THE LABORATORY.—ESTHER DE MEDINA.
When Jacob had taken his departure, Dr. Lascelles returned to his
laboratory, mixed some liquid ingredients in a glass, and returning to
the bed-chamber, poured the medicine down Rainford's throat.
He then felt his pulse, applied his ear to his chest to listen to the
pulsation of his heart, and carefully examined his eyes, which were far
less blood-shot than when they opened first.
"He is getting on admirably," said the physician, "his pulsation is
regular, and neither too quick nor too slow—but just as I could wish it.
He seems inclined to sleep—yes—he closes his eyes; and he will awake to
perfect consciousness.—But do you know, my dear friend, that in order to
oblige you, I have incurred an awful risk?" continued the doctor. "The
law would not believe me, were I to declare that it was in the interest
of science I made these galvanic experiments, and that having succeeded
in recalling the man to life, I was not capable of delivering him up to
justice."
"Let us hope that there will be no necessity to make such an excuse at
all," said the Earl. "You have rendered me an immense service, doctor——"
"Then I am satisfied," interrupted Lascelles; "for, after all you told
me last night, I cannot help liking your half-brother here. He is a
generous-hearted fellow; and one would risk much to save such a man from
death."
"You had frequently mentioned to me your galvanic experiments," said the
Earl: "and last night, when nearly driven to desperation by the absence
of the Home Secretary, the reminiscence of all the wonders you had at
different times related to me in respect to galvanism, flashed to my
mind—and I sent for you as a drowning man clings to a straw."
"In the adjoining room," observed the physician, "I have tried the
influence of galvanism upon thousands of animals and on several men. I
have paid high prices to obtain the bodies of convicts as soon as they
were cut down;—but never until this day did I succeed in restoring the
vital spark. Neither would this experiment have been successful, had we
not adopted all the precautions I suggested. The tube in the throat to
allow respiration—and Jacob Smith in the hearse to remove the
suffocating night-cap from Rainford's head, and the tube from his
throat, and then to apply the hartshorn to his nostrils and his temples.
Step with me again into the laboratory: you have not yet had time to
examine its curiosities," added the physician with a smile. "Rainford
sleeps," he continued, glancing towards the bed; "and we shall have a
little leisure to inspect the laboratory."
They accordingly proceeded into the adjacent room, where Lascelles
directed his companion's attention to the various galvanic and
electrical apparatus.
"I am also a devoted disciple of Gall and Spurzheim," observed the
physician, when he had expatiated upon the discoveries of Galvani.[25]
"Behold that row of plaster of Paris casts of heads," he continued,
pointing to a shelf whereon upwards of fifty of the objects mentioned
were ranged: "they have afforded me much scope for curious speculation
and profound study."
"I observe that you have casts of the heads of several celebrated
criminals amongst them," said the Earl: "Arthur Thistlewood—Daniel
Hoggart—George Barrington—Henry Fauntleroy—John Thurtell—William
Probert——"
"And many others, as you perceive, my dear Earl," interrupted Lascelles.
"The prejudice is as yet so strong amongst people, in respect to
phrenology and craniology, that it is difficult to obtain the casts of
living heads: I am therefore forced to make friends with the turnkeys in
gaols and with the relations of criminals who are hung or who die in
prison, to get casts. Moreover, the heads of men who have led remarkable
lives, or who have suffered for their crimes, afford such interesting
subjects for study and comparison——"
[Illustration]
"Comparison between the head of the man and the monkey!" said the Earl
with a smile.
"Decidedly," exclaimed the physician. "But I will not bore you with my
theories and speculations on this subject. You may, however, suppose
that I am not a little enthusiastic in the matter, since I have taken
the trouble to have human heads prepared and articulated to facilitate
my studies."
Thus speaking, he opened the door of a cupboard.
The Earl started back—for four human countenances met his astonished and
horrified gaze, and four pairs of human eyes seemed to glare ominously
upon him. At the same time his nostrils were assailed with a strong
odour of spices.
"You need not be afraid of them!" ejaculated the physician, laughing:
"they will not speak to you."
"But how—whence did you obtain——"
"I suppose you think I murdered four men for the sake of their heads?"
cried Lascelles, laughing more heartily still. "Why, my dear Earl, you
would be surprised, perhaps, to learn that I often pass whole nights in
this laboratory, making galvanic experiments, or pursuing my
phrenological and craniological researches. But these heads were
obtained from the hospitals, and I myself embalmed and prepared, as you
now see them."
"I was not aware that you possessed this laboratory," observed the Earl,
"until you stated the fact last night."
"Nor would you ever have known it, had it not been for the desire which
you expressed that science should exert itself to rescue your
half-brother from the grasp of death," answered the physician. "The
truth is, I have had this laboratory upwards of seventeen or eighteen
years. I was always devoted to science, especially that on which my own
profession is based; and the spirit of anatomical inquiry made me
anxious to obtain as many _subjects_—or in plain terms, dead bodies—as
possible. I was therefore thrown into perpetual intercourse with
resurrection-men, who, of course, are not the best of characters. But I
was afraid of having corpses brought to my own house in Grafton Street;
and I was also desirous to fit up for myself a laboratory in some
retired neighbourhood, where I could pursue my studies without the least
fear of interruption, on such occasions when the humour might seize me.
I hinted as much to one of the rascals who sold me _subjects_; and he
put me in communication with a man of the name of Tidmarsh. After some
haggling and hesitation on the part of Tidmarsh—and when he had
consulted, or pretended to consult, his principal—he introduced me to
this house, and I hired this room at an enormous rental. I did not,
however, care about the high rate demanded of me for the use of the
place, because it is not only in a most retired neighbourhood, but there
is also a private and subterranean means of egress and ingress from
another street, which is useful, you know, for one who has to deal with
resurrectionists."
"And are you the only tenant of this house?" inquired the Earl; "for I
presume that the bed-chamber in which poor Thomas lies is not your own."
"No: some old man occasionally visits the house, and now and then sleeps
in that room," returned the physician. "But I have only seen him once or
twice and do not even know his name. I have my own key for the
front-door, and I am acquainted with the secret of the subterranean
passage; but I never hold any communication with Tidmarsh, beyond paying
him the rent when it is due;—and when I happen to meet the old man I
have alluded to, we merely exchange a word and pass on. He has his rooms
in the house, and I have mine; and as he does not interfere with me, I
never trouble myself about him nor his concerns."
"Then, for aught you know, doctor," said the Earl, "you may occupy an
apartment in the house of bad characters?"
"What do I care?" exclaimed Lascelles. "I could not well have such a
laboratory as this at my own residence—my servants would talk about
these human heads, and those plaster casts, and the galvanic
experiments, and I should be looked upon as a sorcerer, or at all events
with so much suspicion and aversion as to lose all my practice. And, by
the bye, my dear Earl, you should be the very last," added the doctor,
with a smile, "to hint at the possibility of this house being connected
with bad characters; for had I not a laboratory in so quiet a street—a
street, too, where no questions are ever asked nor observations
made—your poor brother might have waited long enough for the chance of
resuscitation by galvanic means."
"True, my dear doctor—I was unjust," said the Earl. "But you will
forgive me?"
"Say no more about it, Arthur. Were men of scientific research to be
over particular, they might as well abandon their studies at once. The
experiments I have made on corpses in this room, could scarcely have
been performed at my own residence; and, to tell you very candidly, I
believe that the old man who has the other apartments on this floor, is
either a miser or a rogue;—but I care nothing about him or his affairs.
And now I will mention to you one very extraordinary circumstance. It
must have been, as near as I can guess, five weeks ago that I was one
night pursuing my galvanic experiments in this room—I had been operating
on divers rabbits, frogs, and rats—and, may be, for anything I
recollect, a few cats,—when I was compelled to go down stairs for a
particular purpose. On my return, as I came back by that door," he
continued, pointing to one at the farther end of the room, "and which
leads to the staircase, I was startled—nay, positively astounded at
seeing a man standing near this cupboard, and gazing fixedly on the
human heads. I confess I was alarmed at the moment, because I had heard
voices in the house during the half-hour previously; and I remember that
I rushed back and instinctively barred and bolted the door. But the man
turned round before I had time to close the door—and I caught a glimpse
of his face. That man—now who do you think he was?"
"It is impossible to guess, doctor," said the Earl.
"He was your half-brother, who now lies in the adjoining room!" added
Lascelles.
"Thomas!—here!" cried Arthur, profoundly surprised.
"I could not possibly make a mistake, because I had seen him before—no
matter how or where—and knew him immediately," continued the physician.
"Well, I must confess that I was uncertain how to act. I did not wish
him to recognise me—although perhaps he had already done so; and I could
not very well leave the house and return to Grafton-street at once,
because I had on a dressing-gown, and had left my coat in this room. I
was half-way down the stairs leading to the hall, when I heard some one
opening the front door with a key. Knowing that it must be either the
old man I have before mentioned, or Tidmarsh, as they alone besides
myself had keys of the front door, I waited till the person came in; and
it _was_ Tidmarsh. I immediately told him what I had seen.—'_Ah!_' said
he, '_I suspected there was something wrong, and that made me get up,
dress, and come round_.'—His words astonished me; and I requested an
explanation; but he seemed sorry that he had uttered them inadvertently,
and gave some evasive reply. He however accompanied me up stairs: we
entered the laboratory, and no one was there. We went into the next
room—the one where Rainford is now sleeping—and there we found the
carpet moved away from the trap-door——"
"The trap-door!" exclaimed the Earl.
"Yes—a trap-door that leads to the subterranean passage which I have
mentioned to you," added Lascelles; "but you must remember that all I
have told you about this house is in the strictest confidence. Well, we
found the carpet moved away from the trap-door, though the trap itself
was closed. Old Tidmarsh instantly fastened the trap with a secret
spring which there is to it, and spread the carpet over the floor
again.—'_But does he know the means of getting out at the other end?_' I
inquired, shocked at the thought of Rainford being immured in the
subterranean.—'_Do you think he would venture down there if he were not
acquainted with the secrets of the place?_' demanded Tidmarsh. This
struck me as being consistent with common sense; and moreover I began to
fancy that Tidmarsh and Rainford must be connected together—pardon me,
my dear Earl, for saying so: and that suspicion was encouraged in my
mind by the singular and mysteriously significant observation that
Tidmarsh had dropped when I met him on the stairs. So I felt no farther
uneasiness; but took my departure for Grafton Street. Tidmarsh quitted
the house with me, and left me at the corner of Turnmill Street close
by—as he lives there."
"Do you know," said the Earl of Ellingham, who now appeared to be
occupied with an idea which had just struck him,—"do you know that all
this conversation about subterraneans, and secret passages, and
trap-doors, has created a strange suspicion in my mind?"
"Relative to what?" demanded the physician.
"I briefly explained to you last night the cause of my disappearance for
four long weeks," continued the Earl; "I also acquainted you with the
manner of my escape. Now, I am convinced, by the direction I took, in
threading those dreadful sewers, that I was a prisoner somewhere in
Clerkenwell; and perhaps—who knows—indeed, it is highly probable, that
the very subterranean, of which you have spoken, may contain dungeon——"
"You shall soon satisfy yourself on that head," interrupted the
physician. "I confess that I have never been there more than three or
four times—and then only to help old Tidmarsh convey to my laboratory a
_subject_ for my galvanic or anatomical experiments, and which the
resurrectionists had deposited at his house in Turnmill Street. So you
may believe that I know but little of the precise features of the
subterranean. But we will visit it at once; and if there be a dungeon or
cell there, such as you describe, we shall discover it."
The physician and the Earl proceeded into the bed-chamber, where
Rainford still slept. Lascelles felt his pulse, examined his countenance
attentively, and turned with a smile of satisfaction to the young
nobleman, to whom he whispered, "He is beyond all danger."
Arthur pressed the doctor's hand with fervent gratitude, while tears of
happiness trembled upon his long lashes.
The physician then proceeded to raise the trap-door; and, having
procured a lamp from his laboratory, led the way down the spiral
staircase of stone.
But the huge door at the bottom was bolted on the other side; and thus
further investigation was rendered impossible on that occasion.
They accordingly retraced their steps to the bed-room, closed the
trap-door, and spread the carpet over it again.
The Earl nevertheless made up his mind to institute farther search in
those mysterious premises at some future day.
"My dear young friend," said the physician suddenly, as they stood by
the side of the bed, watching the countenance of the sleeper, "I had
almost forgotten that when _he_ awakes presently, it will be necessary
to administer a little stimulant—either port-wine, or good brandy, if
such a thing can be got in this neighbourhood."
"I will hasten and procure both immediately," returned the Earl. "Give
me the key of the front-door that I may let myself in without troubling
you to descend to open it."
Lascelles handed the key to the nobleman, who immediately sallied forth
to purchase the spirits required.
Having procured a pint-bottle of brandy at the most respectable tavern
which he perceived in St. John Street, whither he repaired for the
purpose, he was retracing his way, when his eyes were suddenly attracted
by a lovely female form crossing the street just mentioned, and
proceeding in the direction of Northampton Square.
But the lady was not dressed in mourning; and therefore he conceived
that he must be mistaken relative to the idea which had struck him.
And yet that symmetry of form, set off rather than concealed by the
ample shawl which she wore,—that dignified elegance of gait,—that
gracefulness of carriage, were well-known characteristics of Esther de
Medina.
The Earl hastened after her, and pronounced that name.
The lady turned—raised her veil—and extended her hand to the nobleman.
Yes—it was Esther;—but how pale—how profoundly mournful her countenance!
"I am rejoiced to meet you," said the Earl in a rapid and excited tone;
"for I have news to communicate which will give you joy! But—come with
me—I implore you—I know all—look upon me as a friend—and in my presence
you need not blush. Delay not—I beseech you—come with me at once!"
And drawing her arm in his, he hurried her away towards Red Lion Street.
"My lord," she said, "I am at a loss to understand——"
"Oh! you know not how nearly that which I have to communicate—to give
you evidence of—affects your happiness!" interrupted Arthur. "But I must
not tell you all in a breath—it would be too much for you to hear:—and I
am glad—Oh! I am rejoiced that I have thus met you—for I had dispatched
a messenger to seek you—and he might have broken the happy tidings too
abruptly——"
Esther gazed upon his countenance in astonishment mingled with an
expression of surprise and even alarm: but the Earl perceived not the
strange impression that his words had produced, as he hurried her along
at a rate which in a more refined neighbourhood would have attracted
disagreeable attention.
The house in Red Lion Street was reached; and the nobleman opened the
door with extraordinary impatience.
For an instant Esther hesitated to follow him; but, confident of the
honourable intentions of the Earl, and anxious to relieve herself from
the state of wonder and suspense into which his words had thrown her,
she entered the gloomy-looking tenement.
He led her up the dirty, decayed staircase into the laboratory, where he
begged her to wait for a moment. He then softly opened the door
communicating with the bed-chamber, in order to acquaint Dr. Lascelles
with her presence there, and in a few hurried words explain the motives
which had induced him to bring her thither; for he supposed that all
those circumstances which had led him to believe that the Jewess was the
mistress of his half-brother, were unknown to the doctor.
But the moment he opened the door, he started—and an ejaculation of the
wildest surprise burst from his lips.
For there—standing by the bed, with hands clasped and eyes upraised in
thankfulness to heaven—was the living counterpart of Esther de Medina!
Arthur turned hastily round to convince himself that Esther had not
passed in before him: but Esther was indeed a few paces behind
him—alarmed by the exclamation which had burst from his lips.
The truth flashed like lightning to the Earl's brain:—Esther de Medina
had a sister—so like herself that, when apart, they might well be taken
for each other:—yes—that must be the solution of the enigma which had
bewildered him so often!
"Miss de Medina!" he said, hastily taking her hand, "I have been
labouring under a strange mistake. But you will perhaps understand how
it arose, when——"
He led her into the room:—she started back, exclaiming, "Oh! heavens—my
oath!"—but in the next moment the sisters—for such indeed they
were—rushed into each other's arms!
-----
Footnote 25:
Mr. Peck, B. A., in his interesting papers on Electricity in
_Reynolds's Miscellany_, gives the ensuing particulars:—"The discovery
of galvanic electricity was the result of accident. Madame Galvani,
the wife of a distinguished Italian philosopher, being recommended by
her medical adviser to partake of broth prepared from frogs, several
of these little animals were procured, and were placed prior to their
being cooked, in the laboratory of her husband. Some of Monsieur
Galvani's friends happened to be amusing themselves with an electrical
machine, which was standing in the room, and, by chance, one of the
frogs was touched with a scalpel. To Madame Galvani's surprise, she
observed the limbs of the frogs exhibit a convulsive motion. Upon
examining them closely, she perceived that the muscles were affected
at the very time when sparks were received from the machine. When her
husband returned, she acquainted him with the circumstance. For some
time previously M. Galvani had entertained a belief that muscular
action was affected by electricity, and had been experimenting for the
purpose, if possible, of verifying this hypothesis. Delighted by the
discovery, he lost no time in trying a variety of experiments. At
first he tested the effect of sparks alone, on dissected frogs,
gradually varying the intensity of the spark. In every case, however,
even when the electric action was feeble, he noticed that the muscles
of the frogs gave evidence of susceptibility to its influence. He next
made experiments with atmospheric electricity. The same result ensued
as when the electric action had been elicited by artificial means."
In another paper of the same interesting series, the following account
is given:—"On the evening of January the 28th, during a somewhat
extraordinary display of northern lights, a lady became so highly
charged with electricity, as to give out vivid electrical sparks at
the end of each finger, to the face of each of the company present.
This did not cease with the heavenly phenomenon, but continued for
several months, during which time she was constantly charged; and
giving off electrical sparks to every conductor she approached; so
that she could not touch the stove, nor any metallic utensils, without
first giving off an electrical spark, with the consequent twinge. The
state most favourable to this phenomenon was an atmosphere of about 80
deg. Fahrenheit, moderate exercise, and social enjoyment. It
disappeared in any atmosphere approaching zero, and under the
debilitating effects of fear. When seated by the stove, reading, with
her feet upon the fender, she gave out sparks, at the rate of three or
four each minute; and, under the most favourable circumstances, a
spark that could be seen, heard, or felt, passed every second! She
could charge others in the same way, when insulated, who could then
give sparks to others. To make it satisfactory that her dress did not
produce it, it was changed to cotton and woollen, without altering the
phenomenon. The lady is about thirty, of sedentary pursuits, and
delicate state of health."
We avail ourselves of the digressive facility afforded us by this note
to the text, to relate _a true history_ of the resuscitation of a man
who had been hanged—a history which is perhaps one of the most
extraordinary "romances of real life" upon record. It is as
follows:—Ambrose Gwinett was hanged at Deal for the murder of a man
who merely disappeared, and whose body was not found. Circumstantial
evidence certainly pointed strongly to Gwinett as a murderer; but
still it was not proved in the first instance that a murder had been
really committed. Gwinett and another man, of the name of Collins,
arrived together at an inn in Deal. Gwinett borrowed Collins's
clasp-knife during supper-time, in the presence of the waiter. On the
following morning Collins was missing; and Gwinett had been met on the
stairs, in the middle of the night, coming up from the garden. Blood
was found in the garden, and in the midst of the blood was the
clasp-knife, open. The traces of blood were continued down to the
sea-side, and there they ceased. Gwinett was moreover found to have in
his pocket Collins's purse, which the waiter had seen over night in
Collins's possession. Gwinett's defence was that he had received the
purse, after the waiter left the room on the preceding evening, in
consequence of an arrangement that he (Gwinett) should be paymaster
for them both; that he had gone down stairs in the night, for a
certain purpose, to the garden; that his nose had bled dreadfully;
that he had used the clasp-knife to raise the latch of the door, and
had dropped it in the dark; and that he had walked down to the
sea-side close by to wash his face and hands, and stop the bleeding at
the nose with the cold salt-water. This tale was not believed; Gwinett
was found guilty of _Murder_, and hanged on Sandown Common. But a
shepherd, passing by the gibbet a few hours after the execution, and
while the victim was hanging in chains, perceived signs of life in
him, and cut him down. Gwinett was recovered: and the kind-hearted
shepherd sent him abroad. In a distant colony, Gwinett met Mr.
Collins, _the very man for whose alleged murder he had been hanged_!
An explanation immediately ensued. On the night in question, Collins
had also gone down stairs to the garden, and had been carried off by a
press-gang who passed along the sea-shore at the time. He was conveyed
to a boat, and in that transported to the tender-vessel lying in the
Downs: the vessel sailed next morning, and Collins had heard nothing
of the dilemma of his friend until they met as just described.