· dows all askew, like the eyes of old Fél icien the portz ' er at the Cheval Blane, one bulging out and the other sinking back in its socket, and its huge nail studded door set

M I CH EL G ! L PE

BY

EVERIT BOGERT TERH ! NE

ILL ! STRAT I ONS BY

SIDNEY MARSH CH ASE

G. W . DILLINGH AM COMPANYP ! BLISH ERS NEW YOR!

L IST OF ILL! STRATIONS

H E APPEARED PERFECTLY WILLING TO E ! PRESS H l s

V IEWS

STOOD STRAINING H l s EYES WITH m 3 AND FASCINATEDGA! E

Sm: LOO! ED ! ! ITE TH E SAME AS SH E H AD ON TH E DAY

TH AT I DIED

TH E GH ASTLY Wmm FACE OF MICH AEL G! LPE WASSTARI NG AT ME

2 13 31$37

Miche l G u lpe

PART ONE

OW I happened

to engage l o dg

ing with Madame

Valj ean I do not

know .

Perchance i t was on accoun t

of the fascinating View of the

little provincial town Which the

house,si tuated at the head of

the s teep,narrow s tree t leading

through the Village to the

chateau,afforded ! or the curi

ou s o ld house,with its high

pitched roof,i ts two front win

9

dows al l askew , l ike the eyes of

old Fél icien the port z'

er at the

Cheval Blane,one bulging ou t

and the other sinking back in

its socket,and i ts huge nail

s tudded door set half-way be

tween the enormous beams

Whose ends were carved W ith

such gro tesque figu res and

faces ! or it may have been on

account of the kind l y red face

of Madame Valj ean herself,as

she stood by my side pu fli ngl ike the Paris-Calais express

from the exertion of escorting

me up the narrow,dingy s tairs to

the little room under the roof

An ancient four-poster bed

with a fl u ted valance and ou r

tains of a sombre plum-colored

stuff s tood over again st the wal l

be tween the two dormer win

dows . A cedar ches t, an old

bu t respectable arm -chair W ith

a faded covering,and an em aci

ated,three- legged table occupied

the res t of the room . On the

wall hung an imposing portrai t

of the late Monsieur V alj ean

en cost u m e a’e m u scaa

’z

’

n .

That Which interested me

most,however

,was the View

from the large dormer window

A t the foot of the s teep high

way lay the l ittle town with its

thread- l ike,tortuous s treets

,and

its gray cathedral,under the

sombre shadow of which nestled

a clus ter of houses of the most

diverse s tyles of architecture

Squatty roofs and high-pitched

roofs,windows of every shape

and size,red tiles and b lack

tiles,chimneys and tu rrets of

all degrees of ugliness,weather

worn timbers of nondescrip t

hue,all were there in exquisite

variety and disorder. Over

towards the chateau were two

little s teeples,that seemed to

be pointing at the heaven—kissing

cathedral in pert derision , in

qu ite the same way as the

baker’ s boy m igh t poin t at

Monsieur l o Curé Ambroise as

he passed by on his way to

early morn ing m ass .

The View taken in part or as

a whole would have sen t a thril l

of ecs tacy through the soul of

an antiquarian or an artis t. I

was neither the one nor the

o ther,but I have a decided

afiec tio n for old things and

peculiar,and the atmosphere of

ages agone that hung over the

l ittle provincial town was quite

to my liking. I p ictured to

I 3

myself many a happy hour spent

in rambling among these old

buildings,hundreds of years old

,

many of them , no t to men tion

the del ightful compan ion ship of

the quaint characters that go to

make up the household of a

town such as one finds only in

provincial dis tricts of the old

world .

“And will monsieur engage

the room P asked Madame Val

j ean,regarding me anxiou sly

with her l ittle b lack eyes .

For answer I drew out my

wallet and placed a gold coin

in her fat palm

“ And when Madame has

need of more,said I

,sm iling

“ she mus t no t be afraid to ask

for it.”

Then Madame bu stled around

the room to make ready for her

new pem iannaz’

re,and I walked

back to the Cheval Blane to

pack together my belongings

and bribe Felicien to carry

them to my new l ittle room

under the roof.

The days that followed were'inspiriting ones fo r me . From

morning til l night I prowled

abou t the old town making

friends with

I S

The butcher,the baker

,

The candle- s tick maker,

and popp ing upon the mys teries

of the l ittle back s tree ts which,

tortuou s and villainou sly uneven,

were s tudded with maliciou s

l ittle sharp s tones that brough t

to m l nd the imp lemen ts of tor

ture so vividly dep icted in a

highly-co lored prin t that hung

up in the rear of Mere S u ard ’

s

dingy pastry shop . I patron ized

all the shabby old inn s which

seemed to glare at one ano ther

with open disapproval o r con

tem pt u o u s satisfaction according

as a patron en tered one or the

16

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

his game leg, would have

sh u ffled three miles to a fun

eral if he could bu t ge t ou t of

range of Mére Gaultier ’ s wag

ging tongue,would be sitting

on the right end of the lower

s tep of the inn,smoking his

briar pipe. Phillipe Gahn,the

butcher,would be promenading

with his awe- inspiring paunch

up and down the gritty walk,

res tlessly awaiting the arrival of

f

some special roas ts from the

city. And Monsieur l e cure

Ambroise would be there,ask

ing the men about the Vin tage,

inquiring after the heal th of

18

Madame Lau rien,

and con

gratulating PEre Gaultier on

his good health.

Then the crack of a whip

would be heard far up the

Rue Royale,and old Felicien

would drag h imself ou t o f

the Cheval Blanc and s tand

on the s tone block in fron t

of the walk,his head high in

air,his arms akimbo

,and his

rus ty chest inflated with impor

tance,ready to catch the mail

bag as the di l igence lumbered

up in fron t of where he s tood .

The greasy windows of the

old tavern would be fi l l ed with

I 9

faces of chambermaids,cooks

and scullions peering through

to see if there were a new

gues t and what he might look

like .

I found a great deal that

was interesting in the grave

old cathedral . The world- s im

ple villagers regarded with awe

this massive creation of human

hands,and reveren tly crossed

themselves as they passed

within sight of the big,cold

windows of the clears tory that

frowned unsympathetically on

the passer-by, irrespective of his

age, sex , or condition . And the

grotesquely-carved g a r go y l e s

that clung to the cathedral l ikeparasites

,and grinned derisively

at the great,sombre body to

which they we re fas tened,were

a source of much annoyance to

little Jean Gaul tier,who found

them jus t a trifle too high for

his disas ter- spreading proj ectiles

A t early mass the Villagers

would s tring in to the cheerless

nave of the cathedral,kneel on

the damp flags,and pray in

silence to the beloved Mary

behind the choir,over which

sparkled a little circular window

fi l l ed with curious ornamen tal

tracery. Madame de Lau rien

would be conspicuous in front

of the reveren t multitude,as

near the choir as she could get.

A very religious woman was

Madame de Lau rien ,especially

when she wore her tattooed silk

dress,green scarf

,and peacock

bonnet,which Monsieur l e doc

te u r de Lau rien had brought

her from Paris . Not far from

her would be the massy frame

of Madame Gahn,who was

obliged to remain kneeling after

her matin devotions until the

beadle could assis t her to her

feet. And Mére Gaultier would

be there,too

,kneeling near the

door,where she could keep one

eye on Monsieur l e cure Am

bro ise and the other on her

young hopeful,Jean

,whose

only aspirations were to escape

through the door into the open

air and,find ing that impossible ,

to blow a spit-ball as far as the

bald spot on old Fél ic ien’

s

bared head .

One morning,as I was kneel

ing unobserved beside a column

in the cathedral,I overheard

young Jean Gaultier,who was

on the other side,se tting his

wits to work with Sulpice Tau

2 3

bert,the baker ’ s boy

,to make

merry with one Gulpe Michel

Gulpe,I thought they said

agains t whom they evidently

bore some grudge.“You carry the box round

there to-night,whispered Jean

to Sulpice,

“ and I ’ l l arrange

the res t of the things .

Bu t what if he should catch

me ? replied Sulpice in a trem

u l o u s voice,“ he might change

me into a rat.“More l ikely he ’d change

you into a chicken ! ” replied

Jean,scornfully.

But old Felicien says Michel

24


when of a sudden a fearfu l blas t

shook the cathedral from end

to end. Madame de Lau rien

seized her bonne t ! Madame

Gahn nearly los t her balance as

she j erked her head around !Mére Gaultier forgo t al l abou t

the Cureand J ean . Everybody

looked round in fear and trem

b ling everybody except o ld

Felicien,for one of his re

nowned n a s a l outburs ts had

been the cause of al l the dis turb

ance . Bu t i t was a frightfu l

b l a s t,nevertheless

,and I

glanced round j us t in time to

see Jean and Sulpice disappear

2 6

ing through the door of the

cathedral as if they had seen a

score of Michel G u l pe’

s red

devils wi th blue tips to their

tails . Needless to say,Jean

was the fi rs t ou t. Whatever be

came of their plo t agains t

Michel Gulpe,I do not know.

“Where is Michel G u l pe’

s

shop ?” I asked of Felicien,as

we were walking back towards

the Cheval Blanc,after mass .

The old port z'

er could no t

have stared at me with greater

surprise had I asked him for the

loan of a [0111's a”

ar.

“ You ’ l l find h i m a t h i s

2 7

day t igu e n’a taéac

,Rue Martel

,

said he,edging away from me

as if I,too

,had been possessed

of devils .

I walked down t h e R u e

Royale to the Rue de la Plaine

and then picked my way through

to the Rue Martel,a funny old

street,as narrow and dingy as a

s treet could be . Not far from

the corner I saw a big pipe

hanging up over a rickety old

door,on which was painted

M I CH EL G ! LPE

BO ! T I ! ! E DE TABAc .

I pushed open the door and

walked in . Michel Gulpe I

2 8

knew it must be he—was standing behind a well-worn counter

reading a book by light of the

few straggling rays that oozed

in through the dirty window

panes

An odd looking man was he,

tall and angular,with shaggy

gray hair,eyes black and beady

,

a complexion swarthy,and a

careworn expression on his face

marking him as a man who

had either suffered much o r

had applied himself too assidu

o u sl y to some cherished pur

suit. On his head was a little

black cap .

2 9

To the gullib le minds o f Jean

and Sulpice , or to the super

stitio u s folk of t h e Village

Michel Gulpe might easily have

passed as an uncanny, u nnat u

ral creature ! but to the sober

mind he was merely an eccen tric

man,and perhaps a trifle u m

hinged .

I asked for some tobacco,and

while Michel was weighing it,

'

I glanced at the book which he

had been reading,and which

was lying on the counter. I t

was a philosoph ical treatise of

some distinction . I was sur

prised to see such a work thumb

30

worn by a petty tobaccon ist in

the Rue Martel .

I see that you are a phi l o so

pher , Monsieur Gulpe, said I

pointing to the book .

“ Not exactly a philosopher,

Monsieur,he replied

,handing

me my package of tobacco,

but a lover of philosophy and

the sciences . And you ?”

“ Merely a dabbler in such

things,said I .

I t ’ s far better to be a good

dabbler than a poor phi l o so

pher,he replied

,shrugging his

shoulders . “ Most of the peo

3 1

ple hereabou t are mighty poor

philosophers .

I was soon aware that Michel

Gulpe was a man of deep learn

ing,bu t I also perceived that he

was decidedly uncommunicative

when it came to talking abou t

himself. H e appeared perfectly

will ing to express his Views on

any scien tific or doctrinal sub

j cet and presen ted his Views in

an interes ting and convincing

way. Yet he would avoid any

question that might be of a

personal nature . This evasive

air o f h is served only to augmen t

my thirs t for knowledge,how

3 2


PART TWO

PART Two

ICH EL G ! LPE !

exclaimed M a

d am e Valj ean ,sweeping a w a y

the crumbs with

her general-u til ity apron . You

haven ’ t been was ting your time

with that shatterpated o ld fool

have you,monsieur ?

“Why,yes . I replied .

“ I

happened in to his shop this

37

morning to buy some tobacco

and we got talking together“ But

,monsieur

,exclaimed

Madame,wiping the beads of

perspiration from her glowing

face with her apron,“ don ’ t you

know that Michel Gulpe is

is crazy and bewitched P“ Crazy a n d bewitched !

echoed I,looking up in appar

ent surprise from the tarte which

she had placed on the table be

fore me,

“Why,Madame

,you

are j udging Michel harshly. I

certainly shouldn ’ t call him

crazy.

“ But he is crazy. said

38

Madame,emphatically

,drying a

large platter on her apron,

“ Everyone hereabou t will tell

you so . Why, he even thinks

that when we die we change

into animals ! There ’ s Mai tre

Richepin ,for ins tance . H e is

a large man . you know,and has

to eat more than mo s t people

to keep the breath within his

body. N ow,M iche l Gulpe says

that Mai tre Richepin is going

to turn in to a p ig when he

dies . You may depend u pon

it that Mai tre Richepin never

patronizes Michel Gulpe for

tobacco . Then there ’ s old

39

Mére Gaultier. She is some

what of a scold,to be sure ! but

who wouldn ’ t be to have an old

soft—spo t like M ichel Gulpe tel leverybody that she is go ing to

c h a n g e in to a porcup ine ?

Philippe Gahn , the bu tcher,

will change into a poodle

and Philippe Gahn is as good

a man as ever made sausages !

If ever a man was loony,mon

sieur,i t ’ s that Michel Gulpe .

And Madame Valj ean gave

Ven t to her emotions by sud

den l y pouncing upon a coup le

of inogensive fl ies with her

apron .

4o


walked unconcernedly ou t of

the garden and s tarted down

the Rue Royale. As I glanced

back,however

,I saw Madame

Valj ean runn ing across to Ma

dame Picard , her neares t neigh

bor,probably to inform her that

mons ieur,the new lodger

,was

al l the time in secret com

mun ion with M ichel Gulpe.

H e who nods a t the Devil i s

no be tter than the Devil him

4 2

PART THREE

PART TH REE

NE n igh t,about

a month after I

had made the

acquaintance of

Michel Gulpe,I

was s itting alone in my little

room under the roof,smok ing

and dream ing upon fair days

long gone by, when a fitfu l

gust of wind swooped around a

corner of the roof and cas t an

47

army of rain-drops against my

dormer window with such an

unexpected clatter that I held

my breath for a momen t expect

ing to see a horde of night

creatures rush in upon me. I

looked at my watch . I t was

nearly eleven o ’ clock . Not a

sound could I hear s ave the

mournfu l blending of the wind

and rain ou tside,and I knew

that most o f the Villagers were

a t res t for the n ight.

Soli tude i s all very well when

the wheels of one ’ s fancy are

rapidly a t p lay,and when one

can remain oblivious of the

48

presen t conditions under wh ich

one exis ts . But when there

comes a rude awakening,such

as is destined to come sooner

or later,then the solitude ers t

while so pleasan t assumes enor

mous proportions and the feel

ing of oppression that fo llows is

as unpleasan t as the previou s

sensation was pleasant.

I laid down my p ipe and

walked over to the window.

The boards creaked dismally

u nder my fee t as I s tepped , and

I wondered what Madame Val

j ean would think I was do ing

ou t of bed at this unearthly

49

time o f n ight. She would prob

ably think that,inasmuch as I

had was ted so much of my time

of late with M ichel Gulpe ! I

was now u p to some sort of a

deal with the Devil himself.

I peered ou t of the window

in to the darkness . I t was a

good n ight to be within doors,

I assured myself. The w ind

was b lowing heavily from the

sea and was dashing the rain in

sharp,slan ting sheets . A t the

foo t of the hil l I could barely

discern the dim ou tl ine of the

l i ttle Vil lage crouching,as if

for pro tection from the raging

50


time it was more dis tinct, com

ing direct from where I had

located the shop .

Then a sudden inspiration

seized me . I would satisfy my

curiosity as to whence that light

came. After equ ipp ing myself

with high boots,great coat

,and

drooping hat,I sn u fl

'

ed my

candle and began a perilous

descent. Down the s teep,nar

row s tairs that led directly by

Madame V aljean’

s room,I fel t

my way,hold ing my breath the

while,les t even that should in

tensify the frightful groan that

each step u ttered as my foo t

5 2

pressed agains t it. I expected

at any ins tan t to be brought

to a s tandstill by Madame ’ s

challenge . I arrived a t the

bottom in safety,however

,and

heaved a sigh of relief as the

great door closed behind me,

leaving me free in the open

air. But I am quite sure that

I saw Madame ’ s white nigh t

cap pressed against the window

pane until I reached the foo t

of the Rue Royale.

I t was no easy task finding

the Rue Martel,with the wind

and the rain blending their

forces to bring me to grief,

53

the wind lashing me and the

rain cu tting my face ! but I

pushed bravely ahead and at

las t found myself in fron t of

Michel Culpe ’ s éou t z’

gu e a’e taéac.

A thin s treak of light leaked

through a crack of the door

that led from the front shop

to the room in the rear. I n

that room was the light that

had caught my eye from the

top of the Rue Royale.

I did not inform Michel

immediately of my presence.

That would have been a

thoughtless move,in truth . I

would fi rs t reconno i tre, and

54

then j udge as to the feasibili ty

of approaching or withdrawing.

By the side of the éau t z'

gu e d’e

méac, and leading through to

the Rue d u Nord,was a nar

row,tortuous l i ttle alley

,tha t

was seldom,if ever

,used excep t

by the smal l boys of the Village,

to whose m inds the advan tages

of a short-cu t were many. I

knew,from certain guarded re

marks that I had by chance

overheard,that a window

opened direct upon this al ley

from Michel G u l pe’

s es tab lish

ment. I also knew that there

was no s ide window in the

55

front shop . I n al l probability,

therefore,the window above re

ferred to mus t lead from the

room in the rear of the shop .

I t was with the greates t d ifli

culty tha t I squeezed myself

through this narrow passage-way

and reached the window. The

two bulging,wooden buildings

be tween which I s tood,were

so closely pressed together as

to aH'

ord me an exceedingly

comfortable shel ter from the

s w i r l i n g,b lustering s t o r m .

The base of the window was

somewhat above my head,but

as I groped around in the dark

56

ness my foot kicked again st

something hard tha t proved to

be a large block of s tone

placed almos t directly in fron t

of the window. I s u spect that

Jean and Sulp ice knew more

abou t the his tory of that s tone

than anyone else in the Village.

Luckily,the curtains were not

drawn closely together and an

opening, su ffic ient l y wide for

me to see al l that was going

on within the room,was left.

I s tood breathless fo r a

moment,fascinated by what my

eyes b e h e l d . I t seemed as

though I had been suddenly

57

transported to the gloomy cel l

of Doctor Faus tus,which I had

once seen portrayed in an e tch

ing by Rembrandt,I believe .

The room w a s s o m e w h a t

smaller than the fron t shop,

and was dimly l ighted by a

fan tastically-wrought m e t a l

lamp,that hung on a chain

suspended from the ceiling.

The half- s tarved tongue of

flame sputtered incessantly as if

to glean more nourishmen t

from its barren surroundings,

and cas t a dismal ray over the

sanctum . On a shelf near the

door rested a row of books

5 8


with grinning sku ll,hung the

framework of a human being.

And over all this sepulchral

litter there lay,in fitt ing grace,

a grotesquely fringed winding

shee t of dust and cobwebs .

And ye t the sanctum was

not devo id of life. A man sat

in an armchair bending over

t h e tab le. I t was M ichel

Gulpe. His face was ben t so

low that I could not discern

the features,bu t I easily recog

n iz ed the l ittle black cap and

the massive shoulders of the

man . In his hand was a pestle

with which he was grinding

60

to a powder some substance

contained in the mortar that

stood on the table before him .

As I s tared at him with be

wildered eyes , he raised his

head . H e was facing the ligh t

and the rays of the dancing

flame cast an unnatural glow

over his s trangely cadaverous

coun tenance. H e con tinued

his work with the pes tle al l

the while his gaze roamed res t

lessly around h i s r e t r e a t.

From time to time he would

return his piercing black eyes

to the subs tance in the mortar.

I could even see his hand

6 1

tremble when he raised his

pes tle in order to j udge of the

progress of his labor. Once he

arose,crossed the room and

seated himself in a despai ri ng

attitude on a couch that s tood

beneath the shelf of rus ty

books . H e passed his hand

across his brow,as if to cas t

aside some shadow of a doubt

that impeded the continuance

of his task . But he was on

his feet again in an instant,

and return ing to the table

emptied the contents of a smal l

Vial into the mortar and began

working his mixture with re

newed energy.

6 2

Finally he p laced a smal l

amount of the compound in a

long glas s tube,l ighted a candle

that s tood before him,and

placed the end of the tube in

its flame . The next instan t he

let fall the tube to the floor,

dropped his clenched fists on

the table,and stood strain ing

his eyes,with wild and fasci

nated gaze , at something that

seemed to be rising before his

face . A t first I could no t

perceive what this something

was . But the almost maniacal

expression of ecs tacy that over

spread Michel ’ s coun tenance

6 3

was so hypno tic in its intensi ty

that I fel t my head drawn

nearer the pane and my eyes

nearly straining fr o m the ir

sockets in a strenuous attempt

to fathom the mystery. A t last

I could dis tinguish the some

thing on which his gaze was

riveted . A fain t curl of vapor

had flo ated forth from the

heated conten ts of the tube

and was ascending slowly and

gracefully towards the ceiling.

His eyes followed this softly

undulating wreath as the eyes

of a serpent follow a frog,or

the eyes of a cat,a bird.

64


l ength upon the cold,soggy

earth . Then al l was s til l save

the clattering of wooden sabots

down the Rue Martel,! and a

shrill,tremulous voice which I

immediately recognized as be

longing to Sulpice Tau bert,

the bakef s boy.

“ Run Jean,run like the

d e v i l ! h e yelled .“ O l d

G u l pe’

s loose again and has

changed in to a black elephant !

I was not particularly de

lighted with my unexpected

spill,nor was I at all flattered

a t b e i n g labeled a black

elephant bu t when I realized

66

that it was Sulpice Taubert

who had upset me,and no t one

of Michel G u l pe’

s red devils,I

quickly recovered from m y

sudden dismay and chuckled

lustily a t the disas trous and

ignominious final e that had

come to the midnight con

spiracy of the two young

rascals .

As I sought to regain my

fee t the curtains above my

head were cas t wide apart and

the window was thrown open

with a crash .

“Aha ! you young sco u n

dre l s l roared the deep vo ice of

67

Michel Gulpe,

“ I’

ve a mind

to change you all in to chicken s

and wring your necks !“ Mercy

,M o n s e i g n e u r

,

m e r c y ! cried I,gropin g

around in the dark for my

hat that had disappeared in

the collision .

You there,monsieur ! he

exclaimed,thr u s ting h is body

half-way through the window

in his astonishment. “ I swear

by the bel ly of the Pope I

thought i t was some of those

young devils of the Village .“N o t a young devil

,I

68

replied,gu il tily, bu t a full

grown devil .“ And what are you doing

here at this time o f night,

pray ? he asked .

I I was merely passing

by your shop , monsieur,” I

replied,s tammering in my

em barrasm ent , when I heard

those little rascals prowling

around your window,and in

attempting to drive them away

I I sl ipped and fell .”

A wild gust of wind swooped

through the little alley,and

cas t a bucketfu l of raindrops

in M ichel G u l pe’

s face. Has tily

69

withdrawing h is gaun t figu re

wi thin the window,he ex

claimed“This i s no n igh t for a

gen tleman to be ou t of doors .

Come inside and ge t dry.

Besides,I wan t to have a talk

with you .

With that he slammed to

the window,and wen t through

the shop to open the door for

me. Mechanically I p icked

my way ou t of the alley and

entered the littl e éou t z’

gu e d’e

m éac. I was undecided as to

whe ther I should brazen the

affair ou t or cas t myself at

70

his fee t and cry,

‘ Peccav z'

,

dom z'

ne, pecm v i /

“ Le t u s en ter the rear

room,

” said he,leading the

way. I t ’ s warmer there and

the wind and rain do no t beat

so drearily agains t the window.

We en tered the room the

one where I had witnessed such

an unu sual spectacle bu t a few

momen ts before . A t M ichel ’ s

bidding I removed my heavy

o u ter clo thes, and seated myself

on a long,low d ivan tha t res ted

in fron t of the window through

which I had peered . No t a

word did I u tter all this while.

71

The emo tions that held me

slave were of the kind tha t

come in dreams .“ Drink

,said he

,fi l l ing a

glass from a small bo ttle which

he had taken from a shelf,and

passing i t to me.

This,thought I

,“ i sMichel

G u l pe’

s revenge. I am abou t

to be changed into a chicken

and have my neck wrung.

”

But I drank . nevertheless , and

as the fiery l iquor flowed down

my throat,and coursed through

my shivering body , and I fel t

no p in-feathers sprouting upon

my person,I knew that my


are cu rious to know al l about

m e a n d m y w o r k eh,

monsieur ?

Yes,I replied

,exceedingly

abashed at the suddenness of

the question .

“ Eé 65m,said he , pu ffing

leisurely at his long clay p ipe,

I’

m going to tell you then .

I pinched myse lf to see if I

was really awake.

F irs t of all,said he

,trans

fix ing me wi th his p iercing

black eyes,“ what I am abou t

to tel l you mus t be kept in

s trict secrecy eh ?

I n s trict secrecy,said I ,

74

regarding with curious eyes thestrange p lay of h is featuresunder the fl ickering rays of themetal lamp .

For,con tinued he, W i thou t

removing h is eyes from me,

I’

m no t as ye t ready to showthe brain less fools of this villagethat I am no t quite the crazyold Michel they take me for.

I ’ l l never men tion a wordabou t to-n ight

,

” said I, em phat

ical l y, mean ing what I said, forI had reason s of my own forremaining mu te .

“ I believe what you saymonsieur

,

” said he , for I know

75

you to be a man of honor.E/z Men ! I n the first p lace youmu s t know that only now am I

on the poin t of accompl ishingthat for which I have been striV

ing for more than thirty yearsfor longer than you have

l ived,monsieur. Every night

in al l that time have I workedin this l ittle shop

,trying to solve

the one great mystery of life,

and every nigh t has seen me inexu l tation or in despair. A t

times i t would seem as thoughmy success were certain ! thenagain my task would seem hopeless

,and the vast

,uncertain

76

fu ture wou ld deepen its hu ebefore my s train ing eyes . Bu tat last

,monsieur

,have I made

a discovery that will change al ll ife. The powder wh ich yousee in that mortar is to bemixed with certain liqu ids , andthe fumes ari s i ng from theresul ting mixture will revo lu tionize the world of thought andscience.

In what way,you ask ?

My inves tigations have taugh tme many things

,monsieur. I

have learned tha t the humanbeing possesses an outer and aninner soul

,or an imperishable

77

and a perishable sou l . The imperishable soul is of divine origin ,and i s transm igratory

,being des

tined to fu l fi l a pro longed andvaried cycle of exis tence beforei t reun ites wi th the divine naturewhence i t came. This outersoul is imma terial , and is distinct from the body. The inneror perishab le soul is also immaterial , bu t is in separably un itedwith the body. I t consis ts o f

the three cons tituen ts , I n tel lect,Emotion and Will . When thebody dies this inner sou l dieswith it

,and bo th retu rn to the

dus t of the earth . The outer

78

soul,however

,en ters space

where i t remains until rehab i l i

tated in a new and animate formWhen it en ters i ts new abode i tis absolu tely devoid of the mental energy included in the innersoul . This energy is cul tivatedduring the progress of developmen t in the new form .

Now,monsieur

,al l the per

pl ex i ties of science, religion andlife are involved in the great u ncertainty that everywhere prevails concern ing the transmigration of the soul . I knew thatto solve the mys tery of m ysteries I mus t first prove the tru th

79

of me tempsychosis. I s p e n tyears of the most s trenuou s labor in that task . I delved in toevery branch of learn ing

,I ex

hau sted the knowledge of o thers,

I man ipu lated in every conceiv

able way the practical and thetheore tical . And al l to whatpurpose

I learned that the In tellect,

or thinking portion of our mental constitu tion

,was entirely sep

arate from the emotional or energe tic portions . I also learnedthat the soul

,al though imma

terial,is nevertheles s susceptible

to impressions . And now,mon

80


say,monsieur ? Do you realize

that I have deduced from chaosthe one great hitherto u ncx

plained problem of l ife ? Someday

,monsieur

,the world will

proclaim me the greates t savan tof all times . And what ismore

,I have this very night dis

covered the means whereby theWil l may also be impressed uponthe ou ter soul

,thus enabling the

intellec tual soul to direct itscourse in anv way whatsoever.I have long held the secret ofimpressing the In tellect uponthe ou ter soul

,bu t the m anipu

lation of the Will has ever

8 2

seemed an impossible task . Bu ttonight

,j us t before you came

,

monsieur,a divine spark i l l u m

ined my brain , and showed tome a clear and s imple solu tionof the problem . Ah ! bu t I amhappy ! so happy l Can you conceive of the possib ili ties arisingfrom my discovery

,monsieur ?

“ Bu t,said I

,trying to u n

ravel the mean ing of all that hehad said

,I don ’ t see that you

have proved your fundamen talidea the transm igration of thesoul . You have no proof at al lin that regard .

No proof ! cried he excited

83

ly, his black eyes glittering inthe in tensity of h is enthusiasm ,

“Why,I have the proof of i t in

the very his tory o fmy own life.“ And what may that proof

be ? I asked .

I t is a long a very longs tory

,

” he said.

Never mind that,

I exclaimed with interest. “ I

’

ve

go t the whole night to lis ten .

”

Withou t more ado M i c h e lGu lpe arose from his chair

,

squatted before me on the floorin true orien tal fashion

,and pro

ceeded to relate the followingmos t ex traordinary tale.

84

PART FO ! R.

PART FO! R.

O ! have l ivedhere w i t h u s

,

monsieur,f o r

only abou t amonth

,and yet

you already know what the peop le think and say no t only ofme bu t of everyone else whohappen s by the mos t trivialchance to incur their disfavor.Bah l they are a herd of assesignoran t

,s tubborn and super

87

stitio u s. They th ink on ly ofeating and drinking and gossiping. They vilify and besmircheveryone ! the better the man ,the thicker the drivel . Evenmonsieur l

’

Abbé Phi l andre

comes in for his share of thescandal that pursues the goatsand the sheep alike. Maybe Iam crazy

,as they say ! but you

can j u dge for yourself, monsieur,when you have heard my s tory

,

which is certainly s trange butnevertheles s true .You will b e surprised

,my

friend,when I tel l you that I

am a worshipper of the inc iIab l e

88


in telligen t,a man much esteemed

by the people,a man whose

opin ion was held as conclusiveand whose word was law. H e

had travelled much in his you thand had acqu ired a wide ac

quain tance with the world,so

wide that whenever there weremilitary affairs of importance tobe conducted on foreign shoresmy father was always the manto whom they were entrus ted .

I t thus happened that he wasoften sen t on l o ng jo u rneys and ,as my mo ther had died shortlyafter I was born

,he no t infre

quently took me with him as a

90

compan ion,rather than leave

me alone in the hands of a rigorous pedagogue.One of these j ourneys carried

my father to India,and I accom

panied him . We landed at Calc u tta and at once travelled inland to N angpo re . There wese ttled down for several mon ths

,

my father devo ting himself tohis dip lomatic affairs

,and I de

vo ting myself to roving abou tthe town and through the neighboring coun try

,getting acquain t

cd with the peop le and o bserv

ing their many peculiar customs .During one of my lonely ex

91

c u rsions to the ou tskirts of thetown I passed a bungalow ofmodes t proportions

,on the low

,

shaded verandah of which sat aman whose unusual

,dis tin

gu ished air attracted my boyishcu riosity at once. H e was tall ,thin

,of a deep olive color

,and

had an abundance of heavy blackhair that fell to his shoulders .Bu t mos t remarkable of all werehis b lack eyes that seemed to pene trate one ’ s innermost soul.We immediately exchanged

courtesies,as was cus tomary in

that country,and I , at 1118 m m

tation,seated myself on a low

9 2

s too l near the door-way. I soonfound

,to my keen deligh t

,that

he could speak excellen t French,

and in a very short time we became the bes t o f friends. Imam

,

for that was the name by wh ichhe asked me to addres s himImam N ath being his full namesoon proved himself a mos t

in teresting conversationalis t. H e

seemed to divine immediatelythe subj ects that in teres ted memost

,for he related to me many

of his s trange and thrilling adventures in the wilds and j unglesof I ndia. I t was long after sunse t when I left him and returned

93

to the town bu t before we partcd he made me prom ise to visithim again the nex t day.The nex t day

,and every suc

ceeding day un til I left Nangpore

,found me in the company

of my good friend Imam Nath.

H e was a man of the mo s t profound learn ing

,and we soon be

came invo lved in a series of do ctrinal and philosophical discu ssions that were not on ly instru ctive

,bu t even persuasive to me !

for,though a bo v, I was a lmos t

as subtle a thinker as I am now.

I l earned that he was a faithfuldiscip le of that unique branch of

94

the Brahm in faith taugh t onlyat P u shkara in Rajputana

,of

which d is trict he was a native .H e took it upon him se l f to escortme into the mys terious and fasc inating dep ths of tha t faith .

A t fi rs t I was incredu lou s I

though t he was merely recitingfor me some of the fairy tales ofhis country . Bu t soon I becameaware that he was thoroughly inearnest

,and that there was in

dispu table tru th in what he said .

H e read to me many passagesfrom the divine writings ofManu

,and I can remember even

now how I sat spellbound one

95

evening in fron t of his house,

while he told me of the originof Brahma

,and the way in

which he created heaven andearth .

Manu tells,said he , “ how

this universe was enveloped inimpenetrable darkness

,entirely

sunk,as i t were

,in sl eep . Then

the omnipoten t self-exis ten tLord

,ind iscern ible

,caused this

un iverse with the five el ementsto become discern ible. H e whois beyond the cognizance of thesenses

,himself shone forth . H e ,

desiring,seeking to produce va

t iou s creatures from his own

96


the eigh t regions,and the e ter

nal abode of the waters .As I sat there

,motionless and

speechless,drink ing in the words

of wisdom as they flowed fromthe mouth of Imam

,the flaming

sun sank low on the far-o ffwes tern hill s , the clouds of nightgathered l owerl ngl y in thewooded eas t

,the swift-ris ing

breath of darkness whisperedmou rnfu lly through the neighboring trees

,and the birds and

beas ts of the wood sough t theirpeacefu l res t. And as Imamcon tinued and to ld me furtherof the tru ths and mysteries of

98

the Eas t,the tears came to my

eyes and my sou l was fi l l ed withhapp iness

,for I knew that I had

found that certain ty for whichmen seek .

I to ld Imam of my suddenconviction and he

,gazing tender

l y on m e with his lus trou s eyes ,and raising his hands towardsheaven

,called down the b lessing

of the ! n iversal Spirit upon myhead . Then he bade me en terhis bungalow where

,after many

mys terious signs and mu tterings,

he presen ted me w i th a smal lvial con tain ing a peculiar

,green

ish l iqu id,saying

99

“ This,my son

,is the most

extraordinary fluid kn own tomortal man

,a flu id fo r which

the wise men of all times havesought, a fluid which is disclosedto bu t two living souls in thewhole wide world

,one an old

pries tes s of P u shkara,who t e

ceived the receip t from the ! ni

versal Spiri t itself,the other my

self. Take this via],my son

,

and when thou fee l est the coldhand of Death approaching thythroat

,press i t to thy lips and

swallow the wine containedtherein . I t wil l make thee t e

member in thy new life all thathas occurred in thy pas t l ives.


and to the furtherance of myphilosophical inves tigations . I

worked hard,read many books,

and l is tened daily to the teachings of the learned men of Paris .To me the theory of transmigration became a mos t fascinatingsubj ect for s tudy and individualresearch

,and from early morn

ing till la te a t n igh t I delvedin to the discoveries of the pas tand sough t to probe the m ysteries of the presen t. My brainbecame fi l l ed with all tha t wasknown on the subj ect of Metem psycho sis, and I even succeeded in so lving satisfactorily to

myself many prob lems that hadhitherto lain in darkness .With all my clo se application

to work,however

,I s till had

time and sense enough left atmy disposal to to fall in love.I t seem s foolish indeed

,mon

s ieu r!for a man of learning to

do such a rash thing bu t Ihumb ly confess that I fell inlove

,and heels over head at that.

She was a mos t d ivine creatureto look upon and to know

,and

zealou sly as I had pursued myvariou s s tud ies

,j us t so zealously

did I pursue the art of gal l antry . And I assure you that there

103

were in tricacies in the latter thatwere even more diffi c u l t to u m

ravel than were some in theformer. Bu t I persevered I

was never given to yielding whenonce I undertook to accomplishan obj ect

,—and in the course

of a few mon ths she succumbedto my importunities . We weremarried shortly afterwards

,and

en tered upon our career of blisswith all the fervor of you th .

The s trange part of my s toryis ye t to come, monsieur. Wehad no t been married a monthwhen I fel l ill and died . Nosooner had I fel t the grip of

104


ing. I t was as if I had enteredin to a black

,sub terranean tun

nel , leaving the las t rays of lightand life far in the rear.How long I remained in this

s tate,in this Lethean tunnel

,I

know not. Bu t at las t a sudden ray of l ight appeared andI evolved again in to ligh t andlife. I opened my eyes andgazed curiously upwards . I waslying on my back in a large

,

ho t room,with a su perab u n

dance of clo ths wrapped abou tmy persp iring body. A p leasan tappearing woman w ith a whitecap and apron s tood by my

106

side gazing tenderly upon me.As I opened my eyes

,she patted

my cheek and k issed me in themouth . I became exceedinglyangry at her familiari ty andattemp ted to remonstra te wi thher. Bu t I found to my utterdismay that I cou ld not speaka word

,only a shril l

,foolish

squawk is su ing from my lips .So frightened was I that I triedto rub my head and see if i twas there. My arm was bungling and awkward

,but I man

aged to flounder i t around soas to touch my hand to my hair.Imagine my stupefaction

,mon

107

sieur, to discover that I had nohair. I bit my l ip s in my per

pl ex ity, bu t I suffered n o painfo r I discovered al so tha t I hadno tee th . Then I began tothresh and k ick

,bu t my move

men ts were l ike those of alob ster ou t of its elemen t

,s tiff

,

clum sy,and unavail ing.

The woman in white,seeing

my s truggles,patted me again

on the cheek,say ing softly

Oh ! the little swee theart l

L itt l e sweetfieart What thedevil could she mean ? Ithough t hard and fas t for amomen t

,and then of a sudden

108


and the impo ten t body ofan infan t.I wondered whether I was a

boy or a girl . I was beginning to fal l a sacrifice to thisnew horror

,when the woman

in white spoke againWhat a bright l ittle fel low

he is .Thank heavens ! I n this re

gard a t leas t my fears wereallayed.

I lay awake all that nigh tgiving much careful consideration to the predicamen t whichhad fallen to my lo t. I inwardl y cursed the hour when

fi rs t I had yielded to the temptatio n of knowing more than isallo tted the ordinary man toknow. Not for a moment

,

however,did I think of cas ting

the b lame upon Imam Nath,

for his in tentions had been ofthe bes t. I had only myself toblame

,and I Viewed my case

wi th j aundiced eyes .My previous l ife flo ated back

before me,bu t only one obj ect

s tood forth to harass my sorespiri t. That obj ect was theone that I adored above al lo thers my wife . I wonderedw h e r e she was now

,a n d

whether she was alive . I tmight have been a hundredyears before that I had l ived myfirst l ife

,for al l I knew. I t

appalled me when I though tthat I mus t pass through theseveral s tages of a new life

,

while she,my beau tiful wife

,

was either lying cold in deathor was again in the world

,her

peerless sou l enshrined in a newbody. Oh that she had possessed a fl ask of eternal damnation such as Imam Nath hadpresen ted to me

,for then we

could both spend our days inseeking each o ther. Fain wou ld

112


momen t I wondered who i t

might be,then it dawned upon

my whirl ing brain that i t mu s tbe my mother. I had forgottenun til then that of necessity Imus t have a new mo ther. I

was wondering what sort ofcreatu re she m igh t be . I wasa l w a y s exces sively fas tidiou sabou t women

,and I was anx

ious to know wha t s o r t o fmo ther I had drawn .

How is madame feeling ?asked the woman in wh ite.The vo ice that gave answer

sen t a wicked chill of despairtearing through m y feeble

114.

body,fo r i t b e l o n g e d t o

Madame Bo nsard, a shrewishindividual who inhabited theapartmen ts beneath those o cc u

pied by my wife and myselfin my first l ife. How my littleheart flopped when I real izedthat she

,my beau tiful wife

,was

in all probabili ty within a veryshort dis tance from me a t thatvery momen t ! I cou ld almos tsee her as she sat before thelong

,oval mirror in our room

comb ing her luxurian t hair,

which cas t a del igh tfu l fra

grance to my amorous nostrils .I could almos t see the soft

,

115

white gown tha t I l ike sowell

,and wi th which she

adorned her graceful fi g u r e

ev ery morn ing to p lease myfan cy.

And I,a helples s infan t

,the

son.o f a woman whom I de

tes ted above all o ther women,

lay there on my back,wal low

ing in the reek of my owndespai r. Gladly ‘would I havebeen born to any other womanon the face of the earth , thanto Madame Bonsard . She wasa termagan t of the deepes t dye

,

and her peppery temper hadmany times sacrificed me during

116


with her breathing apparatuswas more than offse t by thekeenness of her hearing apparatus . She was also possessed ofan incurab le mania for borrowing

,and had already acqu ired

many of our household belongings before I died . Even now

,

as I le t my eyes roam roundthe chamber in the fain t glimmer of dawn

,I saw on the

man tel a bronze shaving -mugthat my wife had given mebefore we were married . Monsieur Ron sard h a d

,indeed

,

reaped some benefit from myearly dem ise. But it was al l in

118

the family now,so what did i t

m at ter .P

Monsieur B o n sard m yfather ! I had no t though t o f

this before, but i t mus t be so,

for Madame Bo nsard was ever afaithful wife

,if no thing more .

Poor,old Mons ieur Bonsard !

How I had pitied him when Iwas in my first life ! Fat

,lazy

and parasitical,he always re

tained abou t his person thegreasy odor of a penny bakeshop . Aside from pity

,I never

acquired any affection for himmy new father because he

was con tinually borrowing my

119

tobacco and com ing up intoour apartmen ts to smoke it

,in

order to escape the sharp tongueof h is spou se . H e hated her,she hated h im

,and I detes ted

them both .

Thus began my second life .During the days that followed Ihad in tense longings to see againthe partner of my previou s j oysand sorrows . Every time thatI heard the sound of foots tepsoverhead my heart throbbedwith excitemen t. Bu t I waskep t in s trict seclu s ion for several days

,s eeing only the woman

in white and Madame,my


watching the fes tive fl ies as theygamboled o ’ er the ceiling

,and

patien tly awaiting whatever newhorror that migh t be sprung uponme

,the door to my room opened

softly and I heard the sweetrustle of l ingerie that was alwaysmusic to my ear. Almos t immed iate l y I fel t a soft, warm handp laced agains t my cheek

,and

looking to one side I saw,s tand

ing before me in all the m agnifi

cence of her you thful beauty,

my wife . She looked quite thesame as she had on the day thatI died and

,had i t no t been for

the sombre black in which she

[ 2 2


low l she said a t las t,chuck ing

me under the chin .

I,her own husband

,a clever

little fellow ! I t was too , toomuch for my tender

,loving

heart,and I burs t in to tears

hop ing thereby to s trengthen mycause . Bu t the mature emo tionthat I had expected and whichis so effective, did no t arrive, andins tead I emitted a series o f

shrieks and squawks that comeonly from an ugly infant. Ifound that I had absolu tely nocommand over my lachrymalglands or my vocal chords

,and

so exasperated did I become at

124

the puerili ty of my grief,that I

began to k ick and writhe inagony. My wife patted meagain on the cheek

,bu t that

served only to increase mywrath

,and I s trove with al l

my power to burs t a bloodvessel

,so as to free myself from

this horrible nightmare. Bu tI mus t have been a s turdyyoungster

,for I was s till alive

after the woman in white hadtaken my wife from the room .

That n ight and all the fo llowing day I refused nourishmen tfrom Madame Bo nsard . Myheart was in a tumu l t of con

12 5

flic ting emotions , and at timesi t seemed as though I should

go ins ane as I reflec ted on howmy wife had chucked me underthe chin and called me a cleverl ittle fel low.

I realized that I had drivenmy wife from my side by mysudden ou tburs t of passion . A t

first I was glad that she hadgone

,and tried to console my

self with the thought that shewas not deserving of any hones taffection . But soon

,after I had

cooled o ff somewhat,I again

found myself lis tening intentlyfor the sound of foo tfall s in the

12 6


Who could this male pedestrian be ? Neither I nor mywife had brothers

,her father

w a s dead,while m ine w a s

always too occup ied with affairsof s tate to squander h is timein a lady ’ s boudo ir especiallyin that of his daughter- in- law.

Could i t be that my wife wasunfaithful to me ? I t certainlyseemed ou t of accord with hernature

,bu t then , what cou ld

a man expect of a wife whochucked h im under the chin andcalled him a clever little fellow ?I began to grow hys terical as

I though t of all these possib ili

12 8

ties and,try as they m i g h t,

neither the woman in white norMadame Ronsard could soo themy harassed soul . Final ly I

became so unmanageable in myefforts to throw o ff this odioussecond life that m y m o t h e rgrew exceedingly alarmed

,and

ordered the woman in white tosend for a physician . She re

turned almos t immediately withmonsieur l e docteur Bache and,oh

,monsieur

,the sorrow o f' i t

all ! accompanying him wasmy wife. His

,then , were the

foo tstep s that I had heard inthe apartments above. Bache, a

12 9

fine- looking young physician ,had l ived in rooms above theapartmen ts occupied by my wifeand myself in my first l ife. H e

had seemed to be a very decen tfel low

,and I had never sus

pec ted him of plo tting againstmy happiness . Bu t now I sawthrough i t all in an instant. I

suddenly remembered how oftenhe had dropped in to our roomsto pass an evening with my wifeand myself and

,as those days

came back more clearly beforemy eyes

,I could even recollect

certain little side-glances that hehad given her when he thought

130


“No t very,sweetheart

,he

replied,patting her fondly on

the wais t. The littl e brat ison ly

ugly. I fancy I can pullhim through all right.

Dear ! Sweet

é eart / Brat ! This was all toomuch for me. I gave one las ts truggle

,u ttered a horrible

squawk,s truck forth for that

devil of a doctor with all mys trength

,fel t some thing sud

den l y bu rs t within my head and- died a second time.A second time

,mons ieur

,I

entered that tunnel of nightperpe tual , and a second time I

132

ro l led forth in to the swee t glowof l ife . Swee t glow

,d id I say ?

Nay, nay, anything bu t swee t tom e. F a i n would I h a v erema ined undis turbed in thatchaotic abyss of no thingness forall time. Life held no furthercharms for my wearied soul

,and

I shuddered a s I though t o f

what horrors migh t be lying inwai t for me.My first recollection of this

third life was a mos t Violen trocking sensation . Then myears became fi l l ed wi th a terriblecreaking and roaring

,and I

fel t myself swaying rudely to

I 33

and fro in the darkness that wasenveloping me . I wo ndered inwhat sort of nes t I had chancedto alight this time. Mayhap Iwas a pretty l i ttle bird , nes tl ingin the swaying boughs of a loftytree. I hoped that

,if such

were the case,the trunk of the

tree was su ffi c ien t l y s taunch ,and my nest was su ffi c ien t l y

well attached,for I was no t

espec ially desirous a t t h a tmoment of exploring the u n

known dep ths that migh t l iebeneath me . Or could it bethat I was in a cradle a t themercy of another woman in

134


Suddenly I heard a feeble cryno t far from where I lay . I

l is tened eagerly and heard i tagain . I t was the voice of ahuman being. The cry w a srepeated several times

,and was

unmis takably that of a woman .

Then a momen t later I heard,

am ids t al l the raging and roaring of whatever was g o i n g o nabou t me

,another cry

,this time

that of a man . What languagethese people spoke or what theywere saying I could no t dis tinguish for the deafening noiseround abou t me. Of a sudden ,however

,there flashed up before

136

my eyes a l ight that,from its

unexpectedness , nearly blindedme. I winked and blinked fora m inu te before I cou ld calmmy op tic nerves su ffic ient toob tain a clue as to my su rroundings .I perceived that I was in a

smal l,cell- like chamber with

white rafters extend ing over myhead . I looked long and hardfor any sign of the rich hangings and tapestries and works ofart that i t had ever been my lo tto enj oy. But no t a trace ofanything of the sort me t myeyes . ‘ I t mus t be poor com

I 37

pany I have come in to thisthought I . I tried to

roll over on my side so as to see

9time,

more of the cell and to scru tinize my new companions . ButI discovered to my horror thatI was held down by a s trap andcould not move. A n d t h i swith the cel l roll ing round likea ball on a flo o r ! I t w a smore than my nerves coulds tand

,and I began to yel l a t

the top of my lungs .A t that

,the woman spoke

“ Jean,dear

,won ’ t you please

try to do some thing for thatchild.

138


a t the ignominy of i t all. Toth ink tha t I

,my wife ’ s own hu s

band,shou ld al so be her own

chi ld,a n d that B a c h e, t h e

scoundrel,should have the

audacity to call me “ a littlebrat l But then

,was he no t

my wife ’ s husband also,and my

fa ther ? She had two husbandsnow

,bo th were l iving, and one

was her own child . Would tha tI had never known the woman !She was a badge of infamy

,and

had brough t dishonor upon thefair name of ou r family. S till

,

if I were the son of Bache,was

no t my name Bache also ? My

140

poor father ! What would hehave said could he have knownthe shameless pit in to which Ihad fallen !A tremor

,more relen tless

than any that had preceded,shook the cell and everything in1t.

0,Jean

,dear

,cried m y

wife,do yo u think the ship is

go ing to sink ?Sh ip ! We were in a ship

then,and a t the mercy of a

s torm on the high seas. Thisaccounted for all the terrib lerushing and roaring that wa sdeafen ing my poor ears. I t

141

mus t be a bad s torm,too

,

’ I

thought,from the way things

were changing places in ourcabin . A horrible though t thentook possess ion of m e. Whatif the ship shou ld go down ?How cou ld I make any effortto save myself while I was thu sbound down hard and fas t in m yberth ? I s truggled with all mys trength to release myself, bu tI c o u l d m a k e no headwayagains t the infernal s trap thatencircled my abdomen . I feltthat I was doomed in case anyacciden t should occur. T h ethought made me fran tic

,and I

14 2


touch bo ttom. I cou ld hears trange

,unpleasan t no ises in the

adj o in ing cabins,which sounded

as if peop le had swallowed bu ttons and were trying to ge tthem up again . The timberscreaked and groaned

,and the

ship throbbed fr o m stem tostern as she was lifted ou t of thewater by the gigan tic waves .The shou ts of the seamen whowere ru shing abou t overheadmade me realize tha t this was noordinary s torm

,and that there

w a s troub le b r e wi n g. T h ecabins resounded wi th the criesof terrified men and women.

144

“Jean,said m y w i fe t o

Mons ieur l e d o c t e u r, i n atrembling voice

,“ I fear that

something is go ing to happen .

“ Le t i t happen,g u l p e d

Jean,in agony.

“ I don ’ t care .And it did happen . T h e

next in stan t there came a terrifie crash

,and the who le frame

work of the ship seemed to bereft apart. I fel t a sudden sinking sensation

,the ligh ts became

extinguished,my mou th w a s

fi l l ed wi th sal t water and thenI heard the swee t music o f

birds and bells and foun tain s,

and saw beautifu l green pas tures

145

and lofty hill s rising in the dimdis tance . But my dream of paradise was short- l ived for almost immediately a h u ge , b lack mou thyawned before me

,and I entered

once more that Lethean tunnelwhich had twice before shel teredme from the horrors of life .

Needless to say,my friend

,

I came to life a fourth time.The buzz of voices fi l l ed myear s and

,as I opened my eyes

to the ligh t of day,I saw several

peop l e s tanding round abou tme

,amongs t whom I 1m m edi

ately recognized a woman inwhite. I eagerly scanned her

146


taken that eventful j ourney toNangpo re in I ndia. N everthe

less,I did no t l ift up my voice

in agony this time,for I was

becoming too well accus tomedto su rprises of this sort to losecon tro l 01 my p a s s i o n s . I

merely wondered w h a t m yfather was do ing there

,and

whose l ittle boy was I . I wasno t so sure that I was a boy !bu t I took i t for gran ted that

,

inasmuch as I had been a boythree times

,the g o o d s tork

wou ld no t ignore my one preroga tive this fourth time.My l ather came nearer to my

148

s ide and looked in to my facwith his k indly eyes.

“A brave l ittle fellow,said

he , tenderly,’

smoo thing backmy bald pate, “wi th even thefeatures o f h i s p o o r

,d e a d

bro ther. We mu s t name h imafter M iche l

,my dear. What

think you of M ichel Gu lpe theSecond ?

“ A c h a rm i n g n a m e,ex

claimed a soft vo ice near me .

We wil l surely name him afteryou r dear son

,Pierre . I never

knew you r M ichel bu t, being ason of his father

,he mu s t have

been a delightfu l man.

”

149

“ Thank you a t h o u s a n dtimes

,Lucille

,darl ing

,said my

father,smiling.

“And Michelthe Second wil l p o s s e s s a nadditional charm inasmuch ashe is your son

,too

,my swee t.”

80 my own father was myfather again ! The rascal ! H e

had g o n e and married t h i swoman

,Lucill e wi thou t even

ask ing my approbation . AndI was the resu l t. I rolled myhead round as bes t I cou ld

,and

surveyed with a critical eye thefemale by my side. A charming woman she was

,indeed,

being no t more than three-and

150


on memories of pas t l ives andpreparing my soul for fu turelives. One pecul iarity of myexis tence has been tha t

,as an

infan t,my intellect was p e r

fec t l y developed in every respect.I t re tained al l the wisdom thatI had acqu ired in my first l ife

,

a n d much more v a l u a b l ematerial that I acqu ired in myfollowing lives

,shor t as they

were. O u the con trary,how

ever,I had no more control

over my physical powers thanhas any o ther infan t. I t wasno t given me to man ipula te myWill as I had manipu lated my

15 2

In tellect,and i t was this lack o f

power that resul ted in al l thehorrors of my second and thirdlives . I have devo ted the bes tpart of my presen t l ife to thesolving of this problem of theWill and as you have s e e n

,

monsieur,my discovery of to

n igh t will enable me to neutralize the one defect that has beenmy curse . I feel tha t my daysin this l ife are numbered

,and

tha t I have made my preciousdiscovery none too soon .

’Erelong

,when I feel that death is

near,I shall make goodly u se

of the liquid that l ies on yonder

I 53

table. I t shall j oin the b loodtha t courses my veins

,and i ts

effec t will be a comb ination ofWil l and I n tellect impressed upon my transmigratory soul insuch way t h a t I can d i r e c tthis subj ect soul in to whateverform or condition I desire.Ah

,my dear friend

,what

bliss wil l then be mine ! Wou ldthat my good friend Imam Nathmigh t know of my discovery

,

for I am sure i t wou ld save h imfrom much pain and sorrow.

You can never conce ive of thehum il i ty

,mon sieur

,t h a t m y

physical impo tence b r o u gh t

154


shed tears at the indign ity,and

wou ld s train my little throat inmy attemp ts to tel l him al labou t myself. But the wordswould no t come

,and I would

writhe in agony a t my inabilityto iden tify myself to my ownfather.One day

,however

,after I had

been exerting myself for an hourto ge t my vocal chords in properworking cond ition

,a welcome

sound suddenly burst forth frommy throat

,and I heard myself

say “ papa.” I wel l rememberhow deligh ted my father andmo ther were at this first success

156

fu l effort at speech . I gloatedover my victory for days. Fromthat momen t I made excellentprogres s in the art of speech . Iwas soon able to say “mamma

,

and o ther words came to mytongue in rapid succession .

I was j us t on the poin t ofj o ining simple words togetherin short sen tences

,when my

mother fell suddenly i l l andshortly after died . The griefthat my father d isplayed waswholly from the heart

,and i t

seemed as if he would neverbecome reconciled to her u n

timely death . I,too

,was quite

I S7

heart-broken over the bereavemen t, for my mo ther was alovely woman and I was reallyVery much attached to her.After the funeral my father

,

acting on the impulse of them om ent

,anno u nced that he was

abou t to undertake a j ourneyinto the Eas t. I decided tha t Iwould go too

,and was begin

n ing to grow enthusias tic at theprospect of an extended soj ou rnin I ndia where I migh t meetmy friend Imam Nath o n c emore

,when one day my father

took me in a carriage,behind a

spanking pair of horses,to the

158


an inmate of Mons ieur de Dau

phin’

s kindergarten .

I then realized fo r the firsttime that my father was go ingto leave me all alone in thisfo r b i d d i n g p l a c e . As hes tooped to k is s me good b ye , Ise t up a woeful wail

,and tried

to tell him who.

I was and whyhe should no t leave me there .But al l to no avail

,for the

words refused to form themselves in coheren t shape

,and I

soon had the chagrin of seeingmy father r i d i n g sorrowfullyback toward the city.I soon brought myself to

160

terms,however, and attended to

my duties at Monsieur de Dau

phin’

s kindergarten like a littl eman . I advanced rap idly tothe head of my class

,which was

the lowest one of the school,and

before long acquired a goodlysupply of words and the ab ilityto put them together in pro persequence. Slowly bu t su rely Igained complete control of myvoca l equipmen t. I was pridingmyself on the fact that when mydear father re turned from hisl ong j ourney I could tel l himwho I was . Bu t woe is me ! henever came back . I had been

16 1

a t the school les s than a yearwhen I received wo rd that thepoor man had died of a fever inCalcu tta.I fell heir to an exceedingly

comfortable estate,which I made

no a ttempts to enj oy until I wasfifteen years of age. Then Ibade adieu to Monsieur de Dauphin and h is sou r—faced assistants

,

and se t forth to see the world .

Needless to say,I saw it

,mon

s ieur. In l ess than five years Ihad squandered my las t sou andfound myself s tranded in thistown . I have never left it. By

16 2


PART V .


a t the bare,desolate wal l of the

next bu i lding that excluded ourview from the outside world . So

in teres ted had I been in thes trange adventures of my friendthe tobaccon is t

,that I had be

come obl iviou s of the fl ight oftime

,and a sudden chill of de

spair swept through my veins asmy thoughts wen t back to Madame Valj ean . The one thoughtthat consoled me was tha t ifMadame had been at her windowal l this time awaiting my return

,

she ran a fair chance of takinga chill . And if she took a chil lwh ich she ever did a t the

168

leas t provocation—m y day ofreckoning would be indefinite l ypos tponed .

“Well,friend Michel

,said I

,

arising,and throwing my great

coat over my shoulders,

“ I re

gre t that I have been the causeof your m idnight Vigil .

“No t at all,mons ieur

,no t at

all ! exclaimed Michel , walkingou t with me to the fron t of theshop

,and opening the shu tters .

“Many a night have I remainedat my pos t until i t was time toprepare for the morn ing’ s trade

,

and the work has been a thousand times more laboriou s

,I can

169

assure you . The midnight oilthat I have burned has had muchto do with the evil name thesupers ti tious Villagers hereabouthave given me . Bu t then

,my

friend,what care we for their

foo lish prattle ?Poor Michel G u l pe l Crazy

as a loon,bu t as wise as the

seven sages of o ld . A true parado x of a man

,l ike whom the

world con tains none .I left the l ittl e éom ‘

z’

gu e a’e taéac

and walked slowly down the RueMartel . I t seemed as though Ihad just emerged from a strangebut fasc inating dream ,

the shreds

170


turned towards me,and I su c

ceeded in slipp ing w ithin doorsunobserved . I r e a c h e d myroom in safety ! bu t not un ti l Ihad barricaded the door did Ife e l secure from sudden onsl au gh t .

The following afternoon I

was si tting in the wine-roomof the Cheval Blanc awai tingthe arrival of the di l igence fromPoitiers . The day was oppres

sive l y warm and the open window by which I sat afib rded

t h e leas t possible trace of abreeze . As I glanced downthe road I saw Jean Gaultier

172

and Su lp ice Taubert com ing upthe h ill

,Jean sc u fll ing along

hand s in pocke ts,Sulp ice s trug

gling beneath a huge baske t offresh loaves . They hal ted fora momen t i n fr o n t of theCheval Blanc

,so near the win

dow where I sa t that I cou ldoverhear their conversation .

“I t’ s very queer, said Jeankicking h i s me tal t o e c a p sagain s t the stone s tep .

“ Youdon ’ t imagine he has left towndo you P

I don ’ t know w h a t t othink

,replied Sulpice

,resting

his baske t on a worm-eaten

l 73

hi tching post. “ H e has nevergone away before. Fel icien

says there has been a l igh t inthat back room every n ight forforty years .

“ I sneaked ’ round there threetimes last nigh t

,

” con tinuedJean

,“ and t r i e d t o p e e k

through the window. Bu t theplace was as black as the Devil ’ sH o le .”

“ Maybe he ran o ff in to thewoods when he changed in to anelephan t the o ther nigh t

,

” sugges ted Sulp ice in a low voice .You know

,J ean

,I always said


light in M ichel ’ s shop the n igh tbefore . Th i s s eemed exceedingl y s trange to me, for I knewthat he very seldom wanderedabroad

,and never a t nigh t.

After the arrival o f the di l igenceI sough t the Rue Martel

,and

approached the l i ttl e éou t z'

gu e d’e

taéac. Surely Michel mus t bethere

,for the shu tters were

open . Bu t as I looked throughthe greasy window

,I could no t

see h im wi thin the fron t shop .

I tried the door, bu t found i tlocked . I knocked on the glassand rattled the latch

,bu t no

o ne responded . Cou ld i t be

176

that Michel had fallen asleepduring the busies t part of theday ? I wen t down the s idealley and raised myself uponthe s tone tha t res ted before therear window. The room wasdark

,and at first I could see

no thing. Bu t as my eyes became accus tomed to the shadowsI could make ou t the tab le andall tha t was upon it . I t seemedvery much the same as i t hadtw o nights before

,wi t h i t s

ins trumen ts and Vials and dishesand manuscrip ts . M ichel couldnot be there

,I was qu ite sure.

I was on the point of re turning

I 77

to the fron t of the shop whenmy gaze fel l suddenly upon along

,dark obj ec t s tretched ou t

upon the low couch. Closerexamination showed this obj ectto be the body of a man

,i ts

face turned toward the wall .“Michel ! ” I called

,M ichel

Gulpe,let me in !

N0 answe r.I pounded upon the case

men t,bu t there was no move

men t from the figu re within .

I n desperation I has tened tothe fron t of the shop again andthrew my body agains t thedoor. The lock cou ld not

178


have been very s taunch, for i treadily gave way and le t mewi thin t h e s h o p . I rushedthrough to the back room andgrasped the shou lder of the longgaun t figu re that l ay s tre tchedou t before me .

“ M ichel l ” cried I shakinghim gently.

“MichI did not finish my sentence

for at the first touch the limpbody rolled over on its back ,and the ghas tly white face ofMichel Gulpe was s taring a t meas can only the face of thedead.

Poor Michel l As he had

I 79

lived, so had he died neglected and alone .The room was undis turbed

save for a small vial tha t lay onthe floor by the side of thedead man . I knew only toowell what that Vial had contained .

’Ere t h e world hadlearned of his greatness

,Michel

had tested his discovery thediscovery wh ich was to makehim the savan t of all times .After Monsieur l e docteu r

Lau rens had finished his ex am i

nation of the bo dy, I asked himfor his verdict.

“ Arsenic,

” said he , shaking

180


see a bl ack cat j ump ou t ofthat box ?

TH E END

Documents

· dows all askew, like the eyes of old Fél icien the portz ' er at the Cheval Blane, one bulging out and the other sinking back in its socket, and its huge nail studded door set