as he now dug into his mind. These ladies were coming for a story. The
younger one had doubtless told her mother that there had been stories
told in the garden, and now another one was wanted, and it was more than
likely that he was expected to tell it. But he did not feel at all easy
about telling a story to the Mistress of the House. He knew her so well,
and the habits of her mind, that he was fully assured if his fancies
should blossom too luxuriantly she would ruthlessly pull them up and
throw them on the path. Still he believed she would like fancies, and
highly colored ones; but he must be very careful about them. They must
be harmonious; they must not interfere with each other; they might be
rare and wonderful, but he must not give them long Latin names which
meant nothing.
One thing which troubled him was the difficulty of using the first
person when telling a story to the Mistress of the House. He could tell
his stories best in that fashion, but he did not believe that this
hearer would be satisfied with them; she would not be likely to give
them enough belief to make them interesting. He had a story all ready to
tell to the Daughter of the House, for he had been sure she would want
one some day soon, and this one, told in a manner which would please
him, he thought would please her; but it was very different with her
mother. He must be careful.
When the two ladies came to the bed where the beans were to be planted,
the gardener found that he had not mistaken their errand.
"John," said the Mistress of the House, "I hear you tell a very good
story, and I want you to tell me one. Let us find a shady place."
There was a pretty summer-house on the upper terrace, a shady place
where the air was cool and the view was fine; and there they went: but
there was no need of John Gayther's making any pretence of trimming up
pea-sticks this time.
"I have a story," said he, his stool at a respectful distance from the
two ladies, who were seated on a bench outside the little house.
"Is it about yourself?" asked the Daughter of the House.
"No, miss, not this time," he answered.
"I am sorry for that," she said, "for I like to think of people doing
the things they tell about. But I suppose we can't have that every
time."
"Oh, no," said her mother; "and if John has an interesting story about
anybody else, let him tell it."
The gardener began promptly. "The name of this story is 'The Lady in the
Box,'" said he, "and, with the exception of the lady, the principal
personage in it was a young man who lived in Florence toward the end of
the last century."
"And how did you come to know the story?" asked the Daughter of the
House. "Has it ever been told before?"
Now there was need to assert himself, if John Gayther did not wish to
lose grace with his hearers, and he was equal to the occasion. "It has
never been printed," said he, quietly but boldly. "It came to me in the
most straightforward way, step by step."
"Very good," said the Mistress of the House; "I like a story to come in
that way."
"The young man, whose name was Jaqui," continued John Gayther, "was of
good parts, but not in very good circumstances. He was a student of
medicine, and was the assistant of a doctor, which means that he did
all the hard work, such as attending to the shop, mixing the drugs, and
even going out to see very poor patients in bad weather. Jaqui's
employer--master, in fact--was Dr. Torquino, an elderly man of much
reputation in his town. The doctor expected Jaqui to be his successor,
and as the years went on the younger man began to visit patients in good
circumstances who fell sick in fine weather. At last Dr. Torquino made a
bargain with Jaqui by which the latter was to pay certain sums of money
to the old man's heirs, and then the stock and good-will of the
establishment were formally made over to him; and, shortly afterwards,
the old doctor died. But before his death he told Jaqui everything that
it was necessary for him to know in regard to the property and the
business to which he had succeeded.
[Illustration: The gardener began promptly.]
"Torquino's house was a very good one, consisting of three floors. On the
ground floor were the shop, the private office, and the living-rooms. The
old doctor and Jaqui lodged on the third floor. The second floor was very
handsomely furnished, but was not then occupied--at least, not in the
ordinary way. It belonged to Dr. Paltravi, the old doctor's former
partner; a somewhat younger man, and married. He had been greatly
attached to his wife, and had furnished these rooms to suit her fancy. He
was a scientific man, and much more devoted to making curious experiments
than he was to the ordinary practice of medicine and surgery. In a small
room on this floor, at the very back of the house, was Donna Paltravi, in
a box."
"Was she dead?" exclaimed the Daughter of the House.
"It was believed by Dr. Torquino that she was not, but he could not be
sure of it."
"And her husband?" asked the elder lady. "Was he dead?"
"No," replied the gardener; "at least, there was no reason to suppose
so. About forty years before the time of this story he had left
Florence, and this was the way of it: Donna Paltravi was a young and
handsome woman, but her health was not as satisfactory as it might have
been, for she had a tendency to fall into swoons, and to remain in
them, sometimes for many hours, coming out of a trance as lively as
before she went into it. Now this disposition had a powerful effect upon
her husband, and he studied her very closely, with an interest which
almost devoured the other powers of his mind. He experimented upon her,
and became so expert that he not only could bring her out of her trances
whenever he chose, but he could keep her in them; and this he did,
sometimes as long as a week, in order to prove to himself that he could
do it."
"Shame upon him!" exclaimed the Daughter of the House.
"Never mind," said her mother; "let John go on."
"Well," continued the gardener, "the old doctor told Jaqui a great many
things about Paltravi and his wife, and how she came to be at that time
in the box. Paltravi had conceived a great scheme, one which he had
believed might have immense influence on the happiness of the world. He
determined that when his wife next went into a trance he would try to
keep her so for fifty years, and then revive her, in the midst of her
youth and beauty, to enjoy the world as she should find it."
"There was nothing new about that," said the Mistress of the House.
"That is a very old story, and the thing has been written about again
and again and again."
"That is very true, madam," answered John Gayther, "and Dr. Paltravi had
heard many such stories, but most of them were founded upon traditions
and myths and the vaguest kind of hearsay, and some were no more than
the fancies of story-tellers. But the doctor wanted to work on solid
and substantial ground, and he believed that his wife's exceptional
opportunities should not be sacrificed."
"Sacrificed!" exclaimed the Daughter of the House. "I like that!"
"Of course I will not attempt to explain the doctor's motives, or try
to excuse him," said the gardener. "I can only tell what he did. He
protracted one of his wife's trances, and when it had continued for a
month he determined to keep it up for half a century, if it could be
done; and he went earnestly to work for the purpose. The old doctor had
not altogether approved of his partner's action, but I don't believe he
disapproved very much, for he also possessed a good deal of the spirit
of scientific investigation. When everything had been arranged, and the
lady had been placed in a large and handsome box which had been designed
with great care by her husband and constructed under his careful
supervision, she was carried into the little room which had been her
boudoir; and there her husband watched and guarded her for nearly a
year. In all that time there was not the slightest change in her so far
as mortal eye could see, but there came a change over her husband. He
grew uneasy and restless, and could not sleep at night; and, at last, he
told Dr. Torquino he would have to go away; he could not stay any longer
and see his beautiful wife lying motionless before him. The desire to
revive her had become so great he found it impossible to withstand it,
and therefore, in the interest of science and for the advantage of the
world, he must put it out of his power to interfere with the success of
his own great experiment.
"He wrote down on parchment everything that was necessary for the person
to know who had charge of this great treasure, and he made Dr. Torquino
swear to guard and to protect Donna Paltravi for forty-nine years, if
he should live so long, and, if he did not, that he would deliver his
charge into the hands of some worthy and reliable person. If, at the end
of the lady's half-century of inanimation, Paltravi should not make his
appearance, on account of having died, (for nothing else would keep him
away), then the person in charge of the lady was to animate her in the
manner which was fully and minutely described on the parchment. Paltravi
then departed, and since that time nothing had been heard of him.
"When Jaqui came into possession of Dr. Torquino's house, he felt he
owned the contents of only two floors, and that the second floor,
especially the little room in the rear, was a great responsibility which
he did not desire at all, and of which he would have rid himself if
Dr. Torquino had not made him swear that he would guard it sacredly
for the ten years which still remained of the intended period of
inanimation.
"He had seen the lady in the box, for the old doctor had taken him into
her room, and they had removed the top of the box and had looked at
her through the great plate of glass which covered her. She was very
beautiful and richly dressed, and seemed as if she were merely asleep.
But, in spite of her beauty and the interest which attached to her, he
wished very much somebody else had her to take care of. Such thoughts,
however, were of no use; she went with the business and the property,
and he had nothing to say about it.
"Jaqui did not have a very good time after the old doctor's death,"
continued John Gayther. "It was not even as good as he had expected it
to be. For nearly fifteen years he had been living in that house with
Dr. Torquino, and in all that time the lady in the box had never
troubled him; but now she did trouble him. Various legal persons came
to attend to the transfer of the property, and, although they found
everything all straight and right so far as the old doctor's possessions
were concerned, they were not so well satisfied in regard to the
contents of the second floor, some of them thinking the government
should have something to say in regard to the property of a man who had
been away for forty years; but as Paltravi had made Torquino his heir
when he left Florence, and Jaqui had the papers to show, this matter was
settled. But, for all that, Jaqui was troubled, and it was about the box
of the lady. It was such a peculiar-looking box that several questions
were asked as to its contents; and when Jaqui boldly asserted that it
contained anatomical preparations, he was asked why it happened to be in
that handsome little room. But by the help of money and his generally
good reputation Jaqui got rid of the legal people.
"But after this he had to face the neighbors. These heard of the box,
and it revived memories, in the minds of some of the elders, of strange
stories about Dr. Paltravi. His wife had died several times, according
to some of them, and she had at last been carried to her native town in
Lombardy for burial. But nobody knew the name of that town, and there
were one or two persons who said she never had been buried, but that her
husband had preserved her skeleton, and had had it gilded, he was so
very fond of her. Jaqui had a good deal of trouble with these people,
who had never dared to trouble old Dr. Torquino with their idle
curiosity, for he was a man with a high temper and would stand no
meddling.
"But when the neighbors had ceased to talk, at least to him, there came
a third class of troublers, worse than either of the others. These were
some scientific people who long ago had heard of the experiment
Dr. Paltravi had been making with his wife. Several of these wrote to
Jaqui, and two of them came to see him. These insisted on looking at the
lady in the box, and Jaqui was obliged to show her. The two scientists
were very much interested--extremely so; but they did not in the least
believe the lady was alive. They considered the beautiful figure the
most admirable specimen of the preservation of the human body after
death that they had ever seen, and that Paltravi was entitled to the
greatest credit for the success of his experiment. They were anxious to
be informed of the methods by which this wonderful result had been
obtained. But this, Jaqui firmly informed them, was now his secret and
his property, and he would not divulge it. The scientists acknowledged
the justice of this position, and did not urge their point; but each of
them, when he went away, resolved that in the course of a few years he
would come back, and if the body of the lady was still in good
preservation, he would buy it if he could. Jaqui might be poor by that
time, or dead.
"Jaqui now thought his troubles were over; but he was mistaken. A new
persecutor appeared, who belonged to a fourth class, fortunately not a
very large one. This person was a young man who was not only a fool but
a poet."
"Unfortunate creature!" exclaimed the Mistress of the House.
"I don't know, madam," said John Gayther. "He was very happy. It was the
people with whom he associated in this world who were unfortunate. This
young man, whose name was Florino, lived in Milan, and it would have
been much better for Jaqui if he had lived in Patagonia. By great bad
luck he had overheard one of the scientists who had visited Jaqui
talking about what he had seen at his house, and the poet instantly
became greatly interested in the story. He plied the learned man with
all manner of questions, and very soon made up his mind that he would go
to Florence to see the lady in the box. He believed she would make a
most admirable subject for a poem from his pen.
"When Florino presented himself to Jaqui he came as the general of an
army who settles down before a town to invest it and capture it, if he
shall live long enough. At first Jaqui tried to turn him away in the
usual manner; but the poet was not to be turned away. He had no feelings
which could be hurt, and Jaqui was afraid to hurt his body on account of
the police. The young man begged, he argued, he insisted, he persisted.
All he wanted was to see, just once, the face of the beautiful lady who
had been so wonderfully preserved. He visited the unfortunate Jaqui by
day and by night; and at last, when Florino solemnly promised that if he
should be given one opportunity of seeing the lady he would go away and
never trouble Dr. Jaqui any more, the latter concluded that to agree to
this proposition would be the best way to get rid of the youth, and so
consented to allow him to gaze upon the face which forty years before
had been animated by the soul of Donna Paltravi.
"When the upper part of the lid of the box had been removed and the face
of the lady appeared under the plate of glass, the soul of the young
poet who tremblingly bent over it was filled with rapturous delight.
Never in his life had he seen anything so beautiful, and, more than
this, he declared he had never dreamed of features so lovely. For a
time it interested Jaqui to listen to the rhapsodies and observe the
exaltation of the fool-poet, but he soon had enough of this amorous
insanity, and prepared to close the box. Then Florino burst into wild
entreaties--only ten minutes more, five minutes, three minutes,
anything! So it went on until the poet had been feasting his eyes on the
lady for nearly half an hour. Then Jaqui forcibly put him out of the
room, closed the box, and locked the door.
"Florino had no more idea of keeping his word than he had of becoming a
blacksmith. He persecuted Jaqui more than he had before, and when his
solicitations to see the lady again were refused he went so far as to
attempt to climb up to her window. Of course Jaqui could have called in
the aid of the police, but it would have made it very unpleasant for him
to bring the whole affair into court, and Florino knew this as well as
he did. After a short time the poet tried a new line of tactics, and
endeavored to persuade Jaqui that it was his duty to revive the lady;
when this idea once got well into the head of the young man he became
a worse lunatic than before. Jaqui attempted to reason with him; but
Florino would listen to nothing he had to say, and went on being a
fool, and a poet, and a lover, at the same time; and Jaqui began to be
afraid that some day he would get into the room by foul means, break
open the box, seize upon the sealed parchment which lay under the lid,
and try to revive the lady himself.
"It is quite possible this might have happened had not something very
unexpected occurred. Dr. Paltravi came back to his old home. Jaqui
recognized him immediately from the description which Torquino had given
of him. He was now nearly seventy years old, but he was in good health
and vigor; his tall form was still upright, and the dark eyes, which the
old doctor had particularly described, were as bright and as piercing as
ever they had been.
"He told Jaqui he had hoped to postpone the revival of his wife until
the expiration of the fifty years, but that of late his resolution had
been weakening. It had become very hard for him to think he must wait
ten years more before he came back to his home and his wife. Science was
a great thing, but the love of a man for a woman such as he loved was
still greater; and when he heard of the death of Dr. Torquino he had
instantly made up his mind he would not leave his wife in the custody of
any one but his old friend and partner. So here he was, fully resolved
to lose no time in reviving his wife and in spending his life here with
her in their old home so long as they might survive.
"Jaqui was now a happy man. Here was the owner of the lady, ready to
take her off his hands and relieve him of all the perplexing
responsibility and misery which her possession had caused him. As he
looked at the stalwart figure of the returned husband it made him laugh
to think of the fool-poet.
"Dr. Paltravi and Jaqui were both practical men, and that evening they
laid out the whole plan for the revivification of the lady in the box.
Jaqui was so glad to be rid of her that he willingly undertook to do
anything to assist Paltravi in starting out on his new career of
domestic happiness.
"It was agreed that it was most important that when she woke again to
life Donna Paltravi should not be too much surprised, and her husband
did everything he could to prevent anything of the kind. He had her old
bedroom swept and garnished and made to look as much as possible as it
had been when she last saw it. Then he went out into the town, and was
fortunate enough to engage as maid a young girl who was the daughter of
the woman who had been his wife's maid forty years before. Then it was
decided that this girl, having been well instructed as to what was
expected of her, should be the first to see the lady when she should
revive; and that after that, when it should be deemed a suitable moment,
Jaqui should have an interview with her in the capacity of physician,
and explain the state of affairs so that she should not be too greatly
excited and shocked by the change in the appearance of her husband.
Then, when everything had been made plain, Paltravi was to go to her."
"Those two were a couple of brave men," remarked the Mistress of the
House.
"They were very fortunate men, I think," said her daughter. "What would
I not give to be the first to talk to a woman who had slept for forty
years!"
"Perhaps she is going to sleep indefinitely," answered the Mistress of
the House. "But we will let John go on with his story."
"All these plans were carried out," continued John Gayther. "The next
day the lady was taken out of the box, removed to her own chamber, and
placed upon a couch. The garments she wore were just as fresh and well
preserved as she was, and as Dr. Paltravi stood and looked at her, his
heart swelling with emotion, he could see no reason why she should not
imagine she had fallen asleep forty minutes before instead of forty
years. The two doctors went to work, speaking seldom and in whispers,
their faces pale and their hearts scarcely beating, so intense was their
anxiety regarding the result of this great experiment. Jaqui was almost
as much affected as Dr. Paltravi, and, in fact, his fears were greater,
for he was not supported by the faith of the other. He could not help
thinking of what would follow if everything did not turn out all right.
"But there was no need of anxiety. In a little while respiration
was established; the heart began to beat gently; the blood slowly
circulated; there was a little quiver about the lips--Donna Paltravi
was alive! Her husband, on his knees beside her, lifted his eyes to
heaven, and then, his head falling forward, he sank upon the floor."
"Oh," ejaculated the Daughter of the House, "I hope he did not die. That
would have been good tragedy, but how dreadful!"
"No," answered the gardener, "he did not die; and Jaqui, his excitement
giving him the strength of a giant, took the insensible man in his arms
and carried him out of the room."
The Mistress of the House gave a little sigh of relief. "I am so glad he
did," said she; "I was actually beginning to be afraid. I really do not
want to be present when she first sees him."
John Gayther perfectly understood this remark, and took it to heart. It
implied a little lack of faith in his dramatic powers, but it made
things a great deal easier for him.
"Without reentering the room," continued he, "Jaqui partly closed the
door, and gazed at the lady through a little crack."
"I do not know about that," said the Mistress of the House; "he should
have gone in boldly."
"Excuse me," said John Gayther, "but I think not. This was a very
important moment. Nobody knew what would happen. She must not be shocked
by seeing a stranger. At the same time, the eye of a professional man
was absolutely necessary. Donna Paltravi slightly moved and sighed; then
she opened her eyes and gazed for a few minutes at the ceiling; after
which she turned her head upon the cushion of the couch, and in a clear,
soft voice called out, 'Rita!' This was the name of the girl now in
waiting, as it had been the name of her mother, and she instantly
appeared from the adjoining room. She had seen all that had happened,
and was trembling so much she could scarcely stand; but she was a girl
of nerve, and approached and stood by her mistress. 'Rita,' said the
lady, without looking at her, 'I am hungry; bring me some wine and a few
of those cakes you bought yesterday.'
"Dr. Paltravi had remembered everything that had pleased his wife; he
had thought of the little cakes, and had scoured the town early in the
morning to get some which resembled them; he knew her favorite wine, and
had given Rita her instructions. Without delay the maid brought the
refreshments, and in a few minutes the lady was sitting on the couch, a
glass of wine in her hand. 'Rita,' said she, after eating and drinking
a little, 'you are dressed very awkwardly this morning. Have you been
trying to make your own clothes?'
"The doctor had searched diligently in his wife's closets for some
garments belonging to her former maid, and he had thought he had
succeeded in getting Rita to dress as her mother had dressed; but he did
not remember these things as accurately as his wife remembered them.
'You know I do not like carelessness in dress,' continued Donna
Paltravi, 'and now that I look at you more closely--'
"'She is truly alive,' said Jaqui, 'and in full possession of her
senses.' And with this he closed the door.
"When the doctor recovered, both he and Jaqui were very glad to take
some wine, for they had been under a dreadful strain."
"_Had been!_" exclaimed the Mistress of the House, who understood the
heart of woman, and knew very well that the great strain had not yet
come. "But what happened next, John?"