speaking thus, and I grew aware of the renewed vitality pulsing once
more in the surrounding London streets. "One more matter, however,
I must speak of," suddenly ejaculated my host, "before we can
freely discuss the final arrangements. I do not aspire to know what
difference, if any, your impending transit to another planet will
entail in regard to your chances of existence in the Hereafter. On
your Earth, I understand, men hold the most varied and contradictory
opinions and theories on this subject; and even in your Christian
section of humanity I gather there is no real unanimity on this point.
We in Meleager have our own ideals and beliefs in the Hereafter, but
these are purely speculative, for none has ever returned to us from the
domain beyond the grave to tell us the true details, and none other
can supply them; we accordingly let the great question rest without
laying down dogmas of necessary belief. But whether in the Other Life
you will be judged or treated as a denizen of the Earth or of Meleager,
I cannot imagine. I think it my duty however to remind you of this
anomaly in case it may have escaped your notice, for I am well aware
what strong hopes of endless happiness many members of your Christian
churches build on the shadowy world yonder. From my own observations
I know you yourself are fairly punctual in your religious prayers and
duties, and I have always welcomed such an attitude as edifying on your
part; but as to what are your real views and beliefs on the question of
the Other Life I have naturally no clue. On this one matter therefore I
admit you run a certain problematical risk in your translation to our
star; but at the same time I cannot conceive that your future interest
in an unseen, unknown, undescribed and unsubstantial world could be
of sufficient import or strength to compel you to struggle against
your natural desire to rule as a king in another sphere, perhaps for
a stretch of time that would be out of all proportion to your earthly
span of life."
He ceased suddenly, and kneeling at my feet said slowly in a suave
voice that was not wholly free from irony: "And now let me tender my
most respectful homage to the King elect of the planet of Meleager!"
D'Aragno then rose, and for the next hour discussed with me the
necessary steps to be taken before the consummation of his mission on
our Earth.
III
It was long after seven o'clock when I found myself walking home in
the grey drizzle of the early morning. As was my custom when in town
during the last few years I rented a bedroom at my club in St James's,
and the apparition of myself in evening dress at the club doorway at
that unusual hour of return evoked a momentary look of surprise on
the face of the well-trained porter who was then sweeping the hall in
his shirt-sleeves. Making my way up to my bed-chamber, I proceeded to
carry out the first portion of my late instructions from d'Aragno.
This consisted in swallowing a tumblerful of cold water in which I had
previously dissolved the contents of a small packet he had given me
before leaving the hotel. After that I undressed and crept into bed.
On arising again I felt light as air, with the additional sensation of
being several inches taller than my actual stature. My mind too had
become singularly clear and active, so that I was enabled to carry
out all my intended preparations with ease. First of all I placed my
valuables in my trunk, which I locked; then I dressed myself in a
tweed suit, and made my way downstairs to the club smoking-room, where
I quietly undertook the final details I considered necessary before
my departure from this world. I had no parents living; my brothers
and sisters were all married and had their own homes; I had no debts,
and my few outstanding bills could be easily settled by my executors,
for some few years before I had signed a will that I deemed fair and
adequate. There was nobody to lose in any material sense by my sudden
demise; on the contrary, my brothers would obtain possession of my
property, for I was the owner of a small landed estate and of a meagre
income that was the source of secret but intense bitterness to me under
this present oppression of plutocracy. I had therefore no more arduous
task before me than to compose a letter to my favourite brother, so
that he could easily infer from its contents that I had decided to
make away with my life. This might have proved an unpleasant theme
for composition under different circumstances, but on this occasion I
experienced no difficulty in expressing myself to my own satisfaction.
This last matter accomplished, and one or two cheques to tradesmen
signed and posted, I put on my overcoat and hat, and sallied out of
the club towards noon. A feeling of lightness of body combined with
a sense of calm exaltation of mind assisted me, as I walked slowly
through the muddy streets towards the National Gallery, one of my most
frequent haunts in London. Here I spent about an hour in sauntering
through the huge rooms hung with the glowing works of the Old Masters,
stopping occasionally to admire some special favourite, and even
studying with interest a recent addition to the collection that hung on
a solitary screen. Quitting the gallery, I crossed Trafalgar Square,
the while sensing the gush of its fountains and gazing at Landseer's
stolid lions; thence I strolled down the length of Whitehall as far as
Westminster with its majestic group of Gothic towers, and after filling
my eyes with its bristling outlines against the murky winter's sky,
I entered the north portal of the Abbey. Here again I wandered in an
erratic but pleasurable frame of mind that I vainly tried to analyse
to myself, and after many pacings to and fro in the ancient cloisters,
that held so many memories for me, I left the Abbey to proceed very
slowly towards Charing Cross by way of the Embankment. According to
our prearranged plan, I boarded a certain train that same afternoon
for Dover. The journey seemed to me interminable, and as I lay back on
the cushions at times I fitfully hoped for some collision that might
prove fatal to me; whilst at other moments I grew morbidly nervous
lest by some unforeseen accident I might be prevented from reaching my
destination in good time.
I alighted at Dover about five o'clock on a raw, cold, windy, showery
evening. From the station I passed into the street, and thence, in
pursuance of my instructions, I followed a road leading westward. Ere
long I had left behind me the suburbs of the town and was now tramping
a dreary exposed thoroughfare that ran between market gardens. As I
walked ahead slowly and deliberately, I suddenly saw emerge from a
mean inn beside the road a short, thick-set man in seafaring dress and
bearing a bundle on his shoulder. I knew him to be d'Aragno, and I
continued to follow in his track. He proceeded for some distance along
the high road, and then striking abruptly into a by-path amongst the
dismal vegetable plots led towards the sea. The lights of Dover were
now far behind me, and I realised sharply the fact that I was saying
farewell to the kindly and accustomed world of men for ever and aye,
and was advancing towards a doom whose nature I only dimly understood.
Like Rabelais, I was stepping into the Great Perhaps; I was about to
take a plunge into the ocean of the Vast Unknown.
There was no human being in sight save the mariner, and he took no
notice of my presence. We began to descend the steep and slippery path
towards the beach in the teeth of a tearing gale from the west. The
rain was drenching me to the skin; the darkness had increased; once or
twice I stumbled heavily. Suddenly my guide turned round and, noting my
difficulties, halted to assist me but never spoke a word. With a firm
hand he led me down the slope, and shortly we were walking on level
ground beside the sea, whose angry waves I could hear close at hand,
and could even distinguish the white foam on their crests as they
broke on the shingle. After some minutes of skirting the fore-shore my
companion stopped, and, waiting for me to approach, for a second time
he seized my hand and thus helped me to climb a small crag that jutted
out into the raging surf. Together we reached its summit, where we
rested for a moment. Then d'Aragno in a sonorous whisper bade me remove
my clothes, and one by one I stripped myself of every sodden garment
in the midst of the pitiless gale laden with rain and spray. When I
was naked as ever I was born, my companion signed to me to lie down on
the flat surface of the rock. I obeyed, and he next produced a small
phial which he gave me to drink. Strangely enough in this brief space
as I lay numbed and bruised on the sharp clammy bed, buffeted by the
wind and stung by the lashing of the rain-drops, two lines from an old
Moravian hymn kept buzzing in my brain;
"Oh, what is Death?--'Tis Life's last shore
Where vanities are vain no more."
But it could have been only for a minute or so, for d'Aragno was
already forcing the phial to my lips, and at the same time helping me
to raise my aching head, the better to obey his command. A burning-hot
sweetish liquid now raced down my throat; an indescribable sense of
warmth and repose began to trickle through every portion of my body;
wondrous waves of violet and vermilion were floating before my eyes or
in my brain; in a shorter space than it takes me to write this single
sentence I became insensible.
* * * * *
Hours, days, weeks, even months may have elapsed before I happened on
my next moment of consciousness. A dim sensation first of floating,
and then of being swayed or rocked, filled the vacant interval between
my lying on the spray-wetted rock at Dover and my awaking amid
unfamiliar surroundings. At the first quiver of sentient life I could
see practically nothing; I could only feel that I lay in semi-darkness
with my whole frame stretched out vigorously but without pain on a
couch which contained a system of pulleys at its head and foot. I was
faintly aware of the pressure of this innocuous species of rack, and
was trying to open my eyes wider, when an approaching figure waved a
censer before my face, and the thick narcotic smoke issuing thence
promptly forced my half-awakened mind back into slumber. My next
impression was more definite. The chamber wherein I reposed gradually
took shape, as it were in patches, such as occurs in cases of recovery
from the effects of chloroform after a severe surgical operation. I
was no longer extended by pulleys, but rested supine on the couch,
whilst three or four persons were busily engaged in kneading and
pinching every muscle in my body. My mouth too felt very sore, and
by exploring with my tongue I was astonished to find that several
new teeth, evidently drawn from strange mouths, had been recently
inserted with exquisite skill in my own gums, for what with the blight
of middle age and the inattention of youth my back teeth were by no
means numerous at the date of my recent withdrawal from Earth. Whoever
my dental surgeon might have been, there could be no two opinions as
to his skilful performance on my jaws, for he had not only removed
such molars as were decayed or broken, but had planted and made grow
freshly plucked substitutes with their bleeding roots. The whole
operation was complete, and its completeness has led me to believe
that a considerable period must have intervened since my arrival in
Meleager, where presumably I was now lying. I noticed that the figures
around me were clothed in flowing white robes, and I was beginning to
satisfy my curiosity still further when again someone approached with a
censer, which he deftly swung so close to my face that once more I was
compelled to swallow that thick stupefying incense whose fumes speedily
plunged me in oblivion for a second time.
On the third occasion of my awaking, the obscure chamber was still
occupied by white-robed figures, but the manipulation of my body had
evidently ceased. Among those present I noticed an old man with a
white beard, and some inches taller than his colleagues, who paid
him special deference. I rightly conjectured this venerable person
to be the Arch-priest, of whom d'Aragno had spoken, both from his
evident superiority of rank and his more elaborate garments. I was
still feeling very weak and languid, but after staring around me for
some minutes with an effort I managed to raise my arm. The action was
immediately noticed, whereupon the individual with the censer once
more prepared to advance, but was checked by an imperious gesture from
the Arch-priest. The latter now approached, and after peering long and
steadfastly into my face he made a sign to the others present, and all
but two left the room. He then signalled to me to rise, but though I
attempted to do so, my physical weakness forbade me, and I sank back
exhausted. The two junior priests thereupon firmly raised me in their
arms, and half-walking, half-supported I was led out of the chamber to
a further and a much larger room, in the centre of which I perceived
a wide circular hollow space with steps descending, such as one sees
in ancient Italian baptisteries. From this hollow there issued a great
sound of gurgling and roaring, as well as a most horrible stench of
chemicals, and as I was dragged none too willingly towards the edge
I saw below me a pool of dark, sinister-looking, stinking water that
was rising and falling in a constant state of ebullition. I made a
feeble attempt to struggle, but the Arch-priest laid a firm grip upon
my nerveless arm, whilst the two attendant priests hastily proceeded
to hook a couple of chains to two stout rings inserted in the farther
wall of the chamber. To these chains was attached a pair of strong
leathern slings, which were now skilfully fastened beneath my arm-pits.
Thus provided, I was pushed rather than persuaded to descend to the
lowest step of the awesome basin, and was then unceremoniously thrust
into its bubbling and hissing depths. Down, down, down I went into
the icy surge, whose suction I could feel dragging me as violently as
though a pair of giant hands beneath the water had hold of both my
ankles. Then suddenly gasping and spluttering I was pulled up to the
surface, only in spite of my protests to be once again lowered into
that awful gelid fountain, whence again after a fearful interval of
choking and shivering my body was withdrawn. On the third occasion,
however, the two priests drew me towards the steps, and their master
signed to me to quit the pool. I exerted myself only too eagerly, and
with a nimbleness that amazed me I hastened up the steps towards the
Arch-priest, who had been watching the whole gruesome rite with the
most solemn air.
No doubt it was as the result of certain rare properties in this
ice-cold liquid that I now experienced a rapid transformation from
a state of mind and body that was the limit of feebleness to one of
almost superhuman strength and capability. Even before the two priests
had armed themselves with masses of warm soft towels to dry me I felt
myself glowing with health and youth. My brain seemed to clear and
expand in some unaccountable way; I could feel every artery and muscle
in my body thrill in joyous unison; to move my limbs was sheer delight.
I realised too that my normal height had been increased by some inches,
evidently due to the recent painless racking that had caused me to
awake prematurely. "This must be the Fountain of Rejuvenation of which
d'Aragno spoke," thought I. "I wonder he has never tried a bathe
himself in these waters!"
I found an exuberant joy even as I stood thus being rubbed and dried by
the priests in the new appearance of myself; I thought of the justice
of Vergil's comparison of the glittering young Neoptolemus at the fall
of Troy with a snake that has just sloughed his scurfy skin in the
warm spring sunshine. I positively quivered with my new-found pride of
life. I had cast aside all care and terror; and as to the reflection
of having lost the world of my birth, what fresh worlds of adventure
were there not ahead of me to conquer or to enjoy in return for the
mean, squalid, ungrateful Earth that I had deserted for ever and ever!
Had I now been on the Earth itself and not on the planet of Meleager,
I felt no doubt but that in a month or so I should be competent to
lead an army to victory, or to astonish the House of Commons with a
speech whose memory would outlive a generation, or to write a poem or a
novel that would last whilst the English tongue endured, or to paint a
picture or to mould a statue that would cause Raphael and Michelangelo
to turn in their graves with envy. As Plato once held that the sum of
all human knowledge is innate in every man, so I knew at last that the
old Greek's axiom was fundamentally correct, but that I alone possessed
the hidden key to unlock that chamber of the human brain wherein this
mental wealth lies safely stored. I was the Semi-divine; I was the
Super-man; I was the new Napoleon alike of the arts of war and peace; I
was the latter-day Euphorion, child of beauty, strength and culture.
With this strange new sensation of power pulsing within me, I was
suddenly seized with a hot qualm of indignation against those
white-robed priests, who had so lately been subjecting my sacred
person to a series of manipulations and tortures, and had even more
than once dared to thrust my awakening dignity back to the dull
chambers of sleep. I quite forgot (though of a truth only for one brief
instant) that after all I in my newly acquired pride of strength and
intellect was but the creature of these flamens, a mere Frankenstein
evoked from a semi-defunct, middle-aged, useless inhabitant of the
Earth, who in his agony of failure had voluntarily committed an act
of self-effacement. Nevertheless, I turned almost fiercely on my
companions, and with an angry wave of my hand bade them turn aside
their prying eyes, whilst I completed the act of drying my skin. They
obeyed without protest, and a few minutes later one of the priests,
still keeping his face averted, handed me a curious garment which it
took me some little time to adjust to my person. It was a thin white
woollen article of undress, which completely covered my body, inclusive
of arms and legs, like the _chiton_ of the ancient Greeks. Its feet
moreover were distinguished by a contrivance for keeping the great
toes free, in the event of wearing sandals, so I presumed. When I had
at length fitted my form into this enveloping garment, whose texture
felt deliciously light and warm, the priests once more turned towards
me and helped me to don the remaining portions of my attire. These
consisted of a pair of buskins of soft dark blue leather that reached
half-way to the knee, a tunic of blue cloth with a golden belt, and
a flowing cloak of the same rich shade of blue, lined with pale blue
silk, that was fastened over the breast with a golden clasp set with
a splendid sapphire. Finally I was invited to seat myself in a low
chair, whereupon one of the priests proceeded to comb out my hair with
a large golden comb. From a burnished metal mirror that was held before
me I now realised, to my astonishment, that my hair was of such an
inordinate length that some weeks must have elapsed for its growth; it
had moreover been bleached, for it was of a pale yellow shade and had a
strange silky texture. On the other hand, I may state here that all the
hair on the lower portion of my face had been eradicated, nor have I
yet had any occasion to use a razor. As a finishing touch, a fillet of
blue and gold was bound round my luxuriant locks, much in the manner
one sees depicted on the royal heads of antiquity in coins and medals.
With this last addition my toilet was now complete, and I was bidden
to rise. The Arch-priest led the way, and I followed with the two
junior priests, one of whom upheld my flowing mantle, whilst the other
bore over my head an open state umbrella of blue silk, heavily fringed
with gold, and closely resembling the same emblem of state that is
used to shelter the Host in processions of the Roman Church. We then
traversed several broad gloomy corridors before entering a chamber of
considerable size that was lit by flambeaux as well as by lamps of
classical form. Here were assembled about a score of young men whose
dress closely resembled my own except that its dominant colour was
crimson instead of blue. On my appearance all these persons threw
themselves prostrate on the floor and remained thus motionless. At
this juncture the Arch-priest for the first time addressed me, and
his spoken words were in the ancient Latin language. Now I had always
possessed an affection and capacity for this tongue, which I have
all my life defended from the baseless charge of its being a dead
language that is constantly levelled at it by ignorant or prejudiced
critics. My proficiency in Latin both at school and at college had
been noteworthy, and now, thanks to the reviving effects of my late
immersion in those medicated waters, all my former acquaintance with
the Roman tongue was suddenly restored to me. I was thus able to grasp
the gist of the Arch-priest's remarks, and my replies through the same
medium were more than tolerable, a circumstance that evidently afforded
great satisfaction to the old man. I gathered then that this group of
youths kneeling before me was composed of the flower of the nobility
of Meleager, from whose ranks I was bidden to choose a tutor and two
equerries suited to my needs. The Arch-priest further stated that
he deemed it preferable for myself to make my own selection in this
important matter, for which reason he had devised this plan.
I was quick to perceive that such a privilege must be carefully
exercised, so I reflected for a few moments before deciding. I have
often flattered myself on being a good judge of human character from
the face, and in our world I often fell to speculate on the internal
qualities of persons in every station of life that I chanced to meet.
Bearing my past observations in mind, I gave a sign for the band before
me to arise, and on a word from the Arch-priest the whole line leaped
up and stood to attention. Beckoning to one of the priests to hand me
a torch, I carefully scrutinised the row of candidates for my favour.
Now the youth who stood seventh from the first at once challenged my
attention; his countenance showed me that he possessed, consciously
or unconsciously, the special qualities I demanded--fidelity and
discretion. Thrice with calm deliberation did I pace up and down that
comely company, and on each occasion I felt myself confirmed in my
original judgment. I nodded to the Arch-priest, who now handed me a
golden rod with which I lightly touched the shoulder of Number Seven.
The young man immediately fell at my feet, which he embraced, the while
murmuring some words of gratitude in the language of the Meleagrians
which of course I did not at that time comprehend. He then rose, and
was about to take up a position behind me, when his fellows at once
advanced and loaded him with their congratulations on the exceptional
mark of honour he had just received. Some of his more intimate friends
threw their arms around him, others shook him by the hands, and others
again spoke words of encouragement. So far as I could observe, the
spirit of jealousy seemed wholly absent. The Arch-priest, who appeared
to approve my choice, patted the young man's cheek in a friendly
manner, as he told me I had chosen well in Hiridia, for such was his
name. Nor have I ever had reason to repent of my selection, for Hiridia
has always proved a most faithful friend, and also a well-meaning guide
according to his Meleagrian lights, during the whole period of my
reign, as I shall relate in due course.
As to the two equerries, whose office would not entail such intimacy,
I did not deem it necessary to discriminate so closely amongst this
band of noble applicants, all of whom were doubtless adequate for the
purpose. So I simply touched the first and the last of the row standing
before me, and these fell out of the line and made me obeisance. This
matter concluded, the Arch-priest signified to the remainder to retire,
whilst the chosen three tarried behind.