ARRIVAL OF THE EDITOR.
“Too excited to sleep, I threw myself upon the sofa, and turned the
strange series of events over in my mind. Two things were absolutely
certain, nay, three--1st, That neither Ravalette, Vatterale, nor the
Italian Count, were men as are other men; 2d, that not one of the
company suspected this fact; and 3d, that myself was the object, sole
and alone, of these extraordinary visitations. Above and beyond all
these, it was plain that my destiny was rapidly approaching a crisis,
and that the Stranger (mentioned in the legend), as well as Dhoula Bel,
were still influencing me for purposes which I could not divine to their
full extent. I had already become a Rosicrucian, had passed through five
degrees, had visited the Orient, and was about to go again, had learned
many dark and solemn mysteries, been instructed in several degrees of
magic, knew all about the Elixir of life, the power of will, the art of
reading others’ destinies, of constructing and using magic mirrors, and
how to discover mines of precious metal, and had deeply regretted that
the terrible oath whereby the true Rosicrucian binds himself never to
seek wealth for himself, and never to accept riches as the price of the
exercise of his power, prevented me from availing myself of its
advantages. I knew that on the altar of knowledge I had sacrificed all
the deeper interests of my nature. I knew that my heart yearned for
woman’s love--that she held one portion of my soul captive at times, but
never filled it--that there was a possibility of escaping what I
dreaded, could I meet and mingle with a certain soul in whose body ran
no drop of Adamic blood; and I almost resolved to abandon all hope,
perform the part required of me by my tempters of Belleville, the
Tuilleries, and Boston, when suddenly I remembered the paper that
Ravalette had placed in my hand, as also the present left for me by
Vatterale, but, resolving to omit all care concerning them till morning,
at length I succeeded in falling into an uneasy slumber, from which I
awoke late on the following morning to find that you, my dear friend
[the Editor], had just arrived from Alexandria, and had called upon
me.”