"Confined with the dregs of human kind, and ever in company with the basest of villains, his weak virtuous resolutions died away by degrees. He once more began to consider himself as the sport of injustice and barbarous cruelty; his belief in the Providence of the benevolent Ruler of the world soon gave way to atheistical principles, and his former desire for doing mischief returned with redoubled force, when he saw his sincere endeavours to become a useful member of human society were thwarted again in a most cruel manner. He began to think that he was doomed to be a villain, and being driven to despair by hard labour and frequent blows, he concerted plans of effecting his escape.
"One of his fellow-prisoners, a most consummate ruffian, joined with him in devising means of regaining their liberty; and after many fruitless efforts they at length effected their escape, assisted by an impenetrable fog which covered their flight. As soon as their escape was known in the fortress, the cannons were fired and the country roused. However, they happily eluded their pursuers, and reached, at the close of day, a wood, where they resolved to conceal themselves in the tops of the trees till the heat of the pursuit should have abated.
"In this uncomfortable situation they remained as long as their small stock of provisions lasted, consulting with each other by what means they could best procure an independent livelihood, and at last agreed to resort to the Haunted Castle in the Black Forest, and there to commence robbery. After many fatiguing rambles and alarming fears, they arrived at length at the wished-for asylum.
"Wolfe's inventive genius begot the scheme to render that desolate fabric more secure against the intrusion of unwelcome visitors, by raising an idea in the fancy of the neighbouring villagers of its being haunted by evil spirits. In order to accomplish their design, they set up a dreadful howling and doleful lamentations whenever they perceived some of the villagers near the environs of the castle. The gloomy appearance of that half-decayed fabric, aided by the superstition of the credulous peasantry, rendered their artful schemes successful, and in a short time none of the villagers dared to approach their lurking-place, from which they sallied out every night, disguised in the skin of goats, which they had stolen and fleeced, and committed numberless robberies in the village. Having procured a sufficient stock of money, Wolfe's associate was dispatched to a neighbouring town to procure fire-arms, powder, and ball, and then they began to prey on the unwary wanderer. To relate the numberless robberies they committed before they were joined by new associates would swell volumes. As their numbers augmented they became more daring, and extended their depredations many miles over the country, till after a series of thirty successful years their infernal society sustained a deadly blow by the nocturnal surprise which delivered them into the power of punishing justice. Wolfe has since confessed that they have a great number of hiding places besides the solitary castle, and that their gang consists of fifty-three ruffians, who are dispersed all over the country. The useful information he has given to his Judges has enabled them to secure a great number of innkeepers and publicans, who were leagued with that infernal set of ruffians, of whom six more have been taken up since you left me; however, their money, and the great booty they have hoarded up, has not been detected as yet, and is supposed to have been removed on the first alarm by the rest of the gang. Wolfe's life will be spared on account of his faithful confession, and the great assistance he has afforded his Judges in putting a final stop to the depredations which have been committed for a series of years in the environs of the Black Forest; he is to be committed for life to the house of correction, where he will have ample scope to reflect on his life past, and to prepare to meet that eternal Judge who sooner or later overtakes the wicked in his vile pursuits. Thus I have executed my task as well as it was in my power, and trust you will kindly overlook the defects of my narrative, and always believe me to be, with the greatest sincerity,
"Your affectionate friend,
"P----."
THE END
HORRID MYSTERIES
BY THE MARQUIS DE GROSSE
Editor's Note
Carl Friedrich August Grosse (1768-1847) was a German soldier, writer, translator and geologist. The son of a doctor, he received a medical education in the university city of Gottingen. Around 1788, he entered the military service of Spain incognito, styling himself "Marquis de Grosse, Count Vargas and Knight of the Order of Malta". In 1792, he enlisted in the Italian army, where he would serve until 1809. It was during this period that he wrote the bulk of his literary work, commenting that "it was done only as a bit of a diversion, to pass the time".
Horrid Mysteries was originally entitled The Genius; Excerpts from the Papers of Marquis C von G and was published in several installments between 1790 and 1794. Horrid Mysteries was the title given to the English edition of the text by translator Peter Will, which came out in 1796. The book was unusual in that it featured the Marquis of Grosse--i.e. the author--as the main hero, though the adventures described were entirely fictional. The plot revolves around a power struggle between European secret societies.
Though the book was fairly popular at the time, it fell by the wayside of literary history and was largely forgotten until interest was rekindled by scholars in the first half of 20th Century.
HORRID MYSTERIES
Contents
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
Extract from Elmira's Papers.
CHAPTER I
Extract from Elmira's Papers.
I awoke, at length, from that long swoon, and found myself stretched out in a coffin. Some more of the receptacles of the wrecks of mortality stood near me, and the odour of corruption was the first thing that affected my senses. The spacious and lofty vault was sparingly lighted by the faint glimmer of a single lamp, and was suspended to the ceiling. Its dying flame plainly told me where I was. What mortal can conceive a just idea of sensations produced by the first breaking from sleep under such circumstances; and who could be able to recall only a single sentiment of those that crowded on my mind, if he ever was so unfortunate to have experienced what I did? I did not know what I should do in that dreadful situation; whether I should call for assistance, or patiently await the event. The lamp was a certain proof that I was in a place not entirely deserted by human beings; and I felt no other painful sensation, but a great weakness, and relaxation of my bodily and mental faculties. Yet I was not suffered to remain long in a state of consultation with myself; the sound of different voices vibrating in my ears from a passage whose entrance the dying glimmer of the lamp enabled me to descry. I even could distinguish the expressions and the subject of their discourse. Some declaimed against Carlos's inhuman barbarity, and some censured me for my imprudence; but one person defended me finding it very natural that a weak, love-sick, and inexperienced girl should have been taken in by an artful and experienced villain. The talkers having carefully stopped a while at the entrance, came, at length nearer, and appeared in the vault, exhibiting a large procession of compassionate faces of either sex. Some carried torches, some phials and glasses, and some garments and linen. The light, that now illuminated my horrid residence, enabling me to look around, I beheld myself enfolded in a cloud, and different vessels standing by my side.
"Loud rejoicings re-echoed through the vault when my visitors saw me sitting in the coffin; and they ran towards me to complete my resuscitation, carrying me out of the damp cavern to a lofty apartment, where I was put into a well aired bed. Decency bade my deliverers to retire, and only two females staid with me, to assist me in changing my dress, while I gradually was re-animated with a pleasing warmth, and recovered the full power of recollection.
"When they saw that I had entirely recovered my faculties, they congratulated me on my preservation, praising God for having made them instrumental in my restoration to life.<
br />
"Thank God, Countess," one of them began, "that you have been resqued from the cruel hands of that barbarian, and are now in the company of more humane beings!"
"From what cruel hands?" I replied, with astonishment.
"From those of your pretended lover, the Marquis Carlos of G******."
"Be silent, vile reptile," I exclaimed, "and dare not to asperse the name of a man whom I adore!"
"Don't put yourself into a passion, my Lady," she replied coolly: "You will be of our opinion before many days are elapsed. We are members of a society whose sole business it is to make the sufferer forget his sorrows, and to restore the unhappy to happiness. Indeed, Countess, we flattered ourselves to deserve, at least, your gratitude."
"What could I have replied to the declaration of that woman in my situation? I was silent; and having taken a firm resolution to conceal all my ideas, I dissembled to rely implicitly on the candour of my pretended deliverers. It was but too evident in whose power I was; and what I had heard of that society on my wedding day forced itself with additional strength on my recollection. Though I could not unfold the real purport of that incident, yet it was sufficient to ascertain to me the truth of my suspicions. If, therefore, it was possible to extricate myself from their snares, no other expedient was left than to pay them in their own coin, and to attempt to outwit them by a dissimulation superior to theirs. I began, therefore, to pretend being more susceptible of the ideas which they endeavoured to instill into my mind, and returned gradually from my gloomy reveries. I was, indeed, partial to solitude; however, it appeared to them to be favourable to their secret designs upon me; and the more the result of my contemplations seemed to make me uneasy, the less mistrust against their secret endeavours to increase those distressing doubts did I display. I submitted, with an unaffected reluctance, more and more, to their attempts at diverting my mind, and to their exertions to restore me to happiness, as they pretended, and to return me to my family with an easier heart. A cheerful gaiety, which I kept in proper bounds, and strove to render as natural as possible, by an imposing varnish of truth, confirmed them in their belief of having gained upon my credulity; and I began to hope that I should find a favourable moment to give them the slip. I was not anxious to know the external circumstances of the confederates, thinking myself sufficiently happy if I could but escape their baneful breath.
"Mean time a number of fine ladies and gentlemen gathered around me. I was invited to accompany them on a nocturnal excursion to a neighbouring castle where I learnt, the next morning, that it was to be my future residence. The situation was, indeed, beautiful; the garden extensive and elegant; walking was, therefore, my chief occupation and amusement. Although I was never without company, or at least without such attendants as observed me from a distance, and the happy period of my elopement was probably not very near, yet I cheered myself up by numberless plans of accelerating it secretly.
"My keepers studied to amuse me by numberless little diversions. Rural feasts the charm of selected parties; beautiful, winning females, and young, amiable men, were to accomplish, with the smiling assistance of the graces, during a constant round of pleasures, what had been devised and begun under circumstances of the most serious and awful complexion. Every one breathed a general and delicate desire of pleasing me, and of anticipating my wishes before they had time to ripen to maturity; and I cannot but confess, that they several times accomplished their designs as perfectly as they could wish. I returned involuntarily their kindness, as if enchanted. They succeeded to make me more unreserved; and if not the few hours, in which I was not in their company, had weakened the impressions of the rest, I should scarcely have been able to avoid an intoxication which would have ruined me for ever.
"Amongst the young men by whom I was surrounded, one distinguished himself particularly. He was of a most beautiful form, animated with a very dangerous fire, of polished manners, and an insinuating disposition, which rendered him pliable to all my wishes. He seemed to claim my favour in a more particular manner than the rest, depended entirely upon my looks, and was happy or unhappy as my humour changed. Never have the wiles of the most cunning seduction been applied in a more artful manner; all circumstances were in his favour: whatever the rest of the company said, supported and advanced his superiority; and being, in the sequel, convinced of the purity of his passion, by his indefatigable exertions to please me I could not have avoided being caught in the snare at last, if not a trifling accident had rectified my opinion of him, and restored me to myself and to my plans.
"He had a little French dog; and I grew so foolishly fond of the animal, that I frequently hinted to him, it would give me the greatest pleasure if he would make me a present of it; yet he seemed not to be inclined to part with his little favourite. At length he promised me, one afternoon, to let me have it in the evening. I was walking sometime before the assembly hour in the boscage, and passing the entrance of a bower, saw him in it, seated on a bench, and occupied with his favourite, and concealed myself behind a thick hazel bush. He tied a ribband round the neck of his little darling, and having finished the talk, he could not refrain from kissing him, and uttering the words, "Poor Thonon! we must part: however, thou wilt always be dearer to me than what thou art to purchase for me,"
"These words wounded my heart like a dagger; and my whole situation lay, at once, undisguised before my eyes. I was ready to faint; and could scarcely refrain from rushing forth, and letting him see an Elmira entirely different from that he had known till then. Yet rage and pain fortunately stifled my tears and sighs, and I arrived at my apartment without being seen by him.
"As soon as I had recovered my recollection, I saw plainly how necessary it was not to give up the part I had begun to act. I prevailed upon myself, after a hard struggle, to assume again the semblance of cheerfulness, and an air of tranquil resignation. The dog was presented to me, and received with an imposing pleasure: the donor expected and demanded at length, a reward for the sacrifice he had made to me; but being cautioned by what I had overheard, I found it pretty easy to evade his violent caresses and tender menaces.
"Thus some weeks more elapsed and I could still not find out proper means of effecting my escape. The danger of a longer stay grew every day more pressing. I knew, however, neither the district in which the castle was situated, nor the neighbourhood, and was carefully guarded. At length I attempted, with a very small probability of success, what I, perhaps, under more favourable circumstances, never had dared to risk. At a feast, which was given on my account, and on which all eyes were directed at me, I got suddenly from my throne, on which I was to receive an approaching procession, upon a walnut tree, and fortunately concealed myself between the thick branches till night promised to favour my flight!
I descended from my asylum as soon as it was dark. A foot-path led me to a neighbouring village; and the darkness of night protected me on my retreat. Being animated with a more than common courage, I ventured to enter a cottage, exchanged my garments for a rural dress, dyed my face, and begged my way through the provinces of Spain and France to this peaceful spot. I loft, indeed, on my journey, a part of the jewels with which they had decorated me; yet I saved a sufficient quantity to purchase this little solitude, and to commence a little farm, , which promised to afford me a frugal support for the remainder of my life?"
CHAPTER II
"The above chapter, dearest Count, is a faithful, but brief, extract from that part of Elmira's history of which I was ignorant till then. You see how singular the turn of her and of my fate was directed by a higher Power. If ever I had been capable to doubt that Providence guides the fate of man, the reflections which her account produced, would certainly have convinced me of the eternal truth, that a benevolent Being watches over our life and happiness, and produces light out of darkness.
"Give me now leave to inform you of the remainder of my adventures, which I shall be able to conclude in a few words. Clara was in love with the son of a neighbouring farmer; but bein
g poor, and the father of her lover a rich man, the latter would not consent to a union between his son and her. Being averse to fell or to abalienate any thing my fainted Elmira had possessed, I gave her the considerable produce of my little estate as a dowry, saw the young couple married, and went through Swisserland and Germany to G******, where I had the happiness to make your acquaintance.
"You know my history from that day: suffice it, therefore, to tell you briefly, that while you was fighting the battles of your country against Great Britain, I went to B******, to commence a private, but, nevertheless, not inactive life, and to enjoy those pleasures I was accustomed to. I shall not tire your patience with an account of the little adventures, and the unimportant events, of that period in which I was constantly surrounded by members of secret societies, and enthusiasts of all forts, got possession of their secrets, and observed that they were far inferior to what I already knew, or that they were partly connected with the confederacy in Spain,"
I shall here, at last, take up again the thread of those events I have mentioned in the middle of my adventures, which I have wrote down for the Count. The reader will recollect that a man (James) settled in our neighbourhood, who, as I apprehended was nearly connected with me. His appearance threatened me with new misfortunes; and he seemed to intend opening a new way of influence on me through the heart of the Count. However, that ominous apparition passed quickly over. He had, indeed, purchased a country seat in the neighbourhood; but disappeared after a few days. I was told that he was going to B****** on matrimonial affairs, and my apprehensions vanished. That incident left, however, some impression on my mind; and many plans, particularly that of returning to my native country, were thereby obliterated from my soul. I comprehended many a mysterious phenomenon more clearly, and could, in some degree, account for Amanuel's apparitions, the frequent repetition of which now appeared to me to be a great imprudence of the unknown confederates. They probably intended to frighten me, by letting me see that I was surrounded every where by their secret agents: however, the mystic appearance of Amanuel's' presence, which had affected my senses so powerfully, loft its awfulness entirely through that oversight. I was no stranger to the artifices wrought through natural magic; and also not ignorant what a powerful influence a heated, overflowing, and transported imagination produces on our senses. The whole now appeared to me a mere scare-crow for children. The mystic farce was continued too long, and afterwards betrayed the whole confederacy. The mysterious veil was removed from that memorable moment, and my imagination being rectified by cool reflection, the miserable artifices of the confederates rather filled me with contempt than with awe. James's apparition in my neighbourhood opened my eyes; and my mind, being now liberated from the thraldom of a deluded imagination, firmly begins a new decided career.
The Complete Northanger Horrid Novel Collection (9 Books of Gothic Romance and Horror) Page 137