The Macabre Megapack
Page 38
“He enquired from what part of the mountains I had arrived—what I knew, and my objects in visiting the metropolis.
“I replied to his questions with humility and candor. I told how my youth had been spent, and how I had strayed into that wonderful city, nor did I conceal from him my friendlessness and the fears which weighed upon my heart.
“Pleased with my replies and interested in my forlorn situation, he invited me to follow him to his house; and promised me a refuge among his servants.
“I obeyed this benevolent old man, and followed him to his dwelling. It was a noble building, constructed of the richest materials and in a manner that showed the taste and opulence of the possessor. At the magnificent portal he committed me to the care of his steward, a person whose appearance was calculated to ensure esteem, and I was soon enrolled among the members of his household.
“Delighted to have found, so early, a patron so estimable, I strove to attract in my servitude, the notice of the steward, nor was I in this ineffectual. He saw my industry, he praised my intelligence, and my heart beat with happiness without pride.
“In the course of a short time after this fortunate overture, one of the principal servants of the establishment happened to die, and the steward, notwithstanding my youth, spoke to his venerable master in my behalf, and recommended me as a fit person to be the successor of the dead. I was accordingly promoted, and the increase of the cares of my trust made me more ardent in my desire to give satisfaction. Everything prospered with me; the steward exulted in having recommended me, our master was content with my efforts, and I was untired myself in my solicitude to merit attention.
“I had not been long in the enjoyment of this felicity when another vacancy occurred in the household by the death of a clerk who was employed in the land office of our master. It had been observed that, during the intervals of my particular vocation, I had engaged myself in arithmetical studies, which the good-natured steward had observed, and had told his master that I belonged to another class than the menial order to which I was consigned. The old man acknowledged that he had himself noticed me, and said, if the steward deemed me fit for the clerkship, he had his full consent to remove me into the office.
“This was an era in my existence: I was raised from servility to an honorable station, in which there was no limit to the elevation I might obtain; instead, therefore, of giving my leisure, like the other young men, to revelry and ease, I redoubled my industry. Every moment was precious, and every hour, when I might have been idle, was spent in the attainment of some new accomplishment. The steward deemed his duty well performed in facilitating my rise, and our master was pleased often to converse with me, and to show the preference which my assiduity had inspired. Thus, step by step, I was promoted in that household, and, perhaps, might have reached to great eminence; but it was thought my merits were so superior that my services should be devoted to the king: accordingly, one day our excellent master spoke to me on the subject, and enquired how I would like the service of the state. So great an honor I had never dreamt of; but I replied that, in whatever situation it should please heaven to place me, I would endeavor to do my duty, as the best means in my possession, to prove my gratitude to my friends.
“The old man was pleased with my answer, and procured me, in the course of the same day, employment with the ministers of the crown.
“In a few years my success surprised myself. I was not only promoted by the routine of accidents, but chosen for merit; and I rose in time to fill an office of important trust.
“In this situation, honored by the king and esteemed by his subjects, I gathered wealth and found myself in the ranks of those who wear the decorations of renown.
“At this juncture a great calamity overtook my old master—a fearful inundation ravaged his lands, his cattle perished in the deluge, and his vines, fig-trees and olives, were swept away. In the midst of this desolation I beheld the misery to which he was reduced; my heart yearned with the remembrance of his kindness, and I mourned to think that one who had been accustomed to such opulence should, in his old age, be so exposed to the stings of poverty. I called also to mind, with a softer sentiment, that he had an only child—a daughter who must share his distress; and the fortune I had made by this time was sufficient to mitigate the pangs of their unmerited loss.
“I went to him, and said that all I possessed he was welcome to, and, to prove the sincerity of my offer, I proposed to wed his daughter. He made no answer, but went into the apartment where she was sitting, and repeated what I had said; tears rushed into her eyes, and she came at once to me with outstretched hands, and became my wife.
“In the course of time the old man died, and she was the inheritrix of all his vast domains, which more propitious seasons began to renovate. With her I had many children, our daughters, good and fair, were selected for wives by the primates of the land; and our seven sons maintained the character which their father had earned with the public. All around was green and fertile; honors were at my acceptance; abundance poured her horn at my feet; and— But you awoke me at this moment.”
“Ah!” said the stranger, “yours, Driades, has been a common dream: youth is beguiled by many such fancies; after a long life, such as you have described, he awakes to his real condition, and finds that all which he deemed so bright and fair was but a vision.”
Excerpted from The Stolen Child.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Copyright Information
Introduction
THE SILENT MAN, by Henry Fothergill Chorley
THE STRANGE ORMONDS, by Leitch Ritchie
THE MYSTERIOUS WEDDING: A DANISH STORY, by Heinrich Steffans
THE BURIAL BY FIRE, by Louisa Medina Hamblin
THE VAMPYRE, by Elizabeth Ellet
THE SLEEPLESS WOMAN, by William Jerdan
A PEEP AT DEATH, by Peter von Geist
KILLCROP THE CHANGELING, by Richard Thompson
CARL BLUVEN AND THE STRANGE MARINER, by Henry David Inglis
THE PREDICTION, by George Henry Borrow
THE STORY OF THE UNFINISHED PICTURE, by Charles Hooten
EULE: THE EMPEROR’S DWARF, by John Rutter Chorley
THE GREEN HUNTSMAN, by Joseph Holt Ingraham
A REVELATION OF A PREVIOUS LIFE, by Nathaniel Parker Willis
MOODS OF THE MIND: THE OLD PORTRAIT, by Emma Embury
A NIGHT ON THE ENCHANTED MOUNTAIN, by Charles Fenno Hoffman
THE LIVING APPARITION, by G.P.R. James
THE THREE SOULS, by Alexander Chatrian and Emile Erckmann
THE DEATH WATCH, by Luise Muhlback
AN EVENING OF LUCY ASHTON’S, by Letitia Elizabeth Landon
THE HAUNTED HOMESTEAD, by Henry William Herbert
THE WITHERED MAN, by William Leete Stone
LA MALROCHE, by Louisa Stuart Costello
THE THREE VISITS, by Auguste Vitu
LIEUTENANT CASTENAC, by Erckman-Chatrian
TORTURE BY HOPE, by Villiers de L’isle-Adams
THE BLACK CUPID, by Lafcadio Hearn
THE BUNDLE OF LETTERS, by Moritz Jokai
NISSA, by Albert Delpit
THE DREAM, by John Galt