I have now but one Gordian knot to sever. Shall my secret die with me,
and so save the civilized world much anxiety, or shall I divulge it to
a small coterie of the world’s greatest philosophers, and allow them
to work upon and improve my ideas, so that they may benefit mankind,
without revealing the secret power, which in profane hands would prove
but a curse?
For the present the secret shall remain _mine alone_, but what I may
decide to do with it in the future, who knows?
* * * * *
It is not every day that one has an opportunity of receiving a
millionaire as a guest, and to have the privilege of hypnotizing one is
a still rarer thing, yet both these experiences have been mine at one
and the same time, and I will relate how it happened.
I was staying for a few days on the Cornish coast, and had drawn my van
far on to the beach, by the side of a rivulet which, coming down from
low neighbouring hills, murmured and tumbled along its rocky bed until
it lost itself in the immeasurable sea.
My van was placed near some rocky cliffs, in such a position as to be
snug and secluded, and yet so as to retain a view up the lovely valley
through which the little river sparkled and foamed. I selected the spot
because of its quietude and beauty; I do not care for the annoyance of
children, or the obtrusive curiosity of their elders, when they can
easily be avoided by a little forethought.
Once or twice I noticed a tall, middle-aged gentleman roaming quietly
among the rocks and pools left by the low tide, and on one occasion
passed the seal of day with him in a casual manner; but, as he seemed
to be of a retiring disposition, I did not attempt to force my company
upon him, and passed on.
One day I sat on a rock observing a wonderful storm-clouded sky; I
watched the great, massive, vapour clouds rolling in from the west,
growing blacker and denser each minute. I noticed the hush of the air
and the subsidence of the wind, and so did the little birds, for they
flew twittering overhead to hide themselves from the approaching storm.
Then from the clouds burst the vivid zig-zags of lightning, and the
accompanying roar of crashing thunder, gradually coming nearer and
nearer, more frequent and louder. Presently, with a sudden blast, the
wind came hurtling down with startling force and fury, licking up the
sand and shingle as it drove along; and behind it came the rain, first
a few sparse drops, then a full downpour, and finally a rushing torrent.
This drove me into the welcome shelter of my van; but although I
securely closed the door it could not keep, from my startled ears, the
thunder crashes, as they reverberated and rolled among the stupendous
granite cliffs of the coast. My van shook, and my eyes were blinded
by several intense flashes of the discharged electric element, which
lighted up the wet rocks and the wind-swept pools with a luridly grand
but awful effect.
The cliffs appeared as if they were being shattered and tumbled
piecemeal to the shingle below, when an unmistakable tap, tap, tap
rattled upon my door, and I fancied I heard a voice, but the crashing
and roaring noises around me were so great that I paused before opening
the door for a repetition of the sound. Indeed my nerves were strung up
to such an intense pitch that, when the taps were repeated in a louder
manner, I felt afraid to open, for fear of letting in some weird spirit
of the storm.
Nervous, however, as I felt, I arose, and at the door, craving my van’s
humble shelter, was the silent gentleman I had spoken to a day or two
previously. I welcomed him in, but he was already wet to the skin. That
did not at all matter; I had plenty of dry clothes, which fitted him
like his own--both his and my inches being more than those allotted to
the average mortal.
In an hour the storm was over, the sun once more shone brilliantly over
the heaving waters, while the larks rose warbling in the air, carolling
their hymn of praise for the return of the welcome sunshine.
My guest accepted my invitation to stay and dine with me, and I found
him a very pleasant companion. He helped me to prepare and cook the
meal, and in the interval we played cribbage, smoked, and chatted.
He had come down to Cornwall, he informed me, to escape from his
friends and mankind in general, for, having inherited some money, he
was worried and pestered on all sides by impecunious persons and
institutions; and to come to a place where he was unknown was his only
means of obtaining a little peace, “far from the madding crowd.”
Of course I brought hypnotism upon the _tapis_ during dinner, and after
the meal was discussed, he requested me to try my hand upon him, which
of course I gladly did, with the result of obtaining from him the
following story of “Two Ruined Towers.”
I must here point out that, though while in a hypnotic trance I can
cause my patient to tell me a story, yet when at its conclusion I
awaken him, he does not remember a word of what he has divulged, and
I do not on all occasions enlighten him; for, as I am at times the
recipient of most remarkable family secrets, crimes, and misdeeds, I
dare not commit to print a tithe of what is related to me.