第16章
加入书架 A- A+
点击下载App,搜索"Love Eternal",免费读到尾

  Thisnotesheansweredbypost,tellinghimthatshehadbeendisappointednottoseehimasshewasalsoill。SheaddedthatshewouldsendthecarriageonthefollowingSundayonthechanceofhistoothachebeingbetter,butthatifitwasnot,shewouldunderstandandtroublehimnomore。

  DuringallthatweekGodfreyfoughtwithhimself。HedidnotwishtohaveanythingmoretodowiththewhiteandghostlyEleanor,whochangedhergemssoconstantly,andsaidthatshehadknownhimmillenniumsago。Indeed,hefeltalreadyasthoughsheweremuchtoonearhim,especiallyatnight,whenheseemedtobecomeawareofherbendingoverhisbed,andgenerallymakingherpresenceknowninotheruncomfortablewaysthatcausedhishairtostandupandfrightenedhim。

  AtthesametimehewasreallyfondofMissOgilvy,andwhatshesaidaboutbeingilltouchedhim。Alsotherewassomethingthatdrewhim;

  itmightbeEleanor,oritmightbeMadameRiennes。Atanyratehefeltagreatlongingtogo。Puttingeverythingelseaside,theseinvestigationshadtheirdelights。WhatotheryoungfellowofhisagecouldboastanEleanor,whosaidshehadbeenfondofhimtensofthousandsofyearsbefore?

  Moreover,herewasoneofthegatestothatknowledgewhichhedesiredsoearnestly,andhowcouldhefindthestrengthtoshutitinhisownface?

  OfcoursetheendofthematterwasthatbythefollowingSunday,histoothachehaddeparted,andthecarriagedidnotreturnemptytotheVillaOgilvy。

  Hefoundhishostesslookingwhiteandethereal,anappearancethatshehadacquiredincreasinglyeversincetheirfirstmeeting。Herdelightatseeinghimwasobvious,aswasthatoftheothers。Forthishesoondiscoveredthereason。ItappearedthatthesittingonthepreviousSunday,whenhewasovercomebytoothache,hadbeenanalmosttotalfailure。ProfessorPetersenhadtriedtofillhisplaceasmedium,withtheresultthatwhenhefellundertheinfluence,theonlyspiritthatbrokethroughhislipswasonewhichdiscoursedinterminablyaboutlagerbeerandliqueursofsomecelestialbrew,which,asMadameRiennes,aladynotgiventominceherwords,toldhimtohisfaceafterwards,wasbecausehedranktoomuch。Hencethejoyoftheseenthusiastsatthere-appearanceofGodfrey。

  Withconsiderablereluctancethatyouthconsentedtoplayhisusualr?le,andtobeputintoacharmedsleepbyMadame。ThistimehesawnoEleanor,andknewnothingofwhathappeneduntilheawoketobegreetedbythehorrificspectacleofMissOgilvylyingbackinherchairbathedinblood。GeneralconfusionreignedinthemidstofwhichMadameRiennesalonewascalm。

  “Itish?morrhagefromthelungs,“shesaid,“whichiscommonamong/poitrinaires/。BrotherPetersen,dowhatyoucan,andyou,BrotherSmith,flyforMademoiselle’sdoctor,andifheisnotathome,bringanother。“

  LaterGodfreyheardwhathadchanced。Itseemedthatthewraith,oremanation,orthesprite,goodorevil,orwhateveritmayhavebeen,whichcalleditselfEleanor,materializedinaveryuglytemper。ItcomplainedthatithadnotbeenallowedtoappearuponthepreviousSundayandhadbeenkeptawayfromitsbrother,i。e。Godfrey。Thenitproceededtothreatenallthecircle,exceptGodfrey,whowastherealculprit,withdiversmisfortunes,especiallydirectingitswrathagainstMissOgilvy。

  “Youwilldiesoon,“itsaid,“andinthespiritworldIwillpayyouback。“Thriceitrepeatedthis:“Youwilldie,“towhichMissOgilvyansweredwithcalmdignity:

  “Iamnotafraidtodie,noramIatallafraidofyou,Eleanor,who,asInowsee,arenotgoodbutevil。“

  Whileshespokeatorrentofbloodburstfromherlips,Eleanordisappeared,andalmostimmediatelyGodfreyawoke。

  Induecoursethedoctorcameandannouncedthattheh?morrhagehadceased,andthatthepatientwasinnoimminentdanger。Astothefuture,hecouldsaynothing,exceptthathavingbeenMissOgilvy’smedicalattendantforsomeyears,hehadexpectedsomethingofthissorttohappen,andknownthatherlifecouldnotbeverylong。

  ThenGodfreywenthomeveryterrifiedandchastened,blaminghimselfalsoforthisdreadfulevent,althoughintruthnoonecouldhavebeenmoreinnocent。HehadgrownveryfondofMissOgilvy,andshudderedtothinkthatshemustsoonleavetheworldtoseekadimUnknown,wheretherewerebadspiritsaswellasgood。

  Heshuddered,too,atthethoughtofthisEleanor,whomadeuseofhimtoappearinhumanform,andonhiskneesprayedGodtoprotecthimfromher。Thisindeedhappened,ifshehadanyrealexistenceandwasnotsomemerecreationofthebrainofMadameRiennes,madevisiblebytheworkingoflawswhereofwehavenoknowledge。Neveragain,duringallhislife,didheactuallyseeanymoreofEleanor,andtheprobabilityisthatheneverwill,eitherhereorelsewhere。

  ThreedayslaterGodfreyreceivedaletterfromthedoctor,sayingthatMissOgilvywishedtoseehim,andthatherecommendedhimnottodelayhisvisit。HavingobtainedthepermissionofthePasteur,hewentinatoncebythediligence,andonarrivalatthevilla,whereevidentlyhewasexpected,wasshownuptoabedroomwhichcommandedabeautifulviewofthelakeandMountPilatus。Hereanursemethimandtoldhimthathemustnotstaylong;aquarterofanhourattheoutside。HeaskedhowMademoisellewas,whereonsheansweredwithanexpressiveshrug:

  “Soonshewillbefurtherfromtheearththanthetopofthatmountain。“

  Thenshetookhimtoanothersmallerroom,andthereuponthebed,lookingwhiterthanthesheets,layhisfriend。Shesmiledverysweetlywhenshecaughtsightofhim。

  “DearGodfrey,“shesaid,“itiskindofyoutocome。Iwantedtoseeyouverymuch,forthreereasons。First,IwishtobegyourpardonforhavingdrawnyouintothisspiritualismwithoutyourknowingthatI

  wasdoingso。Ihavetoldyouwhatmymotivewas,andthereforeIwillnotrepeatit,asmystrengthissmall。Secondly,Iwishyoutopromisemethatyouwillnevergotoanotherséance,sincenowIamquitesurethatitisdangerousfortheyoung。Tomespiritualismhasbroughtmuchgoodandjoy,butwithothersitmaybedifferent,especiallyasamongspirits,asontheearth,thereareevilbeings。

  Doyoupromise?“

  “Yes,yes,“answeredGodfrey,“onlyIamafraidofMadameRiennes。“

  “Youmuststandupagainstherifshetroublesyou,andseekthehelpofreligion;ifnecessaryconsultyouroldPasteur,forheisagoodman。Thereisnodangerintheworldthatcannotbeescapedifonlyoneisboldenough,orsoIthink,though,alas!myselfIhavelackedcourage,“sheaddedwithagentlesigh。

  “Now,dearboy,“shewentonafterpausingtorecoverstrength,“I

  haveathirdthingtosaytoyou。Ihaveleftyousomemoney,asI

  knowthatyouwillhavelittle。Itisnoteverymuch,butenough,allowingforaccidentsandthelesseningofcapitalvalues,togiveyou£260ayearclear。Imighthavegivenyoumore,butdidnot,fortworeasons。Thefirstis,thatIhaveobservedthatyoungmenwhohavewhatiscalledacompetence,say£500or£600ayear,veryoftenarecontenttotryandliveonit,andtodonothingforthemselves,sothatintheenditbecomes,notablessing,butacurse。Thesecondis,thattodosoIshouldbeobligedtotakeawayfromcertaincharitiesandinstitutionswhichIwishtobenefit。ThatisallIhavetosayaboutmoney。Oh!no,thereisonemorething。Ihavealsoleftyouthetalismanyougaveme,andwithitthishouseandgrounds。

  Perhapsonedayyoumightliketolivehere。Ihaveasortoffeelingthatitwillbeusefultoyouatsomegreatcrisisofyourfate,andatleastitwillremindyouofme,whohavelovedandtriedtobeautifytheplace。Inanycaseitwillalwayslet,andifitbecomesawhiteelephant,youcansellitandthefurniture,whichisworthsomething。“

  Godfreybegantostammerhisthanks,butshecuthimshortwithawaveofherhand,murmuring:

  “Don’tletuswastemoretimeonsuchthings,forsoonyoumustgoaway。AlreadyIseethatnurselookingatmefromthedoorwayoftheotherroom,andIhavesomethingmoretosaytoyou。Youwillcometothinkthatallthisspiritualism,asitiscalled,isnothingbutadangerousfolly。Well,itisdangerous,likeclimbingtheAlps,butonegetsagreatviewfromthetop。And,oh!fromtherehowsmallmenlookandhowneararetheheavens。Imean,mydearboy,thatalthoughIhaveaskedyoutoabjureséancesandsoforth,Idoprayofyoutocultivatethespiritual。Thephysical,ofcourse,isalwayswithus,forthatisNature’slaw,withoutwhichitcouldnotcontinue。Butaroundandbeyonditbroodsthespirit,asonceitdiduponthefaceofthewaters,encirclingallthings;thebeginningofallthings,andtheend。Only,aswinecannotbepouredintoacoveredcup,sothespiritcannotflowintoaworld-sealedheart,andwhatisthecupwithoutthewine?Openyourheart,Godfrey,andreceivethespirit,sothatwhenthemortalperishestheimmortalmayremainandeverlastinglyincrease。Foryouknow,ifwechoosedeathweshalldie,andifwechooselifeweshalllive;we,andallthatisdeartous。“

  MissOgilvypausedalittletogetherbreath,thenwenton:“Now,myboy,kissmeandgo。Butfirst——onewordmore。Ihavetakenastrangeaffectionforyou,perhapsbecausewewereassociatedinotherexistences,Idonotknow。Well,IwanttosaythatfromthelandwhitherIamabouttobeborne,itshallbemygreatendeavour,ifitissoallowed,towatchoveryou,tohelpyouiftherebeneed,andintheendtobeamongthefirsttogreetyouthere,you,oranywhomyoumayloveinthisjourneyofyoursthroughlife。Look,thesunissinking。Now,goodbyetillthedawn。“

  Hebentdownandkissedherandshekissedhimback,throwingherthinandfeeblearmabouthisneck,afterwhichthenursecameandhurriedhimawayweeping。Atthedoorheturnedbackandsawhersmileathim,and,oh!onherwastedfacewerepeaceandbeauty。

  Nextdayshedied。

  Forty-eighthourslaterGodfreyattendedherfuneral,towhichthePasteurBoisetwasalsobidden,andafteritwasovertheywerebothsummonedtotheofficeofanotarywhereherwillwasread。Shewasarichwoman,wholeftbehindherpropertytothevalueofquite£100,000,mostofitinEngland。Indeed,thisSwissnotarywasonlyconcernedwithherpossessionsinLucerne,namelytheVillaOgilvy,itsgroundsandfurniture,andcertainmoneysthatshehadinlocalsecuritiesoratthebank。Thehouse,itsappurtenancesandcontents,wereleftabsolutelytoGodfrey,thePasteurBoisetbeingappointedtrusteeofthepropertyuntiltheheircameofage,withalegacyof£200,andanannualallowanceof£100forhistrouble。

点击下载App,搜索"Love Eternal",免费读到尾