THE SPIRIT LEG.--THE ANALYTICAL CHEMIST'S STORY.
Being left an orphan at an early age, I was consigned to the care of a
bachelor uncle, one Admiral Broadside, who instructed me almost entirely
himself until I reached the age of twelve. I was then sent to school,
where I went through a routine of learning taught to boys at that time,
and though I was backward in many things when I first entered the
school, I was a persevering scholar, and soon left behind me many boys
who had the start of me. I thus made enemies, and being of a retiring
disposition, owing to my previous education, I made but few friends.
But let me return to my uncle. I have the liveliest recollection of the
old man with his weather-beaten face, his deep-set eyes, and
over-hanging black eyebrows, resembling a moustache rather than the
feature we usually see in their place. Well I remember the sheen and the
lustre of that rubicund nose, sprouting with grog-blossoms, the
iron-grey hair, and long pig-tail; his spectacles, with glasses as big
as a crown piece, his cocked hat, his uniform adorned with medals, and
his hobbling gait--for he had lost his right leg in an engagement,
and used as a substitute a wooden one. How well I can call to mind his
nautical language and his merry laugh; but, alas, I remember too well
also his angry frown, and the sundry thwackings that I got with a
"cat-o'-nine-tails," when I had "offended against discipline."
From an infant he tried to instil into my young mind the glories of a
sea-faring life, and what a grand thing it was to fight for the honour
and glory of one's country. He told me that he had great interest in the
navy, and if I turned out a worthy nephew of his, he would get me on in
my career, and that he hoped I should never disgrace his name by showing
the white feather and turning landlubber.
He tried to influence my youthful imagination with stories of
sea-fights, the capture of pirates, the manners and customs of foreign
countries, the merry crew on board, etc. He would cut out boats for me
from blocks of wood, and would rig out and launch them in a fish pond in
a garden behind his house.
Up to a certain period in my youth my uncle's nautical stories and his
promises of pushing me on in life, if I answered his expectations, fired
my ambition, and I could talk of nothing else than of going to sea.
My uncle having no children of his own, looked upon me as his son, and
said that I was just the sort of boy for him. He would praise me to his
friends and before my face, but his eulogium of myself lasted only
during the time I lived with him--namely, before he sent me to school,
for at school a great change came over me, and my uncle noticed with
regret upon my return for the holidays the growing coolness in me
towards a sea-faring life; in fact, that my tastes had begun to develop
themselves in quite another direction.
Away from the influence of my guardian, I had dared to breath in a new
atmosphere, and to find out that there were other walks in life quite as
noble, and to me much more fascinating than that of the sea. The term
"landlubber" conveyed no disparagement to my ears now. I merely saw in
it the venting of the spleen of an egotistical and narrow mind. How
paltry that class of men must be which speaks with disparagement of all
others who do not happen to be within its own narrow circle.
I was ashamed of myself for ever having been led away by such false
opinions, and had many a hot dispute with my guardian about his
illiberal notions. Now, the admiral had a temper of his own; he was not
a man accustomed to be thwarted. He had made up his mind that I was to
go to sea, and to sea he was determined to send me, whether I willed it
or no.
I was now about fourteen, and since I had been away from home I had
imbibed strong notions of independence. I did not see that any man had a
right to dispose of me as he thought fit. I felt myself a free agent,
and my youthful blood rose at the cool way in which my uncle thought to
bend me to his will. Had I not the right to seek my own walk in life?
Was I to be baulked of my true avocation because I was told that my
interest lay elsewhere? Interest! Bah! I despised interest.
My uncle promised me that if I went to sea he would leave all his
fortune to me, as I was his heir, and if I refused, he would not leave
me a groat. What then? I had a small income left me by my father when I
should come of age, which was enough to keep me like a gentleman. What
did I want with the old admiral's money? I was not going to sell myself
for filthy lucre.
It was whispered that the old man had amassed a considerable fortune,
and I should be called a fool by the world to quarrel with him. But was
my will to be bought with gold? I was grateful to him for what he had
already done for me, and I never wished to quarrel with him; but when I
saw that he expected as a proof of my gratitude I should humour his whim
by sacrificing my highest ambition in life to follow a profession I now
really cared nothing about, I felt it my duty to rebel against my
guardian and choose my own course.
I felt myself born for something better than a sea-faring life. The sea
might be very well for those who had a taste for it, or for those who
were fit for nothing else. Besides, sailors are generally such ignorant
people, and I flattered myself that I had a mind to cultivate and
resolved to devote myself to study.
My hobby was science, and the branch I was chiefly anxious to excel in,
chemistry. I believe the first thing that fired my imagination to
pursue this delightful science was the reading a book lent me by a
friend, entitled, "Lives of the Alchemists." From this I learned how
many clever men had devoted their lives and fortunes in pursuit of the
philosopher's stone. I do not remember reading any of them actually
_did_ make gold; but the perseverance and energy of these men! There was
something sublime in a man of means giving up the wealth and luxury of
his position to follow science. How I loved to read of these persevering
sages, of their trials and disappointments, and how, heedless of all
vicissitudes, they still pursued to the last with unflagging energy that
science that they alone lived for. I had no doubt that in early times
there was an immensity of superstition mingled with their science.
Nevertheless, thought I, is it possible that so many clever men should
have wasted their whole lives in study and have been just upon the point
of discovering the secret if there were really nothing in it at all? I
inquired of a chemist in our town whether he believed in the possibility
of making gold. He told me that he did not; but then a learned man with
whom I once conversed said that he was of opinion that it _was_
possible, but added that if the secret were discovered it would
certainly be valueless.
I preferred leaning towards the opinion of the learned man who believed
in the possibility of making gold out of baser metals, and resolved to
give the study of my life to the discovery of the secret without
letting others know what I was striving after.
It happened that the chemist of our town whose opinion I had consulted
as to the probability of success in alchemy sent his son, with whom I
was rather intimate, to the same school as my guardian had put me at. He
was a lad of my own years, and shared my taste for study. Having much in
common, we soon struck up a warm friendship, which lasted for many
years; in fact, until his death, some fifteen years back. I may assert
that he was the only friend I ever had in my youth, for I was a reserved
lad, and did not court friendship. He, too, was reserved, and sought no
other friend but myself.
We were always in each other's company, and used to be nicknamed Castor
and Pollux by the other boys. They could none of them understand why we
two withdrew ourselves from the rest and refused to join in their games,
and they wondered much what we found to talk about one to the other. We
were both looked upon as unsociable, and accordingly disliked.
We both of us had high aspirations, and each of us felt the value of his
existence, and that high honours awaited him in posterity, if not in
this life, provided that he made the best use of his abilities. We might
each of us have been about fifteen, when we swore an eternal friendship,
and likewise to keep secret from others the nature of our studies. When
I returned home from school for good--being then about seventeen--my
uncle the admiral was in despair at finding me more than ever confirmed
in my views of a studious life, and said I had disappointed his hopes,
and that I need henceforth hope for no help from him.
A gentleman who visited my uncle, and who seemed to take an interest in
me, seeing that I was a young man of some promise, advised me to go to a
German university, and recommended to me the university of Jena.
He took upon himself to remonstrate with my guardian upon what he called
his harsh treatment of myself, and told him that he had no right to
force me against my true calling, but his words were as wind in the
admiral's ears, for he was as obstinate as a mule.
"Do you mean to tell me, sir," said the admiral, "that my boy can't be
made a sailor of, if he is only properly brought up?"
"Yes," said his friend; "it is precisely that point I wish to discuss. I
deny that we are all born alike; and if you force this young man to go
to sea you will make a bad sailor of him when he might have done honour
to his country in another way."
"Boys mustn't be allowed to go just any way they like. They must learn
discipline and obedience. I tell you that it is to his interest to go to
sea. He is my heir, and if he conducts himself properly he may hope to
be pushed on in life as long as I live, and inherit my fortune at my
death. If he refuses, I shall cut him off, so he knows what to expect."
"I sincerely regret your harsh determination," said the gentleman, "for
I really consider your nephew a young man of great promise. He is
studiously inclined, and in every way shows that the sea is about the
very last calling for which he is destined. Why should you try to waste
his young life in a profession which he is unfit for?"
"Unfit for!" exclaimed the admiral. "Unfit for! In my time there was no
talk of a lad's being unfit to serve his country at the bidding of those
in authority over him, unless he was a cripple. Is not my nephew strong
and well built enough for the sea? Why should he be unfit?"
"Not physically unfit," said his friend. "I do not doubt for a moment
his physical capabilities, but if he has formed other tastes, and feels
himself called in another direction, why----"
"Nonsense, sir, nonsense! about his feeling himself called in another
direction. He ought to feel himself called where his interest lies, to
say nothing of his duty towards those placed over him," said my uncle.
"But you wouldn't make a slave of the boy?" said his friend.
"I only wish to call him to his senses, to make him do that which is
best for himself. Am I to yield to a mere boyish whim, for which he
himself would be sorry later in life? And as to his having no taste for
it; he was full of it whilst he lived under my roof, before he went to
school. It is only since he left me that he has got these new-fangled
notions and hoisted the white feather."
"I do not see that it is any sign of cowardice to have changed his
opinions since he was under your roof. Since then his mind has become
more enlarged, and he is better able to see what he is fit for than when
he had received no other instruction than your own. Since then he has
made acquaintances----"
"And pretty acquaintances he has made! About the only acquaintance that
he has is the son of a d----d apothecary, who happens to be at the same
school. Do you think I can't see from whom he has picked up his sickly
notions? Should I be doing my duty to my brother's son were I to aid him
in his insane hobby of turning apothecary? To allow one of _my_ family,
one of my own flesh and blood, to make pills and spread plaisters for a
living, when he might be boarding the enemy's fleet and shedding his
blood for the honour and glory of his country? Why damme, sir, it's not
manly, I'll be hanged if it is."
"Because he may have formed some acquaintances with this apothecary,
doesn't necessarily show that he intends to turn apothecary himself. He
says that he wishes to devote himself to the study of chemistry. Surely
there is nothing disgraceful in that! Perhaps his determination may not
be quite fixed as yet. He wishes to go to the university, where he will
receive the education of a gentleman, and after a few years of study he
will be enabled to settle down in that walk of life which suits him
best."
"In the meantime he is wasting the flower of his youth in moping study,
whilst he might be earning his laurels at sea."
"Life, my dear admiral, is a playground on which numbers meet to play at
a vast variety of games. You have won your laurels at sea; let the poor
boy earn his in the game he most delights in. We are not all born
alike."
"Bah! Laurels gained at pills and poultices. Much good may his laurels
do him. If he is wise, he will forget at once his low acquaintances,
awaken to his real interest, and take a cruise with me. I have no doubt
that after a time I shall set him to rights again."
"And if he refuses to go?"
"Oh!--then--then--why, he may as well begin to mix drugs at once, and
the sooner the better."
"You mean that you would cut him off."
"Ay, that I most decidedly should."
"Now, my dear admiral, don't you think it would be kinder, as well as
the best way to save the honour of your family, to try and prevent him
from following the apothecary's business by doing what you can to aid
his studies, that he may choose some other gentlemanly profession
besides the sea, since he seems to have taken such an aversion to it?"
"No, no; my determination is fixed. If he does my will I will help him
in what way I can. If he will not, neither will I help him in anything.
He knows what he has to expect, either the sea and my portion when I
die, or pills, poultices, and beggary."
"I much regret your stern decision, I must say," said the gentleman, and
here the conference ended.
I was well aware of the admiral's decision, and that nothing on earth
could move him; and as I was equally determined not to go to sea, I
informed him how I had decided.
"Well, then," he said, "from to-day you are no longer nephew of mine.
Follow your own silly inclinations, but don't hope for any help from
me."
I considered myself turned out of the house, so I quietly packed up my
things, and without taking leave of my uncle, I called upon my uncle's
friend, the gentleman who had shown so much interest in my cause and
explained how I was situated. I told him that I had money left me by my
father, which I could not touch until I came of age. In the meantime I
might die of want, as my uncle had refused positively to call me his
nephew any longer. Therefore I begged him to be kind enough to lend me a
sufficient sum to complete my studies at a foreign university, and I
would repay him when it lay in my power.
My uncle's friend was a man of means and of a generous disposition, and
not likely to see me go down thoroughly in the world, granted my
request. I left my native town without letting my uncle know, and
departed for Germany. I found my way to the university of Jena, where I
entered and commenced my studies.
My first step was to perfect myself in the German language, to
accomplish which I took lessons, visited the theatre, and went into
society. The romance that seemed to attach itself to the life of a
German student had long inflamed my youthful fancy, and I entered a
"chor," or company of students, who distinguish themselves from others
by their own especial "tricolor," which they wear in a ribbon across
their chests and round their caps, and from ordinary mortals by their
otherwise fantastic way of dressing themselves.
The novelty of this life, rather than the life itself, charmed me; for
though I was delighted with the freedom and goodfellowship amongst these
young men, I was not a youth naturally given to excess, and I soon found
that a little of this sort of life went a long way.
Nevertheless, at the beginning my fondness for the study of human nature
in all its phases induced me to take part in all the manners and customs
of my companions. I joined them at their "kneipe," drank and sang with
them, smoked with them, fought with them. I never refused a challenge,
and sometimes even provoked a duel. I was never behind hand in any
midnight brawl. I wore high boots and enormous spurs; gambled, betted,
serenaded, played practical jokes, and soon got the reputation of a
"flotter bursch" or rowdy fellow.
As every German student has his "Liebchen," I, too, had mine. A fair
Teutonic damsel of good family deigned to smile on me, and there was
much talk at one time in the little town of Jena about Fraulein von
Hammelstengel and the handsome Englishman being "verlobt."
People will talk at all times, and when news is wanting--what so easy as
to invent? All the inhabitants of the town of Jena thought that they had
a right to know and to talk of my private affairs, and seeing that I was
of a reserved disposition and that they were not likely to extract much
from me by pumping, it began to be rumoured abroad that I had certain
grave reasons for maintaining secrecy, and in a very short time it was
reported that I was a great "my lord," travelling in disguise for
political purposes, and that I possessed a fortune of countless millions
of pounds sterling.
This interesting discovery soon reached the ears of the parents of the
already-mentioned young lady, who, by the way, had other admirers
besides myself, and I could not without vanity at that time fairly
consider myself the favoured one. Nevertheless, from the time the report
of my fabulous riches spread throughout the whole university town I
suddenly found Fraulein von Hammelstengel thrust in my way in the most
obtrusive manner.
If I went to the theatre she was sure to be blocking up the doorway as I
entered. If I was invited to a party, she was sure to be there. If I
went to a public beer garden, there she was again; in the streets, in
church--everywhere.
At the time I speak of I had but little experience of the world, but
that little sufficed for me to see the trap that was laid for me. I was
amused at the farce played before me, but disgusted with the actors, and
resolved to withdraw myself.
Now, Miss von H. was a very fair specimen of the German upper classes.
Besides being pretty, she could cook, knit stockings, do every sort of
household work, had a very nice voice, and was a very excellent
performer on the pianoforte. She was amiable, and possessed all the
qualities of a good housewife. I may even confess that she was not quite
indifferent to me at this time, but when I saw that her parents were
making a bait of her to catch me, I was awed at the hook, and meditated
escape.
I therefore prepared to undeceive the family as to the state of my
finances, giving out that I was only a poor student who, unable to make
both ends meet in my own country, had retired to the continent to live
cheaper. This I confided to the young lady herself, and it was evidently
soon after repeated to the parents, for a marked change in their
behaviour soon manifested itself towards me, which was not only what I
expected, but what I wished for. However, after a time it was reported
in the town that I could not be as poor as I pretended to be, as it was
remarked that I always paid my bills--a somewhat rare occurrence among
German students--that I was always well dressed, lived well, had given
wine parties, and had books expensively bound.
Now, when the von Hammelstengels heard this last report, they began
again to believe in all that they had been told of me at first, and
rather than let their prey escape so easily, they resolved to make
another effort, and commenced to weave their meshes around me again.
In vain I repeated that I was only a poor student, and could not hope to
marry. I saw that I was not believed, and was persecuted more than ever
with attentions. Mrs. von Hammelstengel grew so amiable, that I was
quite alarmed. Her husband so cordial and obsequious, that I grew
disgusted. The "fraulein" herself so languishing and sentimental that I
saw that there was nothing open for me but flight, so informing them all
that important family affairs had called me suddenly back to England, I
bade them a hasty farewell, and shut myself up in my own lodging for a
time.
Now, this stratagem was discovered by the brother of Miss von
Hammelstengel, an officer in the army. He met me about two months after
I had taken leave of the family, and having ascertained that I had been
in Jena all the time, and had never mentioned to anyone else my
intention of returning to my country, he came to the conclusion that my
retirement was nothing but a "ruse" to free myself from the clutches of
his family.
He could not let me slip without playing his last card, which was to
frighten me into marriage if possible. With this object he managed to
pick a quarrel with me, asking me if I thought it was behaving like a
gentleman to excite hopes in the breast of a young and innocent girl,
and then absconding, saying that he could not see his sister pining
away day by day without taking her cause in hand, etc.
There was nothing left me, he said, but to marry his sister or to fight
him. My decision was soon made. I told him that I would never be forced
into marriage through fear of a wound, and I resolved to fight him.
An officer in the army is the only grade of man that a German student
deigns to fight with. All others are beneath his notice. Now, as my
adversary was an officer, it was considered no degradation on my part to
accept the challenge, so weapons were provided, compliments exchanged
between seconds, and the adversaries met.
The offence towards his family was seen in such a grave light by my foe,
that instead of the ordinary method adopted by German students--the use
of the customary leaden collar, and pads to protect the more vital
parts--nothing would satisfy him but a duel with the sabre, without pads
and bandages.
This is the most terrible challenge, save that with the pistol, but I
did not shrink from it. I left a letter directed to the gentleman in
England who had lent me the money to pursue my studies at the university
in the hands of my second, to be posted in case of my death, and
hastened to meet my adversary. The fight was short, though desperate. My
adversary fell severely wounded in the arm. Parties tried to hush up the
matter, but of course the town was soon full of it. The story of the
duel was variously told. Some said that I had vanquished the captain,
and others that he had vanquished me; but the truth soon oozed out.
Fraulein von Hammelstengel subsequently married an old count, who was
supposed to be rich, but who proved afterwards not to possess a penny.
But to return to myself. Disgusted with my experience of human nature,
and of womankind in particular, I set to work now more diligently than
ever. Bade farewell to my "chor," and gave up rioting and revelling, and
wrote to my school friend the chemist's son to come and join me in my
studies. I also wrote a letter to the gentleman who had kindly furnished
me with funds to continue my studies abroad, and in due time I received
the following letter:--
"MY DEAR CHARLES.--I am delighted to hear that you have at length
settled down again to earnest study. I hope you will not get into any
more scrapes, or another time you may not get off scot-free. Duelling is
a very wicked and a very silly practice, and does no credit to either
party; therefore I hope you will never seek a quarrel, but do all you
can to steer clear of pugnacious persons. You have now been more than a
year at the university, and you write so seldom that you leave me in the
dark as to what progress you have made during your stay. I wish you
would write oftener, as I am very much interested to know how you are
getting on. Now for a bit of home news. Your uncle the admiral, shortly
after your departure, took to himself a young and pretty wife. I am
afraid, however, instead of the happy home he contemplated, he sees too
late that he has done a foolish thing. She is a desperate flirt, and
rumours of such a nature are afloat in the town, that I should not be
surprised if before long he sues for a divorce. He has never been the
same man since you left, and looks considerably older. The
disappointment that he felt at your determination to go your own way
instead of his has been indeed a great blow to him. I constantly
remonstrated with him on his views of your conduct towards him, but you
know how obstinate he is. He grumbles that you left his house in a huff
without even taking leave of him, but he has never had the curiosity to
ask what has become of you, and hasn't an idea that I know of your
whereabouts.
"I called at your friend's the chemist's yesterday. His son told me that
you had written to him advising him to join you in Jena. He would be
delighted to go, and I do not think his father is averse to sending him.
He is a superior lad, and I am not prejudiced enough to advise you to
cut his acquaintance on the mere ground of his having been born in a
humbler sphere of life than yourself. The admiral may have his
prejudices, and to a certain extent I agree with him; that is to say
that one ought rather to seek acquaintances within his own class than
out of it. Still, when we meet a man of superior mind in a class a
little below our own, I see no reason why we should draw the line of
society too tightly. I must now leave off, and hoping that you will
take care of your health, as well as improve in your studies,--I remain,
yours very truly,
"EDWARD LANGTON."
Here was news indeed! My old bachelor uncle--he who when he was merry
used to laugh at the foibles of the fair sex and ridicule married
men--had himself been betrayed into marrying one of those frail beings
he professed to despise. All the experience of his long life had
vanished like smoke before the sunshine of his charmer. He had been
dazzled with her eyes, and had taken a step in the dark, and found
himself, too late, in the quagmire of remorse.
Poor old fool! I sincerely pitied him. "This comes," said I to myself,
"of turning nephews out of doors. Had you, instead of trying to bend the
iron resolve of your nephew to your own poor old obstinate will,
assisted him in his very laudable determination to follow science, you
might yet have lived and died a bachelor to your heart's content. But
console yourself, my uncle, St. Anthony was tempted by a fair demon
before you. Now you have learned a lesson, although it has come somewhat
late in life."
Although I deeply sympathised with my guardian's mistake, I could not do
otherwise than feel that he fully deserved this punishment for his
treatment of myself. How absurd and arrogant of a man, to persist in
bending another to his own selfish will! Are we free agents, or are we
not?
But enough of this. My uncle had sinned, and he was punished. He had
imagined his charmer an angel, and found after all that she was but
mortal like the rest of her sex, a poor, weak woman. He could hardly
ever have been besotted enough to fancy that she had married him for
anything else than his money, but what will not a man do to obtain the
idol of his affections?
Perhaps it was not mere blind passion that had induced him to thrust his
neck under the yoke. It might only have been pique. He would show his
nephew that he could live very happily without his companionship, and
this was the way he showed it.
I mentally drew a portrait of my aunt. A dashing, reckless girl,
determined to have her own way in everything, running up dressmakers'
bills, driving about in her carriage to spend her days in visiting and
frivolity. Ambitious of pleasing every man but her husband. Dragging her
poor old wooden-legged spouse after her to balls, operas, and concerts,
or else leaving him at home, perhaps poorly, whilst she was enjoying
herself in some crowded assembly, surrounded by a troop of young
gallants, encouraging their attentions and making game of the poor old
fool she had cajoled into marrying her. I imagined her pretty, witty,
vivacious and with a temper. A thorough incapacity for the management of
a household, vain, extravagant, frivolous, heartless, calculating.
Such was the mental picture I had drawn of my young aunt. How I could
imagine her of an evening--if she ever stayed at home with her husband
in the evening--yawning over the admiral's long nautical stories,
sighing and pouting when he asked her to bring him his slippers, or
rather his slipper, for he had but one. Turning up her nose as she mixed
his grog for him or lighted his pipe. Shuddering when the old man
caressingly touched her dimpled chin, and pleading fatigue that she
might go to bed early to be alone and dream of some handsome young
lieutenant she had met at Mrs. So-and-So's ball.
"Well, well," said I to myself, "I will not triumph too long over your
fall, uncle, lest some day the like may happen to myself, which Heaven
forfend."
I tried to imagine myself with a wife like my aunt. I, a scholar, a
searcher after the philosopher's stone, with a gay young wife always out
at parties, a family of neglected children at home, breaking in upon my
studies and smashing my crucibles and retorts, tearing up my valuable
MSS, turning my laboratory into a nursery, and profaning my hours of
study with their crying and squabbling.
"No," said I, "it shall not be. I will live single. A scientific man is
wedded to science."
After the letter I had received from my friend Langton, the opinion I
had formed of womankind was somewhat of the lowest. I imagined that all
women were alike, and the dread I felt lest I should fall into a trap
myself, induced me to shut myself up more than ever. I built a
laboratory and fitted it up. I pored over my books, fasted, slept
little, and sought as much as possible to reduce matter into mind. I
resolved to give myself wholly up to the study of the transmutation of
metals, nothing doubting that some day if I persisted in my labours I
should be rewarded by the discovery of the philosopher's stone. I paid
no visits, neither received any. I had seen enough of dissipation, and
was now resolved to make up for lost time. A sudden change had come over
me. I was no longer the "flotter bursch" that the year before swaggered,
booted and spurred through the streets of Jena, foremost in the midnight
revel, dauntless at the duel, guilty of every species of extravagance
and excess. I had become the haggard and emaciated student of the dark
arts, nervous in the extreme, shunning company, and the nature of whose
studies was a mystery to all. Slovenly and smoke begrimed, daily and
nightly I poured over my crucibles, trying all sorts of experiments and
suffering many disappointments, denying myself the common necessaries of
life, that I might expend my small income in instruments and articles
wherewith to pursue my science. Absorbed in that one pursuit, I quite
forgot the world without, forgot that I was of the same clay as my
fellow mortals, lost all sympathy for the rest of my kind, neither
sought any from them. My whole mental energies were concentrated on that
one topic--that of making gold. Nor was it avarice that induced me to
make gold the object of my pursuit. Nothing, I assure you, but the pure
love of science prompted me in my studies. I had already made several
curious discoveries. I was on the eve, or thought I was, of discovering
the great secret, when owing to excessive fasting and want of sleep, my
health broke down. Being originally of an iron constitution, I deemed in
the pride of my youth that I was proof against any fatigue of mind or
body until actual experience taught me that there were bounds even to my
powers of endurance.
As I had not for a very considerable time to set foot beyond the narrow
walls of my cell, and my mental faculties were thoroughly engrossed with
study, my system required but slight stimulant. A cup of milk and a roll
in the morning and a leek in the evening was all I required to keep soul
and body together. Nay, latterly I confined myself to a slice of bread
and a glass of water, and this lasted me all day for more than a
fortnight. This scanty food was brought me by an orphan boy, who was
deaf and dumb, whom I had engaged as my servant, as being better able to
keep silence as to the nature of my studies.
Each day I fancied brought me nearer and nearer towards the discovery of
the grand secret, when Nature, long trampled upon, rebelled, and
positively refused to hold out any longer. My form was reduced to that
of a skeleton, objects swam before my eyes, my brain reeled, and I
repeatedly fainted for want of nourishment. My hand trembled, my mind
lost its energy, and I was no longer fit for study. I found that I had
overtaxed my strength, and saw the necessity of taking more food.
One morning when I felt so debilitated that I really thought my last
hour was come, I ordered my servant to make me some broth. He had
scarcely left my laboratory to obey my orders when a peculiar sensation
came over me. I am as certain as I am of my own existence at the present
moment that I was then in a waking state, though what I am about to
relate to you now may appear to some like a dream. I felt--if I may so
describe my feelings--that I did not belong to myself, or, as if my
spirit were entirely free and independent of my body. It was a feeling
as of a bounding elasticity, as if neither the walls of my cell nor any
other material objects were impediments to me, and that I was capable at
will of soaring into realms of space, and of conversing with
intelligences of an immeasurably higher order than those of our mundane
sphere, and of perfectly understanding discourses that in the body I was
perfectly sure would be beyond my comprehension.
I remember that on this very morning I was seated in a high-backed
arm-chair of carved oak, in a reflective mood. My crucibles and retorts
strewed the laboratory in the greatest disorder. I was too weak to study
or even to rise from my chair, when suddenly upon raising my eyes
towards the opposite wall of my laboratory, the scene seemed changed,
and instead of the bare wall before me I saw the mouth of a large cave,
through the innumerable arches of which I could see to a great distance,
for the interior seemed lighted up as with fire.
Now, I know that I was perfectly unable to rise from my chair, yet it
appeared to me that I rose, and with firm step entered the cave.
It was dark and very chilly. I gazed around me for a moment and
shuddered when I discovered at my side, my eyes being now accustomed to
the light, the form of an old man, bald-headed, and with snowy locks and
beard. His brow was high and his eye clear and beaming with wisdom and
benevolence. His form was upright and his step firm, and he wore a tunic
with ample folds and of a sad colour.
At first I started and looked at him wonderingly, as if to ask him who
he was. He answered to my thoughts affably. "I am your guide. You have
courted our intimacy, and sought to become our equal. Come with me, and
I will initiate you into our mysteries and show you the lot for which
you have so long been striving."
There was something so inviting in the old man's manner, something so
charming in the calm and dignified look that superior intellect
invariably gives, that I could not but comply, and following my guide, I
was conducted through long labyrinths of arches in silence, until I
reached the centre of the cavern, when I found myself in a vast hall
formed by nature, or roughly hewn out of the natural rock, and
illuminated by torches.
Here I saw a number of tables, and at each table sat one man. They
appeared to be all engaged in chemistry, for each man had before him his
crucibles and other instruments. So absorbed did they all seem in their
work that not one of them noticed our entrance, although we were
talking loud enough for all to hear and our voices re-echoed through the
cavern.
I tried to catch the eye of some of them in order to salute them, and
perhaps to enter into conversation with them, but no one looked up.
I felt somewhat chilled at this reception, as it seemed to me that they
must have heard us, and purposely avoided looking up. My guide, who
could read all that was passing in my mind, responded to my thoughts.
"Be not grieved at their apparent want of civility, for they do not even
see you. These spirits see nothing and hear nothing but what is
immediately before them and connected with their pursuits. All you see
here are alchemists. In your terrestrial globe their sole delight was in
the endeavour to make gold. To this end they voluntarily imprisoned
their spirits in one channel in order to concentrate the force of their
intellects towards the object of their pursuit.
"The development of their intellects alone at the expense of everything
else that is human, was their desire in the world; their intellects
alone, therefore, after death remain engrossed in their one pursuit to
all eternity, and they are both deaf and blind to all else."
"And will this be my lot?" I asked of my guide.
"That depends upon yourself," was the reply. "Your spirit is not so
entirely separated from your body as to make your doom irrevocable. In
whatever state you quit the world of the body, in that state the spirit
remains to eternity. If the state of these spirits pleases you not,
there is time to set your affections on another.
"Anon I will show you another class of alchemists. These that you have
seen are spirits who strive to make gold from love of science. Those I
will show you now are those who have the love of gold for their aim, to
which they make science subservient."
My guide then conducted me through a long dark corridor of arches until
we reached another hall lighted up in a similar manner to the first.
Here were a number of spirits, each likewise occupied with his own
crucibles and apparatus, and paying no attention to those around him.
The hall and the instruments used by the spirits of this second hall
differed little from those of hall the first, but the faces of the men
were different.
In the second hall the faces were less dignified and the skulls were
broader, each of them having a preternatural protuberance like an egg at
the temples, whilst the crown of their heads was flat. The heads of
those of the first hall were higher, and their bearing more philosophic.
"I do not like the faces of those men," said I to my guide. "I dislike
the expression of greed depicted on their countenances. Remove me from
hence."
"I will now show you another order of spirits, also alchemists in their
way, since gold is their pursuit," and here he led me down a dark
subterranean staircase, damp and cold, which I descended with difficulty
on account of the slipperiness of the steps.
"This is no place for you," said my guide, "as I observe by your
cautious footsteps, yet many are they whose haste to enter at yon door
makes them rush down head foremost, regardless of the slime, and at the
risk of breaking their necks."
By this time the hand of my guide was on the door, which he entered,
leading me after him. I immediately found myself within a large and
elegant hall, lighted up with the light of day, with columns and
pavement of marble. Here was a crowd of men divided into groups, and
discussing business. Others hurrying and bustling, jostling each other
in their haste, as they traversed the hall. The physiognomy of these men
was decidedly material. Sharp and shrewd many of them, but for the most
part of that cold, stolid, matter of fact sort that defies you to read
beyond the surface.
As business and business men had little charm for me, my scrutiny of the
spirits in this hall was less minute than my observation of the spirits
in the two previous halls, and my guide, observing an expression of
weariness in my countenance, said:
"I see these spirits interest you not. These are merchants, and men of
business, who have made the acquisition of gold their chief delight in
the world, without using it merely as a means to an end; but let us pass
on."
We then entered a hall adjoining. Here was to be seen a long table, at
which numbers were gambling. The faces of some of these were truly
hideous; others merely simple. It was easy with half an eye to discern
the dupe and the sharper. Faces indicative of the most sordid avarice
jostled others of trusting simplicity. I saw to what class these spirits
belonged, and, sickened at the sight, my guide led me by the hand and
withdrew me from the hall.
On leaving the gamblers we next found ourselves in a beautiful garden
with terraces, fountains, beds of the choicest flowers, with a sunny
landscape beyond. In the centre of a velvet lawn was a motley group of
dancers, singers, and players on musical instruments. The dancers were
of both sexes, and many of them fair to view. They seemed to whirl round
in the giddy dance with true delight.
"These, at least," I said, "are happy. How they seem to enjoy
themselves! Who would not be happy in the midst of such a beautiful
scene?"
"These, my friend, are but deceptive joys," replied the sage, with a
sigh. "These, you see, are those who in the world have made pleasure the
sole aim and object of their lives, and who, on entering the world of
spirits, still retain their former tastes."
I watched the group of dancers for a time; at first with pleasure, then
with indifference, and lastly with a feeling akin to disgust mingled
with pity. Dancing and merry-making is all very well as an interlude to
hard work, and doubtless did good both to mind and body, but when I
reflected that this trivial amusement had been the sole occupation of
their lives in the world, and would continue to be so to all eternity,
I turned away with a sigh. The whole scene seemed to me less beautiful
than before, though I could not observe that any change had taken place
in the landscape, and an intense feeling of weariness came over me, with
an inclination to yawn, which my guide observing, said:
"So you have soon become disenchanted with your realms of delight."
"You are right," said I; "lead me from the scene." Turning my back on
the dancers, I followed the old man, who led me over hill, down dale,
through thicket and bramble, discoursing all the while the states of
various classes of spirits after death, till we reached a thick forest
of old gnarled trees. Flanking the forest ran a river of molten gold. I
stood upon the edge of a rock and looked down upon the river. Here I
descried a number of naked forms of both sexes bathing in the stream and
splashing each other with the liquid metal.
"Who are these?" I asked.
"These," said my guide, "are those who in the world found gold without
seeking it, and possessing it in abundance, knew not how to make use of
it. Their sole delight was in wasting it. The same passion remains with
them after death."
I fell into a reverie.
"Is it possible," thought I, "that these people have nothing at all to
do with their money? Could they be in ignorance of the poverty that
surrounded them whilst in the world? Even if they were selfish and did
no good to the rest of their kind, is it possible that they had no
private way of enjoying their worldly goods?"
"The spirits here in the world wasted their fortunes, but the ruin of
one fortune is the foundation of others, as you will see anon," said the
sage.
He then pointed out to me some men, miserable looking and wretchedly
clad, who were crawling on their hands and knees in search of nuggets of
gold that the wanton bathers had thrown in a liquid state on to the
shore, where it had cooled. Each of these wretched men had a bag which
he filled with lumps of the yellow metal, and when it was full, carried
it on his shoulders, tottering under its weight, till he reached his
home.
"Neither do these men know the use of gold," said my guide, "for they
are misers, and their sole delight is to collect gold and to worship it,
without doing good to themselves or others."
My curiosity was roused at this strange sight, and I followed these men
with my eyes, as a wide plain stretched itself out, and I being on
elevated ground, could see to a great distance, for I wished to see how
far they could stagger under their enormous weight. No dwellings
appeared near at hand, and yet I was surprised to notice that one after
the other these men suddenly disappeared. Many of them had started about
the same time laden with their sacks of gold, and not one of the many
was visible to me now on that broad open plain. Where could they have
all gone?
"I will tell you," said my companion, answering as usual to my
thoughts. "These spirits, fearing lest their houses should be broken
into and pillaged, burrow under the ground, where they can keep their
riches in security. They seldom show themselves in the daytime, but come
out of their holes at night like the owl in search of plunder. In the
world they lived by stealing, cheating, and getting money under false
pretences, and this is their lot after death. Their subterranean
dwellings are paved and lined with gold, yet they are always wretched,
for they know no other delight than to amass gold for its own sake."
I grew melancholy as I reflected on the lot of these men.
"At least my lot will not be with them," I said to myself. "I hope it
cannot be said of me that I worship gold. If I have made the converting
of other metals into gold the study of my life, it was not for the sake
of the yellow metal, but from the pure love of science like those
philosophers of the first halls."
"True," said my friend, in reply to my meditations, "and yet methinks
their lot pleased you but little. The study of science for the sake of
science and without other object, is little better than the grubbing of
gold for the sake of gold. Think you not that a man's life ought to have
a little higher aim?"
"Certainly," said I, "that our studies may be useful to others, that our
discoveries may benefit mankind to the end, that we may become more
civilised, more intellectual, more virtuous, more moral."
"If then," replied the sage, "you admit this to be the true end of the
life of man, why do you persist in following the one study of converting
baser metals into gold, which, if the secret is once made known, could
not be of the slightest service to mankind at large, whilst you would
only reap the selfish and vain satisfaction of having discovered the
secret, whereas the precious time that has been wasted in this useless
study would have been better employed in experiments that might tend to
discoveries beneficial to the whole human race."
The argument of my venerable guide made a deep impression on me, and I
reflected a moment.
"Is it possible," thought I, "that all my life has been a mistake. Have
I mistaken mere vain and selfish ambition for that pure love of science
that dignifies and elevates the human mind? No," I answered to myself,
"not exactly; and yet I have been mistaken in studying alchemy; for
surely we ought to consider the end of whatever study we pursue, which
end ought to be in some way or other useful to mankind at large. Now,
supposing, after having wasted the energies of a lifetime in pursuit of
the philosopher's stone, I had at length discovered the secret, it could
only benefit myself, and my aim after all was no higher than that of
those wretched spirits whose lot I shrank from. You are right, O sage. I
will no longer waste my time and health in a fruitless study, but
henceforth devote myself to something that may benefit my fellow
creatures."
"You are fast growing wise," said the sage, replying to my thoughts;
"keep to that resolution, and the comfort you will experience from the
consciousness that you have devoted your life to the welfare of your
race will be the true alchemy, for it will be spiritual gold."
My heart yearned towards the kind old man at these words, and in an
ecstasy of affection and reverence as well as joy at having discovered
the error of my life, I embraced him, begged him never to leave me, but
be ever with me--to guide me in wisdom; to be, in fact, a father to me,
and I would follow his counsel as a son.
The kindly sage smiled benevolently on me, and replied:
"My son, our lots are different; at least, for the present. Recollect
that you are yet in the body, whilst I have for many ages back been all
spirit. We must shortly part; you will return to the body until you are
called from thence, whilst I must hasten to the society of spirits to
which I belong. Till then, however, I will be your guide, and give you
what instruction I may in spiritual things."
I thanked him, and expressed my regret at having to part from him so
soon, and hoped we should meet again when our conditions became the
same. I then begged him as my time was short, to show me the lot of
spirits of a higher order, saying:
"You have shown me those who have sought gold from the love of science
and those who have sought it from greed. Also those who, having gold,
knew not how to use it. Now show me the lot of those who, born wealthy,
have made the best use of their wealth."
"My son," said the sage, "those spirits are few in number and belong to
a higher sphere. One direct from earth as yourself enters with
difficulty within that holy region. However, follow me."
Then there appeared to rise from the ground a sort of mist, which
thickened until it became a small but dense cloud. Upon this my guide
alighted, leading me after him. We both of us trod the cloud beneath our
feet, upon which we made no more impression than if our bodies had been
made of the same ephemeral substance as the vapour we trod. The cloud
then commenced to rise, and slowly wafted us high in air, carrying us
over trees and mountains as we discoursed together by the way. Moving
upwards, yet not straight and suddenly, but describing wide circles in
the air, as if we were ascending a winding staircase, we found
ourselves, after a time, in the midst of a large dense cloud, and our
motion ceased.
By degrees the mist seemed to clear away, and I beheld a curious
phenomenon. I stood firmly, as if upon the solid earth, yet when I
looked above me the earth appeared over my head, whilst the sky seemed
under my feet.
"What is the reason," I asked, "that in this planet or aerial dwelling
of spirits, the laws of nature are reversed?"
"Your vision only is reversed," replied my guide, "because not being as
yet entirely freed from the body, your spirit savours too much of clay
to be in harmony with the spirits of this sphere. Everything in the
spiritual world is a type, and has a hidden meaning. As the sky is a
type of heaven, so the earth we tread is a type of material things. The
reason you see the earth above your head and the sky beneath your feet,
is that you as yet place material things above spiritual things. It is
difficult for you, as a mortal, to do otherwise, and therefore your
vision is distorted. I can, however, while I am with you, communicate a
portion of my being to you, sufficient for you to see objects as they
really are."
He then touched my forehead, grasping my temples between his finger and
thumb, when a new sensation came over me. It seemed as if I had been
suddenly lifted with the rapidity of lightning a mile or two higher in
the air, although my guide assured me that I had never moved from the
spot I was standing on. I appeared to breathe more freely, and
experienced a most exhilarating feeling of buoyancy, with an intense and
boundless expansion of mind.
The sky was now above my head and the earth beneath my feet, as in our
world. I found myself surrounded by a beautiful landscape that would
baffle all my descriptive powers to give any adequate idea of. Trees,
beautiful and curious, bearing fruit of gold, silver, or precious
stones, and of ferns that I had never seen in the world. Hills and
valleys of rich luxuriance, crags, waterfalls, lakes with islands,
magnificent palaces of the purest white marble in a style of
architecture truly sublime. Human forms, surpassingly beautiful, of both
sexes and of all ages crossed me at intervals, from blooming and
laughing infancy to hoary but hale old age, each stage of life bearing a
marked beauty of its own. Everyone seemed happy, and no one idle,
although the occupations of some were of a quiet, meditative sort.
Philosophers discussed theories among themselves or taught wisdom to the
young, who listened attentively. Children romped or indulged in
amusements suitable to their age. Lovers passed and repassed, discussing
together in earnest whisper. Here and there a solitary poet composed an
ode or landscape painter plied his art. The more I gazed on the scene,
the more I became enraptured, for all was sunshine and content.
"How different," thought I, "is this to those false delusive joys that I
have just witnessed in the lower world of spirits, and which I, in my
besotted ignorance, mistook for a paradise!"
Then my guide turning towards me said:
"I perceive that you are enchanted with this scene, that the beauty
around you surpasses your wildest imagination, and that you could never
desire a paradise more delightful. These are those who in the world were
born rich, or, at least, if not rich, used the little they possessed to
relieve or promote the happiness and welfare of their kind, denying
themselves luxuries or even necessities in order to enlarge the field
of their charity, counting the dead pleasures of wealth as nothing in
comparison with the satisfaction they derived from rendering happy their
poorer neighbours. These are the angels of the lowest heaven, but there
are higher joys than these, which neither you nor I may ever be
permitted to witness."
So enraptured was I with all around me, that I hardly listened to the
words of my guide. I yearned to converse with some of the inhabitants of
this paradise, but a feeling of shyness, owing to a consciousness of
inferiority, held me back.
The inhabitants even invited me to discourse with them, for they looked
on me kindly, as if waiting for me to address them. Maidens of most
heavenly beauty gazed upon me with sweet looks of chaste innocence.
Lovely children seemed about to seize me by the hand to lead me away to
play, but on approaching nearer to me and perceiving that I was not of
their heaven, scampered off half-terrified. One or two hospitable
persons came forward and offered to take me into their houses, and to
show me some of the public buildings, but my guide observing that a
giddiness had seized me, owing to the excess of delight I experienced in
things so new to me, explained to them that I was yet a mortal only
temporarily withdrawn from the body, and that a longer stay in this
region might prove dangerous to me, as he had been commissioned to let
me return shortly. My conductor then waved his hand courteously to
everyone by way of farewell, the good spirits also returning the salute
while we descended more rapidly than we had ascended, and all around me
became as before, a thick cloud. I felt nigh fainting with a singing in
my ears, but this vanished by degrees the farther I left the paradise
behind.
At length my senses being sufficiently recovered, I gazed around me; all
was mist still, but every now and then I observed certain curious
phenomena, visions which appeared and disappeared. Sometimes it was a
garden or a building, sometimes an animal, a solitary tree or flowers. I
heard strains of music, voices, laughter. Sometimes a rose or other
flower fell at my feet, and immediately vanished; sometimes a toad or
other reptile fell near me, and likewise vanished. Sometimes birds of
prey or fierce animals were seen striving with one another. Then again,
fragments of distant landscape appeared and vanished.
None of these apparitions lasted beyond a few seconds.
Then turning to my guide, I said:
"Tell me, O sage, what is the meaning of all these appearances?"
To which the old man replied:
"These are all signs and symbols of things which in your world have no
visible nor tangible existence, their essence being purely spiritual,
yet which, nevertheless, in their own atmosphere--the spiritual
world--have a visible existence of their own. These are the thoughts of
mortals yet living in your world.
"We are fast approaching your earth, and therefore these appearances
become visible. The more beautiful of these visions, such as the
flowers, landscape, and singing birds, are the representations of the
pure thoughts and desires of the good; those of the less pleasing sort,
such as the toads, adders, serpents, bats and owls, signify the evil
thoughts of the wicked, and correspond to revenge, hatred, lust, murder,
fraud, and the like.
"Where these wild beasts and reptiles appear in great numbers in the
spirit world, and are seen combatting one with the other, it is a sign
of war on earth."
"But tell me why," I said, "I hear the sound of music yet see no
musicians, and hear the sound of voices yet see no one?"
Then my companion answered me: "The murky atmosphere through which we
are now passing is also an inhabited world. The spirits of this world
are invisible to you because you are not altogether freed from the
material veil which obscures your vision, and that veil thickens the
nearer you approach earth. The thoughts of mortals become visible to you
here because you yourself are a mortal, but the thoughts of the purest
mortal on your earth cannot arrive at the same pitch of sublimity as the
thoughts of the meanest of disembodied spirits of this world, and
therefore the spirits themselves are invisible to you, although they are
far inferior to those you have just visited."
"Then why could I enter the angels' lower paradise, and yet am not able
to see these inferior spirits?" I asked.
"Because," replied my instructor, "your spirit then received sufficient
light from contact with mine to enable you to see them. I could also let
you see these, but why desire to see the lot of ordinary spirits after
having seen those of so far higher an order? It might remove the
impression, which I presume you wish to retain. Besides our time is
short, for we are near touching earth."
"True, true," I said hurriedly, for another vision suddenly arrested my
attention. "Tell me, O my guide, what is the meaning of yon strange
sight?" And strange sight it was indeed! For it was the vision of a
human leg clad in the knee-breeches of our time, and walking about by
itself.
"That," replied my preceptor, "is a portion of the body of some spirit
not as yet freed from clay, and for that reason it is made visible to
you. Our spirits on first leaving the material world are an exact
counterpart of our terrestrial bodies, being an essence filling every
part and particle of our earthly frames, from which they receive their
stamp. The body itself does not rise again as some of your world
vulgarly believed, but the spiritual body its counterpart, while the
earthly covering but contributes its dust to your globe's surface."
"Then the vision I see is a portion of a human soul about to leave its
earthy tenement?" asked I.
"By no means," replied the sage. "The owner of that limb has yet some
years of material life before him, although, I observe, he is aged. The
reason that you see but the leg and not the rest of the body, is that
that portion of the physical body is wanting. You cannot perceive his
corporeal body because you are now in the spirit, and the spirit can
only see that which is spiritual, as likewise the material eye only that
which is material. You are sufficiently spiritual to see spirits who are
yet encumbered with clay, but not enough so to see spirits perfectly
disembodied. On the other hand, being withdrawn from the body, you are
not yet sufficiently material to descry material bodies."
"Then in fact," I observed, "the vision that I see before me is the
spirit leg of someone who in my world has lost his material leg?"
"Precisely so," the sage replied, "for mortals live in two worlds at the
same time; in the material world as to their bodies, in the spiritual
world as to their spirits. I should imagine," added he, regarding the
vision fixedly, "from the way in which it seems to approach you that it
belonged to some friend or relation of yours. Have you no relation in
the world who has lost a leg?" he asked.
"A relation who has lost a leg?" I exclaimed, for instantly my uncle,
the admiral, flashed across my mind.
"Exactly so, your uncle, the admiral," he replied, reading my thoughts.
There was an individuality about the limb that from the beginning
seemed familiar to me. It was a right leg, too, the very leg that my
uncle had lost. There could be no mistake about it.
Then said I to my guide, "I recognise the leg, sure enough, but is its
appearance now a sign that he is near me in the body?"
"If not so, at least in thought," responded the sage.
By this time my companion told me that we had already arrived on earth,
and said that he must now leave me, so we embraced, and he vanished from
my sight. Then the mist around me suddenly cleared away, and I was
surprised to find myself once again in my laboratory, seated in the same
old carved arm-chair, and surrounded by several persons.
Well, gentlemen, amongst those persons I instantly recognised a face
long familiar to me. It was my uncle's!
Poor old man! He had dreadfully changed. His iron grey hair had become
perfectly white, his black eyebrows "a sable silvered." He stooped very
much, and the muscles of his face were drooping and flaccid, while his
ruby nose had lost its fine rich colour and faded into a sickly ashen
hue. The individual next to him I recognised at once as our common
friend, Mr. Langton. Then I saw a strange face which I concluded must be
the doctor. There was also my deaf and dumb boy, who had not long
brought up my basin of broth, as it was still steaming, and he was
awaiting my recovery.
Little more remains to be told. My poor uncle, as our friend Langton had
prophesied, had been obliged to sue for a divorce, shortly after which
his worthless partner eloped with a paramour. The whole sad occurrence
preyed upon the old man's mind, and brought on a dangerous illness, from
which, however, he recovered. During his illness he had spoken much of
his nephew, and on his recovery the doctor had recommended him a change
of scene to divert his mind. As he had expressed a wish to see his
nephew once more before he died, his friend Langton had offered to
accompany him. The doctor also formed one of the party, and they had
travelled together to Jena as an agreeable surprise for me.
It is needless to add that all former differences were forgotten, and
that my old uncle resolved never to make a fool of himself again. He
even encouraged his nephew's studies, and gave his sanction at length
that my friend the chemist's son should join me in my studies. My health
rapidly improved under careful treatment, and I never saw any more
visions. I quite gave up alchemy, and applied myself to other branches
of chemistry. Nevertheless, my studies had not been quite useless, as in
my search after the philosopher's stone, I had made several very curious
discoveries in science, and my name soon became famous throughout the
university.
My uncle's illness had wrought as great a change morally as it had done
physically in him. His nature was completely changed. His treatment of
me was now of the kindest. He seemed even to respect me for the
perseverance I had shown in my studies and to be ashamed of his former
narrow-minded notions. He remained with me at Jena until his health and
my health had completely recovered, when I accompanied him to England,
where I once more saw my friend, the chemist's son, whom I subsequently
took out with me to Jena, where we pursued our studies together for some
three years, after which we both returned to England, where I took up my
quarters at my uncle's house.
The admiral lived a good ten years after his illness, and died at the
good old age of ninety, leaving to me his entire fortune.