CHRISTMAS EVE
Just before I reached the drawing-room door, Mrs. Temple came up and
took me by the arm.
"We are all going to be very unceremonious, Mr. Blake," she said, "and I
shall expect my son's friend to make himself perfectly at home."
I thanked her heartily, for I began to feel a little strange.
We entered the drawing-room together, where I found a number of people
had gathered. They were mostly young, although I saw one or two
ancient-looking dames, who, I supposed, had come to take care of their
daughters.
"I am going to introduce you to everybody," continued the old lady, "for
this is to be a family gathering, and we must all know each other. I
know I may not be acting according to the present usages of society, but
that does not trouble me a little bit."
Accordingly, with the utmost good taste, she introduced me to a number
of the people who had been invited.
I need make no special mention of most of them. Some of the young ladies
simpered, others were frank, some were fairly good looking, while others
were otherwise, and that is about all that could be said. None had
sufficient individuality to make a distinct impression upon me. The
young men were about on a par with the young ladies. Some lisped and
were affected, some were natural and manly; and I began to think that,
as far as the people were concerned, the Christmas gathering would be a
somewhat tame affair.
This thought had scarcely entered my mind when two men entered the room,
who were certainly not of the ordinary type, and will need a few words
of description; for both were destined, as my story will show, to have
considerable influence over my life.
I will try to describe the more striking of the two first.
He was a young man. Not more than thirty-five. He was fairly tall, well
built, and had evidently enjoyed the education and advantages of a man
of wealth. His hair was black as the raven's wings, and was brushed in a
heavy mass horizontally across his forehead. His eyes were of a colour
that did not accord with his black hair and swarthy complexion. They
were of an extremely light grey, and were tinted with a kind of green.
They were placed very close together, and, the bridge of the nose being
narrow, they appeared sometimes as if only one eye looked upon you. The
mouth was well cut, the lips rather thin, which often parted, revealing
a set of pearly white teeth. There was something positively fascinating
about the mouth, and yet it betrayed malignity--cruelty. He was
perfectly self-possessed, stood straight, and had a soldier-like
bearing. I instinctively felt that this was a man of power, one who
would endeavour to make his will law. His movements were perfectly
graceful, and from the flutter among the young ladies when he entered, I
judged he had already spent some little time with them, and made no
slight impression.
His companion was much smaller, and even darker than he was. His every
feature indicated that he was not an Englishman. With small wiry limbs,
black, restless, furtive eyes, rusty black hair, and a somewhat
unhealthy colour in his face, he formed a great contrast to the man I
have just tried to describe. I did not like him. He seemed to carry a
hundred secrets around with him, and each one a deadly weapon he would
some day use against any who might offend him. He, too, gave you the
idea of power, but it was the power of a subordinate.
Instinctively I felt that I should have more to do with these men than
with the rest of the company present.
Although I have used a page of good paper in describing them, I was only
a very few seconds in seeing and realizing what I have written.
Both walked up to us, and both smiled on Mrs. Temple, whereupon she
introduced them. The first had a peculiar name; at least, so it seemed
to me.
"Mr. Herod Voltaire--Mr. Justin Blake," she said; and instantly we were
looking into each other's eyes, I feeling a strange kind of shiver pass
through me.
The name of the smaller man was simply that of an Egyptian, "Aba Wady
Kaffar." The guests called him Mr. Kaffar, and thus made it as much
English as possible.
Scarcely had the formalities of introduction been gone through between
the Egyptian and myself, when my eyes were drawn to the door, which was
again opening. Do what I would I could not repress a start, for, to my
surprise, I saw my travelling companions enter with Miss
Temple--Gertrude Forrest looking more charming and more beautiful than
ever, and beside her Miss Staggles, tall, gaunt, and more forbidding
than when in the railway carriage.
It is no use denying the fact, for my secret must sooner or later drop
out. My heart began to throb wildly, while my brain seemed on fire. I
began to picture myself in conversation with her, and becoming
acquainted with her, when I accidentally looked at Herod Voltaire. His
eyes were fixed on Miss Forrest, as if held by a magnet, and I fancied I
saw a faint colour tinge his cheek.
What I am now going to write may appear foolish and unreal, especially
when you remember that I was thirty years of age, but the moment I saw
his ardent, admiring gaze, I felt madly jealous.
The second dinner bell rang, and so, mechanically offering my arm to a
lady who had, I thought, been neglected on account of her plain looks, I
followed the guests to the dining-room.
Nothing happened there worth recording. We had an old-fashioned English
dinner, and that is about all I can remember, except that the table
looked exceedingly nice. I don't think there was much talking; evidently
the guests were as yet strangers to each other, and were only gradually
wearing away the restraint that naturally existed. I could not see Miss
Gertrude Forrest, for she was sitting on my side of the table, but I
could see the peculiar eyes of Herod Voltaire constantly looking at some
one nearly opposite him, while he scarcely touched the various dishes
that were placed on the table.
Presently dinner came to an end. The ladies retired to the drawing-room,
while the gentlemen prepared to sit over their wine. Being an abstainer,
I asked leave to retire with the ladies. I did this for two reasons
besides my principles of abstinence. First, I thought the custom a
foolish one, as well as being harmful; and, second, I hoped by entering
the drawing-room early, I might have a chance to speak to Miss Forrest.
I did not leave alone. Two young Englishmen also declared themselves to
be abstainers, and wanted to go with me, while Herod Voltaire likewise
asked leave to abide by the rules he had ever followed in the countries
in which he had lived.
Of course there was some laughing demur among those who enjoyed their
after-dinner wine, but we followed the bent of our inclination, and
found our way to the drawing-room.
Evidently the ladies were not sorry to see us, for a look of pleasure
and surprise greeted us, and soon the conversation became general.
Presently, however, our attention was by degrees drawn to that part of
the room where Herod Voltaire sat, and I heard him speaking fluently and
smoothly on some subject he was discussing with a young lady.
"Yes, Miss Emery," he said, "I think European education is poor, is
one-sided. Take, for example, the ordinary English education, and what
does it amount to? Arithmetic, and sometimes a little mathematics,
reading, writing, French, sometimes German, and of course music and
dancing. Nearly all are educated in one groove, until there is in the
English mind an amount of sameness that becomes monotonous."
"You are speaking of the education of ladies, Mr. Voltaire?" said Miss
Emery.
"Yes, more particularly, although there is but little more variation
among the men. Take your University degrees--your Cambridge and Oxford
Master of Arts, for example; what a poor affair it is! I have been
looking over the subjects of examination, and what are they? A couple of
languages, the literature of two or three countries, mathematics, and
something else which I have forgotten now."
"You are scarcely correct, sir," said one of the young men who came in
with me. "I happen to have passed through Cambridge, and have taken the
degree you mention. I found it stiff enough."
"Not so stiff, when it can be taken at your age," replied Voltaire.
"But, admitting what you say, you are all cast in the same mould. You
study the same subjects, and thus what one of you knows, all know."
"And what may be your ideas concerning education?" said Miss Forrest.
Herod Voltaire turned and looked admiringly on her, and I saw that a
blush tinged both their cheeks.
"My ideas are such as would not find much favour in ordinary English
circles," he said smilingly. "But I should do away with much of the
nonsense of ordinary English education, and deal with the more occult
sciences."
"Pardon me, but I do not quite understand you."
"I will endeavour to make my meaning plain. There are subjects relating
to the human body, mind, and soul, which cannot be said to have been
really studied at all, except by some recluse here and there, who is
generally considered mad. You deal with the things which are seen, but
think not of the great unsolved spiritual problems of life. For example,
the effect of mind upon mind, animal magnetism, mesmerism, biology, and
kindred subjects are unknown to you. The secrets of mind and spirit are
left unnoticed by you Western people. You seek not to solve the occult
truths which exist in the spirit of all men. You shudder at the problem
of what you call death, and fancy nothing can be known of the spirit
which leaves the world in which you live; whereas there is no such thing
as death. The spirits of the so-called dead are living forces all around
us, who can tell their condition to those who understand some of the
secrets of spiritualism. Nay, more than that. There are occult laws of
the soul which, if understood by some powerful mind, can be made to
explain some of the deepest mysteries of the universe. For example, a
man versed in the secrets of the spirit life can cause the soul of any
human being to leave its clay tenement, and go to the world of spirits,
and learn its secrets; and by the powers of his soul life, which can be
a thousand times strengthened by means of a knowledge of the forces at
the command of all, he can summon it back to the body again. Of course I
can only hint at these things here, as only the initiated can understand
these secret laws; but these are the things I would have studied, and
thus lift the life of man beyond his poor material surroundings." By
this time the drawing-room was pretty well full. Nearly all the men had
left their wine, and all were listening intently to what Voltaire was
saying.
"You have lived in the East?" said Miss Forrest, evidently fascinated by
the strange talk.
"For the last ten years. I spent a year in Cairo, two more up by the
banks of the Nile, among the ruins of ancient cities, where, in spite of
the degradation that exists, there is still to be found those who have
some of the wisdom of past ages. Four years did I live in India among
the sages who hold fast to the teaching of Buddha. The three remaining
years I have spent in Arabia, Syria, and Chaldea."
"And do you mean to say that what you have mentioned exists in reality?"
said Miss Forrest.
"I have only hinted at what really exists. I could record to you facts
that are strange, beyond the imagination of Dumas; so wonderful, that
afterwards you could believe the stories told by your most renowned
satirist, Dean Swift."
"Favour us with one," I suggested.
Voltaire looked at me with his green-tinted eyes, as if he would read my
innermost thoughts. Evidently his impression of me was not favourable,
for a cynical smile curled his lips, and his eyes gleamed with a steely
glitter. "One has to choose times, occasions, and proper circumstances,
in order to tell such facts," he said. "I never speak of a sacred thing
jestingly."
We were all silent. This man had become the centre of attraction. Both
men and women hung upon his every word. I looked around the room and I
saw a strange interest manifested, except in the face of the Egyptian.
Aba Wady Kaffar was looking at the ceiling as if calculating how many
square feet there were.
"Perhaps you find it difficult to believe me," went on Voltaire. "The
truth is, I am very unfortunate in many respects. My way of expressing
my thoughts is perhaps distasteful to you. You see, I have lived so long
in the East that I have lost much of my European training. Then, my name
is unfortunate. Herod killed one of your Christian saints, while
Voltaire was an infidel. You English people have strong prejudices, and
thus my story would be injured by the narrator."
"Nay, Voltaire," said Tom Temple, "we are all friendly listeners here."
"My good host," said Voltaire, "I am sure you are a friendly listener,
but I have been telling of Eastern knowledge. One aspect of that
knowledge is that the learned can read the minds, the thoughts of those
with whom they come into contact."
The ladies began to express an intense desire to hear a story of magic
and mystery, and to assure him that his name was a delightful one.
"I trust I am not the disciple of either the men whose name I bear.
Certainly I am susceptible to the influence of ladies"--and he smiled,
thereby showing his white, shining teeth--"but I am a great admirer of
honest men, whoever they may be, or whatever be their opinion. I am not
a follower of Voltaire, although I admire his genius. He believed but
little in the powers of the soul, or in the spirit world; I, on the
other hand, believe it to be more real than the world in which we live."
"We are not altogether strangers to stories about spiritualism or
mesmerism here," said Miss Forrest, "but the votaries of these so-called
sciences have been and are such miserable specimens of mankind that
educated people treat them with derision."
There was decision and energy in her voice. Evidently she was not one to
be easily deceived or trifled with.
"Counterfeits prove reality," said Voltaire, looking searchingly at her;
"besides, I seek to impose none of my stories on any one. I am not a
professional spiritualist, psychologist, or biologist. I simply happen
to have lived in countries where these matters are studied, and, as a
consequence, have learned some of their mysteries. Seeing what I have
seen, and hearing what I have heard, I beg to quote your greatest poet--
'There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your
philosophy.'"
"Your quotation is apropos," she said in reply, "but it so happens that
I have taken considerable interest in the matter about which you have
been speaking, and after seeing various representations of these
so-called occult sciences, and carefully examining them, I have come to
the conclusion that they are only so many fairly clever juggling tricks,
which have been attempts to deceive credulous people. Moreover, these
have been so often exposed by cultured men, that they have no weight
with people of intelligence."
His eyes gleamed savagely, but he smiled upon her, and said, "Perhaps I
may have an opportunity of undeceiving you, some time in the near
future."
"Meanwhile you will tell us an Eastern story," said one of the young
ladies.
"Pardon me," replied Voltaire, "but tonight is Christmas Eve, and as my
story might be regarded as heathenish, I will wait for some more
favourable time, when your minds will not be influenced by the memories
of the birth of the Christian religion. Besides, I know many of you are
longing for other amusement than stories of the unseen."
As he spoke I saw his eyes travel towards Aba Wady Kaffar, and they
exchanged glances; then he looked towards Miss Forrest, and again a look
of intelligence passed between him and the Egyptian.
Soon after Kaffar began to talk fluently to one of the Misses Temple,
while several members of the party prepared for a charade. Then, when
the attention of the guests was drawn towards those who displayed their
powers at acting, I saw Voltaire rise and go out, and soon after he was
followed by his friend.
Acting upon sudden impulse, which I think was caused by the remembrance
of the meaning glances that passed between them after Voltaire had
looked at Miss Forrest, I followed them out into the silent night.
Somehow I felt that this fascinating man did not like me, while I was
sure he had been deeply impressed by the woman who had that day
travelled with me from London.