Produced by Suzanne Shell, Mary Meehan and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
AURIOL
OR
THE ELIXIR OF LIFE
BY W. HARRISON AINSWORTH
AUTHOR OF "THE TOWER OF LONDON"
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. K. BROWNE
_AUTHOR'S COPYRIGHT EDITION_
LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, LIMITED BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL
1898
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. At the Ballantyne Press
The mysterious interview in Hyde Park]
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE--1599--
DR. LAMB
BOOK THE FIRST--EBBA--
I. THE RUINED HOUSE IN THE VAUXHALL ROAD
II. THE DOG-FANCIER
III. THE HAND AND THE CLOAK
IV. THE IRON-MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER
V. THE MEETING NEAR THE STATUE
VI. THE CHARLES THE SECOND SPANIEL
VII. THE HAND AGAIN!
VIII. THE BARBER OF LONDON
IX. THE MOON IN THE FIRST QUARTER
X. THE STATUE AT CHARING CROSS
XI. PREPARATIONS
XII. THE CHAMBER OF MYSTERY
INTERMEAN--1800--
I. THE TOMB OF THE ROSICRUCIAN
II. THE COMPACT
III. IRRESOLUTION
IV. EDITH TALBOT
V. THE SEVENTH NIGHT
BOOK THE SECOND--CYPRIAN ROUGEMONT--
I. THE CELL
II. THE ENCHANTED CHAIRS
III. GERARD PASTON
IV. THE PIT
V. NEW PERPLEXITIES
VI. DR. LAMB AGAIN
THE OLD LONDON MERCHANT
A NIGHT'S ADVENTURE IN ROME--
I. SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE
II. THE MARCHESA
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THE MYSTERIOUS INTERVIEW IN HYDE PARK
THE ELIXIR OF LONG LIFE
THE RUINED HOUSE IN THE VAUXHALL ROAD
THE DOG-FANCIER
THE HAND AND THE CLOAK
THE IRON-MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER
THE BARBER OF LONDON
SEIZURE OF EBBA
THE ANTIQUARIES
THE CHAMBER OF MYSTERY
THE TOMB OF THE ROSICRUCIAN
THE COMPACT
THE SIGNIFICANT WHISPER
THE ENCHANTED CHAIRS
ROUGEMONT'S DEVICE TO PERPLEX AURIOL
PROLOGUE
1599
_DR. LAMB_
The Sixteenth Century drew to a close. It was the last day of the lastyear, and two hours only were wanting to the birth of another year andof another century.
The night was solemn and beautiful. Myriads of stars paved the deepvault of heaven; the crescent moon hung like a silver lamp in the midstof them; a stream of rosy and quivering light, issuing from the north,traversed the sky, like the tail of some stupendous comet; while fromits point of effluence broke forth, ever and anon, coruscationsrivalling in splendour and variety of hue the most brilliant dischargeof fireworks.
A sharp frost prevailed; but the atmosphere was clear and dry, andneither wind nor snow aggravated the wholesome rigour of the season. Thewater lay in thick congealed masses around the conduits and wells, andthe buckets were frozen on their stands. The thoroughfares were sheetedwith ice, and dangerous to horsemen and vehicles; but the footways werefirm and pleasant to the tread.
Here and there, a fire was lighted in the streets, round which raggedurchins and mendicants were collected, roasting fragments of meat stuckupon iron prongs, or quaffing deep draughts of metheglin and ale out ofleathern cups. Crowds were collected in the open places, watching thewonders in the heavens, and drawing auguries from them, chieflysinister, for most of the beholders thought the signs portended thespeedy death of the queen, and the advent of a new monarch from thenorth--a safe and easy interpretation, considering the advanced age anddeclining health of the illustrious Elizabeth, together with the knownappointment of her successor, James of Scotland.
Notwithstanding the early habits of the times, few persons had retiredto rest, an universal wish prevailing among the citizens to see the newyear in, and welcome the century accompanying it. Lights glimmered inmost windows, revealing the holly-sprigs and laurel-leaves stuck thicklyin their diamond panes; while, whenever a door was opened, a ruddy gleamburst across the street, and a glance inside the dwelling showed itsinmates either gathered round the glowing hearth, occupied in mirthfulsports--fox-i'-th'-hole, blind-man's buff, or shoe-the-mare--or seatedat the ample board groaning with Christmas cheer.
Music and singing were heard at every corner, and bands of comelydamsels, escorted by their sweethearts, went from house to house,bearing huge brown bowls dressed with ribands and rosemary, and filledwith a drink called "lamb's-wool," composed of sturdy ale, sweetenedwith sugar, spiced with nutmeg, and having toasts and burnt crabsfloating within it--a draught from which seldom brought its prettybearers less than a groat, and occasionally a more valuable coin.
Such was the vigil of the year sixteen hundred.
On this night, and at the tenth hour, a man of striking and venerableappearance was seen to emerge upon a small wooden balcony, projectingfrom a bay-window near the top of a picturesque structure situated atthe southern extremity of London Bridge.
The old man's beard and hair were as white as snow--the formerdescending almost to his girdle; so were the thick, overhanging browsthat shaded his still piercing eyes. His forehead was high, bald, andploughed by innumerable wrinkles. His countenance, despite itsdeath-like paleness, had a noble and majestic cast; and his figure,though worn to the bone by a life of the severest study, and bent by theweight of years, must have been once lofty and commanding. His dressconsisted of a doublet and hose of sad-coloured cloth, over which hewore a loose gown of black silk. His head was covered by a square blackcap, from beneath which his silver locks strayed over his shoulders.
Known by the name of Doctor Lamb, and addicted to alchemical andphilosophical pursuits, this venerable personage was esteemed by thevulgar as little better than a wizard. Strange tales were reported andbelieved of him. Amongst others, it was said that he possessed afamiliar, because he chanced to employ a deformed, crack-brained dwarf,who assisted him in his operations, and whom he appropriately enoughdenominated Flapdragon.
Doctor Lamb's gaze was fixed intently upon the heavens, and he seamedto be noting the position of the moon with reference to some particularstar.
After remaining in this posture for a few minutes, he was about toretire, when a loud crash arrested him, and he turned to see whence itproceeded.
Immediately before him stood the Southwark Gateway--a square stonebuilding, with a round, embattled turret at each corner, and a flatleaden roof, planted with a forest of poles, fifteen or sixteen feethigh, garnished with human heads. To his surprise, the doctor perceivedthat two of these poles had just been overthrown by a tall man, who wasin the act of stripping them of their grisly burdens.
Having accomplished his object, the mysterious plunderer thrust hisspoil into a leathern bag with which he was provided, tied its mouth,and was about to take his departure by means of a rope-ladder attachedto the battlements, when his retreat was suddenly cut off by thegatekeeper, armed with a halberd, and bearing a lantern, who issued froma door opening upon the leads.
The baffled marauder looked round, and remarking the open window atwhich Doctor Lamb was stationed, hurled the sack and its contentsthrough it. He the
n tried to gain the ladder, but was intercepted by thegatekeeper, who dealt him a severe blow on the head with his halberd.The plunderer uttered a loud cry, and attempted to draw his sword; butbefore he could do so, he received a thrust in the side from hisopponent. He then fell, and the gatekeeper would have repeated the blow,if the doctor had not called to him to desist.
"Do not kill him, good Baldred," he cried. "The attempt may not be socriminal as it appears. Doubtless, the mutilated remains which the poorwretch has attempted to carry off are those of his kindred, and horrorat their exposure must have led him to commit the offence."
"It may be, doctor," replied Baldred; "and if so I shall be sorry I havehurt him. But I am responsible for the safe custody of these traitorousrelics, and it is as much as my own head is worth to permit theirremoval."
"I know it," replied Doctor Lamb; "and you are fully justified in whatyou have done. It may throw some light upon the matter, to know whosemiserable remains have been disturbed."
"They were the heads of two rank papists," replied Baldred, "who weredecapitated on Tower Hill, on Saint Nicholas's Day, three weeks ago, forconspiring against the queen."
"But their names?" demanded the doctor. "How were they called?"
"They were father and son," replied Baldred--"Sir Simon Darcy and MasterReginald Darcy. Perchance they were known to your worship?"
"Too well--too well!" replied Doctor Lamb, in a voice of emotion thatstartled his hearer. "They were near kinsmen of mine own. What is helike who has made this strange attempt?"
"Of a verity, a fair youth," replied Baldred, holding down the lantern."Heaven grant I have not wounded him to the death! No, his heart stillbeats. Ha! here are his tablets," he added, taking a small book fromhis doublet; "these may give the information you seek. You were rightin your conjecture, doctor. The name herein inscribed is the same asthat borne by the others--Auriol Darcy."
"I see it all," cried Lamb. "It was a pious and praiseworthy deed. Bringthe unfortunate youth to my dwelling, Baldred, and you shall be wellrewarded. Use despatch, I pray you."
As the gatekeeper essayed to comply, the wounded man groaned deeply, asif in great pain.
"Fling me the weapon with which you smote him," cried Doctor Lamb, inaccents of commiseration, "and I will anoint it with the powder ofsympathy. His anguish will be speedily abated."
"I know your worship can accomplish wonders," cried Baldred, throwingthe halberd into the balcony. "I will do my part as gently as I can."
And as the alchemist took up the weapon, and disappeared through thewindow, the gatekeeper lifted the wounded man by the shoulders, andconveyed him down a narrow, winding staircase to a lower chamber. Thoughhe proceeded carefully, the sufferer was put to excruciating pain; andwhen Baldred placed him on a wooden bench, and held a lamp towards him,he perceived that his features were darkened and distorted.
"I fear it's all over with him," murmured the gatekeeper; "I shall havea dead body to take to Doctor Lamb. It would be a charity to knock himon the head, rather than let him suffer thus. The doctor passes for acunning man, but if he can cure this poor youth without seeing him, bythe help of his sympathetic ointment, I shall begin to believe, whatsome folks avouch, that he has relations with the devil."
While Baldred was ruminating in this manner, a sudden and extraordinarychange took place in the sufferer. As if by magic, the contraction ofthe muscles subsided; the features assumed a wholesome hue, and therespiration was no longer laborious. Baldred stared as if a miracle hadbeen wrought.
Now that the countenance of the youth had regained its originalexpression, the gatekeeper could not help being struck by its extremebeauty. The face was a perfect oval, with regular and delicate features.A short silken moustache covered the upper lip, which was short andproud, and a pointed beard terminated the chin. The hair was black,glossy, and cut short, so as to disclose a highly intellectual expanseof brow.
The youth's figure was slight, but admirably proportioned. His attireconsisted of a black satin doublet, slashed with white, hose of blacksilk, and a short velvet mantle. His eyes were still closed, and it wasdifficult to say what effect they might give to the face when theylighted it up; but notwithstanding its beauty, it was impossible not toadmit that a strange, sinister, and almost demoniacal expressionpervaded the countenance.
All at once, and with as much suddenness as his cure had been effected,the young man started, uttering a piercing cry, and placed his hand tohis side.
"Caitiff!" he cried, fixing his blazing eyes on the gatekeeper, "why doyou torture me thus? Finish me at once--Oh!"
And overcome by anguish, he sank back again.
"I have not touched you, sir," replied Baldred. "I brought you here tosuccour you. You will be easier anon. Doctor Lamb must have wiped thehalberd," he added to himself.
Another sudden change. The pain fled from the sufferer's countenance,and he became easy as before.
"What have you done to me?" he asked, with a look of gratitude; "thetorture of my wound has suddenly ceased, and I feel as if a balm hadbeen dropped into it. Let me remain in this state if you have anypity--or despatch me, for my late agony was almost insupportable."
"You are cared for by one who has greater skill than any chirurgeon inLondon," replied Baldred. "If I can manage to transport you to hislodgings, he will speedily heal your wounds."
"Do not delay, then," replied Auriol faintly; "for though I am free frompain, I feel that my life is ebbing fast away."
"Press this handkerchief to your side, and lean on me," said Baldred."Doctor Lamb's dwelling is but a step from the gateway--in fact, thefirst house on the bridge. By the way, the doctor declares he is yourkinsman."
"It is the first I ever heard of him," replied Auriol faintly; "but takeme to him quickly, or it will be too late."
In another moment they were at the doctor's door. Baldred tapped againstit, and the summons was instantly answered by a diminutive personage,clad in a jerkin of coarse grey serge, and having a leathern apron tiedround his waist. This was Flapdragon.
Blear-eyed, smoke-begrimed, lantern-jawed, the poor dwarf seemed as ifhis whole life had been spent over the furnace. And so, in fact, it hadbeen. He had become little better than a pair of human bellows. In hishand he held the halberd with which Auriol had been wounded.
"So you have been playing the leech, Flapdragon, eh?" cried Baldred.
"Ay, marry have I," replied the dwarf, with a wild grin, and displayinga wolfish set of teeth. "My master ordered me to smear the halberd withthe sympathetic ointment. I obeyed him: rubbed the steel point, first onone side, then on the other; next wiped it; and then smeared it again."
"Whereby you put the patient to exquisite pain," replied Baldred; "buthelp me to transport him to the laboratory."
"I know not if the doctor will care to be disturbed," said Flapdragon."He is busily engaged on a grand operation."
"I will take the risk on myself," said Baldred. "The youth will die ifhe remains here. See, he has fainted already!"
Thus urged, the dwarf laid down the halberd, and between the two, Auriolwas speedily conveyed up a wide oaken staircase to the laboratory.Doctor Lamb was plying the bellows at the furnace, on which a largealembic was placed, and he was so engrossed by his task that he scarcelynoticed the entrance of the others.
"Place the youth on the ground, and rear his head against the chair," hecried, hastily, to the dwarf. "Bathe his brows with the decoction inthat crucible. I will attend to him anon. Come to me on the morrow,Baldred, and I will repay thee for thy trouble. I am busy now."
"These relics, doctor," cried the gatekeeper, glancing at the bag, whichwas lying on the ground, and from which a bald head protruded--"I oughtto take them back with me."
"Heed them not--they will be safe in my keeping," cried Doctor Lambimpatiently; "to-morrow--to-morrow."
Casting a furtive glance round the laboratory, and shrugging hisshoulders, Baldred departed; and Flapdragon having bathed the sufferer'stemples with the decoction, in obe
dience to his master's injunctions,turned to inquire what he should do next.
"Begone!" cried the doctor, so fiercely that the dwarf darted out of theroom, clapping the door after him.
Doctor Lamb then applied himself to his task with renewed ardour, and ina few seconds became wholly insensible of the presence of a stranger.
Revived by the stimulant, Auriol presently opened his eyes, and gazinground the room, thought he must be dreaming, so strange and fantasticaldid all appear. The floor was covered with the implements used by theadept--bolt-heads, crucibles, cucurbites, and retorts, scattered aboutwithout any attempt at arrangement. In one corner was a largeterrestrial sphere: near it was an astrolabe, and near that aheap of disused glass vessels. On the other side lay a black,mysterious-looking book, fastened with brazen clasps. Around it were aram's horn, a pair of forceps, a roll of parchment, a pestle and mortar,and a large plate of copper, graven with the mysterious symbols of theIsaical table. Near this was the leathern bag containing the twodecapitated heads, one of which had burst forth. On a table at thefarther end of the room, stood a large open volume, with parchmentleaves, covered with cabalistical characters, referring to the names ofspirits. Near it were two parchment scrolls, written in letters,respectively denominated by the Chaldaic sages, "the Malachim," and "thePassing of the River." One of these scrolls was kept in its place by askull. An ancient and grotesque-looking brass lamp, with twosnake-headed burners, lighted the room. From the ceiling depended a hugescaly sea-monster, with outspread fins, open jaws garnished withtremendous teeth, and great goggling eyes. Near it hung a celestialsphere. The chimney-piece, which was curiously carved, and projected farinto the room, was laden with various implements of hermetic science.Above it were hung dried bats and flitter-mice, interspersed with theskulls of birds and apes. Attached to the chimney-piece was a horary,sculptured in stone, near which hung a large starfish. The fireplace wasoccupied by the furnace, on which, as has been stated, was placed analembic, communicating by means of a long serpentine pipe with areceiver. Within the room were two skeletons, one of which, placedbehind a curtain in the deep embrasure of the window, where its polishedbones glistened in the white moonlight, had a horrible effect. Theother enjoyed more comfortable quarters near the chimney, its fleshlessfeet dangling down in the smoke arising from the furnace.
Doctor Lamb, meanwhile, steadily pursued his task, though he ever andanon paused, to fling certain roots and drugs upon the charcoal. As hedid this, various-coloured flames broke forth--now blue, now green, nowblood-red.
Tinged by these fires, the different objects in the chamber seemed totake other forms, and to become instinct with animation. Thegourd-shaped cucurbites were transformed into great bloated toadsbursting with venom; the long-necked bolt-heads became monstrousserpents; the worm-like pipes turned into adders; the alembics lookedlike plumed helmets; the characters on the Isaical table, and those onthe parchments, seemed traced in fire, and to be ever changing; thesea-monster bellowed and roared, and, flapping his fins, tried to burstfrom his hook; the skeletons wagged their jaws, and raised theirfleshless fingers in mockery, while blue lights burnt in their eyelesssockets; the bellows became a prodigious bat fanning the fire with itswings; and the old alchemist assumed the appearance of the archfiendpresiding over a witches' sabbath.
Auriol's brain reeled, and he pressed his hand to his eyes, to excludethese phantasms from his sight. But even thus they pursued him; and heimagined he could hear the infernal riot going on around him.
Suddenly, he was roused by a loud joyful cry, and, uncovering his eyes,he beheld Doctor Lamb pouring the contents of the matrass--a bright,transparent liquid--into a small phial. Having carefully secured thebottle with a glass stopper, the old man held it towards the light, andgazed at it with rapture.
"At length," he exclaimed aloud--"at length, the great work is achieved.With the birth of the century now expiring I first saw light, and thedraught I hold in my hand shall enable me to see the opening ofcenturies and centuries to come. Composed of the lunar stones, the solarstones, and the mercurial stones--prepared according to the instructionsof the Rabbi Ben Lucca--namely, by the separation of the pure from theimpure, the volatilisation of the fixed, and the fixing of thevolatile--this elixir shall renew my youth, like that of the eagle, andgive me length of days greater than any patriarch ever enjoyed."
While thus speaking, he held up the sparkling liquid, and gazed at itlike a Persian worshipping the sun.
"To live for ever!" he cried, after a pause--"to escape the jaws ofdeath just when they are opening to devour me!--to be free from allaccidents!--'tis a glorious thought! Ha! I bethink me, the rabbi saidthere was _one_ peril against which the elixir could not guard me--_one_vulnerable point, by which, like the heel of Achilles, death might reachme! What is it!--where can it lie?"
And he relapsed into deep thought.
"This uncertainty will poison all my happiness," he continued; "I shalllive in constant dread, as of an invisible enemy. But no matter!Perpetual life!--perpetual youth!--what more need be desired?"
"What more, indeed!" cried Auriol.
"Ha!" exclaimed the doctor, suddenly recollecting the wounded man, andconcealing the phial beneath his gown.
"Your caution is vain, doctor," said Auriol. "I have heard what you haveuttered. You fancy you have discovered the _elixir vitae_."
"Fancy I have discovered it!" cried Doctor Lamb. "The matter is past alldoubt. I am the possessor of the wondrous secret, which the greatestphilosophers of all ages have sought to discover--the miraculouspreservative of the body against decay."
"The man who brought me hither told me you were my kinsman," saidAuriol. "Is it so?"
"It is," replied the doctor, "and you shall now learn the connectionthat subsists between us. Look at that ghastly relic," he added,pointing to the head protruding from the bag: "that was once my sonSimon. His son's head is within the sack--your father's head--so thatfour generations are brought together."
"Gracious Heaven!" exclaimed the young man, raising himself on hiselbow. "You, then, are my great-grandsire. My father supposed you haddied in his infancy. An old tale runs in the family that you werecharged with sorcery, and fled to avoid the stake."
"It is true that I fled, and took the name I bear at present," repliedthe old man, "but I need scarcely say that the charge brought against mewas false. I have devoted myself to abstrusest science, have heldcommune with the stars, and have wrested the most hidden secrets fromNature--but that is all. Two crimes alone have stained my soul; butboth, I trust, have been expiated by repentance."
"Were they deeds of blood?" asked Auriol.
"One was so," replied Darcy, with a shudder. "It was a cowardly andtreacherous deed, aggravated by the basest ingratitude. Listen, and youshall hear how it chanced. A Roman rabbi, named Ben Lucca, skilled inhermetic science, came to this city. His fame reached me, and I soughthim out, offering myself as his disciple. For months, I remained withhim in his laboratory--working at the furnace, and poring over mysticlore. One night he showed me that volume, and, pointing to a page withinit, said: 'Those characters contain the secret of confecting the elixirof life. I will now explain them to you, and afterwards we will proceedto the operation.' With this, he unfolded the mystery; but he bade meobserve, that the menstruum was defective on one point. Wherefore, hesaid, 'there will still be peril from some hidden cause.' Oh, with whatgreediness I drank in his words! How I gazed at the mystic characters,as he explained their import! What visions floated before me ofperpetual youth and enjoyment. At that moment a demon whispered in myear, 'This secret must be thine own. No one else must possess it.'"
"Ha!" exclaimed Auriol, starting.
"The evil thought was no sooner conceived than acted upon," pursuedDarcy. "Instantly drawing my poniard, I plunged it to the rabbi's heart.But mark what followed. His blood fell upon the book, and obliteratedthe characters; nor could I by any effort of memory recall thecomposition of the elixir."
"When did you regain the
secret?" asked Auriol curiously.
"To-night," replied Darcy--"within this hour. For nigh fifty years afterthat fatal night I have been making fruitless experiments. A film ofblood has obscured my mental sight. I have proceeded by calcitration,solution, putrefaction--have produced the oils which will fix crudemercury, and convert all bodies into sol and luna; but I have everfailed in fermenting the stone into the true elixir. To-night, it cameinto my head to wash the blood-stained page containing the secret with asubtle liquid. I did so; and doubting the efficacy of the experiment,left it to work, while I went forth to breathe the air at my window. Myeyes were cast upwards, and I was struck with the malignant aspect of mystar. How to reconcile this with the good fortune which has justbefallen me, I know not--but so it was. At this juncture, your rash butpious attempt occurred. Having discovered our relationship, and enjoinedthe gatekeeper to bring you hither, I returned to my old laboratory. Onglancing towards the mystic volume, what was my surprise to see the pagefree from blood!"
Auriol uttered a slight exclamation, and gazed at the book withsuperstitious awe.
"The sight was so surprising that I dropped the sack I had brought withme," pursued Darcy. "Fearful of again losing the secret, I nerved myselfto the task, and placing fuel on the fire, dismissed my attendant withbrief injunctions relative to you. I then set to work. How I havesucceeded, you perceive. I hold in my hand the treasure I have so longsought--so eagerly coveted. The whole world's wealth should not purchaseit from me."
Auriol gazed earnestly at his aged relative, but he said nothing.
"In a few moments I shall be as full of vigour and activity asyourself," continued Darcy. "We shall be no longer the great-grandsireand his descendant, but friends--companions--equals,--equals in age,strength, activity, beauty, fortune--for youth _is_ fortune--ha! ha!Methinks I am already young again!"
"You spoke of two crimes with which your conscience was burdened,"remarked Auriol. "You have mentioned but one."
"The other was not so foul as that I have described," replied Darcy, inan altered tone, "inasmuch as it was unintentional, and occasioned by nobase motive. My wife, your ancestress, was a most lovely woman, and sopassionately was I enamoured of her, that I tried by every art toheighten and preserve her beauty. I fed her upon the flesh of capons,nourished with vipers; caused her to steep her lovely limbs in bathsdistilled from roses and violets; and had recourse to the most potentcosmetics. At last I prepared a draught from poisons--yes,_poisons_--the effect of which, I imagined, would be wondrous. She drankit, and expired horribly disfigured. Conceive my despair at beholdingthe fair image of my idolatry destroyed--defaced by my hand. In myfrenzy I should have laid violent hands upon myself, if I had not beenrestrained. Love may again rule my heart--beauty may again dazzle myeyes, but I shall never more feel the passion I entertained for my lostAmice--never more behold charms equal to hers."
And he pressed his hand to his face.
"The mistake you then committed should serve as a warning," said Auriol."What if it be poison you have now confected? Try a few drops of it onsome animal."
"No--no; it is the true elixir," replied Darcy. "Not a drop must bewasted. You will witness its effect anon. Like the snake, I shall castmy slough, and come forth younger than I was at twenty."
"Meantime, I beseech you to render me some assistance," groaned Auriol,"or, while you are preparing for immortality, I shall expire before youreyes."
"Be not afraid," replied Darcy; "you shall take no harm. I will care foryou presently; and I understand leechcraft so well, that I will answerfor your speedy and perfect recovery."
"Drink, then, to it!" cried Auriol.
"I know not what stays my hand," said the old man, raising the phial;"but now that immortality is in my reach, I dare not grasp it."
"Give me the potion, then," cried Auriol.
"Not for worlds," rejoined Darcy, hugging the phial to his breast. "No;I will be young again--rich--happy. I will go forth into the world--Iwill bask in the smiles of beauty--I will feast, revel, sing--life shallbe one perpetual round of enjoyment. Now for the trial--ha!" and, as heraised the potion towards his lips, a sudden pang shot across his heart."What is this?" he cried, staggering. "Can death assail me when I amjust about to enter upon perpetual life? Help me, good grandson! Placethe phial to my lips. Pour its contents down my throat--quick! quick!"
The Elixir of Long Life.]
"I am too weak to stir," groaned Auriol. "You have delayed it too long."
"Oh, heavens! we shall both perish," shrieked Darcy, vainly endeavouringto raise his palsied arm,--"perish with the blissful shore in view."
And he sank backwards, and would have fallen to the ground if he had notcaught at the terrestrial sphere for support.
"Help me--help me!" he screamed, fixing a glance of unutterable anguishon his relative.
"It is worth the struggle," cried Auriol. And, by a great effort, heraised himself, and staggered towards the old man.
"Saved--saved!" shrieked Darcy. "Pour it down my throat. An instant, andall will be well."
"Think you I have done this for you?" cried Auriol, snatching thepotion; "no--no."
And, supporting himself against the furnace, he placed the phial to hislips, and eagerly drained its contents.
The old man seemed paralysed by the action, but kept his eye fixed uponthe youth till he had drained the elixir to the last drop. He thenuttered a piercing cry, threw up his arms, and fell heavily backwards.
Dead--dead!
Flashes of light passed before Auriol's eyes, and strange noises smotehis ears. For a moment he was bewildered as with wine, and laughed andsang discordantly like a madman. Every object reeled and danced aroundhim. The glass vessels and jars clashed their brittle sides together,yet remained uninjured; the furnace breathed forth flames and mephiticvapours; the spiral worm of the alembic became red hot, and seemedfilled with molten lead; the pipe of the bolt-head ran blood; the sphereof the earth rolled along the floor, and rebounded from the wall as ifimpelled by a giant hand; the skeletons grinned and gibbered; so did thedeath's-head on the table; so did the skulls against the chimney; themonstrous sea-fish belched forth fire and smoke; the bald, decapitatedhead opened its eyes, and fixed them, with a stony glare, on the youngman; while the dead alchemist shook his hand menacingly at him.
Unable to bear these accumulated horrors, Auriol became, for a shortspace, insensible. On recovering, all was still. The lights within thelamp had expired; but the bright moonlight, streaming through thewindow, fell upon the rigid features of the unfortunate alchemist, andon the cabalistic characters of the open volume beside him.
Eager to test the effect of the elixir, Auriol put his hand to his side.All traces of the wound were gone; nor did he experience the slightestpain in any other part of his body. On the contrary, he seemed endowedwith preternatural strength. His breast dilated with rapture, and helonged to expand his joy in active motion.
Striding over the body of his aged relative, he threw open the window.As he did so, joyous peals burst from surrounding churches, announcingthe arrival of the new year.
While listening to this clamour, Auriol gazed at the populous andpicturesque city stretched out before him, and bathed in the moonlight.
"A hundred years hence," he thought, "and scarcely one soul of thethousands within those houses will be living, save myself. A hundredyears after that, and their children's children will be gone to thegrave. But I shall live on--shall live through all changes--allcustoms--all time. What revelations I shall then have to make, if Ishould dare to disclose them!"
As he ruminated thus, the skeleton hanging near him was swayed by thewind, and its bony fingers came in contact with his cheek. A dread ideawas suggested by the occurrence.
"There is one peril to be avoided," he thought; "ONE PERIL!--what is it?Pshaw! I will think no more of it. It may never arise. I will be gone.This place fevers me."
With this, he left the laboratory, and hastily descending the stairs, atthe foot of whi
ch he found Flapdragon, passed out of the house.
BOOK THE FIRST
_EBBA_
Auriol; or, The Elixir of Life Page 1