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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cd88311 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50332 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50332) diff --git a/old/50332-8.txt b/old/50332-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 328b7eb..0000000 --- a/old/50332-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1374 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Diamond Lens, by Fitz-James O'Brien - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Diamond Lens - -Author: Fitz-James O'Brien - -Release Date: October 28, 2015 [EBook #50332] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DIAMOND LENS *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The Diamond Lens - - By FITZ-JAMES O'BRIEN - -This story, published in the _Atlantic Monthly_ in 1858, was the first -of the great weird-scientific stories. It won immediate popularity for -the author--a popularity which continued unbroken until his death in -the Civil War. - -[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Weird Tales April -1929. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. -copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -_1. The Bending of the Twig_ - -From a very early period of my life the entire bent of my inclinations -had been towards microscopic investigations. When I was not more than -ten years old, a distant relative of our family, hoping to astonish -my inexperience, constructed a simple microscope for me, by drilling -in a disk of copper a small hole, in which a drop of pure water was -sustained by capillary attraction. This very primitive apparatus, -magnifying some fifty diameters, presented, it is true, only indistinct -and imperfect forms, but still sufficiently wonderful to work up my -imagination to a preternatural state of excitement. - -Seeing me so interested in this rude instrument, my cousin explained -to me all that he knew about the principles of the microscope, related -to me a few of the wonders which had been accomplished through its -agency, and ended by promising to send me one regularly constructed, -immediately on his return to the city. I counted the days, the hours, -the minutes, that intervened between that promise and his departure. - -Meantime I was not idle. Every transparent substance that bore the -remotest resemblance to a lens I eagerly seized upon, and employed -in vain attempts to realize that instrument, the theory of whose -construction I as yet only vaguely comprehended. All panes of glass -containing those oblate spheroidal knots familiarly known as "bull's -eyes" were ruthlessly destroyed, in the hope of obtaining lenses of -marvelous power. I even went so far as to extract the crystalline humor -from the eyes of fishes and animals, and endeavored to press it into -the microscopic service. I plead guilty to having stolen the glasses -from my Aunt Agatha's spectacles, with a dim idea of grinding them -into lenses of wondrous magnifying properties--in which attempt it is -scarcely necessary to say that I totally failed. - -At last the promised instrument came. It was of that order known -as Field's simple microscope, and had cost perhaps about fifteen -dollars. As far as educational purposes went, a better apparatus could -not have been selected. Accompanying it was a small treatise on the -microscope--its history, uses, and discoveries. I comprehended then -for the first time the _Arabian Nights Entertainments_. The dull veil -of ordinary existence that hung across the world seemed suddenly to -roll away, and to lay bare a land of enchantments. I felt towards my -companions as the seer might feel towards the ordinary masses of men. -I held conversations with nature in a tongue which they could not -understand. I was in daily communication with living wonders, such as -they never imagined in their wildest visions. I penetrated beyond the -external portal of things, and roamed through the sanctuaries. Where -they beheld only a drop of rain slowly rolling down the window-glass, -I saw a universe of beings animated with all the passions common to -physical life, and convulsing their minute sphere with struggles as -fierce and protracted as those of men. In the common spots of mold, -which my mother, good housekeeper that she was, fiercely scooped away -from her jam pots, there abode for me, under the name of mildew, -enchanted gardens, filled with dells and avenues of the densest foliage -and most astonishing verdure, while from the fantastic boughs of these -microscopic forests hung strange fruits glittering with green, and -silver and gold. - -It was no scientific thirst that at this time filled my mind. It was -the pure enjoyment of a poet to whom a world of wonders has been -disclosed. I talked of my solitary pleasures to none. Alone with my -microscope, I dimmed my sight, day after day and night after night, -poring over the marvels which it unfolded to me. I was like one who, -having discovered the ancient Eden still existing in all its primitive -glory, should resolve to enjoy it in solitude, and never betray to -mortal the secret of its locality. The rod of my life was bent at this -moment. I destined myself to be a microscopist. - -Of course, like every novice, I fancied myself a discoverer. I was -ignorant at the time of the thousands of acute intellects engaged in -the same pursuit as myself, and with the advantage of instruments a -thousand times more powerful than mine. The names of Leeuwenhoek, -Williamson, Spencer, Ehrenberg, Schultz, Dujardin, Schacht and -Schleiden were then entirely unknown to me, or if known, I was ignorant -of their patient and wonderful researches. In every fresh specimen of -cryptogamia which I placed beneath my instrument I believed that I -discovered wonders of which the world was as yet ignorant. I remember -well the thrill of delight and admiration that shot through me the -first time that I discovered the common wheel animalcule (_Rotifera -vulgaris_) expanding and contracting its flexible spokes, and seemingly -rotating through the water. Alas! as I grew older, and obtained some -works treating of my favorite study, I found that I was only on the -threshold of a science to the investigation of which some of the -greatest men of the age were devoting their lives and intellects. - -As I grew up, my parents, who saw but little likelihood of anything -practical resulting from the examination of bits of moss and drops of -water through a brass tube and a piece of glass, were anxious that I -should choose a profession. It was their desire that I should enter the -counting-house of my uncle, Ethan Blake, a prosperous merchant, who -carried on business in New York. This suggestion I decisively combated. -I had no taste for trade; I should only make a failure; in short, I -refused to become a merchant. - -But it was necessary for me to select some pursuit. My parents were -staid New England people, who insisted on the necessity of labor; and -therefore, although, thanks to the bequest of my poor Aunt Agatha, I -should, on coming of age, inherit a small fortune sufficient to place -me above want, it was decided that, instead of waiting for this, -I should act the nobler part, and employ the intervening years in -rendering myself independent. - -After much cogitation I complied with the wishes of my family, and -selected a profession. I determined to study medicine at the New York -Academy. This disposition of my future suited me. A removal from my -relatives would enable me to dispose of my time as I pleased without -fear of detection. As long as I paid my Academy fees, I might shirk -attending the lectures if I chose; and, as I never had the remotest -intention of standing an examination, there was no danger of my being -"plucked." Besides, a metropolis was the place for me. There I could -obtain excellent instruments, the newest publications, intimacy with -men of pursuits kindred with my own--in short, all things necessary -to insure a profitable devotion of my life to my beloved science. I -had an abundance of money, few desires that were not bounded by my -illuminating mirror on one side and my object-glass on the other; what, -therefore, was to prevent my becoming an illustrious investigator of -the veiled worlds? It was with the most buoyant hope that I left my New -England home and established myself in New York. - - -_2. The Longing of a Man of Science_ - -My first step, of course, was to find suitable apartments. These I -obtained, after a couple of days' search, in Fourth Avenue; a very -pretty second-floor unfurnished, containing sitting-room, bedroom, -and a smaller apartment which I intended to fit up as a laboratory. -I furnished my lodgings simply, but rather elegantly, and then -devoted all my energies to the adornment of the temple of my worship. -I visited Pike, the celebrated optician, and passed in review his -splendid collection of microscopes--Field's Compound, Hingham's, -Spencer's, Nachet's Binocular (that founded on the principles of the -stereoscope), and at length fixed upon that form known as Spencer's -Trunnion Microscope, as combining the greatest number of improvements -with an almost perfect freedom from tremor. Along with this I purchased -every possible accessory--draw-tubes, micrometers, a _camera-lucida_, -leverstage, achromatic condensers, white cloud illuminators, prisms, -parabolic condensers, polarizing apparatus, forceps, aquatic boxes, -fishing-tubes, with a host of other articles, all of which would have -been useful in the hands of an experienced microscopist, but, as I -afterwards discovered, were not of the slightest present value to me. -It takes years of practise to know how to use a complicated microscope. -The optician looked suspiciously at me as I made these wholesale -purchases. He evidently was uncertain whether to set me down as some -scientific celebrity or a madman. I think he inclined to the latter -belief. I suppose I was mad. Every great genius is mad upon the subject -in which he is greatest. The unsuccessful madman is disgraced and -called a lunatic. - -Mad or not, I set myself to work with a zeal which few scientific -students have ever equaled. I had everything to learn relative to the -delicate study upon which I had embarked--a study involving the most -earnest patience, the most rigid analytic powers, the steadiest hand, -the most untiring eye, the most refined and subtile manipulation. - -For a long time half my apparatus lay inactively on the shelves of my -laboratory, which was now most amply furnished with every possible -contrivance for facilitating my investigations. The fact was that I did -not know how to use some of my scientific implements--never having been -taught microscopics--and those whose use I understood theoretically -were of little avail, until by practise I could attain the necessary -delicacy of handling. Still, such was the fury of my ambition, such -the untiring perseverance of my experiments, that, difficult of credit -as it may be, in the course of one year I became theoretically and -practically an accomplished microscopist. - -During this period of my labors, in which I submitted specimens of -every substance that came under my observation to the action of my -lenses, I became a discoverer--in a small way, it is true, for I was -very young, but still a discoverer. It was I who destroyed Ehrenberg's -theory that the _Volvox globator_ was an animal, and proved that his -"monads" with stomachs and eyes were merely phases of the formation -of a vegetable cell, and were, when they reached their mature state, -incapable of the act of conjugation, or any true generative act, -without which no organism rising to any stage of life higher than -vegetable can be said to be complete. It was I who resolved the -singular problem of rotation in the cells and hairs of plants into -ciliary attraction, in spite of the assertions of Mr. Wenham and -others, that my explanation was the result of an optical illusion. - -But notwithstanding these discoveries, laboriously and painfully -made as they were, I felt horribly dissatisfied. At every step I -found myself stopped by the imperfections of my instruments. Like all -active microscopists, I gave my imagination full play. Indeed, it is -a common complaint against many such, that they supply the defects -of their instruments with the creations of their brains. I imagined -depths beyond depths in nature which the limited power of my lenses -prohibited me from exploring. I lay awake at night constructing -imaginary microscopes of immeasurable power, with which I seemed -to pierce through all the envelopes of matter down to its original -atom. How I cursed those imperfect mediums which necessity through -ignorance compelled me to use! How I longed to discover the secret of -some perfect lens, whose magnifying power should be limited only by -the resolvability of the object, and which at the same time should be -free from spherical and chromatic aberrations, in short from all the -obstacles over which the poor microscopist finds himself continually -stumbling! I felt convinced that the simple microscope, composed -of a single lens of such vast yet perfect power, was possible of -construction. To attempt to bring the compound microscope up to such a -pitch would have been commencing at the wrong end; this latter being -simply a partially successful endeavor to remedy those very defects of -the simple instrument, which, if conquered, would leave nothing to be -desired. - -It was in this mood of mind that I became a constructive microscopist. -After another year passed in this new pursuit, experimenting on every -imaginable substance--glass, gems, flints, crystals, artificial -crystals formed of the alloy of various vitreous materials--in short, -having constructed as many varieties of lenses as Argus had eyes, I -found myself precisely where I started, with nothing gained save an -extensive knowledge of glass-making. I was almost dead with despair. My -parents were surprized at my apparent want of progress in my medical -studies (I had not attended one lecture since my arrival in the city), -and the expenses of my mad pursuit had been so great as to embarrass me -very seriously. - -I was in this frame of mind one day, experimenting in my laboratory -on a small diamond--that stone, from its great refracting power, -having always occupied my attention more than any other--when a young -Frenchman, who lived on the floor above me, and who was in the habit of -occasionally visiting me, entered the room. - -I think that Jules Simon was a Jew. He had many traits of the Hebrew -character: a love of jewelry, of dress, and of good living. There was -something mysterious about him. He always had something to sell, and -yet went into excellent society. When I say sell, I should perhaps -have said peddle; for his operations were generally confined to the -disposal of single articles--a picture, for instance, or a rare carving -in ivory, or a pair of duelling-pistols, or the dress of a Mexican -_caballero_. When I was first furnishing my rooms, he paid me a visit, -which ended in my purchasing an antique silver lamp, which he assured -me was a Cellini--it was handsome enough even for that--and some other -knickknacks for my sitting-room. Why Simon should pursue this petty -trade I never could imagine. He apparently had plenty of money, and had -the _entrée_ of the best houses in the city--taking care, however, I -suppose, to drive no bargains within the enchanted circle of the Upper -Ten. I came at length to the conclusion that this peddling was but a -mask to cover some greater object, and even went so far as to believe -my young acquaintance to be implicated in the slave-trade. That, -however, was none of my affair. - -On the present occasion, Simon entered my room in a state of -considerable excitement. - -"_Ah! mon ami!_" he cried, before I could even offer him the ordinary -salutation, "it has occurred to me to be the witness of the most -astonishing things in the world. I promenade myself to the house of -Madame--how does the little animal--_le renard_--name himself in the -Latin?" - -"Vulpes," I answered. - -"Ah! yes--Vulpes. I promenade myself to the house of Madame Vulpes." - -"The spirit medium?" - -"Yes, the great medium. Great heavens! what a woman! I write on a slip -of paper many of questions concerning affairs the most secret--affairs -that conceal themselves in the abysses of my heart the most profound; -and behold! by example! what occurs? This devil of a woman makes me -replies the most truthful to all of them. She talks to me of things -that I do not love to talk of to myself. What am I to think? I am fixed -to the earth!" - -"Am I to understand you, Monsieur Simon, that this Mrs. Vulpes replied -to questions secretly written by you, which questions related to events -known only to yourself?" - -"Ah! more than that, more than that," he answered, with an air of some -alarm. "She related to me things----But," he added, after a pause, and -suddenly changing his manner, "why occupy ourselves with these follies? -It was all the biology, without doubt. It goes without saying that it -has not my credence.--But why are we here, _mon ami_? It has occurred -to me to discover the most beautiful thing as you can imagine--a vase -with green lizards on it, composed by the great Bernard Palissy. It is -in my apartment; let us mount. I go to show it to you." - -I followed Simon mechanically; but my thoughts were far from Palissy -and his enameled ware, although I, like him, was seeking in the dark -a great discovery. This casual mention of the spiritualist, Madame -Vulpes, set me on a new track. What if this spiritualism should be -really a great fact? What if, through communication with more subtile -organisms than my own, I could reach at a single bound the goal, which -perhaps a life of agonizing mental toil would never enable me to attain? - -While purchasing the Palissy vase from my friend Simon, I was mentally -arranging a visit to Madame Vulpes. - - -_3. The Spirit of Leeuwenhoek_ - -Two evenings after this, thanks to an arrangement by letter and the -promise of an ample fee, I found Madame Vulpes awaiting me at her -residence alone. She was a coarse-featured woman, with keen and rather -cruel dark eyes, and an exceedingly sensual expression about her mouth -and under jaw. She received me in perfect silence, in an apartment on -the ground floor, very sparely furnished. In the center of the room, -close to where Mrs. Vulpes sat, there was a common round mahogany -table. If I had come for the purpose of sweeping her chimney, the woman -could not have looked more indifferent to my appearance. There was no -attempt to inspire the visitor with awe. Everything bore a simple -and practical aspect. This intercourse with the spiritual world was -evidently as familiar an occupation with Mrs. Vulpes as eating her -dinner or riding in an omnibus. - -"You come for a communication, Mr. Linley?" said the medium, in a dry, -businesslike tone of voice. - -"By appointment--yes." - -"What sort of communication do you want?--a written one?" - -"Yes--I wish for a written one." - -"From any particular spirit?" - -"Yes." - -"Have you ever known this spirit on this earth?" - -"Never. He died long before I was born. I wish merely to obtain from -him some information which he ought to be able to give better than any -other." - -"Will you seat yourself at the table, Mr. Linley," said the medium, -"and place your hands upon it?" - -I obeyed--Mrs. Vulpes being seated opposite to me, with her hands also -on the table. We remained thus for about a minute and a half, when a -violent succession of raps came on the table, on the back of my chair, -on the floor immediately under my feet, and even on the window-panes. -Mrs. Vulpes smiled composedly. - -"They are very strong tonight," she remarked. "You are fortunate." She -then continued, "Will the spirits communicate with this gentleman?" - -Vigorous affirmative. - -"Will the particular spirit he desires to speak with communicate?" - -A very confused rapping followed this question. - -"I know what they mean," said Mrs. Vulpes, addressing herself to me; -"they wish you to write down the name of the particular spirit that -you desire to converse with. Is that so?" she added, speaking to her -invisible guests. - -That it was so was evident from the numerous affirmatory responses. -While this was going on, I tore a slip from my pocket-book, and -scribbled a name, under the table. - -"Will this spirit communicate in writing with this gentleman?" asked -the medium once more. - -After a moment's pause, her hand seemed to be seized with a violent -tremor, shaking so forcibly that the table vibrated. She said that a -spirit had seized her hand and would write. I handed her some sheets -of paper that were on the table, and a pencil. The latter she held -loosely in her hand, which presently began to move over the paper with -a singular and seemingly involuntary motion. After a few moments had -elapsed, she handed me the paper, on which I found written, in a large, -uncultivated hand, the words: - - He is not here, but has been sent for. - -A pause of a minute or so now ensued, during which Mrs. Vulpes remained -perfectly silent, but the raps continued at regular intervals. When the -short period I mention had elapsed, the hand of the medium was again -seized with its convulsive tremor, and she wrote, under this strange -influence, a few words on the paper, which she handed to me. They were -as follows: - - I am here. Question me. - - LEEUWENHOEK. - -I was astounded. The name was identical with that I had written beneath -the table, and carefully kept concealed. Neither was it at all probable -that an uncultivated woman like Mrs. Vulpes should know even the name -of the great father of microscopics. It may have been biology; but -this theory was soon doomed to be destroyed. I wrote on my slip--still -concealing it from Mrs. Vulpes--a series of questions, which, to avoid -tediousness, I shall place with the responses, in the order in which -they occurred: - - I.--Can the microscope be brought to perfection? - - SPIRIT.--Yes. - - I.--Am I destined to accomplish this great task? - - SPIRIT.--You are. - - I.--I wish to know how to proceed to attain this end. For the love - which you bear to science, help me! - - SPIRIT.--A diamond of one hundred and forty carats, submitted to - electro-magnetic currents for a long period, will experience a - rearrangement of its atoms _inter se_, and from that stone you will - form the universal lens. - - I.--Will great discoveries result from the use of such a lens? - - SPIRIT.--So great that all that has gone before is as nothing. - - I.--But the refractive power of the diamond is so immense, that the - image will be formed within the lens. How is that difficulty to be - surmounted? - - SPIRIT.--Pierce the lens through its axis, and the difficulty is - obviated. The image will be formed in the pierced space, which will - itself serve as a tube to look through. Now I am called. - Good-night. - -I can not at all describe the effect that these extraordinary -communications had upon me. I felt completely bewildered. No biological -theory could account for the _discovery_ of the lens. The medium might, -by means of biological _rapport_ with my mind, have gone so far as to -read my questions, and reply to them coherently. But biology could -not enable her to discover that magnetic currents would so alter the -crystals of the diamond as to remedy its previous defects, and admit -of its being polished into a perfect lens. Some such theory may have -passed through my head, it is true; but if so, I had forgotten it. In -my excited condition of mind there was no course left but to become a -convert, and it was in a state of the most painful nervous exaltation -that I left the medium's house that evening. She accompanied me to the -door, hoping that I was satisfied. The raps followed us as we went -through the hall, sounding on the balusters, the flooring, and even the -lintels of the door. I hastily expressed my satisfaction, and escaped -hurriedly into the cool night air. I walked home with but one thought -possessing me--how to obtain a diamond of the immense size required. My -entire means multiplied a hundred times over would have been inadequate -to its purchase. Besides, such stones are rare, and become historical. -I could find such only in the regalia of Eastern or European monarchs. - - -_4. The Eye of Morning_ - -There was a light in Simon's room as I entered my house. A vague -impulse urged me to visit him. As I opened the door of his sitting-room -unannounced, he was bending, with his back toward me, over a carcel -lamp, apparently engaged in minutely examining some object which he -held in his hands. As I entered, he started suddenly, thrust his hand -into his breast pocket, and turned to me with a face crimson with -confusion. - -"What!" I cried, "poring over the miniature of some fair lady? Well, -don't blush so much; I won't ask to see it." - -Simon laughed awkwardly enough, but made none of the negative -protestations usual on such occasions. He asked me to take a seat. - -"Simon," said I, "I have just come from Madame Vulpes." - -This time Simon turned as white as a sheet, and seemed stupefied, as -if a sudden electric shock had smitten him. He babbled some incoherent -words, and went hastily to a small closet where he usually kept his -liquors. Although astonished at his emotion, I was too preoccupied with -my own idea to pay much attention to anything else. - -"You say truly when you call Madame Vulpes a devil of a woman," I -continued. "Simon, she told me wonderful things tonight, or rather was -the means of telling me wonderful things. Ah! if I could only get a -diamond that weighed one hundred and forty carats!" - -Scarcely had the sigh with which I uttered this desire died upon -my lips, when Simon, with the aspect of a wild beast, glared at me -savagely, and, rushing to the mantelpiece, where some foreign weapons -hung on the wall, caught up a Malay creese, and brandished it furiously -before him. - -"No!" he cried in French, into which he always broke when excited. "No! -you shall not have it! You are perfidious! You have consulted with that -demon, and desire my treasure! But I shall die first! Me! I am brave! -You can not make me fear!" - -All this, uttered in a loud voice trembling with excitement, astounded -me. I saw at a glance that I had accidentally trodden upon the edges of -Simon's secret, whatever it was. It was necessary to reassure him. - -"My dear Simon," I said, "I am entirely at a loss to know what you -mean. I went to Madame Vulpes to consult her on a scientific problem, -to the solution of which I discovered that a diamond of the size I -just mentioned was necessary. You were never alluded to during the -evening, nor, so far as I was concerned, even thought of. What can be -the meaning of this outburst? If you happen to have a set of valuable -diamonds in your possession, you need fear nothing from me. The diamond -which I require you could not possess; or, if you did possess it, you -would not be living here." - -Something in my tone must have completely reassured him; for his -expression immediately changed to a sort of constrained merriment, -combined, however, with a certain suspicious attention to my movements. -He laughed, and said that I must bear with him; that he was at certain -moments subject to a species of vertigo, which betrayed itself in -incoherent speeches, and that the attacks passed off as rapidly as -they came. He put his weapon aside while making this explanation, and -endeavored, with some success, to assume a more cheerful air. - -All this did not impose on me in the least. I was too much accustomed -to analytical labors to be baffled by so flimsy a veil. I determined to -probe the mystery to the bottom. - -"Simon," I said, gayly, "let us forget all this over a bottle of -Burgundy. I have a case of Lausseure's _Clos Vougeot_ downstairs, -fragrant with the odors and ruddy with the sunlight of the Côte d'Or. -Let us have up a couple of bottles. What say you?" - -"With all my heart," answered Simon, smilingly. - -I produced the wine and we seated ourselves to drink. It was of -a famous vintage, that of 1848, a year when war and wine throve -together--and its pure but powerful juice seemed to impart renewed -vitality to the system. By the time we had half finished the second -bottle, Simon's head, which I knew was a weak one, had begun to yield, -while I remained calm as ever, only that every draft seemed to send a -flush of vigor through my limbs. Simon's utterance became more and more -indistinct. He took to singing French _chansons_ of a not very moral -tendency. I rose suddenly from the table just at the conclusion of one -of those incoherent verses, and, fixing my eyes on him with a quiet -smile, said: "Simon, I have deceived you. I learned your secret this -evening. You may as well be frank with me. Mrs. Vulpes, or rather one -of her spirits, told me all." - -He started with horror. His intoxication seemed for the moment to fade -away, and he made a movement towards the weapon that he had a short -time before laid down. I stopped him with my hand. - -"Monster," he cried, passionately, "I am ruined! What shall I do? You -shall never have it! I swear by my mother!" - -"I don't want it," I said; "rest secure, but be frank with me. Tell me -all about it." - -The drunkenness began to return. He protested with maudlin earnestness -that I was entirely mistaken--that I was intoxicated; then asked me to -swear eternal secrecy, and promised to disclose the mystery to me. I -pledged myself, of course, to all. With an uneasy look in his eyes, and -hands unsteady with drink and nervousness, he drew a small case from -his breast and opened it. Heavens! How the mild lamplight was shivered -into a thousand prismatic arrows, as it fell upon a vast rose-diamond -that glittered in the case! I was no judge of diamonds, but I saw at a -glance that this was a gem of rare size and purity. I looked at Simon -with wonder, and--must I confess it?--with envy. How could he have -obtained this treasure? In reply to my questions, I could just gather -from his drunken statements (of which, I fancy, half the incoherence -was affected) that he had been superintending a gang of slaves engaged -in diamond-washing in Brazil; that he had seen one of them secrete a -diamond, but, instead of informing his employers, had quietly watched -the negro until he saw him bury his treasure; that he had dug it up -and fled with it, but that as yet he was afraid to attempt to dispose -of it publicly--so valuable a gem being almost certain to attract too -much attention to its owner's antecedents--and he had not been able -to discover any of those obscure channels by which such matters are -conveyed away safely. He added, that, in accordance with the Oriental -practise, he had named his diamond with the fanciful title of "The Eye -of Morning." - -While Simon was relating this to me, I regarded the great diamond -attentively. Never had I beheld anything so beautiful. All the glories -of light, ever imagined or described, seemed to pulsate in its -crystalline chambers. Its weight, as I learned from Simon, was exactly -one hundred and forty carats. Here was an amazing coincidence. The -hand of destiny seemed in it. On the very evening when the spirit of -Leeuwenhoek communicates to me the great secret of the microscope, the -priceless means which he directs me to employ start up within my easy -reach! I determined, with the most perfect deliberation, to possess -myself of Simon's diamond. - -I sat opposite to him while he nodded over his glass, and calmly -revolved the whole affair. I did not for an instant contemplate so -foolish an act as a common theft, which would of course be discovered, -or at least necessitate flight and concealment, all of which must -interfere with my scientific plans. There was but one step to be -taken--to kill Simon. After all, what was the life of a little peddling -Jew, in comparison with the interests of science? Human beings are -taken every day from the condemned prisons to be experimented on by -surgeons. This man, Simon, was by his own confession a criminal, a -robber, and I believed on my soul a murderer. He deserved death quite -as much as any felon condemned by the laws: why should I not, like -government, contrive that his punishment should contribute to the -progress of human knowledge? - -The means for accomplishing everything I desired lay within my reach. -There stood upon the mantelpiece a bottle half full of French laudanum. -Simon was so occupied with his diamond, which I had just restored to -him, that it was an affair of no difficulty to drug his glass. In a -quarter of an hour he was in a profound sleep. - -I now opened his waistcoat, took the diamond from the inner pocket in -which he had placed it, and removed him to the bed, on which I laid -him so that his feet hung down over the edge. I had possessed myself of -the Malay creese, which I held in my right hand, while with the other -I discovered as accurately as I could by pulsation the exact locality -of the heart. It was essential that all the aspects of his death should -lead to the surmise of self-murder. I calculated the exact angle at -which it was probable that the weapon, if leveled by Simon's own hand, -would enter his breast; then with one powerful blow I thrust it up to -the hilt in the very spot which I desired to penetrate. A convulsive -thrill ran through Simon's limbs. I heard a smothered sound issue from -his throat, precisely like the bursting of a large air-bubble, sent up -by a diver, when it reaches the surface of the water; he turned half -round on his side, and, as if to assist my plans more effectually, his -right hand, moved by some mere spasmodic impulse, clasped the handle -of the creese, which it remained holding with extraordinary muscular -tenacity. Beyond this there was no apparent struggle. The laudanum, -I presume, paralyzed the usual nervous action. He must have died -instantly. - -There was yet something to be done. To make it certain that all -suspicion of the act should be diverted from any inhabitant of the -house to Simon himself, it was necessary that the door should be found -in the morning _locked on the inside_. How to do this, and afterwards -escape myself? Not by the window; that was a physical impossibility. -Besides, I was determined that the windows _also_ should be found -bolted. The solution was simple enough. I descended softly to my own -room for a peculiar instrument which I had used for holding small -slippery substances, such as minute spheres of glass, etc. This -instrument was nothing more than a long slender hand-vise, with a very -powerful grip, and a considerable leverage, which last was accidentally -owing to the shape of the handle. Nothing was simpler than, when the -key was in the lock, to seize the end of its stem in this vise, through -the keyhole, from the outside, and so lock the door. Previously, -however, to doing this, I burned a number of papers on Simon's hearth. -Suicides almost always burn papers before they destroy themselves. -I also emptied some more laudanum into Simon's glass--having first -removed from it all traces of wine--cleaned the other wine-glass, and -brought the bottles away with me. If traces of two persons drinking had -been found in the room, the question naturally would have arisen, Who -was the second? Besides, the wine-bottles might have been identified as -belonging to me. The laudanum I poured out to account for its presence -in his stomach, in case of a post-mortem examination. The theory -naturally would be, that he first intended to poison himself, but, -after swallowing a little of the drug, was either disgusted with its -taste, or changed his mind from other motives, and chose the dagger. -These arrangements made, I walked out, leaving the gas burning, locked -the door with my vise, and went to bed. - -Simon's death was not discovered until nearly 3 in the afternoon. The -servant, astonished at seeing the gas burning--the light streaming on -the dark landing from under the door--peeped through the keyhole and -saw Simon on the bed. She gave the alarm. The door was burst open, and -the neighborhood was in a fever of excitement. - -Everyone in the house was arrested, myself included. There was an -inquest; but no clue to his death beyond that of suicide could be -obtained. Curiously enough, he had made several speeches to his -friends the preceding week, that seemed to point to self-destruction. -One gentleman swore that Simon had said in his presence that "he was -tired of life." His landlord affirmed that Simon, when paying him -his last month's rent, remarked that "he should not pay him rent much -longer." All the other evidence corresponded--the door locked inside, -the position of the corpse, the burnt papers. As I anticipated, no one -knew of the possession of the diamond by Simon, so that no motive was -suggested for his murder. The jury, after a prolonged examination, -brought in the usual verdict, and the neighborhood once more settled -down into its accustomed quiet. - - -_5. Animula_ - -The three months succeeding Simon's catastrophe I devoted night and day -to my diamond lens. I had constructed a vast galvanic battery, composed -of nearly two thousand pairs of plates--a higher power I dared not use, -lest the diamond should be calcined. By means of this enormous engine -I was enabled to send a powerful current of electricity continually -through my great diamond, which it seemed to me gained in luster -every day. At the expiration of a month I commenced the grinding and -polishing of the lens, a work of intense toil and exquisite delicacy. -The great density of the stone, and the care required to be taken with -the curvatures of the surfaces of the lens, rendered the labor the -severest and most harassing that I had yet undergone. - -At last the eventful moment came; the lens was completed. I stood -trembling on the threshold of new worlds. I had the realization of -Alexander's famous wish before me. The lens lay on the table, ready -to be placed upon its platform. My hand fairly shook as I enveloped a -drop of water with a thin coating of oil of turpentine, preparatory -to its examination--a process necessary in order to prevent the rapid -evaporation of the water. I now placed the drop on a thin slip of -glass under the lens, and throwing upon it, by the combined aid of a -prism and a mirror, a powerful stream of light, I approached my eye to -the minute hole drilled through the axis of the lens. For an instant -I saw nothing save what seemed to be an illuminated chaos, a vast -luminous abyss. A pure white light, cloudless and serene, and seemingly -limitless as space itself, was my first impression. Gently, and with -the greatest care, I depressed the lens a few hair's-breadths. The -wondrous illumination still continued, but as the lens approached the -object a scene of indescribable beauty was unfolded to my view. - -I seemed to gaze upon a vast space, the limits of which extended far -beyond my vision. An atmosphere of magical luminousness permeated the -entire field of view. I was amazed to see no trace of animalculous -life. Not a living thing, apparently, inhabited that dazzling expanse. -I comprehended instantly that, by the wondrous power of my lens, I had -penetrated beyond the grosser particles of aqueous matter, beyond the -realms of infusoria and protozoa, down to the original gaseous globule, -into whose luminous interior I was gazing, as into an almost boundless -dome filled with a supernatural radiance. - -It was, however, no brilliant void into which I looked. On every side -I beheld beautiful inorganic forms, of unknown texture, and colored -with the most enchanting hues. These forms presented the appearance of -what might be called, for want of a more specific definition, foliated -clouds of the highest rarity; that is, they undulated and broke into -vegetable formations, and were tinged with splendors compared with -which the gilding of our autumn woodlands is as dross compared with -gold. Far away into the illimitable distance stretched long avenues of -these gaseous forests, dimly transparent, and painted with prismatic -hues of unimaginable brilliancy. The pendent branches waved along the -fluid glades until every vista seemed to break through half-lucent -ranks of many-colored drooping silken pennons. What seemed to be -either fruits or flowers, pied with a thousand hues, lustrous and ever -varying, bubbled from the crowns of this fairy foliage. No hills, no -lakes, no rivers, no forms animate or inanimate, were to be seen, -save those vast auroral copses that floated serenely in the luminous -stillness, with leaves and fruits and flowers gleaming with unknown -fires, unrealizable by mere imagination. - -How strange, I thought, that this sphere should be thus condemned -to solitude! I had hoped, at least to discover some new form of -animal life--perhaps of a lower class than any with which we are at -present acquainted, but still, some living organism. I found my newly -discovered world, if I may so speak, a beautiful chromatic desert. - -While I was speculating on the singular arrangements of the internal -economy of Nature, with which she so frequently splinters into atoms -our most compact theories, I thought I beheld a form moving slowly -through the glades of one of the prismatic forests. I looked more -attentively, and found that I was not mistaken. - -Words can not depict the anxiety with which I awaited the nearer -approach of this mysterious object. Was it merely some inanimate -substance, held in suspense in the attenuated atmosphere of the -globule? or was it an animal endowed with vitality and motion? It -approached, flitting behind the gauzy, colored veils of cloud-foliage, -for seconds dimly revealed, then vanished. At last the violet pennons -that trailed nearest to me vibrated; they were gently pushed aside, and -the form floated out into the broad light. - -It was a female human shape. When I say human, I mean it possessed the -outlines of humanity--but there the analogy ends. Its adorable beauty -lifted it illimitable heights beyond the loveliest daughter of Adam. - -I can not, I dare not, attempt to inventory the charms of this divine -revelation of perfect beauty. Those eyes of mystic violet, dewy and -serene, evade my words. Her long, lustrous hair following her glorious -head in a golden wake, like the track sown in heaven by a falling star, -seems to quench my most burning phrases with its splendors. If all the -bees of Hybla nestled upon my lips, they would still sing but hoarsely -the wondrous harmonies of outline that enclosed her form. - -She swept out from between the rainbow-curtains of the cloud-trees -into the broad sea of light that lay beyond. Her motions were those -of some graceful naiad, cleaving, by a mere effort of her will, the -clear, unruffled waters that fill the chambers of the sea. She floated -forth with the serene grace of a frail bubble ascending through the -still atmosphere of a June day. The perfect roundness of her limbs -formed suave and enchanting curves. It was like listening to the most -spiritual symphony of Beethoven the divine, to watch the harmonious -flow of lines. This, indeed, was a pleasure, cheaply purchased at -any price. What cared I, if I had waded to the portal of this wonder -through another's blood? I would have given my own to enjoy one such -moment of intoxication and delight. - -Breathless with gazing on this lovely wonder, and forgetful for an -instant of everything save her presence, I withdrew my eye from the -microscope eagerly--alas! As my gaze fell on the thin slide that lay -beneath my instrument, the bright light from mirror and from prism -sparkled on a colorless drop of water! There, in that tiny bead of dew, -this beautiful being was forever imprisoned. The planet Neptune was not -more distant from me than she. I hastened once more to apply my eye to -the microscope. - -Animula (let me now call her by that dear name which I subsequently -bestowed on her) had changed her position. She had again approached -the wondrous forest, and was gazing earnestly upwards. Presently one -of the trees--as I must call them--unfolded a long ciliary process, -with which it seized one of the gleaming fruits that glittered on its -summit, and, sweeping slowly down, held it within reach of Animula. The -sylph took it in her delicate hand and began to eat. My attention was -so entirely absorbed by her, that I could not apply myself to the task -of determining whether this singular plant was or was not instinct with -volition. - -I watched her, as she made her repast, with the most profound -attention. The suppleness of her motions sent a thrill of delight -through my frame; my heart beat madly as she turned her beautiful -eyes in the direction of the spot in which I stood. What would I not -have given to have had the power to precipitate myself into that -luminous ocean, and float with her through those groves of purple and -gold! While I was thus breathlessly following her every movement, she -suddenly started, seemed to listen for a moment, and then cleaving -the brilliant ether in which she was floating, like a flash of light, -pierced through the opaline forest, and disappeared. - -Instantly a series of the most singular sensations attacked me. It -seemed as if I had suddenly gone blind. The luminous sphere was -still before me, but my daylight had vanished. What caused this -sudden disappearance? Had she a lover or a husband? Yes, that was the -solution! Some signal from a happy fellow-being had vibrated through -the avenues of the forest, and she had obeyed the summons. - -The agony of my sensations, as I arrived at this conclusion, startled -me. I tried to reject the conviction that my reason forced upon me. I -battled against the fatal conclusion--but in vain. It was so. I had no -escape from it. I loved an animalcule! - -It is true that, thanks to the marvelous power of my microscope, she -appeared of human proportions. Instead of presenting the revolting -aspect of the coarser creatures, that live and struggle and die, in the -more easily resolvable portions of the water-drop, she was fair and -delicate and of surpassing beauty. But of what account was all that? -Every time that my eye was withdrawn from the instrument, it fell on a -miserable drop of water, within which, I must be content to know, dwelt -all that could make my life lovely. - -Could she but see me once! Could I for one moment pierce the mystical -walls that so inexorably rose to separate us, and whisper all that -filled my soul, I might consent to be satisfied for the rest of my -life with the knowledge of her remote sympathy. It would be something -to have established even the faintest personal link to bind us -together--to know that at times, when roaming through those enchanted -glades, she might think of the wonderful stranger, who had broken the -monotony of her life with his presence, and left a gentle memory in her -heart! - -But it could not be. No invention of which human intellect was capable -could break down the barriers that nature had erected. I might feast -my soul upon her wondrous beauty, yet she must always remain ignorant -of the adoring eyes that day and night gazed upon her, and, even when -closed, beheld her in dreams. With a bitter cry of anguish I fled from -the room, and, flinging myself on my bed, sobbed myself to sleep like a -child. - - -_6. The Spilling of the Cup_ - -I arose the next morning almost at daybreak, and rushed to my -microscope. I trembled as I sought the luminous world in miniature -that contained my all. Animula was there. I had left the gas-lamp, -surrounded by its moderators, burning, when I went to bed the night -before. I found the sylph bathing, as it were, with an expression -of pleasure animating her features, in the brilliant light which -surrounded her. She tossed her lustrous golden hair over her shoulders -with innocent coquetry. She lay at full length in the transparent -medium, in which she supported herself with ease, and gamboled with the -enchanting grace that the nymph Salmacis might have exhibited when she -sought to conquer the modest Hermaphroditus. I tried an experiment to -satisfy myself if her powers of reflection were developed. I lessened -the lamplight considerably. By the dim light that remained, I could see -an expression of pain flit across her face. She looked upward suddenly, -and her brows contracted. I flooded the stage of the microscope again -with a full stream of light, and her whole expression changed. She -sprang forward like some substance deprived of all weight. Her eyes -sparkled and her lips moved. Ah! if science had only the means of -conducting and reduplicating sounds, as it does the rays of light, what -carols of happiness would then have entranced my ears! what jubilant -hymns to Adonis would have thrilled the illumined air! - -I now comprehended how it was that the Count de Gabalis peopled his -mystic world with sylphs--beautiful beings whose breath of life was -lambent fire, and who sported forever in regions of purest ether and -purest light. The Rosicrucian had anticipated the wonder that I had -practically realized. - -How long this worship of my strange divinity went on thus I scarcely -know. I lost all note of time. All day from early dawn, and far into -the night, I was to be found peering through that wonderful lens. I saw -no one, went nowhere, and scarce allowed myself sufficient time for my -meals. My whole life was absorbed in contemplation as rapt as that of -any of the Romish saints. Every hour that I gazed upon the divine form -strengthened my passion--a passion that was always overshadowed by the -maddening conviction, that, although I could gaze on her at will, she -never, never could behold me! - -At length, I grew so pale and emaciated, from want of rest and -continual brooding over my insane love and its cruel conditions, that -I determined to make some effort to wean myself from it. "Come," I -said, "this is at best but a fantasy. Your imagination has bestowed on -Animula charms which in reality she does not possess. Seclusion from -female society has produced this morbid condition of mind. Compare her -with the beautiful women of your own world, and this false enchantment -will vanish." - -I looked over the newspapers by chance. There I beheld the -advertisement of a celebrated _danseuse_ who appeared nightly at -Niblo's. The Signorina Caradolce had the reputation of being the most -beautiful as well as the most graceful woman in the world. I instantly -dressed and went to the theater. - -The curtain drew up. The usual semicircle of fairies in white muslin -were standing on the right toe around the enameled flower-bank, of -green canvas, on which the belated prince was sleeping. Suddenly a -flute is heard. The fairies start. The trees open, the fairies all -stand on the left toe, and the queen enters. It was the Signorina. She -bounded forward amid thunders of applause, and, lighting on one foot, -remained poised in air! Heavens! was this the great enchantress that -had drawn monarchs at her chariot-wheels? Those heavy muscular limbs, -those thick ankles, those cavernous eyes, that stereotyped smile, those -crudely painted cheeks! Where were the vermeil blooms, the liquid -expressive eyes, the harmonious limbs of Animula? - -The Signorina danced. What gross, discordant movements! The play of her -limbs was all false and artificial. Her bounds were painful athletic -efforts; her poses were angular and distressed the eye. I could bear -it no longer; with an exclamation of disgust that drew every eye -upon me, I rose from my seat in the very middle of the Signorina's -_pas-de-fasination_, and abruptly quitted the house. - -I hastened home to feast my eyes once more on the lovely form of -my sylph. I felt that henceforth to combat this passion would be -impossible. I applied my eye to the lens. Animula was there--but -what could have happened? Some terrible change seemed to have taken -place during my absence. Some secret grief seemed to cloud the lovely -features of her I gazed upon. Her face had grown thin and haggard; -her limbs trailed heavily; the wondrous luster of her golden hair had -faded. She was ill!--ill, and I could not assist her! I believe at that -moment I would have gladly forfeited all claims to my human birthright, -if I could only have been dwarfed to the size of an animalcule, and -permitted to console her from whom fate had forever divided me. - -I racked my brain for the solution of this mystery. What was it that -afflicted the sylph? She seemed to suffer intense pain. Her features -contracted, and she even writhed, as if with some internal agony. The -wondrous forests appeared also to have lost half their beauty. Their -hues were dim and in some places faded away altogether. I watched -Animula for hours with a breaking heart, and she seemed absolutely to -wither away under my very eye. Suddenly I remembered that I had not -looked at the water-drop for several days. In fact, I hated to see it; -for it reminded me of the natural barrier between Animula and myself. -I hurriedly looked down on the stage of the microscope. The slide was -still there--but, great heavens! the water-drop had vanished! The awful -truth burst upon me; it had evaporated, until it had become so minute -as to be invisible to the naked eye; I had been gazing on its last -atom, the one that contained Animula--and she was dying! - -I rushed again to the front of the lens, and looked through. Alas! the -last agony had seized her. The rainbow-hued forests had all melted -away, and Animula lay struggling feebly in what seemed to be a spot -of dim light. Ah! the sight was horrible: the limbs once so round and -lovely shriveling up into nothings; the eyes--those eyes that shone -like heaven--being quenched into black dust; the lustrous golden hair -now lank and discolored. The last throe came. I beheld that final -struggle of the blackening form--and I fainted. - -When I awoke out of a trance of many hours, I found myself lying amid -the wreck of my instrument, myself as shattered in mind and body as it. -I crawled feebly to my bed, from which I did not rise for months. - -They say now that I am mad; but they are mistaken. I am poor, for I -have neither the heart nor the will to work; all my money is spent, and -I live on charity. Young men's associations that love a joke invite me -to lecture on optics before them, for which they pay me, and laugh at -me while I lecture. "Linley, the mad microscopist," is the name I go -by. I suppose that I talk incoherently while I lecture. Who could talk -sense when his brain is haunted by such ghastly memories, while ever -and anon among the shapes of death I behold the radiant form of my lost -Animula! - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Diamond Lens, by Fitz-James O'Brien - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DIAMOND LENS *** - -***** This file should be named 50332-8.txt or 50332-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/3/3/50332/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Diamond Lens - -Author: Fitz-James O'Brien - -Release Date: October 28, 2015 [EBook #50332] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DIAMOND LENS *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="329" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h1>The Diamond Lens</h1> - -<p class="ph2">By FITZ-JAMES O'BRIEN</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Weird Tales April -1929. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. -copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="600" height="211" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p>This story, published in the <i>Atlantic Monthly</i> in 1858, was the first -of the great weird-scientific stories. It won immediate popularity for -the author—a popularity which continued unbroken until his death in -the Civil War.</p> -</blockquote> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>1. The Bending of the Twig</i></p> - -<p>From a very early period of my life the entire bent of my inclinations -had been towards microscopic investigations. When I was not more than -ten years old, a distant relative of our family, hoping to astonish -my inexperience, constructed a simple microscope for me, by drilling -in a disk of copper a small hole, in which a drop of pure water was -sustained by capillary attraction. This very primitive apparatus, -magnifying some fifty diameters, presented, it is true, only indistinct -and imperfect forms, but still sufficiently wonderful to work up my -imagination to a preternatural state of excitement.</p> - -<p>Seeing me so interested in this rude instrument, my cousin explained -to me all that he knew about the principles of the microscope, related -to me a few of the wonders which had been accomplished through its -agency, and ended by promising to send me one regularly constructed, -immediately on his return to the city. I counted the days, the hours, -the minutes, that intervened between that promise and his departure.</p> - -<p>Meantime I was not idle. Every transparent substance that bore the -remotest resemblance to a lens I eagerly seized upon, and employed -in vain attempts to realize that instrument, the theory of whose -construction I as yet only vaguely comprehended. All panes of glass -containing those oblate spheroidal knots familiarly known as "bull's -eyes" were ruthlessly destroyed, in the hope of obtaining lenses of -marvelous power. I even went so far as to extract the crystalline humor -from the eyes of fishes and animals, and endeavored to press it into -the microscopic service. I plead guilty to having stolen the glasses -from my Aunt Agatha's spectacles, with a dim idea of grinding them -into lenses of wondrous magnifying properties—in which attempt it is -scarcely necessary to say that I totally failed.</p> - -<p>At last the promised instrument came. It was of that order known -as Field's simple microscope, and had cost perhaps about fifteen -dollars. As far as educational purposes went, a better apparatus could -not have been selected. Accompanying it was a small treatise on the -microscope—its history, uses, and discoveries. I comprehended then -for the first time the <i>Arabian Nights Entertainments</i>. The dull veil -of ordinary existence that hung across the world seemed suddenly to -roll away, and to lay bare a land of enchantments. I felt towards my -companions as the seer might feel towards the ordinary masses of men. -I held conversations with nature in a tongue which they could not -understand. I was in daily communication with living wonders, such as -they never imagined in their wildest visions. I penetrated beyond the -external portal of things, and roamed through the sanctuaries. Where -they beheld only a drop of rain slowly rolling down the window-glass, -I saw a universe of beings animated with all the passions common to -physical life, and convulsing their minute sphere with struggles as -fierce and protracted as those of men. In the common spots of mold, -which my mother, good housekeeper that she was, fiercely scooped away -from her jam pots, there abode for me, under the name of mildew, -enchanted gardens, filled with dells and avenues of the densest foliage -and most astonishing verdure, while from the fantastic boughs of these -microscopic forests hung strange fruits glittering with green, and -silver and gold.</p> - -<p>It was no scientific thirst that at this time filled my mind. It was -the pure enjoyment of a poet to whom a world of wonders has been -disclosed. I talked of my solitary pleasures to none. Alone with my -microscope, I dimmed my sight, day after day and night after night, -poring over the marvels which it unfolded to me. I was like one who, -having discovered the ancient Eden still existing in all its primitive -glory, should resolve to enjoy it in solitude, and never betray to -mortal the secret of its locality. The rod of my life was bent at this -moment. I destined myself to be a microscopist.</p> - -<p>Of course, like every novice, I fancied myself a discoverer. I was -ignorant at the time of the thousands of acute intellects engaged in -the same pursuit as myself, and with the advantage of instruments a -thousand times more powerful than mine. The names of Leeuwenhoek, -Williamson, Spencer, Ehrenberg, Schultz, Dujardin, Schacht and -Schleiden were then entirely unknown to me, or if known, I was ignorant -of their patient and wonderful researches. In every fresh specimen of -cryptogamia which I placed beneath my instrument I believed that I -discovered wonders of which the world was as yet ignorant. I remember -well the thrill of delight and admiration that shot through me the -first time that I discovered the common wheel animalcule (<i>Rotifera -vulgaris</i>) expanding and contracting its flexible spokes, and seemingly -rotating through the water. Alas! as I grew older, and obtained some -works treating of my favorite study, I found that I was only on the -threshold of a science to the investigation of which some of the -greatest men of the age were devoting their lives and intellects.</p> - -<p>As I grew up, my parents, who saw but little likelihood of anything -practical resulting from the examination of bits of moss and drops of -water through a brass tube and a piece of glass, were anxious that I -should choose a profession. It was their desire that I should enter the -counting-house of my uncle, Ethan Blake, a prosperous merchant, who -carried on business in New York. This suggestion I decisively combated. -I had no taste for trade; I should only make a failure; in short, I -refused to become a merchant.</p> - -<p>But it was necessary for me to select some pursuit. My parents were -staid New England people, who insisted on the necessity of labor; and -therefore, although, thanks to the bequest of my poor Aunt Agatha, I -should, on coming of age, inherit a small fortune sufficient to place -me above want, it was decided that, instead of waiting for this, -I should act the nobler part, and employ the intervening years in -rendering myself independent.</p> - -<p>After much cogitation I complied with the wishes of my family, and -selected a profession. I determined to study medicine at the New York -Academy. This disposition of my future suited me. A removal from my -relatives would enable me to dispose of my time as I pleased without -fear of detection. As long as I paid my Academy fees, I might shirk -attending the lectures if I chose; and, as I never had the remotest -intention of standing an examination, there was no danger of my being -"plucked." Besides, a metropolis was the place for me. There I could -obtain excellent instruments, the newest publications, intimacy with -men of pursuits kindred with my own—in short, all things necessary -to insure a profitable devotion of my life to my beloved science. I -had an abundance of money, few desires that were not bounded by my -illuminating mirror on one side and my object-glass on the other; what, -therefore, was to prevent my becoming an illustrious investigator of -the veiled worlds? It was with the most buoyant hope that I left my New -England home and established myself in New York.</p> - - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>2. The Longing of a Man of Science</i></p> - -<p>My first step, of course, was to find suitable apartments. These I -obtained, after a couple of days' search, in Fourth Avenue; a very -pretty second-floor unfurnished, containing sitting-room, bedroom, -and a smaller apartment which I intended to fit up as a laboratory. -I furnished my lodgings simply, but rather elegantly, and then -devoted all my energies to the adornment of the temple of my worship. -I visited Pike, the celebrated optician, and passed in review his -splendid collection of microscopes—Field's Compound, Hingham's, -Spencer's, Nachet's Binocular (that founded on the principles of the -stereoscope), and at length fixed upon that form known as Spencer's -Trunnion Microscope, as combining the greatest number of improvements -with an almost perfect freedom from tremor. Along with this I purchased -every possible accessory—draw-tubes, micrometers, a <i>camera-lucida</i>, -leverstage, achromatic condensers, white cloud illuminators, prisms, -parabolic condensers, polarizing apparatus, forceps, aquatic boxes, -fishing-tubes, with a host of other articles, all of which would have -been useful in the hands of an experienced microscopist, but, as I -afterwards discovered, were not of the slightest present value to me. -It takes years of practise to know how to use a complicated microscope. -The optician looked suspiciously at me as I made these wholesale -purchases. He evidently was uncertain whether to set me down as some -scientific celebrity or a madman. I think he inclined to the latter -belief. I suppose I was mad. Every great genius is mad upon the subject -in which he is greatest. The unsuccessful madman is disgraced and -called a lunatic.</p> - -<p>Mad or not, I set myself to work with a zeal which few scientific -students have ever equaled. I had everything to learn relative to the -delicate study upon which I had embarked—a study involving the most -earnest patience, the most rigid analytic powers, the steadiest hand, -the most untiring eye, the most refined and subtile manipulation.</p> - -<p>For a long time half my apparatus lay inactively on the shelves of my -laboratory, which was now most amply furnished with every possible -contrivance for facilitating my investigations. The fact was that I did -not know how to use some of my scientific implements—never having been -taught microscopics—and those whose use I understood theoretically -were of little avail, until by practise I could attain the necessary -delicacy of handling. Still, such was the fury of my ambition, such -the untiring perseverance of my experiments, that, difficult of credit -as it may be, in the course of one year I became theoretically and -practically an accomplished microscopist.</p> - -<p>During this period of my labors, in which I submitted specimens of -every substance that came under my observation to the action of my -lenses, I became a discoverer—in a small way, it is true, for I was -very young, but still a discoverer. It was I who destroyed Ehrenberg's -theory that the <i>Volvox globator</i> was an animal, and proved that his -"monads" with stomachs and eyes were merely phases of the formation -of a vegetable cell, and were, when they reached their mature state, -incapable of the act of conjugation, or any true generative act, -without which no organism rising to any stage of life higher than -vegetable can be said to be complete. It was I who resolved the -singular problem of rotation in the cells and hairs of plants into -ciliary attraction, in spite of the assertions of Mr. Wenham and -others, that my explanation was the result of an optical illusion.</p> - -<p>But notwithstanding these discoveries, laboriously and painfully -made as they were, I felt horribly dissatisfied. At every step I -found myself stopped by the imperfections of my instruments. Like all -active microscopists, I gave my imagination full play. Indeed, it is -a common complaint against many such, that they supply the defects -of their instruments with the creations of their brains. I imagined -depths beyond depths in nature which the limited power of my lenses -prohibited me from exploring. I lay awake at night constructing -imaginary microscopes of immeasurable power, with which I seemed -to pierce through all the envelopes of matter down to its original -atom. How I cursed those imperfect mediums which necessity through -ignorance compelled me to use! How I longed to discover the secret of -some perfect lens, whose magnifying power should be limited only by -the resolvability of the object, and which at the same time should be -free from spherical and chromatic aberrations, in short from all the -obstacles over which the poor microscopist finds himself continually -stumbling! I felt convinced that the simple microscope, composed -of a single lens of such vast yet perfect power, was possible of -construction. To attempt to bring the compound microscope up to such a -pitch would have been commencing at the wrong end; this latter being -simply a partially successful endeavor to remedy those very defects of -the simple instrument, which, if conquered, would leave nothing to be -desired.</p> - -<p>It was in this mood of mind that I became a constructive microscopist. -After another year passed in this new pursuit, experimenting on every -imaginable substance—glass, gems, flints, crystals, artificial -crystals formed of the alloy of various vitreous materials—in short, -having constructed as many varieties of lenses as Argus had eyes, I -found myself precisely where I started, with nothing gained save an -extensive knowledge of glass-making. I was almost dead with despair. My -parents were surprized at my apparent want of progress in my medical -studies (I had not attended one lecture since my arrival in the city), -and the expenses of my mad pursuit had been so great as to embarrass me -very seriously.</p> - -<p>I was in this frame of mind one day, experimenting in my laboratory -on a small diamond—that stone, from its great refracting power, -having always occupied my attention more than any other—when a young -Frenchman, who lived on the floor above me, and who was in the habit of -occasionally visiting me, entered the room.</p> - -<p>I think that Jules Simon was a Jew. He had many traits of the Hebrew -character: a love of jewelry, of dress, and of good living. There was -something mysterious about him. He always had something to sell, and -yet went into excellent society. When I say sell, I should perhaps -have said peddle; for his operations were generally confined to the -disposal of single articles—a picture, for instance, or a rare carving -in ivory, or a pair of duelling-pistols, or the dress of a Mexican -<i>caballero</i>. When I was first furnishing my rooms, he paid me a visit, -which ended in my purchasing an antique silver lamp, which he assured -me was a Cellini—it was handsome enough even for that—and some other -knickknacks for my sitting-room. Why Simon should pursue this petty -trade I never could imagine. He apparently had plenty of money, and had -the <i>entrée</i> of the best houses in the city—taking care, however, I -suppose, to drive no bargains within the enchanted circle of the Upper -Ten. I came at length to the conclusion that this peddling was but a -mask to cover some greater object, and even went so far as to believe -my young acquaintance to be implicated in the slave-trade. That, -however, was none of my affair.</p> - -<p>On the present occasion, Simon entered my room in a state of -considerable excitement.</p> - -<p>"<i>Ah! mon ami!</i>" he cried, before I could even offer him the ordinary -salutation, "it has occurred to me to be the witness of the most -astonishing things in the world. I promenade myself to the house of -Madame—how does the little animal—<i>le renard</i>—name himself in the -Latin?"</p> - -<p>"Vulpes," I answered.</p> - -<p>"Ah! yes—Vulpes. I promenade myself to the house of Madame Vulpes."</p> - -<p>"The spirit medium?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, the great medium. Great heavens! what a woman! I write on a slip -of paper many of questions concerning affairs the most secret—affairs -that conceal themselves in the abysses of my heart the most profound; -and behold! by example! what occurs? This devil of a woman makes me -replies the most truthful to all of them. She talks to me of things -that I do not love to talk of to myself. What am I to think? I am fixed -to the earth!"</p> - -<p>"Am I to understand you, Monsieur Simon, that this Mrs. Vulpes replied -to questions secretly written by you, which questions related to events -known only to yourself?"</p> - -<p>"Ah! more than that, more than that," he answered, with an air of some -alarm. "She related to me things——But," he added, after a pause, and -suddenly changing his manner, "why occupy ourselves with these follies? -It was all the biology, without doubt. It goes without saying that it -has not my credence.—But why are we here, <i>mon ami</i>? It has occurred -to me to discover the most beautiful thing as you can imagine—a vase -with green lizards on it, composed by the great Bernard Palissy. It is -in my apartment; let us mount. I go to show it to you."</p> - -<p>I followed Simon mechanically; but my thoughts were far from Palissy -and his enameled ware, although I, like him, was seeking in the dark -a great discovery. This casual mention of the spiritualist, Madame -Vulpes, set me on a new track. What if this spiritualism should be -really a great fact? What if, through communication with more subtile -organisms than my own, I could reach at a single bound the goal, which -perhaps a life of agonizing mental toil would never enable me to attain?</p> - -<p>While purchasing the Palissy vase from my friend Simon, I was mentally -arranging a visit to Madame Vulpes.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>3. The Spirit of Leeuwenhoek</i></p> - -<p>Two evenings after this, thanks to an arrangement by letter and the -promise of an ample fee, I found Madame Vulpes awaiting me at her -residence alone. She was a coarse-featured woman, with keen and rather -cruel dark eyes, and an exceedingly sensual expression about her mouth -and under jaw. She received me in perfect silence, in an apartment on -the ground floor, very sparely furnished. In the center of the room, -close to where Mrs. Vulpes sat, there was a common round mahogany -table. If I had come for the purpose of sweeping her chimney, the woman -could not have looked more indifferent to my appearance. There was no -attempt to inspire the visitor with awe. Everything bore a simple -and practical aspect. This intercourse with the spiritual world was -evidently as familiar an occupation with Mrs. Vulpes as eating her -dinner or riding in an omnibus.</p> - -<p>"You come for a communication, Mr. Linley?" said the medium, in a dry, -businesslike tone of voice.</p> - -<p>"By appointment—yes."</p> - -<p>"What sort of communication do you want?—a written one?"</p> - -<p>"Yes—I wish for a written one."</p> - -<p>"From any particular spirit?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Have you ever known this spirit on this earth?"</p> - -<p>"Never. He died long before I was born. I wish merely to obtain from -him some information which he ought to be able to give better than any -other."</p> - -<p>"Will you seat yourself at the table, Mr. Linley," said the medium, -"and place your hands upon it?"</p> - -<p>I obeyed—Mrs. Vulpes being seated opposite to me, with her hands also -on the table. We remained thus for about a minute and a half, when a -violent succession of raps came on the table, on the back of my chair, -on the floor immediately under my feet, and even on the window-panes. -Mrs. Vulpes smiled composedly.</p> - -<p>"They are very strong tonight," she remarked. "You are fortunate." She -then continued, "Will the spirits communicate with this gentleman?"</p> - -<p>Vigorous affirmative.</p> - -<p>"Will the particular spirit he desires to speak with communicate?"</p> - -<p>A very confused rapping followed this question.</p> - -<p>"I know what they mean," said Mrs. Vulpes, addressing herself to me; -"they wish you to write down the name of the particular spirit that -you desire to converse with. Is that so?" she added, speaking to her -invisible guests.</p> - -<p>That it was so was evident from the numerous affirmatory responses. -While this was going on, I tore a slip from my pocket-book, and -scribbled a name, under the table.</p> - -<p>"Will this spirit communicate in writing with this gentleman?" asked -the medium once more.</p> - -<p>After a moment's pause, her hand seemed to be seized with a violent -tremor, shaking so forcibly that the table vibrated. She said that a -spirit had seized her hand and would write. I handed her some sheets -of paper that were on the table, and a pencil. The latter she held -loosely in her hand, which presently began to move over the paper with -a singular and seemingly involuntary motion. After a few moments had -elapsed, she handed me the paper, on which I found written, in a large, -uncultivated hand, the words:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>He is not here, but has been sent for.</p></blockquote> - -<p>A pause of a minute or so now ensued, during which Mrs. Vulpes remained -perfectly silent, but the raps continued at regular intervals. When the -short period I mention had elapsed, the hand of the medium was again -seized with its convulsive tremor, and she wrote, under this strange -influence, a few words on the paper, which she handed to me. They were -as follows:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>I am here. Question me.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Leeuwenhoek.</span></p></blockquote> - -<p>I was astounded. The name was identical with that I had written beneath -the table, and carefully kept concealed. Neither was it at all probable -that an uncultivated woman like Mrs. Vulpes should know even the name -of the great father of microscopics. It may have been biology; but -this theory was soon doomed to be destroyed. I wrote on my slip—still -concealing it from Mrs. Vulpes—a series of questions, which, to avoid -tediousness, I shall place with the responses, in the order in which -they occurred:</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>I.—Can the microscope be brought to perfection?</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Spirit.</span>—Yes.</p> - -<p>I.—Am I destined to accomplish this great task?</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Spirit.</span>—You are.</p> - -<p>I.—I wish to know how to proceed to attain this end. For the love -which you bear to science, help me!</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Spirit.</span>—A diamond of one hundred and forty carats, submitted -to electro-magnetic currents for a long period, will experience a -rearrangement of its atoms <i>inter se</i>, and from that stone you will -form the universal lens.</p> - -<p>I.—Will great discoveries result from the use of such a lens?</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Spirit.</span>—So great that all that has gone before is as nothing.</p> - -<p>I.—But the refractive power of the diamond is so immense, that the -image will be formed within the lens. How is that difficulty to be -surmounted?</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Spirit.</span>—Pierce the lens through its axis, and the difficulty -is obviated. The image will be formed in the pierced space, which will -itself serve as a tube to look through. Now I am called. Good-night.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>I can not at all describe the effect that these extraordinary -communications had upon me. I felt completely bewildered. No biological -theory could account for the <i>discovery</i> of the lens. The medium might, -by means of biological <i>rapport</i> with my mind, have gone so far as to -read my questions, and reply to them coherently. But biology could -not enable her to discover that magnetic currents would so alter the -crystals of the diamond as to remedy its previous defects, and admit -of its being polished into a perfect lens. Some such theory may have -passed through my head, it is true; but if so, I had forgotten it. In -my excited condition of mind there was no course left but to become a -convert, and it was in a state of the most painful nervous exaltation -that I left the medium's house that evening. She accompanied me to the -door, hoping that I was satisfied. The raps followed us as we went -through the hall, sounding on the balusters, the flooring, and even the -lintels of the door. I hastily expressed my satisfaction, and escaped -hurriedly into the cool night air. I walked home with but one thought -possessing me—how to obtain a diamond of the immense size required. My -entire means multiplied a hundred times over would have been inadequate -to its purchase. Besides, such stones are rare, and become historical. -I could find such only in the regalia of Eastern or European monarchs.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>4. The Eye of Morning</i></p> - -<p>There was a light in Simon's room as I entered my house. A vague -impulse urged me to visit him. As I opened the door of his sitting-room -unannounced, he was bending, with his back toward me, over a carcel -lamp, apparently engaged in minutely examining some object which he -held in his hands. As I entered, he started suddenly, thrust his hand -into his breast pocket, and turned to me with a face crimson with -confusion.</p> - -<p>"What!" I cried, "poring over the miniature of some fair lady? Well, -don't blush so much; I won't ask to see it."</p> - -<p>Simon laughed awkwardly enough, but made none of the negative -protestations usual on such occasions. He asked me to take a seat.</p> - -<p>"Simon," said I, "I have just come from Madame Vulpes."</p> - -<p>This time Simon turned as white as a sheet, and seemed stupefied, as -if a sudden electric shock had smitten him. He babbled some incoherent -words, and went hastily to a small closet where he usually kept his -liquors. Although astonished at his emotion, I was too preoccupied with -my own idea to pay much attention to anything else.</p> - -<p>"You say truly when you call Madame Vulpes a devil of a woman," I -continued. "Simon, she told me wonderful things tonight, or rather was -the means of telling me wonderful things. Ah! if I could only get a -diamond that weighed one hundred and forty carats!"</p> - -<p>Scarcely had the sigh with which I uttered this desire died upon -my lips, when Simon, with the aspect of a wild beast, glared at me -savagely, and, rushing to the mantelpiece, where some foreign weapons -hung on the wall, caught up a Malay creese, and brandished it furiously -before him.</p> - -<p>"No!" he cried in French, into which he always broke when excited. "No! -you shall not have it! You are perfidious! You have consulted with that -demon, and desire my treasure! But I shall die first! Me! I am brave! -You can not make me fear!"</p> - -<p>All this, uttered in a loud voice trembling with excitement, astounded -me. I saw at a glance that I had accidentally trodden upon the edges of -Simon's secret, whatever it was. It was necessary to reassure him.</p> - -<p>"My dear Simon," I said, "I am entirely at a loss to know what you -mean. I went to Madame Vulpes to consult her on a scientific problem, -to the solution of which I discovered that a diamond of the size I -just mentioned was necessary. You were never alluded to during the -evening, nor, so far as I was concerned, even thought of. What can be -the meaning of this outburst? If you happen to have a set of valuable -diamonds in your possession, you need fear nothing from me. The diamond -which I require you could not possess; or, if you did possess it, you -would not be living here."</p> - -<p>Something in my tone must have completely reassured him; for his -expression immediately changed to a sort of constrained merriment, -combined, however, with a certain suspicious attention to my movements. -He laughed, and said that I must bear with him; that he was at certain -moments subject to a species of vertigo, which betrayed itself in -incoherent speeches, and that the attacks passed off as rapidly as -they came. He put his weapon aside while making this explanation, and -endeavored, with some success, to assume a more cheerful air.</p> - -<p>All this did not impose on me in the least. I was too much accustomed -to analytical labors to be baffled by so flimsy a veil. I determined to -probe the mystery to the bottom.</p> - -<p>"Simon," I said, gayly, "let us forget all this over a bottle of -Burgundy. I have a case of Lausseure's <i>Clos Vougeot</i> downstairs, -fragrant with the odors and ruddy with the sunlight of the Côte d'Or. -Let us have up a couple of bottles. What say you?"</p> - -<p>"With all my heart," answered Simon, smilingly.</p> - -<p>I produced the wine and we seated ourselves to drink. It was of -a famous vintage, that of 1848, a year when war and wine throve -together—and its pure but powerful juice seemed to impart renewed -vitality to the system. By the time we had half finished the second -bottle, Simon's head, which I knew was a weak one, had begun to yield, -while I remained calm as ever, only that every draft seemed to send a -flush of vigor through my limbs. Simon's utterance became more and more -indistinct. He took to singing French <i>chansons</i> of a not very moral -tendency. I rose suddenly from the table just at the conclusion of one -of those incoherent verses, and, fixing my eyes on him with a quiet -smile, said: "Simon, I have deceived you. I learned your secret this -evening. You may as well be frank with me. Mrs. Vulpes, or rather one -of her spirits, told me all."</p> - -<p>He started with horror. His intoxication seemed for the moment to fade -away, and he made a movement towards the weapon that he had a short -time before laid down. I stopped him with my hand.</p> - -<p>"Monster," he cried, passionately, "I am ruined! What shall I do? You -shall never have it! I swear by my mother!"</p> - -<p>"I don't want it," I said; "rest secure, but be frank with me. Tell me -all about it."</p> - -<p>The drunkenness began to return. He protested with maudlin earnestness -that I was entirely mistaken—that I was intoxicated; then asked me to -swear eternal secrecy, and promised to disclose the mystery to me. I -pledged myself, of course, to all. With an uneasy look in his eyes, and -hands unsteady with drink and nervousness, he drew a small case from -his breast and opened it. Heavens! How the mild lamplight was shivered -into a thousand prismatic arrows, as it fell upon a vast rose-diamond -that glittered in the case! I was no judge of diamonds, but I saw at a -glance that this was a gem of rare size and purity. I looked at Simon -with wonder, and—must I confess it?—with envy. How could he have -obtained this treasure? In reply to my questions, I could just gather -from his drunken statements (of which, I fancy, half the incoherence -was affected) that he had been superintending a gang of slaves engaged -in diamond-washing in Brazil; that he had seen one of them secrete a -diamond, but, instead of informing his employers, had quietly watched -the negro until he saw him bury his treasure; that he had dug it up -and fled with it, but that as yet he was afraid to attempt to dispose -of it publicly—so valuable a gem being almost certain to attract too -much attention to its owner's antecedents—and he had not been able -to discover any of those obscure channels by which such matters are -conveyed away safely. He added, that, in accordance with the Oriental -practise, he had named his diamond with the fanciful title of "The Eye -of Morning."</p> - -<p>While Simon was relating this to me, I regarded the great diamond -attentively. Never had I beheld anything so beautiful. All the glories -of light, ever imagined or described, seemed to pulsate in its -crystalline chambers. Its weight, as I learned from Simon, was exactly -one hundred and forty carats. Here was an amazing coincidence. The -hand of destiny seemed in it. On the very evening when the spirit of -Leeuwenhoek communicates to me the great secret of the microscope, the -priceless means which he directs me to employ start up within my easy -reach! I determined, with the most perfect deliberation, to possess -myself of Simon's diamond.</p> - -<p>I sat opposite to him while he nodded over his glass, and calmly -revolved the whole affair. I did not for an instant contemplate so -foolish an act as a common theft, which would of course be discovered, -or at least necessitate flight and concealment, all of which must -interfere with my scientific plans. There was but one step to be -taken—to kill Simon. After all, what was the life of a little peddling -Jew, in comparison with the interests of science? Human beings are -taken every day from the condemned prisons to be experimented on by -surgeons. This man, Simon, was by his own confession a criminal, a -robber, and I believed on my soul a murderer. He deserved death quite -as much as any felon condemned by the laws: why should I not, like -government, contrive that his punishment should contribute to the -progress of human knowledge?</p> - -<p>The means for accomplishing everything I desired lay within my reach. -There stood upon the mantelpiece a bottle half full of French laudanum. -Simon was so occupied with his diamond, which I had just restored to -him, that it was an affair of no difficulty to drug his glass. In a -quarter of an hour he was in a profound sleep.</p> - -<p>I now opened his waistcoat, took the diamond from the inner pocket in -which he had placed it, and removed him to the bed, on which I laid -him so that his feet hung down over the edge. I had possessed myself of -the Malay creese, which I held in my right hand, while with the other -I discovered as accurately as I could by pulsation the exact locality -of the heart. It was essential that all the aspects of his death should -lead to the surmise of self-murder. I calculated the exact angle at -which it was probable that the weapon, if leveled by Simon's own hand, -would enter his breast; then with one powerful blow I thrust it up to -the hilt in the very spot which I desired to penetrate. A convulsive -thrill ran through Simon's limbs. I heard a smothered sound issue from -his throat, precisely like the bursting of a large air-bubble, sent up -by a diver, when it reaches the surface of the water; he turned half -round on his side, and, as if to assist my plans more effectually, his -right hand, moved by some mere spasmodic impulse, clasped the handle -of the creese, which it remained holding with extraordinary muscular -tenacity. Beyond this there was no apparent struggle. The laudanum, -I presume, paralyzed the usual nervous action. He must have died -instantly.</p> - -<p>There was yet something to be done. To make it certain that all -suspicion of the act should be diverted from any inhabitant of the -house to Simon himself, it was necessary that the door should be found -in the morning <i>locked on the inside</i>. How to do this, and afterwards -escape myself? Not by the window; that was a physical impossibility. -Besides, I was determined that the windows <i>also</i> should be found -bolted. The solution was simple enough. I descended softly to my own -room for a peculiar instrument which I had used for holding small -slippery substances, such as minute spheres of glass, etc. This -instrument was nothing more than a long slender hand-vise, with a very -powerful grip, and a considerable leverage, which last was accidentally -owing to the shape of the handle. Nothing was simpler than, when the -key was in the lock, to seize the end of its stem in this vise, through -the keyhole, from the outside, and so lock the door. Previously, -however, to doing this, I burned a number of papers on Simon's hearth. -Suicides almost always burn papers before they destroy themselves. -I also emptied some more laudanum into Simon's glass—having first -removed from it all traces of wine—cleaned the other wine-glass, and -brought the bottles away with me. If traces of two persons drinking had -been found in the room, the question naturally would have arisen, Who -was the second? Besides, the wine-bottles might have been identified as -belonging to me. The laudanum I poured out to account for its presence -in his stomach, in case of a post-mortem examination. The theory -naturally would be, that he first intended to poison himself, but, -after swallowing a little of the drug, was either disgusted with its -taste, or changed his mind from other motives, and chose the dagger. -These arrangements made, I walked out, leaving the gas burning, locked -the door with my vise, and went to bed.</p> - -<p>Simon's death was not discovered until nearly 3 in the afternoon. The -servant, astonished at seeing the gas burning—the light streaming on -the dark landing from under the door—peeped through the keyhole and -saw Simon on the bed. She gave the alarm. The door was burst open, and -the neighborhood was in a fever of excitement.</p> - -<p>Everyone in the house was arrested, myself included. There was an -inquest; but no clue to his death beyond that of suicide could be -obtained. Curiously enough, he had made several speeches to his -friends the preceding week, that seemed to point to self-destruction. -One gentleman swore that Simon had said in his presence that "he was -tired of life." His landlord affirmed that Simon, when paying him -his last month's rent, remarked that "he should not pay him rent much -longer." All the other evidence corresponded—the door locked inside, -the position of the corpse, the burnt papers. As I anticipated, no one -knew of the possession of the diamond by Simon, so that no motive was -suggested for his murder. The jury, after a prolonged examination, -brought in the usual verdict, and the neighborhood once more settled -down into its accustomed quiet.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>5. Animula</i></p> - -<p>The three months succeeding Simon's catastrophe I devoted night and day -to my diamond lens. I had constructed a vast galvanic battery, composed -of nearly two thousand pairs of plates—a higher power I dared not use, -lest the diamond should be calcined. By means of this enormous engine -I was enabled to send a powerful current of electricity continually -through my great diamond, which it seemed to me gained in luster -every day. At the expiration of a month I commenced the grinding and -polishing of the lens, a work of intense toil and exquisite delicacy. -The great density of the stone, and the care required to be taken with -the curvatures of the surfaces of the lens, rendered the labor the -severest and most harassing that I had yet undergone.</p> - -<p>At last the eventful moment came; the lens was completed. I stood -trembling on the threshold of new worlds. I had the realization of -Alexander's famous wish before me. The lens lay on the table, ready -to be placed upon its platform. My hand fairly shook as I enveloped a -drop of water with a thin coating of oil of turpentine, preparatory -to its examination—a process necessary in order to prevent the rapid -evaporation of the water. I now placed the drop on a thin slip of -glass under the lens, and throwing upon it, by the combined aid of a -prism and a mirror, a powerful stream of light, I approached my eye to -the minute hole drilled through the axis of the lens. For an instant -I saw nothing save what seemed to be an illuminated chaos, a vast -luminous abyss. A pure white light, cloudless and serene, and seemingly -limitless as space itself, was my first impression. Gently, and with -the greatest care, I depressed the lens a few hair's-breadths. The -wondrous illumination still continued, but as the lens approached the -object a scene of indescribable beauty was unfolded to my view.</p> - -<p>I seemed to gaze upon a vast space, the limits of which extended far -beyond my vision. An atmosphere of magical luminousness permeated the -entire field of view. I was amazed to see no trace of animalculous -life. Not a living thing, apparently, inhabited that dazzling expanse. -I comprehended instantly that, by the wondrous power of my lens, I had -penetrated beyond the grosser particles of aqueous matter, beyond the -realms of infusoria and protozoa, down to the original gaseous globule, -into whose luminous interior I was gazing, as into an almost boundless -dome filled with a supernatural radiance.</p> - -<p>It was, however, no brilliant void into which I looked. On every side -I beheld beautiful inorganic forms, of unknown texture, and colored -with the most enchanting hues. These forms presented the appearance of -what might be called, for want of a more specific definition, foliated -clouds of the highest rarity; that is, they undulated and broke into -vegetable formations, and were tinged with splendors compared with -which the gilding of our autumn woodlands is as dross compared with -gold. Far away into the illimitable distance stretched long avenues of -these gaseous forests, dimly transparent, and painted with prismatic -hues of unimaginable brilliancy. The pendent branches waved along the -fluid glades until every vista seemed to break through half-lucent -ranks of many-colored drooping silken pennons. What seemed to be -either fruits or flowers, pied with a thousand hues, lustrous and ever -varying, bubbled from the crowns of this fairy foliage. No hills, no -lakes, no rivers, no forms animate or inanimate, were to be seen, -save those vast auroral copses that floated serenely in the luminous -stillness, with leaves and fruits and flowers gleaming with unknown -fires, unrealizable by mere imagination.</p> - -<p>How strange, I thought, that this sphere should be thus condemned -to solitude! I had hoped, at least to discover some new form of -animal life—perhaps of a lower class than any with which we are at -present acquainted, but still, some living organism. I found my newly -discovered world, if I may so speak, a beautiful chromatic desert.</p> - -<p>While I was speculating on the singular arrangements of the internal -economy of Nature, with which she so frequently splinters into atoms -our most compact theories, I thought I beheld a form moving slowly -through the glades of one of the prismatic forests. I looked more -attentively, and found that I was not mistaken.</p> - -<p>Words can not depict the anxiety with which I awaited the nearer -approach of this mysterious object. Was it merely some inanimate -substance, held in suspense in the attenuated atmosphere of the -globule? or was it an animal endowed with vitality and motion? It -approached, flitting behind the gauzy, colored veils of cloud-foliage, -for seconds dimly revealed, then vanished. At last the violet pennons -that trailed nearest to me vibrated; they were gently pushed aside, and -the form floated out into the broad light.</p> - -<p>It was a female human shape. When I say human, I mean it possessed the -outlines of humanity—but there the analogy ends. Its adorable beauty -lifted it illimitable heights beyond the loveliest daughter of Adam.</p> - -<p>I can not, I dare not, attempt to inventory the charms of this divine -revelation of perfect beauty. Those eyes of mystic violet, dewy and -serene, evade my words. Her long, lustrous hair following her glorious -head in a golden wake, like the track sown in heaven by a falling star, -seems to quench my most burning phrases with its splendors. If all the -bees of Hybla nestled upon my lips, they would still sing but hoarsely -the wondrous harmonies of outline that enclosed her form.</p> - -<p>She swept out from between the rainbow-curtains of the cloud-trees -into the broad sea of light that lay beyond. Her motions were those -of some graceful naiad, cleaving, by a mere effort of her will, the -clear, unruffled waters that fill the chambers of the sea. She floated -forth with the serene grace of a frail bubble ascending through the -still atmosphere of a June day. The perfect roundness of her limbs -formed suave and enchanting curves. It was like listening to the most -spiritual symphony of Beethoven the divine, to watch the harmonious -flow of lines. This, indeed, was a pleasure, cheaply purchased at -any price. What cared I, if I had waded to the portal of this wonder -through another's blood? I would have given my own to enjoy one such -moment of intoxication and delight.</p> - -<p>Breathless with gazing on this lovely wonder, and forgetful for an -instant of everything save her presence, I withdrew my eye from the -microscope eagerly—alas! As my gaze fell on the thin slide that lay -beneath my instrument, the bright light from mirror and from prism -sparkled on a colorless drop of water! There, in that tiny bead of dew, -this beautiful being was forever imprisoned. The planet Neptune was not -more distant from me than she. I hastened once more to apply my eye to -the microscope.</p> - -<p>Animula (let me now call her by that dear name which I subsequently -bestowed on her) had changed her position. She had again approached -the wondrous forest, and was gazing earnestly upwards. Presently one -of the trees—as I must call them—unfolded a long ciliary process, -with which it seized one of the gleaming fruits that glittered on its -summit, and, sweeping slowly down, held it within reach of Animula. The -sylph took it in her delicate hand and began to eat. My attention was -so entirely absorbed by her, that I could not apply myself to the task -of determining whether this singular plant was or was not instinct with -volition.</p> - -<p>I watched her, as she made her repast, with the most profound -attention. The suppleness of her motions sent a thrill of delight -through my frame; my heart beat madly as she turned her beautiful -eyes in the direction of the spot in which I stood. What would I not -have given to have had the power to precipitate myself into that -luminous ocean, and float with her through those groves of purple and -gold! While I was thus breathlessly following her every movement, she -suddenly started, seemed to listen for a moment, and then cleaving -the brilliant ether in which she was floating, like a flash of light, -pierced through the opaline forest, and disappeared.</p> - -<p>Instantly a series of the most singular sensations attacked me. It -seemed as if I had suddenly gone blind. The luminous sphere was -still before me, but my daylight had vanished. What caused this -sudden disappearance? Had she a lover or a husband? Yes, that was the -solution! Some signal from a happy fellow-being had vibrated through -the avenues of the forest, and she had obeyed the summons.</p> - -<p>The agony of my sensations, as I arrived at this conclusion, startled -me. I tried to reject the conviction that my reason forced upon me. I -battled against the fatal conclusion—but in vain. It was so. I had no -escape from it. I loved an animalcule!</p> - -<p>It is true that, thanks to the marvelous power of my microscope, she -appeared of human proportions. Instead of presenting the revolting -aspect of the coarser creatures, that live and struggle and die, in the -more easily resolvable portions of the water-drop, she was fair and -delicate and of surpassing beauty. But of what account was all that? -Every time that my eye was withdrawn from the instrument, it fell on a -miserable drop of water, within which, I must be content to know, dwelt -all that could make my life lovely.</p> - -<p>Could she but see me once! Could I for one moment pierce the mystical -walls that so inexorably rose to separate us, and whisper all that -filled my soul, I might consent to be satisfied for the rest of my -life with the knowledge of her remote sympathy. It would be something -to have established even the faintest personal link to bind us -together—to know that at times, when roaming through those enchanted -glades, she might think of the wonderful stranger, who had broken the -monotony of her life with his presence, and left a gentle memory in her -heart!</p> - -<p>But it could not be. No invention of which human intellect was capable -could break down the barriers that nature had erected. I might feast -my soul upon her wondrous beauty, yet she must always remain ignorant -of the adoring eyes that day and night gazed upon her, and, even when -closed, beheld her in dreams. With a bitter cry of anguish I fled from -the room, and, flinging myself on my bed, sobbed myself to sleep like a -child.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>6. The Spilling of the Cup</i></p> - -<p>I arose the next morning almost at daybreak, and rushed to my -microscope. I trembled as I sought the luminous world in miniature -that contained my all. Animula was there. I had left the gas-lamp, -surrounded by its moderators, burning, when I went to bed the night -before. I found the sylph bathing, as it were, with an expression -of pleasure animating her features, in the brilliant light which -surrounded her. She tossed her lustrous golden hair over her shoulders -with innocent coquetry. She lay at full length in the transparent -medium, in which she supported herself with ease, and gamboled with the -enchanting grace that the nymph Salmacis might have exhibited when she -sought to conquer the modest Hermaphroditus. I tried an experiment to -satisfy myself if her powers of reflection were developed. I lessened -the lamplight considerably. By the dim light that remained, I could see -an expression of pain flit across her face. She looked upward suddenly, -and her brows contracted. I flooded the stage of the microscope again -with a full stream of light, and her whole expression changed. She -sprang forward like some substance deprived of all weight. Her eyes -sparkled and her lips moved. Ah! if science had only the means of -conducting and reduplicating sounds, as it does the rays of light, what -carols of happiness would then have entranced my ears! what jubilant -hymns to Adonis would have thrilled the illumined air!</p> - -<p>I now comprehended how it was that the Count de Gabalis peopled his -mystic world with sylphs—beautiful beings whose breath of life was -lambent fire, and who sported forever in regions of purest ether and -purest light. The Rosicrucian had anticipated the wonder that I had -practically realized.</p> - -<p>How long this worship of my strange divinity went on thus I scarcely -know. I lost all note of time. All day from early dawn, and far into -the night, I was to be found peering through that wonderful lens. I saw -no one, went nowhere, and scarce allowed myself sufficient time for my -meals. My whole life was absorbed in contemplation as rapt as that of -any of the Romish saints. Every hour that I gazed upon the divine form -strengthened my passion—a passion that was always overshadowed by the -maddening conviction, that, although I could gaze on her at will, she -never, never could behold me!</p> - -<p>At length, I grew so pale and emaciated, from want of rest and -continual brooding over my insane love and its cruel conditions, that -I determined to make some effort to wean myself from it. "Come," I -said, "this is at best but a fantasy. Your imagination has bestowed on -Animula charms which in reality she does not possess. Seclusion from -female society has produced this morbid condition of mind. Compare her -with the beautiful women of your own world, and this false enchantment -will vanish."</p> - -<p>I looked over the newspapers by chance. There I beheld the -advertisement of a celebrated <i>danseuse</i> who appeared nightly at -Niblo's. The Signorina Caradolce had the reputation of being the most -beautiful as well as the most graceful woman in the world. I instantly -dressed and went to the theater.</p> - -<p>The curtain drew up. The usual semicircle of fairies in white muslin -were standing on the right toe around the enameled flower-bank, of -green canvas, on which the belated prince was sleeping. Suddenly a -flute is heard. The fairies start. The trees open, the fairies all -stand on the left toe, and the queen enters. It was the Signorina. She -bounded forward amid thunders of applause, and, lighting on one foot, -remained poised in air! Heavens! was this the great enchantress that -had drawn monarchs at her chariot-wheels? Those heavy muscular limbs, -those thick ankles, those cavernous eyes, that stereotyped smile, those -crudely painted cheeks! Where were the vermeil blooms, the liquid -expressive eyes, the harmonious limbs of Animula?</p> - -<p>The Signorina danced. What gross, discordant movements! The play of her -limbs was all false and artificial. Her bounds were painful athletic -efforts; her poses were angular and distressed the eye. I could bear -it no longer; with an exclamation of disgust that drew every eye -upon me, I rose from my seat in the very middle of the Signorina's -<i>pas-de-fasination</i>, and abruptly quitted the house.</p> - -<p>I hastened home to feast my eyes once more on the lovely form of -my sylph. I felt that henceforth to combat this passion would be -impossible. I applied my eye to the lens. Animula was there—but -what could have happened? Some terrible change seemed to have taken -place during my absence. Some secret grief seemed to cloud the lovely -features of her I gazed upon. Her face had grown thin and haggard; -her limbs trailed heavily; the wondrous luster of her golden hair had -faded. She was ill!—ill, and I could not assist her! I believe at that -moment I would have gladly forfeited all claims to my human birthright, -if I could only have been dwarfed to the size of an animalcule, and -permitted to console her from whom fate had forever divided me.</p> - -<p>I racked my brain for the solution of this mystery. What was it that -afflicted the sylph? She seemed to suffer intense pain. Her features -contracted, and she even writhed, as if with some internal agony. The -wondrous forests appeared also to have lost half their beauty. Their -hues were dim and in some places faded away altogether. I watched -Animula for hours with a breaking heart, and she seemed absolutely to -wither away under my very eye. Suddenly I remembered that I had not -looked at the water-drop for several days. In fact, I hated to see it; -for it reminded me of the natural barrier between Animula and myself. -I hurriedly looked down on the stage of the microscope. The slide was -still there—but, great heavens! the water-drop had vanished! The awful -truth burst upon me; it had evaporated, until it had become so minute -as to be invisible to the naked eye; I had been gazing on its last -atom, the one that contained Animula—and she was dying!</p> - -<p>I rushed again to the front of the lens, and looked through. Alas! the -last agony had seized her. The rainbow-hued forests had all melted -away, and Animula lay struggling feebly in what seemed to be a spot -of dim light. Ah! the sight was horrible: the limbs once so round and -lovely shriveling up into nothings; the eyes—those eyes that shone -like heaven—being quenched into black dust; the lustrous golden hair -now lank and discolored. The last throe came. I beheld that final -struggle of the blackening form—and I fainted.</p> - -<p>When I awoke out of a trance of many hours, I found myself lying amid -the wreck of my instrument, myself as shattered in mind and body as it. -I crawled feebly to my bed, from which I did not rise for months.</p> - -<p>They say now that I am mad; but they are mistaken. I am poor, for I -have neither the heart nor the will to work; all my money is spent, and -I live on charity. Young men's associations that love a joke invite me -to lecture on optics before them, for which they pay me, and laugh at -me while I lecture. "Linley, the mad microscopist," is the name I go -by. I suppose that I talk incoherently while I lecture. Who could talk -sense when his brain is haunted by such ghastly memories, while ever -and anon among the shapes of death I behold the radiant form of my lost -Animula!</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Diamond Lens, by Fitz-James O'Brien - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DIAMOND LENS *** - -***** This file should be named 50332-h.htm or 50332-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/3/3/50332/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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