +enough for identification by a person familiar with the topography +of that section. We stood on the side of a stony, sloping +hill, back of which spread a wooded, undulating valley.</p> + +<p>"I remember to have passed along a creek in that valley," I +remarked, looking back over our pathway. "It appeared to rise +from this direction, but the source ends abruptly in this chain +of hills."</p> + +<p>"The stream is beneath us," he answered. Advancing a few +paces, he brought to my attention, on the hillside, an opening +in the earth. This aperture was irregular in form, about the +diameter of a well, and descended perpendicularly into the stony +crust. I leaned far over the orifice, and heard the gurgle of +rushing water beneath. The guide dropped a heavy stone into +the gloomy shaft, and in some seconds a dull splash announced +its plunge into underground water. Then he leaned over the +stony edge, and—could I be mistaken?—seemed to signal to +some one beneath; but it must be imagination on my part, I +argued to myself, even against my very sense of sight. Rising, +and taking me by the hand, my guardian spoke:</p> + +<p>"Brother, we approach the spot where you and I must +separate. I serve my masters and am destined to go where +I shall next be commanded; you will descend into the earth, as +you have recently desired to do. Here we part, most likely +forever. This rocky fissure will admit the last ray of sunlight +on your path."</p> + +<p>My heart failed. How often are we courageous in daylight +and timid by night? Men unflinchingly face in sunshine +dangers at which they shudder in the darkness.</p> + +<p>"How am I to descend into that abyss?" I gasped. "The +sides are perpendicular, the depth is unknown!" Then I cried +in alarm, the sense of distrust deepening: "Do you mean to drown +me; is it for this you have led me away from my native State, +from friends, home and kindred? You have enticed me into this +wilderness. I have been decoyed, and, like a foolish child, have +willingly accompanied my destroyer. You feared to murder me +in my distant home; the earth could not have hidden me;<span class="pagenum">[Pg 94]</span> +Niagara even might have given up my body to dismay the murderers! +In this underground river in the wilds of Kentucky, all +trace of my existence will disappear forever."</p> + +<p>I was growing furious. My frenzied eyes searched the ground +for some missile of defense. By strange chance some one had +left, on that solitary spot, a rude weapon, providentially dropped +for my use, I thought. It was a small iron bolt or bar, somewhat +rusted. I threw myself upon the earth, and, as I did so, picked +this up quickly, and secreted it within my bosom. Then I arose +and resumed my stormy denunciation:</p> + +<p>"You have played your part well, you have led your unresisting +victim to the sacrifice, but if I am compelled to plunge +into this black grave, you shall go with me!" I shrieked in +desperation, and suddenly threw my arms around the gentle +adept, intending to hurl him into the chasm. At this point I +felt my hands seized from behind in a cold, clammy, irresistible +embrace, my fingers were loosed by a strong grasp, and I turned, +to find myself confronted by a singular looking being, who +quietly said:</p> + +<p>"You are not to be destroyed; we wish only to do your +bidding."</p> + +<p>The speaker stood in a stooping position, with his face +towards the earth as if to shelter it from the sunshine. He was +less than five feet in height. His arms and legs were bare, and +his skin, the color of light blue putty, glistened in the sunlight +like the slimy hide of a water dog. He raised his head, and I +shuddered in affright as I beheld that his face was not that of +a human. His forehead extended in an unbroken plane from +crown to cheek bone, and the chubby tip of an abortive nose +without nostrils formed a short projection near the center of the +level ridge which represented a countenance. There was no +semblance of an eye, for there were no sockets. Yet his voice +was singularly perfect. His face, if face it could be called, was +wet, and water dripped from all parts of his slippery person. +Yet, repulsive as he looked, I shuddered more at the remembrance +of the touch of that cold, clammy hand than at the sight +of his figure, for a dead man could not have chilled me as he had +done, with his sappy skin, from which the moisture seemed to +ooze as from the hide of a water lizard.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 402px;"> +<img src="images/gs1017.jpg" width="402" height="600" alt="" title=""CONFRONTED BY A SINGULAR LOOKING BEING."" /> +<span class="caption">"CONFRONTED BY A SINGULAR LOOKING BEING."</span> +</div> + + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 97]</span></p> + +<p>Turning to my guide, this freak of nature said, softly:</p> + +<p>"I have come in obedience to the signal."</p> + +<p>I realized at once that alone with these two I was powerless, +and that to resist would be suicidal. Instantly my effervescing +passion subsided, and I expressed no further surprise at this +sudden and remarkable apparition, but mentally acquiesced. I +was alone and helpless; rage gave place to inertia in the +despondency that followed the realization of my hopeless condition. +The grotesque newcomer who, though sightless, possessed +a strange instinct, led us to the base of the hill a few hundred +feet away, and there, gushing into the light from the rocky bluff, I +saw a magnificent stream issuing many feet in width. This was +the head-waters of the mysterious brook that I had previously +noticed. It flowed from an archway in the solid stone, springing +directly out of the rock-bound cliff; beautiful and picturesque in +its surroundings. The limpid water, clear and sparkling, issued +from the unknown source that was typical of darkness, but the +brook of crystal leaped into a world of sunshine, light and +freedom.</p> + +<p>"Brother," said my companion, "this spring emerging from +this prison of earth images to us what humanity will be when +the prisoning walls of ignorance that now enthrall him are +removed. Man has heretofore relied chiefly for his advancement, +both mental and physical, on knowledge gained from so-called +scientific explorations and researches with matter, from material +studies rather than spiritual, all his investigations having been +confined to the crude, coarse substance of the surface of the +globe. Spiritualistic investigations, unfortunately, are considered +by scientific men too often as reaching backward only. The +religions of the world clasp hands with, and lean upon, the dead +past, it is true, but point to a living future. Man must yet search +by the agency of senses and spirit, the unfathomed mysteries +that lie beneath his feet and over his head, and he who refuses +to bow to the Creator and honor his handiwork discredits himself. +When this work is accomplished, as it yet will be, the future +man, able then to comprehend the problem of life in its broader +significance, drawing from all directions the facts necessary to +his mental advancement, will have reached a state in which he +can enjoy bodily comfort and supreme spiritual perfection,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 98]</span> +while he is yet an earth-bound mortal. In hastening this +consummation, it is necessary that an occasional human life +should be lost to the world, but such sacrifices are noble—yes, +sublime, because contributing to the future exaltation of our +race. The secret workers in the sacred order of which you are +still a member, have ever taken an important part in furthering +such a system of evolution. This feature of our work +is unknown to brethren of the ordinary fraternity, and the +individual research of each secret messenger is unguessed, by +the craft at large. Hence it is that the open workers of our +order, those initiated by degrees only, who in lodge rooms carry +on their beneficent labors among men, have had no hand other +than as agents in your removal, and no knowledge of your +present or future movements. Their function is to keep together +our organization on earth, and from them only an occasional +member is selected, as you have been, to perform special duties +in certain adventurous studies. Are you willing to go on this +journey of exploration? and are you brave enough to meet the +trials you have invited?"</p> + +<p>Again my enthusiasm arose, and I felt the thrill experienced +by an investigator who stands on the brink of an important +discovery, and needs but courage to advance, and I answered, +"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Then, farewell; this archway is the entrance that will admit +you into your arcanum of usefulness. This mystic Brother, +though a stranger to you, has long been apprised of our coming, +and it was he who sped me on my journey to seek you, and who +has since been waiting for us, and is to be your guide during the +first stages of your subterrene progress. He is a Friend, and, if +you trust him, will protect you from harm. You will find the +necessaries of life supplied, for I have traversed part of your +coming road; that part I therefore know, but, as I have said, +you are to go deeper into the unexplored,—yes, into and beyond +the Beyond, until finally you will come to the gateway that +leads into the 'Unknown Country.'"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 99]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> +<br /> +FAREWELL TO GOD'S SUNSHINE.—THE ECHO OF THE CRY.</h2> + + +<p>Thus speaking, my quiet leader, who had so long been as a +shepherd to my wandering feet, on the upper earth, grasped my +hands tightly, and placed them in those of my new companion, +whose clammy fingers closed over them as with a grip of iron. +The mysterious being, now my custodian, turned towards the +creek, drawing me after him, and together we silently and +solemnly waded beneath the stone archway. As I passed under +the shadow of that dismal, yawning cliff, I turned my head to +take one last glimpse of the world I had known—that "warm +precinct of the cheerful day,"—and tears sprang to my eyes. I +thought of life, family, friends,—of all for which men live—and +a melancholy vision arose, that of my lost, lost home. My +dear companion of the journey that had just ended stood in +the sunlight on the banks of the rippling stream, gazing at us +intently, and waved an affectionate farewell. My uncouth new +associate (guide or master, whichever he might be), of the +journey to come, clasped me firmly by the arms, and waded +slowly onward, thrusting me steadily against the cold current, +and with irresistible force pressed me into the thickening darkness. +The daylight disappeared, the pathway contracted, the +water deepened and became more chilly. We were constrained +to bow our heads in order to avoid the overhanging vault of +stone; the water reached to my chin, and now the down-jutting +roof touched the crown of my head; then I shuddered convulsively +as the last ray of daylight disappeared.</p> + +<p>Had it not been for my companion, I know that I should +have sunk in despair, and drowned; but with a firm hand he +held my head above the water, and steadily pushed me onward. +I had reached the extreme of despondency: I neither feared nor +cared for life nor death, and I realized that, powerless to control +my own acts, my fate, the future, my existence depended on the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 100]</span> +strange being beside me. I was mysteriously sustained, however, +by a sense of bodily security, such as comes over us as when in +the hands of an experienced guide we journey through a wilderness, +for I felt that my pilot of the underworld did not purpose +to destroy me. We halted a moment, and then, as a faint light +overspread us, my eyeless guide directed me to look upward.</p> + +<p>"We now stand beneath the crevice which you were told by +your former guide would admit the last ray of sunlight on your +path. I also say to you, this struggling ray of sunlight is to be +your last for years."</p> + +<p>I gazed above me, feeling all the wretchedness of a dying +man who, with faculties intact, might stand on the dark edge of +the hillside of eternity, glancing back into the bright world; and +that small opening far, far overhead, seemed as the gate to +Paradise Lost. Many a person, assured of ascending at will, +has stood at the bottom of a deep well or shaft to a mine, and +even then felt the undescribable sensation of dread, often terror, +that is produced by such a situation. Awe, mystery, uncertainty +of life and future superadded, may express my sensation. I +trembled, shrinking in horror from my captor and struggled +violently.</p> + +<p>"Hold, hold," I begged, as one involuntarily prays a surgeon +to delay the incision of the amputating knife, "just one +moment." My companion, unheeding, moved on, the light +vanished instantly, and we were surrounded by total darkness. +God's sunshine was blotted out.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/gs1018.jpg" width="400" height="600" alt="" title=""THIS STRUGGLING RAY OF SUNLIGHT IS TO BE YOUR LAST +FOR YEARS."" /> +<span class="caption">"THIS STRUGGLING RAY OF SUNLIGHT IS TO BE YOUR LAST +FOR YEARS."</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 102]</span></p> + +<p>Then I again became unconcerned; I was not now responsible +for my own existence, and the feeling that I experienced when a +prisoner in the closed carriage returned. I grew careless as to +my fate, and with stolid indifference struggled onward as we progressed +slowly against the current of water. I began to interest +myself in speculations regarding our surroundings, and the object +or outcome of our journey. In places the water was shallow, +scarce reaching to our ankles; again it was so deep that we could +wade only with exertion, and at times the passage up which we +toiled was so narrow, that it would scarcely admit us. After a +long, laborious stemming of the unseen brook, my companion +directed me to close my mouth, hold my nostrils with my fingers, +and stoop; almost diving with me beneath the water, he drew +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 103]</span>me through the submerged crevice, and we ascended into an open +chamber, and left the creek behind us. I fancied that we were +in a large room, and as I shouted aloud to test my hypothesis, +echo after echo answered, until at last the cry reverberated and +died away in distant murmurs. We were evidently in a great +pocket or cavern, through which my guide now walked rapidly; +indeed, he passed along with unerring footsteps, as certain of his +course as I might be on familiar ground in full daylight. I +perceived that he systematically evaded inequalities that I could +not anticipate nor see. He would tell me to step up or down, +as the surroundings required, and we ascended or descended +accordingly. Our path turned to the right or the left from time to +time, but my eyeless guide passed through what were evidently +the most tortuous windings without a mishap. I wondered +much at this gift of knowledge, and at last overcame my reserve +sufficiently to ask how we could thus unerringly proceed in utter +darkness. The reply was:</p> + +<p>"The path is plainly visible to me; I see as clearly in pitch +darkness as you can in sunshine."</p> + +<p>"Explain yourself further," I requested.</p> + +<p>He replied, "Not yet;" and continued, "you are weary, we +will rest."</p> + +<p>He conducted me to a seat on a ledge, and left me for a +time. Returning soon, he placed in my hands food which I ate +with novel relish. The pabulum seemed to be of vegetable +origin, though varieties of it had a peculiar flesh-like flavor. +Several separate and distinct substances were contained in the +queer viands, some portions savoring of wholesome flesh, while +others possessed the delicate flavors of various fruits, such as the +strawberry and the pineapple. The strange edibles were of a +pulpy texture, homogeneous in consistence, parts being juicy and +acid like grateful fruits. Some portions were in slices or films +that I could hold in my hand like sections of a velvet melon, +and yet were in many respects unlike any other food that I had +ever tasted. There was neither rind nor seed; it seemed as +though I were eating the gills of a fish, and in answer to my +question the guide remarked:</p> + +<p>"Yes; it is the gill, but not the gill of a fish. You will be +instructed in due time." I will add that after this, whenever<span class="pagenum">[Pg 104]</span> +necessary, we were supplied with food, but both thirst and +hunger disappeared altogether before our underground journey +was finished.</p> + +<p>After a while we again began our journey, which we continued +in what was to me absolute darkness. My strength +seemed to endure the fatigue to a wonderful degree, notwithstanding +that we must have been walking hour after hour, and +I expressed a curiosity about the fact. My guide replied that +the atmosphere of the cavern possessed an intrinsic vitalizing +power that neutralized fatigue, "or," he said, "there is here an +inherent constitutional energy derived from an active gaseous +substance that belongs to cavern air at this depth, and sustains +the life force by contributing directly to its conservation, taking +the place of food and drink."</p> + +<p>"I do not understand," I said.</p> + +<p>"No; and you do not comprehend how ordinary air supports +mind and vitalizes muscle, and at the same time wears out both +muscle and all other tissues. These are facts which are not +satisfactorily explained by scientific statements concerning oxygenation +of the blood. As we descend into the earth we find an +increase in the life force of the cavern air."</p> + +<p>This reference to surface earth recalled my former life, and +led me to contrast my present situation with that I had forfeited. +I was seized with an uncontrollable longing for home, and a painful +craving for the past took possession of my heart, but with a +strong effort I shook off the sensations. We traveled on and on +in silence and in darkness, and I thought again of the strange +remark of my former guide who had said: "You are destined to +go deeper into the unknown; yes, into and beyond the Beyond."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 105]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /> +<br /> +A ZONE OF LIGHT DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH.</h2> + + +<p>"Oh! for one glimpse of light, a ray of sunshine!"</p> + +<p>In reply to this my mental ejaculation, my guide said: "Can +not you perceive that the darkness is becoming less intense?"</p> + +<p>"No," I answered, "I can not; night is absolute."</p> + +<p>"Are you sure?" he asked. "Cover your eyes with your +hands, then uncover and open them." I did so and fancied that +by contrast a faint gray hue was apparent.</p> + +<p>"This must be imagination."</p> + +<p>"No; we now approach a zone of earth light; let us hasten on."</p> + +<p>"A zone of light deep in the earth! Incomprehensible! Incredible!" +I muttered, and yet as we went onward and time +passed the darkness was less intense. The barely perceptible +hue became gray and somber, and then of a pearly translucence, +and although I could not distinguish the outline of objects, yet I +unquestionably perceived light.</p> + +<p>"I am amazed! What can be the cause of this phenomenon? +What is the nature of this mysterious halo that surrounds us?" +I held my open hand before my eyes, and perceived the darkness +of my spread fingers.</p> + +<p>"It is light, it is light," I shouted, "it is really light!" and +from near and from far the echoes of that subterranean cavern +answered back joyfully, "It is light, it is light!"</p> + +<p>I wept in joy, and threw my arms about my guide, forgetting +in the ecstasy his clammy cuticle, and danced in hysterical glee +and alternately laughed and cried. How vividly I realized then +that the imprisoned miner would give a world of gold, his former +god, for a ray of light.</p> + +<p>"Compose yourself; this emotional exhibition is an evidence +of weakness; an investigator should neither become depressed +over a reverse, nor unduly enthusiastic over a fortunate discovery."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 106]</span></p> + +<p>"But we approach the earth's surface? Soon I will be back +in the sunshine again."</p> + +<p>"Upon the contrary, we have been continually descending +into the earth, and we are now ten miles or more beneath the +level of the ocean."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 457px;"> +<img src="images/gs1019.jpg" width="457" height="600" alt="" title=""WE APPROACH DAYLIGHT, I CAN SEE YOUR FORM."" /> +<span class="caption">"WE APPROACH DAYLIGHT, I CAN SEE YOUR FORM."</span> +</div> + + +<p>I shrank back, hesitated, and in despondency gazed at his +hazy outline, then, as if palsied, sank upon the stony floor; but +as I saw the light before me, I leaped up and shouted:</p> + +<p>"What you say is not true; we approach daylight, I can see +your form."</p> + +<p>"Listen to me," he said. "Can not you understand that I +have led you continually down a steep descent, and that for +hours there has been no step upward? With but little exertion<span class="pagenum">[Pg 107]</span> +you have walked this distance without becoming wearied, and +you could not, without great fatigue, have ascended for so long +a period. You are entering a zone of inner earth light; we are +in the surface, the upper edge of it. Let us hasten on, for when +this cavern darkness is at an end—and I will say we have nearly +passed that limit—your courage will return, and then we will +rest."</p> + +<p>"You surely do not speak the truth; science and philosophy, +and I am somewhat versed in both, have never told me of such +a light."</p> + +<p>"Can philosophers more than speculate about that which +they have not experienced if they have no data from which to +calculate? Name the student in science who has reached this +depth in earth, or has seen a man to tell him of these facts?"</p> + +<p>"I can not."</p> + +<p>"Then why should you have expected any of them to +describe our surroundings? Misguided men will torture science +by refuting facts with theories; but a fact is no less a fact when +science opposes."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/m1020.png" width="600" height="354" alt="" title=""SEATED HIMSELF ON A NATURAL BENCH OF STONE."" /> +<span class="caption">"SEATED HIMSELF ON A NATURAL BENCH OF STONE."</span> +</div> + + +<p>I recognized the force of his arguments, and cordially grasped +his hand in indication of submission. We continued our journey, +and rapidly traveled downward and onward. The light gradually +increased in intensity, until at length the cavern near about us +seemed to be as bright as diffused daylight could have made it. +There was apparently no central point of radiation; the light +was such as to pervade and exist in the surrounding space, somewhat +as the vapor of phosphorus spreads a self-luminous haze +throughout the bubble into which it is blown. The visual agent +surrounding us had a permanent, self-existing luminosity, and +was a pervading, bright, unreachable essence that, without an +obvious origin, diffused itself equally in all directions. It +reminded me of the form of light that in previous years I +had seen described as epipolic dispersion, and as I refer to the +matter I am of the opinion that man will yet find that the same +cause produces both phenomena. I was informed now by the +sense of sight, that we were in a cavern room of considerable +size. The apartment presented somewhat the appearance of the +usual underground caverns that I had seen pictured in books, and +yet was different. Stalactites, stalagmites, saline incrustations,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 108]</span> +occurring occasionally reminded me of travelers' stories, but +these objects were not so abundant as might be supposed. Such +accretions or deposits of saline substances as I noticed were also +disappointing, in that, instead of having a dazzling brilliancy, +like frosted snow crystals, they were of a uniform gray or brown +hue. Indeed, my former imaginative mental creations regarding +underground caverns were dispelled in this somber stone temple, +for even the floor and the fragments of stone that, in considerable +quantities, strewed the floor, were of the usual rock formations +of upper earth. The glittering crystals of snowy white or rainbow +tints (fairy caverns) pictured by travelers, and described as +inexpressibly grand and beautiful in other cavern labyrinths, +were wanting here, and I saw only occasional small clusters of +quartz crystals that were other than of a dull gray color. Finally, +after hours or perhaps days of travel, interspersed with restings, +conversations, and arguments, amid which I could form no idea +of the flight of time, my companion seated himself on a natural +bench of stone, and directed me to rest likewise. He broke the +silence, and spoke as follows:</p> + + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 109]</span></p> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> +<br /> +VITALIZED DARKNESS.—THE NARROWS IN SCIENCE.</h2> + + +<p>"In studying any branch of science men begin and end with +an unknown. The chemist accepts as data such conditions of +matter as he finds about him, and connects ponderable matter +with the displays of energy that have impressed his senses, +building therefrom a span of theoretical science, but he can not +formulate as yet an explanation regarding the origin or the end +of either mind, matter, or energy. The piers supporting his +fabric stand in a profound invisible gulf, into which even his +imagination can not look to form a theory concerning basic +formations—corner-stones.</p> + +<p>"The geologist, in a like manner, grasps feebly the lessons +left in the superficial fragments of earth strata, impressions that +remain to bear imperfect record of a few of the disturbances that +have affected the earth's crust, and he endeavors to formulate a +story of the world's life, but he is neither able to antedate the +records shown by the meager testimony at his command, scraps +of a leaf out of God's great book of history, nor to anticipate +coming events. The birth, as well as the death, of this planet is +beyond his page.</p> + +<p>"The astronomer directs his telescope to the heavens, records +the position of the planets, and hopes to discover the influences +worlds exert upon one another. He explores space to obtain data +to enable him to delineate a map of the visible solar universe, +but the instruments he has at command are so imperfect, and +mind is so feeble that, like mockery seems his attempt to study +behind the facts connected with the motions and conditions of +the nearest heavenly bodies, and he can not offer an explanation +of the beginning or cessation of their movements. He can +neither account for their existence, nor foretell their end."</p> + +<p>"Are you not mistaken?" I interrupted; "does not the +astronomer foretell eclipses, and calculate the orbits of the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 110]</span> +planets, and has he not verified predictions concerning their +several motions?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; but this is simply a study of passing events. The +astronomer is no more capable of grasping an idea that reaches +into an explanation of the origin of motion, than the chemist or +physicist, from exact scientific data, can account for the creation +of matter. Give him any amount of material at rest, and he +can not conceive of any method by which motion can disturb +any part of it, unless such motion be mass motion communicated +from without, or molecular motion, already existing within. He +accounts for the phases of present motion in heavenly bodies, +not for the primal cause of the actual movements or intrinsic +properties they possess. He can neither originate a theory that +will permit of motion creating itself, and imparting itself to +quiescent matter, nor imagine how an atom of quiescent matter +can be moved, unless motion from without be communicated +thereto. The astronomer, I assert, can neither from any data at +his command postulate nor prove the beginning nor the end of +the reverberating motion that exists in his solar system, which is +itself the fragment of a system that is circulating and revolving +in and about itself, and in which, since the birth of man, the +universe he knows has not passed the first milestone in the road +that universe is traveling in space immensity.</p> + +<p>"The mathematician starts a line from an imaginary point +that he informs us exists theoretically without occupying any +space, which is a contradiction of terms according to his human +acceptation of knowledge derived from scientific experiment, if +science is based on verified facts. He assumes that straight lines +exist, which is a necessity for his calculation; but such a line he +has never made. Even the beam of sunshine, radiating through +a clear atmosphere or a cloud bank, widens and contracts again +as it progresses through the various mediums of air and vapor +currents, and if it is ever spreading and deflecting can it be +straight? He begins his study in the unknown, it ends with the +unknowable.</p> + +<p>"The biologist can conceive of no rational, scientific beginning +to life of plant or animal, and men of science must admit +the fact. Whenever we turn our attention to nature's laws and +nature's substance, we find man surrounded by the infinity that<span class="pagenum">[Pg 111]</span> +obscures the origin and covers the end. But perseverance, study +of nature's forces, and comparison of the past with the present, +will yet clarify human knowledge and make plain much of this +seemingly mysterious, but never will man reach the beginning +or the end. The course of human education, to this day, has +been mostly materialistic, although, together with the study of +matter, there has been more or less attention given to its moving +spirit. Newton was the dividing light in scientific thought; he +stepped between the reasonings of the past and the provings of +the present, and introduced problems that gave birth to a new +scientific tendency, a change from the study of matter from the +material side to that of force and matter, but his thought has +since been carried out in a mode too realistic by far. The study +of material bodies has given way, it is true, in a few cases to +the study of the spirit of matter, and evolution is beginning to +teach men that matter is crude. As a result, thought will in its +sequence yet show that modifications of energy expression are +paramount. This work is not lost, however, for the consideration +of the nature of sensible material, is preliminary and necessary +to progression (as the life of the savage prepares the way for +that of the cultivated student), and is a meager and primitive +child's effort, compared with the richness of the study in unseen +energy expressions that are linked with matter, of which men +will yet learn."</p> + +<p>"I comprehend some of this," I replied; "but I am neither +prepared to assent to nor dissent from your conclusions, and my +mind is not clear as to whether your logic is good or bad. I am +more ready to speak plainly about my own peculiar situation +than to become absorbed in abstruse arguments in science, and I +marvel more at the soft light that is here surrounding us than +at the metaphysical reasoning in which you indulge."</p> + +<p>"The child ignorant of letters wonders at the resources of +those who can spell and read, and, in like manner, many obscure +natural phenomena are marvelous to man only because of his +ignorance. You do not comprehend the fact that sunlight is simply +a matter-bred expression, an outburst of interrupted energy, +and that the modification this energy undergoes makes it visible +or sensible to man. What, think you, becomes of the flood of +light energy that unceasingly flows from the sun? For ages, for<span class="pagenum">[Pg 112]</span> +an eternity, it has bathed this earth and seemingly streamed +into space, and space it would seem must have long since have +been filled with it, if, as men believe, space contains energy of +any description. Man may say the earth casts the amount intercepted +by it back into space, and yet does not your science teach +that the great bulk of the earth is an absorber, and a poor +radiator of light and heat? What think you, I repeat, becomes +of the torrent of light and heat and other forces that radiate +from the sun, the flood that strikes the earth? It disappears, +and, in the economy of nature, is not replaced by any known +force or any known motion of matter. Think you that earth +substance really presents an obstacle to the passage of the sun's +energy? Is it not probable that most of this light producing +essence, as a subtle fluid, passes through the surface of the earth +and into its interior, as light does through space, and returns +thence to the sun again, in a condition not discernible by man?" +He grasped my arm and squeezed it as though to emphasize +the words to follow. "You have used the term sunshine freely; +tell me what is sunshine? Ah! you do not reply; well, what +evidence have you to show that sunshine (heat and light) is not +earth-bred, a condition that exists locally only, the result of contact +between matter and some unknown force expression? What +reason have you for accepting that, to other forms unknown and +yet transparent to this energy, your sunshine may not be as +intangible as the ether of space is to man? What reason have +you to believe that a force torrent is not circulating to and from +the sun and earth, inappreciable to man, excepting the mere +trace of this force which, modified by contact action with matter +appears as heat, light, and other force expressions? How can +I, if this is true, in consideration of your ignorance, enter into +details explanatory of the action that takes place between matter +and a portion of this force, whereby in the earth, first at the +surface, darkness is produced, and then deeper down an earth +light that man can perceive by the sense of sight, as you now +realize? I will only say that this luminous appearance about +us is produced by a natural law, whereby the flood of energy, +invisible to man, a something clothed now under the name of +darkness, after streaming into the crust substance of the earth, +is at this depth, revivified, and then is made apparent to mortal<span class="pagenum">[Pg 113]</span> +eye, to be modified again as it emerges from the opposite earth +crust, but not annihilated. For my vision, however, this central +light is not a necessity; my physical and mental development +is such that the energy of darkness is communicable; I can +respond to its touches on my nerves, and hence I can guide +you in this dark cavern. I am all eye."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" I exclaimed, "that reminds me of a remark made by +my former guide who, referring to the instinct of animals, spoke +of that as a natural power undeveloped in man. Is it true that +by mental cultivation a new sense can be evolved whereby +darkness may become as light?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; that which you call light is a form of sensible energy +to which the faculties of animals who live on the surface of the +earth have become adapted, through their organs of sight. The +sun's energy is modified when it strikes the surface of the earth; +part is reflected, but most of it passes onward into the earth's +substance, in an altered or disturbed condition. Animal organisms +within the earth must possess a peculiar development to +utilize it under its new form, but such a sense is really possessed +in a degree by some creatures known to men. There is consciousness +behind consciousness; there are grades and depths of +consciousness. Earth worms, and some fishes and reptiles in +underground streams (lower organizations, men call them) do not +use the organ of sight, but recognize objects, seek their food, and +flee from their enemies."</p> + +<p>"They have no eyes," I exclaimed, forgetting that I spoke to +an eyeless being; "how can they see?"</p> + +<p>"You should reflect that man can not offer a satisfactory +explanation of the fact that he can see with his eyes. In one +respect, these so-called lower creatures are higher in the scale of +life than man is, for they see (appreciate) without eyes. The +surfaces of their bodies really are sources of perception, and +seats of consciousness. Man must yet learn to see with his +skin, taste with his fingers, and hear with the surface of his +body. The dissected nerve, or the pupil of man's eye, offers to +the physiologist no explanation of its intrinsic power. Is not +man unfortunate in having to risk so much on so frail an organ? +The physiologist can not tell why or how the nerve of the +tongue can distinguish between bitter and sweet, or convey any<span class="pagenum">[Pg 114]</span> +impression of taste, or why the nerve of the ear communicates +sound, or the nerve of the eye communicates the impression of +sight. There is an impassable barrier behind all forms of nerve +impressions, that neither the microscope nor other methods of +investigation can help the reasoning senses of man to remove. +The void that separates the pulp of the material nerve from +consciousness is broader than the solar universe, for even from +the most distant known star we can imagine the never-ending +flight of a ray of light, that has once started on its travels into +space. Can any man outline the bridge that connects the intellect +with nerve or brain, mind, or with any form of matter? The fact +that the surface of the bodies of some animals is capable of +performing the same functions for these animals that the eye of +man performs for him, is not more mysterious than is the function +of that eye itself. The term darkness is an expression used +to denote the fact that to the brain which governs the eye of +man, what man calls the absence of light, is unrecognizable. +If men were more magnanimous and less egotistical, they would +open their minds to the fact that some animals really possess +certain senses that are better developed than they are in man. +The teachers of men too often tell the little they know and +neglect the great unseen. The cat tribe, some night birds, and +many reptiles can see better in darkness than in daylight. Let +man compare with the nerve expanse of his own eye that of the +highly developed eye of any such creature, and he will understand +that the difference is one of brain or intellect, and not +altogether one of optical vision surface. When men are able to +explain how light can affect the nerves of their own eyes and +produce such an effect on distant brain tissues as to bring to his +senses objects that he is not touching, he may be able to explain +how the energy in darkness can affect the nerve of the eye in the +owl and impress vision on the brain of that creature. Should +not man's inferior sense of light lead him to question if, instead +of deficient visual power, there be not a deficiency of the brain +capacity of man? Instead of accepting that the eye of man +is incapable of receiving the impression of night energy, and +making no endeavor to improve himself in the direction of his +imperfection, man should reflect whether or not his brain may, by +proper cultivation or artificial stimulus, be yet developed so as<span class="pagenum">[Pg 115]</span> +to receive yet deeper nerve impressions, thereby changing darkness +into daylight. Until man can explain the modus operandi +of the senses he now possesses, he can not consistently question +the existence of a different sight power in other beings, and +unquestioned existing conditions should lead him to hope for a +yet higher development in himself."</p> + +<p>"This dissertation is interesting, very," I said. "Although +inclined toward agnosticism, my ideas of a possible future in +consciousness that lies before mankind are broadened. I therefore +accept your reasoning, perhaps because I can not refute it, +neither do I wish to do so. And now I ask again, can not you +explain to me how darkness, as deep as that of midnight, has +been revivified so as to bring this great cavern to my view?"</p> + +<p>"That may be made plain at a future time," he answered; +"let us proceed with our journey."</p> + +<p>We passed through a dry, well ventilated apartment. Stalactite +formations still existed, indicative of former periods of +water drippings, but as we journeyed onward I saw no evidence +of present percolations, and the developing and erosive +agencies that had worked in ages past must long ago have +been suspended. The floor was of solid stone, entirely free from +loose earth and fallen rocky fragments. It was smooth upon +the surface, but generally disposed in gentle undulations. The +peculiar, soft, radiant light to which my guide referred as "vitalized +darkness" or "revivified sunshine," pervaded all the space +about me, but I could not by its agency distinguish the sides +of the vast cavern. The brightness was of a species that +while it brought into distinctness objects that were near at +hand, lost its unfolding power or vigor a short distance beyond. +I would compare the effect to that of a bright light shining +through a dense fog, were it not that the medium about us was +transparent—not milky. The light shrunk into nothingness. +It passed from existence behind and about me as if it were +annihilated, without wasting away in the opalescent appearance +once familiar as that of a spreading fog. Moreover, it seemed +to detail such objects as were within the compass of a certain +area close about me, but to lose in intensity beyond. The buttons +on my coat appeared as distinct as they ever did when I stood +in the sunlight, and fully one-half larger than I formerly knew<span class="pagenum">[Pg 116]</span> +them to be. The corrugations on the palms of my hands stood +out in bold serpentine relief that I observed clearly when I held +my hands near my eye, my fingers appeared clumsy, and all +parts of my person were magnified in proportion. The region +at the limits of my range of perception reminded me of nothingness, +but not of darkness. A circle of obliteration defined the +border of the luminous belt which advanced as we proceeded, +and closed in behind us. This line, or rather zone of demarkation, +that separated the seen from the unseen, appeared to be about +two hundred feet away, but it might have been more or less, as I +had no method of measuring distances.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 405px;"> +<img src="images/gs1021.jpg" width="405" height="600" alt="" title=""I WAS IN A FOREST OF COLOSSAL FUNGI."" /> +<span class="caption">"I WAS IN A FOREST OF COLOSSAL FUNGI."</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 119]</span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> +<br /> +THE FUNGUS FOREST.—ENCHANTMENT.</h2> + + +<p>Along the chamber through which we now passed I saw by +the mellow light great pillars, capped with umbrella-like covers, +some of them reminding me of the common toadstool of upper +earth, on a magnificent scale. Instead, however, of the gray or +somber shades to which I had been accustomed, these objects +were of various hues and combined the brilliancy of the primary +prismatic colors, with the purity of clean snow. Now they would +stand solitary, like gigantic sentinels; again they would be +arranged in rows, the alignment as true as if established by +the hair of a transit, forming columnar avenues, and in other +situations they were wedged together so as to produce masses, +acres in extent, in which the stems became hexagonal by compression. +The columnar stems, larger than my body, were often +spiral; again they were marked with diamond-shaped figures, or +other regular geometrical forms in relief, beautifully exact, drawn +as by a master's hand in rich and delicately blended colors, on +pillars of pure alabaster. Not a few of the stems showed deep +crimson, blue, or green, together with other rich colors combined; +over which, as delicate as the rarest of lace, would be thrown, in +white, an enamel-like intricate tracery, far surpassing in beauty +of execution the most exquisite needle-work I had ever seen. +There could be no doubt that I was in a forest of colossal fungi, +the species of which are more numerous than those of upper +earth cryptomatic vegetation. The expanded heads of these +great thallogens were as varied as the stems I have described, +and more so. Far above our path they spread like beautiful +umbrellas, decorated as if by masters from whom the great +painters of upper earth might humbly learn the art of mixing +colors. Their under surfaces were of many different designs, +and were of as many shapes as it is conceivable could be +made of combinations of the circle and hyperbola. Stately and<span class="pagenum">[Pg 120]</span> +picturesque, silent and immovable as the sphinx, they studded +the great cavern singly or in groups, reminding me of a grown +child's wild imagination of fairy land. I stopped beside a group +that was of unusual conspicuity and gazed in admiration on the +huge and yet graceful, beautiful spectacle. I placed my hand +on the stem of one plant, and found it soft and impressible; +but instead of being moist, cold, and clammy as the repulsive +toadstool of upper earth, I discovered, to my surprise, that it was +pleasantly warm, and soft as velvet.</p> + +<p>"Smell your hand," said my guide.</p> + +<p>I did so, and breathed in an aroma like that of fresh strawberries. +My guide observed (I had learned to judge of his emotions +by his facial expressions) my surprised countenance with indifference.</p> + +<p>"Try the next one," he said.</p> + +<p>This being of a different species, when rubbed by my hand +exhaled the odor of the pineapple.</p> + +<p>"Extraordinary," I mused.</p> + +<p>"Not at all. Should productions of surface earth have a +monopoly of nature's methods, all the flavors, all the perfumes? +You may with equal consistency express astonishment at the +odors of the fruits of upper earth if you do so at the fragrance of +these vegetables, for they are also created of odorless elements."</p> + +<p>"But toadstools are foul structures of low organization.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> + +They are neither animals nor true vegetables, but occupy a +station below that of plants proper," I said.</p> + + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> +The fungus Polyporus graveolens was neglected by the guide. This +fungus exhales a delicate odor, and is used in Kentucky to perfume a +room. Being quite large, it is employed to hold a door open, thus being +useful as well as fragrant.—J. U. L.</p></div> + +<p>"You are acquainted with this order of vegetation under the +most unfavorable conditions; out of their native elements these +plants degenerate and become then abnormal, often evolving +into the poisonous earth fungi known to your woods and fields. +Here they grow to perfection. This is their chosen habitat. +They absorb from a pure atmosphere the combined foods of +plants and animals, and during their existence meet no scorching +sunrise. They flourish in a region of perfect tranquillity, and +without a tremor, without experiencing the change of a fraction +of a degree in temperature, exist for ages. Many of these +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 121]</span>specimens are probably thousands of years old, and are still +growing; why should they ever die? They have never been disturbed +by a breath of moving air, and, balanced exactly on their +succulent, pedestal-like stems, surrounded by an atmosphere of +dead nitrogen, vapor, and other gases, with their roots imbedded +in carbonates and minerals, they have food at command, nutrition +inexhaustible."</p> + +<p>"Still I do not see why they grow to such mammoth +proportions."</p> + +<p>"Plants adapt themselves to surrounding conditions," he +remarked. "The oak tree in its proper latitude is tall and +stately; trace it toward the Arctic circle, and it becomes +knotted, gnarled, rheumatic, and dwindles to a shrub. The +castor plant in the tropics is twenty or thirty feet in height, in +the temperate zone it is an herbaceous plant, farther north it +has no existence. Indian corn in Kentucky is luxuriant, tall, +and graceful, and each stalk is supplied with roots to the second +and third joint, while in the northland it scarcely reaches to the +shoulder of a man, and, in order to escape the early northern +frost, arrives at maturity before the more southern variety +begins to tassel. The common jimson weed (datura stramonium) +planted in early spring, in rich soil, grows luxuriantly, +covers a broad expanse and bears an abundance of fruit; planted +in midsummer it blossoms when but a few inches in height, and +between two terminal leaves hastens to produce a single capsule +on the apex of the short stem, in order to ripen its seed before +the frost appears. These and other familiar examples might +be cited concerning the difference some species of vegetation of +your former lands undergo under climatic conditions less marked +than between those that govern the growth of fungi here and on +surface earth. Such specimens of fungi as grow in your former +home have escaped from these underground regions, and are as +much out of place as are the tropical plants transplanted to the +edge of eternal snow. Indeed, more so, for on the earth the +ordinary fungus, as a rule, germinates after sunset, and often +dies when the sun rises, while here they may grow in peace +eternally. These meandering caverns comprise thousands of +miles of surface covered by these growths which shall yet fulfill +a grand purpose in the economy of nature, for they are destined<span class="pagenum">[Pg 122]</span> +to feed tramping multitudes when the day appears in which the +nations of men will desert the surface of the earth and pass +as a single people through these caverns on their way to the +immaculate existence to be found in the inner sphere."</p> + +<p>"I can not disprove your statement," I again repeated; +"neither do I accept it. However, it still seems to me unnatural +to find such delicious flavors and delicate odors connected with +objects associated in memory with things insipid, or so disagreeable +as toadstools and the rank forest fungi which I abhorred +on earth."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 123]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> +<br /> +THE FOOD OF MAN.</h2> + + +<p>"This leads me to remark," answered the eyeless seer, "that +you speak without due consideration of previous experience. +You are, or should be, aware of other and as marked differences +in food products of upper earth, induced by climate, soil and +cultivation. The potato which, next to wheat, rice, or corn, you +know supplies nations of men with starchy food, originated as +a wild weed in South America and Mexico, where it yet exists +as a small, watery, marble-like tuber, and its nearest kindred, +botanically, is still poisonous. The luscious apple reached its +present excellence by slow stages from knotty, wild, astringent +fruit, to which it again returns when escaped from cultivation. +The cucumber is a near cousin of the griping, medicinal cathartic +bitter-apple, or colocynth, and occasionally partakes yet of the +properties that result from that unfortunate alliance, as too often +exemplified to persons who do not peel it deep enough to remove +the bitter, cathartic principle that exists near the surface. +Oranges, in their wild condition, are bitter, and are used principally +as medicinal agents. Asparagus was once a weed, native +to the salty edges of the sea, and as this weed has become a +food, so it is possible for other wild weeds yet to do. Buckwheat +is a weed proper, and not a cereal, and birds have learned that +the seeds of many other weeds are even preferable to wheat. The +wild parsnip is a poison, and the parsnip of cultivation relapses +quickly into its natural condition if allowed to escape and roam +again. The root of the tapioca plant contains a volatile poison, +and is deadly; but when that same root is properly prepared, it +becomes the wholesome food, tapioca. The nut of the African +anacardium (cachew nut) contains a nourishing kernel that is +eaten as food by the natives, and yet a drop of the juice of the +oily shell placed on the skin will blister and produce terrible +inflammations; only those expert in the removal of the kernel<span class="pagenum">[Pg 124]</span> +dare partake of the food. The berry of the berberis vulgaris is +a pleasant acid fruit; the bough that bears it is intensely bitter. +Such examples might be multiplied indefinitely, but I have cited +enough to illustrate the fact that neither the difference in size +and structure of the species in the mushroom forest through +which we are passing, nor the conditions of these bodies, as +compared with those you formerly knew, need excite your astonishment. +Cultivate a potato in your former home so that the +growing tuber is exposed to sunshine, and it becomes green +and acrid, and strongly virulent. Cultivate the spores of the +intra-earth fungi about us, on the face of the earth, and although +now all parts of the plants are edible, the species will degenerate, +and may even become poisonous. They lose their flavor under +such unfavorable conditions, and although some species still +retain vitality enough to resist poisonous degeneration, they +dwindle in size, and adapt themselves to new and unnatural +conditions. They have all degenerated. Here they live on +water, pure nitrogen and its modifications, grasping with their +roots the carbon of the disintegrated limestone, affiliating these +substances, and evolving from these bodies rich and delicate +flavors, far superior to the flavor of earth surface foods. On the +surface of the earth, after they become abnormal, they live only +on dead and devitalized organic matter, having lost the power of +assimilating elementary matter. They then partake of the nature +of animals, breathe oxygen and exhale carbonic acid, as animals +do, being the reverse of other plant existences. Here they breathe +oxygen, nitrogen, and the vapor of water; but exhale some of +the carbon in combination with hydrogen, thus evolving these +delicate ethereal essences instead of the poisonous gas, carbonic +acid. Their substance is here made up of all the elements necessary +for the support of animal life; nitrogen to make muscle, +carbon and hydrogen for fat, lime for bone. This fungoid forest +could feed a multitude. It is probable that in the time to come +when man deserts the bleak earth surface, as he will some day +be forced to do, as has been the case in frozen planets that are +not now inhabited on the outer crust; nations will march through +these spaces on their way from the dreary outside earth to the +delights of the salubrious inner sphere. Here then, when that +day of necessity appears, as it surely will come under inflexible<span class="pagenum">[Pg 125]</span> +climatic changes that will control the destiny of outer earth life, +these constantly increasing stores adapted to nourish humanity, +will be found accumulated and ready for food. You have already +eaten of them, for the variety of food with which I supplied you +has been selected from different portions of these nourishing +products which, flavored and salted, ready for use as food, stand +intermediate between animal and vegetable, supplying the place +of both."</p> + +<p>My instructor placed both hands on my shoulders, and in +silence I stood gazing intently into his face. Then, in a smooth, +captivating, entrancing manner, he continued:</p> + +<p>"Can you not see that food is not matter? The material part +of bread is carbon, water, gas, and earth; the material part of +fat is charcoal and gas; the material part of flesh is water and +gas; the material part of fruits is mostly water with a little +charcoal and gas.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> + The material constituents of all foods are +plentiful, they abound everywhere, and yet amid the unlimited, +unorganized materials that go to form foods man would starve.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> + By the term gas, it is evident that hydrogen and nitrogen were +designated, and yet, since the instructor insists that other gases form +part of the atmosphere, so he may consistently imply that unknown gases +are parts of food.—J. U. L.</p></div> + +<p>"Give a healthy man a diet of charcoal, water, lime salts, +and air; say to him, 'Bread contains no other substance, here +is bread, the material food of man, live on this food,' and yet +the man, if he eat of these, will die with his stomach distended. +So with all other foods; give man the unorganized materialistic +constituents of food in unlimited amounts, and starvation results. +No! matter is not food, but a carrier of food."</p> + +<p>"What is food?"</p> + +<p>"Sunshine. The grain of wheat is a food by virtue of the +sunshine fixed within it. The flesh of animals, the food of living +creatures, are simply carriers of sunshine energy. Break out +the sunshine and you destroy the food, although the material +remains. The growing plant locks the sunshine in its cells, and +the living animal takes it out again. Hence it is that after the +sunshine of any food is liberated during the metamorphosis of +the tissues of an animal although the material part of the food +remains, it is no longer a food, but becomes a poison, and then, +if it is not promptly eliminated from the animal, it will destroy +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 126]</span>the life of the animal. This material becomes then injurious, +but it is still material.</p> + +<p>"The farmer plants a seed in the soil, the sunshine sprouts +it, nourishes the growing plant, and during the season locks +itself to and within its tissues, binding the otherwise dead +materials of that tissue together into an organized structure. +Animals eat these structures, break them from higher to lower +compounds, and in doing so live on the stored up sunshine and +then excrete the worthless material side of the food. The farmer +spreads these excluded substances over the earth again to once +more take up the sunshine in the coming plant organization, but +not until it does once more lock in its cells the energy of sunshine +can it be a food for that animal."</p> + +<p>"Is manure a food?" he abruptly asked.</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Is not manure matter?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"May it not become a food again, as the part of another +plant, when another season passes?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"In what else than energy (sunshine) does it differ from +food?"</p> + +<p>"Water is a necessity," I said.</p> + +<p>"And locked in each molecule of water there is a mine of +sunshine. Liberate suddenly the sun energy from the gases +of the ocean held in subjection thereby, and the earth would +disappear in an explosion that would reverberate throughout the +universe. The water that you truly claim to be necessary to +the life of man, is itself water by the grace of this same sun, for +without its heat water would be ice, dry as dust. 'Tis the sun +that gives life and motion to creatures animate and substances +inanimate; he who doubts distrusts his Creator. Food and drink +are only carriers of bits of assimilable sunshine. When the fire +worshipers kneeled to their god, the sun, they worshiped the great +food reservoir of man. When they drew the quivering entrails +from the body of a sacrificed victim they gave back to their God +a spark of sunshine—it was due sooner or later. They builded +well in thus recognizing the source of all life, and yet they acted +badly, for their God asked no premature sacrifice, the inevitable<span class="pagenum">[Pg 127]</span> +must soon occur, and as all organic life comes from that Sun-God, +so back to that Creator the sun-spark must fly."</p> + +<p>"But they are heathen; there is a God beyond their narrow +conception of God."</p> + +<p>"As there is also a God in the Beyond, past your idea of God. +Perhaps to beings of higher mentalities, we may be heathen; +but even if this is so, duty demands that we revere the God +within our intellectual sphere. Let us not digress further; the +subject now is food, not the Supreme Creator, and I say to you +the food of man and the organic life of man is sunshine."</p> + +<p>He ceased, and I reflected upon his words. All he had said +seemed so consistent that I could not deny its plausibility, and +yet it still appeared altogether unlikely as viewed in the light of +my previous earth knowledge. I did not quite comprehend all +the semi-scientific expressions, but was at least certain that I +could neither disprove nor verify his propositions. My thoughts +wandered aimlessly, and I found myself questioning whether +man could be prevailed upon to live contentedly in situations +such as I was now passing through. In company with my +learned and philosophical but fantastically created guardian and +monitor, I moved on.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 128]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> +<br /> +THE CRY FROM A DISTANCE.—I REBEL AGAINST CONTINUING +THE JOURNEY.</h2> + + +<p>As we paced along, meditating, I became more sensibly +impressed with the fact that our progress was down a rapid +declination. The saline incrustations, fungi and stalagmites, +rapidly changed in appearance, an endless variety of stony +figures and vegetable cryptogams recurring successively before +my eyes. They bore the shape of trees, shrubs, or animals, +fixed and silent as statues: at least in my distorted condition +of mind I could make out resemblances to many such familiar +objects; the floor of the cavern became increasingly steeper, as +was shown by the stalactites, which, hanging here and there +from the invisible ceiling, made a decided angle with the floor, +corresponding with a similar angle of the stalagmites below. +Like an accompanying and encircling halo the ever present +earth-light enveloped us, opening in front as we advanced, and +vanishing in the rear. The sound of our footsteps gave back +a peculiar, indescribable hollow echo, and our voices sounded +ghost-like and unearthly, as if their origin was outside of our +bodies, and at a distance. The peculiar resonance reminded me +of noises reverberating in an empty cask or cistern. I was +oppressed by an indescribable feeling of mystery and awe that +grew deep and intense, until at last I could no longer bear the +mental strain.</p> + +<p>"Hold, hold," I shouted, or tried to shout, and stopped +suddenly, for although I had cried aloud, no sound escaped my +lips. Then from a distance—could I believe my senses?—from +a distance as an echo, the cry came back in the tones of my own +voice, "Hold, hold."</p> + +<p>"Speak lower," said my guide, "speak very low, for now an +effort such as you have made projects your voice far outside your +body; the greater the exertion the farther away it appears."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 129]</span></p> + +<p>I grasped him by the arm and said slowly, determinedly, and +in a suppressed tone: "I have come far enough into the secret +caverns of the earth, without knowing our destination; acquaint +me now with the object of this mysterious journey, I demand, +and at once relieve this sense of uncertainty; otherwise I shall +go no farther."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1022.jpg" width="600" height="445" alt="" title=""AN ENDLESS VARIETY OF STONY FIGURES."" /> +<span class="caption">"AN ENDLESS VARIETY OF STONY FIGURES."</span> +</div> + +<p>"You are to proceed to the Sphere of Rest with me," he +replied, "and in safety. Beyond that an Unknown Country lies, +into which I have never ventured."</p> + +<p>"You speak in enigmas; what is this Sphere of Rest? Where +is it?"</p> + +<p>"Your eyes have never seen anything similar; human philosophy +has no conception of it, and I can not describe it," he said. +"It is located in the body of the earth, and we will meet it about +one thousand miles beyond the North Pole."</p> + +<p>"But I am in Kentucky," I replied; "do you think that I +propose to walk to the North Pole, man—if man you be; that +unreached goal is thousands of miles away."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 130]</span></p> + +<p>"True," he answered, "as you measure distance on the +surface of the earth, and you could not walk it in years of time; +but you are now twenty-five miles below the surface, and you +must be aware that instead of becoming more weary as we +proceed, you are now and have for some time been gaining +strength. I would also call to your attention that you neither +hunger nor thirst."</p> + +<p>"Proceed," I said, "'tis useless to rebel; I am wholly in your +power," and we resumed our journey, and rapidly went forward +amid silences that were to me painful beyond description. We +abruptly entered a cavern of crystal, every portion of which was +of sparkling brilliancy, and as white as snow. The stalactites, +stalagmites and fungi disappeared. I picked up a fragment of +the bright material, tasted it, and found that it resembled pure +salt. Monstrous, cubical crystals, a foot or more in diameter, +stood out in bold relief, accumulations of them, as conglomerated +masses, banked up here and there, making parts of great +columnar cliffs, while in other formations the crystals were small, +resembling in the aggregate masses of white sandstone.</p> + +<p>"Is not this salt?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes; we are now in the dried bed of an underground +lake."</p> + +<p>"Dried bed?" I exclaimed; "a body of water sealed in the +earth can not evaporate."</p> + +<p>"It has not evaporated; at some remote period the water has +been abstracted from the salt, and probably has escaped upon the +surface of the earth as a fresh water spring."</p> + +<p>"You contradict all laws of hydrostatics, as I understand that +subject," I replied, "when you speak of abstracting water from a +dissolved substance that is part of a liquid, and thus leaving the +solids."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless this is a constant act of nature," said he; +"how else can you rationally account for the great salt beds and +other deposits of saline materials that exist hermetically sealed +beneath the earth's surface?"</p> + +<p>"I will confess that I have not given the subject much +thought; I simply accept the usual explanation to the effect that +salty seas have lost their water by evaporation, and afterward +the salt formations, by some convulsions of nature, have been +covered with earth, perhaps sinking by earthquake convulsions +bodily into the earth."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 131]</span></p> + +<p><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 404px;"> +<img src="images/gs1023.jpg" width="404" height="600" alt="" title=""MONSTROUS CUBICAL CRYSTALS."" /> +<span class="caption">"MONSTROUS CUBICAL CRYSTALS."</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 132]</span></p> + + + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 133]</span>"These explanations are examples of some of the erroneous +views of scientific writers," he replied; "they are true only to a +limited extent. The great beds of salt, deep in the earth, are +usually accumulations left there by water that is drawn from +brine lakes, from which the liberated water often escaped as pure +spring water at the surface of the earth. It does not escape by +evaporation, at least not until it reaches the earth's surface."</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 134]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>INTERLUDE—THE STORY INTERRUPTED.</h2> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br /> +<br /> +MY UNBIDDEN GUEST PROVES HIS STATEMENT AND REFUTES +MY PHILOSOPHY.</h2> + + +<p>Let the reader who has followed this strange story which I +am directed to title "The End of Earth," and who, in imagination, +has traversed the cavernous passages of the underworld +and listened to the conversation of those two personages who +journeyed towards the secrets of the Beyond, return now to +upper earth, and once more enter my secluded lodgings, the +home of Llewellen Drury, him who listened to the aged guest +and who claims your present attention. Remember that I relate +a story within a story. That importunate guest of mine, of the +glittering knife and the silvery hair, like another Ancient Mariner, +had constrained me to listen to his narrative, as he read it +aloud to me from the manuscript. I patiently heard chapter +after chapter, generally with pleasure, often with surprise, sometimes +with incredulity, or downright dissent. Much of the +narrative, I must say,—yes, most of it, appeared possible, if not +probable, as taken in its connected sequence. The scientific +sections were not uninteresting; the marvels of the fungus +groves, the properties of the inner light, I was not disinclined to +accept as true to natural laws; but when The-Man-Who-Did-It +came to tell of the intra-earth salt deposits, and to explain the +cause of the disappearance of lakes that formerly existed underground, +and their simultaneous replacement by beds of salt, my +credulity was overstrained.</p> + +<p>"Permit me to interrupt your narrative," I remarked, and +then in response to my request the venerable guest laid down +his paper.</p> + +<p>"Well?" he said, interrogatively.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 135]</span></p> + +<p>"I do not believe that last statement concerning the salt +lake, and, to speak plainly, I would not have accepted it as you +did, even had I been in your situation."</p> + +<p>"To what do you allude?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"The physical abstraction of water from the salt of a solution +of salt; I do not believe it possible unless by evaporation of the +water."</p> + +<p>"You seem to accept as conclusive the statements of men +who have never investigated beneath the surface in these directions, +and you question the evidence of a man who has seen the +phenomenon. I presume you accept the prevailing notions +about salt beds, as you do the assertion that liquids seek a +common level, which your scientific authorities also teach as a +law of nature?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; I do believe that liquids seek a common level, and I +am willing to credit your other improbable statements if you can +demonstrate the principle of liquid equilibrium to be untrue."</p> + +<p>"Then," said he, "to-morrow evening I will show you that +fluids seek different levels, and also explain to you how liquids +may leave the solids they hold in solution without evaporating +from them."</p> + +<p>He arose and abruptly departed. It was near morning, and +yet I sat in my room alone pondering the story of my unique +guest until I slept to dream of caverns and seances until daylight, +when I was awakened by their vividness. The fire was +out, the room was cold, and, shivering in nervous exhaustion, +I crept into bed to sleep and dream again of horrible things I +can not describe, but which made me shudder in affright at their +recollection. Late in the day I awoke.</p> + +<p>On the following evening my persevering teacher appeared +punctually, and displayed a few glass tubes and some blotting +or bibulous paper.</p> + +<p>"I will first show you that liquids may change their levels +in opposition to the accepted laws of men, not contrary to +nature's laws; however, let me lead to the experiments by a +statement of facts, that, if you question, you can investigate at +any time. If two vessels of water be connected by a channel +from the bottom of each, the water surfaces will come to a +common level."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p> + +<p>He selected a curved glass tube, and poured water into it. +The water assumed the position shown in Figure 11.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 209px;"> +<img src="images/m1024a.png" width="209" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 11." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 11.—A A, water in tube +seeks a level.</span> +</div> + +<p>"You have not shown me anything +new," I said; "my text-books taught me +this."</p> + +<p>"True, I have but exhibited that which +is the foundation of your philosophy regarding +the surface of liquids. Let me +proceed:</p> + +<p>"If we pour a solution of common salt +into such a U tube, as I do now, you +perceive that it also rises to the same +level in both ends."</p> + +<p>"Of course it does."</p> + +<p>"Do not interrupt me. Into one arm +of the tube containing the brine I now +carefully pour pure water. You observe that the surfaces do not +seek the same level." (Figure 12.)</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 209px;"> +<img src="images/m1024b.png" width="209" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 12." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 12.—A, surface of water. +B, surface of brine.</span> +</div> + + +<p>"Certainly not," I said; "the weight +of the liquid in each arm is the same, however; +the columns balance each other."</p> + +<p>"Exactly; and on this assumption you +base your assertion that connected liquids +of the same gravity must always seek a +common level, but you see from this test +that if two liquids of different gravities +be connected from beneath, the surface of +the lighter one will assume a higher level +than the surface of the heavier."</p> + +<p>"Agreed; however tortuous the channel +that connects them, such must be the +case."</p> + +<p>"Is it not supposable," said he, "that there might be two +pockets in the earth, one containing salt water, the other fresh +water, which, if joined together, might be represented by such a +figure as this, wherein the water surface would be raised above +that of the brine?" And he drew upon the paper the accompanying +diagram. (Figure 13.)<span class="pagenum">[Pg 137]</span></p> + +<p>"Yes," I admitted; "providing, of course, there was an equal +pressure of air on the surface of each."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137"></a></p> +<div class="figleft" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/gs1025a.png" width="300" height="209" alt="" title="Fig. 13." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 13.—B, surface of brine.<br /> +W, surface of water.<br /> +S, sand strata connecting them.</span> +</div> + + +<p>"Now I will draw a figure in which one pocket is above +the other, and ask you to imagine +that in the lower pocket we +have pure water, in the upper +pocket brine (Figure 14); can +you bring any theory of your +law to bear upon these liquids +so that by connecting them +together the water will rise and +run into the brine?"</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/gs1025b.png" width="300" height="235" alt="" title="Fig. 14." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 14.—B, brine.<br /> +W, water.<br /> +S, sand stratum.<br /> +(The difference in altitude is somewhat exaggerated +to make the phenomenon clear. A +syphon may result under such circumstances.—L.)</span> +</div> + + +<p>"No," I replied; "connect +them, and then the brine will +flow into the water."</p> + +<p>"Upon the contrary," he said; "connect them, as innumerable +cavities in the earth are joined, and the water will flow into +the brine."</p> + +<p>"The assertion is opposed to applied philosophy and +common sense," I said.</p> + +<p>"Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise, you know to +be a maxim with mortals," he +replied; "but I must pardon +you; your dogmatic education +narrows your judgment. I now +will prove you in error."</p> + +<p>He took from his pocket two +slender glass tubes, about an +eighth of an inch in bore and +four inches in length, each +closed at one end, and stood +them in a perforated cork that +he placed upon the table.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138"></a></p> +<div class="figleft" style="width: 173px;"> +<img src="images/m1026a.png" width="173" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 15." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 15.<br /> + +A A, glass tubes.<br /> +F, brine surface.<br /> +E, water surface.</span> +</div> + +<p>Into one tube he poured +water, and then dissolving some +salt in a cup, poured brine into +the other, filling both nearly to the top (Figure 15). Next he +produced a short curved glass tube, to each end of which was +attached a strip of flexible rubber tubing. Then, from a piece<span class="pagenum">[Pg 138]</span> +of blotting paper such as is used to blot ink, he cut a narrow +strip and passed it through the arrangement, forming the apparatus +represented by Figure 16.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 164px;"> +<img src="images/m1026b.png" width="164" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 16." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 16.<br /> +B, curved glass tube.<br /> +C C, rubber tubes.<br /> +D D D, bibulous paper.</span> +</div> +<p>Then he inserted the two tubes (Figure 15) +into the rubber, the extremities of the paper being +submerged in the liquids, producing a combination +that rested upright in the cork as shown by +Figure 17.</p> + +<p>The surfaces of both liquids were at once +lowered by reason of the suction of the bibulous +paper, the water decreasing most rapidly, and soon +the creeping liquids met by absorption in the +paper, the point of contact, as the liquids met, +being plainly discernible. Now the old man gently +slid the tubes upon each other, raising one a little, so as to bring +the surfaces of the two liquids exactly on a plane; he then +marked the glass at the surface of each with a pen.</p> + +<p>"Observe the result," he remarked as he replaced the tubes +in the cork with their liquid surfaces on a line.</p> + +<p>Together we sat and watched, and soon it became apparent +that the surface of the water had decreased in +height as compared with that of the brine. By +fixing my gaze on the ink mark on the glass I also +observed that the brine in the opposing tube was +rising.</p> + +<p>"I will call to-morrow evening," he said, "and +we shall then discover which is true, man's theory +or nature's practice."</p> + +<p>Within a short time enough of the water in the +tube had been transferred to the brine to raise its +surface considerably above its former level, the surface +of the water being lowered to a greater degree. +(Figure 18.) I was discomfited at the result, and upon his +appearance next evening peevishly said to the experimenter:</p> + +<p>"I do not know that this is fair."</p> + +<p>"Have I not demonstrated that, by properly connecting the +liquids, the lighter flows into the heavier, and raises itself above +the former surface?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; but there is no porous paper in the earth."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 139]</span></p> + +<p>"True; I used this medium because it was convenient. +There are, however, vast subterranean beds of porous materials, +stone, sand, clay, various other earths, many of which will +answer the same purpose. By perfectly natural laws, on a large +scale, such molecular transfer of liquids is constantly taking +place within the earth, and in these phenomena the law of +gravitation seems ignored, and the rule which man +believes from narrow experience, governs the flow +of liquids, is reversed. The arched porous medium +always transfers the lighter liquid into the heavier +one until its surface is raised considerably above +that of the light one. In the same way you can +demonstrate that alcohol passes into water, sulphuric +ether into alcohol, and other miscible light +liquids into those heavier."</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 112px;"> +<img src="images/m1027a.png" width="112" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 17." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 17.<br /> +A A, glass tubes.<br /> +B, curved glass tube.<br /> +C C, rubber tubes.<br /> +D, bibulous paper.<br /> +E, water surface.<br /> +F, brine surface.</span> +</div> + +<p>"I have seen you exemplify the statement on a +small scale, with water and brine, and can not question +but that it is true on a large one," I replied.</p> + +<p>"So you admit that the assertion governing the +surfaces of liquids is true only when the liquids +are connected from beneath. In other words, your +thought is one-sided, as science thought often is."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 113px;"> +<img src="images/m1027b.png" width="113" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 18." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 18.<br /> +E, water surface.<br /> +F, brine surface.</span> +</div> + + +<p>"Now as to the beds of salt deep within the earth. You are +also mistaken concerning their origin. The water +of the ocean that runs through an open channel +from the one side may flow into an underground +lake, that by means of the contact action (suction) +of the overlying and surrounding strata is being +continually emptied of its water, but not its salt. +Thus by absorption of water the brine of the lake +becomes in time saturated, starting crystallization +regularly over the floor and sides of the basin. +Eventually the entire cavity is filled with salt, and +a solid mass of rock salt remains. If, however, +before the lake becomes solid, the brine supply +is shut off by some natural cause as by salt crystals +closing the passage thereto, the underground lake is at +last drained of its water, the salt crystallizing over the bottom,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 140]</span> +and upon the cliffs, leaving great crevices through the saline +deposits, as chances to have been the case with the salt formations +through which I passed with my guide, and have recently +described to you."</p> + +<p>"Even now I have my doubts as to the correctness of your +explanations, especially concerning the liquid surfaces."</p> + +<p>"They are facts, however; liquids capable of being mixed, +if connected by porous arches (bibulous paper is convenient for +illustrating by experiment) reverse the rule men have accepted +to explain the phenomena of liquid equilibrium, for I repeat, the +lighter one rushes into that which is heavier, and the surface +of the heavier liquid rises. You can try the experiment with +alcohol and water, taking precautions to prevent evaporation, or +you can vary the experiment with solutions of various salts of +different densities; the greater the difference in gravity between +the two liquids, the more rapid will be the flow of the lighter +one into the heavier, and after equilibrium, the greater will be +the contrast in the final height of the resultant liquid surfaces."</p> + +<p>"Men will yet explain this effect by natural laws," I said.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he answered; "when they learn the facts; and they +will then be able to solve certain phenomena connected with +diffusion processes that they can not now understand. Did I +not tell you that after the fact had been made plain it was easy +to see how Columbus stood the egg on its end? What I have +demonstrated by experiment is perhaps no new principle in +hydrostatics. But I have applied it in a natural manner to the +explanation of obscure natural phenomena, that men now seek +unreasonable methods to explain."</p> + +<p>"You may proceed with your narrative. I accept that when +certain liquids are connected, as you have shown, by means of +porous substances, one will pass into the other, and the surface +of the lighter liquid in this case will assume a position below +that of the heavier."</p> + +<p>"You must also accept," said he, "that when solutions of +salt are subjected to earth attraction, under proper conditions, +the solids may by capillary attraction be left behind, and pure +water finally pass through the porous medium. Were it not for +this law, the only natural surface spring water on earth would +be brine, for the superficial crust of the earth is filled with saline<span class="pagenum">[Pg 141]</span> +solutions. All the spring-fed rivers and lakes would also be salty +and fetid with sulphur compounds, for at great depths brine and +foul water are always present. Even in countries where all the +water below the immediate surface of the earth is briny, the +running springs, if of capillary origin, are pure and fresh. You +may imagine how different this would be were it not for the law +I have cited, for the whole earth's crust is permeated by brine +and saline waters. Did your 'philosophy' never lead you to +think of this?"</p> + +<p>Continuing, my guest argued as follows: "Do not lakes exist +on the earth's surface into which rivers and streams flow, but +which have no visible outlet? Are not such lakes saline, even +though the source of supply is comparatively fresh? Has it +never occurred to you to question whether capillarity assisted by +surface evaporation (not evaporation only as men assert) is not +separating the water of these lakes from the saline substances +carried into them by the streams, thus producing brine lakes? +Will not this action after a great length of time result in crystalline +deposits over portions of the bottoms of such lakes, and +ultimately produce a salt bed?"</p> + +<p>"It is possible," I replied.</p> + +<p>"Not only possible, but probable. Not only probable, but +true. Across the intervening brine strata above the salt crystals +the surface rivers may flow, indeed, owing to differences in +specific gravity the surface of the lake may be comparatively +fresh, while in the quiet depths below, beds of salt crystals are +forming, and between these extremes may rest strata after strata +of saline solutions, decreasing in gravity towards the top."</p> + +<p>Then he took his manuscript, and continued to read in a +clear, musical voice, while I sat a more contented listener than I +had been previously. I was not only confuted, but convinced. +And I recalled the saying of Socrates, that no better fortune can +happen a man than to be confuted in an error.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 142]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MY UNBIDDEN GUEST CONTINUES READING HIS MANUSCRIPT.</h2> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br /> +<br /> +MY WEIGHT DISAPPEARING.</h2> + + +<p>We halted suddenly, for we came unexpectedly to the edge +of a precipice, twenty feet at least in depth.</p> + +<p>"Let us jump down," said my guide.</p> + +<p>"That would be dangerous," I answered; "can not we +descend at some point where it is not so deep?"</p> + +<p>"No; the chasm stretches for miles across our path, and at +this point we will meet with the least difficulty; besides, there is +no danger. The specific gravity of our bodies is now so little +that we could jump twice that distance with impunity."</p> + +<p>"I can not comprehend you; we are in the flesh, our bodies +are possessed of weight, the concussion will be violent."</p> + +<p>"You reason again from the condition of your former life, +and, as usual, are mistaken; there will be little shock, for, as I +have said, our bodies are comparatively light now. Have you +forgotten that your motion is continuously accelerated, and that +without perceptible exertion you move rapidly? This is partly +because of the loss of weight. Your weight would now be only +about fifty pounds if tested by a spring balance."</p> + +<p>I stood incredulous.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 153px;"> +<a id="Page_143" name="Page_143"></a> +<img src="images/m1028.png" width="153" height="300" alt="" title="quot;I BOUNDED UPWARD FULLY SIX FEET."" /> +<span class="caption">"I BOUNDED UPWARD FULLY SIX FEET."</span> +</div> + +<p>"You trifle with me; I weigh over one hundred and fifty +pounds; how have I lost weight? It is true that I have noticed +the ease with which we have recently progressed on our journey, +especially the latter part of it, but I attribute this, in part, to +the fact that our course is down an incline, and also to the +vitalizing power of this cavern air."</p> + +<p>"This explains part of the matter," he said; "it answered +at the time, and I stated a fact; but were it not that you are +really consuming a comparatively small amount of energy, you<span class="pagenum">[Pg 143]</span> +would long before this have been completely exhausted. You +have been gaining strength for some hours; have really been +growing younger. Your wrinkled face has become more smooth, +and your voice +is again natural. +You were prematurely +aged by +your brothers on +the surface of the +earth, in order +that when you +pass the line +of gravity, you +might be vigorous +and enjoying +manhood again. +Had this aging +process not been +accomplished +you would now +have become as +a child in many +respects."</p> + + +<p>He halted before +me. "Jump +up," he said. I +promptly obeyed +the unexpected +command, and +sprung upward +with sufficient +force to carry +me, as I supposed, +six inches +from the earth; +however I bounded +upward fully +six feet. My look +of surprise as I<span class="pagenum">[Pg 144]</span> +gently alighted, for there was no concussion on my return, +seemed lost on my guide, and he quietly said:</p> + +<p>"If you can leap six feet upward without excessive exertion, +or return shock, can not you jump twenty feet down? Look!"</p> + + +<p>And he leaped lightly over the precipice and stood unharmed +on the stony floor below.</p> + +<p>Even then I hesitated, observing which, he cried:</p> + +<p>"Hang by your hands from the edge then, and drop."</p> + +<p>I did so, and the fourteen feet of fall seemed to affect me as +though I had become as light as cork. I fluttered to the earth +as a leaf would fall, and leaned against the precipice in surprised +meditation.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1029.jpg" width="600" height="441" alt="" title=""I FLUTTERED TO THE EARTH AS A LEAF WOULD FALL."" /> +<span class="caption">"I FLUTTERED TO THE EARTH AS A LEAF WOULD FALL."</span> +</div> + +<p>"Others have been through your experience," he remarked, +"and I therefore can overlook your incredulity; but experiences +such as you now meet, remove distrust. Doing is believing." +He smiled benignantly.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 160px;"> +<img src="images/m1030.png" width="160" height="300" alt="" title=""WE LEAPED OVER GREAT INEQUALITIES."" /> +<span class="caption">"WE LEAPED OVER GREAT INEQUALITIES."</span> +</div> + +<p>I pondered, revolving in my mind the fact that persons had +in mental abstraction, passed through unusual experiences in +ignorance of conditions +about them, +until their attention +had been called to +the seen and yet +unnoticed surroundings, +and they had +then beheld the facts +plainly. The puzzle +picture (see p. 129) +stares the eye and +impresses the retina, +but is devoid of +character until the +hidden form is developed +in the mind, +and then that form is +always prominent to +the eye. My remarkably +light step, now +that my attention +had been directed +thereto, was constantly +in my mind, +and I found myself +suddenly possessed +of the strength of a +man, but with the +weight of an infant. +I raised my feet +without an effort; +they seemed destitute +of weight; I +leaped about, tumbled, and rolled over and over on the smooth +stone floor without injury. It appeared that I had become the +airy similitude of my former self, my material substance having +wasted away without a corresponding impairment of strength.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 146]</span> +I pinched my flesh to be assured that all was not a dream, +and then endeavored to convince myself that I was the victim +of delirium; but in vain. Too sternly my self-existence confronted +me as a reality, a cruel reality. A species of intoxication +possessed me once more, and I now hoped for the end, whatever +it might be. We resumed our journey, and rushed on with +increasing rapidity, galloping hand in hand, down, down, ever +downward into the illuminated crevice of the earth. The spectral +light by which we were aureoled increased in intensity, +as by arithmetical progression, and I could now distinguish +objects at a considerable distance before us. My spirits rose as +if I were under the influence of a potent stimulant; a liveliness +that was the opposite of my recent despondency had gained +control, and I was again possessed of a delicious mental +sensation, to which I can only refer as a most rapturous +exhilaration. My guide grasped my hand firmly, and his touch, +instead of revolting me as formerly it had done, gave pleasure. +We together leaped over great inequalities in the floor, performing +these aerial feats almost as easily as a bird flies. Indeed, +I felt that I possessed the power of flight, for we bounded +fearlessly down great declivities and over abysses that were +often perpendicular, and many times our height. A very slight +muscular exertion was sufficient to carry us rods of distance, and +almost tiptoeing we skimmed with ever-increasing speed down +the steeps of that unknown declivity. At length my guide held +back; we gradually lessened our velocity, and, after a time, +rested beside a horizontal substance that lay before us, apparently +a sheet of glass, rigid, immovable, immeasurably great, +that stretched as a level surface before us, vividly distinct in the +brightness of an earth light, that now proved to be superior to +sunshine. Far as the eye could reach, the glassy barrier to our +further progress spread as a crystal mirror in front, and vanishing +in the distance, shut off the beyond.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 405px;"> +<img src="images/gs1031.jpg" width="405" height="600" alt="" title=""FAR AS THE EYE COULD REACH THE GLASSY BARRIER SPREAD +AS A CRYSTAL MIRROR."" /> +<span class="caption">"FAR AS THE EYE COULD REACH THE GLASSY BARRIER SPREAD +AS A CRYSTAL MIRROR."</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 149]</span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>INTERLUDE.—THE STORY AGAIN INTERRUPTED.</h2> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149"></a>CHAPTER XXII.<br /> +<br /> +MY UNBIDDEN GUEST DEPARTS.</h2> + + +<p>Once more I must presume to interrupt this narrative, and +call back the reader's thoughts from those mysterious caverns +through which we have been tracing the rapid footsteps of the +man who was abducted, and his uncouth pilot of the lower +realms. Let us now see and hear what took place in my room, +in Cincinnati, just after my visitor, known to us as The-Man-Who-Did-It, +had finished reading to me, Lewellyn Drury, the +custodian of this manuscript, the curious chapter relating how the +underground explorers lost weight as they descended in the +hollows of the earth. My French clock struck twelve of its +clear silvery notes before the gray-bearded reader finished his +stint for the occasion, and folded his manuscript preparatory to +placing it within his bosom.</p> + +<p>"It is past midnight," he said, "and it is time for me to +depart; but I will come to you again within a year.</p> + +<p>"Meanwhile, during my absence, search the records, question +authorities, and note such objections as rise therefrom concerning +the statements I have made. Establish or disprove historically, +or scientifically, any portion of the life history that I have given, +and when I return I will hear what you have to say, and meet +your argument. If there is a doubt concerning the authenticity +of any part of the history, investigate; but make no mention to +others of the details of our meetings."</p> + +<p>I sat some time in thought, then said: "I decline to concern +myself in verifying the historical part of your narrative. The +localities you mention may be true to name, and it is possible +that you have related a personal history; but I can not perceive +that I am interested in either proving or disproving it. I will<span class="pagenum">[Pg 150]</span> +say, however, that it does not seem probable that at any time a +man can disappear from a community, as you claim to have +done, and have been the means of creating a commotion in his +neighborhood that affected political parties, or even led to an +unusual local excitement, outside his immediate circle of acquaintances, +for a man is not of sufficient importance unless he is very +conspicuous. By your own admission, you were simply a +studious mechanic, a credulous believer in alchemistic vagaries, +and as I revolve the matter over, I am afraid that you are now +trying to impose on my credulity. The story of a forcible +abduction, in the manner you related, seems to me incredible, +and not worthy of investigation, even had I the inclination to +concern myself in your personal affairs. The statements, however, +that you make regarding the nature of the crust of the +earth, gravitation, light, instinct, and human senses are highly +interesting, and even plausible as you artfully present the +subjects, I candidly admit, and I shall take some pains to make +inquiries concerning the recorded researches of experts who +have investigated in that direction."</p> + +<p>"Collect your evidence," said he, "and I shall listen to your +views when I return."</p> + +<p>He opened the door, glided away, and I was alone again.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 151]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> +<br /> +I QUESTION SCIENTIFIC MEN.—ARISTOTLE'S ETHER.</h2> + + +<p>Days and weeks passed. When the opportunity presented, +I consulted Dr. W. B. Chapman, the druggist and student of +science, regarding the nature of light and earth, who in turn +referred me to Prof. Daniel Vaughn. This learned man, in +reply to my question concerning gravitation, declared that there +was much that men wished to understand in regard to this +mighty force, that might yet be explained, but which may never +become known to mortal man.</p> + +<p>"The correlation of forces," said he, "was prominently introduced +and considered by a painstaking scientific writer named +Joule, in several papers that appeared between 1843 and 1850, +and he was followed by others, who engaged themselves in +experimenting and theorizing, and I may add that Joule was +indeed preceded in such thought by Mayer. This department +of scientific study just now appears of unusual interest to +scientists, and your questions embrace problems connected with +some phases of its phenomena. We believe that light, heat, +and electricity are mutually convertible, in fact, the evidences +recently opened up to us show that such must be the case. +These agencies or manifestations are now known to be so related +that whenever one disappears others spring into existence. +Study the beautiful experiments and remarkable investigations +of Sir William Thomson in these directions."</p> + +<p>"And what of gravitation?" I asked, observing that Prof. +Vaughn neglected to include gravitation among his numerous +enumerated forces, and recollecting that the force gravitation +was more closely connected with my visitor's story than perhaps +were any of the others, excepting the mysterious mid-earth +illumination.</p> + +<p>"Of that force we are in greater ignorance than of the +others," he replied. "It affects bodies terrestrial and celestial,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 152]</span> +drawing a material substance, or pressing to the earth; also +holds, we believe, the earth and all other bodies in position in +the heavens, thus maintaining the equilibrium of the planets. +Seemingly gravitation is not derived from, or sustained by, an +external force, or supply reservoir, but is an intrinsic entity, a +characteristic of matter that decreases in intensity at the rate +of the square of the increasing distance, as bodies recede from +each other, or from the surface of the earth. However, gravitation +neither escapes by radiation from bodies nor needs to be +replenished, so far as we know, from without. It may be +compared to an elastic band, but there is no intermediate tangible +substance to influence bodies that are affected by it, and it +remains in undying tension, unlike all elastic material substances +known, neither losing nor acquiring energy as time passes. +Unlike cohesion, or chemical attraction, it exerts its influence +upon bodies that are out of contact, and have no material +connection, and this necessitates a purely fanciful explanation +concerning the medium that conducts such influences, bringing +into existence the illogical, hypothetical, fifth ether, made conspicuous +by Aristotle."</p> + +<p>"What of this ether?" I queried.</p> + +<p>"It is a necessity in science, but intangible, undemonstrated, +unknown, and wholly theoretical. It is accepted as an existing +fluid by scientists, because human theory can not conceive of a +substance capable of, or explain how a substance can be capable +of affecting a separate body unless there is an intermediate +medium to convey force impressions. Hence to material substances +Aristotle added (or at least made conspicuous) a +speculative ether that, he assumed, pervades all space, and all +material bodies as well, in order to account for the passage of +heat and light to and from the sun, stars, and planets."</p> + +<p>"Explain further," I requested.</p> + +<p>"To conceive of such an entity we must imagine a material +that is more evanescent than any known gas, even in its most +diffused condition. It must combine the solidity of the most +perfect conductor of heat (exceeding any known body in this +respect to an infinite degree), with the transparency of an +absolute vacuum. It must neither create friction by contact +with any substance, nor possess attraction for matter; must<span class="pagenum">[Pg 153]</span> +neither possess weight (and yet carry the force that produces +weight), nor respond to the influence of any chemical agent, or +exhibit itself to any optical instrument. It must be invisible, +and yet carry the force that produces the sensation of sight. It +must be of such a nature that it can not, according to our +philosophy, affect the corpuscles of earthly substances while +permeating them without contact or friction, and yet, as a +scientific incongruity, it must act so readily on physical bodies +as to convey to the material eye the sensation of sight, and from +the sun to creatures on distant planets it must carry the heat +force, thus giving rise to the sensation of warmth. Through +this medium, yet without sensible contact with it, worlds must +move, and planetary systems revolve, cutting and piercing it in +every direction, without loss of momentum. And yet, as I have +said, this ether must be in such close contact as to convey to +them the essence that warms the universe, lights the universe, +and must supply the attractive bonds that hold the stellar worlds +in position. A nothing in itself, so far as man's senses indicate, +the ether of space must be denser than iridium, more mobile +than any known liquid, and stronger than the finest steel."</p> + +<p>"I can not conceive of such an entity," I replied.</p> + +<p>"No; neither can any man, for the theory is irrational, and +can not be supported by comparison with laws known to man, +but the conception is nevertheless a primary necessity in scientific +study. Can man, by any rational theory, combine a vacuum +and a substance, and create a result that is neither material nor +vacuity, neither something nor nothing, and yet an intensified +all; being more attenuated than the most perfect of known +vacuums, and a conductor better than the densest metal? This +we do when we attempt to describe the scientists' all-pervading +ether of space, and to account for its influence on matter. This +hypothetical ether is, for want of a better theory of causes, as +supreme in philosophy to-day as the alkahest of the talented old +alchemist Van Helmont was in former times, a universal spirit +that exists in conception, and yet does not exist in perception, +and of which modern science knows as little as its speculative +promulgator, Aristotle, did. We who pride ourselves on our +exact science, smile at some of Aristotle's statements in other +directions, for science has disproved them, and yet necessity<span class="pagenum">[Pg 154]</span> +forces us to accept this illogical ether speculation, which is, +perhaps, the most unreasonable of all theories. Did not this +Greek philosopher also gravely assert that the lion has but one +vertebra in his neck; that the breath of man enters the heart; +that the back of the head is empty, and that man has but eight +ribs?"</p> + +<p>"Aristotle must have been a careless observer," I said.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he answered; "it would seem so, and science, to-day, +bases its teachings concerning the passage of all forces from +planet to planet, and sun to sun, on dicta such as I have cited, +and no more reasonable in applied experiment."</p> + +<p>"And I have been referred to you as a conscientious scientific +teacher," I said; "why do you speak so facetiously?"</p> + +<p>"I am well enough versed in what we call science, to have +no fear of injuring the cause by telling the truth, and you asked +a direct question. If your questions carry you farther in the +direction of force studies, accept at once, that, of the intrinsic +constitution of force itself, nothing is known. Heat, light, +magnetism, electricity, galvanism (until recently known as +imponderable bodies) are now considered as modifications of +force; but, in my opinion, the time will come when they will +be known as disturbances."</p> + +<p>"Disturbances of what?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know precisely; but of something that lies behind +them all, perhaps creates them all, but yet is in essence unknown +to men."</p> + +<p>"Give me a clearer idea of your meaning."</p> + +<p>"It seems impossible," he replied; "I can not find words +in which to express myself; I do not believe that forces, as +we know them (imponderable bodies), are as modern physics +defines them. I am tempted to say that, in my opinion, forces +are disturbance expressions of a something with which we are +not acquainted, and yet in which we are submerged and permeated. +Aristotle's ether perhaps. It seems to me, that, +behind all material substances, including forces, there is an +unknown spirit, which, by certain influences, may be ruffled +into the exhibition of an expression, which exhibition of temper +we call a force. From this spirit these force expressions (wavelets +or disturbances) arise, and yet they may become again<span class="pagenum">[Pg 155]</span> +quiescent, and again rest in its absorbing unity. The water +from the outlet of a calm lake flows over a gentle decline in +ripples, or quiet undulations, over the rapids in musical laughings, +over a precipice in thunder tones,—always water, each a +different phase, however, to become quiet in another lake (as +ripples in this universe may awaken to our perception, to repose +again), and still be water."</p> + +<p>He hesitated.</p> + +<p>"Go on," I said.</p> + +<p>"So I sometimes have dared to dream that gravitation may be +the reservoir that conserves the energy for all mundane forces, +and that what we call modifications of force are intermediate +conditions, ripples, rapids, or cascades, in gravitation."</p> + +<p>"Continue," I said, eagerly, as he hesitated.</p> + +<p>He shook his head.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 156]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 157]</span></p> +<h2><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /> +<br /> +THE SOLILOQUY OF PROF. DANIEL VAUGHN.—"GRAVITATION +IS THE BEGINNING AND GRAVITATION IS THE END: ALL +EARTHLY BODIES KNEEL TO GRAVITATION."</h2> + + +<p>"Please continue, I am intensely interested; I wish that I +could give you my reasons for the desire; I can not do so, but I +beg you to continue."</p> + +<p>"I should add," continued Vaughn, ignoring my remarks, +"that we have established rules to measure the force of gravitation, +and have estimated the decrease of attraction as we +leave the surfaces of the planets. We have made comparative +estimates of the weight of the earth and planets, and have +reason to believe that the force expression of gravitation attains +a maximum at about one-sixth the distance toward the center of +the earth, then decreases, until at the very center of our planet, +matter has no weight. This, together with the rule I repeated +a few moments ago, is about all we know, or think we know, of +gravitation. Gravitation is the beginning and gravitation is the +end; all earthly bodies kneel to gravitation. I can not imagine +a Beyond, and yet gravitation," mused the rapt philosopher, +"may also be an expression of"—he hesitated again, forgetting +me completely, and leaned his shaggy head upon his hands. I +realized that his mind was lost in conjecture, and that he was +absorbed in the mysteries of the scientific immensity. Would +he speak again? I could not think of disturbing his reverie, +and minutes passed in silence. Then he slowly, softly, reverently +murmured: "Gravitation, Gravitation, thou art seemingly +the one permanent, ever present earth-bound expression of +Omnipotence. Heat and light come and go, as vapors of water +condense into rain and dissolve into vapor to return again to +the atmosphere. Electricity and magnetism appear and disappear; +like summer storms they move in diversified channels, or +even turn and fly from contact with some bodies, seemingly +forbidden to appear, but thou, Gravitation, art omnipresent +and omnipotent. Thou createst motion, and yet maintainest +the equilibrium of all things mundane and celestial. An attempt +to imagine a body destitute of thy potency, would be to bankrupt +and deaden the material universe. O! Gravitation, art thou a +voice out of the Beyond, and are other forces but echoes—tremulous +reverberations that start into life to vibrate for a spell +and die in the space caverns of the universe while thou continuest +supreme?"</p> + +<p><a name="Page_157a" id="Page_157a"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 461px;"> +<img src="images/gs1032.jpg" width="461" height="600" alt="" title=""SOLILOQUY OF PROF. DANIEL VAUGHN."" /> +<span class="caption">"SOLILOQUY OF PROF. DANIEL VAUGHN.<br /> +'GRAVITATION IS THE BEGINNING, AND GRAVITATION IS THE END; ALL +EARTHLY BODIES KNEEL TO GRAVITATION.'"</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 158]</span></p> + +<p>His bowed head and rounded shoulders stooped yet lower; +he unconsciously brushed his shaggy locks with his hand, and +seemed to confer with a familiar Being whom others could not +see. +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 159]</span></p> + +<p>"A voice from without," he repeated; "from beyond our +realm! Shall the subtle ears of future scientists catch yet +lighter echoes? Will the brighter thoughts of more gifted men, +under such furtherings as the future may bring, perchance commune +with beings who people immensity, distance disappearing +before thy ever-reaching spirit? For with thee, who holdest the +universe together, space is not space, and there is no word +expressing time. Art thou a voice that carriest the history of +the past from the past unto and into the present, and for which +there is no future, all conditions of time being as one to thee, +thy self covering all and connecting all together? Art thou, +Gravitation, a voice? If so, there must be a something farther +out in those fathomless caverns, beyond mind imaginings, from +which thou comest, for how could nothingness have formulated +itself into a voice? The suns and universe of suns about us, +may be only vacant points in the depths of an all-pervading +entity in which even thyself dost exist as a momentary echo, +linked to substances ponderous, destined to fade away in the +inter-stellar expanse outside, where disturbances disappear, +and matter and gravitation together die; where all is pure, +quiescent, peaceful and dark. Gravitation, Gravitation, imperishable +Gravitation; thou seemingly art the ever-pervading, +unalterable, but yet moving spirit of a cosmos of solemn mysteries. +Art thou now, in unperceived force expressions, speaking +to dumb humanity of other universes; of suns and vortices of +suns; bringing tidings from the solar planets, or even infinitely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> +distant star mists, the silent unresolved nebulĉ, and spreading +before earth-bound mortal minds, each instant, fresh tidings +from without, that, in ignorance, we can not read? May not +beings, perhaps like ourselves but higher in the scale of intelligence, +those who people some of the planets about us, even now +beckon and try to converse with us through thy subtle, ever-present +self? And may not their efforts at communication fail +because of our ignorance of a language they can read? Are not +light and heat, electricity and magnetism plodding, vacillating +agents compared with thy steady existence, and is it even further +possible?"—</p> + +<p>His voice had gradually lowered, and now it became inaudible; +he was oblivious to my presence, and had gone forth from +his own self; he was lost in matters celestial, and abstractedly +continued unintelligibly to mutter to himself as, brushing his +hair from his forehead, he picked up his well-worn felt hat, and +placed it awkwardly on his shaggy head, and then shuffled away +without bidding me farewell. The bent form, prematurely +shattered by privation; uncouth, unkempt, typical of suffering +and neglect, impressed me with the fact that in him man's life +essence, the immortal mind, had forgotten the material part of +man. The physical half of man, even of his own being, in +Daniel Vaughn's estimation, was an encumbrance unworthy of +serious attention, his spirit communed with the pure in nature, +and to him science was a study of the great Beyond.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> +</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Mr. Drury can not claim to have recorded verbatim Prof. Vaughn's +remarks, but has endeavored to give the substance. His language was +faultless, his word selections beautiful, his soliloquy impressive +beyond description. Perhaps Drury even misstated an idea, or more than +one, evolved then by the great mind of that patient man. Prof. Daniel +Vaughn was fitted for a scientific throne, a position of the highest +honor; but, neglected by man, proud as a king, he bore uncomplainingly +privations most bitter, and suffered alone until finally he died from +starvation and neglect in the city of his adoption. Some persons are +ready to cry, "Shame! Shame!" at wealthy Cincinnati; others assert that +men could not give to Daniel Vaughn, and since the first edition of +<span class="smcap">Etidorhpa</span> appeared, the undersigned has learned of one vain attempt to +serve the interests of this peculiar man. He would not beg, and knowing +his capacities, if he could not procure a position in which to earn a +living, he preferred to starve. The only bitterness of his nature, it is +said, went out against those who, in his opinion, kept from him such +employment as returns a livelihood to scientific men; for he well knew +his intellect earned for him such a right in Cincinnati. Will the spirit +of that great man, talented Daniel Vaughn, bear malice against the +people of the city in which none who knew him will deny that he perished +from cold and privation? Commemorated is he not by a bust of bronze that +distorts the facts in that the garments are not seedy and unkempt, the +figure stooping, the cheek hollow and the eye pitifully expressive of an +empty stomach? That bust modestly rests in the public library he loved +so well, in which he suffered so uncomplainingly, and starved so +patiently.</p> + +<p>J. U. L.</p></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p><p>I embraced the first opportunity that presented itself to read +the works that Prof. Vaughn suggested, and sought him more +than once to question further. However, he would not commit +himself in regard to the possible existence of other forces than +those with which we are acquainted, and when I interrogated him +as to possibilities in the study of obscure force expressions, he +declined to express an opinion concerning the subject. Indeed, +I fancied that he believed it probable, or at least not impossible, +that a closer acquaintance with conditions of matter and energy +might be the heirloom of future scientific students. At last I +gave up the subject, convinced that all the information I was +able to obtain from other persons whom I questioned, and whose +answers were prompt and positive, was evolved largely from +ignorance and self-conceit, and such information was insufficient +to satisfy my understanding, or to command my attention. After +hearing Vaughn, all other voices sounded empty.</p> + +<p>I therefore applied myself to my daily tasks, and awaited the +promised return of the interesting, though inscrutable being +whose subterranean sojourneying was possibly fraught with so +much potential value to science and to man.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 162]</span></p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE UNBIDDEN GUEST RETURNS TO READ HIS MANUSCRIPT.<br /> +CONTINUING HIS NARRATIVE.</h2> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162"></a>CHAPTER XXV.<br /> +<br /> +THE MOTHER OF A VOLCANO.—"YOU CAN NOT DISPROVE, AND +YOU DARE NOT ADMIT."</h2> + + +<p>A year from the evening of the departure of the old man, +found me in my room, expecting his presence; and I was not +surprised when he opened the door, and seated himself in his +accustomed chair.</p> + +<p>"Are you ready to challenge my statements?" he said, taking +up the subject as though our conversation had not been interrupted.</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Do you accept my history?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"You can not disprove, and you dare not admit. Is not that +your predicament?" he asked. "You have failed in every +endeavor to discredit the truth, and your would-be scientists, +much as they would like to do so, can not serve you. Now we +will continue the narrative, and I shall await your next attempt +to cast a shadow over the facts."</p> + +<p>Then with his usual pleasant smile, he read from his manuscript +a continuation of the intra-earth journey as follows:</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>"Be seated," said my eyeless guide, "and I will explain some +facts that may prove of interest in connection with the nature of +the superficial crust of the earth. This crystal liquid spreading +before us is a placid sheet of water, and is the feeder of the +volcano, Mount Epomeo."</p> + +<p>"Can that be a surface of water?" I interrogated. "I find it +hard to realize that water can be so immovable. I supposed the +substance before us to be a rigid material, like glass, perhaps."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 163]</span></p> + +<p>"There is no wind to ruffle this aqueous surface,—why should +it not be quiescent? This is the only perfectly smooth sheet of +water that you have ever seen. It is in absolute rest, and thus +appears a rigid level plane."</p> + +<p>"Grant that your explanation is correct," I said, "yet I can +not understand how a quiet lake of water can give rise to a convulsion +such as the eruption of a volcano."</p> + +<p>"Not only is this possible," he responded, "but water usually +causes the exhibition of phenomena known as volcanic action. +The Island of Ischia, in which the volcanic crater Epomeo is +situated, is connected by a tortuous crevice with the peaceful +pool by which we now stand, and at periods, separated by great +intervals of time, the lake is partly emptied by a simple natural +process, and a part of its water is expelled above the earth's +surface in the form of super-heated steam, which escapes through +that distant crater."</p> + +<p>"But I see no evidence of heat or even motion of any kind."</p> + +<p>"Not here," he replied; "in this place there is none. The +energy is developed thousands of miles away, but since the +phenomena of volcanic action are to be partially explained to +you at a future day, I will leave that matter for the present. +We shall cross this lake."</p> + +<p>I observed as we walked along its edge that the shore of +the lake was precipitous in places, again formed a gradually +descending beach, and the dead silence of the space about us, in +connection with the death-like stillness of that rigid mass of +water and its surroundings, became increasingly impressive and +awe-inspiring. Never before had I seen such a perfectly quiet +glass-like surface. Not a vibration or undulation appeared in +any direction. The solidity of steel was exemplified in its +steady, apparently inflexible contour, and yet the pure element +was so transparent that the bottom of the pool was as clearly +defined as the top of the cavern above me. The lights and +shades of the familiar lakes of Western New York were wanting +here, and it suddenly came to my mind that there were surface +reflections, but no shadows, and musing on this extraordinary +fact, I stood motionless on a jutting cliff absorbed in meditation, +abstractedly gazing down into that transparent depth. Without +sun or moon, without apparent source of light, and yet perfectly<span class="pagenum">[Pg 164]</span> +illuminated, the lofty caverns seemed cut by that aqueous plane +into two sections, one above and one below a transparent, rigid +surface line. The dividing line, or horizontal plane, appeared as +much a surface of air as a surface of water, and the material +above that plane seemed no more nor less a gas, or liquid, than +that beneath it. If two limpid, transparent liquids, immiscible, +but of different gravities, be poured into the same vessel, the line +of demarkation will be as a brilliant mirror, such as I now beheld +parting and yet uniting the surfaces of air and water.</p> + +<p>Lost in contemplation, I unconsciously asked the mental +question:</p> + +<p>"Where are the shadows?"</p> + +<p>My guide replied:</p> + +<p>"You have been accustomed to lakes on the surface of the +earth; water that is illuminated from above; now you see by a +light that is developed from within and below, as well as from +above. There is no outside point of illumination, for the light +of this cavern, as you know, is neither transmitted through an +overlying atmosphere nor radiated from a luminous center. It +is an inherent quality, and as objects above us and within +the lake are illuminated alike from all sides, there can be no +shadows."</p> + +<p>Musingly, I said:</p> + +<p>"That which has occurred before in this journey to the +unknown country of which I have been advised, seemed mysterious; +but each succeeding step discovers to me another novelty +that is more mysterious, with unlooked-for phenomena that are +more obscure."</p> + +<p>"This phenomenon is not more of a mystery than is the +fact that light radiates from the sun. Man can not explain +that, and I shall not now attempt to explain this. Both conditions +are attributes of force, but with this distinction—the crude +light and heat of the sun, such as men experience on the +surface of the earth, is here refined and softened, and the +characteristic glare and harshness of the light that is known to +those who live on the earth's surface is absent here. The solar +ray, after penetrating the earth's crust, is tempered and refined +by agencies which man will yet investigate understandingly, but +which he can not now comprehend."</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 404px;"> +<img src="images/gs1033.jpg" width="404" height="600" alt="" title=""WE CAME TO A METAL BOAT."" /> +<span class="caption">"WE CAME TO A METAL BOAT."</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 167]</span></p> + +<p>"Am I destined to deal with these problems?"</p> + +<p>"Only in part."</p> + +<p>"Are still greater wonders before us?"</p> + +<p>"If your courage is sufficient to carry you onward, you have +yet to enter the portal of the expanse we approach."</p> + +<p>"Lead on, my friend," I cried; "lead on to these undescribed +scenes, the occult wonderland that"—</p> + +<p>He interrupted me almost rudely, and in a serious manner +said:</p> + +<p>"Have you not learned that wonder is an exemplification of +ignorance? The child wonders at a goblin story, the savage at +a trinket, the man of science at an unexplained manifestation +of a previously unperceived natural law; each wonders in +ignorance, because of ignorance. Accept now that all you +have seen from the day of your birth on the surface of the +earth, to the present, and all that you will meet here are wonderful +only because the finite mind of man is confused with +fragments of evidence, that, from whatever direction we meet +them, spring from an unreachable infinity. We will continue +our journey."</p> + +<p>Proceeding farther along the edge of the lake we came to a +metallic boat. This my guide picked up as easily as though it +were of paper, for be it remembered that gravitation had slackened +its hold here. Placing it upon the water, he stepped into +it, and as directed I seated myself near the stern, my face to the +bow, my back to the shore. The guide, directly in front of me, +gently and very slowly moved a small lever that rested on a +projection before him, and I gazed intently upon him as we sat +together in silence. At last I became impatient, and asked him +if we would not soon begin our journey.</p> + +<p>"We have been on our way since we have been seated," he +answered.</p> + +<p>I gazed behind with incredulity: the shore had disappeared, +and the diverging wake of the ripples showed that we were +rapidly skimming the water.</p> + +<p>"This is marvelous," I said; "incomprehensible, for without +sail or oar, wind or steam, we are fleeing over a lake that has +no current."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 168]</span></p> + +<p>"True, but not marvelous. Motion of matter is a result of +disturbance of energy connected therewith. Is it not scientifically +demonstrated, at least in theory, that if the motion of the +spirit that causes the magnetic needle to assume its familiar +position were really arrested in the substance of the needle, +either the metal would fuse and vaporize or (if the forces did not +appear in some other form such as heat, electricity, magnetism, +or other force) the needle would be hurled onward with great +speed?"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 169]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.<br /> +<br /> +MOTION FROM INHERENT ENERGY.—"LEAD ME DEEPER INTO +THIS EXPANDING STUDY."</h2> + + +<p>"I partly comprehend that such would be the case," I said.</p> + +<p>"If a series of knife blades on pivot ends be set in a frame, +and turned edgewise to a rapid current of water, the swiftly +moving stream flows through this sieve of metallic edges about +as easily as if there were no obstructions. Slowly turn the +blades so as to present their oblique sides to the current, and an +immediate pressure is apparent upon the frame that holds them; +turn the blades so as to shut up the space, and they will be torn +from their sockets, or the entire frame will be shattered into +pieces."</p> + +<p>"I understand; go on."</p> + +<p>"The ethereal current that generates the magnetic force +passes through material bodies with inconceivable rapidity, and +the molecules of a few substances only, present to it the least +obstruction. Material molecules are edgewise in it, and meet +no retardation in the subtle flood. This force is a disturbance +of space energy that is rushing into the earth in one form, and +out of it in another. But your mind is not yet in a condition to +grasp the subject, for at best there is no method of explaining +to men that which their experimental education has failed to +prepare them to receive, and for which first absolutely new +ideas, and next words with new meaning, must be formed. Now +we, (by we I mean those with whom I am connected) have +learned to disturb the molecules in matter so as to turn them +partly, or entirely, across the path of this magnetic current, and +thus interrupt the motion of this ever-present energy. We can +retard its velocity without, however, producing either magnetism +(as is the case in a bar of steel), electricity, or heat, but motion +instead, and thus a portion of this retarded energy springs into +its new existence as motion of my boat. It is force changed<span class="pagenum">[Pg 170]</span> +into movement of matter, for the molecules of the boat, as a +mass, must move onward as the force disappears as a current. +Perhaps you can accept now that instead of light, heat, electricity, +magnetism, and gravitation being really modifications of +force they are disturbances."</p> + +<p>"Disturbances of what?"</p> + +<p>"Disturbances of motion."</p> + +<p>"Motion of what?"</p> + +<p>"Motion of itself, pure and simple."</p> + +<p>"I can not comprehend, I can not conceive of motion pure +and simple."</p> + +<p>"I will explain at a future time so that you can comprehend +more clearly. Other lessons must come first, but never will you +see the end. Truth is infinite."</p> + +<p>Continuing, he said:</p> + +<p>"Let me ask if there is anything marvelous in this statement. +On the earth's surface men arrest the fitful wind, and by so +doing divert the energy of its motion into movement of +machinery; they induce it to turn mills and propel vessels. +This motion of air is a disturbance, mass motion transmitted to +the air by heat, heat in turn being a disturbance or interruption +of pure motion. When men learn to interrupt this unperceived +stream of energy so as to change directly into material motion +the spirit that saturates the universe, and that produces force +expressions, as it is constantly rushing from earth into space, and +from space back again, they will have at command wherever +they may be an endless source of power, light, and heat; mass +motion, light and heat being convertible. Motion lies behind +heat, light, and electricity, and produces them, and so long as +the earth revolves on its axis, and circles in its orbit, man needs +no light and heat from such indirect sources as combustion. +Men will, however, yet obtain motion of molecules (heat), and +material mass motion as well, from earth motion, without the +other dangerous intermediate force expressions now deemed +necessary in their production."</p> + +<p>"Do you wish me to understand that on all parts of the +earth's surface there is a continual expenditure of energy, an +ever-ready current, that is really distinct from the light and +heat of the sun, and also that the imponderable bodies that we<span class="pagenum">[Pg 171]</span> +call heat, light, electricity, and magnetism are not substances +at all?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," he replied.</p> + +<p>"And that this imperceptible something—fluid I will say, for +want of a better term—now invisible and unknown to man, is as +a medium in which the earth, submerged, floats as a speck of +dust in a flood of space?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly," he replied.</p> + +<p>"Am I to infer from your remarks that, in the course of time, +man will be able to economize this force, and adapt it to his +wants?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Go on with your exposition, I again beg of you; lead me +deeper into this expanding study."</p> + +<p>"There is but little more that you can comprehend now, as +I have said," he answered. "All materials known to man are of +coarse texture, and the minds of men are not yet in a condition +to comprehend finer exhibitions of force, or of motion modifications. +Pure energy, in all its modifications, is absolutely +unknown to man. What men call heat, gravitation, light, +electricity, and magnetism are the grosser attributes attending +alterations in an unknown, attenuated, highly developed force +producer. They are results, not causes. The real force, an +unreached energy, is now flooding all space, pervading all +materials. Everywhere there exists an infinite sea of motion +absolute. Since this primeval entity can not now affect matter, +as matter is known to man, man's sense can only be influenced by +secondary attributes of this energy. Unconscious of its all-pervading +presence, however, man is working towards the power that +will some day, upon the development of latent senses, open to him +this new world. Then at last he will move without muscular +exertion, or the use of heat as an agent of motion, and will, as +I am now doing, bridle the motion of space. Wherever he +may be situated, there will then be warmth to any degree that he +wishes, for he will be able to temper the seasons, and mass motion +illimitable, also, for this energy, I reiterate, is omnipresent. +However, as you will know more of this before long, we will +pass the subject for the present."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 172]</span></p> + +<p>My guide slowly moved the lever. I sat in deep reflection, +beginning to comprehend somewhat of his reasoning, and yet my +mind was more than clouded. The several ambiguous repetitions +he had made since our journey commenced, each time +suggesting the same idea, clothing it in different forms of +expression, impressed me vaguely with the conception of a +certain something for which I was gradually being prepared, +and that I might eventually be educated to grasp, but which he +believed my mind was not yet ready to receive. I gathered +from what he said that he could have given clearer explanations +than he was now doing, and that he clothed his language intentionally +in mysticism, and that, for some reason, he preferred to +leave my mind in a condition of uncertainty. The velocity of +the boat increased as he again and again cautiously touched the +lever, and at last the responsive craft rose nearly out of the +water, and skimmed like a bird over its surface. There was no +object in that lake of pure crystal to govern me in calculating +as to the rapidity of our motion, and I studied to evolve a +method by which I could time our movements. With this +object in view I tore a scrap from my clothing and tossed it into +the air. It fell at my feet as if in a calm. There was no breeze. +I picked the fragment up, in bewilderment, for I had expected +it to fall behind us. Then it occurred to me, as by a flash, that +notwithstanding our apparently rapid motion, there was an +entire absence of atmospheric resistance. What could explain +the paradox? I turned to my guide and again tossed the fragment +of cloth upward, and again it settled at my feet. He +smiled, and answered my silent inquiry.</p> + +<p>"There is a protecting sheet before us, radiating, fan-like, from +the bow of our boat as if a large pane of glass were resting on edge, +thus shedding the force of the wind. This diaphragm catches +the attenuated atmosphere and protects us from its friction."</p> + +<p>"But I see no such protecting object," I answered.</p> + +<p>"No; it is invisible. You can not see the obstructing power, for +it is really a gyrating section of force, and is colorless. That spray +of metal on the brow of our boat is the developer of this protecting +medium. Imagine a transverse section of an eddy of water +on edge before us, and you can form a comparison. Throw the +bit of garment as far as you can beyond the side of the boat."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 173]</span></p> + +<p>I did so, and saw it flutter slowly away to a considerable +distance parallel with our position in the boat as though in a +perfect calm, and then it disappeared. It seemed to have been +dissolved. I gazed at my guide in amazement.</p> + +<p>"Try again," said he.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1034.jpg" width="600" height="443" alt="" title=""THE BIT OF GARMENT FLUTTERED LISTLESSLY AWAY TO THE SAME +DISTANCE, AND THEN—VACANCY."" /> +<span class="caption">"THE BIT OF GARMENT FLUTTERED LISTLESSLY AWAY TO THE SAME +DISTANCE, AND THEN—VACANCY."</span> +</div> + +<p>I tore another and a larger fragment from my coat sleeve. I +fixed my eyes closely upon it, and cast it from me. The bit of +garment fluttered listlessly away to the same distance, and +then—vacancy. Wonders of wonderland, mysteries of the +mysterious! What would be the end of this marvelous journey? +Suspicion again possessed me, and distrust arose. Could not +my self-existence be blotted out in like manner? I thought +again of my New York home, and the recollection of upper +earth, and those broken family ties brought to my heart a flood +of bitter emotions. I inwardly cursed the writer of that +alchemistic letter, and cursed myself for heeding the contents.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 174]</span> +The tears gushed from my eyes and trickled through my fingers +as I covered my face with my hands and groaned aloud. Then, +with a gentle touch, my guide's hand rested on my shoulder.</p> + +<p>"Calm yourself," he said; "this phenomenon is a natural +sequence to a deeper study of nature than man has reached. It +is simply the result of an exhibition of rapid motion. You are +upon a great underground lake, that, on a shelf of earth substance +one hundred and fifty miles below the earth's surface, +covers an area of many thousand square miles, and which has an +average depth of five miles. We are now crossing it diagonally +at a rapid rate by the aid of the force that man will yet use in +a perfectly natural manner on the rough upper ocean and bleak +lands of the earth's coarse surface. The fragments of cloth +disappeared from sight when thrown beyond the influence of +our protecting diaphragm, because when they struck the outer +motionless atmosphere they were instantly left behind; the eye +could not catch their sudden change in motion. A period of +time is necessary to convey from eye to mind the sensation of +sight. The bullet shot from a gun is invisible by reason of the +fact that the eye can not discern the momentary interruption to +the light. A cannon ball will compass the field of vision of the +eye, moving across it without making itself known, and yet the +fact does not excite surprise. We are traveling so fast that +small, stationary objects outside our track are invisible."</p> + +<p>Then in a kind, pathetic tone of voice, he said:</p> + +<p>"An important lesson you should learn, I have mentioned it +before. Whatever seems to be mysterious, or marvelous, is only +so because of the lack of knowledge of associated natural +phenomena and connected conditions. All that you have +experienced, all that you have yet to meet in your future +journey, is as I have endeavored to teach you, in exact accordance +with the laws that govern the universe, of which the earth +constitutes so small a portion that, were the conditions favorable, +it could be blotted from its present existence as quickly as that +bit of garment disappeared, and with as little disturbance of the +mechanism of the moving universe."</p> + +<p>I leaned over, resting my face upon my elbow; my thoughts +were immethodically wandering in the midst of multiplying +perplexities; I closed my eyes as a weary child, and slept.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 175]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /> +<br /> +SLEEP, DREAMS, NIGHTMARE.—"STRANGLE THE LIFE FROM +MY BODY."</h2> + + +<p>I know not how long I sat wrapped in slumber. Even if +my body had not been wearing away as formerly, my mind had +become excessively wearied. I had existed in a state of abnormal +mental intoxication far beyond the period of accustomed +wakefulness, and had taxed my mental organization beyond +endurance. In the midst of events of the most startling +description, I had abruptly passed into what was at its commencement +the sweetest sleep of my recollection, but which +came to a horrible termination.</p> + +<p>In my dream I was transported once more to my native land, +and roamed in freedom throughout the streets of my lost home. +I lived over again my early life in Virginia, and I seemed +to have lost all recollection of the weird journey which I had +lately taken. My subsequent connection with the brotherhood +of alchemists, and the unfortunate letter that led to my +present condition, were forgotten. There came no thought +suggestive of the train of events that are here chronicled, +and as a child I tasted again the pleasures of innocence, the +joys of boyhood.</p> + +<p>Then my dream of childhood vanished, and the scenes of +later days spread themselves before me. I saw, after a time, +the scenes of my later life, as though I viewed them from a +distance, and was impressed with the idea that they were not +real, but only the fragments of a dream. I shuddered in my +childish dreamland, and trembled as a child would at confronting +events of the real life that I had passed through on +earth, and that gradually assuming the shape of man approached +and stood before me, a hideous specter seemingly ready to absorb +me. The peaceful child in which I existed shrunk back, and +recoiled from the approaching living man.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 176]</span></p> + +<p>"Away, away," I cried, "you shall not grasp me, I do not +wish to become a man; this can not, must not be the horrible +end to a sweet existence."</p> + +<p>Gradually the Man Life approached, seized and enveloped +me, closing around me as a jelly fish surrounds its living victim, +while the horrors of a nightmare came over my soul.</p> + +<p>"Man's life is a fearful dream," I shouted, as I writhed in +agony; "I am still a child, and will remain one; keep off! Life +of man, away! let me live and die a child."</p> + +<p>The Specter of Man's Life seized me more firmly as I +struggled to escape, and holding me in its irresistible clutch +absorbed my substance as a vampire might suck the blood of +an infant, and while the childish dream disappeared in that +hideous embrace, the miserable man awoke.</p> + +<p>I found myself on land. The guide, seated at my side, +remarked:</p> + +<p>"You have slept."</p> + +<p>"I have lived again," I said in bitterness.</p> + +<p>"You have not lived at all as yet," he replied; "life is a +dream, usually it is an unsatisfied nightmare."</p> + +<p>"Then let me dream again as at the beginning of this slumber," +I said; "and while I dream as a child, do you strangle the +life from my body,—spare me the nightmare, I would not live to +reach the Life of Man."</p> + +<p>"This is sarcasm," he replied; "you are as changeable as +the winds of the earth's surface. Now as you are about to +approach a part of our journey where fortitude is necessary, +behold, you waver as a little child might. Nerve yourself; the +trials of the present require a steady mind, let the future care +for itself; you can not recall the past."</p> + +<p>I became attentive again; the depressing effects of that +repulsive dream rapidly lifted, and wasted away, as I realized +that I was a man, and was destined to see more than can be seen +in the future of other mortals. This elevation of my spirit was +evidently understood by my guide. He turned to the lake, and +pointing to its quiet bosom, remarked:</p> + +<p>"For five hours we have journeyed over this sheet of water at +the average rate of nine hundred miles an hour. At the time +you threw the fragments of cloth overboard, we were traveling<span class="pagenum">[Pg 177]</span> +at a speed of not less than twenty miles per minute. You +remember that some hours ago you criticised my assertion when +I said that we would soon be near the axis of the earth beneath +the North Pole, and now we are beyond that point, and are +about six thousand miles from where we stood at that time."</p> + +<p>"You must have your way," I replied; "I can not disprove +your assertion, but were it not that I have passed through so +many marvelous experiences since first we met, I would question +the reliability of your information."</p> + +<p>My guide continued:</p> + +<p>"The surface of this lake lies as a mirror beneath both the +ocean and the land. The force effect that preserves the configuration +of the ocean preserves the form of this also, but influences +it to a less extent, and the two surfaces lie nearly parallel with +each other, this one being one hundred and fifty miles beneath +the surface of the earth. The shell of the earth above us is +honeycombed by caverns in some places, in others it is compact, +and yet, in most places, is impervious to water. At the farther +extremity of the lake, a stratum of porous material extends +through the space intervening between the bottom of the ocean +and this lake. By capillary attraction, assisted by gravitation, +part of the water of the ocean is being transferred through +this stratum to the underground cavity. The lake is slowly +rising."</p> + +<p>At this remark I interrupted him: "You say the water in the +ocean is being slowly transferred down to this underground lake +less by gravity than by capillarity."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I believe that I have reason to question that statement, if +you do not include the salt," I replied.</p> + +<p>"Pray state your objections."</p> + +<p>I answered: "Whether a tube be long or short, if it penetrate +the bottom of a vessel of brine, and extend downward, the brine +will flow into and out of it by reason of its weight."</p> + +<p>"You mistake," he asserted; "the attraction of the sides of +the capillary tube, if the tube is long enough, will eventually +separate the water from the salt, and at length a downward flow +of water only will result."</p> + +<p>I again expressed my incredulity.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 178]</span></p> + +<p>"More than this, by perfectly natural laws the water that is +freed from the tubes might again force itself upward perfectly +fresh, to the surface of the earth—yes, under proper conditions, +above the surface of the ocean."</p> + +<p>"Do you take me for a fool?" I said. "Is it not self-evident +that a fountain can not rise above its source?"</p> + +<p>"It often does," he answered.</p> + +<p>"You trifle with me," I said, acrimoniously.</p> + +<p>"No," he replied; "I am telling you the truth. Have you +never heard of what men call artesian wells?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and" (here I attempted in turn to become sarcastic) +"have you never learned that they are caused by water flowing +into crevices in uplands where layers of stone or of clay strata +separated by sand or gravel slant upward. The water conducted +thence by these channels afterwards springs up in the valleys to +which it has been carried by means of the crevices in these +strata, but it never rises above its source."</p> + +<p>To my surprise he answered:</p> + +<p>"This is another of man's scientific speculations, based on +some facts, it is true, and now and then correct, but not invariably. +The water of an artesian well on an elevated plane may +flow into the earth from a creek, pond, or river, that is lower +than the mouth of the well it feeds, and still it may spout into +the air from either a near or distant elevation that is higher than +its source."</p> + +<p>"I can not admit the truth of this," I said; "I am willing to +listen to reason, but such statements as these seem altogether +absurd."</p> + +<p>"As you please," he replied; "we will continue our journey."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 179]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>INTERLUDE.—THE STORY INTERRUPTED.</h2> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /> +<br /> +A CHALLENGE.—MY UNBIDDEN GUEST ACCEPTS IT.</h2> + + +<p>The white-haired reader, in whom I had now become deeply +interested, no longer an unwelcome stranger, suspended his reading, +laid down his manuscript, and looking me in the face, asked:</p> + +<p>"Are you a believer?"</p> + +<p>"No," I promptly answered.</p> + +<p>"What part of the narrative do you question?"</p> + +<p>"All of it."</p> + +<p>"Have you not already investigated some of the statements +I previously made?" he queried.</p> + +<p>"Yes," I said; "but you had not then given utterance to +such preposterous expressions."</p> + +<p>"Is not the truth, the truth?" he answered.</p> + +<p>"You ask me to believe impossibilities," I replied.</p> + +<p>"Name one."</p> + +<p>"You yourself admit," I said warmly, "that you were incredulous, +and shook your head when your guide asserted that the +bottom of the ocean might be as porous as a sieve, and still hold +water. A fountain can not rise above its source."</p> + +<p>"It often does, however," he replied.</p> + +<p>"I do not believe you," I said boldly. "And, furthermore, I +assert that you might as reasonably ask me to believe that I can +see my own brain, as to accept your fiction regarding the production +of light, miles below the surface of the earth."</p> + +<p>"I can make your brain visible to you, and if you dare to +accompany me, I will carry you beneath the surface of the +earth and prove my other statement," he said. "Come!" He +arose and grasped my arm.</p> + +<p>I hesitated.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 180]</span></p> + +<p>"You confess that you fear the journey."</p> + +<p>I made no reply.</p> + +<p>"Well, since you fear that method, I am ready to convince +you of the facts by any rational course you may select, and if +you wish to stake your entire argument on the general statement +that a stream of water can not rise above its head, I will accept +the challenge; but I insist that you do not divulge the nature +of the experiment until, as you are directed, you make public +my story."</p> + +<p>"Of course a fluid can be pumped up," I sarcastically +observed. "However, I promise the secrecy you ask."</p> + +<p>"I am speaking seriously," he said, "and I have accepted +your challenge; your own eyes shall view the facts, your own +hands prepare the conditions necessary. Procure a few pints of +sand, and a few pounds of salt; to-morrow evening I will be +ready to make the experiment."</p> + +<p>"Agreed; if you will induce a stream of water to run up +hill, a fountain to rise above its head, I will believe any statement +you may henceforth make."</p> + +<p>"Be ready, then," he replied, "and procure the materials +named." So saying he picked up his hat and abruptly departed.</p> + +<p>These substances I purchased the next day, procuring the silver +sand from Gordon's pharmacy, corner of Eighth and Western +Row, and promptly at the specified time we met in my room.</p> + +<p>He came, provided with a cylindrical glass jar about eighteen +inches high and two inches in diameter (such as I have since +learned is called a hydrometer jar), and a long, slender drawn +glass tube, the internal diameter of which was about one-sixteenth +of an inch.</p> + +<p>"You have deceived me," I said; "I know well enough that +capillary attraction will draw a liquid above its surface. You +demonstrated that quite recently to my entire satisfaction."</p> + +<p>"True, and yet not true of this experiment," he said. "I +propose to force water through and out of this tube; capillary +attraction will not expel a liquid from a tube if its mouth be +above the surface of the supply."</p> + +<p>He dipped the tip of a capillary tube into a tumbler of water; +the water rose inside the tube about an inch above the surface of +the water in the tumbler.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 181]</span></p> + +<p>"Capillary attraction can do no more," he said. "Break +the tube one-eighth of an inch above the water (far below the +present capillary surface), and it will not overflow. The exit of +the tube must be lower than the surface of the liquid if circulation +ensues."</p> + +<p>He broke off a fragment, and the result was as predicted.</p> + +<p>Then he poured water into the glass jar to the depth of about +six inches, and selecting a piece of very thin muslin, about an +inch square, turned it over the end of the glass tube, tied it in +position, and dropped that end of the tube into the cylinder.</p> + +<p>"The muslin simply prevents the tube from filling with +sand," he explained. Then he poured sand into the cylinder +until it reached the surface of the water. (See <a href="#Figure_23">Figure 23.</a>)</p> + +<p>"Your apparatus is simple enough," I remarked, I am afraid +with some sarcasm.</p> + +<p>"Nature works with exceeding simplicity," he replied; +"there is no complex apparatus in her laboratory, and I copy +after nature."</p> + +<p>Then he dissolved the salt in a portion of water that he drew +from the hydrant into my wash bowl, making a strong brine, +and stirred sand into the brine to make a thick mush. This +mixture of sand and brine he then poured into the cylinder, +filling it nearly to the top. (See Figure 23, B. The sand settling +soon left a layer of brine above it, as shown by A.) I had +previously noticed that the upper end of the glass tube was +curved, and my surprise can be imagined when I saw that at +once water began to flow through the tube, dropping quite +rapidly into the cylinder. The lower end of the curve of the +glass tube was fully half an inch above the surface of the liquid +in the cylinder.</p> + +<p>I here present a figure of the apparatus. (Figure 23.)</p> + +<p>The strange man, or man image, I do not know which, sat +before me, and in silence we watched the steady flow of water, +water rising above its surface and flowing into the reservoir +from which it was being continually derived.</p> + +<p>"Do you give up?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Let me think," I said.</p> + +<p>"As you please," he replied.</p> + +<p>"How long will this continue?" I inquired.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 182]</span></p> + +<p>"Until strong salt water flows from the tube."</p> + +<p>Then the old man continued:</p> + +<p>"I would suggest that after I depart you repeat these experiments. +The observations of those interested in science must +be repeated time and again by separate individuals. +It is not sufficient that one person should +observe a phenomenon; repeated experiments are +necessary in order to overcome error of manipulation, +and to convince others of their correctness. +Not only yourself, but many others, after this +manuscript appears, should go through with +similar investigations, varied in detail as mind +expansion may suggest. This experiment is but +the germ of a thought which will be enlarged +upon by many minds under other conditions. An +event meteorological may occur in the experience +of one observer, and never repeat itself. This is +possible. The results of such experiments as you +are observing, however, must be followed by similar +results in the hands of others, and in behalf +of science it is necessary that others should be able +to verify your experience. In the time to come it will be +necessary to support your statements in order to demonstrate +that your perceptive faculties are now in a normal condition. +Are you sure that your conceptions of these results are justified +by normal perception? May you not be in an exalted state of +mind that hinders clear perception, and compels you to imagine +and accept as fact that which does not exist? Do you see what +you think you see? After I am gone, and the influences that +my person and mind exert on your own mind have been +removed, will these results, as shown by my experiments, follow +similar experimental conditions? In the years that are to pass +before this paper is to be made public, it will be your duty to +verify your present sense faculty. This you must do as opportunities +present, and with different devices, so that no question +may arise as to what will follow when others repeat our +experiments. To-morrow evening I will call again, but remember, +you must not tell others of this experiment, nor show the +devices to them."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182"></a></p> +<p><a name="Figure_23" id="Figure_23"></a></p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 112px;"> +<img src="images/m1035.png" width="112" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 23." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 23.</span><br /> +A, brine.<br /> +B, sand and brine mixed.<br /> +C, sand and water.</span> + +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 183]</span></p> + +<p>"I have promised," I answered.</p> + +<p>He gathered his manuscript and departed, and I sat in meditation +watching the mysterious fountain.</p> + +<p>As he had predicted, finally, after a long time, the flow +slackened, and by morning, when I arose from my bed, the +water had ceased to drip, and then I found it salty to the taste.</p> + +<p>The next evening he appeared as usual, and prepared to +resume his reading, making no mention of the previous test of +my faith. I interrupted him, however, by saying that I had +observed that the sand had settled in the cylinder, and that in +my opinion his experiment was not true to appearances, but was +a deception, since the sand by its greater weight displaced the +water, which escaped through the tube, where there was least +resistance.</p> + +<p>"Ah," he said, "and so you refuse to believe your own +eyesight, and are contriving to escape the deserved penalty; I +will, however, acquiesce in your outspoken desire for further +light, and repeat the experiment without using sand. But I tell +you that mother earth, in the phenomena known as artesian +wells, uses sand and clay, pools of mineral waters of different +gravities, and running streams. The waters beneath the earth +are under pressure, induced by such natural causes as I have +presented you in miniature, the chief difference being that the +supplies of both salt and fresh water are inexhaustible, and by +natural combinations similar to what you have seen; the streams +within the earth, if a pipe be thrust into them, may rise continuously, +eternally, from a reservoir higher than the head. In +addition, there are pressures of gases, and solutions of many +salts, other than chloride of soda, that tend to favor the phenomenon. +You are unduly incredulous, and you ask of me more +than your right after staking your faith on an experiment of +your own selection. You demand more of me even than nature +often accomplishes in earth structure; but to-morrow night I +will show you that this seemingly impossible feat is possible."</p> + +<p>He then abruptly left the room. The following evening he +presented himself with a couple of one-gallon cans, one of them +without a bottom. I thought I could detect some impatience of +manner as he filled the perfect can (D) with water from the +hydrant, and having spread a strip of thin muslin over the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 184]</span> +mouth of the other can (B), pressed it firmly over the mouth +(C) of the can of water, which it fitted tightly, thus connecting +them together, the upper (bottomless) can being inverted. Then +he made a narrow slit in the center of the muslin with his +pen-knife, and through it thrust a glass tube like that of our +former experiment. Next he wrapped a string +around the open top of the upper can, crossed +it over the top, and tied the glass tube to the +center of the cross string.</p> + +<p>"Simply to hold this tube in position," he +explained.</p> + +<p>The remainder of the bag of salt left from +the experiment of the preceding evening was +then dissolved in water, and the brine poured +into the upper can, filling it to the top. Then +carefully thrusting the glass tube downward, +he brought the tip of the curve to within about +one-half inch of the surface of the brine, when +immediately a rapid flow of liquid exhibited +itself. (Figure 24.)</p> + +<p><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184"></a></p> +<div class="figright" style="width: 110px;"> +<img src="images/m1036.png" width="110" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 24." /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 24.<br /> +A, surface of brine.<br /> +B, upper can filled with +brine.<br /> +C, necks of cans telescoped.<br /> +D, lower can full of water.</span> +</div> + +<p>"It rises above its source without sand," +he observed.</p> + +<p>"I can not deny the fact," I replied, "and +furthermore I am determined that I shall not +question any subsequent statement that you +may make." We sat in silence for some time, +and the water ran continuously through the +tube. I was becoming alarmed, afraid of my occult guest, who +accepted my self-selected challenges, and worked out his results +so rapidly; he seemed to be more than human.</p> + +<p>"I am a mortal, but a resident of a higher plane than you," +he replied, divining my thoughts. "Is not this experiment a +natural one?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I said.</p> + +<p>"Did not Shakspeare write, 'There are more things in heaven +and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy'?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I said.</p> + +<p>And my guest continued:</p> + +<p>"He might have added, 'and always will be'."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 185]</span></p> + +<p>"Scientific men will explain this phenomenon," I suggested.</p> + +<p>"Yes, when they observe the facts," he replied, "it is very +simple. They can now tell, as I have before remarked, how +Columbus stood the egg on end; however, given the problem +before Columbus expounded it, they would probably have +wandered as far from the true solution as the mountain with +its edgewise layers of stone is from the disconnected artesian +wells on a distant sea coast where the underground fresh and +salt water in overlying currents and layers clash together. The +explanation, of course, is simple. The brine is of greater specific +gravity than the pure water; the pressure of the heavier +fluid forces the lighter up in the tube. This action continues +until, as you will see by this experiment, in the gradual diffusion +of brine and pure water the salt is disseminated equally throughout +the vessels, and the specific gravity of the mixed liquid +becomes the same throughout, when the flow will cease. However, +in the earth, where supplies are inexhaustible, the fountain +flows unceasingly."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 186]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.<br /> +<br /> +BEWARE OF BIOLOGY, THE SCIENCE OF THE LIFE OF MAN.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> +</h2> + +<p class="center">(The old man relates a story as an object lesson.)</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> The reader is invited to skip this chapter of horrors.—J. U. L.</p> +</div> + +<p>"But you have not lived up to the promise; you have evaded +part of the bargain," I continued. "While you have certainly +performed some curious experiments in physics which seem to +be unique, yet, I am only an amateur in science, and your +hydrostatic illustrations may be repetitions of investigations +already recorded, that have escaped the attention of the scientific +gentlemen to whom I have hitherto applied."</p> + +<p>"Man's mind is a creature of doubts and questions," he +observed. "Answer one query, and others rise. His inner self +is never satisfied, and you are not to blame for wishing for a sign, +as all self-conscious conditions of your former existence compel. +Now that I have brushed aside the more prominent questionings, +you insist upon those omitted, and appeal to me to"—he hesitated.</p> + +<p>"To what?" I asked, curious to see if he had intuitively +grasped my unspoken sentence.</p> + +<p>"To exhibit to you your own brain," he replied.</p> + +<p>"That is it exactly," I said; "you promised it, and you shall +be held strictly to your bargain. You agreed to show me my +own brain, and it seems evident that you have purposely evaded +the promise."</p> + +<p>"That I have made the promise and deferred its completion +can not be denied, but not by reason of an inability to fulfill the +contract. I will admit that I purposely deferred the exhibition, +hoping on your own account that you would forget the hasty +promise. You would better release me from the promise; you +do not know what you ask."</p> + +<p>"I believe that I ask more than you can perform," I answered, +"and that you know it."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 187]</span></p><p>"Let me give you a history," he said, "and then perhaps you +will relent. Listen. A man once became involved in the study +of anatomy. It led him to destruction. He commenced the +study in order to learn a profession; he hoped to become a +physician. Materia medica, pharmacy, chemistry, enticed him at +first, but after a time presented no charms. He was a dull student +in much that men usually consider essential to the practice +of medicine. He was not fitted to be a physician. Gradually +he became absorbed in two branches, physiology and anatomy. +Within his mental self a latent something developed that neither +himself nor his friends had suspected. This was an increasing +desire for knowledge concerning the human body. The insatiable +craving for anatomy grew upon him, and as it did so other +sections of medicine were neglected. Gradually he lost sight of +his professional object; he dropped chemistry, materia medica, +pharmacy, and at last, morbidly lived only in the aforenamed +two branches.</p> + +<p>"His first visit to the dissecting room was disagreeable. +The odor of putrid flesh, the sight of the mutilated bodies +repulsed him. When first his hand, warm in life, touched the +clammy flesh of a corpse, he shuddered. Then when his fingers +came in contact with the viscera of a cadaver, that of a little +child, he cried out in horror. The demonstrator of anatomy +urged him on; he finally was induced to dissect part of the +infant. The reflex action on his sensitive mind first stunned, +and then warped his senses. His companions had to lead him +from the room. 'Wash it off, wash it off,' he repeated, trying to +throw his hand from his person. 'Horrid, horrible, unclean. +The child is yet before me,' he insisted. Then he went into +a fever and raved. 'Some mother will meet me on the street +and curse me,' he cried. "That hand is red with the blood of my +darling; it has desecrated the innocent dead, and mutilated that +which is most precious to a mother." Take the hand away, wash +it,' he shouted. 'The mother curses me; she demands retribution. +Better that a man be dead than cursed by a mother whose +child has been desecrated.' So the unfortunate being raved, +dreaming all manner of horrid imaginings. But at last he +recovered, a different man. He returned voluntarily to the +dissecting-room, and wrapped himself in the uncouth work.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 188]</span> +Nothing in connection with corpse-mutilation was now offensive +or unclean. He threw aside his other studies, he became a slave +possessed of one idea. He scarcely took time to dine respectably; +indeed, he often ate his lunch in the dissecting-room. The blood +of a child was again and again on his fingers; it mattered not, +he did not take the trouble to wash it off. 'The liver of man is +not more sacred than the liver of a hog,' he argued; 'the flesh of +a man is the same as other forms of animal food. When a person +dies the vital heat escapes, consciousness is dissipated, and the +cold, rigid remains are only animal. Consciousness and life are +all that is of man—one is force, the other matter; when man dies +both perish and are dissipated.' His friends perceived his +fondness for dissection, and argued with him again, endeavoring +now to overcome his infatuation; he repelled them. 'I learned +in my vision,' he said, referring to his fever, 'that Pope was +right in saying that the "proper study of mankind is man"; +I care nothing for your priestly superstitions concerning the +dead. These fables are the invention of designing churchmen +who live on the superstitions of the ignorant. I am an infidel, +and believe in no spirit intangible; that which can be seen, felt, +and weighed is, all else is not. Life is simply a sensation. All +beyond is chimerical, less than fantastic, believed in only by +dupes and weak-minded, credulous tools of knaves, or creatures +of blind superstition.' He carried the finely articulated, +bleached skull of a cadaver to his room, and placed it beside +a marble statue that was a valued heirloom, the model of Venus +of Milo. 'Both are lime compounds,' he cynically observed, +'neither is better than the other.' His friends protested. 'Your +superstitious education is at fault,' he answered; 'you mentally +clothe one of these objects in a quality it does not deserve, and +the thought creates a pleasant emotion. The other, equally as +pure, reminds you of the grave that you fear, and you shudder. +These mental pulsations are artificial, both being either survivals +of superstition, or creations of your own mind. The lime in +the skull is now as inanimate as that of the statue; neither +object is responsible for its form, neither is unclean. To me, +the delicate configuration, the exact articulation, the perfect +adaptation for the office it originally filled, makes each bone of +this skull a thing of beauty, an object of admiration. As a<span class="pagenum">[Pg 189]</span> +whole, it gives me pleasure to think of this wonderful, exquisitely +arranged piece of mechanism. The statue you admire is +in every respect outrivaled by the skull, and I have placed the +two together because it pleases me to demonstrate that man's +most artistic creation is far inferior to material man. Throw +aside your sentimental prejudices, and join with me in the +admiration of this thing of beauty;' and he toyed with the +skull as if it were a work of art. So he argued, and arguing +passed from bone to bone, and from organ to organ. He filled +his room with abnormal fragments of the human body, and +surrounded himself with jars of preserved anatomical specimens. +His friends fled in disgust, and he smiled, glad to be +alone with his ghastly subjects. He was infatuated in one of +the alcoves of science."</p> + +<p>The old man paused.</p> + +<p>"Shall I proceed?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes," I said, but involuntarily moved my chair back, for I +began again to be afraid of the speaker.</p> + +<p>"At last this scientific man had mastered all that was known +concerning physiology and anatomy. He learned by heart the +wording of great volumes devoted to these subjects. The human +frame became to him as an open book. He knew the articulation +of every muscle, could name a bone from a mere fragment. +The microscope ceased to be an object of interest, the secrets of +pathology and physiology had been mastered. Then, unconsciously, +he was infected by another tendency; a new thought was +destined to dominate his brain. 'What is it that animates this +frame? What lies inside to give it life?' He became enthused +again: 'The dead body, to which I have given my time, is not +the conscious part of man,' he said to himself; 'I must find this +thing of life within; I have been only a butcher of the dead. +My knowledge is superficial.'"</p> + +<p>Again the old man hesitated and looked at me inquiringly.</p> + +<p>"Shall I proceed?" he repeated.</p> + +<p>I was possessed by horror, but yet fascinated, and answered +determinedly: "Go on."</p> + +<p>"Beware," he added, "beware of the Science of Life."</p> + +<p>Pleadingly he looked at me.</p> + +<p>"Go on," I commanded.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> + +<p>He continued:</p> + +<p>"With the cunning of a madman, this person of profound +learning, led from the innocence of ignorance to the heartlessness +of advanced biological science, secretly planned to seek the +vital forces. 'I must begin with a child, for the life essence +shows its first manifestations in children,' he reasoned. He +moved to an unfrequented locality, discharged his servants, and +notified his former friends that visitors were unwelcome. He +had determined that no interruption to his work should occur. +This course was unnecessary, however, for now he had neither +friends nor visitors. He employed carpenters and artisans, and +perfected a series of mechanical tables, beautiful examples of +automatic mechanism. From the inner room of that house no +cry could be heard by persons outside....</p> + +<blockquote><p>[It will be seen, by referring to the epilogue, that Mr. Drury agreed to +mutilate part of the book. This I have gladly done, excising the heart-rending +passages that follow. To use the words of Prof. Venable, they do not "comport +with the general delicacy of the book."—J. U. L.]</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Hold, old man, cease," I cried aghast; "I have had enough +of this. You trifle with me, demon; I have not asked for nightmare +stories, heart-curdling accounts of maniacal investigators, +who madly pursue their revolting calling, and discredit the name +of science."</p> + +<p>"You asked to see your own brain," he replied.</p> + +<p>"And have been given a terrible story instead," I retorted.</p> + +<p>"So men perverted, misconstruing the aim of science, answer +the cry of humanity," he said. "One by one the cherished +treasures of Christianity have been stolen from the faithful. +What, to the mother, can replace the babe that has been lost?"</p> + +<p>"The next world," I answered, "offers a comfort."</p> + +<p>"Bah," he said; "does not another searcher in that same +science field tell the mother that there is no personal hereafter, +that she will never see her babe again? One man of science +steals the body, another man of science takes away the soul, the +third annihilates heaven; they go like pestilence and famine, +hand in hand, subsisting on all that craving humanity considers +sacred, and offering no tangible return beyond a materialistic +present. This same science that seems to be doing so much for<span class="pagenum">[Pg 191]</span> +humanity will continue to elevate so-called material civilization +until, as the yeast ferment is smothered in its own excretion, so +will science-thought create conditions to blot itself from existence, +and destroy the civilization it creates. Science is heartless, notwithstanding +the personal purity of the majority of her helpless +votaries. She is a thief, not of ordinary riches, but of treasures +that can not be replaced. Before science provings the love of a +mother perishes, the hope of immortality is annihilated. Beware +of materialism, the end of the science of man. Beware of the +beginning of biological inquiry, for he who commences, can not +foresee the termination. I say to you in candor, no man ever +engaged in the part of science lore that questions the life +essence, realizing the possible end of his investigations. The +insidious servant becomes a tyrannical master; the housebreaker +is innocent, the horse thief guiltless in comparison. Science +thought begins in the brain of man; science provings end all +things with the end of the material brain of man. Beware of +your own brain."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 536px;"> +<img src="images/gs1037.jpg" width="536" height="600" alt="" title=""RISING ABRUPTLY, HE GRASPED MY HAND."" /> +<span class="caption">"RISING ABRUPTLY, HE GRASPED MY HAND."</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 192]</span></p> + +<p>"I have no fear," I replied, "that I will ever be led to disturb +the creeds of the faithful, and I will not be diverted. I demand +to see my brain."</p> + +<p>"Your demand shall now be fulfilled; you have been warned +of the return that may follow the commencement of this study; +you force the issue; my responsibility ceases. No man of +science realized the end when he began to investigate his +throbbing brain, and the end of the fabric that science is +weaving for man rests in the hidden future. The story I have +related is a true one, as thousands of faithful men who unconsciously +have been led into infidelity have experienced; and as the +faithful followers of sacred teachings can also perceive, who +recognize that their religion and the hope of heaven is slipping +away beneath the steady inroad of the heartless materialistic +investigator, who clothes himself in the garb of science."</p> + +<p>Rising abruptly from his chair, he grasped my hand. "You +shall see your brain, man; come."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 193]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193"></a>CHAPTER XXX.<br /> +<br /> +LOOKING BACKWARD.—THE LIVING BRAIN.</h2> + + +<p>The old man accompanied his word "come," as I have said, +by rising from his chair, and then with a display of strength +quite out of proportion to his age, he grasped my wrist and drew +me toward the door. Realizing at once that he intended I +should accompany him into the night, I protested, saying that I +was quite unprepared.</p> + +<p>"My hat, at least," I insisted, as he made no recognition of +my first demur.</p> + +<p>"Your hat is on your head," he replied.</p> + +<p>This was true, although I am sure the hat had been previously +hung on a rack in a distant part of the room, and I +am equally certain that neither my companion nor myself had +touched it. Leaving me no time for reflection, he opened the +door, and drew me through the hall-way and into the gloom. As +though perfectly familiar with the city, he guided me from my +cozy home, on the retired side street in which I resided, eastwardly +into the busy thoroughfare, Western Row. Our course +led us down towards the river, past Ninth, Eighth, Seventh +Streets. Now and then a pedestrian stopped to gaze in surprise +at the unique spectacle, the old man leading the young one, but +none made any attempt to molest us. We passed on in silence, +out of the busy part of the thoroughfare and into the shady +part of the city, into the darkness below Fifth Street. Here the +residences were poorer, and tenement-houses and factories began +to appear. We were now in a quarter of the city into which +strangers seldom, if ever, penetrated after night, and in which +I would not have cared to be found unprotected at any time +after sunset, much less in such questionable company. I protested +against the indiscretion; my leader made no reply, but +drew me on past the flickering gas lights that now and then +appeared at the intersection of Third, Pearl, Second, and<span class="pagenum">[Pg 194]</span> +Water Streets, until at last we stood, in darkness, on the bank +of the Ohio River.</p> + +<p>Strange, the ferry-boat at that time of night only made a +trip every thirty minutes, and yet it was at the landing as +though by appointment. Fear began to possess me, and as my +thoughts recur to that evening, I can not understand how it +was that I allowed myself to be drawn without cry or resistance +from my secure home to the Ohio River, in such companionship. +I can account for the adventure only by the fact that I +had deliberately challenged my companion to make the test +he was fulfilling, and that an innate consciousness of pride and +justice compelled me to permit him to employ his own methods. +We crossed the river without speaking, and rapidly ascending +the levee we took our course up Main Street into Covington. +Still in the lead, my aged guide, without hesitation, went onward +to the intersection of Main and Pike Streets; thence he turned +to the right, and following the latter thoroughfare we passed +the old tannery, that I recalled as a familiar landmark, and +then started up the hill. Onward we strode, past a hotel +named "Niemeyer's," and soon were in the open country on the +Lexington Pike, treading through the mud, diagonally up the +hill back of Covington. Then, at a sharp curve in the road +where it rounded the point of the hill, we left the highway, +and struck down the hillside into a ravine that bounded the +lower side of the avenue. We had long since left the city +lamps and sidewalks behind us, and now, when we left the roadway, +were on the muddy pike at a considerable elevation upon +the hillside and, looking backward, I beheld innumerable +lights throughout the cities of Cincinnati, Covington, and the +village of Newport, sparkling away in the distance behind and +below us.</p> + +<p>"Come," my companion said again, as I hesitated, repeating +the only word he had uttered since telling his horrible story, +"Come!"</p> + +<p>Down the hill into the valley we plunged, and at last he +opened the door of an isolated log cabin, which we entered. +He lighted a candle that he drew from his pocket, and together +we stood facing each other.</p> + +<p>"Be seated," he said dryly.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 195]</span></p> + +<p>And then I observed that the cold excuse for furniture in +that desolate room consisted of a single rude, hand-made chair +with corn-shuck bottom. However, I did not need a second +invitation, but sank exhausted and disconsolate upon the welcome +object.</p> + +<p>My companion lost no time, but struck at once into the +subject that concerned us, arguing as follows:</p> + +<p>"One of the troubles with humanity is that of changing a +thought from the old to a new channel; to grasp at one effort an +entirely new idea is an impossibility. Men follow men in trains +of thought expression, as in bodily form generations of men +follow generations. A child born with three legs is a freak of +nature, a monstrosity, yet it sometimes appears. A man +possessed of a new idea is an anomaly, a something that may +not be impossible, but which has never appeared. It is almost +as difficult to conceive of a new idea as it is to create out of +nothing a new material or an element. Neither thoughts nor +things can be invented, both must be evolved out of a preëxisting +something which it necessarily resembles. Every advanced +idea that appears in the brain of man is the result of a suggestion +from without. Men have gone on and on ceaselessly, with their +minds bent in one direction, ever looking outwardly, never +inwardly. It has not occurred to them to question at all in the +direction of backward sight. Mind has been enabled to read +the impressions that are made in and on the substance of brain +convolutions, but at the same time has been and is insensible to +the existence of the convolutions themselves. It is as though we +could read the letters of the manuscript that bears them without +having conceived of a necessity for the existence of a printed +surface, such as paper or anything outside the letters. Had +anatomists never dissected a brain, the human family would +to-day live in absolute ignorance of the nature of the substance +that lies within the skull. Did you ever stop to think that +the mind can not now bring to the senses the configuration, or +nature, of the substance in which mind exists? Its own house +is unknown. This is in consequence of the fact that physical +existence has always depended upon the study of external surroundings, +and consequently the power of internal sight lies +undeveloped. It has never been deemed necessary for man to<span class="pagenum">[Pg 196]</span> +attempt to view the internal construction of his body, and hence +the sense of feeling only advises him of that which lies within +his own self. This sense is abstract, not descriptive. Normal +organs have no sensible existence. Thus an abnormal condition +of an organ creates the sensation of pain or pleasure, but discloses +nothing concerning the appearance or construction of the +organ affected. The perfect liver is as vacancy. The normal +brain never throbs and aches. The quiescent arm presents no +evidence to the mind concerning its shape, size, or color. Man +can not count his fingers unless some outside object touches +them, or they press successively against each other, or he perceives +them by sight. The brain of man, the seat of knowledge, +in which mind centers, is not perceptible through the senses. +Does it not seem irrational, however, to believe that mind itself +is not aware, or could not be made cognizant, of the nature of +its material surroundings?"</p> + +<p>"I must confess that I have not given the subject a thought," +I replied.</p> + +<p>"As I predicted," he said. "It is a step toward a new idea, +and simple as it seems, now that the subject has been suggested, +you must agree that thousands of intelligent men have not been +able to formulate the thought. The idea had never occurred to +them. Even after our previous conversation concerning the +possibility of showing you your own brain, you were powerless +and could not conceive of the train of thought which I started, +and along which I shall now further direct your senses."</p> + +<p>"The eye is so constituted that light produces an impression +on a nervous film in the rear of that organ, this film is named +the retina, the impression being carried backward therefrom +through a magma of nerve fibers (the optic nerve), and reaching +the brain, is recorded on that organ and thus affects the mind. +Is it not rational to suppose it possible for this sequence to be +reversed? In other words, if the order were reversed could not +the same set of nerves carry an impression from behind to the +retina, and picture thereon an image of the object which lies +anterior thereto, to be again, by reflex action, carried back to +the brain, thus bringing the brain substance itself to the view +of the mind, and thus impress the senses? To recapitulate: If +the nerve sensation, or force expression, should travel from the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 197]<br />[Pg 198]</span>brain to the retina, instead of from an outward object, it will on +the reverse of the retina produce the image of that which lies +behind, and then if the optic nerve carry the image back to the +brain, the mind will bring to the senses the appearance of the +image depicted thereon."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 199]</span></p> + +<p><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 403px;"> +<img src="images/gs1038.jpg" width="403" height="600" alt="" title=""FACING THE OPEN WINDOW HE TURNED THE PUPILS OF HIS +EYES UPWARD."" /> +<span class="caption">"FACING THE OPEN WINDOW HE TURNED THE PUPILS OF HIS +EYES UPWARD."</span> +</div> + +<p>"This is my first consideration of the subject," I replied.</p> + +<p>"Exactly," he said; "you have passed through life looking +at outside objects, and have been heedlessly ignorant of your +own brain. You have never made an exclamation of surprise at +the statement that you really see a star that exists in the depths +of space millions of miles beyond our solar system, and yet you +became incredulous and scornful when it was suggested that I +could show you how you could see the configuration of your +brain, an object with which the organ of sight is nearly in +contact. How inconsistent."</p> + +<p>"The chain of reasoning is certainly novel, and yet I can +not think of a mode by which I can reverse my method of sight +and look backward," I now respectfully answered.</p> + +<p>"It is very simple; all that is required is a counter excitation +of the nerve, and we have with us to-night what any person +who cares to consider the subject can employ at any time, and +thus behold an outline of a part of his own brain. I will give +you the lesson."</p> + +<p>Placing himself before the sashless window of the cabin, +which opening appeared as a black space pictured against the +night, the sage took the candle in his right hand, holding it so +that the flame was just below the tip of the nose, and about six +inches from his face. Then facing the open window he turned +the pupils of his eyes upward, seeming to fix his gaze on the +upper part of the open window space, and then he slowly moved +the candle transversely, backward and forward, across, in front +of his face, keeping it in such position that the flickering flame +made a parallel line with his eyes, and as just remarked, about +six inches from his face, and just below the tip of his nose. +Speaking deliberately, he said:</p> + +<p>"Now, were I you, this movement would produce a counter +irritation of the retina; a rhythm of the optic nerve would +follow, a reflex action of the brain accompanying, and now a +figure of part of the brain that rests against the skull in the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 200]</span> +back of my head would be pictured on the retina. I would see +it plainly, apparently pictured or thrown across the open space +before me."</p> + +<p>"Incredible!" I replied.</p> + +<p>"Try for yourself," quietly said my guide.</p> + +<p>Placing myself in the position designated, I repeated the +maneuver, when slowly a shadowy something seemed to be +evolved out of the blank space before me. It seemed to be as a +gray veil, or like a corrugated sheet as thin as gauze, which as +I gazed upon it and discovered its outline, became more apparent +and real. Soon the convolutions assumed a more decided form, +the gray matter was visible, filled with venations, first gray and +then red, and as I became familiar with the sight, suddenly the +convolutions of a brain in all its exactness, with a network of +red blood venations, burst into existence.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> +</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a>This experiment is not claimed as original. See Purkinje's Beiträge +zur Kenntniss des Sehens in subjectiver Hinsicht (Prague, 1823 and +1825), whose conclusions to the effect that the shadow of the retina is +seen, I-Am-The-Man ignores.—J. U. L.</p></div> + +<p><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1039.jpg" width="600" height="315" alt="" title=""A BRAIN, A LIVING BRAIN, MY OWN BRAIN."" /> +<span class="caption">"A BRAIN, A LIVING BRAIN, MY OWN BRAIN."</span> +</div> + +<p>I beheld a brain, a brain, a living brain, my own brain, and +as an uncanny sensation possessed me I shudderingly stopped +the motion of the candle, and in an instant the shadowy figure +disappeared.</p> + +<p>"Have I won the wager?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I answered.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 201]</span></p> +<p>"Then," said my companion, "make no further investigations +in this direction."</p> + +<p>"But I wish to verify the experiment," I replied. "Although +it is not a pleasant test, I can not withstand the temptation to +repeat it."</p> + +<p>And again I moved the candle backward and forward, when +the figure of my brain sprung at once into existence.</p> + +<p>"It is more vivid," I said; "I see it plainer, and more quickly +than before."</p> + +<p>"Beware of the science of man, I repeat," he replied; "now, +before you are deep in the toils, and can not foresee the end, +beware of the science of human biology. Remember the story +recently related, that of the physician who was led to destruction +by the alluring voice."</p> + +<p>I made no reply, but stood with my face fixed, slowly moving +the candle backward and forward, gazing intently into the +depths of my own brain.</p> + +<p>After a time the old man removed the candle from my hand, +and said: "Do you accept the fact? Have I demonstrated the +truth of the assertion?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I replied; "but tell me further, now that you have +excited my interest, have I seen and learned all that man can +discover in this direction?"</p> + +<p>"No; you have seen but a small portion of the brain convolutions, +only those that lie directly back of the optic nerve. By +systematic research, under proper conditions, every part of the +living brain may become as plainly pictured as that which you +have seen."</p> + +<p>"And is that all that could be learned?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"No," he continued. "Further development may enable men +to picture the figures engraved on the convolutions, and at last +to read the thoughts that are engraved within the brains of +others, and thus through material investigation the observer will +perceive the recorded thought of another person. An instrument +capable of searching and illuminating the retina could be easily +affixed to the eye of a criminal, after which, if the mind of the +person operated upon were stimulated by the suggestion of an +occurrence either remote or recent, the mind facility would excite +the brain, produce the record, and spread the circumstances as a<span class="pagenum">[Pg 202]</span> +picture before the observer. The brain would tell its own story, +and the investigator could read the truth as recorded in the brain +of the other man. A criminal subjected to such an examination +could not tell an untruth, or equivocate; his very brain would +present itself to the observer."</p> + +<p>"And you make this assertion, and then ask me to go no +further into the subject?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; decidedly yes."</p> + +<p>"Tell me, then, could you not have performed this experiment +in my room, or in the dark cellar of my house?"</p> + +<p>"Any one can repeat it with a candle in any room not otherwise +lighted, by looking at a blackboard, a blank wall, or black +space," he said.</p> + +<p>I was indignant.</p> + +<p>"Why have you treated me so inhumanly? Was there a +necessity for this journey, these mysterious movements, this +physical exertion? Look at the mud with which I am covered, +and consider the return trip which yet lies before me, and which +must prove even more exhausting?"</p> + +<p>"Ah," he said, "you overdraw. The lesson has been easily +acquired. Science is not an easy road to travel. Those who +propose to profit thereby must work circuitously, soil their hands +and person, meet discouragements, and must expect hardships, +reverses, abuse, and discomfort. Do not complain, but thank me +for giving you the lesson without other tribulations that might +have accompanied it. Besides, there was another object in my +journey, an object that I have quietly accomplished, and which +you may never know. Come, we must return."</p> + +<p>He extinguished the light of the candle, and we departed +together, trudging back through the mud and the night.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> +</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a>We must acquiesce in the explanation given for this seemingly +uncalled-for journey, and yet feel that it was unnecessarily exacting.</p></div> + +<p>Of that wearisome return trip I have nothing to say beyond +the fact that before reaching home my companion disappeared in +the darkness of a side street, and that the Cathedral chimes were +playing for three o'clock <span class="smcap">a.m.</span>, as I passed the corner of Eighth +Street and Western Row.</p> + +<p>The next evening my visitor appeared as usual, and realizing +his complete victory, he made no reference to the occurrences +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 203]</span>of the previous night. In his usual calm and deliberate manner +he produced the roll of manuscript saying benignantly, and in a +gentle tone:</p> + +<p>"Do you recollect where I left off reading?"</p> + +<p>"You had reached that point in your narrative," I answered, +"at which your guide had replaced the boat on the surface of +the lake."</p> + +<p>And the mysterious being resumed his reading.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 204]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE MANUSCRIPT CONTINUED.</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204"></a>CHAPTER XXXI.<br /> +<br /> +A LESSON ON VOLCANOES.—PRIMARY COLORS ARE CAPABLE OF +FARTHER SUBDIVISION.</h2> + + +<p>"Get into the boat," said my eyeless pilot, "and we will +proceed to the farther edge of the lake, over the barrier of which +at great intervals of time, the surface water flows, and induces +the convulsion known as Mount Epomeo."</p> + +<p>We accordingly embarked, and a gentle touch of the lever +enabled us rapidly to skirt the shore of the underground sea. +The soft, bright, pleasant earth-light continually enveloped us, +and the absence of either excessive heat or cold, rendered +existence delightful. The weird forms taken by the objects +that successively presented themselves on the shore were a +source of continual delight to my mind. The motion of our +boat was constantly at the will of my guide. Now we would +skim across a great bay, flashing from point to point; again we +wound slowly through tortuous channels and among partly +submerged stones.</p> + +<p>"What a blessing this mode of locomotion would be to +humanity," I murmured.</p> + +<p>"Humanity will yet attain it," he replied. "Step by step +men have stumbled along towards the goal that the light of +coming centuries is destined to illuminate. They have studied, +and are still engaged in studying, the properties of grosser +forces, such as heat and electricity, and they will be led by the +thread they are following, to this and other achievements yet +unthought of, but which lie back of those more conspicuous."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 405px;"> +<img src="images/gs1040.jpg" width="405" height="600" alt="" title=""WE FINALLY REACHED A PRECIPITOUS BLUFF."" /> +<span class="caption">"WE FINALLY REACHED A PRECIPITOUS BLUFF."</span> +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 206]</span></div> + +<p>We finally reached a precipitous bluff, that sprung to my +view as by magic, and which, with a glass-like surface, stretched +upward to a height beyond the scope of my vision, rising +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 207]</span>straight from the surface of the lake. It was composed of a +material seemingly black as jet, and yet when seen under varying +spectacular conditions as we skirted its base it reflected, or +emitted, most gorgeously the brilliant hues of the rainbow, and +also other colors hitherto unknown to me.</p> + +<p>"There is something unique in these shades; species of color +appear that I can not identify; I seem to perceive colors utterly +unlike any that I know as the result of deflected, or transmitted, +sunlight rays, and they look unlike the combinations of primary +colors with which I am familiar."</p> + +<p>"Your observations are true; some of these colors are +unknown on earth."</p> + +<p>"But on the surface of the earth we have all possible combinations +of the seven prismatic rays," I answered. "How can +there be others here?"</p> + +<p>"Because, first, your primary colors are capable of further +subdivision.</p> + +<p>"Second, other rays, invisible to men under usual conditions, +also emanate from the sun, and under favorable circumstances +may be brought to the sense of sight."</p> + +<p>"Do you assert that the prism is capable of only partly +analyzing the sunlight?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; what reason have you to argue that, because a +triangular bit of glass resolves a white ray into seven fractions +that are, as men say, differently colored, you could not by +proper methods subdivide each of these so-called primary shades +into others? What reason have you to doubt that rays now +invisible to man accompany those capable of impressing his +senses, and might by proper methods become perceptible as new +colors?"</p> + +<p>"None," I answered; "only that I have no proof that such +rays exist."</p> + +<p>"But they do exist, and men will yet learn that the term +'primitive' ray, as applied to each of the seven colors of the +rainbow, is incorrect. Each will yet be resolved, and as our +faculties multiply and become more subtle, other colors will be +developed, possessed of a delicacy and richness indescribable +now, for as yet man can not comprehend the possibilities of +education beyond the limits of his present condition."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 208]</span></p> + +<p>During this period of conversation we skirted the richly +colored bluff with a rapid motion, and at last shot beyond it, +as with a flash, into seeming vacancy. I was sitting with +my gaze directed toward the bluff, and when it instantly +disappeared, I rubbed my eyes to convince myself of their +truthfulness, and as I did so our boat came gradually to a stand +on the edge of what appeared to be an unfathomable abyss. +Beneath me on the side where had risen the bluff that disappeared +so abruptly, as far as the eye could reach, was an absolute +void. To our right, and before and behind us, stretched the +surface of that great smooth lake on whose bosom we rested. +To our left, our boat brushing its rim, a narrow ledge, a continuation +of the black, glass-like material, reached only a foot above +the water, and beyond this narrow brink the mass descended +perpendicularly to seemingly infinite depths. Involuntarily I +grasped the sides of the boat, and recoiled from the frightful +chasm, over which I had been so suddenly suspended, and +which exceeded anything of a similar description that I had +ever seen. The immeasurable depth of the abyss, in connection +with the apparently frail barrier that held the great lake in its +bounds, caused me to shudder and shrink back, and my brain +reeled in dizzy fright. An inexplicable attraction, however, +notwithstanding my dread, held me spell-bound, and although I +struggled to shut out that view, the endeavor failed. I seemed +to be drawn by an irresistible power, and yet I shuddered at the +awful majesty of that yawning gulf which threatened to end the +world on which I then existed. Fascinated, entranced, I could +not help gazing, I knew not how long, down, down into that +fathomless, silent profundity. Composing myself, I turned a +questioning glance on my guide.</p> + +<p>He informed me that this hard, glass-like dam confined the +waters of the slowly rising lake that we were sailing over, and +which finally would rise high enough to overflow the barrier.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 407px;"> +<img src="images/gs1041.jpg" width="407" height="600" alt="" title=""THE WALL DESCENDED PERPENDICULARLY TO SEEMINGLY +INFINITE DEPTHS."" /> +<span class="caption">"THE WALL DESCENDED PERPENDICULARLY TO SEEMINGLY +INFINITE DEPTHS."</span> +</div> + +<p>"The cycle of the periodic overflow is measured by great +intervals," he said; "centuries are required to raise the level of +the lake a fraction of an inch, and thousands of years may elapse +before its surface will again reach the top of the adamantine +wall. Then, governed by the law that attracts a liquid to itself, +and heaps the teaspoon with liquid, the water of the quiet lake +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 210]</span>piles upon this narrow wall, forming a ledge along its summit. +Finally the superimposed surface water gives way, and a skim +of water pours over into the abyss."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 211]</span></p> + +<p>He paused; I leaned over and meditated, for I had now +accustomed myself to the situation.</p> + +<p>"There is no bottom," I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Upon the contrary," he answered, "the bottom is less than +ten miles beneath us, and is a great funnel-shaped orifice, the +neck of the funnel reaching first down and then upward from us +diagonally toward the surface of the earth. Although the light +by which we are enveloped is bright, yet it is deficient in penetrating +power, and is not capable of giving the contour of objects +even five miles away, hence the chasm seems bottomless, and +the gulf measureless."</p> + +<p>"Is it not natural to suppose that a mass of water like this +great lake would overflow the barrier immediately, as soon as +the surface reached the upper edge, for the pressure of the +immense volume must be beyond calculation."</p> + +<p>"No, for it is height, not expanse, which, as hydrostatic +engineers understand, governs the pressure of water. A liquid +column, one foot in width, would press against the retaining dam +with the force of a body of the same liquid, the same depth, one +thousand miles in extent. Then the decrease of gravity here +permits the molecular attraction of the water's molecules +to exert itself more forcibly than would be the +case on the surface of the earth, and this holds the +liquid mass together more firmly."</p> + + +<div class="figright" style="width: 98px;"> +<img src="images/m1042.png" width="98" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 27." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 27.</span> +</div> + +<p>"See," he observed, and dipping his finger into +the water he held it before him with a drop of water +attached thereto (Figure 27), the globule being of +considerable size, and lengthened as though it consisted +of some glutinous liquid.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211"></a></p> + +<p>"How can a thin stratum of water give rise to a +volcanic eruption?" I next queried. "There seems +to be no melted rock, no evidence of intense heat, +either beneath or about us."</p> + +<p>"I informed you some time ago that I would partially explain +these facts. Know then, that the theories of man concerning +volcanic eruptions, in connection with a molten interior of the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 212]</span> +earth, are such as are evolved in ignorance of even the sub-surface +of the globe. The earth's interior is to mankind a +sealed chamber, and the wise men who elucidate the curious +theories concerning natural phenomena occurring therein are +forced to draw entirely upon their imagination. Few persons +realize the paucity of data at the command of workers in +science. Theories concerning the earth are formulated from so +little real knowledge of that body, that our science may be said +to be all theory, with scarcely a trace of actual evidence to +support it. If a globe ten inches in diameter be covered with +a sheet of paper, such as I hold in my hand, the thickness of that +sheet will be greater in proportion to that of such a globe than +the depth men have explored within the earth is compared with +the thickness of the crust of the earth. The outer surface of a +pencil line represents the surface of the earth; the inner surface +of the line represents the depth of man's explorations; the highest +mountain would be represented by a comma resting on the +line. The geologist studies the substances that are thrust from +the crater of an active volcano, and from this makes conjectures +regarding the strata beneath, and the force that casts the +excretions out. The results must with men, therefore, furnish +evidence from which to explain the cause. It is as though an +anatomist would form his idea of the anatomy of the liver by +the secretion thrown out of that organ, or of the lung texture +by the breath and sputum. In fact, volcanoes are of several +descriptions, and usually are extremely superficial. This lake, +the surface of which is but one hundred and fifty miles underground, +is the mother of an exceptionally deep one. When +the water pours over this ledge it strikes an element below +us, the metallic base of salt, which lies in great masses in some +portions of the earth's crust.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> + Then an immediate chemical +reaction ensues, the water is dissociated, intense heat results, +part of the water combines with the metal, part is vaporized +as steam, while part escapes as an inflammable gas. The +sudden liberation of these gases causes an irregular pressure +of vapor on the surface of the lake, the result being a throbbing +and rebounding of the attenuated atmosphere above, which, +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 213]</span>in gigantic waves, like swelling tides, dashes great volumes +of water over the ledge beside us, and into the depth below. +This water in turn reacts on fresh portions of the metallic base, +and the reflex action increases the vapor discharges, and as a +consequence the chamber we are in becomes a gasholder, containing +vapors of unequal gas pressures, and the resultant +agitation of the lake from the turmoil continues, and the pulsations +are repeated until the surface of the lake is lowered to +such a degree as at last to prevent the water from overflowing +the barrier. Finally the lake quiets itself, the gases slowly +disappear by earth absorption, and by escape from the volcanic +exit, and for an unrecorded period of time thereafter the surface +of the lake continues to rise slowly as it is doing now."</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> This view is supported in theory by a note I believe to have +somewhere seen recorded. Elsewhere other bases are mentioned also.—J. +U. L.</p></div> + +<p>"But what has this phenomenon to do with the volcano?"</p> + +<p>"It produces the eruption; the water that rushes down into +the chasm, partly as steam, partly as gas, is forced onward and +upward through a crevice that leads to the old crater of the +presumed extinct but periodically active Mount Epomeo. These +gases are intensely heated, and they move with fearful velocity. +They tear off great masses of stone, which the resultant energy +disturbances, pressure, gas, and friction, redden with heat. The +mixture of gases from the decomposed water is in large amount, +is burning and exploding, and in this fiery furnace amid such +convulsions as have been described, the adjacent earth substance +is fused, and even clay is melted, and carried on with the fiery +blast. Finally the current reaches the earth's surface through +the funnel passage, the apex of which is a volcano—the blast +described a volcanic eruption."</p> + +<p>"One thing is still obscure in my mind," I said. "You +assert that the reaction which follows the contact of the flowing +water and metallic bases in the crevice below us liberates the +explosive gases, and also volumes of vapor of water. These +gases rush, you say, and produce a volcanic eruption in a distant +part of the crust of the earth. I can not understand why they +do not rush backward as well, and produce another eruption in +Kentucky. Surely the pressure of a gas in confinement is the +same in all directions, is it not?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," he replied, "but the conditions in the different +directions are dissimilar. In the direction of the Kentucky<span class="pagenum">[Pg 214]</span> +cavern, the passage is tortuous, and often contracts to a narrow +crevice. In one place near the cavern's mouth, as you will +remember, we had to dive beneath the surface of a stream of +water. That stratum of water as effectually closed the exit from +the earth as the stopper prevents water escaping from a bottle. +Between the point we now occupy and that water stopper, rest +thousands of miles of quiescent air. The inertia of a thousand +miles of air is great beyond your comprehension. To move that +column of air by pushing against this end of it, and thus shoving +it instantly out of the other end, would require greater force +than would burst the one hundred and fifty miles of inelastic +stone above us. Then, the friction of the sides is another thing +that prevents its accomplishment. While a gradually applied +pressure would in time overcome both the inertia of the air and +the friction of the stone passages, it would take a supply of +energy greater than you can imagine to start into motion the +elastic mass that stands as solid and immovable as a sentinel of +adamant, between the cavern you entered, and the spot we now +occupy. Time and energy combined would be able to accomplish +the result, but not under present conditions.</p> + +<p>"In the other direction a broad open channel reaches directly +to and connects with the volcanic shaft. Through this channel +the air is in motion, moving towards the extinct crater, being +supplied from another surface orifice. The gases liberated in +the manner I have described, naturally follow the line of least +resistance. They turn at once away from the inert mass of air +that rests behind us, and move with increasing velocity towards +the volcanic exit. Before the pressure that might be exerted +towards the Kentucky cavern would have more than compressed +the intervening column of air enough to raise the water of a well +from its usual level to the surface of the earth, the velocity in the +other direction would have augmented prodigiously, and with its +increased rapidity a suction would follow more than sufficient to +consume the increasingly abundant gases from behind."</p> + +<p>"Volcanoes are therefore local, and the interior of the earth +is not a molten mass as I have been taught," I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>He answered: "If men were far enough along in their +thought journey (for the evolution of the mental side of man is +a journey in the world of thought), they would avoid such<span class="pagenum">[Pg 215]</span> +theories as that which ascribes a molten interior to the earth. +Volcanoes are superficial. They are as a rule, when in activity +but little blisters or excoriations upon the surface of the earth, +although their underground connections may be extensive. +Some of them are in a continual fret with frequent eruptions, +others, like the one under consideration, awaken only after great +periods of time. The entire surface of this globe has been or will +be subject to volcanic action. The phenomenon is one of the +steps in the world-making, matter-leveling process. When the +deposit of substances that I have indicated, and of which much +of the earth's interior is composed, the bases of salt, potash, and +lime and clay is exhausted, there will be no further volcanic +action from this cause, and in some places, this deposit has +already disappeared, or is covered deeply by layers of earth that +serve as a protection."</p> + +<p>"Is water, then, the universal cause of volcanoes?"</p> + +<p>"Water and air together cause most of them. The action of +water and its vapor produces from metallic space dust, limestone, +and clay soil, potash and soda salts. This perfectly rational and +natural action must continue as long as there is water above, +and free elementary bases in contact with the earth bubbles. +Volcanoes, earthquakes, geysers, mud springs, and hot springs, +are the natural result of that reaction. Mountains are thereby +forming by upheavals from beneath, and the corresponding +surface valleys are consequently filling up, either by the slow +deposit of the matter from the saline water of hot springs, +or by the sudden eruption of a new or presumably extinct +volcano."</p> + +<p>"What would happen if a crevice in the bottom of the ocean +should conduct the waters of the ocean into a deposit of metallic +bases?"</p> + +<p>"That often occurs," was the reply; "a volcanic wave results, +and a volcano may thus rise from the ocean's depths."</p> + +<p>"Is there any danger to the earth itself? May it not be +riven into fragments from such a convulsion?" I hesitatingly +questioned.</p> + +<p>"No; while the configuration of continents is continually +being altered, each disturbance must be practically superficial, +and of limited area."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 216]</span></p> + +<p>"But," I persisted, "the rigid, solid earth may be blown to +fragments; in such convulsions a result like that seems not +impossible."</p> + +<p>"You argue from an erroneous hypothesis. The earth is +neither rigid nor solid."</p> + +<p>"True," I answered. "If it were solid I could not be a +hundred miles beneath its surface in conversation with another +being; but there can not be many such cavities as that which +we are now traversing, and they can not surely extend entirely +through its mass; the great weight of the superincumbent +material would crush together the strongest materials, if a globe +as large as our earth were extensively honeycombed in this +manner."</p> + +<p>"Quite the contrary," he replied; "and here let me, for the +first time, enlighten you as to the interior structure of the +terrestrial globe. The earth-forming principle consists of an +invisible sphere of energy that, spinning through space, supports +the space dust which collects on it, as dust on a bubble. By +gradual accumulation of substance on that sphere a hollow +ball has resulted, on the outer surface of which you have +hitherto dwelt. The crust of the earth is comparatively thin, +not more than eight hundred miles in average thickness, and is +held in position by the central sphere of energy that now exists +at a distance about seven hundred miles beneath the ocean +level. The force inherent to this sphere manifests itself upon +the matter which it supports on both sides, rendering matter the +lighter the nearer it lies to the center sphere. In other words, +let me say to you: "The crust, or shell, which I have just +described as being but about eight hundred miles in thickness, +is firm and solid on both its convex and concave surface, but +gradually loses in weight, whether we penetrate from the outer +surface toward the center, or from any point of the inner surface +towards the outside, until at the central sphere matter has no +weight at all. Do you conceive my meaning?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I replied; "I understand you perfectly."</p> + +<p>After a pause my pilot asked me abruptly:</p> + +<p>"What do you most desire?"</p> + +<p>The question caused my mind to revert instantly to my old +home on the earth above me, and although I felt the hope of<span class="pagenum">[Pg 217]</span> +returning to it spring up in my heart, the force of habit caused +me involuntarily to answer, "More light!"</p> + +<p>"More light being your desire, you shall receive it."</p> + +<p>Obedient to his touch, the bow of the boat turned from the +gulf we had been considering towards the center of the lake; +the responsive craft leaped forward, and in an instant the obsidian +parapet disappeared behind us. On and over the trackless waste +of glass-like water we sped, until the dead silence became painfully +oppressive, and I asked:</p> + +<p>"Whither are we bound?"</p> + +<p>"Towards the east."</p> + +<p>The well-timed answer raised my spirits; I thought again +that in this man, despite his repulsive shape, I beheld a friend, a +brother; suspicion vanished, and my courage rose. He touched +the lever, and the craft, subject to his will, nearly rose from the +water, and sped with amazing velocity, as was evident from the +appearance of the luminous road behind us. So rapid was our +flight that the wake of the boat seemed as if made of rigid +parallel lines that disappeared in the distance, too quick for the +eye to catch the tremor.</p> + +<p>Continuing his conversation, my companion informed me +that he had now directed the bark toward a point east of the +spot where we struck the shore, after crossing the lake, in order +that we might continue our journey downward, diagonally to +the under surface of the earth crust.</p> + +<p>"This recent digression from our journey proper," said he, +"has been made to acquaint you with a subject, regarding which +you have exhibited a curiosity, and about which you have heretofore +been misinformed; now you understand more clearly part +of the philosophy of volcanoes and earthquakes. You have yet +much to learn in connection with allied phenomena, but this +study of the crude exhibition of force-disturbed matter, the +manipulation of which is familiar to man under the above +names, is an introduction to the more wonderful study destined +yet to be a part of your field, an investigation of quiescent +matter, and pure motion."</p> + +<p>"I can not comprehend you," I replied, "as I stated once +before when you referred to what you designated as pure +motion."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 218]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218"></a>CHAPTER XXXII.<br /> +<br /> +MATTER IS RETARDED MOTION.</h2> + + +<p>"It is possible—is it not?—for you to imagine a continuous +volley of iron balls passing near you in one line, in a +horizontal direction, with considerable velocity. Suppose that a +pane of glass were to be gradually moved so that a corner of +it would be struck by one of the balls; then the entire sheet +of glass would be shivered by the concussion, even though the +bullet struck but a single spot of glass, the point of contact +covering only a small area. Imagine now that the velocity of +the volley of bullets be increased a thousand fold; then a plate +of glass thrust into their track would be smoothly cut, as though +with a file that would gnaw its way without producing a single +radiating fracture. A person standing near the volley would +now hear a deep purr or growling sound, caused by the friction +between the bullets and the air. Increase gradually the rapidity +of their motion, and this growl would become more acute, +passing from a deep, low murmur, into one less grave, and as +the velocity increased, the tone would become sharper, and at +last piercingly shrill. Increase now the rapidity of the train of +bullets again, and again the notes would decrease in turn, passing +back again successively through the several keys that had preceded, +and finally would reach the low growl which first struck +the ear, and with a further increase of speed silence would ensue, +silence evermore, regardless of increasing velocity.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> + From +these hundreds of miles in a second at which the volley is now +passing, let the rapidity be augmented a thousand times, reaching +in their flight into millions of miles each second, and to the eye, +from the point where the sound disappeared, as the velocity +increased, a dim redness would appear, a glow just perceptible, +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 219]</span>indicating to the sense of sight, by a continuous line, the track +of the moving missiles. To all appearance, the line would be +as uniform as an illuminated pencil mark, even though the +several integral bullets of the trail might be separated one from +another by miles of space. Let a pane of glass now be thrust +across their track, and from the point of contact a shower of +sparks would fly, and the edges of glass close to either side of +the orifice would be shown, on withdrawing the glass, to have +been fused. Conceive now that the velocity of the bullets be +doubled and trebled, again and again, the line of red light +becomes brighter, then brilliant, and finally as the velocity +increases, at a certain point pure white results, and to man's +sense the trail would now be a continuous something, as solid as +a bar of metal if at a white heat, and (even if the bullets were a +thousand miles apart) man could not bring proof of their separate +existence to his senses. That portion of a pane of glass or other +substance, even steel or adamant, which should cross its track +now would simply melt away, the portion excised and carried out +of that pathway neither showing itself as scintillations, nor as +fragments of matter. The solid would instantly liquefy, and +would spread itself as a thin film over the surface of each ball of +that white, hot mass of fleeing metal, now to all essential +conditions as uniform as a bar of iron. Madly increase the +velocity to millions upon millions of miles per second, and the +heat will disappear gradually as did the sound, while the bright +light will pass backward successively through the primary +shades of color that are now known to man, beginning with +violet, and ending with red, and as the red fades away the train +of bullets will disappear to the sense of man. Neither light nor +sound now accompanies the volley, neither the human eye nor +the human ear can perceive its presence. Drop a pane of glass or +any other object edgewise through it, and it gives to the sense of +man no evidence; the molecules of the glass separate from in +front to close in from behind, and the moving train passes through +it as freely as light, leaving the surface of the glass unaffected."</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> A scientific critic seems to think that the shrill cry would cease +instantly and not gradually. However, science has been at fault more +than once, and I do not care to take liberties with this statement.—J. +U. L.</p></div> + +<p>"Hold," I interrupted; "that would be as one quality of +matter passing through another quality of matter without +disturbance to either, and it is a law in physics that two substances +can not occupy the same space at the same time."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 220]</span></p> + +<p>"That law holds good as man understands the subject, but +bullets are no longer matter. Motion of mass was first changed +into motion of molecules, and motion of molecule became finally +augmented into motion of free force entities as the bullets disintegrated +into molecular corpuscles, and then were dissociated, +atoms resulting. At this last point the sense of vision, and of +touch, ceased to be affected by that moving column (neither +matter nor force), and at the next jump in velocity the atoms +themselves disappeared, and free intangible motion resulted—nothing, +vacancy.</p> + +<p>"This result is the all-pervading spirit of space (the ether of +mankind), as solid as adamant and as mobile as vacuity. If you +can reverse the order of this phenomenon, and imagine an +irregular retardation of the rapidity of such atomic motion, you +can read the story of the formation of the material universe. +Follow the chain backward, and with the decrease of velocity, +motion becomes tangible matter again, and in accordance with +conditions governing the change of motion into matter, from +time to time the various elements successively appear. The +planets may grow without and within, and ethereal space can +generate elemental dirt. If you can conceive of an intermediate +condition whereby pure space motion becomes partly tangible, +and yet is not gross enough to be earthy matter, you can imagine +how such forces as man is acquainted with, light, heat, electricity, +magnetism, or gravity even are produced, for these are also +disturbances in space motion. It should be easily understood +that, according to the same simple principle, other elements and +unknown forces as well, now imperceptible to man's limited +faculties, could be and are formed outside and inside his field of +perception."</p> + +<p>"I fear that I can not comprehend all this," I answered.</p> + +<p>"So I feared, and perhaps I have given you this lesson too +soon, although some time ago you asked me to teach you concerning +the assertion that electricity, light, heat, magnetism, and +gravity are disturbances, and you said, 'Disturbances of what?' +Think the lesson over, and you will perceive that it is easy. +Let us hope that the time will come when we will be able to +glance beneath the rough, material, earth surface knowledge that +man has acquired, and experience the mind expansion that leads<span class="pagenum">[Pg 221]</span> +to the blissful insight possessed by superior beings who do not +have to contend with the rasping elements that encompass all +who dwell upon the surface of the earth."</p> + +<p>I pondered over these words, and a vague light, an undefined, +inexpressible something that I could not put into words broke +into my mind; I inferred that we were destined to meet with +persons, or existences, possessed of new senses, of a mind +development that man had not reached, and I was on the point +of questioning my pilot when the motion of the boat was +suspended, land appeared ahead, we drew up to it, and disembarked. +Lifting the boat from the water my guide placed it on +land at the edge of the motionless lake, and we resumed our +journey. The scenery seemed but little changed from that of +the latter part of our previous line of travel down the inclined +plane of the opposite side of the lake that we had crossed. The +direction was still downward after leaving the high ridge that +bordered the edge of the lake, the floor of the cavern being +usually smooth, although occasionally it was rough and covered +with stony debris. The mysterious light grew perceptibly +brighter as we progressed, the fog-like halo previously mentioned +became less dense, and the ring of obscurity widened rapidly. +I could distinctly perceive objects at a great distance. I turned +to my companion to ask why this was, and he replied:</p> + +<p>"Because we are leaving one of the undiscovered conditions +of the upper atmosphere that disturbs the sunlight."</p> + +<p>"Do you say that the atmosphere is composed of substances +unknown to man?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; several of them are gases, and others are qualities of +space condition, neither gas, liquid, nor solid.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> One particularly +interferes with light in its passage. It is an entity that is not +moved by the motion of the air, and is unequally distributed +over the earth's surface. As we ascend above the earth it +decreases, so it does as we descend into it. It is not vapor of +water, is neither smoke, nor a true gas, and is as yet sensible to +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 222]</span>man only by its power of modifying the intensity of light. It +has no color, is chemically inactive, and yet modifies the sun's +rays so as to blot objects from view at a comparatively small distance +from a person on the face of the earth. That this fact is +known to man is evident from the knowledge he possesses of +the difference in the power of his organs of vision at different +parts of the earth. His sight is especially acute on the table +lands of the Western Territories."</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> This has since been partly supported by the discovery of the element +Argon. However, the statement has been recorded many years. Miss Ella +Burbige, stenographer, Newport, Ky., copied the original in 1887; Mr. S. +D. Rouse, attorney, Covington, Ky., read it in 1889; Mr. Russell Errett, +editor of the Christian Standard, in 1890, and Mr. H. C. Meader, +President of the American Ticket Brokers' Association, in 1892. It seems +proper to make this explanation in order to absolve the author from any +charge of plagiarism, for each of these persons will recall distinctly +this improbable [then] assertion.—J. U. L.</p></div> + +<p>"I have been told," I answered, "that vapor of water causes +this obscuration, or absorption, of light."</p> + +<p>"Vapor of water, unless in strata of different densities, is +absolutely transparent, and presents no obstacle to the passage +of light," he said. "When vapor obstructs light it is owing to +impurities contained in it, to currents of varying densities, or +wave motions, or to a mechanical mixture of condensed water +and air, whereby multitudes of tiny globular water surfaces are +produced. Pure vapor of water, free from motion, is passive to +the sunlight."</p> + +<p>"I can scarcely believe that a substance such as you describe, +or that any constituent of the air, can have escaped the perception +of the chemist," I replied.</p> + +<p>In, as I thought, a facetious manner he repeated after me +the word "chemist," and continued:</p> + +<p>"Have chemists detected the ether of Aristotle, that you +have mentioned, and I have defined, which scientists nevertheless +accept pervades all space and every description of matter, +and that I have told you is really matter itself changed into +ultra atomic motion? Have chemists explained why one object +is transparent, and another of equal weight and solidity is +opaque? Have chemists told you why vermillion is red and +indigo is blue (the statement that they respectively reflect these +rays of light is not an explanation of the cause for such action)? +Have chemists told you why the prism disarranges or distorts +sunlight to produce the abnormal hues that men assume compose +elementary rays of light? Have chemists explained anything +concerning the why or wherefore of the attributes of matter, or +force, or even proven that the so-called primary forms of matter, +or elements, are not compounds? Upon the contrary, does +not the evolution that results in the recorded discoveries of the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 223]</span> +chemist foretell, or at least indicate, the possible future of the art, +and promise that surrounding mysteries are yet to be developed +and expanded into open truths, thus elaborating hidden forces; +and that other forms of matter and unseen force expressions, +are destined to spring into existence as the sciences progress? +The chemist of to-day is groping in darkness; he is a novice +as compared with the elaborated chemist of the near future; the +imperfectly seen of the present, the silent and unsuspected, will +become distinctly visible in a time that is to come, and a brightening +of the intellect by these successively upward steps, up +stairs of science, will, if science serves herself best, broaden the +mind and give power to the imagination, resulting finally in"—</p> + +<p>He hesitated.</p> + +<p>"Go on," I said.</p> + +<p>"The passage of mortal man, with the faculties of man +intact, into communion with the spirit world."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 224]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224"></a>CHAPTER XXXIII<br /> +<br /> +"A STUDY OF SCIENCE IS A STUDY OF GOD."—COMMUNING WITH +ANGELS.</h2> + + +<p>"This is incredible," I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"You need not be astonished," he answered. "Is there any +argument that can be offered to controvert the assertion that +man is ignorant of many natural laws?"</p> + +<p>"I can offer none."</p> + +<p>"Is there any doubt that a force, distinct and separate from +matter, influences matter and vivifies it into a living personality?"</p> + +<p>"I do not deny that there is such force."</p> + +<p>"What then should prevent this force from existing separate +from the body if it be capable of existing in it?"</p> + +<p>"I can not argue against such a position."</p> + +<p>"If, as is hoped and believed by the majority of mankind, +even though some try to deny the fact, it is possible for man to +exist as an association of earth matters, linked to a personal +spirit force, the soul, and for the spirit force, after the death +of the body, to exist independent of the grosser attributes of +man, free from his mortal body, is it not reasonable to infer that +the spirit, while it is still in man and linked to his body, may be +educated and developed so as, under favorable conditions, to +meet and communicate with other spirits that have been previously +liberated from earthly bondage?"</p> + +<p>"I submit," I answered; "but you shock my sensibilities +when you thus imply that by cold, scientific investigation we can +place ourselves in a position to meet the unseen spirit world"—</p> + +<p>It was now my turn to hesitate.</p> + +<p>"Go on," he said.</p> + +<p>"To commune with the angels," I answered.</p> + +<p>"A study of true science is a study of God," he continued. +"Angels are organizations natural in accordance with God's laws. +They appear superhuman, because of our ignorance concerning<span class="pagenum">[Pg 225]</span> +the higher natural forces. They exist in exact accordance with +the laws that govern the universe; but as yet the attraction +between clay and clay-bound spirit is so great as to prevent the +enthralled soul of man from communicating with them. The +faith of the religionist is an example of the unquenchable feeling +that creates a belief as well as a hope that there is a self-existence +separate from earthy substances. The scoffing scientific agnostic, +working for other objects, will yet astonish himself by elaborating +a method that will practically demonstrate these facts, and then +empirical religion, as exemplified by the unquestioning faithful +believer, and systematic science, as typified in the experimental +materialist, will meet on common ground."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 226]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226"></a>CHAPTER XXXIV.<br /> +<br /> +I CEASE TO BREATHE, AND YET LIVE.</h2> + + +<p>During this conversation we had been rapidly walking, or I +should better say advancing, for we no longer walked as men +do, but skipped down into the earth, down, ever downward. +There were long periods of silence, in which I was engaged in +meditating over the problems that successively demanded solution, +and even had I desired to do so I could have kept no record +of time; days, or even weeks, may have been consumed in this +journey. Neither have I any method of judging of the rapidity +of our motion. I was sensible of a marked decrease in the +amount of muscular energy required to carry us onward, and I +realized that my body was quite exempt from weariness. Motion +became restful instead of exhausting, and it seemed to me that +the ratio of the loss of weight, as shown by our free movements, +in proportion to the distance we traversed, was greater than +formerly. The slightest exhibition of propelling force cast us +rapidly forward. Instead of the laborious, short step of upper +earth, a single leap would carry us many yards. A slight +spring, and with our bodies in space, we would skip several +rods, alighting gently, to move again as easily. I marveled, for, +although I had been led to anticipate something unusual, the +practical evidence was wonderfully impressive, and I again questioned +my guide.</p> + +<p>"We are now nearing what physicists would call the center +of gravity," he replied, "and our weight is rapidly diminishing. +This is in exact accordance with the laws that govern the force +called gravitation, which, at the earth's surface, is apparently +uniform, though no instrument known to man can demonstrate +its exact variation within the field man occupies. Men have +not, as yet, been in a position to estimate this change, although it +is known that mountains attract objects, and that a change in +weight as we descend into the earth is perceptible; but to evolve<span class="pagenum">[Pg 227]</span> +the true law, observation, at a distance of at least ten miles beneath +the surface of the ocean is necessary, and man, being a creature +whose motions are +confined to a thin, +horizontal skin of +earth, has never +been one mile beneath +its surface, +and in consequence +his opportunities for +comparison are extremely +limited."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227"></a></p> +<div class="figright" style="width: 299px;"> +<img src="images/m1043.png" width="299" height="300" alt="" title=""WE WOULD SKIP SEVERAL RODS, ALIGHTING + GENTLY."" /> +<span class="caption">"WE WOULD SKIP SEVERAL RODS, ALIGHTING +GENTLY."</span> +</div> + +<p>"I have been +taught," I replied, +"that the force of +gravitation decreases +until the +center of the earth +is reached, at which +point a body is without +weight; and I +can scarcely understand how such positive statements from +scientific men can be far from the truth."</p> + +<p>"It is supposed by your surface men that the maximum of +weight is to be found at one-sixth the distance beneath the +surface of the earth, and therefrom decreases until at the center +it is nothing at all," he replied. "This hypothesis, though a +stagger toward the right, is far from the truth, but as near as +could be expected, when we consider the data upon which men +base their calculations. Were it not for the purpose of controverting +erroneous views, men would have little incentive to +continue their investigations, and as has been the rule in science +heretofore, the truth will, in time, appear in this case. One +generation of students disproves the accepted theories of that +which precedes, all working to eliminate error, all adding factors +of error, and all together moving toward a common goal, a grand +generalization, that as yet can not be perceived. And still each +series of workers is overlooking phenomena that, though obvious, +are yet unperceived, but which will make evident to future<span class="pagenum">[Pg 228]</span> +scientists the mistakes of the present. As an example of the +manner in which facts are thus overlooked, in your journey you +have been impressed with certain surprising external conditions, +or surroundings, and yet are oblivious to conditions more remarkable +in your own body. So it is with scientists. They overlook +prominent facts that stare them boldly in the face, facts that +are so conspicuous as to be invisible by reason of their very +nearness."</p> + +<p>"This statement I can not disprove, and therefore must +admit under protest. Where there is so much that appears +mysterious I may have overlooked some things, but I can +scarcely accept that, in ignorance, I have passed conditions in +my own organization so marked as this decrease in gravity +which has so strikingly been called to my attention."</p> + +<p>"You have, and to convince you I need only say that you +have nearly ceased to breathe, and are unconscious of the fact."</p> + +<p>I stopped short, in momentary alarm, and now that my +mind was directed to the fact, I became aware that I did not +desire to breathe, and that my chest had ceased to heave with +the alternate inhalation and exhalation of former times. I +closed my lips firmly, and for a long period there was no desire +for breath, then a slight involuntary inhalation followed, and an +exhalation, scarcely noticeable, succeeded by a great interval of +inaction. I impulsively turned my face toward the passage we +had trod; a feeling of alarm possessed me, an uncontrollable, +inexpressible desire to flee from the mysterious earth-being +beside me, to return to men, and be an earth-surface man again, +and I started backward through the chamber we had passed.</p> + +<p>The guide <a href="#TN"><ins title="Original word was siezed">seized</ins></a> me by the hand, "Hold, hold," he cried; +"where would you go, fickle mortal?"</p> + +<p>"To the surface," I shouted; "to daylight again. Unhand +me, unearthly creature, abnormal being, man or devil; have you +not inveigled me far enough into occult realms that should be +forever sealed from mankind? Have you not taken from me all +that men love or cherish, and undone every tie of kith or kin? +Have you not led me into paths that the imagination of the +novelist dare not conjure, and into experiences that pen in +human hand would not venture to describe as possible, until +I now stand with my feet on the boundary line that borders<span class="pagenum">[Pg 229]</span> +vacancy, and utter loss of weight; with a body nearly lost as a +material substance, verging into nothing, and lastly with breath +practically extinguished, I say, and repeat, is it not time that I +should hesitate and pause in my reckless career?"</p> + +<p>"It is not time," he answered.</p> + +<p>"When will that hour come?" I asked in desperation, and I +trembled as he replied:</p> + +<p>"When the three Great Lights are closed."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/m1044.png" width="500" height="362" alt="" title=""AN UNCONTROLLABLE, INEXPRESSIBLE DESIRE TO FLEE."" /> +<span class="caption">"AN UNCONTROLLABLE, INEXPRESSIBLE DESIRE TO FLEE."</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 230]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230"></a>CHAPTER XXXV.<br /> +<br /> +"A CERTAIN POINT WITHIN A SPHERE."—MEN ARE AS PARASITES +ON THE ROOF OF EARTH.</h2> + + +<p>I realized again, as I had so many times before, that it was +useless for me to rebel. "The self-imposed mystery of a sacrificed +life lies before me," I murmured, "and there is no chance +to retrace my footsteps. The 'Beyond' of the course that I have +voluntarily selected, and sworn to follow, is hidden; I must nerve +myself to pursue it to the bitter end, and so help me God, and +keep me steadfast."</p> + +<p>"Well said," he replied; "and since you have so wisely +determined, I am free to inform you that these new obligations, +like those you have heretofore taken, contain nothing which can +conflict with your duty to God, your country, your neighbor, or +yourself. In considering the phenomena presented by the suspension +of the act of breathing, it should occur to you that +where little labor is to be performed, little consumption of +energy is required. Where there is such a trifling destruction +of the vital force (not mind force) as at present is the case with +us, it requires but slight respiration to retain the normal condition +of the body. On earth's surface the act of respiration +alone consumes by far the larger proportion of vital energy, +and the muscular exertion involved thereby necessitates a +proportionate amount of breathing in order that breath itself +may continue. This act of respiration is the result of one of +the conditions of surface earth life, and consumes most of the +vital force. If men would think of this, they would understand +how paradoxical it is for them to breathe in order to +live, when the very act of respiration wears away their bodies +and shortens their lives more than all else they have to do, +and without adding to their mental or physical constitution +in the least. Men are conversant with physical death as a +constant result of suspended respiration, and with respiration as<span class="pagenum">[Pg 231]</span> +an accompaniment of life, which ever constant and connected +conditions lead them to accept that the act of breathing is a +necessity of mortal life. In reality, man occupies an unfortunate +position among other undeveloped creatures of external earth; +he is an animal, and is constitutionally framed like the other +animals about him. He is exposed to the warring elements, to +the vicious attacks of savage beasts and insidious parasites, +and to the inroads of disease. He is a prey to the elementary +vicissitudes of the undesirable exposure in which he exists upon +the outer surface of our globe, where all is war, even among the +forces of nature about him. These conditions render his lot an +unhappy one indeed, and in ignorance he overlooks the torments +of the weary, rasping, endless slavery of respiration in the +personal struggle he has to undergo in order to retain a brief +existence as an organized being. Have you never thought of the +connected tribulations that the wear and tear of respiration alone +inflict upon the human family? The heaving of the chest, the +circulation of the blood, the throbbing of the heart, continue +from mortal birth until death. The heart of man forces about +two and one-half ounces of blood with each pulsation. At +seventy beats per minute this amounts to six hundred and fifty-six +pounds per hour, or nearly eight tons per day. The lungs +respire over one thousand times an hour, and move over three +thousand gallons of air a day. Multiply these amounts by three +hundred and sixty-five, and then by seventy, and you have +partly computed the enormous life-work of the lungs and heart +of an adult. Over two hundred thousand tons of blood, and +seventy-five million gallons of air have been moved by the vital +force. The energy thus consumed is dissipated. No return is +made for the expenditure of this life force. During the natural +life of man, more energy is consequently wasted in material transformation +resulting from the motion of heart and lungs, than +would be necessary to sustain the purely vital forces alone for a +thousand years. Besides, the act of respiration which man is +compelled to perform in his exposed position, necessitates the +consumption of large amounts of food, in order to preserve the +animal heat, and replace the waste of a material body that in +turn is worn out by these very movements. Add this waste of +energy to the foregoing, and then you will surely perceive that<span class="pagenum">[Pg 232]</span> +the possible life of man is also curtailed to another and greater +degree in the support of the digestive part of his organism. +His spirit is a slave to his body; his lungs and heart, on which +he imagines life depends, are unceasing antagonists of life. That +his act of breathing is now a necessity upon the surface of the +earth, where the force of gravity presses so heavily, and where +the elements have men at their command, and show him no +mercy, I will not deny; but it is exasperating to contemplate +such a waste of energy, and corresponding loss of human life."</p> + +<p>"You must admit, however, that it is necessary?" I queried.</p> + +<p>"No; only to an extent. The natural life of man should, +and yet will be, doubled, trebled, multiplied a dozen, yes a +thousand fold."</p> + +<p>I stepped in front of him; we stood facing each other.</p> + +<p>"Tell me," I cried, "how men can so improve their condition +as to lengthen their days to the limit you name, and let me +return to surface earth a carrier of the glad tidings."</p> + +<p>He shook his head.</p> + +<p>I dropped on my knees +before him.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232"></a></p> +<div class="figleft" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/m1045.png" width="300" height="299" alt="" title=""I DROPPED ON MY KNEES BEFORE HIM."" /> +<span class="caption">"I DROPPED ON MY KNEES BEFORE HIM."</span> +</div> + + +<p>"I implore you in behalf +of that unfortunate humanity, +of which I am a +member, give me this boon. +I promise to return to you +and do your bidding. +Whatever may be my subsequent +fate, I promise to +acquiesce therein willingly."</p> + +<p>He raised me to my feet.</p> + +<p>"Be of good cheer," he +said, "and in the proper +time you may return to the +surface of this rind of earth, a carrier of great and good news +to men."</p> + +<p>"Shall I teach them of what you have shown me?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes; in part you will be a forerunner, but before you obtain +the information that is necessary to the comfort of mankind you<span class="pagenum">[Pg 233]</span> +will have to visit surface earth again, and return again, perhaps +repeatedly. You must prove yourself as men are seldom proven. +The journey you have commenced is far from its conclusion, +and you may not be equal to its subsequent trials; prepare +yourself, therefore, for a series of events that may unnerve you. +If you had full confidence and faith in your guide, you would +have less cause to fear the result, but your suspicious human +nature can not overcome the shrinking sensation that is natural +to those who have been educated as you have been amid the +changing vicissitudes of the earth's surface, and you can not +but be incredulous by reason of that education."</p> + +<p>Then I stopped as I observed before me a peculiar fungus—peculiar +because unlike all others I had seen. The convex part +of its bowl was below, and the great head, as an inverted toadstool, +stood upright on a short, stem-like pedestal. The gills +within were of a deep green color, and curved out from the +center in the form of a spiral. This form, however, was not the +distinguishing feature, for I had before observed specimens that +were spiral in structure. The extraordinary peculiarity was +that the gills were covered with fruit. This fruit was likewise +green in color, each spore, or berry, being from two to three +inches in diameter, and honeycombed on the surface, corrugated +most beautifully. I stopped, leaned over the edge of the great +bowl, and plucked a specimen of the fruit. It seemed to be +covered with a hard, transparent shell, and to be nearly full of a +clear, green liquid. I handled and examined it in curiosity, at +which my guide seemed not to be surprised. Regarding me +attentively, he said:</p> + +<p>"What is it that impels a mortal towards this fruit?"</p> + +<p>"It is curious," I said; "nothing more."</p> + +<p>"As for that," said he, "it is not curious at all; the seed of +the lobelia of upper earth is more curious, because, while it is as +exquisitely corrugated, it is also microscopically small. In the +second place you err when you say it is simply curious, 'nothing +more,' for no mortal ever yet passed that bowl without doing +exactly as you have done. The vein of curiosity, were it that +alone that impels you, could not but have an exception."</p> + +<p>Then he cracked the shell of the fruit by striking it on the +stony floor, and carefully opened the shell, handing me one of<span class="pagenum">[Pg 234]</span> +the halves filled with a green fluid. As he did so he spoke +the single word, "Drink," and I did as directed. He stood +upright before me, and as I looked him in the face he seemingly, +without a reason, struck off into a dissertation, apparently as +distinct from our line of thought as a disconnected subject could +be, as follows:</p> + +<p><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1046.jpg" width="600" height="506" alt="" title=""HANDING ME ONE OF THE HALVES, HE SPOKE THE SINGLE WORD, DRINK."" /> +<span class="caption">"HANDING ME ONE OF THE HALVES, HE SPOKE THE SINGLE WORD, DRINK."</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 235]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235"></a>CHAPTER XXXVI.<br /> +<br /> +DRUNKENNESS.—THE DRINKS OF MAN.</h2> + + +<p>"Intemperance has been the vice of every people, and is prevalent +in all climes, notwithstanding that intoxicants, properly +employed, may serve humanity's highest aims. Beginning early +in the history of a people, the disease increases with the growth +of a nation, until, at last, unless the knife is used, civilization +perishes. A lowly people becomes more depraved as the use of +liquor increases; a cultivated people passes backward into barbarism +with the depravities that come from dissipation. Here +nations meet, and individuals sink to a common level. No drinking +man is strong enough to say, 'I can not become dissipated;' +no nation is rich and cultivated enough to view the debauch of +its people without alarm.</p> + +<p>"The disgusting habit of the drunken African finds its +counterpart in the lascivious wine-bibber of aristocratic society. +To picture the indecencies of society, that may be charged to +debauchery, when the Grecian and Roman empires were at the +height of greatness, would obscure the orgies of the barbarous +African, and make preferable the brutality of the drunken American +Indian. Intemperance brings men to the lowest level, and +holds its power over all lands and all nations."</p> + +<p>"Did the aborigines know how to make intoxicants, and were +barbarians intemperate before contact with civilized nations?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"But I have understood that drunkenness is a vice inherent +only in civilized people; are not you mistaken?"</p> + +<p>"No. Every clime, unless it be the far North where men +are scarcely more than animals, furnishes intoxicants, and all +people use them. I will tell you part of this record of nations.</p> + +<p>"The Nubians make a barley beer which they call bouze, +and also a wine, from the palm tree. The savages of Africa +draw the clear, sweet juice of the palm oil tree into a gourd, in<span class="pagenum">[Pg 236]</span> +the morning, and by night it becomes a violent intoxicant. The +natives of the Malayan Archipelago ferment and drink the sap +of the flower stems of the cocoanut. The Tartar tribes make +an intoxicating drink from mare's milk, called koomis. In +South America the natives drink a vile compound, called cana, +distilled from sugar cane; and in the Sandwich Islands, the +shrub kava supplies the intoxicant kava-kava, drunk by all the +inhabitants, from king to slave, and mother to child. In the +heart of Africa, cannibal tribes make legyce of a cereal, and +indulge in wild orgies over their barbaric cup. In North +America the Indians, before Columbus discovered America, +made an intoxicating drink of the sap of the maple tree. The +national drink of the Mexicans is pulque, a beastly intoxicant, +prepared from the Agave Americana. Mead is an alcoholic +drink, made of honey, and used in many countries. In China +wine was indulged in from the earliest day, and in former times, +had it not been for the influence of their philosophers, especially +Confucius, who foresaw the end, the Chinese nation would have +perished from drunkenness. Opium, that fearful enslaver of +millions of human beings, is in every sense a narcotic intoxicant, +and stands conspicuous as an agent, capable of being +either a friend, a companion, or a master, as man permits. +History fails to indicate the date of its introduction to humanity. +In South America the leaf of the cocoa plant is a stimulant +scarcely less to be dreaded than opium. The juice of a species +of asclepias produces the intoxicant soma, used once by the +Brahmins, not only as a drink, but also in sacrificial and religious +ceremonies. Many different flavored liquors made of palm, +cocoanuts, sugar, pepper, honey, spices, etc., were used by +native Hindoos, and as intoxicants have been employed from +the earliest days in India. The Vedic people were fearfully +dissipated, and page after page of that wonderful sacred book, +the Rigs-Veda, is devoted to the habit of drunkenness. The +worst classes of drunkards of India used Indian hemp to make +bhang, or combined the deadly narcotic stramonium with +arrack, a native beer, to produce a poisonous intoxicant. In +that early day the inhabitants of India and China were fearfully +depraved drunkards, and but for the reforms instituted by their +wise men, must have perished as a people. Parahaoma, or<span class="pagenum">[Pg 237]</span> +'homa,' is an intoxicant made from a lost plant that is described +as having yellow blossoms, used by the ancient dissolute Persians +from the day of Zoroaster. Cannabis sativa produces an intoxicant +that in Turkey is known as hadschy, in Arabia and India +as hashish, and to the Hottentots as dacha, and serves as a +drunkard's food in other lands. The fruit of the juniper +produces gin, and the fermented juice of the grape, or malt +liquors, in all civilized countries are the favorite intoxicants, +their origin being lost in antiquity. Other substances, such as +palm, apples, dates, and pomegranates have also been universally +employed as drink producers.</p> + +<p>"Go where you will, man's tendency seems to be towards +the bowl that inebriates, and yet it is not the use but the abuse +of intoxicants that man has to dread. Could he be temperate, +exhilarants would befriend."</p> + +<p>"But here," I replied, "in this underground land, where food is +free, and existence possible without an effort, this shameful vice +has no existence. Here there is no incentive to intemperance, +and even though man were present with his inherent passion for +drink, he could not find means to gratify his appetite."</p> + +<p>"Ah," my guide replied, "that is an error. Why should this +part of the earth prove an exception to the general rule? +Nature always supplies the means, and man's instinct teaches +him how to prepare an intoxicant. So long as man is human +his passions will rule. If you should prove unequal to the task +you have undertaken, if you shrink from your journey, and turn +back, the chances are you will fail to reach the surface of the +earth. You will surely stop in the chamber which we now +approach, and which I have now prepared you to enter, and will +then become one of a band of earth drunkards; having all the +lower passions of a mortal you will yet be lost to the virtues of +man. In this chamber those who falter and turn back, stop and +remain for all time, sinking until they become lower in the +human scale than any drunkard on earth. Without any +restraining influence, without a care, without necessity of food +or incentive to exertion, in this habitation where heat and cold +are unknown, and no motive for self-preservation exists, they +turn their thoughts toward the ruling passion of mankind and—Listen! +Do you not hear them? Listen!"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 238]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238"></a>CHAPTER XXXVII.<br /> +<br /> +THE DRUNKARD'S VOICE.</h2> + + +<p>Then I noticed a medley of sounds seemingly rising out of +the depths beyond us. The noise was not such as to lead me to +infer that persons were speaking coherently, but rather resembled +a jargon such as might come from a multitude of persons talking +indiscriminately and aimlessly. It was a constant volley, now +rising and now falling in intensity, as though many persons +regardless of one another were chanting different tunes in that +peculiar sing-song tone often characteristic of the drunkard. As +we advanced, the noise became louder and more of a medley, +until at last we were surrounded by confusion. Then a single +voice rose up strong and full, and at once, from about us, close to +us, yes, against our very persons, cries and shrieks unearthly +smote my ears. I could distinguish words of various tongues, +English, Irish, German, and many unfamiliar and disjointed +cries, imprecations, and maledictions. The cavern about seemed +now to be resonant with voices,—shrieks, yells, and maniacal +cries commingled,—and yet no form appeared. As we rushed +onward, for now my guide grasped my arm tightly and drew me +rapidly down the cavern floor, the voices subsided, and at length +sounded as if behind us. Now however it seemed as though +innumerable arrows, each possessed of a whistle or tone of its own, +were in wave-like gusts shrieking by us. Coming from in front, +they burst in the rear. Stopping to listen, I found that a +connection could be traced between the screech of the arrow-like +shriek, and a drunkard's distant voice. It seemed as though +a rocket made of an escaping voice would scream past, and +bursting in the cavern behind, liberate a human cry. Now and +then all but a few would subside, to burst out with increased +violence, as if a flight of rockets each with a cry of its own +would rush past, to be followed after their explosion by a medley +of maniacal cries, songs, shrieks, and groans, commingled. It<span class="pagenum">[Pg 239]</span> +was as though a shell containing a voice that escaped slowly as +by pressure from an orifice, were fired past my ears, to explode +and liberate the voice within my hearing. The dreadful utterance +was not an echo, was not hallucination, it was real.</p> + +<p>I stopped and looked at my guide in amazement. He +explained: "Did you not sometime back experience that your +own voice was thrown from your body?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I answered.</p> + +<p>"These crazed persons or rather experiences depraved, are +shouting in the cavern beyond," he said. "They are in front; +their voices pass us to burst into expression in the rear."</p> + +<p>Then, even as he spoke, from a fungus stalk near us, a hideous +creature unfolded itself, and shambled to my side. It had the +frame of a man, and yet it moved like a serpent, writhing towards +me. I stepped back in horror, but the tall, ungainly creature +reached out an arm and grasped me tightly. Leaning over he +placed his hideous mouth close to my ear, and moaned: "Back, +back, go thou back."</p> + +<p>I made no reply, being horror-stricken.</p> + +<p>"Back, I say, back to earth, or"—</p> + +<p>He hesitated, and still possessed of fear, and unable to reply, +I was silent.</p> + +<p>"Then go on," he said, "on to your destiny, unhappy man," +and slinking back to the fungus whence he arose, he disappeared +from sight.</p> + +<p>"Come," said my guide, "let us pass the Drunkard's Den. +This was but a straggler; nerve yourself, for his companions +will soon surround us."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 240]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240"></a>CHAPTER XXXVIII.<br /> +<br /> +THE DRUNKARD'S DEN.</h2> + + +<p>As we progressed the voices in our rear became more faint, +and yet the whistling volleys of screeching voice bombs passed +us as before. I shuddered in anticipation of the sight that was +surely to meet our gaze, and could not but tremble for fear. +Then I stopped and recoiled, for at my very feet I beheld a +huge, living human head. It rested on the solid rock, and had +I not stopped suddenly when I did, I would have kicked it at +the next leap. The eyes of the monster were fixed in supplication +on my face; the great brow indicated intelligence, the finely-cut +mouth denoted refinement, the well-modeled head denoted +brain, but the whole constituted a monster. The mouth opened, +and a whizzing, arrow voice swept past, and was lost in the +distance.</p> + +<p>"What is this?" I gasped.</p> + +<p>"The fate of a drunkard," my guide replied. "This was +once an intelligent man, but now he has lost his body, and +enslaved his soul, in the den of drink beyond us, and has been +brought here by his comrades, who thus rid themselves of his +presence. Here he must rest eternally. He can not move, he +has but one desire, drink, and that craving, deeper than life, can +not be satiated."</p> + +<p>"But he desires to speak; speak lower, man, or head of +man, if you wish me to know your wants," I said, and leaned +toward him.</p> + +<p>Then the monster whispered, and I caught the words:</p> + +<p>"Back, back, go thou back!"</p> + +<p>I made no reply.</p> + +<p>"Back I say, back to earth or"—</p> + +<p>Still I remained silent.</p> + +<p>"Then go on," he said; "on to your destiny, unhappy man."</p> + +<p>"This is horrible," I muttered.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 241]</span></p> + +<p>"Come," said the guide, "let us proceed."</p> + +<p>And we moved onward.</p> + +<p>Now I perceived many such heads about us, all resting +upright on the stony floor. Some were silent, others were +shouting, others still were whispering and endeavoring to attract +my attention. As we hurried on I saw more and more of these +abnormal creatures. Some were in rows, resting against each +other, leaving barely room for us to pass between, but at last, +much to my relief, we left them behind us.</p> + +<p>But I found that I had no cause for congratulation, when I +felt myself clutched by a powerful hand—a hand as large as that +of a man fifty feet in height. I looked about expecting to see a +gigantic being, but instead beheld a shrunken pigmy. The +whole man seemed but a single hand—a Brobdingnag hand +affixed to the body of a Liliputian.</p> + +<p>"Do not struggle," said the guide; "listen to what he wishes +to impart."</p> + +<p>I leaned over, placing my ear close to the mouth of the +monstrosity.</p> + +<p>"Back, back, go thou back," it whispered.</p> + +<p>"What have I to fear?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Back, I say, back to earth, or"—</p> + +<p>"Or what?" I said.</p> + +<p>"Then go on; on to your destiny, unhappy man," he +answered, and the hand loosed its grasp.</p> + +<p>My guide drew me onward.</p> + +<p>Then, from about us, huge hands arose; on all sides they +waved in the air; some were closed and were shaken as clenched +fists, others moved aimlessly with spread fingers, others still +pointed to the passage we had traversed, and in a confusion of +whispers I heard from the pigmy figures a babble of cries, +"Back, back, go thou back." Again I hesitated, the strain +upon my nerves was becoming unbearable; I glanced backward +and saw a swarm of misshaped diminutive forms, each holding +up a monstrous arm and hand. The passage behind us was +closed against retreat. Every form possessed but one hand, the +other and the entire body seemingly had been drawn into this +abnormal member. While I thus meditated, momentarily, as +by a single thought each hand closed, excepting the index finger,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 242]</span> +and in unison each finger pointed towards the open way in +front, and like shafts from a thousand bows I felt the voices +whiz past me, and then from the rear came the reverberation as +a complex echo, "Then go on; on to your destiny, unhappy +man."</p> + +<p>Instinctively I sprang forward, and had it not been for the +restraining hand of my guide would have rushed wildly into +passages that might have ended my misery, for God only knows +what those unseen corridors contained. I was aware of that +which lay behind, and was only intent on escaping from the +horrid figures already passed.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1047.jpg" width="600" height="509" alt="" title=""EACH FINGER POINTED TOWARDS THE OPEN WAY IN FRONT."" /> +<span class="caption">"EACH FINGER POINTED TOWARDS THE OPEN WAY IN FRONT."</span> +</div> + +<p>"Hold," whispered the guide; "as you value your life, stop."</p> + +<p>And then exerting a power that I could not withstand, he +held me a struggling prisoner.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 243]</span></p> + +<p>"Listen," he said, "have you not observed that these +creatures do not seek to harm you? Have not all of them +spoken kindly, have any offered violence?"</p> + +<p>"No," I replied, "but they are horrible."</p> + +<p>"That they realize; but fearing that you will prove to be as +weak as they have been, and will become as they are now, they +warn you back. However, I say to you, if you have courage +sufficient, you need have no fear. Come, rely on me, and do not +be surprised at anything that appears."</p> + +<p>Again we went forward. I realized now my utter helplessness. +I became indifferent again; I could neither retrace my +footsteps alone, nor guide them forward in the path I was to +pursue. I submissively relied on my guide, and as stoical as he +appeared to be, I moved onward to new scenes.</p> + +<p>We came to a great chamber which, as we halted on its +edge, seemed to be a prodigious amphitheater. In its center +a rostrum-like stone of a hundred feet in diameter, flat and circular +on the top, reared itself about twelve feet above the floor, +and to the base of this rostrum the floor of the room sloped +evenly. The amphitheater was fully a thousand feet in diameter, +of great height, and the floor was literally alive with grotesque +beings. Imagination could not depict an abnormal human form +that did not exhibit itself to my startled gaze. One peculiarity +now presented itself to my mind; each abnormal part seemed +to be created at the expense of the remainder of the body. +Thus, to my right I beheld a single leg, fully twelve feet in +height, surmounted by a puny human form, which on this leg, +hopped ludicrously away. I saw close behind this huge limb a +great ear attached to a small head and body; then a nose so large +that the figure to which it was attached was forced to hold the +face upward, in order to prevent the misshaped organ from +rubbing on the stony floor. Here a gigantic forehead rested on +a shrunken face and body, and there a pair of enormous feet +were walking, seemingly attached to the body of a child, and +yet the face was that of a man. If an artist were to attempt +to create as many revolting figures as possible, each with some +member out of proportion to the rest of the body, he could not +add one form to those upon this floor. And yet, I again observed +that each exaggerated organ seemed to have drawn itself into<span class="pagenum">[Pg 244]</span> +existence by absorbing the remainder of the body. We stood on +the edge of this great room, and I pondered the scene before my +eyes. At length my guide broke the silence:</p> + +<p>"You must cross this floor; no other passage is known. +Mark well my words, heed my advice."</p> + +<p>"This is the Drunkards' Den. These men are lost to themselves +and to the world. Every member of this assembly once +passed onward as you are now doing, in charge of a guide. +They failed to reach the goal to which you aspire, and retreating, +reached this chamber, to become victims to the drink habit. +Some of these creatures have been here for ages, others only for +a short period."</p> + +<p>"Why are they so distorted?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Because matter is now only partly subservient to will," he +replied. "The intellect and mind of a drunkard on surface +earth becomes abnormal by the influence of an intoxicant, but +his real form is unseen, although evidently misshapen and partly +subject to the perception of a few only of his fellow men. +Could you see the inner form of an earth surface drunkard, you +would perceive as great a mental monstrosity as is any physical +monster now before you, and of the two the physically abnormal +creature is really the least objectionable. Could you see the mind +configurations of an assembly of surface earth topers, you would +perceive a class of beings as much distorted mentally as are +these physically. A drunkard is a monstrosity. On surface +earth the mind becomes abnormal; here the body suffers."</p> + +<p>"Why is it," I asked, "that parts of these creatures shrink +away as some special organ increases?"</p> + +<p>"Because the abnormal member can grow only by abstracting +its substance from the other portions of the body. An increasing +arm enlarges itself by drawing its strength from the other +parts, hence the body withers as the hand enlarges, and in turn +the hand shrinks when the leg increases in size. The total +weight of the individual remains about the same.</p> + +<p>"Men on earth judge of men not by what they are, but by +what they seem to be. The physical form is apparent to the +sense of sight, the real man is unseen. However, as the boot +that encloses a foot can not altogether hide the form of the foot +within, so the body that encloses the life entity, can not but<span class="pagenum">[Pg 245]</span> +exhibit here and there the character of the dominating spirit +within. Thus a man's features may grow to indicate the nature +of the enclosed spirit, for the controlling character of that spirit +will gradually impress itself on the material part of man. Even +on surface earth, where the matter side of man dominates, a +vicious spirit will produce a villainous countenance, a mediocre +mind a vapid face, and an amorous soul will even protrude the +anterior part of the skull.</p> + +<p>"Carry the same law to this location, and it will be seen that +as mind, or spirit, is here the master, and matter is the slave, the +same rule should, under natural law, tend to produce such +abnormal figures as you perceive. Hence the part of a man's +spirit that is endowed most highly sways the corresponding part +of his physical body at the expense of the remainder. Gradually +the form is altered under the relaxing influence of this +fearful intra-earth intoxicant, and eventually but one organ +remains to tell of the symmetrical man who formerly existed. +Then, when he is no longer capable of self-motion, the comrades +carry the drunkard's fate, which is here the abnormal being +you have seen, into the selected corridor, and deposit it among +others of its kind, as in turn the bearers are destined sometime +to be carried by others. We reached this cavern through a +corridor in which heads and arms were abnormal, but in others +may be found great feet, great legs, or other portions of self-abused +man.</p> + +<p>"I should tell you, furthermore, that on surface earth a +drunkard is not less abnormal than these creatures; but men +can not see the form of the drunkard's spirit. Could they +perceive the image of the real man life that corresponds to the +material part, it would appear not less distorted and hideous. +The soul of a mortal protrudes from the visible body as down +expands from a thistle seed, but it is invisible. Drink drives +the spirit of an earth-surface drunkard to unnatural forms, not +less grotesque than these physical distortions. Could you see +the real drunkard on surface earth he would be largely outside +the body shell, and hideous in the extreme. As a rule, the spirit +of an earth-surface drunkard dominates the nose and face, and +if mortal man could be suddenly gifted with the sense of mind-sight, +they would find themselves surrounded by persons as<span class="pagenum">[Pg 246]</span> +misshapen as any delirious imagination can conjure. Luckily +for humanity this scene is as yet withheld from man, for life +would otherwise be a fearful experience, because man has not +the power to resist the temptation to abuse drink."</p> + +<p>"Tell me," I said, "how long will those beings rest in these +caverns?"</p> + +<p>"They have been here for ages," replied the guide; "they are +doomed to remain for ages yet."</p> + +<p>"You have intimated that if my courage fails I will return +to this cavern and become as they are. Now that you have +warned me of my doom, do you imagine that anything, even +sudden death, can swerve me from my journey? Death is surely +preferable to such an existence as this."</p> + +<p>"Do not be so confident. Every individual before you has +had the same opportunity, and has been warned as you have +been. They could not undergo the test to which they were +subjected, and you may fail. Besides, on surface earth are not +men constantly confronted with the doom of the drunkard, and +do they not, in the face of this reality, turn back and seek his +caverns? The journey of life is not so fearful that they should +become drunkards to shrink from its responsibilities. You have +reached this point in safety. You have passed the sentinels +without, and will soon be accosted by the band before us. +Listen well now to my advice. A drunkard always seeks to +gain companions, to draw others down to his own level, and you +will be tried as never have you been before. Taste not their +liquor by whatever form or creature presented. They have no +power to harm him who has courage to resist. If they entreat +you, refuse; if they threaten, refuse; if they offer inducements, +refuse to drink. Let your answer be No, and have no fear. If +your strength fail you, mark well my"—</p> + +<p>Before he could complete his sentence I felt a pressure, as of +a great wind, and suddenly found myself seized in an embrace +irresistible, and then, helpless as a feather, was swept out into +the cavern of the drunkards.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 247]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247"></a>CHAPTER XXXIX.<br /> +<br /> +AMONG THE DRUNKARDS.</h2> + + +<p>I remember once to have stood on the edge of Niagara's +great whirlpool, but not more fearful did its seething waters then +seem than did the semi-human whirl into which I had now been +plunged. Whether my guide had been aware of the coming +move that separated us I never knew, but, as his words were +interrupted, I infer that he was not altogether ready to part +from my company. Be this as it may, he disappeared from +sight, and, as by a concerted move, the cries of the drunkards +subsided instantly. I found myself borne high in the air, +perched on a huge hand that was carried by its semi-human +comrades. It seemed as though the contents of that vast hall +had been suddenly thrown beneath me, for, as I looked about, I +saw all around a sea of human fragments, living, moving parts of +men. Round and round that hall we circled as an eddy whirls +in a rock-bound basin, and not less silently than does the water +of an eddy. Then I perceived that the disjointed mass of +humanity moved as a spiral, in unison, throbbing like a vitalized +stream, bearing me submissively on its surface. Gradually +the distance between myself and the center stone lessened, and +then I found that, as if carried in the groove of a gigantic +living spiral, I was being swept towards the stone platform in +the center of the room. There was method in the movements +of the drunkards, although I could not analyze the intricacies of +their complex reel.</p> + +<p>Finally I was borne to the center stone, and by a sudden toss +of the hand, in the palm of which I was seated, I was thrown upon +the raised platform. Then in unison the troop swung around +the stone, and I found myself gazing on a mass of vitalized +fragments of humanity. Quickly a figure sprung upon the +platform, and in him I discerned a seemingly perfect man. He +came to my side and grasped my hand as if he were a friend.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 248]</span></p> + +<p>"Do not fear," he said; "obey our request, and you will +not be harmed."</p> + +<p>"What do you desire?" I asked.</p> + +<p>He pointed to the center of the stone, and I saw thereon +many gigantic, inverted fungus bowls. The gills of some had +been crushed to a pulp, and had saturated themselves with +liquid which, perhaps by a species of fermentation, had undergone +a structural change; others were as yet intact; others still +contained men intently cutting the gills into fragments and +breaking the fruit preparatory to further manipulation.</p> + +<p>"You are to drink with us," he replied.</p> + +<p>"No," I said; "I will not drink."</p> + +<p>"Then you must die; to refuse to drink with us is to invite +death."</p> + +<p>"So mote it be; I will not drink."</p> + +<p>We stood facing each other, apparently both meditating on +the situation.</p> + +<p>I remember to have been surprised, not that the man +before me had been able to spring from the floor to the table rock +on which I stood, but that so fair a personage could have been a +companion of the monstrosities about me. He was a perfect +type of manhood, and was exquisitely clothed in a loose, flowing +robe that revealed and heightened the beauty of his symmetrical +form. His face was fair, yet softly tinted with rich, fresh color; +his hair and beard were neatly trimmed; his manner was +polished, and his countenance frank and attractive. The contrast +between the preternatural shapes from among whom he +sprung and himself was as between a demon and an angel. I +marveled that I had not perceived him before, for such a one +should have been conspicuous because so fair; but I reflected +that it was quite natural that among the thousands of grotesque +persons about me, one attractive form should have escaped +notice. Presently he spoke again, seemingly having repented +of his display of temper.</p> + +<p>"I am a friend," he said; "a deliverer. I will serve you as +I have others before you. Lean on me, listen to my story, accept +my proffered friendship."</p> + +<p>Then he continued: "When you have rested, I will guide you +in safety back to upper earth, and restore you to your friends."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 249]</span></p> + +<p>I could not resist his pleasing promise. I suddenly and +unaccountably believed in his sincerity. He impressed me with +confidence in his truthfulness, yes, against my better judgment, +convinced me that he must be a friend, a savior. Grasping him +by the hand I thanked him for his interest in a disconsolate +wanderer, and assured him of my confidence.</p> + +<p>"I am in your hands," I said; "I will obey you implicitly. +I thank you, my deliverer; lead me back to surface earth and +receive the gratitude of a despairing mortal."</p> + +<p>"This I will surely do," he said; "rest your case in my +hands, do not concern yourself in the least about your future. +Before acquiescing in your desire, however, I will explain part of +the experiences through which you have recently passed. You +have been in the control of an evil spirit, and have been deceived. +The grotesque figures, the abnormal beings about you, exist +only in your disordered imagination. They are not real. These +persons are happy and free from care or pain. They live in bliss +inexpressible. They have a life within a life, and the outward +expression that you have perceived is as the uncouth hide and +figure that incloses the calm, peaceful eye of a toad. Look at +their eyes, not at their seemingly distorted forms."</p> + +<p>I turned to the throng and beheld a multitude of upturned +faces mildly beaming upon me. As I glanced from eye to eye +of each countenance, the repulsive figure disappeared from my +view, and a sweet expression of innocence was all that was disclosed +to me. I realized that I had judged by the outer garment. +I had wronged these fellow-beings. A sense of remorse came +over me, a desire to atone for my short-sightedness.</p> + +<p>"What can I offer as a retribution?" I asked. "I have +injured these people."</p> + +<p>"Listen," was the reply. "These serene intelligences are +happy. They are as a band of brothers. They seek to do you +a kindness, to save you from disaster. One hour of experience +such as they enjoy is worth a hundred years of the pleasures +known to you. This delicious favor, an hour of bliss, they freely +offer you, and after you have partaken of their exquisite joy, I +will conduct you back to earth's surface whenever you desire to +leave us." He emphasized the word, desire.</p> + +<p>"I am ready," I replied; "give me this promised delight."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 250]</span></p> + +<p>The genial allurer turned to the table rock behind us, and +continued:</p> + +<p>"In these fungus bowls we foment the extract of life. The +precious cordial is as a union of the quintessential spirits of joy, +peace, tranquillity, happiness, and delight. Could man abstract +from ecstasy the thing that underlies the sense that gives that +word a meaning, his product would not approach the power of +the potent liquids in these vessels."</p> + +<p>"Of what are they composed?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Of derivatives of the rarest species of the fungus family," +he answered. "They are made by formulĉ that are the result of +thousands of years of experimentation. Come, let us not delay +longer the hour of bliss."</p> + +<p>Taking me by the hand, my graceful comrade led me to the +nearest bowl. Then on closer view I perceived that its contents +were of a deep green color, and in active commotion, and +although no vapor was apparent, a delightful sensation impressed +my faculties. I am not sure that I inhaled at all,—the feeling +was one of penetration, of subtile, magic absorption. My +companion took a tiny shell which he dipped into the strange +cauldron. Holding the tiny cup before me, he spoke the one +word, "Drink."</p> + +<p>Ready to acquiesce, forgetful of the warning I had received, +I grasped the cup, and raised it to my lips, and as I did so +chanced to glance at my tempter's face, and saw not the supposed +friend I had formerly observed, but, as through a mask fair in outline, +the countenance of an exulting demon, regarding me with a +sardonic grin. In an instant he had changed from man to devil.</p> + +<p>I dashed the cup upon the rock. "No; I will not drink," +I shouted.</p> + +<p>Instantly the cavern rung with cries of rage. A thousand +voices joined as by accord, and simultaneously the throng of +fragments of men began to revolve again. The mysterious +spiral seemed to unwind, but I could not catch the method of its +movement. The motion was like that of an uncoiling serpent +bisected lengthwise, the two halves of the body seeming to slide +against each other. Gradually that part of the cavern near the +stone on which I stood became clear of its occupants, and at last +I perceived that the throng had receded to the outer edge.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 251]</span></p> + +<p>Then the encircling side walls of the amphitheater became +visible, and as water sinks into sand, the medley of fragments of +humanity disappeared from view.</p> + +<p>I turned to my companion; he, too, had vanished. I glanced +towards the liquor cauldrons; the stone was bare. I alone occupied +the gigantic hall. No trace remained to tell of the throng +that a short time previously had surrounded and mocked me.</p> + +<p>Desolate, distracted, I threw myself upon the stone, and +cursed my miserable self. "Come back," I cried, "come back. +I will drink, drink, drink."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 252]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252"></a>CHAPTER XL.<br /> +<br /> +FURTHER TEMPTATION.—ETIDORHPA.</h2> + + +<p>Then, as my voice reverberated from the outer recesses, I +caught a sound as of music in the distance. I raised my head +and listened—yes, surely there was music. The melody became +clearly distinct, and soon my senses were aware that both vocal +and instrumental music were combined. The airs which came +floating were sweet, simple, and beautiful. The voices and +accompanying strains approached, but I could distinguish no +words. By and by, from the corridors of the cavern, troops of +bright female forms floated into view. They were clad in robes +ranging from pure white to every richest hue, contrasting +strangely, and in the distance their rainbow brilliancy made a +gorgeous spectacle. Some were fantastically attired in short +gowns, such as I imagine were worn by the dancing girls of +sacred history, others had kirtles of a single bright color, others +of many shades intermingled, while others still were dressed in +gauze-like fabrics of pure white.</p> + +<p>As they filed into the cavern, and approached me, they +formed into platoons, or into companies, and then, as dissolving +views come and go, they presented first one and then another +figure. Sometimes they would stretch in great circling lines +around the hall, again they would form into squares, and again +into geometrical figures of all shades and forms, but I observed +that with every change they drew nearer to the stone on which +I rested.</p> + +<p>They were now so near that their features could be distinguished, +and never before had I seen such loveliness in human +mold. Every face was as perfect as a master's picture of the +Madonna, and yet no two seemed to possess the same type of +beauty. Some were of dark complexion with glossy, raven +hair, others were fair with hair ranging from light brown to +golden. The style of head dress, as a rule, was of the simplest<span class="pagenum">[Pg 253]</span> +description. A tinted ribbon, or twisted cord, over the head, +bound their hair with becoming grace, and their silken locks were +either plaited into braids, curled into ringlets, or hung loosely, +flowing in wavelets about their shoulders. Some held curious +musical instruments, others beautiful wands, and altogether +they produced a scenic effect of rare beauty that the most +extravagant dream of fairyland could not surpass. Thus it was +that I became again the center of a throng, not of repulsive +monsters, but of marvelously lovely beings. They were as +different from those preceding as darkness is from daylight.</p> + +<p>Could any man from the data of my past experiences have +predicted such a scene? Never before had the semblance of a +woman appeared, never before had an intimation been given +that the gentle sex existed in these silent chambers. Now, from +the grotesque figures and horrible cries of the former occupants +of this same cavern, the scene had changed to a conception of +the beautiful and artistic, such as a poetic spirit might evolve in +an extravagant dream of higher fairy land. I glanced above; +the great hall was clothed in brilliant colors, the bare rocks had +disappeared, the dome of that vast arch reaching to an immeasurable +height, was decorated in all the colors of the rainbow. +Flags and streamers fluttered in breezes that also moved the +garments of the angelic throng about me, but which I could not +sense; profiles of enchanting faces pervaded the glimmering +space beyond; I alone was but an onlooker, not a participant of +the joys about me.</p> + +<p>The movements of the seraph-like figures continued, innumerable +forms and figures followed forms and figures innumerable, +and music indescribable blended with the poetry of motion. I +was rapt, the past disappeared, my former mind was blotted from +existence, the world vanished, and I became a thrill of joy, a +sensation of absolute delight.</p> + +<p>The band of spirits or fairy forms reached the rock at my +feet, but I did not know how long a time they consumed in doing +this; it may have been a second, and it may have been an +eternity. Neither did I care. A single moment of existence such +as I experienced, seemed worth an age of any other pleasure.</p> + +<p>Circling about me, these ethereal creatures paused from their +motions, and, as the music ceased, I stood above them, and yet<span class="pagenum">[Pg 254]</span> +in their midst, and gazed out into a distance illimitable, but not +less beautiful in the expanse than was the adjacent part. The +cavern had altogether disappeared, and in the depths about me +as far as the eye could reach, seemingly into the broad expanse +of heaven, I saw the exquisite forms that I have so imperfectly +described.</p> + +<p>Then a single band from the throng lightly sprung upon the +stony terrace where I stood, and sung and danced before me. +Every motion was perfect as imagination could depict, every +sound was concentrated extract of melody. This band retired to +be replaced by another, which in turn gave way to another, and +still another, until, as in space we have no standard, time vanished, +and numbers ceased to be numbers.</p> + +<p>No two of the band of dancers were clothed alike, no two +songs were similar, though all were inexpressibly enchanting. +The first group seemed perfect, and yet the second was better, +and each succeeding band sung sweeter songs, were more +beautiful, and richer in dress than those preceding. I became +enveloped in the ĉsthetic atmosphere, my spirit seemed to be +loosened from the body, it was apparently upon the point of +escaping from its mortal frame; suddenly the music ceased, +the figures about became passive, and every form standing +upright and graceful, gazed upon my face, and as I looked +at the radiant creatures, each successive face, in turn, seemed +to grow more beautiful, each form more exquisite than those +about.</p> + +<p>Then, in the distance, I observed the phalanx divide, forming +into two divisions, separated by a broad aisle, stretching from +my feet to the limit of space without, and down this aisle I +observed a single figure advancing toward me.</p> + +<p>As she approached, the phalanx closed in behind her, and +when at last she reached the stone on which I stood, she stepped, +or was wafted to my side, and the phalanx behind moved together +and was complete again.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 489px;"> +<img src="images/gs1048.jpg" width="489" height="600" alt="" title="ETIDORHPA." /> +<span class="caption">ETIDORHPA.</span> +</div> + +<p>"My name is Etidorhpa. In me you behold the spirit that +elevates man, and subdues the most violent of passions. In history, +so far back in the dim ages as to be known now as legendary +mythology, have I ruled and blessed the world. Unclasp my +power over man and beast, and while heaven dissolves, the +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 256]</span>charms of Paradise will perish. I know no master. The universe +bows to my authority. Stars and suns enamored pulsate and +throb in space and kiss each other in waves of light; atoms cold +embrace and cling together; structures inanimate affiliate with +and attract inanimate structures; bodies dead to other noble +passions are not dead to love. The savage beast, under my +enchantment, creeps to her lair, and gently purrs over her offspring; +even man becomes less violent, and sheathes his weapon +and smothers his hatred as I soothe his passions beside the loved +ones in the privacy of his home.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 257]</span></p> + +<p>"I have been known under many titles, and have comforted +many peoples. Strike my name from Time's record, and the +lovely daughters of Zeus and Dione would disappear; and with +them would vanish the grace and beauty of woman; the sweet +conception of the Froth Child of the Cyprus Sea would be lost; +Venus, the Goddess of Love, would have no place in song, and +Love herself, the holiest conception of the poet, man's superlative +conception of Heaven's most precious charms, would be buried +with the myrtle and the rose. My name is Etidorhpa; interpret +it rightly, and you have what has been to humanity the essence +of love, the mother of all that ennobles. He who loves a wife +worships me; she, who in turn makes a home happy, is typical +of me. I am Etidorhpa, the beginning and the end of earth. +Behold in me the antithesis of envy, the opposite of malice, the +enemy of sorrow, the mistress of life, the queen of immortal +bliss.</p> + +<p>"Do you know," she continued, and her voice, soft and sweet, +carried with it a pleasurable sense of truthfulness indescribable, +"do you know that man's idea of heaven, places me, Etidorhpa, +on the highest throne? With the charm of maiden pure, I +combine the devotion of wife and the holiness of mother. Take +from the life of man the treasures I embody, and he will be +homeless, childless, loveless. The thought of Heaven will in +such a case be as the dismal conception of a dreary platitude. A +life in such a Heaven, a Heaven devoid of love (and this the +Scriptures teach), is one of endless torment.</p> + +<p>"Love, by whatever name the conception is designated, rules +the world. Divest the cold man of science, of the bond that +binds him to his life-thought, and his work is ended. Strike<span class="pagenum">[Pg 258]</span> +from the master in music the chord that links his soul to the +voice he breathes, and his songs will be hushed. Deaden the +sense of love which the artist bears his art, and as the spirit that +underlies his thought-scenes vanishes, his touch becomes chilled, +and his brush inexpressive. The soldier thinks of his home and +country, and without a murmur sheds his life blood.</p> + +<p>"And yet there are debasing phases of love, for as love of +country builds a nation, so love of pillage may destroy it. Love +of the holy and the beautiful stands in human life opposed to +love of the debasing and vicious, and I, Etidorhpa, am typical of +the highest love of man. As the same force binds the molecules +of the rose and the violet as well as those of noxious drugs, so +the same soul conception may serve the love of good or the love +of evil. Love may guide a tyrant or actuate a saint, may make +man torture his fellow, or strive to ease his pain.</p> + +<p>"Thus, man's propensity to serve his holy or his evil passion +may each be called a degree in love, and in the serving of that +passion the love of one heart may express itself as the antithesis +of love in another. As bitter is to some men's taste more pleasant +than sweet, and sour is yet more grateful to others, so one man +may love the beautiful, another delight in the grotesque, and a +third may love to see his neighbor suffer. Amid these, the phase +of love that ennobles, brings the greatest degree of pleasure and +comfort to mankind, but the love that degrades is love nevertheless, +by whatever name the expression of the passion may be +called. Love rules the world, and typical of man's intensest, +holiest love, I, Etidorhpa, stand the Soul of Love Supreme." +She hesitated.</p> + +<p>"Go on."</p> + +<p>"I have already said, and in saying this have told the truth, +I come from beyond the empty shell of a materialistic gold and +silver conception of Heaven. Go with me, and in my home you +will find man's soul devotion, regardless of material surroundings. +I have said, and truly, the corridors of the Heaven mansion, +enriched by precious stones and metals fine, but destitute of +my smiles and graces, are deserted. The golden calf is no longer +worshiped, cobwebs cling in festoons motionless, and the dust +of selfish thoughts perverted, dry and black as the soot from +Satan's fires settling therein, as the dust of an antiquated<span class="pagenum">[Pg 259]</span> +sarcophagus, rest undisturbed. Place on one side the Heaven +of which gold-bound misers sing, and on the other Etidorhpa +and the treasures that come with me to man and woman, (for +without me neither wife, child, nor father could exist,) and from +any other heaven mankind will turn away. The noblest gift of +Heaven to humanity is the highest sense of love, and I, Etidorhpa, +am the soul of love."</p> + +<p>She ceased speaking, and as I looked at the form beside me +I forgot myself in the rapture of that gaze.</p> + +<p>Crush the colors of the rainbow into a single hue possessed +of the attributes of all the others, and multiply that entity to +infinity, and you have less richness than rested in any of the +complex colors shown in the trimming of her raiment. Lighten +the softness of eiderdown a thousand times, and yet maintain +its sense of substance, and you have not conceived of the softness +of the gauze that decked her simple, flowing garments. +Gather the shadows cast by a troop of radiant angels, then +sprinkle the resultant shade with star dust, and color therewith +a garment brighter than satin, softer than silk, and more ethereal +than light itself, and you have less beauty than reposed in the +modest dress that enveloped her figure. Abstract the perfume +from the sweetest oriental grasses, and combine with it the +essential spirit of the wild rose, then add thereto the soul of +ambergris, and the quintessential extracts of the finest aromatics +of the East, and you have not approached the exquisite +fragrance that penetrated my very being at her approach. She +stood before me, slender, lithe, symmetrical, radiant. Her hair +was more beautiful than pen can depict; it was colorless because +it can not be described by colors known to mortals. Her face +paled the beauty of all who had preceded her. She could not be a +fairy, for no conception of a fairy can approach such loveliness; +she was not a spirit, for surely material substance was a part of +her form; she was not an angel, for no abnormal, irrational +wing protruded from her shoulder to blemish her seraphic figure.</p> + +<p>"No," I said musingly; "she is a creature of other climes; +the Scriptures tell of no such being; she is neither human nor +angelic, but"—</p> + +<p>"But what?" she said.</p> + +<p>"I do not know," I answered.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 260]</span></p> + +<p>"Then I will tell you," she replied. "Yes; I will tell you of +myself and of my companions. I will show you our home, +carrying you through the shadows of heaven to exhibit that fair +land, for heaven without Etidorhpa casts a shadow in comparison +therewith. See," she said, as with her dainty fingers she +removed from her garment a fragment of transparent film that +I had not previously observed; "see, this is a cobweb that clung +to my skirt, as, on my way to meet you, I passed through the +dismal corridors of the materialists' loveless heaven."</p> + +<p>She dropped it on the floor, and I stooped to pick it up, but +vainly—my fingers passed through it as through a mist.</p> + +<p>"You must be an angel," I stammered.</p> + +<p>She smiled.</p> + +<p>"Come," she said, "do not consume your time with thoughts +of materialistic heaven; come with me to that brighter land +beyond, and in those indescribable scenes we, you and I, will +wander together forever."</p> + +<p>She held out her hand; I hesitatingly touched it, and then +raised it to my lips. She made no resistance.</p> + +<p>I dropped upon my knees. "Are you to be mine?" I cried. +"Mine forever?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," she answered; "if you will it, for he who loves will be +loved in turn."</p> + +<p>"I will do it," I said; "I give myself to you, be you what you +may, be your home where it may, I give up the earth behind me, +and the hope of heaven before me; the here and the hereafter I +will sacrifice. Let us hasten," I said, for she made no movement.</p> + +<p>She shook her head. "You must yet be tempted as never +before, and you must resist the tempter. You can not pass into +the land of Etidorhpa until you have suffered as only the damned +can suffer, until you have withstood the pangs of thirst, and have +experienced heat and cold indescribable. Remember the warning +of your former guide, mark well the words of Etidorhpa: +you must not yield. 'Twas to serve you that I came before you +now, 'twas to preserve you from the Drunkard's Cavern that I +have given you this vision of the land beyond the End of Earth +where, if you will serve yourself, we will meet again."</p> + +<p>She held aloft two tiny cups; I sprung to my feet and +grasped one of them, and as I glanced at the throng in front of<span class="pagenum">[Pg 261]</span> +me, every radiant figure held aloft in the left hand a similar cup. +All were gazing in my face. I looked at the transparent cup in +my hand; it appeared to be partly filled with a green liquid. I +looked at her cup and saw that it contained a similar fluid.</p> + +<p>Forgetting the warning she had so recently given, I raised +the cup to my lips, and just before touching it glanced again at +her face. The fair creature stood with bowed head, her face +covered with her hand; her very form and attitude spoke of +sorrow and disappointment, and she trembled in distress. She +held one hand as though to thrust back a form that seemed +about to force itself beyond her figure, for peering exultingly +from behind, leered the same Satanic face that met my gaze on +the preceding occasion, when in the presence of the troop of +demons, I had been tempted by the perfect man.</p> + +<p>Dashing the cup to the floor I shouted:</p> + +<p>"No; I will not drink."</p> + +<p>Etidorhpa dropped upon her knees and clasped her hands. +The Satanic figure disappeared from sight. Realizing that we +had triumphed over the tempter, I also fell upon my knees in +thankfulness.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 262]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262"></a>CHAPTER XLI.<br /> +<br /> +MISERY.</h2> + + +<p>As all the bubbles in a glass shrink and vanish when the +first collapses, so the troop of fairy-like forms before me disintegrated, +and were gone. The delicate being, whose hand I held, +fluttered as does a mist in the first gust of a sudden gale, and +then dissolved into transparency. The gaily decked amphitheater +disappeared, the very earth cavern passed from existence, and I +found myself standing solitary and alone in a boundless desert. +I turned towards every point of the compass only to find that no +visible object appeared to break the monotony. I stood upon a +floor of pure white sand which stretched to the horizon in gentle +wave-like undulations as if the swell of the ocean had been +caught, transformed to sand, and fixed.</p> + +<p>I bent down and scooped a handful of the sand, and raised +it in the palm of my hand, letting it sift back again to earth; it +was surely sand. I pinched my flesh, and pulled my hair, I tore +my garments, stamped upon the sand, and shouted aloud to +demonstrate that I myself was still myself. It was real, yes, +real. I stood alone in a desert of sand. Morning was dawning, +and on one side the great sun rose slowly and majestically.</p> + +<p>"Thank God for the sun," I cried. "Thank God for the +light and heat of the sun."</p> + +<p>I was again on surface earth; once more I beheld that glorious +orb for the sight of which I had so often prayed when I believed +myself miserable in the dismal earth caverns, and which I had +been willing to give my very life once more to behold. I fell +on my knees, and raised my hands in thankfulness. I blessed +the rising sun, the illimitable sand, the air about me, and the blue +heavens above. I blessed all that was before me, and again and +again returned thanks for my delivery from the caverns beneath +me. I did not think to question by what power this miracle had +been accomplished. I did not care to do so; had I thought of<span class="pagenum">[Pg 263]</span> +the matter at all I would not have dared to question for fear the +transition might prove a delusion.</p> + +<p>I turned towards the sun, and walked eastward. As the day +progressed and the sun rose into the heavens, I maintained my +journey, aiming as best I could to keep the same direction. +The heat increased, and when the sun reached the zenith it +seemed as though it would melt the marrow in my bones. The +sand, as white as snow and hot as lava, dazzled my eyes, and I +covered them with my hands. The sun in the sky felt as if it +were a ball of white hot iron near my head. It seemed small, +and yet appeared to shine as through a tube directed only +towards myself. Vainly did I struggle to escape and get +beyond its boundary, the tube seemed to follow my every +motion, directing the blazing shafts, and concentrating them +ever upon my defenseless person. I removed my outer garments, +and tore my shirt into fibers hoping to catch a waft of +breeze, and with one hand over my eyes, and the other holding +my coat above my head, endeavored to escape the mighty flood +of heat, but vainly. The fiery rays streamed through the garment +as mercury flows through a film of gauze. They penetrated +my flesh, and vaporized my blood. My hands, fingers, and arms +puffed out as a bladder of air expands under the influence of +heat. My face swelled to twice, thrice its normal size, and at +last my eyes were closed, for my cheeks and eyebrows met. I +rubbed my shapeless hand over my sightless face, and found it as +round as a ball; the nose had become imbedded in the expanded +flesh, and my ears had disappeared in the same manner.</p> + +<p>I could no longer see the sun, but felt the vivid, piercing rays +I could not evade. I do not know whether I walked or rolled +along; I only know that I struggled to escape those deadly +rays. Then I prayed for death, and in the same breath begged +the powers that had transferred me to surface earth to carry +me back again to the caverns below. The recollection of their +cool, refreshing atmosphere was as the thought of heaven must +be to a lost spirit. I experienced the agony of a damned soul, +and now, in contradistinction to former times, considered as my +idea of perfect happiness the dismal earth caverns of other days. +I thought of the day I had stood at the mouth of the Kentucky +cave, and waded into the water with my guide; I recalled the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 264]</span> +refreshing coolness of the stream in the darkness of that cavern +when the last ray of sunshine disappeared, and I cursed +myself for longing then for sunshine, and the surface earth. +Fool that man is, I mentally cried, not to be contented with +that which is, however he may be situated, and wherever he +may be placed. This is but a retribution, I am being cursed for +my discontented mind, this is hell, and in comparison with this +hell all else on or in earth is happiness. Then I damned the +sun, the earth, the very God of all, and in my frenzy cursed +everything that existed. I felt my puffed limbs, and prayed +that I might become lean again. I asked to shrink to a skeleton, +for seemingly my misery came with my expanded form; +but I prayed and cursed in vain. So I struggled on in agony, +every moment seemingly covering a multitude of years; struggled +along like a lost soul plodding in an endless expanse of ever-increasing, +ever-concentrating hell. At last, however, the day +declined, the heat decreased, and as it did so my distorted body +gradually regained its normal size, my eyesight returned, and +finally I stood in that wilderness of sand watching the great red +sun sink into the earth, as in the morning I had watched it rise. +But between the sunrise and the sunset there had been an +eternity of suffering, and then, as if released from a spell, I +dropped exhausted upon the sand, and seemed to sleep. I +dreamed of the sun, and that an angel stood before me, and +asked why I was miserable, and in reply I pointed to the sun. +"See," I said, "the author of the misery of man."</p> + +<p>Said the angel: "Were there no sun there would be no men, +but were there no men there would still be misery."</p> + +<p>"Misery of what?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Misery of mind," replied the angel. "Misery is a thing, +misery is not a conception—pain is real, pain is not an impression. +Misery and pain would still exist and prey upon mind +substance were there no men, for mind also is real, and not a +mere conception. The pain you have suffered has not been the +pain of matter, but the pain of spirit. Matter can not suffer. +Were it matter that suffered, the heated sand would writhe in +agony. No; it is only mind and spirit that experience pain, or +pleasure, and neither mind nor spirit can evade its destiny, even +if it escape from the body."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 265]</span></p> + +<p>Then I awoke and saw once more the great red sun rise from +the sand-edge of my desolate world, and I became aware of a new +pain, for now I perceived the fact that I experienced the sense +of thirst. The conception of the impression drew my mind to +the subject, and instantly intense thirst, the most acute of bodily +sufferings, possessed me. When vitalized tissue craves water, +other physical wants are unfelt; when man parches to death all +other methods of torture are disregarded. I thought no longer +of the rising sun, I remembered no more the burning sand of +yesterday, I felt only the pain of thirst.</p> + +<p>"Water, water, water," I cried, and then in the distance as if +in answer to my cry, I beheld a lake of water.</p> + +<p>Instantly every nerve was strained, every muscle stretched, +and I fled over the sands towards the welcome pool.</p> + +<p>On and on I ran, and as I did so, the sun rising higher and +higher, again began to burn the sands beneath my feet, and +roast the flesh upon my bones. Once more I experienced that +intolerable sense of pain, the pain of living flesh disintegrating +by fire, and now with thirst gnawing at my vitals, and fire drying +up the residue of my evaporated blood, I struggled in agony +towards a lake that vanished before my gaze, to reappear just +beyond.</p> + +<p>This day was more horrible than the preceding, and yet it +was the reverse so far as the action of the sun on my flesh was +concerned. My prayer of yesterday had been fearfully answered, +and the curses of the day preceding were being visited upon my +very self. I had prayed to become lean, and instead of the +former puffed tissue and expanded flesh, my body contracted as +does beef when dried. The tightening skin squeezed upon the +solidifying flesh, and as the moisture evaporated, it left a shriveled +integument, contracted close upon the bone. My joints +stood out as great protuberances, my skin turned to a dark amber +color, and my flesh became transparent as does wetted horn. +I saw my very vitals throb, I saw the empty blood vessels, the +shriveled nerves and vacant arteries of my frame. I could not +close my eyes. I could not shield them from the burning sun. I +was a mummy, yet living, a dried corpse walking over the sand, +dead to all save pain. I tried to fall, but could not, and I felt +that, while the sun was visible, I must stand upright; I could<span class="pagenum">[Pg 266]</span> +not stop, and could not stoop. Then at last the malevolent sun +sank beneath the horizon, and as the last ray disappeared again, +I fell upon the sand.</p> + +<p>I did not sleep, I did not rest, I did not breathe nor live a +human; I only existed as a living pain, the conception of pain +realized into a conscious nucleus,—and so the night passed. +Again the sun arose, and with the light of her first ray I saw +near at hand a caravan, camels, men, horses, a great cavalcade. +They approached rapidly and surrounded me. The leader of the +band alighted and raised me to my feet, for no longer had I the +power of motion. He spoke to me kindly, and strange as it may +seem to you, but not at all strange did it seem to me, called me +by name.</p> + +<p>"We came across your tracks in the desert," he said; "we are +your deliverers."</p> + +<p>I motioned for water; I could not speak.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, "water you shall have."</p> + +<p>Then from one of the skins that hung across the hump of a +camel he filled a crystal goblet with sparkling water, and held it +towards me, but just before the goblet touched my lips he withdrew +it and said:</p> + +<p>"I forgot to first extend the greetings of our people."</p> + +<p>And then I noticed in his other hand a tiny glass containing +a green liquid, which he placed to my lips, pronouncing the +single word, "Drink."</p> + +<p>I fastened my gaze upon the water, and opened my lips. I +smelled the aroma of the powerful narcotic liquid within the +glass, and hastened to obey, but glanced first at my deliverer, +and in his stead saw the familiar face of the satanic figure that +twice before had tempted me. Instantly, without a thought as +to the consequences, without a fear as to the result, I dashed the +glass to the sand, and my voice returning, I cried for the third +time, "No; I will not drink."</p> + +<p>The troop of camels instantly disappeared, as had the figures +in the scenes before, the tempter resolved into clear air, the sand +beneath my feet became natural again, and I became myself as +I had been before passing through the hideous ordeal. The fact +of my deliverance from the earth caverns had, I now realized, +been followed by temporary aberration of my mind, but at last<span class="pagenum">[Pg 267]</span> +I saw clearly again, the painful fancy had passed, the delirium +was over.</p> + +<p>I fell upon my knees in thankfulness; the misery through +which I had passed had proven to be illusory, the earth caverns +were beneath me, the mirage and temptations were not real, the +horrors I had experienced were imaginary—thank God for all +this—and that the sand was really sand. Solitary, alone, I +kneeled in the desert barren, from horizon to horizon desolation +only surrounded, and yet the scene of that illimitable waste, +a fearful reality, it is true, was sweet in comparison with the +misery of body and soul about which I had dreamed so vividly.</p> + +<p>"'Tis no wonder," I said to myself, "that in the moment of +transition from the underground caverns to the sunshine above, +the shock should have disturbed my mental equilibrium, and in +the moment of reaction I should have dreamed fantastic and +horrible imaginings."</p> + +<p>A cool and refreshing breeze sprung now, from I know not +where; I did not care to ask; it was too welcome a gift to +question, and contrasted pleasantly with the misery of my past +hallucination. The sun was shining hot above me, the sand +was glowing, parched beneath me, and yet the grateful breeze +fanned my brow, and refreshed my spirit.</p> + +<p>"Thank God," I cried, "for the breeze, for the coolness that +it brings; only those who have experienced the silence of the +cavern solitudes through which I have passed, and added thereto, +have sensed the horrors of the more recent nightmare scenes, +can appreciate the delights of a gust of air."</p> + +<p>The incongruity of surrounding conditions, as connected +with affairs rational, did not appeal at all to my questioning +senses, it seemed as though the cool breeze, coming from out the +illimitable desolation of a heated waste was natural. I arose +and walked on, refreshed. From out that breeze my physical +self drew refreshment and strength.</p> + +<p>"'Tis the cold," I said; "the blessed antithesis of heat, +that supports life. Heat enervates, cold stimulates; heat +depresses, cold animates. Thank God for breezes, winds, +waters, cold."</p> + +<p>I turned and faced the gladsome breeze. "'Tis the source +of life, I will trace it to its origin, I will leave the accursed<span class="pagenum">[Pg 268]</span> +desert, the hateful sunshine, and seek the blissful regions that +give birth to cool breezes."</p> + +<p>I walked rapidly, and the breeze became more energetic and +cooler. With each increase of momentum on my part, corresponding +strength seemed to be added to the breeze—both +strength and coolness.</p> + +<p>"Is not this delightful?" I murmured; "my God at last has +come to be a just God. Knowing what I wanted, He sent the +breeze; in answer to my prayer the cool, refreshing breeze arose. +Damn the heat," I cried aloud, as I thought of the horrid day +before; "blessed be the cold," and as though in answer to my +cry the breeze stiffened and the cold strengthened itself, and I +again returned thanks to my Creator.</p> + +<p>With ragged coat wrapped about my form I faced the breeze +and strode onward towards the home of the gelid wind that now +dashed in gusts against my person.</p> + +<p>Then I heard my footstep crunch, and perceived that the +sand was hard beneath my feet; I stooped over to examine it +and found it frozen. Strange, I reflected, strange that dry sand +can freeze, and then I noticed, for the first time, that spurts of +snow surrounded me, 'twas a sleety mixture upon which I trod, +a crust of snow and sand. A sense of dread came suddenly over +me, and instinctively I turned, affrighted, and ran away from +the wind, towards the desert behind me, back towards the sun, +which, cold and bleak, low in the horizon, was sinking. The +sense of dread grew upon me, and I shivered as I ran. With +my back towards the breeze I had blessed, I now fled towards +the sinking sun I had cursed. I stretched out my arms in +supplication towards that orb, for from behind overhanging +blackness spread, and about me roared a fearful hurricane. +Vainly. As I thought in mockery the heartless sun disappeared +before my gaze, the hurricane surrounded me, and the wind +about me became intensely cold, and raved furiously. It seemed +as though the sun had fled from my presence, and with the +disappearance of that orb, the outline of the earth was blotted +from existence. It was an awful blackness, and the universe was +now to me a blank. The cold strengthened and froze my body +to the marrow of my bones. First came the sting of frost, +then the pain of cold, then insensibility of flesh. My feet were<span class="pagenum">[Pg 269]</span> +benumbed, my limbs motionless. I stood a statue, quiescent in +the midst of the roaring tempest. The earth, the sun, the heavens +themselves, my very person now had disappeared. Dead to +the sense of pain or touch, sightless, amid a blank, only the noise +of the raging winds was to me a reality. And as the creaking +frost reached my brain and congealed it, the sound of the tempest +ceased, and then devoid of physical senses, my quickened intellect, +enslaved, remained imprisoned in the frozen form it could +not leave, and yet could no longer control.</p> + +<p>Reflection after reflection passed through that incarcerated +thought entity, and as I meditated, the heinous mistakes I had +committed in the life that had passed, arose to torment. God +had answered my supplications, successively I had experienced +the hollowness of earthly pleasures, and had left each lesson +unheeded. Had I not alternately begged for and then cursed +each gift of God? Had I not prayed for heat, cold, light, and +darkness, and anathematized each? Had I not, when in perfect +silence, prayed for sound; in sheltered caverns, prayed for winds +and storms; in the very corridors of heaven, and in the presence +of Etidorhpa, had I not sought for joys beyond?</p> + +<p>Had I not found each pleasure of life a mockery, and notwithstanding +each bitter lesson, still pursued my headstrong +course, alternately blessing and cursing my Creator, and then +myself, until now, amid a howling waste, in perfect darkness, my +conscious intellect was bound to the frozen, rigid semblance of a +body? All about me was dead and dark, all within was still and +cold, only my quickened intellect remained as in every corpse +the self-conscious intellect must remain, while the body has a +mortal form, for death of body is not attended by the immediate +liberation of mind. The consciousness of the dead man is still +acute, and he who thinks the dead are mindless, will realize his +fearful error when devoid of motion he lies a corpse, conscious +of all that passes on around him, waiting the liberation that can +only come by disintegration and destruction of the flesh.</p> + +<p>So, unconscious of pain, unconscious of any physical sense, +I existed on and on, enthralled, age after age passed and piled +upon one another, for time was to me unchangeable, no more an +entity. I now prayed for change of any kind, and envied the +very devils in hell their pleasures, for were they not gifted with<span class="pagenum">[Pg 270]</span> +the power of motion, could they not hear, and see, and realize +the pains they suffered? I prayed for death—death absolute, +death eternal. Then, at last, the darkness seemed to lessen, and +I saw the frozen earth beneath, the monstrous crags of ice above, +the raging tempest about, for I now had learned by reflection to +perceive by pure intellect, to see by the light within. My body, +solid as stone, was fixed and preserved in a waste of ice. The +world was frozen. I perceived that the sun, and moon, and stars, +nearly stilled, dim and motionless, had paled in the cold depths +of space. The universe itself was freezing, and amid the desolation +only my deserted intellect remained. Age after age had +passed, ĉons of ages had fled, nation after nation had grown and +perished, and in the uncounted epochs behind, humanity had +disappeared. Unable to free itself from the frozen body, my own +intellect remained the solitary spectator of the dead silence about. +At last, beneath my vision, the moon disappeared, the stars faded +one by one, and then I watched the sun grow dim, until at +length only a milky, gauze-like film remained to indicate her +face, and then—vacancy. I had lived the universe away. And +in perfect darkness the living intellect, conscious of all that had +transpired in the ages past, clung still enthralled to the body of +the frozen mortal. I thought of my record in the distant past, of +the temptations I had undergone, and called myself a fool, for, +had I listened to the tempter, I could at least have suffered, I +could have had companionship even though it were of the +devils—in hell. I lived my life over and over, times without +number; I thought of my tempters, of the offered cups, and +thinking, argued with myself:</p> + +<p>"No," I said; "no, I had made the promise, I have faith in +Etidorhpa, and were it to do over again I would not drink."</p> + +<p>Then, as this thought sped from me, the ice scene dissolved, +the enveloped frozen form of myself faded from view, the sand +shrunk into nothingness, and with my natural body, and in +normal condition, I found myself back in the earth cavern, on +my knees, beside the curious inverted fungus, of which fruit I +had eaten in obedience to my guide's directions. Before me the +familiar figure of my guide stood, with folded arms, and as my +gaze fell upon him he reached out his hand and raised me to +my feet.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 271]</span></p> + +<p>"Where have you been during the wretched epochs that +have passed since I last saw you?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"I have been here," he replied, "and you have been there."</p> + +<p>"You lie, you villainous sorcerer," I cried; "you lie again as +you have lied to me before. I followed you to the edge of demon +land, to the caverns of the drunkards, and then you deserted +me. Since last we met I have spent a million, billion years of +agony inexpressible, and have had that agony made doubly +horrible by contrast with the thought, yes, the very sight and +touch of Heaven. I passed into a double eternity, and have +experienced the ecstacies of the blessed, and suffered the torments +of the damned, and now you dare boldly tell me that I +have been here, and that you have been there, since last I saw +you stand by this cursed fungus bowl."</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, taking no offense at my violence; "yes, neither +of us has left this spot; you have sipped of the drink of an +earth-damned drunkard, you have experienced part of the curses +of intemperance, the delirium of narcotics. Thousands of men +on earth, in their drunken hallucination, have gone through +hotter hells than you have seen; your dream has not exaggerated +the sufferings of those who sup of the delirium of intemperance."</p> + +<p>And then he continued:</p> + +<p>"Let me tell you of man's conception of eternity."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 272]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272"></a>CHAPTER XLII.<br /> +<br /> +ETERNITY WITHOUT TIME.</h2> + + +<p>"Man's conception of eternity is that of infinite duration, +continuance without beginning or end, and yet everything he +knows is bounded by two or more opposites. From a beginning, +as he sees a form of matter, that substance passes to an end." +Thus spoke my guide.</p> + +<p>Then he asked, and showed by his question that he appreciated +the nature of my recent experiences: "Do you recall the +instant that you left me standing by this bowl to start, as you +imagined, with me as a companion, on the journey to the cavern +of the grotesque?"</p> + +<p>"No; because I did not leave you. I sipped of the liquid, and +then you moved on with me from this spot; we were together, +until at last we were separated on the edge of the cave of +drunkards."</p> + +<p>"Listen," said he; "I neither left you nor went with you. +You neither went from this spot nor came back again. You +neither saw nor experienced my presence nor my absence; there +was no beginning to your journey."</p> + +<p>"Go on."</p> + +<p>"You ate of the narcotic fungus; you have been intoxicated."</p> + +<p>"I have not," I retorted. "I have been through your accursed +caverns, and into hell beyond. I have been consumed by eternal +damnation in the journey, have experienced a heaven of delight, +and also an eternity of misery."</p> + +<p>"Upon the contrary, the time that has passed since you +drank the liquid contents of that fungus fruit has only been that +which permitted you to fall upon your knees. You swallowed +the liquor when I handed you the shell cup; you dropped upon +your knees, and then instantly awoke. See," he said; "in corroboration +of my assertion the shell of the fungus fruit at your +feet is still dripping with the liquid you did not drink. Time<span class="pagenum">[Pg 273]</span> +has been annihilated. Under the influence of this potent earth-bred +narcoto-intoxicant, your dream begun inside of eternity; +you did not pass into it."</p> + +<p>"You say," I interrupted, "that I dropped upon my knees, +that I have experienced the hallucination of intoxication, that +the experiences of my vision occurred during the second of time +that was required for me to drop upon my knees."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Then by your own argument you demonstrate that eternity +requires time, for even a millionth part of a second is time, as +much so as a million of years."</p> + +<p>"You mistake," he replied, "you misinterpret my words. I +said that all you experienced in your eternity of suffering and +pleasure, occurred between the point when you touched the +fungus fruit to your lips, and that when your knees struck the +stone."</p> + +<p>"That consumed time," I answered.</p> + +<p>"Did I assert," he questioned, "that your experiences were +scattered over that entire period?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"May not all that occurred to your mind have been crushed +into the second that accompanied the mental impression produced +by the liquor, or the second of time that followed, or any other +part of that period, or a fraction of any integral second of that +period?"</p> + +<p>"I can not say," I answered, "what part of the period the +hallucination, as you call it, occupied."</p> + +<p>"You admit that so far as your conception of time is concerned, +the occurrences to which you refer may have existed in +either an inestimable fraction of the first, the second, or the +third part of the period."</p> + +<p>"Yes," I replied, "yes; if you are correct in that, they were +illusions."</p> + +<p>"Let me ask you furthermore," he said; "are you sure that +the flash that bred your hallucination was not instantaneous, and +a part of neither the first, second, nor third second?"</p> + +<p>"Continue your argument."</p> + +<p>"I will repeat a preceding question with a slight modification. +May not all that occurred to your mind have been crushed into<span class="pagenum">[Pg 274]</span> +the space between the second of time that preceded the mental +impression produced by the liquor, and the second that followed +it? Need it have been a part of either second, or of time at all? +Indeed, could it have been a part of time if it were instantaneous?"</p> + +<p>"Go on."</p> + +<p>"Suppose the entity that men call the soul of man were in +process of separation from the body. The process you will admit +would occupy time, until the point of liberation was reached. +Would not dissolution, so far as the separation of matter and +spirit is concerned at its critical point be instantaneous?"</p> + +<p>I made no reply.</p> + +<p>"If the critical point is instantaneous, there would be no +beginning, there could be no end. Therein rests an eternity +greater than man can otherwise conceive of, for as there is +neither beginning nor end, time and space are annihilated. The +line that separates the soul that is in the body from the soul that +is out of the body is outside of all things. It is a between, +neither a part of the nether side nor of the upper side; it is +outside the here and the hereafter. Let us carry this thought a +little further," said he. "Suppose a good man were to undergo +this change, could not all that an eternity of happiness might +offer be crushed into this boundless conception, the critical +point? All that a mother craves in children dead, could reappear +again in their once loved forms; all that a good life earns, would +rest in the soul's experience in that eternity, but not as an +illusion, although no mental pleasure, no physical pain is equal +to that of hallucinations. Suppose that a vicious life were +ended, could it escape the inevitable critical point? Would not +that life in its previous journey create its own sad eternity? You +have seen the working of an eternity with an end but not a +beginning to it, for you can not sense the commencement of +your vision. You have been in the cavern of the grotesque,—the +realms of the beautiful, and have walked over the boundless +sands that bring misery to the soul, and have, as a statue, seen +the frozen universe dissolve. You are thankful that it was all an +illusion as you deem it now; what would you think had only the +heavenly part been spread before you?"</p> + +<p>"I would have cursed the man who dispelled the illusion," I +answered.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 275]</span></p> + +<p>"Then," he said, "you are willing to admit that men who so +live as to gain such an eternity, be it mental illusion, hallucination +or real, make no mistake in life."</p> + +<p>"I do," I replied; "but you confound me when you argue in +so cool a manner that eternity may be everlasting to the soul, +and yet without the conception of time."</p> + +<p>"Did I not teach you in the beginning of this journey," he +interjected, "that time is not as men conceive it. Men can not +grasp an idea of eternity and retain their sun bred, morning and +evening, conception of time. Therein lies their error. As the +tip of the whip-lash passes with the lash, so through life the soul +of man proceeds with the body. As there is a point just when +the tip of the whip-lash is on the edge of its return, where all +motion of the line that bounds the tip ends, so there is a motionless +point when the soul starts onward from the body of man. +As the tip of the whip-lash sends its cry through space, not +while it is in motion either way, but from the point where +motion ceases, the spaceless, timeless point that lies between +the backward and the forward, so the soul of man leaves a cry +(eternity) at the critical point. It is the death echo, and thus +each snap of the life-thread throws an eternity, its own eternity, +into eternity's seas, and each eternity is made up of the entities +thus cast from the critical point. With the end of each soul's +earth journey, a new eternity springs into existence, occupying +no space, consuming no time, and not conflicting with any other, +each being exactly what the soul-earth record makes it, an +eternity of joy (heaven), or an eternity of anguish (hell). There +can be no neutral ground."</p> + +<p>Then he continued:</p> + +<p>"The drunkard is destined to suffer in the drunkard's eternity, +as you have suffered; the enticement of drink is evanescent, +the agony to follow is eternal. You have seen that the sub-regions +of earth supply an intoxicant. Taste not again of any +intoxicant; let your recent lesson be your last. Any stimulant +is an enemy to man, any narcotic is a fiend. It destroys its +victim, and corrupts the mind, entices it into pastures grotesque, +and even pleasant at first, but destined to eternal misery in the +end. Beware of the eternity that follows the snapping of the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 276]</span> +life-thread of a drunkard. Come," he abruptly said, "we will +pursue our journey."</p> + +<blockquote><p>[<span class="smcap">Note</span>.—Morphine, belladonna, hyoscyamus and cannabis indica are narcotics, and yet each +differs in its action from the others. Alcohol and methyl alcohol are intoxicants; ether, chloroform, +and chloral are anĉsthetics, and yet no two are possessed of the same qualities. Is there any good +reason to doubt that combinations of the elements as yet hidden from man can not cause hallucinations +that combine and intensify the most virulent of narcotics, intoxicants, and anĉsthetics, and +pall the effects of hashish or of opium?</p> + +<p>If, in the course of experimentation, a chemist should strike upon a compound that in traces +only would subject his mind and drive his pen to record such seemingly extravagant ideas as are +found in the hallucinations herein pictured, would it not be his duty to bury the discovery from +others, to cover from mankind the existence of such a noxious fruit of the chemist's or pharmaceutist's +art? Introduce such an intoxicant, and start it to ferment in humanity's blood, and before +the world were advised of its possible results, might not the ever increasing potency gain such headway +as to destroy, or debase, our civilization, and even to exterminate mankind?—J. U. L.]</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 277]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>INTERLUDE.</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277"></a>CHAPTER XLIII.<br /> +<br /> +THE LAST CONTEST.</h2> + + +<p>I, Lewellyn Drury, had been so absorbed in the fantastic +story the old man read so fluently from the execrably written +manuscript, and in the metaphysical argument which followed +his account of the vision he had introduced so artfully as to lead +me to think it was a part of his narrative, that I scarcely noted +the passage of time. Upon seeing him suspend his reading, +fold the manuscript, and place it in his pocket, I reverted to +material things, and glancing at the clock, perceived that the +hands pointed to bed-time.</p> + +<p>"To-morrow evening," said he, "I will return at nine o'clock. +In the interim, if you still question any part of the story, or +wish further information on any subject connected with my +journey, I will be prepared to answer your queries. Since, however, +that will be your last opportunity, I suggest that you make +notes of all subjects that you wish to discuss."</p> + +<p>Then, in his usual self-possessed, exquisitely polite manner, +he bowed himself out.</p> + +<p>I spent the next day reviewing the most questionable features +of his history, recalling the several statements that had been +made. Remembering the humiliation I had experienced in my +previous attempts to confute him, I determined to select such +subjects as would appear the most difficult to explain, and to +attack the old man with vehemence.</p> + +<p>I confess, that notwithstanding my several failures, and his +successful and constant elucidation and minute details in regard +to occurrences which he related, and which anticipated many +points I had once had in mind to question, misgivings still +possessed me concerning the truthfulness of the story. If<span class="pagenum">[Pg 278]</span> +these remarkable episodes were true, could there be such a +thing as fiction? If not all true, where did fact end and fancy +begin?</p> + +<p>Accordingly I devoted the following day to meditating my +plan of attack, for I felt that I had been challenged to a final +contest. Late the next day, I felt confident of my own ability to +dispossess him, and in order further to test his power, when night +came I doubly locked the door to my room, first with the key +and next with the inside bolt. I had determined to force him +again to induce inert material to obey his command, as he had +done at our first interview. The reader will remember that +Prof. Chickering had deemed that occurrence an illusion, and I +confess that time had dimmed the vividness of the scene in my +own mind. Hence I proposed to verify the matter. Therefore, +at the approach of nine o'clock, the evening following, I sat with +my gaze riveted on the bolt of the door, determined not to +answer his knock.</p> + +<p>He gave me no chance to neglect a response to his rap. +Exactly at the stroke of nine the door swung noiselessly on its +hinges, the wizard entered, and the door closed again. The bolt +had not moved, the knob did not turn. The bar passed through +the catch and back to its seat,—I sprung from my chair, and +excitedly and rudely rushed past my guest. I grasped the knob, +wrenched it with all my might. Vainly; the door was locked, +the bolt was fastened. Then I turned to my visitor. He was +quietly seated in his accustomed place, and apparently failed to +notice my discomposure, although he must have realized that he +had withstood my first test.</p> + +<p>This pronounced defeat, at the very beginning of our proposed +contest, produced a depressing effect; nevertheless I made an +effort at self-control, and seating myself opposite, looked my +antagonist in the face. Calm, dignified, with the brow of a +philosopher, and the countenance of a philanthropist, a perfect +type of the exquisite gentleman, and the cultured scholar, my +guest, as serene and complacent as though, instead of an intruder, +he were an invited participant of the comforts of my fireside, or +even the host himself, laid his hat upon the table, stroked his +silvery, translucent beard, and said:</p> + +<p>"Well?"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 279]</span></p> + +<p>I accepted the challenge, for the word, as he emphasized it, +was a challenge, and hurled at him, in hopes to catch him +unprepared, the following abrupt sentence:</p> + +<p>"I doubt the possibility of the existence of a great cavern +such as you have described. The superincumbent mass of earth +would crush the strongest metal. No material known to man +could withstand a pressure so great as would overlie an arch as +large as that you depict; material would succumb even if the +roof were made of steel."</p> + +<p>"Do not be so positive," he replied. "By what authority do +you make this assertion?"</p> + +<p>"By the authority of common sense as opposed to an unreasonable +hypothesis. You should know that there is a limit to +the strength of all things, and that no substance is capable of +making an arch of thousands of miles, which, according to your +assertion, must have been the diameter of the roof of your +inland sea."</p> + +<p>"Ah," he replied, "and so you again crush my facts with +your theory. Well, let me ask a question."</p> + +<p>"Proceed."</p> + +<p>"Did you ever observe a bubble resting on a bubble?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Did you ever place a pipe-stem in a partly filled bowl of +soap water, and by blowing through it fill the bowl with +bubbles?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Did you ever calculate the tensile strength of the material +from which you blew the bubble?"</p> + +<p>"No; for soap water has no appreciable strength."</p> + +<p>"And yet you know that a bubble made of suds has not only +strength, but elasticity. Suppose a bubble of energy floating in +space were to be covered to the depth of the thickness of a +sheet of tissue paper with the dust of space, would that surprise +you?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Suppose two such globes of energy, covered with dust, were +to be telescoped or attached together, would you marvel at the +fact?"</p> + +<p>"No."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 280]</span></p> + +<p>He drew a picture on a piece of paper, in which one line was +inclosed by another, and remarked:</p> + +<p>"The pencil mark on this paper is proportionately thicker +than the crust of the earth over the earth cavern I have +described. Even if it were made of soap suds, it could revolve +through space and maintain its contour."</p> + +<p>"But the earth is a globe," I interjected.</p> + +<p>"You do not mean an exact globe?"</p> + +<p>"No; it is flattened at the poles."</p> + +<p>He took from his pocket two thin rubber balls, one slightly +larger than the other. With his knife he divided the larger ball, +cutting it into halves. He then placed +one of the sections upon the perfect +ball, and held the arrangement between +the gas light and the wall.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280"></a></p> +<div class="figleft" style="width: 248px;"> +<img src="images/m1049.png" width="248" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 33." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 33.<br /> +A A, telescoped energy spheres.</span> +</div> + +<p>"See; is not the shadow flattened, +as your earth is, at the poles?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; but the earth is not a shadow."</p> + +<p>"We will not argue that point now," +he replied, and then asked: "Suppose +such a compound shell as this were to +revolve through space and continuously +collect dust, most of it of the earth's +temperature, forming a fluid (water), +would not that dust be propelled naturally from the poles?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; according to our theory."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," said he, "the contact edge of the invisible +spheres of energy which compose your earth bubbles, for planets +are bubbles, that have been covered with water and soil +during the time the energy bubble, which is the real bone of +the globe, has been revolving through space; perhaps, could +you reach the foundation of the earth dust, you would find it +not a perfect sphere, but a compound skeleton, as of two bubbles +locked, or rather telescoped together. [See Fig. 34.]</p> + +<p>"Are you sure that my guide did not lead me through the +space between the bubbles?"</p> + +<p>Then he continued:</p> + +<p>"Do not be shocked at what I am about to assert, for, as a +member of materialistic humanity, you will surely consider me<span class="pagenum">[Pg 281]</span> +irrational when I say that matter, materials, ponderous substances, +one and all, so far as the ponderous part is concerned +have no strength."</p> + +<p>"What! no strength?"</p> + +<p>"None whatever."</p> + +<p>I grasped the poker.</p> + +<p>"Is not this matter?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I can not break it."</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Have not I strength?"</p> + +<p>"Confine your argument now +to the poker; we will consider you +next. You can not break it."</p> + +<p>"I can break this pencil, +though," and I snapped it in his +face.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>I curled my lip in disdain.</p> + +<p>"You carry this argument too far."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"I can break the pencil, I can not break the poker; had +these materials not different strengths there could be no distinction; +had I no strength I could not have broken either."</p> + +<p>"Are you ready to listen?" he replied.</p> + +<p>"Yes; but do not exasperate me."</p> + +<p>"I did not say that the combination you call a poker had +no strength, neither did I assert that you could not break a +pencil."</p> + +<p>"A distinction without a difference; you play upon words."</p> + +<p>"I said that matter, the ponderous side of material substances, +has no strength."</p> + +<p>"And I say differently."</p> + +<p>He thrust the end of the poker into the fire, and soon drew +it forth red-hot.</p> + +<p>"Is it as strong as before?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Heat it to whiteness and it becomes plastic."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281"></a></p> +<div class="figright" style="width: 282px;"> +<img src="images/m1050.png" width="282" height="300" alt="" title="Fig. 34." /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 34.<br /> +B B, telescoped energy spheres covered +with space dirt, inclosing space +between.</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 282]</span></p> + +<p>"Heat it still more and it changes to a liquid."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Has liquid iron strength?"</p> + +<p>"Very little, if any."</p> + +<p>"Is it still matter?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Is it the material of the iron, or is it the energy called heat +that qualifies the strength of the metal? It seems to me that +were I in your place I would now argue that absence of heat +constitutes strength," he sarcastically continued.</p> + +<p>"Go on."</p> + +<p>"Cool this red-hot poker by thrusting it into a pail of cold +water, and it becomes very hard and brittle."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Cool it slowly, and it is comparatively soft and plastic."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"The material is the same, is it not?"</p> + +<p>"Go on."</p> + +<p>"What strength has charcoal?"</p> + +<p>"Scarcely any."</p> + +<p>"Crystallize it, and the diamond results."</p> + +<p>"I did not speak of diamond."</p> + +<p>"Ah! and is not the same amount of the same material +present in each, a grain of diamond and a grain of charcoal? +What is present in a grain of diamond that is not present in a +grain of charcoal?"</p> + +<p>"Go on."</p> + +<p>"Answer my question."</p> + +<p>"I can not."</p> + +<p>"Why does brittle, cold zinc, when heated, become first +ductile, and then, at an increased temperature, become brittle +again? In each case the same material is present."</p> + +<p>"I do not know; but this I do know: I am an organized +being, and I have strength of body."</p> + +<p>The old man grasped the heavy iron poker with both hands, +and suddenly rising to his full height, swung it about his head, +then with a motion so menacing that I shrunk back into my +chair and cried out in alarm, seemed about to strike, with full +force, my defenseless brow.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 283]</span></p> + +<p>"My God," I shouted, "what have I done that you should +murder me?"</p> + +<p>He lowered the weapon, and calmly asked:</p> + +<p>"Suppose that I had crushed your skull—where then would +be your vaunted strength?"</p> + +<p>I made no reply, for as yet I had not recovered from the +mental shock.</p> + +<p>"Could you then have snapped a pencil? Could you have +broken a reed? Could you even have blown the down from a +thistle bloom?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Would not your material body have been intact?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Listen," said he. "Matter has no strength, matter obeys +spirit, and spirit dominates all things material. Energy in some +form holds particles of matter together, and energy in other +forms loosens them. 'Tis this imponderable force that gives +strength to substances, not the ponderable side of the material. +Granite crushed is still granite, but destitute of rigidity. Creatures +dead are still organic structures, but devoid of strength or +motion. The spirit that pervades all material things gives to +them form and existence. Take from your earth its vital spirit, +the energy that subjects matter, and your so-called adamantine +rocks would disintegrate, and sift as dust into the interstices of +space. Your so-called rigid globe, a shell of space dust, would +dissolve, collapse, and as the spray of a burst bubble, its ponderous +side would vanish in the depths of force."</p> + +<p>I sat motionless.</p> + +<p>"Listen," he repeated. "You wrong your own common +sense when you place dead matter above the spirit of matter. +Atoms come and go in their ceaseless transmigrations, worlds +move, universes circulate, not because they are material bodies, +but because as points of matter, in a flood of force, they obey +the spirit that can blot out a sun, or dissolve the earth, as easily +as it can unlink two atoms. Matter is an illusion, spirit is the +reality."</p> + +<p>I felt that he had silenced me against my will, and although +I could not gainsay his assertions, I determined to study the +subject carefully, at my leisure.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 284]</span></p> + +<p>"As you please," he interjected into my musings; "but since +you are so determined, you would better study from books that +are written by authors who know whereof they write, and who +are not obliged to theorize from speculative data concerning the +intrastructural earth crust."</p> + +<p>"But where can I find such works? I do not know of any."</p> + +<p>"Then," said he, "perhaps it would be better to cease doubting +the word of one who has acquired the knowledge to write +such a book, and who has no object in misleading you."</p> + +<p>"Still other questions arise," I said.</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"I consider the account of the intra-earth fungus intoxicant +beyond the realm of fact."</p> + +<p>"In what respect?"</p> + +<p>"The perfect loss of self that resulted immediately, in an +instant, after swallowing the juice of the fungous fruit, so that +you could not distinguish between the real guide at your side +and the phantom that sprung into existence, is incredible. [See +<a href="#Page_234">p. 234.</a>] An element of time is a factor in the operation of +nerve impressions."<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> It is well that reference was made to this point. Few readers would +probably notice that Chapter XXXVI. <a href="#TN"><ins title="Original word was begun">began</ins></a> a narcotic hallucination.—J. +U. L.</p></div> + +<p>"Have you investigated all possible anĉsthetics?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Of course not."</p> + +<p>"Or all possible narcotics?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"How long does it require for pure prussic acid to produce +its physiological action?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know."</p> + +<p>He ignored my reply, and continued:</p> + +<p>"Since there exists a relative difference between the time that +is required for ether and chloroform to produce insensibility, and +between the actions and resultant effects of all known anĉsthetics, +intoxicants, and narcotics, I think you are hypercritical. Some +nerve excitants known to you act slowly, others quickly; why +not others still instantaneously? If you can rest your assertion +on any good basis, I will gladly meet your questions, but I do +not accept such evidence as you now introduce, and I do not +care to argue for both parties."</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 285]</span></p> + + +<p>Again I was becoming irritated, for I was not satisfied with +the manner in which I upheld my part of the argument, and +naturally, as is usually the case with the defeated party, became +incensed at my invincible antagonist.</p> + +<p>"Well," I said, "I criticise your credulity. The drunkards +of the drunkards' cavern were beyond all credence. I can not +conceive of such abnormal creations, even in illusion. Had I +met with your experiences I would not have supposed, for an +instant, that the fantastic shapes could have been aught but a +dream, or the result of hallucination, while, without a question, +you considered them real."</p> + +<p>"You are certainly pressed for subjects about which to complain +when you resort to criticising the possibilities in creations +of a mind under the influence of a more powerful intoxicant +than is known to surface earth," he remarked. "However, I +will show you that nature fashions animals in forms more +fantastic than I saw, and that even these figures were not +overdrawn"—</p> + +<p>Without heeding his remark, I interrupted his discourse, +determined to have my say:</p> + +<p>"And I furthermore question the uncouth personage you +describe as your guide. Would you have me believe that such a +being has an existence outside an abnormal thought-creation?"</p> + +<p>"Ah," he replied, "you have done well to ask these two +questions in succession, for you permit me to answer both at +once. Listen: The Monkey, of all animals, seems to approach +closest to man in figure, the Siamang Gibon of Asia, the Bald-headed +Saki of South America, with its stub of a tail, being +nearest. From these types we have great deviations as in the +Wanderer of India, with its whiskered face, and the Black +Macaque of the Island of Celebes, with its hairy topknot, and +hairless stub of a tail, or the well-known Squirrel Monkey, with +its long supple tail, and the Thumbless Spider Monkey, of South +America. Between these types we have among monkeys, nearly +every conceivable shape of limb and figure, and in color of their +faces and bodies, all the shades of the rainbow.</p> + +<p>"Some Squirrels jump and then sail through the air. The +Sloth can barely move on the earth. Ant-eaters have no teeth at +all, while the Grizzly Bear can crush a gun barrel with its molars.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 286]</span></p> + +<p>"The Duck-billed Platypus of South Australia has the body +of a mole, the tail of a raccoon, the flat bill of a duck, and the +flipper of a seal, combined with the feet of a rat. It lays eggs +as birds do, but suckles its young as do other mammalia. The +Opossum has a prehensile tail, as have some monkeys, and in +addition a living bag or pouch in which the female carries her +tiny young. The young of a kind of tree frog of the genus +Hylodes, breathe through a special organ in their tails; the +young of the Pipa, a great South American toad, burrow into +the skin of the mother, and still another from Chili, as soon as +hatched, creep down the throat of the father frog, and find below +the jaw an opening into a false membrane covering the entire +abdomen, in which they repose in safety. Three species of +frogs and toads have no tongue at all, while in all the others the +tongue is attached by its tip to the end of the mouth, and is free +behind. The ordinary Bullfrog has conspicuous great legs, +while a relative, the Cœcilia (and others as well) have a head +reminding of the frog, but neither tail nor legs, the body being +elongated as if it were a worm. The long, slender fingers of a +Bat are united by means of a membrane that enables it to fly +like a bird, while as a contrast, the fingers of a Mole, its near +cousin, are short and stubby, and massive as compared with its +frame. The former flies through the air, the latter burrows +(almost flies) through the earth. The Great Ant-eater has a +curved head which is drawn out into a slender snout, no teeth, a +long, slender tongue, a great bushy tail, and claws that neither +allow the creature to burrow in the earth nor climb into trees, +but which are admirably adapted to tear an ant-hill into fragments. +Its close relatives, the Apar and Armadillo, have a +round body covered with bony plates, and a short, horny, curved +tail, while another relative, the Long-tailed Pangolin, has a +great alligator-like tail which, together with its body, is covered +with horny, overlapping scales.</p> + +<p>"The Greenland Whale has an enormous head occupying more +than one-third its length, no teeth, and a throat scarcely larger +than that of a sucker fish. The Golden Mole has a body so +nearly symmetrical that, were it not for the snout, it would be +difficult to determine the location of the head without close +inspection, and it has legs so short that, were it not for the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 287]</span> +powerful claws, they would not be observed at all. The Narwhal +has a straight, twisted tusk, a"—</p> + +<p>"Hold, hold," I interrupted; "do you think that I am concerned +in these well known contrasts in animal structure?"</p> + +<p>"Did you not question the possibility of the description I +gave of my grotesque drunkards, and of the form of my subterranean +guide?" my guest retorted.</p> + +<p>"Yes; but I spoke of men, you describe animals."</p> + +<p>"Man is an animal, and between the various species of +animals that you say are well known, greater distinctions can be +drawn than between my guide and surface-earth man. Besides, +had you allowed me to proceed to a description of animal life +beneath the surface of the earth, I would have shown you that +my guide partook of their attributes. Of the creatures described, +one only was of the intra-earth origin—the Mole,—and like my +guide, it is practically eyeless."</p> + +<p>"Go on," I said; "'tis useless for me to resist. And yet"—</p> + +<p>"And yet what?"</p> + +<p>"And yet I have other subjects to discuss."</p> + +<p>"Proceed."</p> + +<p>"I do not like the way in which you constantly criticise +science, especially in referring thereto the responsibilities of the +crazed anatomist.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> + It seems to me that he was a monomaniac, +gifted, but crazed, and that science was unfortunate in being +burdened with such an incubus."</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> This section (see <a href="#Page_190">p. 190</a>) was excised, being too painful.—J. U. L.</p> +</div> + +<p>"True, and yet science advances largely by the work of such +apparently heartless creatures. Were it not for investigators +who overstep the bounds of established methods, and thus criticise +their predecessors, science would rust and disintegrate. +Besides, why should not science be judged by the rule she applies +to others?"</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"Who is more free to criticise religion than the materialistic +man of science?"</p> + +<p>"But a religious man is not cruel."</p> + +<p>"Have you not read history? Have you not shuddered at +the crimes recorded in the name of the religions of man?"</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 288]</span></p> +<p>"Yes; but these cruelties were committed by misguided men +under the cloak of the church, or of false religions, during the +dark ages. Do not blame religion, but the men who abused +the cause."</p> + +<p>"Yes," he added, "you are right; they were fanatics, crazed +beings, men; yes, even communities, raving mad. Crazed +leaders can infuse the minds of the people with their fallacies, +and thus become leaders of crazed nations. Not, as I have +depicted in my scientific enthusiast, one man alone in the +privacy of his home torturing a single child, but whole nations +pillaging, burning, torturing, and destroying. But this is foreign +to our subject. Beware, I reiterate, of the science of human +biology. The man who enters the field can not foresee the end, +the man who studies the science of life, and records his experiments, +can not know the extremes to which a fanatical follower +may carry the thought-current of his leader. I have not overdrawn +the lesson. Besides, science is now really torturing, +burning, maiming, and destroying humanity. The act of +destruction has been transferred from barbarians and the fanatic +in religion to the follower of the devotees of science."</p> + +<p>"No; I say, no."</p> + +<p>"Who created the steam engine? Who evolves improved +machinery? Who creates improved artillery, and explosives? +Scientific men."</p> + +<p>He hesitated.</p> + +<p>"Go on."</p> + +<p>"Accumulate the maimed and destroyed each year; add +together the miseries and sorrows that result from the explosions, +accidents, and catastrophes resulting from science +improvements, and the dark ages scarcely offer a parallel. Add +thereto the fearful destruction that follows a war among nations +scientific, and it will be seen that the scientific enthusiast of the +present has taken the place of the misguided fanatic of the past. +Let us be just. Place to the credit of religion the good that +religion has done, place to the credit of science the good that +science is doing, and yet do not mistake, both leave in their +wake an atmosphere saturated with misery, a road whitened +with humanity's bones. Neither the young nor the old are +spared, and so far as the sufferer is concerned it matters not<span class="pagenum">[Pg 289]</span> +whether the person has been racked by the tortures of an inquisition, +or the sword of an infidel, is shrieking in the agony of a +scald by super-heated steam, or is mangled by an explosion of +nitroglycerin."</p> + +<p>Again he hesitated.</p> + +<p>"Go on."</p> + +<p>"One of science's most serious responsibilities, from which +religion has nearly escaped, is that of supplying thought-food to +fanatics, and from this science can not escape."</p> + +<p>"Explain yourself."</p> + +<p>"Who places the infidel in possession of arguments to combat +sacred teachings? Who deliberately tortures animals, and +suggests that biological experimentation in the name of science, +before cultured audiences even, is legitimate, such as making +public dissections of living creatures?"</p> + +<p>"Enough, enough," I cried, thinking of his crazed anatomist, +and covering my face with my hands; "you make my +blood creep."</p> + +<p>"Yes," he added sarcastically; "you shudder now and criticise +my truthful study, and to-morrow you will forget the lesson, +and perhaps for dinner you will relish your dish of veal, the +favorite food of mothers, the nearest approach to the flesh of +babies."</p> + +<p>Then his manner changed, and in his usual mild, pleasant +way, he said:</p> + +<p>"Take what I have said kindly; I wish only to induce your +religious part to have more charity for your scientific self, and +the reverse. Both religion and science are working towards the +good of man, although their devotees are human, and by human +errors bring privations, sufferings, and sorrows to men. Neither +can fill the place of the other; each should extend a helping +hand, and have charity for the shortcomings of the other; they +are not antagonists, but workers in one field; both must stand +the criticisms of mutual antagonists, and both have cause to fear +the evils of fanaticism within their own ranks more than the +attacks of opponents from without. Let the religious enthusiast +exercise care; his burning, earnest words may lead a weak-minded +father to murder an innocent family, and yet 'tis not +religion that commits the crime. Let the zealous scientific man<span class="pagenum">[Pg 290]</span> +hesitate; he piles up fuel by which minds unbalanced, or dispositions +perverted, seek to burn and destroy hopes that have +long served the yearnings of humanity's soul. Neither pure +religion nor true science is to blame for the acts of its devotees, +and yet each must share the responsibility of its human +agents."</p> + +<p>"We will discuss the subject no further," I said; "it is not +agreeable."</p> + +<p>Then I continued:</p> + +<p>"The idea of eternity without time is not quite clear to me, +although I catch an imperfect conception of the argument +advanced. Do you mean to say that when a soul leaves the +body, the earth life of the individual, dominated by the soul, is +thrown off from it as is the snap of a whip-lash, and that into +the point between life and death, the hereafter of that mortal +may be concentrated?"</p> + +<p>"I simply give you the words of my guide," he replied, "but +you have expressed the idea about as well as your word language +will admit. Such a conception of eternity is more rational to +one who, like myself, has lived through an instant that covered, +so far as mind is concerned, a million years of time, than is an +attempt to grasp a conception of an eternity, without beginning +or end, by basing an argument on conditions governing material +substances, as these substances are known to man. You have +the germ of the idea which may be simply a thought for you +to ponder over; you can study the problem at your leisure. +Do not, however, I warn you, attempt to comprehend the notion +of eternity by throwing into it the conception of time as men +accept that term, for the very word time, as men define it, +demands that there be both a beginning and an end. With the +sense of time in one's mind, there can be no conception of the +term eternity."</p> + +<p>Then, as I had so often done before, I unwarily gave him an +opportunity to enlarge on his theme, to my disadvantage. I had +determined not to ask any questions concerning his replies to my +criticism, for whenever I had previously done so, the result had +been disastrous to me. In this case I unwittingly said:</p> + +<p>"Why do you say that our language will not permit of clearer +conceptions than you give?"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 291]</span></p> + +<p>"Because your education does not permit you to think outside +of words; you are word-bound."</p> + +<p>"You astonish me by making such an arrogant assertion. Do +you mean to assert that I can not think without using words?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Every thought you indulge in is circumscribed. You +presumably attempt to throw a thought-line forward, and yet +you step backward and spin it in words that have been handed +you from the past, and, struggle as you may, you can not liberate +yourself from the dead incubus. Attempt to originate an idea, +and see if you can escape your word-master?"</p> + +<p>"Go on; I am listening."</p> + +<p>"Men scientific think in language scientific. Men poetical +think in language poetic. All educated men use words in thinking +of their subjects, words that came to them from the past, and +enslave their intellect. Thus it is that the novelist can not +make fiction less real than is fact; that scientists can not +commence at the outside, and build a theory back to phenomena +understood. In each case the foundation of a thought is a word +that in the very beginning carries to the mind a meaning, a +something from the past. Each thought ramification is an +offshoot from words that express ideas and govern ideas, yes, +create ideas, even dominating the mind. Men speak of ideas +when they intend to refer to an image in the mind, but in reality +they have no ideas outside of the word sentences they unconsciously +reformulate. Define the term idea correctly, and it will +be shown that an idea is a sentence, and if a sentence is made of +words already created, there can be no new idea, for every word +has a fixed meaning. Hence, when men think, they only +rearrange words that carry with themselves networks of ideas, +and thus play upon their several established meanings. How +can men so circumscribed construct a new idea or teach a new +science?"</p> + +<p>"New words are being created."</p> + +<p>"Language is slowly progressing, but no new word adds +itself to a language; it is linked to thought-chains that precede. +In order to create a word, as a rule, roots are used that are as +established in philology as are building materials in architecture. +When a new sound is thrust into a language, its intent must +be introduced by words already known, after which it conveys<span class="pagenum">[Pg 292]</span> +a meaning derived from the past, and becomes a part of mind +sentences already constructed, as it does of spoken language. +Language has thus been painfully and slowly evolved and is +still being enlarged, but while new impressions may be felt by +an educated person, the formulated feeling is inseparable, from +well-known surviving words."</p> + +<p>"Some men are dumb."</p> + +<p>"Yes; and yet they frame mind-impressions into unspoken +words of their own, otherwise they would be scarcely more than +animals. Place an uneducated dumb person in a room with a +complicated instrument, and although he may comprehend its +uses, he can not do so unless he frames sense-impressions into, +what is to him, a formulated mind-word sequence."</p> + +<p>"But he can think about it."</p> + +<p>"No; unless he has already constructed previous impressions +into word-meanings of his own, he can not think about it at all. +Words, whether spoken or unspoken, underlie all ideas. Try, if +you believe I am mistaken, try to think of any subject outside +of words?"</p> + +<p>I sat a moment, and mentally attempted the task, and shook +my head.</p> + +<p>"Then," said the old man, "how can I use words with established +meanings to convey to your senses an entirely new +idea? If I use new sounds, strung together, they are not words +to you, and convey no meaning; if I use words familiar, they +reach backward as well as forward. Thus it is possible to +instruct you, by a laborious course of reasoning, concerning +a phenomenon that is connected with phenomena already +understood by you, for your word-language can be thrust out +from the parent stalk, and can thus follow the outreaching +branches. However, in the case of phenomena that exist +on other planes, or are separated from any known material, +or force, as is the true conception that envelops the word +eternity, there being neither connecting materials, forces, nor +words to unite the outside with the inside, the known with the +unknown, how can I tell you more than I have done? You are +word-bound."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless, I still believe that I can think outside of +words."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 293]</span></p> + +<p>"Well, perhaps after you attempt to do so, and fail again and +again, you will appreciate that a truth is a truth, humiliating as +it may be to acknowledge the fact."</p> + +<p>"A Digger Indian has scarcely a word-language," I asserted, +loth to relinquish the argument.</p> + +<p>"You can go farther back if you desire, back to primitive man; +man without language at all, and with ideas as circumscribed as +those of the brutes, and still you have not strengthened your +argument concerning civilized man. But you are tired, I see."</p> + +<p>"Yes; tired of endeavoring to combat your assertions. You +invariably lead me into the realms of speculation, and then +throw me upon the defensive by asking me to prove my own +theories, or with apparent sincerity, you advance an unreasonable +hypothesis, and then, before I am aware of your purpose, force +me to acquiesce because I can not find facts to confute you. +You very artfully throw the burden of proof on me in all cases, +for either by physical comparisons that I can not make, I +must demonstrate the falsity of your metaphysical assertions, +or by abstract reasonings disprove statements you assert to +be facts."</p> + +<p>"You are peevish and exhausted, or you would perceive that +I have generally allowed you to make the issue, and more than +once have endeavored to dissuade you from doing so. Besides, +did I not several times in the past bring experimental proof to +dispel your incredulity? Have I not been courteous?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I petulantly admitted; "yes."</p> + +<p>Then I determined to imitate his artful methods, and throw +him upon the defensive as often as he had done with me. I had +finally become familiar with his process of arguing a question, +for, instead of coming immediately to his subject, he invariably +led by circuitous route to the matter under discussion. Before +reaching the point he would manage to commit me to his own +side of the subject, or place me in a defenseless position. So +with covert aim I began:</p> + +<p>"I believe that friction is one method of producing heat."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I have been told that the North American Indians make +fires by rubbing together two pieces of dry wood."</p> + +<p>"True."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 294]</span></p> + +<p>"I have understood that the light of a shooting star results +from the heat of friction, producing combustion of its particles."</p> + +<p>"Partly," he answered.</p> + +<p>"That when the meteoric fragment of space dust strikes the +air, the friction resulting from its velocity heats it to redness, +fuses its surface, or even burns its very substance into ashes."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I have seen the spindle of a wheel charred by friction."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I have drawn a wire rapidly through a handkerchief tightly +grasped in my hands, and have warmed the wire considerably +in doing so."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>I felt that I had him committed to my side of the question, +and I prepared to force him to disprove the possibility of one +assertion that he had made concerning his journey.</p> + +<p>"You stated that you rode in a boat on the underground lake."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"With great rapidity?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Rapid motion produces friction, I believe?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"And heat?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Why did not your boat become heated even to redness? You +rode at the rate of nine hundred miles an hour," I cried exultingly.</p> + +<p>"For two reasons," he calmly replied; "two natural causes +prevented such a catastrophe."</p> + +<p>And again he warned me, as he had done before, by saying:</p> + +<p>"While you should not seek for supernatural agencies to +account for any phenomena in life, for all that is is natural, +neither should you fail to study the differences that varying +conditions produce in results already known. A miracle ceases +to be a miracle when we understand the scientific cause underlying +the wonder; occultism is natural, for if there be occult +phenomena they must be governed by natural law; mystery is +not mysterious if the veil of ignorance that envelops the investigator +is lifted. What you have said is true concerning the heat +that results from friction, but<span class="pagenum">[Pg 295]</span>—</p> + +<p>"First, the attraction of gravitation was inconsiderable +where the boat, to which you refer, rested on the water.</p> + +<p>"Second, the changing water carried away the heat as fast as +it was produced. While it is true that a cannon ball becomes +heated in its motion through the air, its surface is cooled when it +strikes a body of water, notwithstanding that its great velocity is +altogether overcome by the water. The friction between the water +and the iron does not result in heated iron, but the contrary. +The water above the rapids of a river has practically the temperature +of the water below the rapids, regardless of the friction +that ensues between these points. Admit, however, that heat +is liberated as the result of the friction of solids with water, +and still it does not follow that this heat will perceptibly affect +the solid. With a boat each particle of water carries the heat +away, each succeeding portion of water takes up the heat liberated +by that preceding it. Thus the great body of water, over +which our boat sped, in obedience to the ordinary law, became +slightly warmed, but its effect upon the boat was scarcely perceptible. +Your comparison of the motion of a meteor, with that of +our boat, was unhappy. We moved rapidly, it is true, in comparison +with the motion of vessels such as you know, but comparison +can not be easily drawn between the velocity of a boat and that of +a meteor. While we moved at the rate of many miles a minute, +a meteor moves many times faster, perhaps as many miles in a +second. Then you must remember that the force of gravitation +was so slight in our position that"—</p> + +<p>"Enough," I interrupted. "We will pass the subject. It +seems that you draw upon science for knowledge to support your +arguments, however irrational they may be, and then you sneer +at this same method of argument when I employ it."</p> + +<p>He replied to my peevish complaint with the utmost respect +by calling to my attention the fact that my own forced argument +had led to the answer, and that he had simply replied to my +attacks. Said he:</p> + +<p>"If I am wrong in my philosophy, based on your science +thought, I am right in my facts, and science thought is thus in +the wrong, for facts overbalance theory. I ask you only to give +me the attention that my statements merit. I am sincere, and +aim to serve your interests. Should investigation lead you<span class="pagenum">[Pg 296]</span> +hereafter to infer that I am in error, at our final interview you +can have my considerate attention. Be more charitable, please."</p> + +<p>Then he added:</p> + +<p>"Is there any other subject you wish to argue?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I answered, and again my combativeness arose; "yes. +One of the truly edifying features of your narrative is that of +the intelligent guide," and I emphasized the word intelligent, +and curled up my lip in a sarcastic manner.</p> + +<p>"Proceed."</p> + +<p>"He was verily a wonderful being; an eyeless creature, and +yet possessed of sight and perception beyond that of mortal +man; a creature who had been locked in the earth, and yet was +more familiar with its surface than a philosopher; a cavern-bred +monstrosity, and yet possessed of the mind of a sage; he was a +scientific expert, a naturalist, a metaphysical reasoner, a critic +of religion, and a prophet. He could see in absolute darkness +as well as in daylight; without a compass he could guide a boat +over a trackless sea, and could accomplish feats that throw Gulliver +and Munchausen into disrepute."</p> + +<p>In perfect composure my aged guest listened to my cynical, +and almost insulting tirade. He made no effort to restrain my +impetuous sentences, and when I had finished replied in the +polished language of a scholarly gentleman.</p> + +<p>"You state truly, construe my words properly, as well as +understand correctly."</p> + +<p>Then he continued musingly, as though speaking to himself:</p> + +<p>"I would be at fault and deserve censure did I permit doubts +to be thrown upon so clear a subject, or discredit on so magnanimous +a person."</p> + +<p>Turning to me he continued:</p> + +<p>"Certainly I did not intend to mislead or to be misunderstood, +and am pleased to find you so earnest a scholar."</p> + +<p>And then in his soft, mild manner, he commenced his detail +reply, pouring oil upon the waters of my troubled soul, his sweet, +melodious voice being so in contrast to my rash harangue. He +began with his expressive and often repeated word, "listen."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 398px;"> +<img src="images/gs1051.jpg" width="398" height="600" alt="" title=""WE PASSED THROUGH CAVERNS FILLED WITH CREEPING + REPTILES."" /> +<span class="caption">"WE PASSED THROUGH CAVERNS FILLED WITH CREEPING +REPTILES."</span> +</div> + +<p>"Listen. You are right, my guide was a being wonderful to +mortals. He was eyeless, but as I have shown you before, and +now swear to the fact, was not sightless; surely," he said, +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 298]</span>"surely you have not forgotten that long ago I considered the +phenomenal instinct at length. He predicted the future by +means of his knowledge of the past—there is nothing wonderful +in that. Can not a civil engineer continue a line into the +beyond, and predict where the projection of that line will strike; +can he not also calculate the effect that a curve will have on his +line's destiny? Why should a being conversant with the lines +and curves of humanity's journey for ages past not be able to +indicate the lines that men must follow in the future? <span class="pagenum">[Pg 299]</span>Of course +he could guide the boat, in what was to me a trackless waste of +water, but you err in asserting that I had said he did not have a +guide, even if it were not a compass. Many details concerning +this journey have not been explained to you; indeed, I have +acquainted you with but little that I experienced. Near surface +earth we passed through caverns filled with creeping reptiles; +through others we were surrounded by flying creatures, neither +beast nor bird; we passed through passages of ooze and labyrinths +of apparently interminable intra-earth structures; to have +disported on such features of my journey would have been +impracticable. From time to time I experienced strains of melody, +such as never before had I conceived, seemingly choruses of +angels were singing in and to my very soul. From empty space +about me, from out the crevices beyond and behind me, from the +depths of my spirit within me, came these strains in notes clear +and distinct, but yet indescribable. Did I fancy, or was it real? +I will not pretend to say. Flowers and structures beautiful, +insects gorgeous and inexplicable were spread before me. Figures +and forms I can not attempt to indicate in word descriptions, +ever and anon surrounded, accompanied, and passed me by. +The canvas conceptions of earth-bred artists bring to mind no +forms so strange and weird and yet so beautiful as were these +compound beings. Restful beyond description was it to drink in +the indescribable strains of poetry of motion that I appreciated +in the movements of fair creatures I have not mentioned, and it +was no less soothing to experience the soul relief wrought by the +sounds about me, for musicians know no notes so sweet and +entrancing.</p> + +<p>"There were also, in side caverns to which I was led, combinations +of sounds and scenes in which floating strains and<span class="pagenum">[Pg 300]</span> +fleeting figures were interwoven and interlaced so closely that +the senses of both sight and hearing became blended into a +single sense, new, weird, strange, and inexpressible. As flavor +is the combination of odor and taste, and is neither taste nor +odor, so these sounds and scenes combined were neither scenes +nor sounds, but a complex sensation, new, delicious. Sometimes +I begged to be permitted to stop and live forever 'mid +those heavenly charms, but with as firm a hand as when helping +me through the chambers of mire, ooze, and creeping reptiles, +my guide drew me onward.</p> + +<p>"But to return to the subject. As to my guide being a cavern-bred +monstrosity, I do not remember to have said that he was +cavern-bred, and if I have forgotten a fact, I regret my short +memory. Did I say that he was always a cavern being? Did I +assert that he had never lived among mortals of upper earth? +If so, I do not remember our conversation on that subject. He +was surely a sage in knowledge, as you have experienced from +my feeble efforts in explaining the nature of phenomena that +were to you unknown, and yet have been gained by me largely +through his instruction. He was a metaphysician, as you assert; +you are surely right; he was a sincere, earnest reasoner and +teacher. He was a conscientious student, and did not by any +word lead me to feel that he did not respect all religions, and +bow to the Creator of the universe, its sciences, and its religions. +His demeanor was most considerate, his methods faultless, his +love of nature deep, his patience inexhaustible, his sincerity +unimpeachable. Yes," the old man said; "you are right in your +admiration of this lovely personage, and when you come to meet +this being as you are destined yet to do—for know now that you +too will some day pass from surface earth, and leave only your +name in connection with this story of myself—you will surely +then form a still greater love and a deeper respect for one so +gifted, and yet so self-sacrificing."</p> + +<p>"Old man," I cried, "you mock me. I spoke facetiously, and +you answer literally. Know that I have no confidence in your +sailor-like tales, your Marco Polo history."</p> + +<p>"Ah! You discredit Marco Polo? And why do you doubt?"</p> + +<p>"Because I have never seen such phenomena, I have never +witnessed such occurrences. I must see a thing to believe it."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 301]</span></p> + +<p>"And so you believe only what you see?" he queried.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Now answer promptly," he commanded, and his manner +changed as by magic to that of a master. "Did you ever see +Greenland?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Iceland?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"A geyser?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"A whale?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"England?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"France?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"A walrus?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Then you do not believe that these conditions, countries, +and animals have an existence?"</p> + +<p>"Of course they have."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"Others have seen them."</p> + +<p>"Ah," he said; "then you wish to modify your assertion—you +only believe what others have seen?"</p> + +<p>"Excepting one person," I retorted.</p> + +<p>Then he continued, seemingly not having noticed my personal +allusion:</p> + +<p>"Have you ever seen your heart?"</p> + +<p>I hesitated.</p> + +<p>"Answer," he commanded.</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Your stomach?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Have you seen the stomach of any of your friends?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"The back of your head?"</p> + +<p>I became irritated, and made no reply.</p> + +<p>"Answer," he again commanded.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 302]</span></p> + +<p>"I have seen its reflection in a glass."</p> + +<p>"I say no," he replied; "you have not."</p> + +<p>"You are impudent," I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Not at all," he said, good humoredly; "how easy it is to +make a mistake. I venture to say that you have never seen the +reflection of the back of your head in a mirror."</p> + +<p>"Your presumption astounds me."</p> + +<p>"I will leave it to yourself."</p> + +<p>He took a hand-glass from the table and held it behind my +head.</p> + +<p>"Now, do you see the reflection?"</p> + +<p>"No; the glass is behind me."</p> + +<p>"Ah, yes; and so is the back of your head."</p> + +<p>"Look," I said, pointing to the great mirror on the bureau; +"look, there is the reflection of the back of my head."</p> + +<p>"No; it is the reflection of the reflection in my hand-glass."</p> + +<p>"You have tricked me; you quibble!"</p> + +<p>"Well," he said, ignoring my remark; "what do you believe?"</p> + +<p>"I believe what others have seen, and what I can do."</p> + +<p>"Excluding myself as to what others have seen," he said +facetiously.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," I answered, relenting somewhat.</p> + +<p>"Has any man of your acquaintance seen the middle of +Africa?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"The center of the earth?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"The opposite side of the moon?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"The soul of man?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Heat, light, electricity?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Then you do not believe that Africa has a midland, the earth a +center, the moon an opposite side, man a soul, force an existence?"</p> + +<p>"You distort my meaning."</p> + +<p>"Well, I ask questions in accord with your suggestions, and +you defeat yourself. You have now only one point left. You +believe only what <i>you</i> can do?"</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 457px;"> +<img src="images/gs1052.jpg" width="457" height="600" alt="" title=""FLOWERS AND STRUCTURES BEAUTIFUL, INSECTS GORGEOUS."" /> +<span class="caption">"FLOWERS AND STRUCTURES BEAUTIFUL, INSECTS GORGEOUS."</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 305]</span></p> +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I will rest this case on one statement, then, and you may be +the judge."</p> + +<p>"Agreed."</p> + +<p>"You can not do what any child in Cincinnati can accomplish. +I assert that any other man, any other woman in the city +can do more than you can. No cripple is so helpless, no invalid +so feeble as not, in this respect, to be your superior."</p> + +<p>"You insult me," I again retorted, almost viciously.</p> + +<p>"Do you dispute the assertion seriously?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Well, let me see you kiss your elbow."</p> + +<p>Involuntarily I twisted my arm so as to bring the elbow +towards my mouth, then, as I caught the full force of his meaning, +the ridiculous result of my passionate wager came over me, +and I laughed aloud. It was a change of thought from the +sublime to the ludicrous.</p> + +<p>The white-haired guest smiled in return, and kindly said:</p> + +<p>"It pleases me to find you in good humor at last. I will +return to-morrow evening and resume the reading of my manuscript. +In the meantime take good exercise, eat heartily, and +become more cheerful."</p> + +<p>He rose and bowed himself out.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 306]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE OLD MAN CONTINUES HIS MANUSCRIPT.</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306"></a>CHAPTER XLIV.<br /> +<br /> +THE FATHOMLESS ABYSS.—THE EDGE OF THE EARTH SHELL.</h2> + + +<p>Promptly at eight o'clock the next evening the old man +entered my room. He did not allude to the occurrences of the +previous evening, and for this considerate treatment I felt thankful, +as my part in those episodes had not been enviable. He +placed his hat on the table, and in his usual cool and deliberate +manner, commenced reading as follows:</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>For a long time thereafter we journeyed on in silence, now +amid stately stone pillars, then through great cliff openings or +among gigantic formations that often stretched away like cities or +towns dotted over a plain, to vanish in the distance. Then the +scene changed, and we traversed magnificent avenues, bounded +by solid walls which expanded into lofty caverns of illimitable +extent, from whence we found ourselves creeping through narrow +crevices and threading winding passages barely sufficient to +admit our bodies. For a considerable period I had noted the +absence of water, and as we passed from grotto to temple reared +without hands, it occurred to me that I could not now observe +evidence of water erosion in the stony surface over which we +trod, and which had been so abundant before we reached the +lake. My guide explained by saying in reply to my thought +question, that we were beneath the water line. He said that +liquids were impelled back towards the earth's surface from a +point unnoticed by me, but long since passed. Neither did I +now experience hunger nor thirst, in the slightest degree, a +circumstance which my guide assured me was perfectly natural +in view of the fact that there was neither waste of tissue nor +consumption of heat in my present organism.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 404px;"> +<img src="images/gs1053.jpg" width="404" height="600" alt="" title=""WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING I CREPT ON MY KNEES TO HIS +SIDE."" /> +<span class="caption">"WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING I CREPT ON MY KNEES TO HIS +SIDE."</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 309]</span></p> + +<p>At last I observed far in the distance a slanting sheet of light +that, fan-shaped, stood as a barrier across the way; beyond it +neither earth nor earth's surface appeared. As we approached, +the distinctness of its outline disappeared, and when we came +nearer, I found that it streamed into the space above, from what +appeared to be a crevice or break in the earth that stretched +across our pathway, and was apparently limitless and bottomless.</p> + +<p>"Is this another hallucination?" I queried.</p> + +<p>"No; it is a reality. Let us advance to the brink."</p> + +<p>Slowly we pursued our way, for I hesitated and held back. I +had really begun to distrust my own senses, and my guide in the +lead was even forced to demonstrate the feasibility of the way, +step by step, before I could be induced to follow. At length we +neared the edge of the chasm, and while he stood boldly upright +by the brink, with fear and trembling I crept on my knees to his +side, and together we faced a magnificent but fearful void that +stretched beneath and beyond us, into a profundity of space. I +peered into the chamber of light, that indescribable gulf of +brilliancy, but vainly sought for an opposite wall; there was +none. As far as the eye could reach, vacancy, illuminated +vacancy, greeted my vision. The light that sprung from that +void was not dazzling, but was possessed of a beauty that no +words can suggest. I peered downward, and found that we +stood upon the edge of a shelving ledge of stone that receded +rapidly beneath us, so that we seemed to rest upon the upper +side of its wedge-like edge. I strained my vision to catch a +glimpse of the bottom of this chasm, but although I realized +that my eyes were glancing into miles and miles of space, there +was no evidence of earthly material other than the brink upon +which we stood.</p> + +<p>The limit of vision seemed to be bounded by a silvery blending +of light with light, light alone, only light. The dead silence +about, and the new light before me, combined to produce a weird +sensation, inexplicable, overpowering. A speck of dust on the +edge of immensity, I clung to the stone cliff, gazing into the +depths of that immeasurable void.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 310]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310"></a>CHAPTER XLV.<br /> +<br /> +MY HEART THROB IS STILLED, AND YET I LIVE.</h2> + + +<p>"It now becomes my duty to inform you that this is one of +the stages in our journey that can only be passed by the exercise +of the greatest will force. Owing to our former surroundings +upon the surface of the earth, and to your inheritance of a so-called +instinctive education, you would naturally suppose that +we are now on the brink of an impassable chasm. This sphere +of material vacuity extends beneath us to a depth that I am +sure you will be astonished to learn is over six thousand miles. +We may now look straight into the earth cavity, and this streaming +light is the reflected purity of the space below. The opposite +side of this crevice, out of sight by reason of its distance, but +horizontally across from where we stand, is precipitous and comparatively +solid, extending upward to the material that forms the +earth's surface. We have, during our journey, traversed an +oblique, tortuous natural passage, that extends from the spot at +which you entered the cave in Kentucky, diagonally down into +the crust of the globe, terminating in this shelving bluff. I would +recall to your mind that your journey up to this time has been of +your own free will and accord. At each period of vacillation—and +you could not help but waver occasionally—you have been at +liberty to return to surface earth again, but each time you decided +wisely to continue your course. You can now return if your courage +is not sufficient to overcome your fear, but this is the last +opportunity you will have to reconsider, while in my company."</p> + +<p>"Have others overcome the instinctive terrors to which you +allude?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; but usually the dread of death, or an unbearable uncertainty, +compels the traveler to give up in despair before reaching +this spot, and the opportunity of a lifetime is lost. Yes; an +opportunity that occurs only in the lifetime of one person out +of millions, of but few in our brotherhood."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 311]</span></p> + +<p>"Then I can return if I so elect?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly."</p> + +<p>"Will you inform me concerning the nature of the obstacle I +have to overcome, that you indicate by your vague references?"</p> + +<p>"We must descend from this cliff."</p> + +<p>"You can not be in earnest."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"Do you not see that the stone recedes from beneath us, +that we stand on the edge of a wedge overhanging bottomless +space?"</p> + +<p>"That I understand."</p> + +<p>"There is no ladder," and then the foolish remark abashed +me as I thought of a ladder six thousand miles in length.</p> + +<p>"Go on."</p> + +<p>He made no reference to my confusion.</p> + +<p>"There is practically no bottom," I asserted, "if I can +believe your words; you told me so."</p> + +<p>"And that I reiterate."</p> + +<p>"The feat is impracticable, impossible, and only a madman +would think of trying to descend into such a depth of space."</p> + +<p>Then an idea came over me; perhaps there existed a route at +some other point of the earth's crevice by which we could reach +the under side of the stone shelf, and I intimated as much to the +guide.</p> + +<p>"No; we must descend from this point, for it is the only +entrance to the hollow beneath."</p> + +<p>We withdrew from the brink, and I meditated in silence. +Then I crept again to the edge of the bluff, and lying flat on my +chest, craned my head over, and peered down into the luminous +gulf. The texture of the receding mineral was distinctly visible +for a considerable distance, and then far, far beneath all semblance +to material form disappeared—as the hull of a vessel +fades in deep, clear water. As I gazed into the gulf it seemed +evident that, as a board floating in water is bounded by water, +this rock really ended. I turned to my guide and questioned him.</p> + +<p>"Stone in this situation is as cork," he replied; "it is nearly +devoid of weight; your surmise is correct. We stand on the +shelving edge of a cliff of earthly matter, that in this spot slants +upward from beneath like the bow of a boat. We have reached<span class="pagenum">[Pg 312]</span> +the bottom of the film of space dust on the bubble of energy +that forms the skeleton of earth."</p> + +<p>I clutched the edge of the cliff with both hands.</p> + +<p>"Be not frightened; have I not told you that if you wish to +return you can do so. Now hearken to me:</p> + +<p>"A short time ago you endeavored to convince me that we +could not descend from this precipice, and you are aware that +your arguments were without foundation. You drew upon your +knowledge of earth materials, as you once learned them, and +realized at the time that you deluded yourself in doing so, for +you know that present conditions are not such as exist above +ground. You are now influenced by surroundings that are +entirely different from those that govern the lives of men upon +the earth's surface. You are almost without weight. You have +nearly ceased to breathe, as long since you discovered, and soon +I hope will agree entirely to suspend that harsh and wearying +movement. Your heart scarcely pulsates, and if you go with +me farther in this journey, will soon cease to beat."</p> + +<p>I started up and turned to flee, but he grasped and held me +firmly.</p> + +<p>"Would you murder me? Do you think I will mutely acquiesce, +while you coolly inform me of your inhuman intent, and +gloat over the fact that my heart will soon be as stone, and that +I will be a corpse?" He attempted to break in, but I proceeded +in frenzy. "I <i>will</i> return to upper earth, to sunshine and +humanity. I <i>will</i> retreat while yet in health and strength, and +although I have in apparent willingness accompanied you to this +point, learn now that at all times I have been possessed of the +means to defend myself from personal violence." I drew from +my pocket the bar of iron. "See, this I secreted about my +person in the fresh air of upper earth, the sweet sunshine of +heaven, fearing that I might fall into the hands of men with +whom I must combat. Back, back," I cried.</p> + +<p>He released his hold of my person, and folded his arms upon +his breast, then quietly faced me, standing directly between +myself and the passage we had trod, while I stood on the brink, +my back to that fearful chasm.</p> + +<p>By a single push he could thrust me into the fathomless gulf +below, and with the realization of that fact, I felt that it was now a<span class="pagenum">[Pg 313]</span> +life and death struggle. With every muscle strained to its utmost +tension, with my soul on fire, my brain frenzied, I drew back the +bar of iron to smite the apparently defenseless being in the forehead, +but he moved not, and as I made the motion, he calmly +remarked: "Do you remember the history of Hiram Abiff?"</p> + +<p><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1054.jpg" width="600" height="436" alt="" title=""I DREW BACK THE BAR OF IRON TO SMITE THE APPARENTLY DEFENSELESS +BEING IN THE FOREHEAD."" /> +<span class="caption">"I DREW BACK THE BAR OF IRON TO SMITE THE APPARENTLY DEFENSELESS +BEING IN THE FOREHEAD."</span> +</div> + +<p>The hand that held the weapon dropped as if stricken by +paralysis, and a flood of recollections concerning my lost home +overcame me. I had raised my hand against a brother, the only +being of my kind who could aid me, or assist me either to advance +or recede. How could I, unaided, recross that glassy lake, and +pass through the grotesque forests of fungi and the labyrinth of +crystal grottoes of the salt bed? How could I find my way in +the utter darkness that existed in the damp, soppy, dripping +upper caverns that I must retrace before I could hope to reach +the surface of the earth? "Forgive me," I sobbed, and sunk at +his feet. "Forgive me, my friend, my brother; I have been wild,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 314]</span> +mad, am crazed." He made no reply, but pointed over my +shoulder into the space beyond.</p> + +<p>I turned, and in the direction indicated, saw, in amazement, +floating in the distant space a snow- and ice-clad vessel in full +sail. She was headed diagonally from us, and was moving rapidly +across the field of vision. Every spar and sail was clearly +defined, and on her deck, and in the rigging I beheld sailors +clad in winter garments pursuing their various duties.</p> + +<p>As I gazed, enraptured, she disappeared in the distance.</p> + +<p>"A phantom vessel," I murmured.</p> + +<p>"No," he replied; "the abstraction of a vessel sailing on the +ocean above us. Every object on earth is the second to an +imprint in another place. There is an apparent reproduction of +matter in so-called vacancy, and on unseen pages a recording of +all events. As that ship sailed over the ocean above us, she +disturbed a current of energy, and it left its impress as an outline +on a certain zone beneath, which is parallel with that upon +which we now chance to stand."</p> + +<p>"I can not comprehend," I muttered.</p> + +<p>"No," he answered; "to you it seems miraculous, as to all +men an unexplained phenomenon approaches the supernatural. +All that is is natural. Have men not been told in sacred writings +that their every movement is being recorded in the Book of Life, +and do they not often doubt because they can not grasp the +problem? May not the greatest scientist be the most apt +skeptic?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I replied.</p> + +<p>"You have just seen," he said, "the record of an act on +earth, and in detail it is being printed elsewhere in the Book of +Eternity. If you should return to earth's surface you could not +by stating these facts convince even the persons on that same +ship, of your sanity. You could not make them believe that +hundreds of miles beneath, both their vessel and its crew had +been reproduced in fac simile, could you?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315"></a></p> +<div class="figright" style="width: 140px;"> +<img src="images/m1055.png" width="140" height="300" alt="" title=""SPRUNG FROM THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF INTO +THE ABYSS BELOW, CARRYING ME WITH HIM +INTO ITS DEPTHS."" /> +<span class="caption">"SPRUNG FROM THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF INTO +THE ABYSS BELOW, CARRYING ME WITH HIM +INTO ITS DEPTHS."</span> +</div> + +<p>"Were you to return to earth you could not convince men +that you had existed without breath, with a heart dead within +you. If you should try to impress on mankind the facts that +you have learned in this journey, what would be the result?"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 315]</span></p> + +<p>"I would probably +be considered mentally +deranged; this I have +before admitted."</p> + + +<p>"Would it not be +better then," he continued, +"to go with me, +by your own free will, +into the unknown future, +which you need fear less +than a return to the +scoffing multitude amid +the storms of upper +earth? You know that +I have not at any time +deceived you. I have, as +yet, only opened before +you a part of one rare +page out of the boundless +book of nature; you +have tasted of the sweets +of which few persons in +the flesh have sipped, +and I now promise you +a further store of knowledge +that is rich beyond +conception, if you wish to +continue your journey."</p> + + +<p>"What if I decide to +return?"</p> + +<p>"I will retrace my +footsteps and liberate +you upon the surface of +the earth, as I have +others, for few persons +have courage enough to +pass this spot."</p> + +<p>"Binding me to an oath of secrecy?"</p> + + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 316]</span></p> + +<p>"No," he answered; "for if you relate these events men will +consider you a madman, and the more clearly you attempt to +explain the facts that you have witnessed, the less they will +listen to you; such has been the fate of others."</p> + +<p>"It is, indeed, better for me to go with you," I said musingly; +"to that effect my mind is now made up, my course is clear, I +am ready."</p> + +<p>With a motion so quick in conception, and rapid in execution +that I was taken altogether by surprise, with a grasp so +powerful that I could not have repelled him, had I expected the +movement and tried to protect myself, the strange man, or +being beside me, threw his arms around my body. Then, as a +part of the same movement, he raised me bodily from the stone, +and before I could realize the nature of his intention, sprung +from the edge of the cliff into the abyss below, carrying me with +him into its depths.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 317]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317"></a>CHAPTER XLVI.<br /> +<br /> +THE INNER CIRCLE, OR THE END OF GRAVITATION.—IN THE +BOTTOMLESS GULF.</h2> + + +<p>I recall a whirling sensation, and an involuntary attempt at +self-preservation, in which I threw my arms wildly about with +a vain endeavor to clutch some form of solid body, which +movement naturally ended by a tight clasping of my guide +in my arms, and locked together we continued to speed down +into the seven thousand miles of vacancy. Instinctively I +murmured a prayer of supplication, and awaited the approaching +hereafter, which, as I believed, would quickly witness the +extinction of my unhappy life, the end of my material existence; +but the moments (if time can be so divided when no +sun marks the division) multiplied without bodily shock or +physical pain of any description; I retained my consciousness.</p> + +<p>"Open your eyes," said my guide, "you have no cause for +fear."</p> + +<p>I acquiesced in an incredulous, dazed manner.</p> + +<p>"This unusual experience is sufficient to unnerve you, but +you need have no fear, for you are not in corporal danger, and +can relax your grasp on my person."</p> + +<p>I cautiously obeyed him, misgivingly, and slowly loosened +my hold, then gazed about to find that we were in a sea of light, +and that only light was visible, that form of light which I have +before said is an entity without source of radiation. In one +direction, however, a great gray cloud hung suspended and +gloomy, dark in the center, and shading therefrom in a circle, +to disappear entirely at an angle of about forty-five degrees.</p> + +<p>"This is the earth-shelf from which we sprung," said the +guide; "it will soon disappear."</p> + +<p>Wherever I glanced this radiant exhalation, a peaceful, +luminous envelope, this rich, soft, beautiful white light appeared. +The power of bodily motion I found still a factor in my frame,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 318]</span> +obedient, as before, to my will. I could move my limbs freely, +and my intellect seemed to be intact. Finally I became +impressed with the idea that I must be at perfect rest, but if so +what could be the nature of the substance, or material, upon +which I was resting so complacently? No; this could not be +true. Then I thought: "I have been instantly killed by a painless +shock, and my spirit is in heaven;" but my earthly body +and coarse, ragged garments were palpable realities; the sense of +touch, sight, and hearing surely were normal, and a consideration +of these facts dispelled my first conception.</p> + +<p>"Where are we now?"</p> + +<p>"Moving into earth's central space."</p> + +<p>"I comprehend that a rushing wind surrounds us which is not +uncomfortable, but otherwise I experience no unusual sensation, +and can not realize but that I am at rest."</p> + +<p>"The sensation, as of a blowing, wind is in consequence of +our rapid motion, and results from the friction between our bodies +and the quiescent, attenuated atmosphere which exists even here, +but this atmosphere becomes less and less in amount until it +will disappear altogether at a short distance below us. Soon +we will be in a perfect calm, and although moving rapidly, to all +appearances will be at absolute rest."</p> + +<p>Naturally, perhaps, my mind attempted, as it so often had +done, to urge objections to his statements, and at first it occurred +to me that I did not experience the peculiar sinking away sensation +in the chest that I remembered follows, on earth, the +downward motion of a person falling from a great height, or +moving rapidly in a swing, and I questioned him on the absence +of that phenomenon.</p> + +<p>"The explanation is simple," he said; "on the surface of the +earth a sudden motion, either upward or downward, disturbs the +equilibrium of the organs of respiration, and of the heart, and +interferes with the circulation of the blood. This produces a +change in blood pressure within the brain, and the 'sinking' +sensation in the chest, or the dizziness of the head of a person +moving rapidly, or it may even result in unconsciousness, and +complete suspension of respiration, effects which sometimes follow +rapid movements, as in a person falling from a considerable +height. Here circumstances are entirely different. The heart is<span class="pagenum">[Pg 319]</span> +quiet, the lungs in a comatose condition, and the blood stagnant. +Mental sensations, therefore, that result from a disturbed condition +of these organs are wanting, and, although we are experiencing +rapid motion, we are in the full possession of our physical +selves, and maintain our mental faculties unimpaired."</p> + +<p>Again I interposed an objection:</p> + +<p>"If, as you say, we are really passing through an attenuated +atmosphere with increasing velocity, according to the law that +governs falling bodies that are acted upon by gravity which +continually accelerates their motion, the friction between ourselves +and the air will ultimately become so intense as to wear +away our bodies."</p> + +<p>"Upon the contrary," said he, "this attenuated atmosphere +is decreasing in density more rapidly than our velocity increases, +and before long it will have altogether disappeared. You can +perceive that the wind, as you call it, is blowing less violently +than formerly; soon it will entirely cease, as I have already +predicted, and at that period, regardless of our motion, we will +appear to be stationary."</p> + +<p>Pondering over the final result of this strange experience I +became again alarmed, for accepting the facts to be as he stated, +such motion would ultimately carry us against the opposite +crust of the earth, and without a doubt the shock would end our +existence. I inquired about this, to me, self-evident fact, and he +replied:</p> + +<p>"Long before we reach the opposite crust of the earth, our +motion will be arrested."</p> + +<p>I had begun now to feel a self-confidence that is surprising +as I recall that remarkable position in connection with my +narrow experience in true science, and can say that instead +of despondency, I really enjoyed an elated sensation, a curious +exhilaration, a feeling of delight, which I have no words to +describe. Life disturbances and mental worry seemed to have +completely vanished, and it appeared as if, with mental perception +lucid, I were under the influence of a powerful soporific; +the cares of mortals had disappeared. After a while the wind +ceased to blow, as my guide had predicted, and with the suspension +of that factor, all that remained to remind me of earth +phenomena had vanished. There was no motion of material,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 320]</span> +nothing to mar or disturb the most perfect peace imaginable; I +was so exquisitely happy that I now actually feared some change +might occur to interrupt that quiescent existence. It was as a +deep, sweet sleep in which, with faculties alive, unconsciousness +was self-conscious, peaceful, restful, blissful. I listlessly turned +my eyes, searching space in all directions—to meet vacancy +everywhere, absolute vacancy. I took from my pocket (into +which I had hastily thrust it) the bar of iron, and released it; +the metal remained motionless beside me.</p> + +<p>"Traveling through this expanse with the rapidity of ourselves," +said my guide.</p> + +<p>I closed my eyes and endeavored to convince myself that I was +dreaming—vainly, however. I opened my eyes, and endeavored +to convince myself that I was moving, equally in vain. I +became oblivious to everything save the delicious sensation of +absolute rest that enveloped and pervaded my being.</p> + +<p>"I am neither alive nor dead," I murmured; "neither asleep +nor awake; neither moving nor at rest, and neither standing, +reclining, nor sitting. If I exist I can not bring evidence to +prove that fact, neither can I prove that I am dead."</p> + +<p>"Can any man prove either of these premises?" said the +guide.</p> + +<p>"I have never questioned the matter," said I; "it is a self-evident +fact."</p> + +<p>"Know then," said he, "that existence is a theory, and that +man is incapable of demonstrating that he has a being. All evidences +of mortal life are only as the phantasms of hallucination. +As a moment in dreamland may span a life of time, the dreamer +altogether unconscious that it is a dream, so may life itself be a +shadow, the vision of a distempered fancy, the illusion of a +floating thought."</p> + +<p>"Are pain, pleasure, and living, imaginary creations?" I asked +facetiously.</p> + +<p>"Is there a madman who does not imagine, as facts, what +others agree upon as hallucinations peculiar to himself? Is it +not impossible to distinguish between different gradations of +illusions, and is it not, therefore, possible that even self-existence +is an illusion? What evidence can any man produce to +prove that his idea of life is not a madman's dream?"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 321]</span></p> + +<p>"Proceed," I said.</p> + +<p>"At another time, perhaps," he remarked; "we have reached +the Inner Circle, the Sphere of Rest, the line of gravity, and +now our bodies have no weight; at this point we begin to +move with decreased speed, we will soon come to a quiescent +condition, a state of rest, and then start back on our rebound."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 322]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322"></a>CHAPTER XLVII.<br /> +<br /> +HEARING WITHOUT EARS.—"WHAT WILL BE THE END?"</h2> + + +<p>A flood of recollections came over me, a vivid remembrance +of my earth-learned school philosophy. "I rebel again," I said, +"I deny your statements. We can neither be moving, nor can we +be out of the atmosphere. Fool that I have been not to have +sooner and better used my reasoning faculties, not to have at once +rejected your statements concerning the disappearance of the +atmosphere."</p> + +<p>"I await your argument."</p> + +<p>"Am I not speaking? Is other argument necessary? Have +I not heard your voice, and that, too, since you asserted that we +had left the atmosphere?"</p> + +<p>"Continue."</p> + +<p>"Have not men demonstrated, and is it not accepted beyond +the shadow of a doubt, that sound is produced by vibrations of +the air?"</p> + +<p>"You speak truly; as men converse on surface earth."</p> + +<p>"This medium—the air—in wave vibrations, strikes upon the +drum of the ear, and thus impresses the brain," I continued.</p> + +<p>"I agree that such is the teachings of your philosophy; +go on."</p> + +<p>"It is unnecessary; you admit the facts, and the facts refute +you; there must be an atmosphere to convey sound."</p> + +<p>"Can not you understand that you are not now on the surface +of the earth? Will you never learn that the philosophy of your +former life is not philosophy here? That earth-bound science is +science only with surface-earth men? Here science is a fallacy. +All that you have said is true of surface earth, but your argument +is invalid where every condition is different from the +conditions that prevail thereon. You use the organs of speech +in addressing me as you once learned to use them, but such +physical efforts are unnecessary to convey sense-impressions in<span class="pagenum">[Pg 323]</span> +this condition of rest and complacency, and you waste energy +in employing them. You assert and believe that the air conveys +sound; you have been taught such theories in support of a +restricted philosophy; but may I ask you if a bar of iron, a stick +of wood, a stream of water, indeed any substance known to you +placed against the ear will not do the same, and many substances +even better than the atmosphere?"</p> + +<p>"This I admit."</p> + +<p>"Will you tell me how the vibration of any of these bodies +impresses the seat of hearing?"</p> + +<p>"It moves the atmosphere which strikes upon the tympanum +of the ear."</p> + +<p>"You have not explained the phenomenon; how does that +tympanic membrane communicate with the brain?"</p> + +<p>"By vibrations, I understand," I answered, and then I began +to feel that this assertion was a simple statement, and not sufficient +to explain how matter acts upon mind, whatever mind may +be, and I hesitated.</p> + +<p>"Pray do not stop," he said; "how is it that a delicate +vibrating film of animal membrane can receive and convey +sound to a pulpy organic mass that is destitute of elasticity, and +which consists mostly of water, for the brain is such in structure, +and vibrations like those you mention, can not, by your own theory, +pass through it as vibrations through a sonorous material, +or even reach from the tympanum of the ear to the nearest +convolution of the brain."</p> + +<p>"I can not explain this, I admit," was my reply.</p> + +<p>"Pass that feature, then, and concede that this tympanic membrane +is capable of materially affecting brain tissue by its tiny +vibrations, how can that slimy, pulpy formation mostly made up +of water, communicate with the soul of man, for you do not claim, +I hope, that brain material is either mind, conscience, or soul?"</p> + +<p>I confessed my inability to answer or even to theorize on the +subject, and recognizing my humiliation, I begged him to open +the door to such knowledge.</p> + +<p>"The vibration of the atmosphere is necessary to man, as +earthy man is situated," he said. "The coarser attributes known +as matter formations are the crudities of nature, dust swept from +space. Man's organism is made up of the roughest and lowest<span class="pagenum">[Pg 324]</span> +kind of space materials; he is surrounded by a turbulent medium, +the air, and these various conditions obscure or destroy the +finer attributes of his ethereal nature, and prevent a higher +spiritual evolution. His spiritual self is enveloped in earth, and +everywhere thwarted by earthy materials. He is insensible to +the finer influences of surrounding media by reason of the +overwhelming necessity of a war for existence with the grossly +antagonistic materialistic confusion that everywhere confronts, +surrounds, and pervades him. Such a conflict with extraneous +matter is necessary in order that he may retain his earthy being, +for, to remain a mortal, he must work to keep body and soul +together. His organs of communication and perception are +of 'earth, earthy'; his nature is cast in a mold of clay, and +the blood within him gurgles and struggles in his brain, a +whirlpool of madly rushing liquid substances, creating disorder +in the primal realms of consciousness. He is ignorant of this +inward turmoil because he has never been without it, as ignorant +as he is of the rank odors of the gases of the atmosphere +that he has always breathed, and can not perceive because of the +benumbed olfactory nerves. Thus it is that all his subtler senses +are inevitably blunted and perverted, and his vulgar nature +preponderates. The rich essential part of his own self is +unknown, even to himself. The possibility of delight and +pleasure in an acquaintance with the finer attributes of his own +soul is clouded by this shrouding materialistic presence that +has, through countless generations, become a part of man, and +he even derives most of his mental pleasures from such acts as +tend to encourage the animal passions. Thus it follows that the +sensitive, highly developed, extremely attenuated part of his +inner being has become subservient to the grosser elements. +The baser part of his nature has become dominant. He remains +insensible to impressions from the highly developed surrounding +media which, being incapable of reaching his inner organism +other than through mechanical agencies, are powerless to impress. +Alas, only the coarser conditions of celestial phenomena +can affect him, and the finer expressions of the universe of life +and force are lost to his spiritual apprehension."</p> + +<p>"Would you have me view the soul of man as I would a +material being?"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 325]</span></p> + +<p>"Surely," he answered; "it exists practically as does the +more gross forms of matter, and in exact accord with natural +laws. Associated with lower forms of matter, the soul of man is +a temporary slave to the enveloping substance. The ear of man +as now constituted can hear only by means of vibrations of such +media as conduct vibrations in matter—for example, the air; but +were man to be deprived of the organs of hearing, and then +exist for generations subject to evolutions from within, whereby +the acuteness of the spirit would become intensified, or permitted +to perform its true function, he would learn to communicate soul +to soul, not only with mankind, but with beings celestial that +surround, and are now unknown to him. This he would accomplish +through a medium of communication that requires neither +ear nor tongue. To an extent your present condition is what +men call supernatural, although in reality you have been divested +of only a part of your former material grossness, which object has +been accomplished under perfectly natural conditions; your mind +no longer requires the material medium by which to converse +with the spiritual. We are conversing now by thought contact, +there is no atmosphere here, your tongue moves merely from +habit, and not from necessity. I am reading your mind as you +in turn are mine, neither of us is speaking as you were accustomed +to speak."</p> + +<p>"I can not accept that assertion," I said; "it is to me +impossible to realize the existence of such conditions."</p> + +<p>"As it is for any man to explain any phenomenon in life," he +said. "Do you not remember that you ceased to respire, and +were not conscious of the fact?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"That your heart had stopped beating, your blood no longer +circulated, while you were in ignorance of the change?"</p> + +<p>"That is also true."</p> + +<p>"Now I will prove my last assertion. Close your mouth, and +think of a question you wish to propound."</p> + +<p>I did so, and to my perfect understanding and comprehension +he answered me with closed mouth.</p> + +<p>"What will be the end?" I exclaimed, or thought aloud. "I +am possessed of nearly all the attributes that I once supposed +inherent only in a corpse, yet I live, I see clearly, I hear plainly,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 326]</span> +I have a quickened being, and a mental perception intensified +and exquisite. Why and how has this been accomplished? +What will be the result of this eventful journey?"</p> + +<p>"Restful, you should say," he remarked; "the present is +restful, the end will be peace. Now I will give you a lesson +concerning the words Why and How that you have just used."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 327]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327"></a>CHAPTER XLVIII.<br /> +<br /> +WHY AND HOW.—"THE STRUGGLING RAY OF LIGHT FROM +THOSE FARTHERMOST OUTREACHES."</h2> + + +<p>"Confronting mankind there stands a sphinx—the vast +Unknown. However well a man may be informed concerning +a special subject, his farthermost outlook concerning that subject +is bounded by an impenetrable infinity."</p> + +<p>"Granted," I interrupted, "that mankind has not by any +means attained a condition of perfection, yet you must admit +that questions once regarded as inscrutable problems are now +illuminated by the discoveries of science."</p> + +<p>"And the 'discovered,' as I will show, has only transferred +ignorance to other places," he replied. "Science has confined +its labors to superficial descriptions, not the elucidation of the +fundamental causes of phenomena."</p> + +<p>"I can not believe you, and question if you can prove what +you say."</p> + +<p>"It needs no argument to illustrate the fact. Science boldly +heralds her descriptive discoveries, and as carefully ignores her +explanatory failures. She dare not attempt to explain the why +even of the simplest things. Why does the robin hop, and the +snipe walk? Do not tell me this is beneath the notice of men +of science, for science claims that no subject is outside her +realm. Search your works on natural history and see if your +man of science, who describes the habits of these birds, explains +the reason for this evident fact. How does the tree-frog change +its color? Do not answer me in the usual superficial manner +concerning the reflection of light, but tell me why the skin of +that creature is enabled to perform this function? How does +the maple-tree secrete a sweet, wholesome sap, and deadly +nightshade, growing in the same soil and living on the same +elements, a poison? What is it that your scientific men find in +the cells of root, or rootlet, to indicate that one may produce a<span class="pagenum">[Pg 328]</span> +food, and the other a noxious secretion that can destroy life? +Your microscopist will discuss cell tissues learnedly, will speak +fluently of physiological structure, will describe organic intercellular +appearances, but ignore all that lies beyond. Why does +the nerve in the tongue respond to a sensation, and produce on +the mind the sense of taste? What is it that enables the nerve +in the nose to perform its discriminative function? You do not +answer. Silver is sonorous, lead is not; why these intrinsic +differences? Aluminum is a light metal, gold a heavy one; what +reason can you offer to explain the facts other than the inadequate +term density? Mercury at ordinary temperature is a +liquid; can your scientist tell why it is not a solid? Of course +anyone can say because its molecules move freely on each other. +Such an answer evades the issue; why do they so readily +exert this action? Copper produces green or blue salts; nickel +produces green salts; have you ever been told why they observe +these rules? Water solidifies at about thirty-two degrees above +your so-called zero; have you ever asked an explanation of your +scientific authority why it selects that temperature? Alcohol +dissolves resins, water dissolves gums; have you any explanation +to offer why either liquid should dissolve anything, much less +exercise a preference? One species of turtle has a soft shell, +another a hard shell; has your authority in natural history +told you why this is so? The albumen of the egg of the +hen hardens at one hundred and eighty degrees Fahrenheit; +the albumen of the eggs of some turtles can not be easily +coagulated by boiling the egg in pure water; why these differences? +Iceland spar and dog-tooth spar are identical, both +are crystallized carbonate of lime; has your mineralogist +explained why this one substance selects these different forms +of crystallization, or why any crystal of any substance is ever +produced? Why is common salt white and charcoal black? +Why does the dog lap and the calf drink? One child has black +hair, another brown, a third red; why? Search your physiology +for the answer and see if your learned authority can tell you +why the life-current makes these distinctions? Why do the +cells of the liver secrete bile, and those of the mouth saliva? +Why does any cell secrete anything? A parrot can speak; what +has your anatomist found in the structure of the brain, tongue,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 329]</span> +or larynx of that bird to explain why this accomplishment is +not as much the birthright of the turkey? The elements that +form morphine and strychnine, also make bread, one a food, the +other a poison; can your chemist offer any reason for the fact +that morphine and bread possess such opposite characters? +The earth has one satellite, Saturn is encompassed by a ring; it +is not sufficient to attempt to refer to these familiar facts; tell +me, does your earth-bound astronomer explain why the ring of +Saturn was selected for that planet? Why are the salts of +aluminum astringent, the salts of magnesium cathartic, and the +salts of arsenicum deadly poison? Ask your toxicologist, and +silence will be your answer. Why will some substances absorb +moisture from the air, and liquefy, while others become as dry +as dust under like conditions? Why does the vapor of sulphuric +ether inflame, while the vapor of chloroform is not combustible, +under ordinary conditions? Oil of turpentine, oil of lemon, +and oil of bergamot differ in odor, yet they are composed of +the same elements, united in the same proportion; why should +they possess such distinctive, individual characteristics? Further +search of the chemist will explain only to shove the word why +into another space, as ripples play with and toss a cork about. +Why does the newly-born babe cry for food before its intellect +has a chance for worldly education? Why"—</p> + +<p>"Stop," I interrupted; "these questions are absurd."</p> + +<p>"So some of your scientific experts would assert," he replied; +"perhaps they would even become indignant at my presumption +in asking them, and call them childish; nevertheless these men +can not satisfy their own cravings in attempting to search the +illimitable, and in humiliation, or irritation, they must ignore +the word Why. That word Why to man dominates the universe. +It covers all phenomena, and thrusts inquiry back from every +depth. Science may trace a line of thought into the infinitely +little, down, down, beyond that which is tangible, and at last in +that far distant inter-microscopical infinity, monstrous by reason +of its very minuteness, must rest its labors against the word +Why. Man may carry his superficial investigation into the +immeasurably great, beyond our sun and his family of satellites, +into the outer depths of the solar system, of which our sun is a +part, past his sister stars, and out again into the depths of the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 330]</span> +cold space channels beyond; into other systems and out again, +until at last the nebulĉ shrink and disappear in the gloom of +thought-conjecture, and as the straggling ray of light from those +farthermost outreaches, too feeble to tell of its origin, or carry +a story of nativity, enters his eye, he covers his face and rests +his intellect against the word Why. From the remote space +caverns of the human intellect, beyond the field of perception, +whether we appeal to conceptions of the unknowable in the +infinitely little, or the immeasurably great, we meet a circle of +adamant, as impenetrable as the frozen cliffs of the Antarctic, +that incomprehensible word—Why!</p> + +<p>"Why did the light wave spring into his field of perception +by reflection from the microscopic speck in the depths of littleness, +on the one hand; and how did this sliver of the sun's ray +originate in the depths of inter-stellar space, on the other?"</p> + +<p>I bowed my head.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 331]</span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 469px;"> +<img src="images/m1056.png" width="469" height="512" alt="" title="DESCRIPTION OF JOURNEY FROM K. [KENTUCKY] TO P.—"THE END OF EARTH."" /> +<span class="caption">DESCRIPTION OF JOURNEY FROM K. [KENTUCKY] TO P.—"THE END OF EARTH."</span> +</div> + +<p>A, B, Diameter of earth, 8,000 miles.</p> + +<p>A, D, Thickness of earth crust, 800 miles.</p> + +<p>C, D, Distance from inner earth crust to energy +sphere, 100 miles.</p> + +<p>E, Underground lake.</p> + +<p>E, F, Distance from surface of lake to earth's +surface.</p> + +<p>G, Inner Circle (the Unknown Country).</p> + +<p>H, Middle Circle (Sphere of Energy, or Circle +of Rest).</p> + +<p>L to M, Height of atmosphere, 200 miles.</p> + +<p>K, Entrance to cavern in Kentucky.</p> + +<p>L, Outer circle, earth's surface.</p> + +<p>Mt. E, Mount Epomeo in Italy.</p> + +<p>N, North Pole.</p> + +<p>O, Rock shelf from which the leap was made +into the intra-earth space.</p> + +<p>P, Junction of earth crust with Circle of +Rest. Point where I-Am-The-Man +stepped "onward and upward" in +"The Unknown Country."</p> + +<p>S, South Pole.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 333]</span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333"></a>CHAPTER XLIX.<br /> +<br /> +OSCILLATING THROUGH SPACE.—EARTH'S SHELL ABOVE ME.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> +</h2> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> For detail illustration of the earth shell, as explained in this +chapter, see the plate.</p></div> + +<p>Continued my companion:</p> + +<p>"We have just now crossed the line of gravitation. We +were drawn downward until at a certain point, to which I called +your attention at the time, we recently crossed the curved plane +of perfect rest, where gravity ceases, and by our momentum are +now passing beyond that plane, and are now pressing against +the bond of gravitation again. This shell in which gravity +centers is concentric with that of the earth's exterior, and is +about seven hundred miles below its surface. Each moment of +time will now behold us carried farther from this sphere of +attraction, and thus the increasing distance increases the force +of the restraining influence. Our momentum is thus retarded, +and consequently the rapidity of our motion is continually +decreasing. At last when the forces of gravitation and mass +motion neutralize each other, we will come to a state of rest +again. When our motion in this direction ceases, however, +gravitation, imperishable, continues to exert its equalizing influence, +the result being a start in the opposite direction, and we +will then reverse our course, and retrace our path, crossing +again the central band of attraction, to retreat and fly to the +opposite side of the power of greater attraction, into the expanse +from which we came, and that is now above us."</p> + +<p>"Can this oscillation ever end? Are we to remain thus, +as an unceasing pendulum, traversing space, to and fro across +this invisible shell of attraction from now until the end of +time?"</p> + +<p>"No; there are influences to prevent such an experience; +one being the friction of the attenuated atmosphere into which +we plunge each time that we cross the point of greater gravity, +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 334]</span>and approach the crust of the earth. Thus each succeeding +vibration is in shorter lines, and at last we will come to a state +of perfect rest at the center of gravity."</p> + +<p>"I can only acquiesce in meek submission, powerless even to +argue, for I perceive that the foundations for my arguments +must be based on those observed conditions of natural laws +formerly known to me, and that do not encompass us here; I +accept, therefore, your statements as I have several times heretofore, +because I can not refute them. I must close my eyes to +the future, and accept it on faith; I cease to mourn the past, I +can not presage the end."</p> + +<p>"Well spoken," he replied; "and while we are undergoing +this necessary delay, this oscillating motion, to which we must +both submit before we can again continue our journey, I will +describe some conditions inherent in the three spheres of which +the rind of the earth is composed, for I believe that you are now +ready to receive and profit by facts that heretofore you would +have rejected in incredulity.</p> + +<p>"The outer circle, coat, or contour, of which you have heard +others besides myself speak, is the surface crust of our globe, +the great sphere of land and water on which man is at present +an inhabitant. This is the exposed part of the earth, and is +least desirable as a residence. It is affected by grievous atmospheric +changes, and restless physical conditions, such as men, +in order to exist in, must fortify against at the expense of much +bodily and mental energy, which leads them, necessarily, to +encourage the animal at the expense of the ethereal. The +unmodified rays of the sun produce aerial convulsions that are +marked by thermal contrasts, and other meteorological variations, +during which the heat of summer and the cold of winter follow +each other periodically and unceasingly. These successive solar +pulsations generate winds, calms, and storms, and in order to +protect himself against such exposures and changes in material +surroundings, man toils, suffers, and comes to believe that the +doom, if not the object, of life on earth is the preservation of +the earthy body. All conditions and phases of nature on this +outer crust are in an angry struggle, and this commotion envelops +the wretched home, and governs the life of man. The +surrounding cyclones of force and matter have distorted the<span class="pagenum">[Pg 335]</span> +peaceful side of what human nature might be until the shortened +life of man has become a passionate, deplorable, sorrowful struggle +for physical existence, from the cradle to the grave. Of +these facts man is practically ignorant, although each individual +is aware he is not satisfied with his condition. If his afflictions +were obvious to himself, his existence would be typical of a +life of desolation and anguish. You know full well that the +condition of the outer sphere is, as I have described it, a bleak, +turbulent surface, the roof of the earth on which man exists, as +a creeping parasite does on a rind of fruit, exposed to the fury +of the ever-present earth storms.</p> + +<p>"The central circle, or medial sphere, the shell, or layer of +gravitation, lies conformably to the outer configuration of the +globe, about seven hundred miles towards its center. It stretches +beneath the outer circle (sphere) as a transparent sheet, a shell +of energy, the center of gravitation. The material crust of +the earth rests on this placid sphere of vigor, excepting in a few +places, where, as in the crevice we have entered, gaps, or crevices, +in matter exist, beginning from near the outer surface and +extending diagonally through the medial and inner spheres into +the intra-earth space beyond. This medial sphere is a form of +pure force, a disturbance of motion, and although without +weight it induces, or conserves, gravity. It is invisible to +mortal eyes, and is frictionless, but really is the bone of the +earth. On it matter, the retarded energy of space, space dust, +has arranged itself as dust collects on a bubble of water. This +we call matter. The material portion of the earth is altogether +a surface film, an insignificant skin over the sphere of purity, +the center of gravitation. Although men naturally imagine that +the density and stability of the earth is dependent on the earthy +particles, of which his own body is a part, such is not the case. +Earth, as man upon the outer surface, can now know it, is an +aggregation of material particles, a shell resting on this globular +sphere of medial force, which attracts solid matter from both the +outer and inner surfaces of earth, forming thereby the middle of +the three concentric spheres. This middle sphere is the reverse +of the outer, or surface, layer in one respect, for, while it attracts +solids, gases are repelled by it, and thus the atmosphere becomes +less dense as we descend from the outer surfaces of the earth.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 336]</span> +The greater degree of attraction for gases belongs, therefore, to +the earth's exterior surface."</p> + +<p>"Exactly at the earth's exterior surface?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Practically so. The greatest density of the air is found a +few miles below the surface of the ocean; the air becomes more +attenuated as we proceed in either direction from that point. +Were this not the case, the atmosphere that surrounds the earth +would be quickly absorbed into its substance, or expand into +space and disappear."</p> + +<p>"Scientific men claim that the atmosphere is forty-five geographical +miles in depth over the earth's surface," I said.</p> + +<p>"If the earth is eight thousand miles in diameter, how long would +such an atmosphere, a skin only, over a great ball, resist +such attraction, and remain above the globe? Were it really +attracted towards its +center it would disappear +as a film of water +sinks into a sponge."</p> + +<p>"Do you know," I interrupted, +"that if these +statements were made +to men they would not +be credited? Scientific +men have calculated the +weights of the planets, +and have estimated +therefrom the density +of the earth, showing it +to be solid, and knowing +its density, they +would, on this consideration +alone, discredit +your story concerning +the earth shell."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336"></a></p> +<div class="figleft" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/m1057.png" width="300" height="297" alt="" title="THE EARTH AND ITS ATMOSPHERE." /> +<span class="caption">THE EARTH AND ITS ATMOSPHERE.<br /> +The space between the inner and the outer lines +represents the atmosphere upon the earth. The depth +to which man has penetrated the earth is less than the +thickness of either line, as compared with the diameter +of the inner circle.</span> +</div> + + + +<p>"You mistake, as you will presently see. It is true that +man's ingenuity has enabled him to ascertain the weights and +densities of the planets, but do you mean to say that these +scientific results preclude the possibility of a hollow interior of +the heavenly bodies?"<span class="pagenum">[Pg 337]</span></p> + +<p>"I confess, I do."</p> + +<p>"You should know then, that what men define as density of +the earth, is but an average value, which is much higher than +that exhibited by materials in the surface layers of the earth +crust, such as come within the scrutiny of man. This fact +allows mortals of upper earth but a vague conjecture as to the +nature of the seemingly much heavier substances that exist in +the interior of the earth. Have men any data on hand to show +exactly how matter is distributed below the limited zone that is +accessible to their investigations?"</p> + +<p>"I think not."</p> + +<p>"You may safely accept, then, that the earth shell I have +described to you embraces in a compact form the total weight +of the earth. Even though men take for granted that matter +fills out the whole interior of our planet, such material would +not, if distributed as on earth's surface, give the earth the density +he has determined for it."</p> + +<p>"I must acquiesce in your explanations."</p> + +<p>"Let us now go a step further in this argument. What do +you imagine is the nature of those heavier substances whose +existence deep within the earth is suggested by the exceedingly +high total density observed by man on upper earth?"</p> + +<p>"I am unable to explain, especially as the materials surrounding +us here, seemingly, do not differ much from those with +which my former life experience has made me acquainted."</p> + +<p>"Your observation is correct, there is no essential difference +in this regard. But as we are descending into the interior of +this globe, and are approaching the central seat of the shell of +energy, the opposing force into which we plunge becomes +correspondingly stronger, and as a consequence, matter pressed +within it becomes really lighter. Your own experience about +your weight gradually disappearing during this journey should +convince you of the correctness of this fact."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, it does," I admitted.</p> + +<p>"You will then readily understand, that the heavy material +to which surface-bred mortals allude as probably constituting +the interior of the earth, is, in fact, nothing but the manifestation +of a matter-supporting force, as exemplified in the sphere of +attractive energy, the seat of which we are soon to encounter on<span class="pagenum">[Pg 338]</span> +our journey. Likewise the mutual attraction of the heavenly +bodies is not a property solely of their material part, but an +expression in which both the force-spheres and the matter collected +thereon take part.</p> + +<p>"Tell me more of the sphere in which gravitation is intensest."</p> + +<p>"Of that you are yet to judge," he replied. "When we come +to a state of rest in the stratum of greater gravity, we will then +traverse this crevice in the sheet of energy until we reach the +edge of the earth crust, after which we will ascend towards the +interior of the earth, until we reach the inner crust, which is, as +before explained, a surface of matter that lies <a href="#TN"><ins title="Original word was comformably">conformably</ins></a> with +the external crust of the earth, and which is the interior surface +of the solid part of the earth. There is a concave world beneath +the outer convex world."</p> + +<p>"I can not comprehend you. You speak of continuing our +journey towards the center of the earth, and at the same time +you say that after leaving the Median Circle, we will then +ascend, which seems contradictory."</p> + +<p>"I have endeavored to show you that matter is resting in or +on a central sphere of energy, which attracts solid bodies towards +its central plane. From this fundamental and permanent seat of +gravity we may regard our progress as up-hill, whether we proceed +towards the hollow center or towards the outer surface of +the globe. If a stick weighted on one end is floated upright in +water, an insect on the top of the stick above the water will fall +to the surface of the liquid, and yet the same insect will rise to +the surface of the water if liberated beneath the water at the +bottom of the stick. This comparison is not precisely applicable +to our present position, for there is no change in medium here, +but it may serve as an aid to thought and may indicate to you +that which I wish to convey when I say 'we ascend' in both +directions as we pull against Gravity. The terms up and down +are not absolute, but relative."</p> + +<p>Thus we continued an undefined period in mind conversation; +and of the information gained in my experience of that delightful +condition, I have the privilege now to record but a small +portion, and even this statement of facts appears, as I glance +backward into my human existence, as if it may seem to others<span class="pagenum">[Pg 339]</span> +to border on the incredible. During all that time—I know not +how long the period may have been—we were alternately passing +and repassing through the partition of division (the sphere of +gravity) that separated the inner from the outer substantial +crust of earth. With each vibration our line of travel became +shorter and shorter, like the decreasing oscillations of a pendulum, +and at last I could no longer perceive the rushing motion +of a medium like the air. Finally my guide said that we were +at perfect rest at a point in that mysterious medial sphere which, +at a distance of about seven hundred miles below the level of +the sea, concentrates in its encompassing curvature, the mighty +power of gravitation. We were fixed seven hundred miles from +the outer surface of the globe, but more than three thousand +from the center.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 340]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340"></a>CHAPTER L.<br /> +<br /> +MY WEIGHT ANNIHILATED.—"TELL ME," I CRIED IN ALARM, +"IS THIS TO BE A LIVING TOMB?"</h2> + + +<p>"If you will reflect upon the condition we are now in, +you will perceive that it must be one of unusual scientific +interest. If you imagine a body at rest, in an intangible medium, +and not in contact with a gas or any substance capable of +creating friction, that body by the prevailing theory of matter +and motion, unless disturbed by an impulse from without, would +remain forever at absolute rest. We now occupy such a position. +In whatever direction we may now be situated, it seems to us +that we are upright. We are absolutely without weight, and in +a perfectly frictionless medium. Should an inanimate body +begin to revolve here, it would continue that motion forever. If +our equilibrium should now be disturbed, and we should begin +to move in a direction coinciding with the plane in which we +are at rest, we would continue moving with the same rapidity in +that direction until our course was arrested by some opposing +object. We are not subject to attraction of matter, for at this +place gravitation robs matter of its gravity, and has no influence +on extraneous substances. We are now in the center of gravitation, +the 'Sphere of Rest.'"</p> + +<p>"Let me think it out," I replied, and reasoning from his +remarks, I mentally followed the chain to its sequence, and was +startled as suddenly it dawned upon me that if his argument was +true we must remain motionless in this spot until death (could +beings in conditions like ourselves die beyond the death we had +already achieved) or the end of time. We were at perfect rest, +in absolute vacancy, there being, as I now accepted without +reserve, neither gas, liquid, nor solid, that we could employ as +a lever to start us into motion. "Tell me," I cried in alarm, "is +this to be a living tomb? Are we to remain suspended here +forever, and if not, by what method can we hope to extricate<span class="pagenum">[Pg 341]</span> +ourselves from this state of perfect quiescence?" He again took +the bar of iron from my hand, and cautiously gave it a whirling +motion, releasing it as he did so. It revolved silently and rapidly +in space without support or pivot.</p> + +<p>"So it would continue," he remarked, "until the end of time, +were it not for the fact that I could not possibly release it in a +condition of absolute horizontal rest. There is a slight, slow, +lateral motion that will carry the object parallel with this sheet +of energy to the material side of this crevice, when its motion +will 'be arrested by the earth it strikes.'"</p> + +<p>"That I can understand," I replied, and then a ray of light +broke upon me. "Had not Cavendish demonstrated that, when +a small ball of lead is suspended on a film of silk, near a mass of +iron or lead, it is drawn towards the greater body? We will be +drawn by gravity to the nearest cliff," I cried.</p> + +<p>"You mistake," he answered; "Cavendish performed his +experiments on the surface of the earth, and there gravity is +always ready to start an object into motion. Here objects have +no weight, and neither attract nor repel each other. The force +of cohesion holds together substances that are in contact, but as +gravitation can not now affect matter out of molecular contact +with other forms of matter, because of the equilibrium of all +objects, so it may be likewise said, that bodies out of contact +have at this point no attraction for one another. If they possessed +this attribute, long ago we would have been drawn +towards the earth cliff with inconceivable velocity. However, if +by any method our bodies should receive an impulse sufficient to +start them into motion, ever so gently though it be, we in like +manner would continue to move in this frictionless medium—until"—</p> + +<p>"We would strike the material boundary of this crevice," +I interrupted.</p> + +<p>"Yes; but can you conceive of any method by which such +voluntary motion can now be acquired?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"Does it not seem to you," he continued, "that when skillful +mechanics on the earth's surface are able to adjust balances so +delicately that in the face of friction of metal, friction of air, +inertia of mass, the thousandth part of a grain can produce<span class="pagenum">[Pg 342]</span> +motion of the great beams and pans of such balances, we, in +this location where there is no friction and no opposing medium—none +at all—should be able to induce mass motion?"</p> + +<p>"I can not imagine how it is possible, unless we shove each +other apart. There is no other object to push against,—but why +do you continue to hold me so tightly?" I interrupted myself to +ask, for he was clasping me firmly again.</p> + +<p>"In order that you may not leave me," he replied.</p> + +<p>"Come, you trifle," I said somewhat irritated; "you have +just argued that we are immovably suspended in a frictionless +medium, and fixed in our present position; you ask me to suggest +some method by which we can create motion, and I fail to +devise it, and almost in the same sentence you say that you fear +that I will leave you. Cease your incongruities, and advise with +me rationally."</p> + +<p>"Where is the bar of iron?" he asked.</p> + +<p>I turned towards its former location; it had disappeared.</p> + +<p>"Have you not occasionally felt," he asked, "that in your +former life your mind was a slave in an earthly prison? Have +you never, especially in your dreams, experienced a sensation of +mental confinement?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Know then," he replied, "that there is a connection between +the mind and the body of mortal beings, in which matter confines +mind, and yet mind governs matter. How else could the will of +men and animals impart voluntary motion to earthy bodies? +With beings situated as are the animals on the surface of the +earth, mind alone can not overcome the friction of matter. A +person could suspend himself accurately on a string, or balance +himself on a pivot, and wish with the entire force of his mind +that his body would revolve, and still he would remain at perfect +rest."</p> + +<p>"Certainly. A man would be considered crazy who attempted +it," I answered.</p> + +<p>"Notwithstanding your opinion, in time to come, human +beings on the surface of the earth will investigate in this very +direction," he replied, "and in the proper time mental evolution +will, by experimentation, prove the fact of this mind and matter +connection, and demonstrate that even extraneous matter may<span class="pagenum">[Pg 343]</span> +be made subservient to mind influences. On earth, mind acts +on the matter of one's body to produce motion of matter, and +the spirit within, which is a slave to matter, moves with it. +Contraries rule here. Mind force acts on pure space motion, +moving itself and matter with it, and that, too, without any +exertion of the material body which now is a nonentity, mind +here being the master."</p> + +<p>"How can I believe you?" I replied.</p> + +<p>"Know, then," he said, "that we are in motion now, propelled +by my will power."</p> + +<p>"Prove it."</p> + +<p>"You may prove it yourself," he said; "but be careful, or we +will separate forever."</p> + +<p>Releasing his grasp, he directed me to wish that I were +moving directly to the right. I did so; the distance widened +between us.</p> + +<p>"Wish intensely that you would move in a circle about me."</p> + +<p>I acquiesced, and at once my body began to circle around him.</p> + +<p>"Call for the bar of iron."</p> + +<p>I did as directed, and soon it came floating out of space into +my very hand.</p> + +<p>"I am amazed," I ejaculated; "yes, more surprised at these +phenomena than at anything that has preceded."</p> + +<p>"You need not be; you move now under the influences of +natural laws that are no more obscure or wonderful than those +under which you have always existed. Instead of exercising its +influence on a brain, and thence indirectly on a material body, +your mind force is exerting its action through energy on matter +itself. Matter is here subservient. It is nearly the same as +vacuity, mind being a comprehensive reality. The positions we +have heretofore occupied have been reversed, and mind now +dominates. Know, that as your body is now absolutely without +weight, and is suspended in a frictionless medium, the most +delicate balance of a chemist can not approach in sensitiveness +the adjustment herein exemplified. Your body does not weigh +the fraction of the millionth part of a grain, and where there is +neither material weight nor possible friction, even the attrition +that on surface earth results from a needle point that rests on an +agate plate is immeasurably greater in comparison. Pure mind<span class="pagenum">[Pg 344]</span> +energy is capable of disturbing the equilibrium of matter in our +situation, as you have seen exemplified by our movements and +extraneous materials, 'dead matter' obeys the spiritual. The +bar of iron obeyed your call, the spiritless metal is subservient to +the demands of intelligence. But, come, we must continue our +journey."</p> + +<p>Grasping me again, he exclaimed: "Wish with all intensity +that we may move forward, and I will do the same."</p> + +<p>I did so.</p> + +<p>"We are now uniting our energies in the creation of motion," +he said; "we are moving rapidly, and with continually accelerated +speed; before long we will perceive the earthy border of +this chasm."</p> + +<p>And yet it seemed to me that we were at perfect rest.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 345]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345"></a>CHAPTER LI.<br /> +<br /> +IS THAT A MORTAL?—"THE END OF EARTH."</h2> + + +<p>At length I perceived, in the distance, a crescent-shaped +ring of silver luster. It grew broader, expanding beneath my +gaze, and appeared to approach rapidly.</p> + +<p>"Hold; cease your desire for onward motion," said the guide; +"we approach too rapidly. Quick, wish with all your mind that +you were motionless."</p> + +<p>I did so, and we rested in front of a ridge of brilliant material, +that in one direction, towards the earth's outer circle, +broadened until it extended upward as far as the eye could +reach in the form of a bold precipice, and in the other towards +the inner world, shelved gradually away as an ocean beach +might do.</p> + +<p>"Tell me, what is this barrier?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"It is the bisected edge of the earth crevice," he said. +"That overhanging upright bluff reaches towards the external +surface of the earth, the land of your former home. That +shelving approach beneath is the entrance to the 'Inner Circle,' +the concavity of our world."</p> + +<p>Again we approached the visible substance, moving gently +under the will of my guide. The shore became more distinctly +outlined as we advanced, inequalities that were before unnoticed +became perceptible, and the silver-like material resolved itself +into ordinary earth. Then I observed, upright and motionless, +on the edge of the shore that reached toward the inner shell of +earth, towards that "Unknown Country" beyond, a figure in +human form.</p> + +<p>"Is that a mortal?" I asked. "Are we nearing humanity +again?"</p> + +<p>"It is a being of mortal build, a messenger who awaits our +coming, and who is to take charge of your person and conduct +you farther," he replied. "It has been my duty to crush, to<span class="pagenum">[Pg 346]</span> +overcome by successive lessons your obedience to your dogmatic, +materialistic earth philosophy, and bring your mind to comprehend +that life on earth's surface is only a step towards a brighter +existence, which may, when selfishness is conquered, in a time +to come, be gained by mortal man, and while he is in the flesh. +The vicissitudes through which you have recently passed should +be to you an impressive lesson, but the future holds for you a +lesson far more important, the knowledge of spiritual, or mental +evolution which men may yet approach; but that I would not +presume to indicate now, even to you. Your earthly body has +become a useless shell, and when you lay it aside, as you soon +can do, as I may say you are destined to do, you will feel a relief +as if an abnormal excrescence had been removed; but you can +not now comprehend such a condition. That change will not +occur until you have been further educated in the purely occult +secrets for which I have partly prepared you, and the material +part of your organism will at any time thereafter come and go at +command of your will. On that adjacent shore, the person you +have observed, your next teacher, awaits you."</p> + +<p>"Am I to leave you?" I cried in despair, for suddenly the +remembrance of home came into my mind, and the thought, as +by a flash, that this being alone could guide me back to earth. +"Recall your words, do not desert me now after leading me +beyond even alchemistic imaginings into this subterranean +existence, the result of what you call your natural, or pure, +ethereal lessons."</p> + +<p>He shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I beg of you, I implore of you, not to abandon me now; +have you no compassion, no feeling? You are the one tie that +binds me to earth proper, the only intelligence that I know to be +related to a human in all this great, bright blank."</p> + +<p>Again he shook his head.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/gs1058.jpg" width="600" height="496" alt="" title=""SUSPENDED IN VACANCY, HE SEEMED TO FLOAT."" /> +<span class="caption">"SUSPENDED IN VACANCY, HE SEEMED TO FLOAT."</span> +</div> + +<p>"Hearken to my pleadings. Listen to my allegation. You +stood on the edge of the brook spring in Kentucky, your back +to the darkness of that gloomy cavern, and I voluntarily gave +you my hand as to a guide; I turned from the verdure of the +earth, the sunshine of the past, and accompanied you into as +dismal a cavern as man ever entered. I have since alternately +rebelled at your methods, and again have trusted you implicitly +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 348]</span>as we passed through scenes that rational imagination scarce +could conjure. I have successively lost my voice, my weight, +my breath, my heart throb, and my soul for aught I know. +Now an unknown future awaits me on the one hand, in which +you say my body is to disappear, and on the other you are +standing, the only link between earth and my self-existence, +a semi-mortal it may be, to speak mildly, for God only knows +your true rank in life's scale. Be you man or not, you brought +me here, and are responsible for my future safety. I plead and +beg of you either to go on with me into the forthcoming uncertainty +'Within the Unknown Country' to which you allude, or +carry me back to upper earth."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 349]</span></p> + +<p>He shook his head again, and motioned me onward, and +his powerful will overcoming my feeble resistance, impelled +me towards that mysterious shore. I floated helpless, as a +fragment of camphor whirls and spins on a surface of clear, +warm water, spinning and whirling aimlessly about, but moving +onward. My feet rested on solid earth, and I awkwardly +struggled a short distance onward and upward, and then stepped +upon the slope that reached, as he had said, inward and upward +towards the unrevealed "Inner Circle." I had entered now that +mysterious third circle or sphere, and I stood on the very edge of +the wonderful land I was destined to explore, "The Unknown +Country." The strange, peaceful being whom I had observed on +the shore, stepped to my side, and clasped both my hands, and +the guide of former days waved me an adieu. I sank upon my +knees and imploringly raised my arms in supplication, but the +comrade of my journey turned about, and began to retrace his +course. Suspended in vacancy, he seemed to float as a spirit +would if it were wafted diagonally into the heavens, and acquiring +momentum rapidly, became quickly a bright speck, seemingly a +silver mote in the occult earth shine of that central sphere, and +soon vanished from view. In all my past eventful history there +was nothing similar to or approaching in keenness the agony +that I suffered at this moment, and I question if shipwrecked +sailor or entombed miner ever experienced the sense of utter desolation +that now possessed and overcame me. Light everywhere +about me, ever-present light, but darkness within, darkness +indescribable, and mental distress unutterable. I fell upon my<span class="pagenum">[Pg 350]</span> +face in agony, and thought of other times, and those remembrances +of my once happy upper earth life became excruciatingly +painful, for when a person is in misery, pleasant recollections, +by contrast, increase the pain. "Let my soul die now as my +body has done," I moaned; "for even mental life, all I now +possess, is a burden. The past to me is a painful, melancholy +recollection; the future is"—</p> + +<p>I shuddered, for who could foretell my future? I glanced at +the immovable being with the sweet, mild countenance, who +stood silent on the strand beside me, and whom I shall not now +attempt to describe. He replied:</p> + +<p>"The future is operative and speculative. It leads the contemplative +to view with reverence and admiration the glorious +works of the Creator, and inspires him with the most exalted +ideas of the perfections of his divine Creator."</p> + +<p>Then he added:</p> + +<p>"Have you accepted that whatever seems to be is not, and +that that which seems not to be, is? Have you learned that +facts are fallacies, and physical existence a delusion? Do you +accept that material bliss is impossible, and that while humanity +is working towards the undiscovered land, man is not, can not +be satisfied?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," I said; "I admit anything, everything. I do not +know that I am here or that you are there. I do not know that +I have ever been, or that any form of matter has ever had an +existence. Perhaps material things are not, perhaps vacuity +only is tangible."</p> + +<p>"Are you willing to relinquish your former associations, to +cease to concern yourself in the affairs of men? Do you"—</p> + +<p>He hesitated, seemed to consider a point that I could not +grasp; then, without completing his sentence, or waiting for me +to answer, added:</p> + +<p>"Come, my friend, let us enter the expanses of the Unknown +Country. You will soon behold the original of your vision, the +hope of humanity, and will rest in the land of Etidorhpa. Come, +my friend, let us hasten."</p> + +<p>Arm in arm we passed into that domain of peace and tranquillity, +and as I stepped onward and upward perfect rest came +over my troubled spirit. All thoughts of former times vanished.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 351]</span> +The cares of life faded; misery, distress, hatred, envy, jealousy, +and unholy passions, were blotted from existence. Excepting +my love for dear ones still earth-enthralled, and the strand of +sorrow that, stretching from soul to soul, linked us together, the +past became a blank. I had reached the land of Etidorhpa—</p> + +<p class="center">THE END OF EARTH.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 352]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>INTERLUDE.</h2> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352"></a>CHAPTER LII.<br /> +<br /> +THE LAST FAREWELL.</h2> + + +<p>My mysterious guest, he of the silver, flowing beard, read +the last word of the foregoing manuscript, and then laid the +sheet of paper on the table, and rested his head upon his hand, +gazing thoughtfully at the open fire. Thus he sat for a considerable +period in silence. Then he said:</p> + +<p>"You have heard part of my story, that portion which I am +commanded to make known now, and you have learned how, by +natural methods, I passed by successive steps while in the body, +to the door that death only, as yet, opens to humanity. You +understand also that, although of human form, I am not as other +men (for with me matter is subservient to mind), and as you +have promised, so you must act, and do my bidding concerning +the manuscript."</p> + +<p>"But there is surely more to follow. You will tell me of +what you saw and experienced beyond the end of earth, within +the possessions of Etidorhpa. Tell me of that Unknown Country."</p> + +<p>"No," he answered; "this is the end, at least so far as my +connection with you is concerned. You still question certain +portions of my narrative, I perceive, notwithstanding the provings +I have given you, and yet as time passes investigation will +show that every word I have read or uttered is true, historically, +philosophically, and spiritually (which you now doubt), and +men will yet readily understand how the seemingly profound, +unfathomable phenomena I have encountered may be verified. +I have studied and learned by bitter experience in a school that +teaches from the outgoings of a deeper philosophy than human +science has reached, especially modern materialistic science<span class="pagenum">[Pg 353]</span> +which, however, step by step it is destined to reach. And yet I +have recorded but a small part of the experiences that I have +undergone. What I have related is only a foretaste of the +inexhaustible feast which, in the wisdom expanse of the future, +will yet be spread before man, and which tempts him onward +and upward. This narrative, which rests against the beginning +of my real story, the Unknown Country and its possibilities +should therefore incite to renewed exertions, both mental and +experimental, those permitted to review it. I have carried my +history to the point at which I can say to you, very soon afterward +I gave up my body temporarily, by a perfectly natural +process, a method that man can yet employ, and passed as a +spiritual being into the ethereal spaces, through those many +mansions which I am not permitted to describe at this time, and +from which I have been forced unwillingly to return and take up +the semblance of my body, in order to meet you and record +these events. I must await the development and expansion of +mind that will permit men to accept this faithful record of my +history before completing the narrative, for men are yet unprepared. +Men must seriously consider those truths which, under +inflexible natural laws, govern the destiny of man, but which, if +mentioned at this day can only be viewed as the hallucinations +of a disordered mind. To many this manuscript will prove a +passing romance, to others an enigma, to others still it will be +a pleasing study. Men are not now in a condition to receive +even this paper. That fact I know full well, and I have accordingly +arranged that thirty years shall pass before it is made +public. Then they will have begun to study more deeply into +force disturbances, exhibitions of energy that are now known +and called imponderable bodies (perhaps some of my statements +will then even be verified), and to reflect over the connection +of matter therewith. A few minds will then be capable of +vaguely conceiving possibilities, which this paper will serve +to foretell, for a true solution of the great problems of the +ethereal unknown is herein suggested, the study of which +will lead to a final elevation of humanity, such as I dare not +prophesy."</p> + +<p>"Much of the paper is obscure to me," I said; "and there are +occasional phrases and repetitions that appear to be interjected,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 354]</span> +possibly, with an object, and which are yet disconnected from +the narrative proper."</p> + +<p>"That is true; the paper often contains statements that are +emblematical, and which you can not understand, but yet such +portions carry to others a hidden meaning. I am directed to +speak to many persons besides yourself, and I can not meet +those whom I address more directly than I do through this communication. +These pages will serve to instruct many people—people +whom you will never know, to whom I have brought +messages that will in secret be read between the lines."</p> + +<p>"Why not give it to such persons?"</p> + +<p>"Because I am directed to bring it to you," he replied, "and +you are required:</p> + +<p>"First, To seal the manuscript, and place it in the inner vault +of your safe.</p> + +<p>"Second, To draw up a will, and provide in case of your +death, that after the expiration of thirty years from this date, +the seals are to be broken, and a limited edition published in +book form, by one you select.</p> + +<p>"Third, An artist capable of grasping the conceptions will at +the proper time be found, to whom the responsibility of illustrating +the volume is to be entrusted, he receiving credit therefor. +Only himself and yourself (or your selected agent) are to +presume to select the subjects for illustration.</p> + +<p>"Fourth, In case you are in this city, upon the expiration of +thirty years, you are to open the package and follow the directions +given in the envelope therein."</p> + +<p>And he then placed on the manuscript a sealed envelope +addressed to myself.</p> + +<p>"This I have promised already," I said.</p> + +<p>"Very well," he remarked, "I will bid you farewell."</p> + +<p>"Wait a moment; it is unjust to leave the narrative thus +uncompleted. You have been promised a future in comparison +with which the experiences you have undergone, and have +related to me, were tame; you had just met on the edge of the +inner circle that mysterious being concerning whom I am +deeply interested, as I am in the continuation of your personal +narrative, and you have evidently more to relate, for you must +have passed into that Unknown Country. You claim to have<span class="pagenum">[Pg 355]</span> +done so, but you break the thread in the most attractive part +by leaving the future to conjecture."</p> + +<p>"It must be so. This is a history of man on Earth, the continuation +will be a history of man within the Unknown Country."</p> + +<p>"And I am not to receive the remainder of your story?" I +reiterated, still loth to give it up.</p> + +<p>"No; I shall not appear directly to you again. Your part in +this work will have ended when, after thirty years, you carry +out the directions given in the sealed letter which, with this +manuscript, I entrust to your care. I must return now to the +shore that separated me from my former guide, and having again +laid down this semblance of a body, go once more into"—</p> + +<p>He buried his face in his hands and sobbed. Yes; this +strange, cynical being whom I had at first considered an impertinent +fanatic, and then, more than once afterward, had been +induced to view as a cunning impostor, or to fear as a cold, +semi-mortal, sobbed like a child.</p> + +<p>"It is too much," he said, seemingly speaking to himself; +"too much to require of one not yet immortal, for the good of +his race. I am again with men, nearly a human, and I long to +go back once more to my old home, my wife, my children. Why +am I forbidden? The sweets of Paradise can not comfort the +mortal who must give up his home and family, and yet carry his +earth-thought beyond. Man can not possess unalloyed joys, and +blessings spiritual, and retain one backward longing for mundane +subjects, and I now yearn again for my earth love, my material +family. Having tasted of semi-celestial pleasures in one of the +mansions of that complacent, pure, and restful sphere, I now +exist in the border land, but my earth home is not relinquished, +I cling as a mortal to former scenes, and crave to meet my lost +loved ones. All of earth must be left behind if Paradise is ever +wholly gained, yet I have still my sublunary thoughts.</p> + +<p>"Etidorhpa! Etidorhpa!" he pleaded, turning his eyes as if +towards one I could not see, "Etidorhpa, my old home calls. +Thou knowest that the beginning of man on earth is a cry born +of love, and the end of man on earth is a cry for love; love is a +gift of Etidorhpa, and thou, Etidorhpa, the soul of love, should +have compassion on a pleading mortal."</p> + +<p>He raised his hands in supplication.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 356]</span></p> + +<p>"Have mercy on me, Etidorhpa, as I would on you if you +were I and I were Etidorhpa."</p> + +<p>Then with upturned face he stood long and silent, listening.</p> + +<p>"Ah," he murmured at last, as if in reply to a voice I could +not catch, a voice that carried to his ear an answer of deep disappointment; +"thou spokest truly in the vision, Etidorhpa: it +is love that enslaves mankind; love that commands; love that +ensnares and rules mankind, and thou, Etidorhpa, art the soul +of Love. True it is that were there no Etidorhpa, there would +still be tears on earth, but the cold, meaningless tears of pain +only. No mourning people, no sorrowful partings, no sobbing +mothers kneeling with upturned faces, no planting of the myrtle +and the rose on sacred graves. There would be no child-love, no +home, no tomb, no sorrow, no Beyond"—</p> + +<p>He hesitated, sank upon his knees, pleadingly raised his +clasped hands and seemed to listen to that far-off voice, then +bowed his head, and answered:</p> + +<p>"Yes; thou art right, Etidorhpa—although thou bringest sorrow +to mortals, without thee and this sorrow-gift there could be +no bright hereafter. Thou art just, Etidorhpa, and always wise. +Love is the seed, and sorrow is the harvest, but this harvest of +sadness is to man the richest gift of love, the golden link that +joins the spirit form that has fled to the spirit that is still +enthralled on earth. Were there no earth-love, there could be +no heart-sorrow; were there no craving for loved ones gone, the +soul of man would rest forever a brother of the clod. He who +has sorrowed and not profited by his sorrow-lesson, is unfitted +for life. He who heeds best his sorrow-teacher is in closest +touch with humanity, and nearest to Etidorhpa. She who has +drank most deeply of sorrow's cup has best fitted herself for +woman's sphere in life, and a final home of immortal bliss. I +will return to thy realms, Etidorhpa, and this silken strand of +sorrow wrapped around my heart, reaching from earth to Paradise +and back to earth, will guide at last my loved ones to the +realms beyond—the home of Etidorhpa."</p> + +<p>Rising, turning to me, and subduing his emotion, ignoring +this outburst, he said:<span class="pagenum">[Pg 357]</span></p> + +<p>"If time should convince you that I have related a faithful +history, if in after years you come to learn my name (I have +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 358]</span>been forbidden to speak it), and are convinced of my identity, +promise me that you will do your unbidden guest a favor."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 359]</span></p> + +<p><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 408px;"> +<img src="images/gs1059.jpg" width="408" height="600" alt="" title=""I STOOD ALONE IN MY ROOM HOLDING THE MYSTERIOUS +MANUSCRIPT."" /> +<span class="caption">"I STOOD ALONE IN MY ROOM HOLDING THE MYSTERIOUS +MANUSCRIPT."</span> +</div> + +<p>"This I will surely do; what shall it be?"</p> + +<p>"I left a wife, a little babe, and a two-year-old child when I +was taken away, abducted in the manner that I have faithfully +recorded. In my subsequent experience I have not been able to +cast them from my memory. I know that through my error +they have been lost to me, and will be until they change to the +spirit, after which we will meet again in one of the waiting Mansions +of the Great Beyond. I beg you to ascertain, if possible, +if either my children, or my children's children live, and should +they be in want, present them with a substantial testimonial. +Now, farewell."</p> + +<p>He held out his hand, I grasped it, and as I did so, his form +became indistinct, and gradually disappeared from my gaze, the +fingers of my hand met the palm in vacancy, and with extended +arms I stood alone in my room, holding the mysterious manuscript, +on the back of which I find plainly engrossed:</p> + +<div class="poem" style="width: 28em;"> +<span class="i0">"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio,</span> +<span class="i1">Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>EPILOGUE.<br /> +<br /> +LETTER ACCOMPANYING THE MYSTERIOUS MANUSCRIPT.</h2> + + +<p>The allotted thirty years have passed, and as directed, I, +Llewellyn Drury, now break the seals, and open the envelope +accompanying the mysterious package which was left in my hand, +and read as follows:</p> + +<blockquote><p>Herein find the epilogue to your manuscript. Also a picture +of your unwelcome guest, I—Am—The—Man, which you are +directed to have engraved, and to use as a frontispiece to the +volume. There are men yet living to bear witness to my identity, +who will need but this picture to convince them of the authenticity +of the statements in the manuscript, as it is the face of one +they knew when he was a young man, and will recognize now +that he is in age. Do not concern yourself about the reception +of the work, for you are in no wise responsible for its statements. +Interested persons, if living, will not care to appear in public in +connection therewith, and those who grasp and appreciate, who +can see the pertinence of its truths, who can read between the +lines and have the key to connected conditions, will assuredly +keep their knowledge of these facts locked in their own bosoms, +or insidiously oppose them, and by their silence or their attacks +cover from men outside the fraternity, their connection with the +unfortunate author. They dare not speak.</p> + +<p>Revise the sentences; secure the services of an editor if you +desire, and induce another to publish the book if you shrink +from the responsibility, but in your revision do not in any way +alter the meaning of the statements made in the manuscript; +have it copied for the printer, and take no part in comments that +may arise among men concerning its reception.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> + Those who are +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 361]</span>best informed regarding certain portions thereof, will seemingly +be least interested in the book, and those who realize most fully +these truths, will persistently evade the endorsement of them. +The scientific enthusiast, like the fraternity to which I belong, if +appealed to, will obstruct the mind of the student either by criticism +or ridicule, for many of these revelations are not recorded +in his books.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> From a review of the fac simile (see <a href="#Page_35">p. 35</a>), it will be seen that an +exact print word for word could not be expected. In more than one +instance subsequent study demonstrated that the first conception was +erroneous, and in the interview with Etidorhpa (see <a href="#Page_252">p. 252</a>), after the +page had been plated, it was discovered that the conveyed meaning was +exactly the reverse of the original. Luckily the error was discovered in +time to change the verse, and leave the spirit of this fair creature +unblemished.—J. U. L.</p></div> + +<p>You are at liberty to give in your own language as a prologue +the history of your connection with the author, reserving, +however, if you desire to do so, your personality, adding an introduction +to the manuscript, and, as interludes, every detail of our +several conversations, and of your experience. Introduce such +illustrations as the selected artist and yourself think proper in +order to illuminate the statements. Do not question the advisability +of stating all that you know to have occurred; write the +whole truth, for although mankind will not now accept as fact +all that you and I have experienced, strange phases of life +phenomena are revealing themselves, and humanity will yet +surely be led to a higher plane. As men investigate the points of +historical interest, and the ultra-scientific phenomena broached +in this narrative, the curtain of obscurity will be drawn aside, +and evidence of the truths contained in these details will be +disclosed. Finally, you must mutilate a page of the manuscript +that you may select, and preserve the fragment intact and in +secret. Do not print another edition unless you are presented +with the words of the part that is missing.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> +</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> I have excised a portion (see p. 190).—J. U. L.</p> +</div> + +<p class="quotsig"> +(Signed.) I—Am—The—Man. +</p></blockquote> + +<p><span class="smcap">Note by Mr. Drury.</span>—Thus the letter ended. After mature +consideration it has been decided to give verbatim most of the +letter, and all of the manuscript, and to append, as a prologue, an +introduction to the manuscript, detailing exactly the record of my +connection therewith, including my arguments with Professors +Chickering and Vaughn, whom I consulted concerning the statements +made to me directly by its author. I will admit that +perhaps the opening chapter in my introduction may be such as +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 362]</span>to raise in the minds of some persons a question concerning my +mental responsibility, for as the principal personage in this drama +remarks: "Mankind can not now accept as facts what I have +seen." Yet I walk the streets of my native city, a business man +of recognized thoughtfulness and sobriety, and I only relate on +my own responsibility what has to my knowledge occurred. It +has never been intimated that I am mentally irresponsible, or +speculative, and even were this the case, the material proof that +I hold, and have not mentioned as yet, and may not, concerning +my relations with this remarkable being, effectually disproves +the idea of mental aberration, or spectral delusion. Besides, +many of the statements are of such a nature as to be verified +easily, or disproved by any person who may be inclined to repeat +the experiments suggested, or visit the localities mentioned. The +part of the whole production that will seem the most improbable +to the majority of persons, is that to which I can testify from my +own knowledge, as related in the first portion and the closing +chapter. This approaches necromancy, seemingly, and yet in my +opinion, as I now see the matter, such unexplained and recondite +occurrences appear unscientific, because of the shortcomings of +students of science. Occult phenomena, at some future day, +will be proved to be based on ordinary physical conditions to be +disclosed by scientific investigations [for "All that is is natural, +and science embraces all things"], but at present they are beyond +our perception; yes, beyond our conception.</p> + +<p>Whether I have been mesmerized, or have written in a +trance, whether I have been the subject of mental aberration, or +have faithfully given a life history to the world, whether this book +is altogether romance, or carries a vein of prophecy, whether it +sets in motion a train of wild speculations, or combines playful +arguments, science problems, and metaphysical reasonings, useful +as well as entertaining, remains for the reader to determine. So +far as I, Llewellyn Drury, am concerned, this is—</p> + +<p class="center">THE END.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span></p> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/m1060.png" width="600" height="586" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + +<p>Had the above communication and the missing fragment of manuscript been withheld +(see <a href="#Page_161">page 161</a>), it is needless to say that this second edition of Etidorhpa would not have appeared.</p> + +<p>On behalf of the undersigned, who is being most liberally scolded by friends and acquaintances +who can not get a copy of the first edition, and on behalf of these same scolding +mortals, the undersigned extends to I-Am-The-Man the collective thanks of those who scold +and the scolded.—J. U. L.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 404px;"> +<img src="images/m1061a.png" width="404" height="1200" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 365]</span></p> +<p>This introduction, which in the author's edition was signed by the writer, is here reprinted +in order that my views of the book be not misconstrued.—J. U. L.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 366]</span></p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 367]</span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE LIFE OF<br /> +<br /> +PROF. DANIEL VAUGHN<br /> +<br /> +BY PROF. RICHARD NELSON</h2> + +<p class="title">TO WHICH IS ADDED<br /> + +AN ACCOUNT OF HIS DEATH<br /> + +BY FATHER EUGENE BRADY, S.J.</p><p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 368]</span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 369]</span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 367px;"> +<img src="images/gs1063.jpg" width="367" height="600" alt="" title="PROF. DANIEL VAUGHN." /> +<span class="caption">PROF. DANIEL VAUGHN.</span> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 370]</span></p> +<p><span class="pagenum">[Pg 371]</span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="title"><big>Story of the Life of Prof. Daniel Vaughn.</big><a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> +</p> + +<p class="title">BY PROF. RICHARD NELSON.</p> + +<p class="title">HIS VALUABLE LIBRARY SHOWING MARKS +OF MUCH STUDY.</p> + +<p class="title">Twelve Years' Record in the Chair of Chemistry at the Cincinnati +College of Medicine.</p> + + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Reprinted from the Cincinnati Tribune.</p> +</div> +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<p class="center">[A paper read before the Literary Club by Prof. Richard Nelson.]</p> + + +<p>Few men, if any, so eminent in science and philosophy have been known to live +and die in such obscurity as the subject of this paper. A mathematician whose +knowledge has never been fathomed, an original investigator in terrestrial and celestial +chemistry, most of whose speculations are now accepted as law; a contributor to +the philosophical journals of Europe, whose papers were received with distinguished +favor; an astronomer, who, in those papers, ventured to differ with Laplace, and, +too, as will be shown, a man skilled in classical scholarship, yet unknown to his +nearest neighbors and recognized by only a few in his own city. He lived and died +in obscurity and poverty in a city distinguished for its schools of science and art, +and the liberality and public spirit of its men of wealth; who, if any, were to blame? +One object of this paper is to unravel the mystery.</p> + + +<p class="center">HIS BIRTHPLACE AND PARENTAGE.</p> + +<p>Daniel Vaughn was born in the year 1818 at Glenomara, four miles from Killaloe, +County Clare, Ireland. His father's name was John, who had two brothers, +Daniel and Patrick. John, like Daniel, was educated for the church, but, being the +eldest son, remained on the farm. Daniel became, subsequently, the parish priest +of Killaloe, and in 1845 was ordained Bishop.</p> + +<p>John Vaughn had three children, Daniel (the subject of this paper), Owen and +Margaret, afterward Mrs. Kent. The distance to the nearest school being four +Irish miles, John had his sons educated by a tutor till they were prepared to enter a +classical academy.</p> + +<p>At the age of about sixteen Dan, as he was familiarly called, was placed under +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 372]</span>the care of his uncle and namesake at Killaloe, where he entered the academy. +There the young student pursued the study of Greek, Latin and mathematics, giving +some attention to certain branches of physics, for which he evinced peculiar +aptitude.</p> + + +<p class="center">HE EMIGRATES AND FINDS A HOME.</p> + +<p>About the year 1840 his uncle, desirous of having the young man enter the +church, advanced him a sum of money to defray his expenses at a theological school +in Cork, but on seeing the American liners when he reached Queenstown, the temptation +to take the voyage to the land of promise was too great for the young adventurer +to resist, so he secured a passage to New York. When at school he made +wonderful advancement in study, especially in higher mathematics, and felt he ought +to go to a country where he could be free to pursue his favorite line of thought and +where attainments in science would not be circumscribed, as in the church.</p> + +<p>Of his voyage and subsequent wanderings little is known until he reached Kentucky. +That he visited many schools and paid his way in part by teaching there is +no question. The college of the late Dr. Campbell, in Virginia, was one of the institutions +visited, but he felt he must push on to Kentucky. About 1842 he had +reached the Blue Grass region, near the home of the late Colonel Stamps, in Bourbon +County. The Colonel saw him engaged at work and was quick to observe that +the stranger was no common man. Taking him to his house and supplying his +wants, the Colonel soon installed him as his guest, and eventually made him instructor +of his children. Access to the Colonel's library was a boon to the stranger, +developing in him traits of genius of which his host was very proud.</p> + +<p>It was only a short time till the neighboring farmers heard of the distinguished +young scholar, and desired to have the more mature members of their families under +his care. A school was opened in the Colonel's house for instruction in the higher +mathematics, the classics, geology, physical geography and astronomy. The young +people were pleased with their teacher and made commendable progress, but the +curriculum was too varied and comprehensive for an instructor, who, though far advanced +in scholarship, had not yet studied the art of teaching.</p> + + +<p class="center">ACCEPTS A PROFESSORSHIP.</p> + +<p>In 1845 he accepted the chair of Greek in a neighboring college, which afforded +him leisure for his scientific pursuits. After an absence of seven years the +Professor returned to his old friend, Colonel Stamps and family, where he remained +some two years, leaving them to settle in Cincinnati.</p> + +<p>During his stay at the Colonel's (1851) he became a member of the American +Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 1852 contributed to it his first +article, entitled "On the Motions of Numerous Small Bodies and the Phenomena +Resulting Therefrom." Having accumulated a valuable collection of books on +science and philosophy and obtained access to several libraries, public and private, +in the city, he was now in a condition to devote most of his time and energies to his +favorite sciences. For subsistence he delivered lectures before teachers' institutes +and colleges till 1856, when an affection of the lungs compelled him to abandon the +lecture field.</p> + +<p>In the meantime he had offered papers for publication to Silliman's Journal,<span class="pagenum">[Pg 373]</span> +the principal scientific magazine of America at that time, but, receiving no response +to his communications and being denied publication, he took the advice of a friend +and sent his subsequent articles to the British Association for the Advancement of +Science and to the Philosophic Magazine, where they were received with favor. +He was much gratified to find his article on "Meteoric Astronomy" published in +the report of the Liverpool meeting of the association in 1854. Six papers, which +he subsequently sent in 1857, 1859 and 1861, met with similar favor.</p> + +<p>For several years he visited schools, colleges and teachers' institutes in Oxford, +Lebanon, Cleveland and other cities, lecturing on his favorite branches of science. +It had been his intention to popularize the science of physical astronomy by the +publication of tracts or pamphlets.</p> + + +<p class="center">PUBLISHES PAMPHLETS.</p> + +<p>In the year 1856, at the request of teachers before whom he had lectured at the +institutes, and with a view to popularize scientific knowledge, the Professor commenced +the publication of pamphlets. The first number treated of "The Geological +Agency of Water and Subterranean Forces." Only two of these pamphlets +came into the possession of the administrator. One of them was a good-sized volume, +as may be inferred from the following articles it contained:</p> + +<ul class="none"> +<li>"The Influence of Magnitude on Stability."</li> +<li>"The Doctrine of Gravitation."</li> +<li>"Theory of Tides."</li> +<li>"Effects of Tides."</li> +<li>"Cases of Excessive Tidal Action and Planetary Instability."</li> +<li>"The Rings of Saturn."</li> +<li>"The Supposed Influence of Satellites in Preserving Planetary Rings."</li> +<li>"Movements of Comets."</li> +<li>"The Tails of Comets."</li> +<li>"Mass and Density of Comets."</li> +<li>"Cometary Catastrophes."</li> +<li>"Phenomena Attending the Fall of Meteors."</li> +<li>"The Origin of Solar and Meteoric Light."</li> +<li>"Variable Stars and the Sun's Spots."</li> +<li>"Temporary Stars."</li> +<li>"Electrical Light and the Aurora Borealis."</li> +<li>"Proof of the Stability of the Solar System," with an appendix.</li> + +</ul> + +<p>Some of these subjects had been treated of at greater length and published by +American and British associations for the advancement of science.</p> + +<p>He sent to the British Association for the Advancement of Science:</p> + +<ul class="none"> +<li>"Cases of Planetary Instability Indicated by the Appearance of Temporary Stars."</li> +<li>"Appearance of Temporary Stars."</li> +</ul> + + +<p>Other papers appeared:</p> + +<ul class="none"> +<li>"Note on the Sunspots," Philosophical Magazine for December, 1858.</li> +<li>"On the Solar Spots and Variable Stars," idem, Vol. 15, p. 359.</li> +<li>"Changes in the Conditions of Celestial Bodies," an essay.</li> +<li>"The Origin of Worlds," Popular Science Monthly, May, 1879. +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 374]</span></li> + + + +<li>"Planetary Rings and New Stars," Popular Science Monthly, February, 1879.</li> +<li>"Astronomical History of Worlds," idem, September, 1878.</li> +<li>"On the Stability of Satellites in Small Orbits and the Theory of Saturn's +Rings," Philosophical Magazine, May, 1861.</li> +<li>"On the Origin of the Asteroids." Contributed to the American Association +for the Advancement of Science.</li> +<li>"Static and Dynamic Stability in the Secondary Systems," Philosophical Magazine, +December, 1861.</li> +<li>"On Phenomena which May be Traced to the Presence of a Medium Pervading +all Space," idem, May 11, 1861.</li> + +</ul> + +<p>The Professor contributed to other publications on both sides of the Atlantic, +but as he failed to retain copies of the articles or of the magazines in which they +were published, doubtless many papers of interest are among the number.</p> + +<p>The year 1860 found the Professor possessed of a valuable collection of books, +the accumulation of ten or fifteen years, all showing the marks of wear, some of +them besmeared with the drippings from his candle. Among them were works of +some of the most prominent authors in branches of theoretical and practical science. +Those of Laplace, Kepler, Tycho-Brahe, Leibnitz, Herschel, Newton and +others, together with many pamphlets and periodicals, composed his library. He +possessed a familiar knowledge of the German, French, Italian and Spanish languages, +and of ancient Greek and Latin. Many of his papers appeared in the continental +languages. It may be here stated that for the eminent astronomer, Laplace, +as a scientist and writer, Prof. Vaughn entertained great respect, though he +could not accept his nebular hypothesis, because important parts of it would not +bear mathematical investigation. [The proof is in the papers in my possession.—N.] +In an article of the Professor to the Popular Science Monthly (February, +1879) is a case of the kind, showing that the distinguished astronomer ignored +his own famous theory. The article reads: "In endeavoring to account for the +direct motion in secondary systems Laplace contends that, in consequence of friction +the supposed primitive solar rings would have a greater velocity in their outer +than in their inner zones. Now, if friction is to counteract to such an extent the +normal effects of gravitation, it must be an eternal bar against the origin of worlds +by nebulous dismemberment, and if the ring of attenuated matter were placed under +the circumstances suggested by the eminent astronomer, it would be ultimately +doomed, not to form a planet, but to coalesce with the immense spheroid of fiery +vapor it was supposed to have environed."</p> + +<p>It is interesting to know that the theory of our Professor was the correct one, +as proved by a recent discovery of Prof. James E. Keeler, astronomer of the Allegheny +Observatory. As announced in a daily paper: "Prof. James E. Keeler, of +the Allegheny Observatory, has made a wonderful discovery. It is a scientific and +positive demonstration of the fact that the rings of Saturn are made up of many +small bodies and that the satellites of the inner edge of the rings move faster than +the outer."</p> + +<p>As to satellites, Prof. Vaughn, in the paper quoted, page 466, states: "The matter +spread over the wide annular fields is ever urged by its own attraction to collect +together and form satellites, which are ever destroyed by attractive disturbance of +the primary, and have their parts scattered once more over a wide space."<span class="pagenum">[Pg 375]</span></p> + + +<p class="center">INSTALLED AS PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY.</p> + +<p>The Professor was elected to the chair of chemistry in the Cincinnati College +of Medicine and Surgery in 1860, where he served with distinction for twelve years. +His scholarly valedictory at that institution is one of the papers reserved for publication +in his memoirs.</p> + +<p>While in the college he continued his investigations in science, applying his +knowledge of terrestrial chemistry to the chemistry of the heavens, as shown in +nearly all his writings. Besides the position held in the college, he gave lessons in +schools and seminaries in geology, astronomy, chemistry, Latin and Greek.</p> + +<p>In 1873 he visited Lexington, where he met his old friend, Dr. J. C. Darby, and +delivered lectures in public, at the Sayre Institute and the Baptist School, returning +to Cincinnati the following spring. Except from his writings, he seemed to +have no source of revenue for several years. How he managed to exist his +most intimate friends could only conjecture. True, he contributed papers to +monthly publications, but they appeared at such long intervals they could not be +relied on for support, so, in the autumn of 1878 his friends organized for him a +course of lectures, which were well patronized by physicians and others versed in +science. In the meantime, negotiations were opened with prominent citizens of +suburban towns for other lectures, and efforts were made to retire the Professor on +an annuity.</p> + + +<p class="center">HIS END DRAWING NEAR.</p> + +<p>Enfeebled health, which confined him to his room for several weeks, prevented +him from entering on the suburban course, so a second course was projected for the +city and one of the lectures delivered. From what transpired after that lecture his +friends were again anxious regarding his health, and, as the time approached for the +delivery of the second, determined to see him. For reasons stated elsewhere it was +with some difficulty he was found. Prostrated on a couch, he was suffering from a +hemorrhage of the lungs of a few days previous, with evidences all around of a +state of extreme destitution. No time was lost in having him removed to comfortable +quarters in the Good Samaritan Hospital, where his friends arranged for his +care as a private patient. Next day, April 3, he expressed himself as greatly benefited +by the change and talked cheerfully and hopefully of the future. Next day, +Friday, he continued to improve, but on Saturday proof of his forthcoming article +in the Popular Science Monthly reached him, and, feeling that he ought to return +it promptly, he sat up to do the work. The effort was too great. Overcome with +exhaustion after its completion, he sank to sleep and a little after two o'clock next +morning, April 6, his weary spirit peacefully took its flight. Born in 1818, the Professor +was then in the sixty-first year of his age.</p> + + +<p class="center">HIS OBSEQUIES.</p> + +<p>A committee of the more intimate friends of the deceased was formed, consisting +of the late Jacob Traber, his nephew, J. C. Sproull, Drs. J. J. and William Taft +and the writer.</p> + +<p>Funeral services were held in the chapel of the Hospital, where, considering the +suddenness of the Professor's demise, many mourners were present. The interest<span class="pagenum">[Pg 376]</span> +evinced was profound, while the floral tributes that covered the casket were eloquent +of affection and esteem.</p> + +<p>The remains were interred in a burial lot of Jacob Traber, who generously tendered +its use until a separate place of interment and a monument could be procured. +The remains of the two friends now lie side by side.</p> + + +<p class="center">HIS EFFECTS.</p> + +<p>After the funeral the committee referred to visited the room occupied by the +Professor prior to his decease, and had the writer, as his nearest friend, procure letters +of administration, so that papers of value, if any, would be cared for. A few +letters, some private relics, unsalable remnants of books and pamphlets and scraps +of manuscript constituted the effects. The scarcity of manuscript was easily accounted, +for, as it was the habit of the deceased for years to print articles designed +for publication and have them mailed to magazines and to savants in different parts +of Europe and America.</p> + + +<p class="center">CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITS OF STUDY.</p> + +<p>A prominent characteristic of Prof. Vaughn was shyness—a shrinking from +familiarity or conspicuousness. He never was the first to salute a casual acquaintance +on the street, and when introduced to a stranger would extend his hand with +apparent diffidence or reserve—not with the warmth of a hearty shake, but rather +with a cautious presentation of the finger tips. Undemonstrative in manner, and +inexperienced in the customs of social life, his diffidence was taken for coldness, yet +he was kind and tender hearted almost to a fault, and a most grateful recipient of a +favor. In his poverty he would part with money or personal property to people +whom he considered more necessitous than himself. Of the proceeds of his last +course of lectures he gave to one such a sum so large as to almost discourage his +friends from helping him.</p> + +<p>Then, too, he was glad to render service to professional and public men. He +made translations for writers and wrote lectures for others and made chemical +analyses for the city when payment was not expected. As to his placing a commercial +value upon his services he never learned to do it, though they often cost +him both time and money that he could not well spare.</p> + +<p>His waking hours were always fully occupied in writing or study, either in his +laboratory, the libraries or in open-air observations. He was thoroughly familiar +with the geology of the neighborhood and the physical geography of the entire +continent, as may be seen by his articles on "Volcanoes," "The Origin of Lakes +and Mountains," "The Absence of Trees on Prairies," "Malaria," etc. His ingenuity +in the construction of apparatus for his illustrations in chemistry was remarkable. +Given a few tubes of glass and rubber, a piece of tin, some acid and alkali, +a blow-pipe, soldering iron and a pair of pinchers, he could construct at will +enough apparatus for a lesson, a lecture or an analysis.</p> + +<p>Considering his poverty, it may be questioned how he was able to maintain a +laboratory. For twelve years he found a room at the Medical College. At other +times he extemporized quarters at his humble lodgings, where the same apartment +was to him laboratory, study and living room. Such a room he could not find in a +private house, so he sought it elsewhere, as in the tenement in which he was found<span class="pagenum">[Pg 377]</span> +in his last illness. That life necessarily isolated him from society, its pleasures and +advantages before he became familiar with the laws by which it was governed.</p> + +<p>Having acquired a mastery of Greek and Latin in his youth, he had a good +preparation for the acquisition of the modern languages; besides, to prosecute his +studies and investigations, he found it necessary to understand most of the languages +of Europe.</p> + +<p>Exception has been taken to the Professor's manner as a lecturer. When we +consider his natural diffidence in the presence of strangers we are surprised that +he attempted to lecture at all. Take his case when he last lectured,—his lecture +hall, the operating room of the Dental College, and his platform that of the operator +with his audience around but elevated a few feet above him. The position +was an exceedingly trying one, and some time elapsed before he was able to make +a good start. While hesitating, on such occasions, his eyes would wander around +the audience till they rested on those of a familiar friend. Immediately he addressed +himself to that person, and confidence was restored. Like other public +speakers we know of, he continued to address himself chiefly to the one selected, +however embarrassing it might be to that individual.</p> + + +<p class="center">HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE.</p> + +<p>The Professor was a Bible student, if we judge from fragments found among +his effects and a well-worn Bible, now a relic in possession of a former student. +The book is a curiosity, worn as is the cover with marks of his fingers as he held +it, often with a candle in his hand, as shown by occasional drippings on the page +and cover.</p> + +<p>He was not a member of any church. At least, had not been up to a month +before his decease, though he visited churches of all denominations and was familiar +with their doctrines and polity. His religion consisted in his living up to his highest +ideas of right and truth; hence he was charitable almost to a fault. When he +had not money to give, he parted with his books.</p> + +<p>An eloquent public speaker, referring to his private life, has said: "He was +social, kind and humane. He took pleasure in instructing the children and communing +with friends—good men and women, who loved and admired him—and his +humanity was gratified in bestowing what he valued most—knowledge. To him +nothing seemed more precious than truth, and to shed the light of it abroad. His +heart was in his work, and without a glance to the right or left, he pursued his arduous +quest."</p> + +<p>Of the works of creation which occupied so much of his thoughts, the Professor's +views may be had by reading the following concluding remarks found in his +"Physical Astronomy:"</p> + +<p>"Whatever doubts may hang over all speculations respecting distant events, +either of past or future time, we have reason to believe that our universe will ever +exhibit great and useful operations throughout its extensive domains. From the +ruins of some celestial bodies others will rise to act a part in the drama of the +physical creation in future ages. Though nature's work may all decay, her laws +remain the same, and numerous agencies, obedient to their control and aided by +occasional interventions of creative power, must maintain the heavens forever in a +harmonious condition and transform innumerable spheres into seats of light and<span class="pagenum">[Pg 378]</span> +intelligence. While the laws of nature have been thus widely ordained for such +great ends, their simplicity renders them intelligible to the limited powers of the +human mind, and the immense universe thus becomes a vast field of intellectual +enjoyment for man."</p> + + +<p class="center">TESTIMONY OF THE LATE DR. JOHN HANCOCK.</p> + +<p>The late Dr. Hancock, in writing to Mrs. J. W. McLaughlin, stated that he +attended institute lectures of Prof. Vaughn, making his acquaintance at a meeting +of the Southwestern Ohio Normal Institute. The Professor was engaged to lecture +on his favorite specialties, physical geography and astronomy. "It is my recollection," +says the doctor, "that Prof. Vaughn was a graduate of Trinity Collage, Dublin. +However that may be, there can be no doubt as to his wide and profound +scholarship. He was not only deeply versed in the physical sciences, but was +equally proficient in the classics and mathematics. It is said by competent judges +that he read Greek and Latin as he would English, as though he thought in those +languages, and he was one of the few Americans who read through Laplace's +'Mechanique Celeste.' He had a prodigious memory. At the Oxford Institute, +to which I have referred, some dozen of the leading members, Prof. Vaughn among +them, got up some literary games requiring wide reading and retentive memories +for successful rivalry. In these games the Professor showed a wealth of reading +and an ability to use it on the instant that I have never seen approached by any +other scholar. It is needless to say that he was first in the game and the rest +nowhere.</p> + +<p>"Some ten years afterward, when connected with Nelson's Commercial College, +I edited a little educational paper, the News and Educator, of which Mr. +Nelson was proprietor. In this relation I came much more frequently in contact +with Prof. Vaughn than I ever did before. To this paper he contributed a number +of articles on scientific subjects, but, being printed in an obscure local paper, they +attracted little attention."</p> + + +<p class="center">REMINISCENCES OF MRS. STAMPS.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Eliza Stamps, widow of the late Colonel Stamps, in giving her experience +with the Professor, said: "He was a very industrious student, in his profound researches +pursuing them to the exclusion of every thing else. He would frequently +forget the demands of hunger and disregard the summons to his meals. As to his +engaging in innocent amusements, he considered it a sacrifice of valuable time; +yet, lest he should be accused of selfishness or wanting in social etiquette, he sometimes +left his books to unite with the children in their games, and, diffident though +he was, would occasionally take part in the dance.</p> + +<p>"He enjoyed the Colonel's library, but soon exhausted its resources and those +of the neighbors; so, to obtain a supply, he would go on foot to Cincinnati, one +hundred miles distant, and return in the same manner, loaded with new books."</p> + +<p>Throughout his after life he gave evidence of his great respect and affection +for Colonel Stamps, his benefactor, and his family, and the young ladies and gentlemen +who had been his pupils, who never ceased to venerate him for his learning, +or to love and cherish his memory. Some such were among the mourners at his +funeral.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 379]</span></p> + + +<p class="center">REPUTATION IN ENGLAND.</p> + +<p>The late Jacob Traber, one of the most intimate friends of the Professor, has +written: "In the year 1858 I was in the office of John Sayre, bookseller, High +Holborn, where I made the purchase of books that were yet in the hands of the +printer. I gave my address and directions for shipping. When in the act of leaving +the office I was accosted by an elderly gentleman who, with the apology, 'Beg +pardon, I overheard you when you gave your address, Cincinnati, and desire to +make inquiry about one of your distinguished citizens, Daniel Vaughn. Assuming +that you know him, may I ask how long it is since you have seen him?' I replied +that I had known the Professor some four years, and had met him but a few months +ago. At that time I regarded the Professor as a mechanical genius of the speculative +type, and so expressed myself. A quick rejoinder came in that broad and +forcible accent of an Englishman: 'If you Cincinnati people vote Vaughn as a +speculative mechanic, the ripest and profoundest mathematical scholar in England +may be marked as his apprentice. You have a treasure in that man. Why, sir, +we send him problems that fail to be mastered here, and speedily have them back +not only with a solution, but with the demonstration.' The speaker proved to be +one of the ablest scholars and scientists in Europe."</p> + + +<p class="center">FIXING THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS CONDITION.</p> + +<p>The subject of this paper, it will be inferred, did not inherit a patrimony, yet he +contributed his valuable services to many worthy objects without pecuniary compensation. +As has been stated, his great pleasure, next to the investigation of truth, +was to impart useful knowledge and help the needy. When in the medical college +he was paid with shares of stock on which a dividend was never declared, and when +engaged in lecturing and teaching his diffidence prevented him from placing a sufficient +value on his services. Living the life of a recluse, he concealed his poverty +from his nearest friends, who were ignorant even of his address. Then, he never +sought a gratuity, and his friends could only learn by conjecture when he was in +need. When asked if his privations did not cause him much anxiety, he said they +gave him no concern.</p> + +<p>On more than one occasion the writer, at the request of men of wealth and influence, +proposed to retire him on an annuity, but he modestly but firmly declined +to accept, and it was not until after the announcement of his last course that he consented. +Then the proposition was to pay his expenses at a hotel of his choice +and advance him money for his personal expenses, for which he was to lecture +when and where he might choose. The gentlemen most active in this project +were the following, now deceased: Henry Peachy, William F. Corry, Jacob Traber, +Colonel Geoffrey and others. Favorably known to the public were Drs. J. J. and +William Taft, Dr. Thad Reamy, J. C. Sproull, etc.</p> + +<p>The project had so far matured that the writer and another had arranged with +Mr. Peachy to make the Lafayette National Bank the custodian of the funds. Had +the Professor survived, he would have enjoyed a life of leisure and comfort, at one +of the most prominent hotels in the city.</p> + +<p>The people of Cincinnati were, therefore, not responsible for the poverty of our +friend, nor for the state of destitution in which he was found prior to his removal to +the hospital.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 380]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3>ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH OF PROF. VAUGHN, BY REV.<br /> +EUGENE BRADY, S.J.</h3> + +<blockquote><p>[Concerning the last days of Professor Vaughn, the following from the pen of +Father Brady, pastor of St. Xavier's Church, is of special interest. This is peculiarly +appropriate by reason of the fact that Father Brady, while a boy, attended the +college during the time Professor Vaughn taught in Bardstown, Kentucky, and +finally comforted him in his last moments.—J. U. L.]</p></blockquote> + + +<p> +"<span class="smcap">My Dear Mr. Lloyd</span>:—<br /> +</p> + +<p>"Concerning the foot-note on <a href="#Page_160">page 160</a> of Etidorhpa. The description of +Daniel Vaughn is correct. The story of his privations is quite true. He was so +absorbed in science as to be self-neglectful. Moreover, he was grossly neglected by +those <i>who made use of his labors</i>.</p> + +<p>"A servant girl told the venerable Sister Anthony that a poor lodger was dying +in destitution in the west end of the city. The lodger was Professor Vaughn. The +Sister had the good man conveyed to the Good Samaritan Hospital on April 1, +1879. She made him comfortable, as he repeatedly declared. He died on April 6, +1879. <i>Thoroughly conscious</i> up to the last moment, <i>it was at his request</i> that +the undersigned had the melancholy pleasure of administering to him the last +rites of the Catholic Church. It was neither delirium nor senility that revived +his faith. He was but sixty-one years of age, and as rational as ever in life."</p> + +<p class="quotsig"> +—<span class="smcap">Eugene Brady</span>, S.J. +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 381]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ETIDORHPA.</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">To The Recipients of The Author's Edition of Etidorhpa:</span></p> + + +<p>That so large an edition as 1,299 copies of an expensive book, previously +unseen by any subscriber, should have been taken in advance by reason of a +mere announcement, is complimentary to the undersigned; and yet this very +confidence occasioned him not a little anxiety. Under such circumstances +to have failed to give, either in workmanship or subject-matter, more than +was promised in the announcement of Etidorhpa, would have been painfully +embarrassing.</p> + +<p>Not without deep concern, then, were the returns awaited; for, while neither +pains nor expense were spared to make the book artistically a prize, still, beautiful +workmanship and attractive illustrations may serve but to make more +conspicuous other failings. Humiliating indeed would it have been had the +recipients, in a spirit of charity, spoken only of artistic merit and neat +bookwork.</p> + +<p>When one not a bookman publishes a book, he treads the danger-line. +When such a person, without a great publishing-house behind him, issues a +book like Etidorhpa—a book that, spanning space, seemingly embraces wild +imaginings and speculation, and intrudes on science and religion—he invites +personal disaster.</p> + +<p>That in the case of the Author's Edition of Etidorhpa the reverse happily +followed, is evidenced by hundreds of complimentary letters, written by men +versed in this or that section wherein the book intrudes; and in a general way +the undersigned herein gratefully extends his thanks to all correspondents—thanks +for the cordial expressions of approval, and for the graceful oversights +by critics and correspondents, that none better than he realizes have been extended +towards blemishes that must, to others, be not less apparent than they +are to himself.</p> + +<p>Since general interest has been awakened in the strange book Etidorhpa, +and as many readers are soliciting information concerning its reception, it is +not only as a duty, but as a pleasure, that the undersigned reproduces the following +abstracts from public print concerning the Author's Edition, adding, +that as in most cases the reviews were of great length and made by men specially +selected for the purpose, the brief notes are but fragments and simply +characteristic of their general tenor.</p> + +<p>The personal references indulged by the critics could not be excised without +destroying the value of the criticisms, and the undersigned can offer no +other apology for their introduction than to say that to have excluded them +would have done an injustice to the writers.</p> + +<p class="quotsig"> +Respectfully,<br /> +JOHN URI LLOYD. +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 382]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3>ETIDORHPA AS A WORK OF ART.</h3> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Professor S. W. Williams, Wyoming, Ohio.</span></p> + + +<p>If a fine statue or a stately cathedral is a poem in marble, a +masterpiece of the printer's art may be called a poem in typography. +Such is Etidorhpa. In its paper, composition, presswork, +illustrations, and binding—it is the perfection of beauty. +While there is nothing gaudy in its outward appearance, there is +throughout a display of good taste. The simplicity of its neatness, +like that of a handsome woman, is its great charm. Elegance +does not consist in show nor wealth in glitter; so the +richest as well as the costliest garb may be rich in its very +plainness. The illustrations were drawn and engraved expressly +for this work, and consist of twenty-one full-page, half-tone +cuts, and over thirty half-page and text cuts, besides two photogravures. +The best artistic skill was employed to produce them, +and the printing was carefully attended to, so as to secure the +finest effect. Only enameled book paper is used; and this, with +the wide margins, gilt top, trimmed edges, and clear impressions +of the type, makes the pages restful to the eyes in reading or +looking at them. The jacket, or cover, which protects the binding, +is of heavy paper, and bears the same imprint as the book +itself. Altogether, as an elegant specimen of the bookmakers' +art it is a credit to the trade. All honor to the compositors who +set the type, the artists who drew and engraved the illustrations, +the electrotyper who put the forms into plate, the pressman who +worked off the sheets, and the binder who gathered and bound +them in this volume.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 383]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3>REVIEWS OF ETIDORHPA.</h3> + + +<div class="sidenote"><b>B. O. Flower, +Editor of +The Arena, Boston.</b></div> + +<p>The present is an age of expectancy, of anticipation, and of prophecy; +and the invention or discovery or production that occupies the +attention of the busy world, as it rushes on its self-observed +way, for more than the passing nine day's +wonder, must needs be something great indeed. Such +a production has now appeared in the literary world +in the form of the volume entitled "Etidorhpa, or the End of Earth;" +the very title of which is so striking as to arrest the attention at once.</p> + +<p>A most remarkable book.... Surpasses, in my judgment, +any thing that has been written by the elder Dumas or Jules Verne, while +in moral purpose it is equal to Hugo at his best.... It appeals to +the thoughtful scientist no less than to the lover of fascinating romance.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>Mr. Herbert Bates, +in the Commercial +Gazette, Cincinnati.</b></div> + +<p>In summing, I would say that I have found the book distinctly stimulating. +It is odd, but with the oddity of force. It has passages of uncanny +imagination, but they excellently evade the enormous and extravagant. +It is a book that by its title and by such features +as strike one at a hurried glance might easily +repel. Yet it is a book that, studied carefully, calls +for re-reading and deep meditation. Its theories are +capable of scientific demonstration, its imaginings, while they may not +be fact, are always consistent with it. The reader who lets the outside +repel him errs sadly. Let him read it, and he will be as changed in his +position toward it, as ready to convert others, as is the reviewer, who +picked it up with foreboding and laid it down with the sense of having +read great thoughts.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>Dr. W. H. Venable.</b></div> + +<p>"The End of Earth" is not like any other book. The charm of +adventure, the excitement of romance, the stimulating heat of controversy, +the keen pursuit of scientific truth, the glow of moral enthusiasm, +are all found in its pages. The book may be described +as a sort of philosophical fiction, containing much exact +scientific truth, many bold theories, and much ingenious speculation on +the nature and destiny of man.... The occult and esoteric character +of the discussions adds a strange fascination to them. We can +hardly classify, by ordinary rules, a work so unusual in form and purpose, +so discursive in subject-matter, so unconventional in its appeals to reason, +religion and morality.... The direct teaching of the book, +in so far as it aims to influence conduct, is always lofty and pure.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>Letter from +Sir Henry Irving, +to the Author.</b></div> + +<p>"<i>My Dear Sir:</i> Let me thank you most heartily for sending me +the special copy of your wonderful book 'Etidorhpa,' which I shall ever +value. I may say that when by chance I found it in +Cincinnati I read it with the greatest interest and +pleasure, and was so struck by it that I have sent copies +to several friends of mine here and at home. I hope +I may have the pleasure of meeting you some day either here or in +London. I remain, sincerely yours,</p> + +<p class="quotsig"> +HENRY IRVING.<br /> +"20th March, 1896."<br /> +<span class="pagenum">[Pg 384]</span></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>Etidorhpa +as a work of art. +Prof. S. W. Williams.</b></div> + +<p>If a fine statute or a stately cathedral is a poem in marble, a masterpiece +of the printer's art may be called a poem in typography. Such is +"Etidorhpa." In its paper, composition, presswork, illustrations, and +binding—it is the perfection of beauty. While there is +nothing gaudy in its outward appearance, there is +throughout a display of good taste.</p> + +<p>The illustrations were drawn and engraved expressly +for this work, and consist of twenty-one full-page, half-tone cuts, +and over thirty half-page and text cuts, besides two photogravures. The +best artistic skill was employed to produce them, and the printing was +carefully attended to, so as to secure the finest effect.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>Eclectic Medical +Journal, Cincinnati.</b></div> + +<p>No one could have written the chapter on the "Food of Man" but +Professor Lloyd; no one else knows and thinks of these subjects in a +similar way.... The "old man's" description of "the spirit of +stone," "the spirit of plants," and finally, "the spirit +of man," is very fine, but those who hear Professor +Lloyd lecture catch Lloyd's impulses throughout. The +only regret one has in reading this entrancing work is, that it ends unexpectedly, +for the End of Earth comes without a catastrophe. It should +have been a hundred pages longer; the reader yearns for more, and +closes the book wistfully.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>New Idea, Detroit.</b></div> + +<p>One of the great charms of the book is the space between the lines, +which only the initiated can thoroughly comprehend. Don't fail to read +and re-read Etidorhpa. Be sure and read it in the +light of contemporaneous literature, for without doing +so, its true beauty will not appear. Aside from its subject-matter, the excellency +of the workmanship displayed by the printer, and artistic beauty +of the illustrations, will make Etidorhpa an ornament to any library.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>Cincinnati Student.</b></div> + +<p>This book, to use the words of the editor of the Chicago Inter-Ocean, +is "the literary novelty of the year."... In a literary +sense, according to all reviewers, it abounds with +"word-paintings of the highest order"—in some chapters +being "terrible" in its vividness, several critics asserting that Dante's +Inferno has nothing more realistic....</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>The British and +Colonial Druggist, +London, England.</b></div> + +<p>We have read it with absorbed interest, the vividly-depicted scenes +of each stage in the miraculous journey forming a theme which enthralls +the reader till the last page is turned. Many new +views of natural laws are given by the communicator, +and argued between him and Drury, into which, and +into the ultimate intent of Etidorhpa, we will not attempt +to enter, but will leave it for each reader to peruse, and draw his +own conclusions.... Professor Lloyd's style is quaint and polished, +and perfectly clear. The printing and paper are all that can be desired, +and an abundance of artistic and striking illustrations are admirably reproduced.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 385]</span></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>New York World.</b></div> + +<p>Etidorhpa, the End of the Earth, is in all respects the worthiest presentation +of occult teachings under the attractive guise of fiction that has +yet been written. Its author, Mr. John Uri Lloyd, of Cincinnati, as a +scientist and writer on pharmaceutical topics, has already +a more than national reputation, but only his +most intimate friends have been aware that he was an advanced student +of occultism. His book is charmingly written, some of its passages being +really eloquent; as, for instance, the apostrophe to Aphrodite—whose +name is reversed to make the title of the story. It has as thrilling situations +and startling phenomena as imagination has ever conceived.... +There is no confusion between experiences and illusions, such as are common +in the works of less instructed and conscientious writers treating of +such matters. He knows where to draw the line and how to impress +perception of it, as in the four awful nightmare chapters illustrating the +curse of drink. Etidorhpa will be best appreciated by those who have +"traveled East in search of light and knowledge."...</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>John Clark Ridpath, LL.D.</b></div> + +<p>We are disposed to think "Etidorhpa" the most +unique, original, and suggestive new book that we have +seen in this the last decade of a not unfruitful century.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>Times-Star, Cincinnati.</b></div> + +<p>It is as fascinating as the richest romance by Dumas, and mysterious +and awe-inspiring as the wild flights of Verne. Hugo wrote nothing +more impassioned than those terrible chapters where "The-Man-Who-Did-It" +drinks liquor from the mushroom cup. There never +was a book like it. It falls partly in many classes, yet lies +outside of all. It will interest all sorts and conditions of men +and it has that in it which may make it popular as the most sensational +novel of the day. Intricate plotting, marvelous mysteries, clear-cut +science without empiricism, speculative reasoning, sermonizing, historical +facts, and bold theorizing make up the tissue of the story, while the spirit +of Etidorhpa, the spirit of love, pervades it all.... Happy is the +scientist who can present science in a form so inviting as to charm not +only the scholars of his own profession, but the laymen besides, This, +Professor John Uri Lloyd has done in his Etidorhpa.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>The Inter-Ocean, Chicago.</b></div> + +<p>For eighteen years the writer has been seated at his desk, and all +kinds of books have been passed in review, but has never before met +with such a stumper as Etidorhpa. Its name is a stunner, and its title-page, +head-lines, and <a href="#TN"><ins title="Original word was wierd">weird,</ins></a> artistic pictures send you +such a ghastly welcome as to make goblins on the walls, +and fill the close room with spooks and mystery. The +writer has only known of Professor Lloyd as a scientist and an expert in +the most occult art of the pharmacist, and can scarcely conceive him in +the role of the mystic and romancer in the region heretofore sacred to the +tread of the supernatural.... The book is the literary novelty of +the year, but those interested in such lines of thought will forget its novelties +in a profound interest in the themes discussed.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 386]</span></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>The Chicago Medical Times.</b></div> + +<p>The work stands so entirely alone in literature, and possesses such +a marvelous versatility of thought and idea, that, in describing it, we are +at a loss for comparison. In its scope it comprises alchemy, chemistry, +science in general, philosophy, metaphysics, morals, biology, +sociology, theosophy, materialism, and theism—the +natural and supernatural.... It is almost impossible +to describe the character of the work. It is realistic in expression, +and weird beyond Hawthorne's utmost flights. It excels Bulwer-Lytton's +Coming Race and Jules Verne's most extreme fancy. It equals Dante +in vividness and eccentricity of plot.... The entire tone of the +work is elevating. It encourages thought of all that is ennobling and +pure. It teaches a belief and a faith in God and holy things, and shows +God's supervision over all his works. It is an allegory of the life of one +who desires to separate himself from the debasing influences of earth, and +aspires to a pure and noble existence, as beautiful and as true to the existing +conditions of human life as Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. The sorrow; +the struggle with self; the physical burdens; the indescribable +temptations with the presence and assistance of those who would assist +in overcoming them; the dark hours, Vanity Fair, and the Beulahland, +are all there.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>Indianapolis Journal.</b></div> + +<p>In every respect the volume bearing the title Etidorhpa, or the End +of the Earth, is a most remarkable book. Typographically, it is both +unique and artistic—as near perfection in conception and execution as +can be conceived.... The author is John Uri Lloyd, +of Cincinnati, a scientific writer whose pharmaceutical +treatises are widely known and highly valued. That a +man whose mind and time have been engrossed with the affairs of a +specialist and man of affairs could have found time to enter the field of +speculation, and there display not only the most extensive knowledge of +the exact natural sciences, and refute what is held to be scientific truth +with bold theories and ingenious speculations on the nature and destiny +of man is marvelous....</p> + +<p>The Addenda is as original as the book itself, consisting, as it does, +of a list of names, some of whom are not subscribers, but to whom the +author is deeply obliged, or whom he regards as very dear friends, and +those of a few whom he personally admires.... If each of them +has a copy of Etidorhpa, or the End of the Earth, he possesses a book +which is not like any other book in the world.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><b>Cleveland Leader.</b></div> + +<p>It relates to a journey made by the old man under the guidance of a +peculiar being into the interior of the earth. The incidents of this journey +overshadow any thing that Verne ever wrote in his palmiest days. +But perhaps the most singular part of it is that they are +all based on scientific grounds. Dr. Lloyd, the author +of the volume, is one of the deepest students, and is well known as a profound +writer on subjects pertaining to his profession, as well as one who +has taken much pains in studying the occult sciences.... The book is +a very pleasant one to read, a little redundant at times, but full of information.... +Readers who succeed in securing it will be very lucky indeed.<span class="pagenum">[Pg 387]</span></p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>TRANSCRIBER NOTES:<a id="TN" name="TN"></a></p> + +<blockquote> +<p>Punctuation has been normalized.</p> +<p><a name="Note_1" id="Note_1"></a>page 47: no illustration is found in the original book for this reference.</p> + +<p>page 228: "siezed" changed to "seized" (The guide seized me by the hand).</p> + +<p>page 284: "begun" changed to "began" (began a narcotic hallucination).</p> + +<p>page 338: "comformably" changed to "conformably" (that lies conformably with the external crust).</p> + +<p>page 385: "wierd" changed to "weird" (and weird, artistic pictures).</p></blockquote> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etidorhpa or the End of Earth., by John Uri Lloyd + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETIDORHPA OR THE END OF EARTH. *** + +***** This file should be named 37775-h.htm or 37775-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/7/7/37775/ + +Produced by Pat McCoy, Suzanne Shell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +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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