night grew faint. The occupations required by the service overcame my
propensity to mystical dreaming. A book then fell into my hands, the
effect of which, on my whole being, seemed perfectly inexplicable, even
to myself. I mean that strange story of Cazotte’s, which is known in a
German translation as ‘Teufel Amor’ (The Devil Love). My natural
bashfulness, nay, a kind of childish timidity, had kept me from the
society of ladies, while the particular direction of my mind resisted
every ebullition of rude passion. Now, for the first time, was a
sensual tendency revealed in me which I had never suspected. My pulse
beat high, a consuming fire coursed through nerves and veins, as I went
through those scenes of the most dangerous, nay, most horrible love,
which the poet had described in the most glowing colours. I saw, I
heard, I was sensible to nothing but the charming Biondetta. I sank
under the pleasing torments, like Alvarez----”
“Stop, stop!” interrupted Albert, “I have no very clear remembrance of
Cazotte’s ‘Diable Amoureux;’ but, so far as I recollect, the whole
story turns upon the circumstance that a young officer of the guards,
in the service of the King of Naples, is tempted by a mystical comrade
to raise the devil in the ruins of Portici. When he has uttered the
formula of exorcism, a hideous camel’s head, with a long neck, thrust
itself towards him out of a window, and cries, in a horrible voice,
‘Che vuoi.’ Alvarez--so is the young officer named--commands the
spectre to appear in the shape of a spaniel, and then in that of a
page. This happens; but the page soon becomes a most charming, amorous
girl, and completely entangles the enchanter. How Cazotte’s pretty
story concludes has quite escaped me.”
“That is at present quite immaterial,” said Victor; “but you will
perhaps be reminded of it by the conclusion to my story. Attribute it
to my propensity to the wonderful, and also to something mysterious
which I experienced, that Cazotte’s tale soon appeared to me a magic
mirror, in which I could discern my own fate. Was not O’Malley to me
that mystical Dutchman who decoyed Alvarez by his arts?
“The desire which glowed in my heart, of achieving the terrible
adventure of Alvarez, filled me with horror; but even this horror made
me tremble with unspeakable delight, such as I had never before known.
Often did a wish arise within me, that O’Malley would return and place
in my arms the hell-birth, to which my entire self was abandoned, and I
could not kill the sinful hope and deep abhorrence which again darted
through my heart like a dagger. The strange mood produced by my
excited condition remained a mystery to all; they thought I suffered
from some morbid state of mind, and sought to cheer me and dissipate my
gloomy thoughts. Under the pretext of some service, they sent me to
the _Residence_, where the most brilliant circle was open to me. But
if I had always been shy and bashful, society--especially the approach
of ladies--now produced in me absolute repugnance. The most charming
only seemed to scoff at Biondetta’s image which I bore within me. When
I returned to Potsdam, I shunned all association with my comrades, and
my favourite abode was the wood--the scene of those frightful events
that had nearly cost my poor cousin his life. I stood close by the
ruins, and, being impelled by an undefined desire, was on the point of
making my way in, through the thick brushwood, when I suddenly saw
O’Malley, who walked slowly out, and did not seem to perceive me. My
long repressed anger boiled up instantly, I darted upon the major, and
told him in few words, that he must fight with me on account of my
cousin. ‘Be it so at once,’ said the major, coldly and gravely, and he
threw off his mantle, drew his sword, and at the very first pass struck
mine out of my hand with irresistible force and dexterity. ‘We will
fight with pistols,’ cried I, wild with rage, and was about to pick up
my sword, when O’Malley held me fast, and said, in a calm mild tone,
such as I had scarcely ever heard from him before: ‘Do not be a fool,
my son! You see that I am your superior in fighting; you could sooner
wound the air than me, and I could never prevail on myself to stand in
a hostile position to you, to whom I owe my life, and indeed something
more.’ The major then took me by the arm, and gently drawing me along,
proved to me that the captain alone had been the cause of his own
misfortune, since, in spite of every warning, he had ventured on things
to which he was unequal, and had forced the major to do what he did, by
his ill-timed and insulting raillery. I myself cannot tell what a
singular magic there was in O’Malley’s words, nay, in his whole manner.
He not only succeeded in quieting me, but had such an effect upon me,
that I involuntarily revealed to him the secret of my internal
condition--of the destructive warfare that was carried on within my
soul. ‘The particular constellation,’ said O’Malley, when I had
finished, ‘which rules over you, my son, has now ordained that a silly
book should make you attentive to your own internal being. I call the
book silly, because it treats of a goblin that is at once repulsive and
without character. What you ascribe to the effect of these licentious
images of the poet, is nothing but an impulse towards an union with a
spiritual being of another region, which results from your happily
constituted organisation. If you had shown more confidence in me, you
would have been on a higher grade long ago. However, I will take you
as my scholar.’ O’Malley now began to make me acquainted with the
nature of elementary spirits. I understood little that he said, but
all referred to the doctrine of sylphs, undines, salamanders, and
gnomes, such as you may find in the dialogues of the Comte de Cabalis.
He concluded by prescribing me a particular course of life, and thought
that in the course of a year I might obtain my Biondetta, who would
certainly not do me the wrong of changing into the incarnate Satan in
my arms. With the same ardour as Alvarez, I thought that I should die
of impatience in so long a time, and would venture any thing to attain
my end sooner. The major remained reflecting in silence for some
moments, and then said: ‘It is certain that an elementary spirit is
seeking your good graces. This may enable you to obtain that in a
short time, for which others strive during whole years. I will cast
your horoscope. Perhaps your mistress will reveal herself to me. In
nine days you shall hear more.’ I actually counted the hours, feeling
now penetrated by a mysterious delightful hope, and now as if I had
involved myself in a dangerous affair. Late in the evening of the
ninth day, the major at last entered my room, and desired me to follow
him. ‘Are we to go to the ruins?’ I asked. ‘Certainly not,’ replied
O’Malley, smiling, ‘for the work which we now have in hand, we want
neither a remote awful spot, nor a terrible exorcism out of Peplier’s
grammar. Besides, my incubus can have no part in to-day’s experiment,
which, properly speaking, you undertake, not I.’ The major conducted
me to his quarters, and there explained to me that the matter was to
procure something by means of which my own self might be opened to the
elementary spirit, and the latter might have the power of revealing
itself to me in the invisible world, and holding intercourse with me.
This _something_ was what the Jewish cabalists called ‘Teraphim.’ He
now pushed aside a bookcase, opened the door concealed behind it, and
we entered a little vaulted cabinet, in which, besides all sorts of
strange unknown utensils, I saw a complete apparatus for chemical--or,
as I might almost believe--alchemical experiments. From the glaring
charcoal on a small hearth were darting forth little blue flames.
Before this hearth I had to sit opposite the major, and to uncover my
bosom. I had no sooner done this, than the major, before I was aware
of it, scratched me with a lancet under the left breast, and caught in
a little vial the few drops of blood that flowed from the slight wound,
which I could scarcely feel. He next took a bright plate of metal,
polished like a mirror, poured upon it first another vial that
contained a reddish liquid, and afterwards the one filled with my
blood, and then held the plate close over the charcoal fire. I was
seized with deep horror, when I thought I saw a long, pointed, glaring
tongue rise serpent-like upon the coals, and greedily lick away the
blood from the metallic mirror. The major now told me to look into the
fire with a mind firmly fixed. I did so, and soon I seemed to behold,
as in a dream, a number of confused forms, flashing through one another
on the metal, which the major still held over the charcoal. Suddenly,
I felt in my breast, where the major had scratched my skin, such a
strong, piercing pain, that I involuntarily shrieked aloud. ‘Won!
Won!’ cried O’Malley at that instant, and, rising from his seat, he
placed before me on the hearth a little doll, about two inches long,
into which the metal seemed to have formed itself. ‘That,’ said the
major, ‘is your Teraphim. The favours of the elementary spirit towards
you seem to be more than ordinary. You may now venture on the utmost.’
At the major’s bidding, I took the little figure, from which, though it
looked red-hot, only a genial warmth was streaming, pressed it to the
wound, and placed myself before a round mirror, from which the major
had withdrawn the covering. ‘Force your wishes,’ said O’Malley, ‘to
the greatest intensity, which will not be difficult, as the Teraphim is
operating, and utter in the sweetest tone of which you are capable, the
word ----.’ To tell you the truth, I have forgotten the
strange-sounding word, which was spoken by O’Malley. Scarcely had half
the syllables passed my lips, than an ugly, madly-distorted face
grinned at me spitefully from the mirror. ‘In the name of all the
devils, whence come you, you accursed dog?’ yelled O’Malley behind me.
I turned round, and saw my Paul Talkebarth, who was standing in the
door-way, and whose handsome face was reflected in the magic mirror.
The major, wild with rage, flew at honest Paul; yet, before I could get
between them, O’Malley stood close to him, perfectly motionless, and
Paul availed himself of the opportunity to make a prolix apology;
saying, how he had looked for me, how he had found the door open, how
he had walked in, &c. ‘Begone, rascal,’ said O’Malley at last, in a
quieter tone, and when I added, ‘Go, good Paul, I will return home
directly;’ the Eulenspiegel departed quite terrified and confounded.
“I had held the doll fast in my hand, and O’Malley assured me, that it
was owing to this circumstance alone, that all our labour had not been
in vain. Talkebarth’s ill-timed intrusion had, however, delayed the
completion of the work for a long time. He advised me to turn off that
faithful servant, but this I had not the heart to do. Moreover, he
assured me that the elementary spirit which had shown me such favour,
was nothing less than a salamander, as indeed, he suspected, when he
cast my horoscope and found that Mars stood in the first house. I now
come again to moments of which you can have but a slight notion, as
words are incapable of describing them. The Devil Amor, Biondetta--all
was forgotten; I thought only of my Teraphim. For whole hours I could
look at the doll, as it lay on the table before me, and the glow of
love that streamed through my veins seemed then, like the heavenly fire
of Prometheus, to animate the little figure which grew up as in ardent
longing. But this form vanished as soon as I had thought it, and the
unspeakable anguish which cut through my heart, was associated with a
strange indignation, that impelled me to fling the doll away from me as
a miserable ridiculous toy. Yet when I grasped it, an electric shock
seemed to dart through all my limbs, and I felt as if a separation from
the talisman of love would annihilate me. I will openly confess to you
that my passion, although the proper object of it was an elementary
spirit, was directed among all sorts of equivocal dreams towards
objects in the miserable world that surrounded me, so that my excited
fancy made now this, now that lady, the representative of the coy
salamander that eluded my embrace. I confessed my wrong, indeed, and
entreated my little mystery to pardon my infidelity; but by the
declining power of that strange crisis, which had ordinarily moved my
inmost soul with glowing love; nay, by a certain unpleasant void, I
could plainly feel that I was receding from my object rather than
approaching it. And yet the passions of a youth, blooming in full
vigour, seemed to deride my mystery and my repugnance. I trembled at
the slightest touch of a charming woman, though I found myself red with
blushes. Chance conducted me again to the _Residence_. I saw the
Countess von L----, the most charming woman, and the greatest lover of
conquests that then shone in the first circles of Berlin. She cast her
glances upon me, and the mood in which I then was, naturally rendered
it very easy for her to lure me completely into her toils. Nay, she at
last induced me to reveal my whole soul, without reserve, to discover
my secret, and even to show her the mysterious image that I wore upon
my breast.”
“And,” interrupted Albert, “did she not laugh at you heartily, and call
you a besotted youth?”
“Nothing of the sort,” continued Victor; “she listened to me with a
seriousness which she had not shown on any other occasion, and when I
had finished, she implored me, with tears in her eyes, to renounce the
diabolical arts of the infamous O’Malley. Taking me by both my hands,
and looking at me with an expression of the tenderest love, she spoke
of the dark practices of the cabalistic art in a manner so learned and
so profound, that I was not a little surprised. But my astonishment
reached the highest point, when she called the major the most
abandoned, abominable traitor, for trying to lure me into destruction
by his black art, when I had saved his life. Weary of existence, and
in danger of being crushed to the earth by the deepest ignominy,
O’Malley was, it seems, on the point of shooting himself, when I
stepped in and prevented the suicide, for which he no longer felt any
inclination, as the evil that oppressed him had been averted. The
countess concluded by assuring me, that if the major had plunged me
into a state of psychic distemper, she would save me, and that the
first step to that end would consist in my delivering the little image
into her hands. This I did readily, for thus I thought I should, in
the most beautiful manner, be freed from a useless torment. The
countess would not have been what she really was had she not let a
lover pine a long time in vain,--and this course she pursued with me.
At last, however, my passion was to be requited. At midnight a
confidential servant waited for me at the back door of the palace, and
led me through distant passages into an apartment which the god of love
seemed to have decorated. There I was to expect the countess. Half
overcome by the fumes of the fine scents that wound through the
chamber, trembling with love and expectation, I stood in the midst of
the room. All at once a glance darted through my soul like a flash of
lightning--”
“How!” cried Albert, “a glance, and no eyes! And you saw nothing?
Another formless form!”
“You may find it incomprehensible,” said Victor, “but so it was; I
could see no form--nothing, and yet I felt the glance deep in my bosom,
and a sudden pain quivered at the spot which O’Malley had wounded. At
the same moment I perceived upon the chimney-piece my little image,
grasped it, darted from the room, commanded the terrified servant, with
a threatening gesture, to lead me down, ran home, awakened my man Paul,
and had all my things packed up. At the earliest hour of morning I was
already on my way back to Potsdam. I had passed several months at the
_Residence_, my comrades were delighted at my unexpected return, and
kept me fast the whole day, so that I did not return to my quarters
till late at night. I placed the darling image I had recovered upon
the table, and, no longer able to resist the effects of fatigue, threw
myself on my couch without undressing. Soon a dreamy feeling came over
me, as if I were surrounded by a beaming light;--I awoke;--I opened my
eyes, and the room was indeed gleaming with magical radiance. But--Oh,
Heavens!--on the same table on which I had laid the doll, I perceived a
female figure, who, resting her head on her hand, appeared to slumber.
I can only tell you that I never dreamed of a more delicate or graceful
form--a more lovely face. To give you a notion in words of the strange
mysterious magic, which beamed from this lovely figure, I am not able.
She wore a silken flame-coloured dress, which, fitting tight to the
waist and bosom, reached only to the ancles, exhibiting her delicately
formed feet; the lovely arms, which were bare to the shoulders, and
seemed both from their colour and form to have been breathed by Titian,
were adorned with bracelets; in her brown, somewhat reddish hair, a
diamond sparkled.”
“Oh!” said Albert, smiling, “thy salamandrine has no very exquisite
taste. With reddish brown hair, she dresses in flame-coloured silk.”
“Do not jest,” continued Victor, “do not jest. I repeat to you that
under the influence of a mysterious magic, my breath was stopped. At
last a deep sigh escaped my oppressed bosom. She then opened her eyes,
raised herself, approached me, and grasped my hand. All the glow of
the most ardent love darted like a flash of lightning through my soul,
when she gently pressed my hand, and whispered with the sweetest
voice,--‘Yes, thou hast conquered--thou art my ruler--I am thine!’
‘Oh, thou child of the Gods--thou heavenly being!’ I cried aloud; and
embracing her, I pressed her close to my bosom. But at that instant
the creature melted away in my arms.”
“How!” said Albert, interrupting his friend, “in Heaven’s name, melted
away?”
“Melted away,” continued Victor, “in my arms. In no other manner can I
describe to you my sensation of the incomprehensible disappearance of
that lovely being. At the same time the glittering light was
extinguished, and I fell, I do not know how, into a profound sleep.
When I awoke I held the doll in my hand. I should weary you if I were
to tell you more of my strange intercourse with that mysterious being,
which now began and lasted for several weeks, than by saying that the
visit was repeated every night in the same manner. Much as I strove
against it, I could not resist the dreamy situation which came over me,
and from which the lovely being awoke me with a kiss. She remained
with me longer and longer on every occasion. She said much concerning
mysterious things, but I listened more to the sweet melody of her
voice, than to the words themselves. Even by day-time I often seemed
to feel the warm breath of some being near me; nay, I often heard a
whispering, a sighing close by me in society, especially when I spoke
with any lady, so that all my thoughts were directed to my lovely
mysterious mistress, and I was dumb and lifeless for all surrounding
objects. It once happened at a party that a lady bashfully approached
me to give me the kiss which I had won at a game of forfeits. But when
I bent to her I felt--before my lips had touched hers--a loud kiss upon
my mouth, and a soft voice whispered at the same time, ‘To me alone do
your kisses belong.’ Both I and the lady were somewhat alarmed, while
the rest of the party thought we had kissed in reality. This kiss I
held to be a sign that Aurora--so I called my mysterious
mistress--would now for good and all take some living shape, and no
more leave me. When the lovely one again appeared to me on the
following night, I entreated her in the usual manner, and in the most
touching words, such as the ardour of love inspired to complete my
happiness, and to be mine for ever in a visible form. She gently
extricated herself from my arms, and then said with mild earnestness,
‘You know in what manner you became my master. My happiest wish was to
belong to you entirely; but the fetters that bind me to the throne to
which the race, of which I am one, is subjected, are only half-broken.
The stronger, the more potent your sway, so much the freer do I feel
from tormenting slavery. Our intercourse will become more and more
intimate, and perhaps the goal may be reached before a year has
elapsed. Would you, beloved, anticipate the destiny that presides over
us, many a sacrifice, many a step, apparently doubtful, might be
necessary.’ ‘No!’ I exclaimed, ‘for me nothing will be a sacrifice, no
step will appear doubtful to obtain thee entirely. I cannot live
longer without thee, I am dying of impatience--of unspeakable pain!’
Then Aurora embraced me, and whispered in a scarcely audible voice,
‘Art thou happy in my arms?’ ‘There is no other happiness,’ I
exclaimed, and glowing with love even to madness, I pressed the
charming creature to my bosom. I felt living kisses upon my lips, and
these very kisses were melodies of heaven, through which I heard the
words, ‘Couldst thou, to possess me, renounce the happiness of an
unknown hereafter?’ An icy cold shudder trembled through me, but in
the midst of this shudder passion raged still more furiously, and I
cried in the involuntary madness of love, ‘Without thee there is no
happiness!--I renounce--’
“I still believe that I stopped here. ‘To-morrow night our compact
will be concluded,’ whispered Aurora, and I felt that she was about to
vanish from my arms. I pressed her to me with greater force, she
seemed to struggle in vain, when suddenly--I awoke from deep slumber,
thinking of the Devil Amor, and the seductive Biondetta. What I had
done in that fatal night fell heavily upon my soul. I thought of that
unholy invocation by the horrible O’Malley, of the warnings of my pious
young friend. I believed that I was in the toils of the evil one--that
I was lost. Torn to the very depth of my soul, I sprang up and
hastened into the open air. In the street I was met by the major, who
held me fast while he said: ‘I congratulate you, lieutenant! To tell
you the truth, I scarcely gave you credit for so much courage and
resolution; you outstrip your master.’ Glowing with rage and shame,
incapable of uttering a single word, I freed myself from his grasp and
pursued my way. The major laughed behind me, and I could detect the
scornful laughter of Satan. In the road near those fatal ruins, I
perceived a veiled female form, who, lying under a tree, seemed
absorbed in a soliloquy. I approached her cautiously, and overheard
the words: ‘He is mine, he is mine--Oh! bliss of heaven! Even the last
trial he has withstood. If men are capable of such love, what is our
wretched existence without it?’ You may guess that it was Aurora whom
I found. She threw back her veil, and love itself cannot be more
charming. The delicate paleness of her cheeks, the glance that was
sublimed into the sweetest melancholy, made me tremble with unspeakable
pleasure. I felt ashamed of my dark thoughts; yet at the very moment
when I wished to throw myself at her feet, she had vanished like a form
of mist. At the same time I heard a sound in the hedges, as of one
clearing one’s throat, and out stepped my honest Eulenspiegel, Paul
Talkebarth. ‘Whence did the devil bring you, fellow?’ I began.
“‘No, no,’ said he, with that queer smile which you know, ‘the devil
did not bring me here, but very likely he met me. You went out so
early, gracious lieutenant, and had forgotten your pipe and tobacco,
and I thought so early in the morning, in the damp air--for my aunt at
Genthin used to say--’
“‘Hold your tongue, prattle, and give me that,’ cried I, as I made him
hand me the lighted pipe. Scarcely, however, had we proceeded a few
paces, than Paul began again very softly, ‘My aunt at Genthin used to
say, the Root-mannikin (Wurzelmännlein) was not to be trusted; indeed,
such a chap was no better than an incubus or a chezim, and ended by
breaking one’s heart. Old coffee Lizzy here in the suburbs--ah,
gracious sir, you should only see what fine flowers, and men, and
animals she can pour out. Man should help himself as he can, my aunt
at Genthin used to say. I was yesterday with Lizzy and took her a
little fine mocha. One of us has a heart as well as the rest--Becker’s
Dolly is a pretty thing, but then there is something so odd about her
eyes, so salamander-like’--