ROMANCE OF 
 
 /In pihTER ^GO. 
 
 BY 
 
 Author of "Paradise." 
 
 KOSE PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 
 1889. 
 
EulereJ according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year 
 one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, by the £>0S£ FUBLISHINO 
 Company, at the department of Agriculture. 
 
% 5edlcnf« this, book 
 
 to 
 
 Mu Critics* 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Washington editor of one of the most widely circu- 
 lated New York dailies asked me, not long since, how I 
 came to hit upon what he was pleased to call the whimsi- 
 cal plot of my little novel ** Paradise " — going on to say 
 that it could only have been inspired by fact. 
 
 I assured him that such was the case, and further ex- 
 plained that the present story, The Romance of an Alter 
 Ego, was based on the circumstances of a lawsuit that 
 actually occurred some two yearo ago in Brooklyn. 
 
 This evening, while revising my final proofs, I find a 
 paragraph in the Commercial Advertiser^ quoted from 
 the Philadelphia Times ^ that so strangely coincides with a 
 portion of my plot that I give it in full below: 
 
 "Two years ago Miss Jansen, a pretty and accomplished girl 
 of eighteen, left her home in Stockholm and came to relatives at 
 Caldwell, in this county. On the steamer coming over Miss 
 Jansen met John and Henry Stanton, twin sons of an English 
 merchant at Stockholm. Both young men fell in love with her, 
 but her preference was so strong for John that Henry apparently 
 gave up the role of suitor. 
 
 " The resemblance between the brothers was striking, and they 
 were constantly mistaken for each other. John and his sweet- 
 heart were soon engaged, and last Thursday evening was fixed 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 for the wedding. The Rev . Mr. Swenson was on hand to per- 
 form the ceremony. The groom arrived without his brother, 
 who, he said, was sick. The ceremony took place, and after a 
 reception the couple left the house. Before they had gone a 
 block the young man said he must go to New York and nurse 
 his brother. The bride wanted to accompany him, but he 
 refused. 
 
 "At noon yesterday a dejected and tired-looking young man 
 arrived at Bloomfield and asked for Miss Jansen. When she saw 
 him she ran to greet her supposed husband. He repulsed her 
 and wanted to know why she had tricked him; at the same time he 
 handed her a telegram. It was from Philadelphia and was signed 
 Emily Jansen. It was dated Thursday. It requested him to 
 meet her at the Continental Hotel at eight o'clock that evening. 
 All was confusion, but gradually the truth came out. Henry 
 Stanton had decoyed his brother to Philadelphia, and, trusting to 
 his close resemblance, had gone to Caldwell and married Emily, 
 Mrs. Stanton will at once apply for a divorce." 
 
 Lloyd Bryce. 
 New York, April i6, 1889. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 I. 1 
 
 Now that the excitement is over, I can look back quite 
 calmly on events which divided the greatest city of the 
 New World into two opposing camps, which sent a chill 
 of horror down the spinal column of every bachelor un- 
 blessed with hosts of relatives and friends, and afforded 
 food for gossip, I might add, to every newspaper through- 
 out the entire length and breadth of this mighty land. 
 People called the case a sensational one, but if the suit 
 were sensational how much more so proved the sequel — 
 this sequel, which, though buried in my soul, has at last 
 broken through its trammels and burst into print. 
 
 A French judge, it will be remembered, used to say in 
 any vexed case, " Chcrchez la femmc T — implying that a 
 lady was the cause of every trouble. There certainly was 
 a lady in my case, without a doubt; there have been 
 many ladies in previous cases of mine. I have suffered 
 largely through women, and yet, like Lord Beaconsfield, 
 1 have been largely benefited by the sex. 
 
 As regards my status in society and how and why I arr' 
 before you, it will be sufficient for the present to touch 
 only upon my immediate past. 
 
2 THF, KOMANCE OF AN ALTER ECiO. 
 
 For reasons in no wise bearing upon this story, though 
 closely connected with a woman, I had given up the pracr 
 tice of the law in a New England city for the freer life of 
 a ranchman. Please accept the fact that I had embarked 
 in my new career on the eve of a jihenomenal rise in cat- 
 tle, and that, the profits continuing large, I had found 
 after a fe\v«years a small inheritance developed into a con- 
 siderable fortune. Please accept the fact that 1 had there- 
 upon sold out my interef c, and, turning my face to the 
 New- World Mecca for hastily acquired riches, I arrived 
 in New York one bright spring afternoon, with the object 
 of enjoying that rest and recreation which my struggles 
 with the world had prevented my indulging in before. 
 Please accept the fact, however, that I had not a 
 smgle friend or acquaintance that I knew of in the city, 
 and that, save for one brief sojourn, I had never visited the 
 city before. 
 
 I am a firm believer in presentiment. The curious fea- 
 ture about presentiments, however, is that they seldom, if 
 ever, serve to forestall the trouble they anticipate. I re- 
 member the most prosaic incidents connected with my 
 arrival here : that I had a slight chill driving down from 
 the station, that the columns of the porch of the hotel 
 where I descended looked dark and forbidding and, lastly, 
 that the fac-simile of the great fist of the Statue of 
 Liberty, then temporarily ornamenting Madison Square, 
 seemed veritably holding up its torch in warning. In 
 short, I had ihat strained sensation of intensity they say 
 men have when entering battle, when on the eve of a duel, 
 or when merely about to get married. 
 
 I suppose it is because of some such psychological con- 
 
THK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 3 
 
 ditions as these that we get the expression ''Coming 
 events cast their shadows before." 
 
 I am half a philosopher and half a fatalist. I tried to 
 throw off my vagne feelings of oppression, of an approach- 
 ing horror, of something unwonted, something that had 
 perhaps never occurred to any man before ; and by dint 
 of a fair bottle of champagne (oh, that cursed bottle! 
 without it I would have taken the first train back to the 
 West) and a contemplative cigar, I at last succeeded fairly 
 well ; indeed, so rehabilitated did I feel that I resolved to 
 venture abroad. I would not be prisoned by my fears, 
 but would, on the contrary, go forth and beard this myste- 
 rious lion of my fancy. I sauntered out into the streets; I 
 wandered down Broadway; 1 began to smile to myself at 
 the folly of indulginginsuch fears, and had actually begun 
 to notice the changes four years had made in the metropolis 
 when my Nemesis came upon me and consumed me. 
 
 I was crossing a square, one of those numerous ones 
 gridironed with car-tracks. There was a street-car be- 
 fore me, one behind me, one on each side of me, and one 
 exactly opposite me which had stopped just in front 
 of my path, as horse-cars will. Indeed, in this age 
 of general criticism I wish some one would raise up 
 his voice in indignant protest against horse-cars. We are 
 tyrannized by horse-cars, we are metaphorically ground 
 down under their iron wheels ; always full when we want 
 to use them, always in our way when we don't, they pos- 
 sess but a single recommendation — namely, their divi- 
 dends, which, alas ! are held in too few hands. Sufifice it 
 to say I was compelled to stop, and, being so near this 
 particular horse-car, it was only natural that I should assist 
 
4 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 a lady who was strugglin<^to reach its rear platform. In 
 some ways I am a weak man. perhaps a not altogether 
 unsusceptible one. I don't mean to say by this that I 
 would not assist a stout or an old and ugly lady, too, but 
 what I mean is that I would instinctively help a pretty 
 and a young woman more readily than an ugly or an old 
 one. It takes less power of the will to do so, and comes, 
 I am loath to confess it, quite naturally. 
 
 This woman was neither ugly nor old; I could tell it by 
 the sweep of her dress, the contour of her cheek, and the 
 tiu'n of her ankle as her foot lightly touched the step. 
 Well, I helped her to the platform, and she turned to 
 thank me. Great heavens ! shall I ever forget the 
 change that came over her face as her eyes met mine ? 
 It must have been rapid, but it seemed an eternity, so 
 marked was each phase of her emotions from surprise to 
 conviction. It fascinated me. A bright, sparkling face she 
 had, now that it was turned fully towards me, but becom- 
 ing pale, her eyes growing more fixed and glassy as she 
 regarded me from the rear platform of the horse-car, that 
 had got blocked and could nol or would not move on. It 
 was a green horse-car — its very color is indelibly impressed 
 upon my memory, and even the face of the conductor, as, 
 with hand uplifted to the strap, he stood a little behind 
 her. Why should she look at me in that bewildered man- 
 ner? Why should she display such astonished surprise? 
 These half-queries floated through my mind as her gaze 
 rooted me to the pavement. Then, the ':orse-car suddenly 
 starting ahead, I heard a suppressed cry, and either losing 
 her balance, she fell forward, or half threw herself into my 
 arms. 
 
 / 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 5 
 
 With the advance of the horse-car lately before me, all 
 the other horse-cars began to move, and with them the 
 heterogeneous crowd of vehicles constituting the blockade. 
 
 What could I do ? I could not deposit my fair burden 
 in the street, I could not run after the horse-car with 
 her in my arms. I consequently bore her to the sidewalk, 
 as much for her own protection against the feet of pranc- 
 ing horses and the wheels of carriages as for my own. I 
 would have borne her to the nearest shop on the corner 
 had T not unfortunately caught sight of a druggist's in the 
 middle of the block. Thither I conveyed her, followed 
 by the usual rabble that any accident or excitement in 
 the street causes to rise up as if by the magician's wand. 
 On reaching our destination I called for a glass of water 
 and pressed it to her lips. Then she revived, and, slowl)' 
 opening her eyes, *' O George!" she exclaimed, "have 
 I found you at last?" 
 
 " My name is neither George, ' I returned, " nor have 
 I anv right to suppose you have been seeking me for any 
 extended period." 
 
 In the meanwhile the people who had followed us be- 
 gan pushing into the shop just as such people will. 
 
 Now, as of all things in the world I most detest a 
 sensation, I briefly explained the matter to the drug- 
 gist and turned to leave. As I got near the door, 
 however, she half rose from the chair on which I had 
 placed her. 
 
 "O good friends, follow him !" she cried. *' Find out 
 where he lives; he will desert me again ! Help ! He is 
 my husband !" 
 
 To arrive in a city whither one has come to secure 
 
6 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 rest and enjoyment, and to be claimed as the husband 
 of a youny^ woman one has picked np, so to speak, in 
 the street, is what the French might call a manvaisc 
 plaisanteric. 
 
 I went back to the shopman, repeated with greater em- 
 phasis the exact particulars of the case, and was annoyed 
 to perceive that he accepted my version rather doubtfully. 
 
 '' Do you mean to imagine," I inquired hotly, " that I 
 am really anything to this lady, that I am actually her 
 husband ? Why, I never laid my eyes on her before five 
 minutes ago. My name is Aaron Simoni," I continued, 
 *' and I only arrived in New York this very afternoon/' 
 
 " Don't let him leave," cried the lady excitedly. *' Fol- 
 low him ! call an officer !" 
 
 Then, with that readiness to protect a female which 
 Americans always evince, the bystanders stepped forward 
 with one accord as a volunteer force in her service. I 
 shook myself free of them. It was too irritating. I even 
 assumed a bellicose attitude with my umbrella. 
 
 At last a policeman, attracted by the commotion, pre- 
 sented himself, and the lady, drawing him to one side, pre- 
 disposed him in her favor by telling him her story first, 
 whereupon he attempted to collar me somewhat roughly. 
 
 "Now look here, officer!" I exclaimed, "this woman 
 has made an egregious blunder; she takes me for her hus- 
 band, but I swear I have never laid my eyes on her, before 
 a few minutes ago, in my life." 
 
 Again and again I reiterated my statement to the police- 
 man, as I had done to the druggist, and I even reiterated 
 it to the bystanders, who by this time quite filled up the 
 shop. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 7 
 
 <' It's a very queer case," observed the policeman 
 dubiously, influenced at last by my repeated assurances. 
 
 " Lynch him!" (meaning me), exxlaimed a belligerent 
 gentleman with a red face and green spectacles. 
 
 "Oh, for shame !" remarked another, " to desert your 
 own wife." 
 
 " But she isn't my wife, damn her !" I cried, with justi- 
 fiable warmth. 
 
 *' Oh ! oh ! oh !" from a woman with a limp baby in her 
 arms and a crumpled bonnet on her head. " Look, baby " 
 (to her offspring), " look at the ogre. AVhat would 'oo think 
 if 'oo's papa treated 'oo's mamma like that ?" Whereupon 
 the baby began to howl piteously and to excite the public 
 temper more against me than ever. 
 
 By this time the interior of the shop, as I have said, was 
 not only thronged, but the sidewalk immediately in front 
 of the shop was thronged too, while a compact mass of 
 faces in rows, one above another, were pressed against the 
 large window-pane ; faces of all descriptions they were, 
 of all ages, both sexes, and of every rank, peering in, with 
 an imperfect knowledge of what was going on insitle 
 affecting the features of each face. 
 
 Up to this moment my only thought had been to es- 
 cape quietly ; perceiving that this could be no longer 
 effected, I turned again to the policeman, 
 
 " I am stopping at the Madison Park Hotel," T said, 
 " and if you will call a cab and get me out of this, we can 
 drive there and my statements will be confirmed." Then 
 T slipped a '* tenner " into his hand, and, clearing the way 
 for me, he ushered mc into a hansom which had consider- 
 ately stopped opposite the door to give the driver a sort of 
 
8 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO, 
 
 gallery view of the spectacle going on inside the shop. In- 
 stead of following me into the vehicle, however, the police- 
 man asked me to wait for him a moment until he went 
 back and spoke to the lady again. 
 
 I could not have escaped had I tried, the crowd was 
 so dense, and was pressing about the vehicle to such an 
 extent, surveying me with the peculiar curiosity people 
 evince for the perpetrator of some e.-.traordinary and out- 
 rageous crime. One person actually reached over, and, 
 as if to show his sense of indicrnant condemnation, prodded 
 me with his stick, while a small boy, slyly biding his op- 
 portunity, pinched me in the leg. 
 
 At last the ofificer returned, and we started off at a pace 
 to distance all but the most athletic pursuers. 
 
 It was not a long drive to the hotel, though it seemed 
 to be, the nature of t^e vehicle showing me off to such 
 advantage, and the horrid beast in buttons at my side. 
 
 We arrived at our destination without further adven- 
 ture, but, as I ought to have realized, the clerks were un- 
 able to give any information as to my antecedents, nor 
 were my letters and papers sufficient to satisfy the up- 
 holder of the law. Consequently he insisted that I should 
 accompany him to the police station i;i his precinct, where 
 he informed me that he had told the lady he would convey 
 me should he fail to be convinced as to my identity at the 
 hotel. Here I was to await any charges she might bring 
 against me. Here I did wait, indulging in the ardent 
 hope that she might never appear. But she came at 
 last. 
 
 How I hated and abhorred her as she stood up there 
 before the sergeant at his desk, so coolly, so flagrantly 
 
THE ROMANCF, OF AN ALTER EGO. 9 
 
 making her accusations! I had ample time to study her. 
 Of a bright and sparkling beauty, as I have intimated, she 
 was faultlessly attired, and was just a shade under the aver- 
 age height. As she went on, I could see that she was emo- 
 tional by nature, and she spoke with a rising fervor that 
 at times was almost sufficient to persuade me of her sin- 
 cerity. I attributed it to her skill as an actress. She was 
 a most accomplished adventuress, I thought. 
 
 She described herself as Edna Dalzelle, twenty-two 
 years of age, and occupying a flat in an apartment house 
 known as the Washington, on West Twenty-third street ; 
 stating that in the summer of '83 — namely, some four 
 years ago— during a visit to Newport, her youthful affec- 
 tions w^re betrayed into a clandestine marriage by a man 
 named Fitzamble, whose ac(iuaintance she had made at 
 the Ocean House, where they had both been stopping : 
 that immediately after the ceremony he had conducted her 
 to New York, and arriving here, without explanation or ex- 
 cuses, he had abruptly deserted her, leaving her to return 
 heartbroken and alone to her father ; that from that time 
 she had never laid eyes on him until half an hour ao-o. when 
 he (1) had helped her into a street-car, I being the errant 
 Fitzamble ! ! ! 
 
 " Have you anything to say, Fitzamble ?" observed the 
 sergeant, looking over at me severely. 
 
 "I have only to say that I never heard the name of 
 Fitzamble before in my life !" I exclaimed indignantly; 
 " that I never was in Newport in my life, that I never 
 sa\v this lady before some fifty minutes ago" (looking at 
 my watch), " and that I am no more her husband than 
 you are yourself." 
 
10 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 "Look out, look out, sir!" — from the desk. "lean 
 hold you for disorderly conduct." 
 
 " Oh, spare him !" cried the lady, clasping her hands. 
 "I only wish him to come back to me, sir, and to recog- 
 nize me. Think what it is, sir, tc have gone through what 
 I have done these past four years !" 
 
 " Stand up nearer here. Fitzamble. Do you mean to say 
 you are not married to this young lady ?" 
 
 ** I mean to say that I will have this whole affair sifted 
 if it costs me every penny I possess in the world." 
 
 The sergeant appeared perplexed. " Well, madam," 
 he at last remarked, turning to my claimant, " though 
 he seems obstinate, I can hardly hold him on the charge 
 you make. If you desire it, however, I will lock him up 
 over-night for creating a disturbance in the street." 
 
 " Never ! never !" interjected the lady. "I will not sub- 
 ject him to such an indignity as that." 
 
 "And in the morning," continued the sergeant, heed- 
 less of the interruption, "you can get the necessary pa- 
 pers from the civil court to secure his attendance at a trial 
 to establish your marital rights." 
 
 At the close of this speech she approached me. 
 
 " I will make a last appeal to him," she said. <'0 
 George, why will you persist in this denial ? Have you 
 f not injured me sufficiently already? I ask nothing of you 
 beyond recognition. I have means amply sufficient for 
 us both. O George, was it because you thought I didn't 
 care for you that you deserted me ? Was it because of 
 those odious officers at the fort who would persist in danc- 
 ing with me ?" 
 
 " Madam, I think this farce has gone about far 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 11 
 
 enough," I retorted. <' I am unaware of what your motives 
 may be, but I wish to have no trouble with you, and I tell 
 you quite candidly that if you persist in your schemes 
 you will find me a man not easily to be blackmailed." 
 
 "Blackmailed!" she cried, throwing up her hands in 
 well-feigned horror. '* And have I only found you to have 
 you accuse me of a crime like that ?" 
 
11. 
 
 I DROVE away in a state of bewilderment only secondary 
 to my irritation. 
 
 At las', however, the very extravagance of the situation 
 appealed to me, and I actually began to laugh. Never- 
 theless it was temporarily an awkward predicament. I 
 had no one to advise me, as I was without a single friend 
 or acquaintance in the city. On thinking over the matter 
 I decided to call upon the proprietor of my hotel in my 
 emergency, and lay the whole case before him. This I 
 did, and he immediately gave' me the address of a Mr. 
 Slocum, as the best lawyer he could think of to advise 
 me in my scrape. 
 
 Although business hours were by this time long over, 
 I was sufficiently fortunate to find this gentleman at his 
 house, anc| recounted to him my singular adventure. 
 
 At first he laughed heartily. When, in reply to his 
 questions, however, I told him of my residence in the 
 West, and further that I had visited New York, curiously 
 enough, at a period about contemporaneous with the mar- 
 riage of the errant Fitzamble, I could see that the case 
 afjsumed a more suspicious, aspect in his eyes 
 
 " I fear I must ask you to acquaint me with your past 
 history," he observed. ** I must know a little more of your 
 family and antecedents. T don't wish to be inquisitive, 
 my dear sir. but T must be fully mformed about you to be 
 in a position to help you." , 
 
 la 
 ) 
 
Till-: KUMAxNCi: OK AN ALTl'.R EGO 13 
 
 '* To begin at the very beginning, then," I saiil, "my 
 family is of Italian extraction, but, to distinguish me as a 
 true-born son of America, my father nametl me Aaron, 
 'i'he combination is not a particularly happy one, but, as I 
 had no hand in the matter, you must not hold me respon- 
 sible. Towards the close of the year 1865 my mother 
 and myself left the quiet village in Pennsylvania where I 
 was born, and moved to Vermont, my father having died 
 under somewhat painful circumstances." 
 
 "How so?" 
 
 "Well, I had an only brother, who was rather wild 
 and unmanageable ; he quarreled with my father, and the 
 war, with its keen excitements, being upon the country, he 
 ran away, enlisted in the Union army, and lost his life under 
 Grant in the Wilderness. He was a mere boy at the time. 
 The news of his death quite broke my father up, for he 
 died shortly after. It broke up our home, too, as I have 
 intimated, for my mother married again and moved with 
 me to Vermont because her second husband's home Avas 
 there ; here I studied law, and had just been admitted to 
 the bar when my mother herself died. Though she left 
 me sufficient to live on in a small way, I continued to 
 work at my profession, and was, indeed, making a small 
 income as a lawyer, when I became involved with a lady 
 who, suffice it to say, made my life wretched. Thereupon 
 I threw up the law, and, forsaking civilization, started in 
 the business of raising cattle out West, which I found, as 
 luck would have it, far more profitable and more to my 
 taste than Blackstone. While out there I came East only 
 once — namely, to New York to collect some moneys that 
 jwere due me in part payment for a herd of catf.Ie I 
 
14 lilt: KOAIANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 had sold in the yards of Chicago — and thouj^h I only 
 intended stopping here a week, I was detained five." 
 
 "And you say this visit to New York was just four 
 years ago ?" 
 
 I nodded my head in the affirmative. 
 
 " It's an odd coincidence, particularly as it would make 
 your return to the West so near the time this Fitzamble, 
 as you say, deserted his wife." 
 
 " But what makes it stranger," I added reflectively, '* is 
 that, as far as I could make out from the woman's allega- 
 tions, the commencement of her acquaintance with this 
 Fitzamble must have followed within two weeks or so of 
 my arrival, too. The cause of my detention was the diffi- 
 culty I experienced in making my collections, and, indeed, 
 I was at last compelled to leave without getting my money 
 after all." 
 
 *' By the way, what was the date of your marriage with 
 this woman ?" the lawyer asked quickly. 
 
 " With which woman? Oh! I see, you want to catch 
 me. I swear before the Lord Almighty I was never mar- 
 ried to any woman in my life !" 
 
 Mr. Slocum became lost for a moment in thought — 
 
 "Well," he exclaimed at last, "I wiH believe your 
 statements." 
 
 Then he promised to have all the particulars about my 
 supposititious .wife (through the medium of a detective 
 agency) at my disposal on the following day, and, further, 
 to defend me should she have the effrontery to bring the 
 case into the courts. Thereupon I retired, and to take 
 my thoughts from the topic of my disagreeable adventure 
 I went to the theatre, and in due course of time after- 
 wards I found myself in bed. 
 
III. 
 
 I OVER .EPT myself the next morning, for it was past 
 ten o'clock when I was awakened by a loud knocking at 
 my door. 
 
 " The gent says he will wait at the office till you 
 come down," a hall-boy informed me through the 
 key-hole; then he slipped a visiting card under the sill 
 and departed. I got up and examined the pasteboard. On 
 it was the name of Henry T. Dalzelle, and in one- corner, 
 "Fine Champagnes, Burgundies, and other Imported 
 Wines." 
 
 So this was a member of the family come to see me al- 
 ready. What right had he to call upon me at all ? My 
 first instinct was to send him down word to go to the devil. 
 Curiosity, however, got the better of my temper, and I re- 
 solved to have a look at him. I am a good judge of char- 
 acter, and I thought perhaps I might gain through him an 
 insight into the kind of people these were who claimed 
 me. 
 
 I dressed myself leisurely, indulging in a good tub of 
 cold water, according to my wont, as a healthy sustainer 
 •through a possibly awkward interview, and descended the 
 stairs. At the office I found a little old gentleman with 
 iron-gray hair well brushed forward. Before I could ob-. 
 ject, he was shaking hands with me effusively as if I were 
 his long-lost son. At last, apparently becoming aware of 
 
 15 
 
l6 THE KOMANCr: OF 'VN ALTER EGO. 
 
 a slight incongruity in his conduct, he drew himself back 
 with an air of reserve. 
 
 *' Before I go any further," he observed with dignity, 
 **I ouglit to know, sir, what you propose doing?" 
 
 " Doing about what?" I asked obtusely. 
 
 "Why, about my daughter." 
 
 "Would you mind coming up-stairs to the ladies' par- 
 lor?" I said, fearful of having another crowd congregate 
 about us. 
 
 He followed me up, and I led him to a retired corner. 
 Then I turned upon him fiercely: 
 
 " Now, what is your motive, sir, in all this business?" 
 
 " My motive, sir, is to right my daughter !" he ex- 
 claimed with equal decision. " After a brief courtship of 
 two weeks you inveigled a motherless girl into a clandes- 
 tine marriage and then basely deserted her. Now, sir, I 
 don't wish all this to get into the papers, so I have come to 
 talk over the matter with you calmly, and see whether you 
 have a spark of gentlemanly instinct in you, or whether you 
 are really the scoundrel your actions would indicate." 
 
 His show of sincerity provoked me. 
 
 "Damn it all !" I cried, "I don't wish to reiterate my 
 statements. I have no doubt you believe what you say, 
 but your allegations don't refer to me. You are eminently 
 respectable people, I have no doubt, and I will give you 
 the credit to suppose you have merely made a mistake in 
 my identity." 
 
 The old gentleman interrupted me by energetically 
 hammering the floor with his cane. *' Well," he said, " if 
 you persist in that line of defense, we will bring it into 
 the courts, sir, and prove it." 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER E(;0. I7 
 
 <'It will be hard to prove that I'm some one else than 
 myself," I retorted. 
 
 <' We'll see about that," he replied, with more haste than 
 logic ; '* my testimony is worth something, sir. Why, I 
 recognized you the instant I laid my eyes upon you." 
 
 "But did you recognize me as Aaron Simoni?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " Aaron Simoni is an assumed name. Who ever heard 
 of such a name in real life ?" 
 
 "I will not deny," I observed, a little taken aback, **but 
 that the combination is a peculiar one ; indeed, my dear 
 sir, it is such a peculiar one that if I had been adopting a 
 name I would have tried something far better. Now do 
 be rational," I continued, seeing him grow again excited. 
 '* So little do I know of all this business that I am 
 actually ignorant of the exact circumstances of your 
 daughter's marriage. Tell me the particulars in full, and 
 I will endeavor to prove to your entire satisfaction the ex- 
 travagance of your position." 
 
 "I will say nothing," replied the old gentleman, shut- 
 ting up like an opera-hat. "I have already taken legal 
 ad^ace on the subject, and you will hear from us be- 
 fore long." Then he departed, and I could hear him go 
 stamping down the stairs. 
 
 a 
 
IV. 
 
 A SHORT time after, a few lines came from my lawyer 
 stating that he would see me at two o'clock, and 
 somewhat impatiently I awaited his coming. 
 
 Punctual to the minute he presented himself, armed 
 with the particulars which he had promised me. 
 
 His information quickly dispelled any lingering doubts 
 I might have had that the situation was simply a case 
 of mistaken identity. 
 
 While not belonging to what is known as fashion- 
 able society, they were in every way respectable people, 
 comfortably circumstanced so far as worldly goods went, 
 if not rich ; the father, a wholesale wine merchant 
 — a profession which is now getting to be held as 
 almost an aristocratic one — owning a large apartment 
 house in a first-rate street. On one floor of this he 
 resided with his daughter, who was his only child, and who 
 was allowed, if report spoke true, the gratification of 
 every whim by her too indulgent parent. 
 
 "Such, my friend, are the persons you have to deal 
 with — mistaken, to be sure, but responsible, high-principled 
 people in every way as far as I can learn, undoubtedly 
 believing, too, in the justice of their own position. Your 
 visit to New York from the West just about the time of 
 the marriage makes it slightly awkward, but all you will 
 
 XI 
 
THE ROMAXCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 19 
 
 have to do is to prove who you arc, and that ought to 
 settle the matter." 
 
 " There are plenty of people whom I could get to 
 prove who I am, and even if there weren't I could easily 
 prove I was never called Fitzamble," I added, with a 
 shudder. " But what line of action is open to her should 
 she actually make a case of it and bring it into the 
 courts? You see I am a little rusty in my law." 
 
 "Well, there are several lines," he observed re- 
 flectively. " First, she could sue you for desertion and 
 failure to support; or she might give an order to some 
 prominent tradesman and have the bill sent in to you, 
 and let him sue you for payment; or she might sue for 
 divorce and alimony." 
 
 "■ Under no circumstances could she force me to live 
 with her, could she ?" I inquired, with a vague dread. 
 
 At this moment we were disturbed by a slight com- 
 motion in the hall outside, followed by a knock at the 
 door. I rose to answer the summons, when a servant 
 announced, " Mrs. George Henry Fitzamble." 
 
 I may as well state here that my suite contained a draw- 
 ing-room (in which I was seated with my lawyer), and as it 
 was into this room that she entered, her visit was robbed 
 of any lack of delicacy. 
 
 On the retirement of her conductor she threw aside 
 her veil, and brushed back the dark, rippling hair that 
 struggled outside her bonnet. 
 
 " Forgive me," she said at last, '■ for the abrupt man- 
 ner with which I recalled myself to your recollection yester- 
 <lay. Forgive me, sir," turning to the lawyer, " for thrust- 
 ing my private affairs upon a stranger. But what else can 
 
20 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 I do when he " (pointing in my direction), '* my own hus- 
 band, refuses to have anything to do with me ?" 
 
 Tears were in her eyes, and I am bound to confess 
 they added to the beauty of the hazel orbs. 
 
 "What would you have me do?" she went on, now looking 
 at me. " Calmly sit down under my indignity ? Suppose 
 I had deserted you, how would you have felt ? Suppose — " 
 
 '* Madam," I interrupted, " I fully recognize the hard- 
 ships of your experiences; I take back any reference I made 
 yesterday at improper motives; I will further admit that 
 this Fitzamble is an unconscionable brute and in every 
 way unworthy of you; but — " 
 
 " Oh, isn't it terrible !'' she interrupted me to ex- 
 claim, bursting into angry tears, as she again addressed the 
 lawyer — "isn't it terrible for him to treat me in this man- 
 ner ! If he said he didn't care for me, if he would only 
 frankly state that he flid not wish to recognize me ! ! ! " 
 
 The lawyer (my lawyer) was evidently soft-hearted. I 
 could see that he was affected — confound him! — I could 
 even see that it required a moral struggle for him to 
 continue to believe my assertions of innocence. Being 
 appealed to, he hemmed and hawed. 
 ' Like a woman, she basely took advantage of his dis- 
 comfiture and redoubled her tears. 
 
 '' Perhaps I'd better leave you to talk over the mat- 
 ter together," he exclaimed. 
 
 *' Now look here," I broke out impulsively, "I have 
 nothing to talk over with this ^ady. I could only reiter- 
 ate and reiterate statements I have by this time grown sick 
 of making." 
 
 "But this is the basest, the meanest defense to adopt. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 21 
 
 I would rather that you struck me, that you reviled me ! 
 By thus denying your identity you deprive me of mine; 
 for if you are not George Fitzamble, who am I ?" 
 
 'I'he lawyer raised his hands above his head. **Well," 
 he exclaimed weakly, " of all cases this is the most ex- 
 traordinary !" 
 
 " Say the most cruel ! the most revoltingly cruel !" 
 she retorted; '' for I only ask recognition." 
 
 " But, madam, to recognize you is equivalent to con- 
 fessing myself some one else than I am." 
 
 " Will you deny that you are now under an assumed 
 name ?" she asked. 
 
 " Most assuredly 1 will." 
 
 *' Then you were under an assumed name when you 
 married me." 
 
 " I never married you at all." 
 
 "Why this long absence, then, if it were not to get 
 away from me ?" 
 
 I was about to enter into the full particulars of my re- 
 turn to the West after my visit to New York, when I de- 
 tected my lawyer (at last recalled to his allegiance) mak- 
 ing a series of pantomimic signals to me over her 
 head. 
 
 "Ah ! I have caught you at it," she cried, detecting 
 his gestures in the reflection of a mirror. 
 
 " I see, sir, you are in league with this gentleman in 
 his conspiracy agamst me. Very well; I can say nothing 
 more. I have appealed to you " (turning to me), "as a 
 loving and affectionate woman ought. I have thrown 
 myself on your generosity; I find you have none. You 
 persist in refusing to acknowledge the bonds you made 
 
22 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 me enter, I must, therefore, seek the assistance of the 
 courts to right me." 
 
 She drew her proud little figure up with the dignity of 
 a queen and swept out of the room. 
 
 I collapsed on the sofa, the lawyer drew a long ''whew" 
 and looked at me again with the same old doubtful ex- 
 pression. 
 
 "Would you mind my ringing the bell for a brandy- 
 and-soda ?" he asked at last. 
 
V. 
 
 A FEW hours after the departure of my lawyer, a formal 
 looking bundle of papers were served upon me by a couple 
 of deputy sheriffs with an order of arrest fixing my bail 
 at five thousand dollars. 
 
 Fortunately I had deposited with the clerk in the office 
 a hundred shares of railroad stock which, having risen be- 
 yond what I considered its fair value, I had intended sell- 
 ing at the first opportunity. Making this over to the pro- 
 prietor as security, I persuaded him to accompany me 
 to the sheriff's office and sign the necessary papers. 
 Thus I was relieved of the unwelcome presence of the 
 two deputies, who had stuck to me like a double shadow 
 until that formality was gone through. 
 
 The last move on the part of my would-be wife did 
 not tend to raise her in my esteem. I saw that she 
 actually proposed to make a laughing-stock of me befoie 
 the whole world; that I was to become a scapegoat for 
 the sins of the errant Fitzamble. What cursed perver- 
 sity of fate should bring her across my path just as I was 
 about to secure a little quiet enjoyment out of life? 
 Less my bonds than my outraged sense of justice pre- 
 vented my taking flight instanter. But I would stick it out 
 ''coute qidcoutey That her allegations would result in a 
 lawsuit I had now no right to doubt. No substantiation of 
 my identity, no allegation as to my celibacy, but only 
 
 33 
 
 I 
 
24 THE ROSTANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 the public tribunals would convince her that 1 was not her 
 own. Indeed, I had a presentiment that, if one court 
 should decide against her she would carry the case up 
 and up, and would never desist till the highest tri- 
 bunal had passed judgment on her claim ; that is 
 the way her determination of character impressed me, 
 and yet I had a lingering belief that the case from 
 its very extravagance could hardly ever be brought 
 seriously into court. 
 
 That a foolish girl should be induced by a design- 
 ing scoundrel to give him her hand after a brief court- 
 ship of two weeks was natural enough — a girl without the 
 guiding influence of a mother to warn her against chance 
 acquaintances picked up in a hotel corridor, and presum- 
 ably allowed by a weak father an inord'nate freedom of 
 action. All this was quite natural, as I say; further, 
 too, that for some reasons best known to himself her 
 bridegroom of a day should desert her. It was also 
 within the bounds of possibility that four years' separa- 
 tion might have blurred on her memory the exact person- 
 ality of a lover whom she had known for so short a time, 
 but the idea of a woman collaring a man on the open 
 street, even supposing a slight resemblance, was simply 
 monstrous. 
 
 Convinced of the force of my own position, and of the 
 general axiom that truth would eventually triumph over 
 her distraught imagination, I allowed matters to run along, 
 and it was not till ten days after the papers had been 
 served on me that, at the earnest solicitation of my 
 lawyer, I proceeded to rake up out of the past such of 
 my old acquaintances as I could lay hands on, and who 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 25 
 
 were willing to come to New York and to swear both to 
 my identity and to my high moral character. De- 
 sirous of settling the matter quietly, I insisted that 
 they should have an interview with the lady, nat- 
 urally supposing that as soon as she was confronted 
 with them she would immediately relinquish her 
 pretensions. Rash hope ! She rebutted their evidence 
 by maintaining that while I might be all that they repre- 
 sented, they failed to show that I might not have adopted 
 the name of Fitzamble for the purpose of deception, and 
 h.ive married her under an alias. 
 
 This immediately placed the case in a more serious 
 light, and gave to it an air of greater probability. It was 
 not sufficient to demonstrate the fact that I was not 
 George Fitzamble, but that I was, on the contrary, Aaron 
 Simoni. Indeed, I could argue as much as I liked that my 
 name generally had been Aaron Simoni, that my real 
 name in truth was such, but to prove that for a brief period 
 of two weeks I had not indulged in the luxury of calling 
 myself Fitzamble and marrying her under a pseudonym 
 was a different matter, involving no change of person- 
 ality, but only of designation. 
 
 By an extreme piece of ill-luck, too, the register of the 
 hole! where I had stayed four years ago during my 
 brief visit in New York had been destroyed by a fire, while 
 the name of Fitzamble was found in bold, aggressive 
 penmanship in the record of the hotel at Newport where I 
 went to look at it. The date of his arrival, too, at that 
 great watering place fell within the period of my sojourn in 
 New York. This was really all they had to base their case 
 on — a mere coincidence of time. And yet to show that 
 
26 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 during my stay in New York I had not visited Newport 
 for two brief weelcs out of the five was as difficult as to 
 refute their charges that during that same period I had 
 called myself by a name other than my own. 
 
 Take any two weeks four years back in your own life, 
 and try to prove that you have not visited some spot as 
 closely adjoining New York as Newport. Probably your 
 letters would establish the fact where you had been, or a 
 review of your business or social engagements. In my 
 case, however, I had been merely a visitor in New York. 
 The nature of my affairs had involved the writing of only 
 a few letters, the recipients of which I would now very 
 likely search for in vain. My correspondence, such as it 
 was, had been on the subject of the payment to me of 
 certain sums of money that were due me. The parties 
 in question proving irresponsible, and having further dis- 
 aj)peared, could hardly be expected now to come for- 
 ward, even if they knew of my search for them, and sus- 
 tain me in a position that would again open up their 
 indebtedness. I had corresponded with no one else 
 than these people, and had consulted no lawyer in the 
 matter. Under these circumstances there only re- 
 mained to unearth Fitzamble. But how could this be 
 accomplished ? Though I foresaw that I might incur addi- 
 tional notoriety for myself by advertising, there was no 
 other course open. Each day, therefore, notices were in- 
 serted in the papers addressed to the hated Fitzamble, 
 praying him, under one guise or another, to come back. 
 With a deceitfulness warranted alone by the straits I was 
 in, he was assured that if he would return he would find 
 something very much to his advantage awaiting him. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. ij 
 
 Fitzamble was appealed to on every score that could 
 move or tempt humanity, but still the real Fitzamble 
 lay low. Fictitious Fitzambles presented themselves, it 
 is true, in great numbers — Fitzambles who were willing to 
 play the role of Fitzamble for a consideration. Indeed, 
 the entire population of the United States seemed to my 
 excited fancy made up of Fitzambles, with only the real 
 one lacking. Fitzamble remained where he was in the 
 great mystery of obscurity, or, less poetically stated, like a 
 fox, close in his hole. To make matters worse, the opinion 
 began to grow more confirmed in my mind, as time ad- 
 vanced, that my lawyer in spite of the great reputation 
 that he bore, was a nincompoop. He had allowed me to 
 slide into a more serious position than there had been any 
 need of, and under the growing conviction that he had be- 
 trayed his incapacity to the other side and that they had 
 taken advantage of it, I grew positively to dislike him, ex- 
 aggerating even his physical defects. He seemed smaller, 
 his eyes redder and more beady, his nose more pointed, 
 and a habit of closing one eye and of looking around his 
 nose grew more pronounced. In doing this he would 
 wrinkle his nose protestingly, and he would only resort to 
 this trick when you would think, on the contrary, he ought 
 to show encouragement and approval of some sagacious 
 proposition that you might have laid before him. Al- 
 together it was the most provoking habit I ever observed, 
 and I think it was growing on him with the progress of the 
 case. Circumstances, however, had gone too far to attempt 
 any change ; I might make a worse selection, and he was 
 at all events honest. What he was not, albeit, was quick, 
 and he had a perverse softness or weakness of disposition 
 
28 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 that inclined me to believe that his sympathies, at all 
 events, were enlisted on the other side. Poor man, pos- 
 sibly I did him injustice; if so it must be attributed to the 
 nervous, irritable condition into which my extraordinary 
 adventure had thrown me. 
 
 Indeed, it is a curious reflection on human nature that 
 when we look back on any critical period in our lives, the 
 small and trivial circumstances are the principal things re- 
 j membered. The trifles, so to speak, become important, 
 and the great things trifles. Thus the contemptible mi- 
 nutiae I have enumerated all come back to me now, while 
 the important events of that period, such as the prepara- 
 tions for the suit, the interviews with my witnesses, the 
 sifting of their testimony, the long talks with my counsel, 
 are blurred and indistinct as if written in smoke. I can 
 scarcely remember the day or the month the trial itself 
 opened. All I remember is that it was an insufferably 
 hot day, with one of those bright, lurid suns in the sky 
 that seem to mock you and to render infinitely insignifi- 
 cant so trivial a circumstance as the bartering away of a 
 human being's freedom. She, however, as she sat listen- 
 ing to her counsel opening her case, is always before me, 
 and again, in due process of time, when she took the wit- 
 ness chair and testified in her own behalf. Indeed, her 
 every word and gesture are burnt as with aquafortis in 
 my memory, and stand out like phosphorescent letterings 
 on the wall of time. 
 
VI. 
 
 To PASS over the circumstances with which the reader 
 is already familiar, I will briefly state that in reviewing 
 her troubles she described the personality and the lan- 
 guage of her betrayer till he seemed a very photograph 
 of myself ; recounting how he had represented himself as 
 a man of wide travel, and alluding to the glowing terms 
 in which he had spoken of the beauty and the fragrance 
 of the South, where he professed to have passed much 
 of his time. She further explained that he had hinted 
 that his youth had been a saddened one, and that the 
 latter years of his life were shrouded in a mystery he would 
 one of these days unfold ; showing how his tale had en- 
 listed her girlish sympathy, until he had overcome her 
 reluctance and finally persuaded her into the necessity of 
 an immediate and secret marriage. Next, and with the 
 simplicity of a child, she went on to describe their walks 
 along the cliffs when the moon touched the waves with 
 silver ; or their long drives far away from the meretri- 
 cious glitter of the great national watering-place, where 
 peaceful lanes and quiet farmhouses seemed to whisper 
 eternal repose. 
 
 The unnatural excitement that I had noticed in her be- 
 fore had given way to a warm and sensuous mysticism. 
 There was an artlessness about her testimony, too, and be- 
 sides this a certain picturesqueness that appealed to my 
 imagination in spite of myself, that affected the judge and 
 
 29 
 
30 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 the jury, as I coiikl perceive, and predisposed them against 
 me. Indeed, I may as well say here, and I leave it to 
 the records of our tribunals generally to bear me out, that 
 a man, never mind how just may be his case, stands a 
 very poor show before an American jury where a pretty 
 woman is concerned. I don't care what the (piestion at 
 issue may be, whether you are involved in a suit for a 
 breach of promise to marry, or merely in one with your 
 laundress for washing your handkerchiefs, so long as it 
 is with a woman, my advice to you is to fly. 
 
 From my very first appearance in court I had recog- 
 nized a certain hostility to me ; it evinced itself at every 
 stage of her remarks, and particularly in describing her 
 marriage and her abrupt desertion, when judge, jury, and 
 audience all united in fixing upon me a glare of disappro- 
 val which I found it hard to face. 
 
 ** Tell the court the exact circumstances under which 
 you were deserted," her lawyer said. 
 
 " We arrived in New York by the afternoon train from 
 Newport," she answered. '*We drove immediately to 
 Blank's .Hotel on Broadway ; while I went upstairs to 
 brush off the dust of the trip, my husband stopped be- 
 low to order dinner in the restaurant, promising to join 
 me immediately afterwards and to bring me down. I 
 never saw him again. I learned, however, that a gentle- 
 man had called for him in a carriage, and that he was 
 seen driving away in this carriage, presumably with his 
 visitor. I returned heart-broken next morning to my 
 father," she continued, **and from that evening till I met 
 him on the street he has kept away from me. O sir!" 
 (turning to the judge) **if he had simply told me that he 
 
TlIF, HOMANCK OF AN ALTER EGO. 3I 
 
 (lid not care for me — anything else than this ! It robs me 
 of my position in the world, it robs me of all" (to the 
 jury) " a woman holds dearest, it robs me " (to the au- 
 dience) " of my right to hold up my head !" 
 
 A sympathetic murmur followed this appeal. 
 
 " When he next saw you, did he try to escape from 
 you, or did he act like a repentant husband ?" was asked 
 by her lawyer. 
 
 " He tried to escape from me; he carried me into a shop, 
 for 1 fainted in his arms, and had I not been on the alert 
 he would have deserted me again!" 
 
 Here my lawyer, the nincompoop, got up to cross- 
 examine her, wrinkling his nose according to his manner 
 and peeping out through his pink eyes. With incompar- 
 able stupidity he blunderingly alluded to me in the course 
 of his questions as Fitzamble, when the whole gist of my 
 deteiise was to show that 1 had never been known by that 
 name. A circumstance for which I now accuse him of 
 even culpable negligence was his failure to press to a sat- 
 isfactory answer the following statement which was reluc- 
 tantly drawn from her in her cross-examination, namely : 
 that she had been for some time confidently looking for- 
 ward to the sudden return of her husband, and her excuse 
 for doing so was that *' some one had told her that she 
 might." On being asked for particulars concerning this 
 mysterious prophet, she answered that she was a female 
 acquaintance by the name of Rebecca Seaton. Beyond 
 this, however, she would say nothing more, and my law- 
 yer weakly failed to press his inquiry. 
 
 Then her father was put into the witness chair, and 
 svvore positively to my identity, stating that he distinctly 
 
r ■ 
 
 32 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO, 
 
 remembered my attentions to his daughter, though, of 
 course, at the time he was unaware that a clandestine 
 marriage was to result therefrom. 
 
 Several other witnesses for the plaintiff were called, 
 who all swore to the same. The statements of the clerk 
 of the hotel at Newport, however, were the most sur- 
 prising. 
 
 He said my coming to Newport was connected in 
 his memory with an extensive burglary that had been com- 
 mitted, a few days before my arrival, at the villa of one of 
 the summer residents. He remembered to have got the 
 idea that I had come to investigate this robbery from the 
 fact of having once recognized in my company a detective 
 whom he (the clerk) had previously known in Chicago. 
 Besides the clerk, two porters swore that I had been at 
 Newport, and, in addition, a chambermaid who had re- 
 membered making my bed at the same hotel. 
 
 This concluded the plaintiff's case, and my lawyer 
 thereupon addressed the jury, stating that the defense 
 would consist of an attempt to prove that there was a 
 mistake in my identity, and that, in short, I was not the 
 person the lady pretended. When he had finished I was 
 called up as a witness in my own behalf. I am quite 
 aware that I cut a very poor figure as I took my seat. 
 
 Two-thirds of the court were already against me, in- 
 cluding the judge, the jury, and, I veritably believe, my 
 own lawyer in addition. I was a little confused, too, and 
 a sea of heads seemed to swim about me. I recovered 
 myself, however, and stated with great positivenccs my 
 real name and the place of my birth. In reply to the 
 questions of my lawyer I also entered into the reasons 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 33 
 
 of my departure from the West, when I had originally visit- 
 ed N\;\v York, and easily showed that my return to the West 
 was not for flight. There remained, however, the more 
 difficult fact to controvert — viz., that while I was admitted 
 by the other side to be all that I represented, I yet had not 
 married her under the fictitious name of Fitzamble ; that, 
 in short, I had not assumed an alias for the purpose of 
 deception. 
 
 This was the rock on which I split; for, except by my 
 own unsupported denial, I was quite unable to rebut the 
 evidence of the hotel servants at Newport, and particu- 
 larly that of the clerk, who I really believe would next have 
 made me out to have committed the burglary, had it 
 not occurred several days before my supposed arrival 
 there. 
 
 The most extraordinary fact, however, going to show 
 the litter unreliability of expert testimony, was the evi- 
 dence of a letter proposing a rendezvous one evening 
 on the hotel piazza. It was in the same bold and aggres- 
 sive penmanship as I have before remarked on, and when 
 it was presented to me by the lady's lawyer I indig- 
 nantly denied ever having written it. For, while I am 
 not addicted to self-laudation, there is one thing I have 
 always considered that I had just right to pride myself 
 on— namely, my penmanship. It is neat and rounded, 
 each letter distinct, though unassuming and evincing in 
 its every line a much-to-be-admired modesty of character. 
 An actual letter of mine, that one of my witnesses had 
 fortunately preserved, was produced and compared with 
 this Fitzamble letter, and yet, to my astonishment, they 
 were decided to be one and the same hand. To be sure, 
 
J4 I'HE g:OMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO, 
 
 )t was admitted that they differed at first sight, but 
 there were certain traits that proved, in .splcof my denial, 
 the first to have been a disguised hand. There was the 
 same way of dotting the /"s and of crossing the /'s, and 
 where this manner was not distinguishable there were 
 unmistakable evidences, according to the expert, of a 
 studied effort to conceal it. The Fitzamble letter ran in 
 this wise, and I give it for what it is worth, alongside of 
 one of my own by way of comparison : 
 
 ma at (^.A^O 0'?i l/ie o^ (^ ca'}^ne}^ o^' 
 ^''^au7^ ItUie ^- — lo- co7)irnancl. ^^ 
 
 l^u the ten^thiltif ttaifi >M. Jl. to-mallato. J^ 
 canvenient. c/ i^^hould Uhe to i^^eo ^aiv (Acfale' my 
 defialtiae. '^oiiU' tliUifj 
 
 The idea of drinking sunshine from a woman's eyes 
 at 9.40 at night ! Leaving aside the difference in the pur- 
 port of the two missives, could any greater dissimilarity 
 exist than in the two handwritings ? I ask the reader 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 35 
 
 candidly whether there is one single point of resem- 
 blance. Alas ! women blind men's eyes, and those of 
 American jurors in particular. 
 
 "Do you think women are good judges?" was once 
 asked a distinguished wit. " I think they're better exe- 
 cutioners," was the reply. 
 
 When a woman is a plaintiff in a suit, she has no chance 
 of becoming the executioner, the whole court are so anx- 
 ious to relieve her of the mere executive duties of her 
 position. 
 
 Nevertheless I persisted in my denial of the authen- 
 ticity of the letter and the truth of her statements 
 generally. The expert called in on my behalf upset 
 the argument about the dots over the /'s as well as the 
 crosses of the /"s, and I further assured the Court that I 
 had never been to Newport except once in my life — 
 namely, when I had gone to look up evidence in this very 
 suit. Through my lawyer I challenged any of the parties 
 to prove it, and I challenged the clergyman who married 
 me (a knock-kneed young man with a stiff collar and a 
 Wellington nose), who finally confessed that he had mar- 
 ried so many people that he could not well remember. 
 I challenged, through the same medium, the hotel clerk, 
 the two porters, and the chambermaid, who at last acknowl- 
 edged that a very long time had expired and that they 
 were not quite positive. My tale actually seemed to 
 impress the jurors, and my lawyer, picking up courage, 
 in ills final address insisted that it was only too natural 
 fur the plaintiff to be mistaken after such a brief court- 
 ship and so long an ensuing separation, expatiating on 
 the cruelty of handing over a man to the tender mercies 
 
36 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 of a woman he had never so much as known. Indeed, he 
 was getthig along swimmingly until, carried away by his 
 eloquence, I rashly rose again to ar-ist him, and, with 
 a touch of real dramatic feeling, I Vaced my hand on 
 my heart as I said, ''Gentlemen of t. jury, I am not 
 the man." 
 
 I had put my foot in it, as is usually the case under such 
 circumstances, for the lady rose too. 
 
 *' But he is," she interrupted. ** O gentlemen, he is the 
 man. He tells you he isn't till he makes you believe that 
 he isn't, but who is as capable of judging as I — I, his own 
 wife?" 
 
 The murmur of approval that greeted her retort could 
 this time not be suppressed. From that moment I 
 knew my fate was sealed. Nothing from my lawyer was 
 listened to after that brief but telling ejaculation, "who 
 is as capable of judging as I — I, his own wife?" Before 
 this antagonism I grew sullen, and, sinking my hands in 
 my trousers pockets, I resigned myself to the inevitable. 
 
 I need only give the concluding passages of the judge's 
 charge to the jury in order to show that I waf right in 
 considering the case already decided against me. 
 
 " You will remember, gentlemen of the jury," he said, 
 ''that the defendant, if he be Fitzamble, has a deep inter- 
 est in the Outcome of this case, and this interest you must 
 carefully consider when weighing his testimony. 
 
 " On the other hand, it is difficult to conceive that a lady 
 situated as the plaintiff is could have any object in forc- 
 ing a marriage upon the said defendant, unless such a 
 marriage had actually occurred. You will therefore take 
 the case, gentlemen, and test this evidence according to 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 37 
 
 the rules which I have laid down for your guidance. 
 Bearing in mind the important effect which your verdict will 
 have upon the future life of a most estimable lady, you 
 will give that decision which the evidence seems to re- 
 quire." 
 
 Th^^eupon the jury retired in charge of an officer sworn 
 to keep them without meat or drink, save water, till a ver- 
 dict was reached. 
 
 It is needless to say after such directions from the judge 
 they did not remain hungry very long, and, to draw a pain- 
 ful scene to a close, I found myself charged with the sup- 
 port of a wife who, but for the trial and attendant circum- 
 stances, was a perfect stranger to me. 
 
VII. 
 
 » 
 
 I LEFT the building in a frame of mind that I frankly 
 confess I have no language to portray. Out I walked 
 farther and farther up the main artery of this great city 
 towards Central Park, where the trees and lakes promised 
 alleviation to a troubled soul. 
 
 There are spots in Central Park which are really pretty, 
 spots so naturally picturesque that the peoj^le who have 
 had it in charge have really, with all their efforts, been 
 quite unable to deface them. In one of these places I 
 threw myself down on a rustic bench. 
 
 Was this after all to be the outcome of my career, this 
 the grand climacteric of my life? Was 1 to be hand- 
 cuffed, chained, and shackled in a free land to a woman 
 courted by another man ? How I cursed Fitzamble, Mrs. 
 Fitzamble, Mr. Dalzelle, and the entire crew ! And the 
 very extravagance of the situation occurring to me anew, I 
 laughed out loud. People jnissing might well have thought 
 me deranged ; I had certainly gone through enough to 
 make me so, and laugh I would. Forsooth, I had won a 
 wife, and he who wins may laugh. Suddenly I grew seri- 
 ous. I had heard of people through some process of un- 
 conscious cerebration forgetting their own identity. Could 
 I have forgotten mine ? Coukl I really have adopted for 
 those two weeks .the personality of Fitzamble withou*" 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EOO. 39 
 
 knowing it ? I went over again each separate stage in the 
 trial, and measured and weighed the evidence in the light 
 of this sudden reflection. In this same connection, too, 
 the plot of a novel I had somewhere read recurred to my 
 memory, very badly written, it is true, but of strong and 
 absorbing interest. It was of a man who at stated in- 
 tervals lost entire control of his memory. During these 
 intervals his mind was an absolute blank, and his times of 
 aberration lasted for three years each. They came on 
 suddenly and without warning, and on awakening to con- 
 sciousness he would pick up the thread of his last thought 
 and action just exactly where he had left off, and as if 
 nothing had intervened. The powerful situation in the 
 romance was when he conducted his bride to her apart- 
 ment in the lofty tower of his ancestral castle, and, for 
 some reason (probably a deeply ingrained suspicion of the 
 sex), turn'^d upon her the key, intending to leave her but 
 for a few minutes. Then occurs a lapse of memory. On 
 his return to consciousness, he picks up the thread of his 
 last thought, and with it presumably the key of the apart- 
 ment. He mounts the stairs to the lofty turret, opens the 
 door just as if he had been away but for five minutes, and 
 finds a skeleton of three years in the soft bridal drapery. 
 
 It isn't a pretty story, lar more morbid and high-strained 
 than mine, for while he had lost a bride I had gained one; 
 and yet, wretch that I was, I almost envied him his 
 loss. 
 
 But to return to the situation I had conjured up. Could 
 I really have suffered from some such mental affliction ? 
 If so, all my dramatic situations come in during the 
 blank. During this aberration had I married this womtn, 
 
40 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 and, suddenly waking, had I only then picked up the 
 thread of my previous life ? So absorbed was I in the 
 possibility of such an explanation of the affair that I failed 
 to notice a couple of men regarding me intently; so ab- 
 sorbed was I that when T rose to retrace my steps I failed 
 to notice that they followed me; so absorbed was I that I 
 failed to notice that they were possessed of anything but 
 attractive physiognomies, and were gaining on my steps; 
 ; :j absorbed was I that, according to my wont, I was walk- 
 ing quickly and therefore rapidly approaching a more 
 frequented part of the Park than where I had been sitting. 
 I say that I was so absorbed that I failed to notice them. 
 This is scarcely accurate ; what I should say is that I 
 was so preoccupied with my own thoughts that the two 
 strangers made at the time no particular impression on 
 me, though I remembered them distinctly afterwards, as 
 I had good cause to. 
 
 On reaching my hotel I found a swarm of reporters im- 
 patiently waiting my coming. I had jumped into sudden 
 notoriety. Heretofore my case had attracted compara- 
 tively little attention; now it was in every one's mouth. 
 The real dramatic character of the situation was only be- 
 ginning to be appreciated. The reporters would not let 
 me pass. They caught me by the sleeve, and actually by 
 the skirts of my coat. I must give a detailed account of 
 myself, of the trial, of my early life, " how came I to do it, 
 and what it felt like"; calling me Mr. Fitzamble as often 
 as Simoni, and considering me in the light of a new acqui- 
 sition for journalistic enterprise. I pushed by them; why 
 shouldn't I ? Forsooth, I was not a politician who basks 
 inf the light the press kindly sheds upon him ; I mounted 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 4I 
 
 to my room, I threw off my coat, and flinging myself on 
 my sofa, I fell asleep. 
 
 I awoke after some two hours* restless tossings, with the 
 feverish state of my mind but little assuaged. It was past 
 seven o'clock, one of those hot, sultry evenings that June 
 throws forward as a herald of the fiercer heats of August 
 soon to come. I went to the window and looked out upon 
 the city lying below me. I don't know why, but there 
 is always a suggestion to me of something sensual and 
 voluptuous about a city at the close of a heated day — 
 something of the tired, weary wanton, wlio, after a brief 
 respite, is to bloom out again in the light of her dazzling 
 jowels. The very vice and wickedness of a great city, its 
 passions and its cruelty, its mystery of nameless infa- 
 mies, and its bursts of generous emotions — all this is 
 truly feminine, only it is of the unsexed type. 
 
 Below me, Madison Square, with its trees and grass- 
 plots, lay extended like a map in the twilight, to which the 
 tlust and the smoke of the great city gave a yellowish 
 hue; around the square, the street lamps, touched by the 
 magic wand of the lamplighter, began to twinkle one after 
 another; and even as 1 gazed, the great ball of electric 
 fire in the middle of the park gleamed into being like a 
 freshly lighted star. I felt feverish, as I say, and yet dis- 
 heartened; something like a longing suitor who wooes with- 
 out hope. Men with less provocation than I had have 
 leaped from lofty windows. I looked down upon the 
 pavements, so cruel in their stoniness, so cold for all their 
 refracted heat. I could imagine them calling and tempt- 
 ing one to come. There are only two courses to pur- 
 sue at such times as these; one is to accept the invitation, 
 
42 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 the Other is to hurry off to dinner. Of the two, I finally 
 decided on the last. I dressed myself carefully, accord- 
 ing to my wont, putting on, because of the heat, my sum- 
 mer dress suit, I tied my tie very carefully and proceeded 
 to Delmonico's, where I usually dined. Yes, a good din- 
 ner, a Delmonico dinner, is a glass through which the 
 world assumes a brighter hue; each course, as a sepa- 
 rate stage, lifting one nearer to the climax of a supreme 
 beatitude. 
 
 I know men who live for fame, I know men who live for 
 money, I know men who live for heaven, and still others 
 who live for Heaven knows what, but the philosopher lives 
 for that which he can taste and enjoy each day, and this 
 is a good dinner. Under its benign influence our every 
 sensation is quickened, and I have even heard it intimated 
 that a true-born son of America experiences, after a brief 
 sojourn in Europe, a greater glow of patriotic fervor on 
 once more tasting terrapin than on sighting the proud 
 banner of his native land. 
 
 Be this as it may, I felt my interest in mundane affairs 
 revive with the advance of my dinner, and I reviewed over 
 the rim of my champagne glass, with something like 
 amusement, the heterogeneous crowd that nightly as- 
 sem.bles at Delmonico's. 
 
 And what an over-dressed, flash crowd they were that 
 surrounded me; what a perfect personification of the swell 
 mob! Properly speaking, there is no society in New York; 
 there are only sets, and, polyglot as its component parts 
 are, there is a regular Delmonico set, as I had already 
 learned, consisting for the most part of over-fed men and 
 over-dressed women with a stamp of combined wealth and 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 43 
 
 vulgarity bard to eclipse. Here was a butcher celebrated 
 forthe number of races he had picked up during the year; 
 by his side was a lady with diamonds purer than — well, the 
 French she directed at the waiter. Here was an actress 
 whose success on the stage was principally due to Worth, 
 and by her side a young man who ought to have been, 
 where I am convinced he never had been — at school. At 
 the table in the middle is the well-known couple who have 
 never missed a meal here for the past ten years, and be- 
 yond them a party of brokers all talking stock. But, 
 hold ! Where 'lad I seen those faces before ? They were 
 of two men seated at a table in a far corner, and some- 
 how they gave me the impression of being equally though 
 surreptitiously interested in me Though they were im- 
 maculately dressed, their physiognomies were anything but 
 attractive, and it struck me that when they detected me 
 looking at them they slightly moved their chairs so that 
 their faces became concealed. It puzzled me to think 
 where I had seen them before. 
 
 Now, I have entered into the particulars of all these 
 people so as to convince the reader that my dinner was in 
 no wise responsible for the events so soon to follow; that 
 my mind, instead of being muddled with champagne (I 
 had had but a pint), was clear and analytical, and that in 
 all my life my perceptions were never keener or more 
 acute. 
 
 It was exactly forty minutes past ten when I arose from 
 the table. I remember it distinctly, for I looked at my 
 watch. At the door I lighted my cigar and sauntered out 
 into Fifth avenue. The lights of the street lamps flickered 
 feebly in the greater luminancy of the suspended ball of 
 
9 
 44 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 electric tire whicii gave that theatrical, artificial appear- 
 ance to everything it fell on. In the park the benches 
 were thronged with perspiring humanity, and there was a 
 close stuffiness over the city well-nigh intolerable. My 
 nap before dinner had forestalled any inclination to sleep, 
 and as it was too late for the theatres I stood on the curb- 
 stone, hesitating what to do, weighing the advisability of 
 taking a cab for a drive across the suspension bridge; 
 which I had been in the occasional habit of doing during 
 the recent hot spell. 
 
 I had just decided to venture on the trip, and was about 
 to hail a hansom, when I felt myself touched on the arm. 
 I turned and encountered a seedy-looking man, who pre- 
 sented me a letter. I opened it hastily, and in the light 
 of a lamp-post read the following: 
 
 " If Mr. Aaron Simoni will take the 11.15 ferry-boat 
 from East Thirty-fourth street to Hunter's Point, he will 
 be met on landing by a party who will put him in posses- 
 sion of certain facts it might be well for him to know." 
 
 The missive was without signature, but was dated Junes. 
 
 I turned for further particulars to the messenger, but 
 he had disappeared. 
 
 The letter brought my thoughts back with a jump to 
 my own situation. Under ordinary circumstances I would 
 have had my suspicions aroused by such a letter. Now, 
 like a drowning man, I clutched at it as at a straw. Cer- 
 tainly I would go; I would not leave a stone unturned in 
 my efforts to discover a clue to my extraordinary predica- 
 ment. 
 
 It is a curious fact that the very moment I arrived at 
 this decision the recollection of the two men I had seen 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 45 
 
 at dinner recurred to my memory. It is a still more curi- 
 ous fact that at that very moment, too, I recollected where 
 1 had previously seen them, and fixed them as the two 
 strangers I had noticed that same afternoon in the Central 
 Park. There was something suspicious about the r re- 
 appearance, but I could hardly connect them with the let- 
 ter. All the same, a secret impulse led me to return to 
 the restaurant and see whether they were still there. They 
 had gone. Should I look for them in the cafe on the - 
 chance of their having betaken themselves thither for their 
 coffee ? Bother it, no! I would miss my boat. 
 
 As it was, I arrived late at the ferry, and had but just 
 time to catch her as she left the slip. There were very 
 few people on board, and these for the most part were for- 
 ward. I walked through the cabins, which felt particu- 
 larly close and oppressive. Forward it was hot too, since 
 whatever little breeze there was came from the stern. I 
 sauntered back and looked at the city, dark and mysteri- 
 ous, that we were parting with. I became lost in the 
 sight. New York is actually beautiful from the water, 
 and especially at night. To be nearer the water I stepped 
 over the guard chain which crosses each end of the boat 
 to prevent vehicles from slipping over the edge, and looked 
 down into the waves. I was just considering what would 
 be the chances of saving a man should he fall overboard, 
 when something made me look around — not so much a 
 noise as a distinct sensation of approaching danger. I 
 turned sharply, and saw two men just in front of me with 
 both their right arms raised in the act of striking. I 
 heard a sharp, whisping noise, as of something singing 
 past my ear, and, forgetting my closeness to the edge of 
 
46 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 the boat, I sprang backwards to avoid the blow. For an 
 instant I felt myself struggling in space, as the deck of the 
 boat glided from under my feet, and then I experienced 
 that shrinking of the stomach as I pitched down into the 
 water and the dark waves closed over my head. 
 
 I know you will scarcely believe it, but my first distinct 
 reflection was, what a piece of luck my accident would be 
 for the Delmonico waiter, from whom I had forgotten to 
 get the change from a ten-dollar bill in payment for my 
 dinner. But you see I had scarcely time to realize my 
 position, the transit had been so abrupt. I had stepped 
 in one quick stride from the solid deck of a steamer, from 
 the brilliancy and luxury of the world, to a probable wa- 
 tery grave. 1 was in mid-stream, anything but a good 
 swimmer, with the tide running strong. I struck out 
 desperately after the ferry-boat, however, and raised my 
 voice for her to stop. As well cry for the moon; she went 
 heartlessly, obdurately on her way, her great black body 
 punctured by lights getting smaller, and the noise of her 
 wheels, as they beat the water, fainter and fainter. I shall 
 never forget my sense of utter desolation when I realized 
 that I was deserted. Knowing how hopeless it was, be- 
 cause of the current, to try and reach the shore, I threw 
 myself on my back and floated, congratulating myself 
 that I had put on such very thin clothes that they did not 
 weigh me down. In the position I was my eyes were 
 turned upwards, and I began to count the stars; and as I 
 lay there a fancy I used to have in childhood came back 
 to me — namely, that the stars were the little children of 
 the moon. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 47 
 
 How odd that these recollections should have recurred 
 to ire at such a moment ! In great crises, however, the 
 inind takes in little things, as I have earlier observed. By 
 turning my head a little I could see the dark hulls of vessels 
 lying at the docks, and the black mass of the great city, 
 with its innumerable lights twinkling upon me feebly. I 
 could distinctly make out, too, the ball of electric fire 
 which I had seen start into life that very afternoon. What i 
 was life, after all? An electric spark, illuminating, or the 
 reverse, a small circumference for a brief spell, and then 
 snuffed out; a little spark, with a chasm of night before 
 it and behind. Had my life illuminated aught ? Had it 
 shed a genial radiance about it ? Oh! well, what i/ it 
 hadn't ? It made no difference now. I was drifting on- 
 wards, outwards, towards forgetfulness, the forgetful ness 
 of the broad Atlantic. At the rate I was proceeding I 
 would reach there in about two hours, and I began to 
 take measure of my progress by objects along the shore. 
 But, hark! how is this ? What I had supposed, from its 
 tiers of lighted windows, to be a building, is detaching it- 
 self from the land. A large factory or workshop it 
 seemed, long extended rather than high. It was only a 
 ferry-boat, however, that had left its slip, as I soon dis- 
 covered. I watched it as it approached, its great paddles 
 flapping the water with greater and growing distinctness. 
 It was even coming in my direction, and I began to 
 call to it and to shout. Would it pick me up ? At one 
 moment I actually thought so from the course it was steer- 
 ing, and I struck out in order to bring myself more across 
 its path. Great heavens! It suddenly occurred to me that 
 it was getting nearer than agreeable, and the noise of its 
 
^8 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALILR ECO 
 
 paddles actually began to deafen my ears. Then, 
 because it was getting too near, I turned and swam back. 
 But was I not putting myself more within its way by go- 
 ing back ? Thereupon I turned about and swam forwards. 
 Like a female in the path of a rapidly approaching vehi- 
 cle, or, better, a wounded sea fowl that fears capture, I 
 first turned one way, then the other. Could it have sin- 
 gled out the small atom of my personality to overwhelm 
 it ? Like a huge phantom of the night it floated down 
 upon me, looming up higher and highei as it approached. 
 I struck out desperately now, first to one side, then to an- 
 other, and yet I felt that the stopping of its paddles 
 could hardly prevent the catastrophe. One moment I 
 looked over my shoulder: it was fairly on top of me. I 
 remember frantically diving, and trying to make myself 
 sink down, down, and yet I felt like a cork; then a great 
 surging of waters, a confused bubbling as of the breaking 
 of the drums of my ears; I experienced a sharp pain as 
 from the stroke of the paddle across my head, and a mo- 
 ment after, rising to the surface, the lights of the great 
 city were again in my eyes. I was weak and confused. 
 As a dragon sucking me into its capacious jaws, the great 
 unknown was dragging me now. I seemed to be swimming 
 on a sea of oil, Lethe before me, the Past behind. The 
 cirtumstances of the suit crowded again into my memory, 
 as the oil-like waters crept higher over my face. I was 
 sinking down, as it were, into a vast field of oil, and it 
 was closing thick and glutinous and darkly over me. My 
 last distinct impression as I went down was, that I actual- 
 ly was Fitzamble, and that on the whole I was glad to 
 have successfully disposed of him at last. 
 
IX. 
 
 An! how pleasant it is, quite worth dying for, after a 
 life of trouble and of care, to wake up where I found my- 
 self lying now — namely, in heaven! How bright the light 
 is, and how beautiful the angels! How fragrant the at- 
 mosphere and delicious the music of the spheres! How 
 blue the clouds that draped like curtains my cerulean 
 bed! Now, for the benefit of my numerous friends who, 
 1 sincerely hope, are destined for the same beatific 
 realms, I must acknowledge that I had yet one great 
 anxiety as I lay back and reflected, and it was this: name- 
 ly, whether because of the manner of my " taking off " I 
 would be properly recorded by a tombstone down below, 
 stating in deep-cut letters my priceless virtues and how 
 much the world generally had lost in me. This, I must 
 confess, caused me no little anxiety, for even heaven 
 would not be quite heaven if we could worry about nothing. 
 
 The bright effulgence of things, and the general beati- 
 tude of my situation, gradually drew off my mind from 
 this earthly topic, and I began to study a little more care- 
 fully my surroundings. 
 
 There are many mansions in the skies, and presumably 
 many chambers, and, with an appreciation that virtue had 
 at last met with its just reward, I became conscious that 
 muie must be the very best chamber. Indeed, with no 
 little secret pride I could not help recognizing how much 
 
5C THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 better I was <* fixed " (please excuse the expression) than 
 any of my numerous friends that had preceded me couid 
 be, since I was quite alone in my glory; and this was only 
 to be accour 3d for by the fact of my superior virtue en- 
 titling me to degrees of bliss that suffered no vulgar 
 approach. But hold' here comes an angel, the same 
 whose presence I had before been only dimly aware of, 
 but who had been especially detailed, in all likelihood, to 
 look after my comfort. She is again drawing near, and 
 I can hear the flutter of her wings and the rustling of her 
 drapery. She pulls the clouds of my canopy wider apart, 
 and without turning towards me her face, presses my brow 
 as she runs her fingers through my hair. On one of these 
 fingers glistened a tiny star, and another of greater mag- 
 nitude held like a pin the soft drapery over her breast. 
 Through the opening of the clouds, however, 1 caught 
 sight of a figure, who looked anything but ethereal, sitting 
 alongside my bed on a very matter-of-fact chair. Indeed, 
 he was a stout old gentlemaij in a black frock-coat, and 
 he had a way of blowing his nose like a trumpet, but not 
 at all like a heavenly one. He irritated me, he seemed 
 so of the earth, earthy. 
 
 "And how do we feel this bright morning?" he bent 
 over my bed to inquire. 
 
 His question irritated me more than his presence. I 
 must say something to start him off, in order that I might 
 be left alone with my angel. 
 
 " If you'll excuse me, sir," I observed, with a dignity 
 worthy of the exalted spheres I had been raised to, " you 
 look a leetle out of keeping up here ; might I inquire 
 your business ?" 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 5 1 
 
 '* I'm a doctor, my good sir," he replied, with a pro- 
 voking air of gooJ-humored sympathy. 
 
 '' Ah! I see; come to lool: after the numerous patients 
 you have seuc up before their time," I observed, with a 
 touch of malice. ** Is your name Barker ?" 
 
 " I've come up to see one of them," he replied, ♦* and 
 I'm glad he's so much better." Then, turning to my 
 angel, ''We'll pull him through now, madam, we'll pull 
 him through." 
 
 '* Pull him through what?" I asked. I don't know ex- 
 actly what language I expected to find in use where I was, 
 but his jarred upon me sadly. The idea, too, of address- 
 ing an angel as " madam !" I had heard "madams" 
 called " angels " in the wicked world below, but that form 
 of address seemed terribly gross now. This opinion I 
 expressed in quite forcible language. He got up from 
 the chair and looked at me with the most puzzled ex- 
 pression. 
 
 " Where do you suppose you are, anyway, my dear 
 sir ?" he asked. 
 
 *' I'm in heaven, sir, I'll have you to understand. I 
 was knocked off the back of a ferry-boat, drowned in 
 the East River, and came here without the assistance of 
 any doctor." 
 
 I saw him shake his head. 
 
 " A queer case, a queer case," he muttered. *' Thank 
 God we've got him out of his stupor, though! Three 
 drops of that mixture every half-hour, madam ; keep 
 him quiet, and his mind will gradually clear up." 
 
 Then he departed, and my angel came over towards 
 me. Again she bends over me, and this time turns upon 
 
 ) 
 
52 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 nie her face. Where had I seen that face before ? She 
 smiles softly, and a great tear falls upon my cheek. 
 Where had I seen it ? Where? AVhere ? AVhere? Aht 
 I have it, and, recognizing her with a start, I came to my- 
 self and to my real situation. 
 
X. 
 
 To BK Struck from heaven to earth at one fell swoop is 
 a fate that happens to us all at some period of our lives, if 
 iu a less seemingly actual manner than in my case. 
 
 The shock rendered me perfectly speechless and took 
 my breath away. After that brief recognition she left 
 me, and alone I reviewed the situation. I had done all I 
 could. Can you, O reader, suggest a single step I had 
 neglected ? I had fought against my fate, I had strug- 
 gled against it, yet here I found myself in spite of my 
 efforts. To be under her charge, the subject of her soli- 
 citude, ay, the recipient of her hospitality and her ca- 
 resses — was it right, was it moral ? I endeavored to rise 
 from my bed and get up and away. I fell back ex- 
 hausted. I was helpless, unable to resist, therefore I 
 resigned myself to the inevitable. Circumstances too 
 powerful to control were guiding me. What was to be 
 the result ? The assault on the ferry-boat, from which I 
 had so narrowly escaped, seemed further to indicate some 
 sinister conspiracy against my life ; yet to unravel this, or 
 even to explain how I got here, I was yet too weak and 
 exhausted to attempt. Here I was, however, despite 
 myself, and as a relief to my thoughts I began to survey 
 my surroundings again in the light of a fully restored con- 
 sciousness. There was an exquisite freshness and luxury 
 about everything, as I have said, and I smiled as I looked 
 
 53 
 
54 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 at the gauze curtains of the bed and remembered how I 
 had mistaken them for clouds in my slow awakening. 
 Drawn tightly about my couch, they gave a slightly indis- 
 tinct appearance to the objects in the room, to the furni- 
 ture, to the bric-a-brac, and to the hangings of the walls. 
 The last were a sky-I)lue chintz, but the set figures. of the 
 flowers were quite maddening in their regularity. Every- 
 thing on every side was beautiful, however, and through 
 the open curtains of the window the sun streamed in. 
 The world, this world that I had regained, was not so bad 
 a place, after all! 
 
 On the mantel a Dresden chuia clock ticked away the 
 hours, and alongside of the clock were a couple of Chinese 
 mandarins of the same ware. Their heads and hands 
 were moving in the breeze from the window, and I be- 
 thought mc of that most dcliglitful romance, "A Journey 
 Around my Room." Had I not possessed so hearty a 
 contempt for novelists and the like cattle, I almost think 
 I should have sketched out the plot for a book on some- 
 what the same lines. Indeed, I did toy with the idea, and 
 pictured to myself the kind of heroine I would evolve. 
 Should she resemble the heroine of my own actual romance? 
 A keen resentment filled my soul against her, and yet that 
 she was the medium of my restoration to life filled me 
 with a sense of my own base ingratitude because I did 
 entertain that resentment. On the whole the best thing 
 to do was to plead with her to allow me to depart. Why 
 did she not come that I might address her at once ? Again 
 I looked at the clock. Half an hour had elapsed from 
 the time of her departure ; she ought to return soon, if 
 only to give me my medicine. I waited, as I was com- 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 55 
 
 pellecl to do, looking at the clock and anon at the Chinese 
 mandarins, who now seemed nodding at me derisively. 
 I grew angry at them for their behavior, and at her for 
 not coming. I was actually getting impatient to tell her 
 of my anxiety to leave. I prepared myself to receive 
 her with becoming dignity, and saw her in my mind's eye 
 opening the door, with a kindliness that would make my 
 task nevertheless somewhat embarrassing. She would of 
 course be arrayed as she was last ; and again I saw her 
 in my imagination in that pale blue velvet tea-gown, that 
 fell in such soft, luxurious folds from her person. Con- 
 found it ! Was she never coming ? The clock seemed 
 running a race with time. But hush! I hear the creaking 
 of a door ; I hear a footfall — she is coming now. Sud- 
 denly the portieres are drawn apart, and then, not she, but 
 a little old gentleman with gray hair brushed well forward, 
 a little old gentleman of disagreeable if not hated recol- 
 lection, is before me and advancing to my bedside, I 
 don't know of anything more disagreeable than expecting 
 a woman in a pale blue velvet tea-gown puffed with lace; 
 a woman that you have prepared to receive, though it be 
 with dignity, if not coldness, I know of nothing more dis- 
 agreeable, I say, . than, expecting such an apparition of 
 loveliness, to find her father take her place. He came 
 into the room with the same little jerky way he had when 
 he visited me at my hotel, and which had been his usual 
 manner during the suit. Had I been strong enough, I 
 would have pitched him out the window. I was about 
 to express my keen displeasure at his coming — I had in 
 deed opened my mouth for that purpose — when I abruptly 
 closed it on seeing him raise a wine-glass, and after 
 
56 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 pouring into it a few drops from a vial, look at it criti- 
 cally. 
 
 ** I allowed my daughter to attend you when you were 
 unconscious," he said, " but now that you've come round 
 I deem it better to see to you myself. Here, take this." 
 
 There are times when one's emotions are so deeply 
 moved that no words will express them; when one is 
 speechless, paralyzed as it were, by one's own indignation. 
 I tried to open my mouth, but when I did so the horrid, 
 cursed wine-glass was directed at my lips and I would be 
 compelled to close them tight. To suffer the ministra- 
 tion of a woman of an emotional character and a bright 
 and sparkling face, to even have her come and extend a 
 glass with her star-decked fingers, can be borne with a cer- 
 tain degree of equanimity, although that glass contains 
 medicine; but to have a horrid little beast (though he be 
 her father) first prevent the gentle ministration, and then 
 come in her stead to press upon you this nostrum — bah! 
 the medicine becomes poison, and you would do exactly 
 what I did: open your mouth and pretend to take it for 
 the supreme satisfaction of spitting it out. That is ex- 
 actly what I did in my weakness and in my incapacity of 
 resenting his conduct in any other manner, though I must 
 confess I am rather ashamed of my conduct now. 
 1 Mr. Dalzelle coolly poured out another dose, and seating 
 himself philosophically on a chair, crossed his legs. 
 
 "I'll wait here till you take it," he said, "then I'll 
 go. 
 
 **Will you go as soon as I do ?" I asked eagerly. 
 He nodded his head. 
 "Very well, then, I'll take it now," I replied decisively. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 57 
 
 He laughed good-humorcdly as he handed me the 
 second potion, and to be rid of him I swallowed it at a 
 gulp. When he turned to leave I recovered myself and 
 called him back for an explanation of things generally. 
 Instead of acceding, however, he merely waved his hand 
 aiul departed. 
 
 All that day and the next he served me my medicine 
 with his own hands, always refusing to talk or to enter 
 into any explanation, treating me in that blandly patron- 
 izing fashion well people always treat invalids whom 
 they have under their charge. The third day a 
 colored youth, his own body servant, took his place, who 
 was as loath to talk as his master. Between the two of 
 them I became a confirmed man-hater, and by very force 
 of contrast I got to long for the good '* angel " that had 
 tended me during my brief interregnum 'twixt life and 
 death. The more I disliked the men, the more I longed 
 for her — queer compound that human nature is ! 
 
XI. 
 
 The fifth day, feeling somewhat better, I was moved 
 to the sofa from the bed. On repeating my request 
 for enlightenment as to my escape, the servant presented 
 me with a bundle of papers and drew me up to the window 
 so that my back should be turned towards the light. 
 They were all sorted in regular order, and I learned to 
 my astonishment, by the first one I took up, that I had 
 been heralded throughout the breadth of the land as hav- 
 ing attempted suicide; in other words: — 
 
 That " George Henry Fitzamble, alias Aaron Simoni, 
 the defendant in the now famous suit for desertion, had 
 endeavored to end a misguided and useless career by 
 plunging from a ferry-boat into the East River." The 
 paragraph was headed: — 
 
 "Startling Suicide Frustrated," and following this 
 with a wealth of alliteration truly astounding, "Simoni 
 THE Sinner Springs from the Side of a Steamer into 
 THE Sound — Is he Sane ?" 
 
 Three columns were devoted to my personal descrip- 
 tion, and then a notice appeared in an evening extra stating 
 how, the morning prints meeting the eye of a sorrowing 
 wife, she had come with true womanly sympathy to the hos- 
 pital where I had been taken, and brought me home to her 
 nest. Next followed interviews with the principal men of 
 the city regarding their opinions as to my identity — 
 
 58 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EOC. 59 
 
 whether I was Aaron Simoni or (leorge Henry Fitz- 
 amble. Prominent lawyers, bankers, statesmen, clergy- 
 men, and even a prize-fighter, had been retiuired to give 
 in large print their views on the vexed (juestion. 
 
 I learned, too, as I read on, that bulletins were being 
 issued each day as to my condition, and generally that 
 whatever celebrity I had accjuired by the suit was aug- 
 mented by my ''attempted self-destruction." 
 
 As regards the manner -of my escape, I inferred th;i 
 the newspapers were accurate here, save that only one 
 ferry-boat figured in the account; makiug me out to 
 have sprung from the same one which had rescued me, but 
 neglecting to mention that this last had first run me down 
 W'iihout my knowledge, my cries, it seems, had attracted 
 liic notice of a deck-hand, and he had even caught sight 
 of my struggles just after I was struck by the paddle- 
 wheel. Shouting to the pilot to stop, he had ^eized 
 a life-preserver, and jumping into the water had caught 
 me just after I had lost consciousness and as I went down 
 for the last time. The boat had thereupon put back, and 
 we were soon afterwards pulled on deck. In consideration 
 of the way he had risked his life for his son-in-law, Mr. 
 Dalzellehad presented him with the munificent reward of 
 just five dollars. Now, you have the whole story in black 
 and white, save, as I subsequently learned, tha*^ instead of 
 being brought by the daughter to her home, I had, on th ■ 
 contrary, been brought here by her father (though it luul . 
 been at her solicitation), and that I had thereupon been 
 consigned to the chamber reserved for guests; lastly, that 
 a severe scalp wound was expected to terminate in a short 
 time a career that inferentially had been of little profit to 
 
6o THE ROMANCE OF AM ALTER EGO. 
 
 the world except to the pul)Iic journals hy giving them 
 something in addition to the strikes to talk about. 
 
 The extravagance of the situation, and its ludicrous- 
 ness, outraged my every sense of propriety; I would put on 
 my clothes this very instant and away. To have been cap- 
 tured and brought back by " my wife " was bad enough, 
 but to be captured and corralled by her father was in- 
 supportable. Ah! if [ had only known what was in store 
 for me, and how slight a i^reparation this was for what was 
 to ensue, I would not have been in such a hurry to break 
 ttie brief respite that my convalescence afforded me. 
 
 I left my couch stronger than I could have imagined. 
 I opened a drawer of the bureau and discovered a morn- 
 ing suit, which I recognized, and a change of linen, all 
 of which must have been brought over from the hotel. 
 
 Under these circumstances a complete toilet was soon 
 effected, and after a short rest I opened the door and 
 looked out. I found, however, merely a narrow passage- 
 way, ])ut at the further end was another door, I felt 
 somewhat like a criminal as I cautiously moved down to 
 this, and particularly on opening it, when I unexpectedly 
 came on the principal drawing-room. 
 
 Should I endeavor to pass through it ? Yes, that would 
 be the wisest course. I had got half-way across it, and 
 was pirouetting around the center-table, when my foot 
 came in contact with an unseen obstacle, and I stumbled. 
 I heard a slight scream; I turned quickly and detected 
 Edna Dalzelle in propria persona. She had been standing 
 in the deep embrasure of the window, concealed by the 
 curtains. 
 
 For a moment she remained fixed v/here she was, re- 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 6 1 
 
 ganling me with flushed cheeks. Either her embarrass- 
 ment or the recognition of my own surreptitious be- 
 havior made me blush, too. Unless it was the knowledge 
 of the proximity of the household, I hardly know why, 
 but I raised my finger to my lips. 
 
 She came over towards me slowly, but something, I 
 can't say what, was between us. She was no longer the 
 same as she was before, though the same flush suffused 
 her cheeks. It* became her well. Indeed, she never 
 looked so exquisite as she did at that moment. Counting 
 upon her to drop into my arms, her change of manner 
 puzzltd me ; a new-born shyness, an unexpected delicacy, 
 took the place of her former " wifeliness." It fascinated 
 me. In my desire to overcome it I quite forgot that I 
 had been intending to leave the house. I tried to take 
 her hand and she drew it away. I caught it at last, and, 
 weak fool that I was, I raised it to my lips. Then, a re- 
 cognition of all her gentle ministration recurring to me, 
 I drew her towards me and poured into her ear the grati- 
 tude that until now I had failed to appreciate that I owed 
 her. I have said before I was susceptible ; alas ! my 
 sickness had made me more so. I felt the need of sup- 
 port, and because I had been deprived of her society so 
 long after I considered I had the right to expect it, I 
 began to value it at last. Because she did not fall into 
 my arms, as I say, I drew her towards me, but just as I 
 was about to press my lips to hers she escaped me and 
 ran out of the room. I could not follow her. Indeed, it 
 was as much as I could do to get back to my own quar- 
 ters. I had already overtaxed my strength, and regain- 
 ing my room I threw myself down on the sofa utterly 
 
62 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 exhausted. She had actually not addressed me a single 
 sentence, but her actions and her manner were as com- 
 pletely altered as if belonging to another woman. 
 
 How inconsistent is human nature ! Always wanting 
 what it cannot have, and never satisfied till it gets it. 
 
 Had she received me with effusiveness, I was prepared 
 to tell her, to tell her kindly but coldly, my unalterable 
 determination to depart. As it was, I had seized her 
 hand and pressed it to my lips. Bah ! I zcas weak ; and 
 yet why, in the devil's name, had she not treated me as 
 before ? Indeed, I have come to the conclusion that it is 
 the titillating caprices of woman rather than her virtues 
 that fascinate, and that we appreciate her most when we 
 understand her least. 
 
 Now I came back to my room, and as I lay there I 
 determined that I would discover the meaning of her 
 change, and why she had suddenly withdrawn from me 
 her protection and her conidence. For this purpose I 
 would suffer for yet another day the presence of her father 
 and that of the colored servant himself. 
 
XII. 
 
 " So you're up and dressed," Mr. Dalzelle exclaimed, 
 unexpectedly entering the room some three hours 
 later, and he wore a smile of greater geniality than I 
 could have looked for. Indeed, he was actually chirping, 
 and he seemed to take my recovery as entirely due to his 
 own exertions. 
 
 " I've brought you a few novels," he said, opening a 
 l)ackage. " Do you like novels ?" 
 
 I curtly replied that my experier.ces duringthe past few 
 weeks would make any form of " fiction " extremely tame 
 reading. 
 
 Mr. Dalzelle gave a repetition of the same little chirpy 
 laugh as he seated himself. 
 
 " Well, I don't know but you're right," he said; "but 
 if you don't care for novels I suppose you like games. 
 How about chess, now ?" And he 1. )ked at me anxiously. 
 
 " I never played chess in my life." 
 
 " Then, of course, you're an adept at whist ?" 
 
 " Sir, there is not a single game of any character I take 
 the slightest interest in, or can somi'ch as play." 
 
 The old gentleman looked unhappv. 
 
 " What will you have for your old age, then ?" he 
 asked. 
 
 " I'll have a wife," I observed satirically. I could not 
 help it, the retort slipped out so naturally. 
 
 C3 
 
64 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 " That is a very noble sentiment, sir," he repHed. taking 
 me literally, "and one that I ought certainly to indorse. 
 But you will have to learn one of these games. I'm a 
 great player of whist myself, sir — of whist, chess, and 
 indeed of all games ; but I only came to bring a mes- 
 sage from my daughter." He hesitated. ** My daughter 
 is a very peculiar young woman, sir, as you'll discover 
 when you know her better. She takes after her poor 
 mother, who has long since been dead." 
 
 " How about the message ?" I asked, with no little in- 
 terest. 
 
 " Oh! the message. Well, she wanted to make an ap- 
 pointment with you for later in the afternoon ; I put my 
 foot down, however, and insisted that she should post- 
 pone matters, which she agreed to do till to-morrow at 
 eleven o'clock. You'll excuse me if Fm not present, 
 won'l you ?" he stopped to inquire. 
 
 " Certainly I'll excuse you," I said. 
 
 " Because, you know, I go down-town every morning 
 at ten, and, unless it's something special, I don t like be- 
 ing late. Ta-ta, ta-ta !" And waving his hand he went 
 out, only to reinsert his head into the room. "You'll re- 
 member what I told you," he said; "she's very capricious 
 at times, so you must not hold me responsible for any- 
 thing she may do or say.' 
 
XIII. 
 
 Mr. Dalzelle's parting words gave me food for reflec- 
 tion the remainder of the day, and served as the keynote 
 to my dreams at night, for the merest bagatelle, if one's 
 horizon be confined to the walls of a sick-chamber, creates 
 an interest an earthquake would scarcely evoke at other 
 times. 
 
 I rose the next morning feeling stronger than the day 
 before. Yet I flattered myself that the interesting look 
 of the invalid still lingered about me, and that it was not 
 unbecoming. Three times I changed my tie before 1 felt 
 thoroughly satisfied with my appearance, and I resolved 
 to transfer to my button-hole a flower from a vase on the 
 mantelpiece hard by. Yes, I would make myself as at- 
 tractive as possible, though in other respects I would let 
 the blow fall easily — I mean the blow to the poor little 
 woman who loved me, not wisely, but so well Her man- 
 ner was changed, to be sure, but it was merely the natural 
 difiidence of a young and pretty woman at recognition of 
 her peculiar position. Her affection was unalterable, and 
 would always abide. At eleven o'clock punctually I found 
 her in the sitting-room where I had had my interview with 
 her the previous morning. 
 
 I advanced to kiss her hand as a non-compromising ac- 
 tion inaugurated yesterday as a precedent, but she refused 
 me. 
 
 65 
 
66 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 "Would you mind takinj; your seat there?" she said, 
 as she pointed to one end ol an oLtonian, while she toolc. 
 the oi)posite end. 
 
 I was just starting off on the weather, which is an in- 
 variable habit of mine if 1 am set hack, when she inter- 
 rupted me, and in a hard, cold voice. 
 
 '* I sent for you," she began, " I sent for you because 
 — because — oh! how can I tell you," she cried, breaking 
 down, *' why I sent for you ?" And she hid her face in 
 her handkerchief. 
 
 ** But I must tell you, I must make the effort," she con- 
 tinued hysterically, '* never mind what you will think of 
 me." 
 
 I patiently waited to hear what she would say, as 
 I looked at her intently. 
 
 ' * I wanted to tell you that perhaps I have been to 
 blame," she resumed after an awkward pause. "Indeed, 
 during your convalescence, and since I have had time for 
 reflection, I am almost sure I have been to blame." 
 
 "To blame about what^" I incjuired. 
 
 "Why, for my conduct towards you. I scarcely know 
 how or why, but I have begun to have doubts — suspicions." 
 
 "Suspicions ?" 
 
 "Yes, suspicions that I may have been mistaken after 
 all. Imagine what a position I find myself in with my 
 doubt — with my doubt increasing, growing into a convic- 
 tion that you are nothing to me, and that I have made a 
 huge and colossal blunder." 
 
 For a moment words actually failed me. 
 
 " You have been a pretty long time arriving at this 
 conviction," was all I could say. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 67 
 
 ** But it is not a conviction, it is only a suspicion. In- 
 deed, if it were a conviction my course would be clear. 
 But you would not deceive me, would you ?" she went on, 
 hurriedly; *' you are good and true." 
 
 "What has started these suspicions?" I asked, with a 
 natural curiosity. 
 
 "I don't know; mere trifles, little expressions, little ways 
 of speech, that now, as 1 look back upon them, are so like 
 and yet so different from George's. But these differences are 
 merely the result of the long time you have been away, 
 are they not? Oh! if I should have actually made a mis- 
 take, do you know what I'd do? I would throw myself 
 down on the hard, cold stones in the street. Then you'd 
 be sorry for me, and regret that you had treated me so 
 cruelly." 
 
 Without stopping to consider the injustice of this reflec- 
 tion, I felt for the moment a pang like a knife-blade pierc- 
 ing my heart. 
 
 "And you know," she went on, *' nothing that you can 
 do or say will make any difference. If you tell me you 
 did marry me, I am more fully persuaded that you did 
 not; and yet, if you tell me that you did not, I think again 
 that you must have cause to deny your act. Oh! this 
 doubt is killing me; think of my embarrassment at finding 
 myself placed as I am!" 
 
 Ridiculous as it may sound, I sympathized with her 
 deeply. 
 
 ''But could you not care for me if I were other than 
 you supposed?" I weakly inquired, my consideration for 
 her carrying me temporarily away. 
 
 **No," she answered firmly. "I care for you because 
 
68 THE ROMANCE OP AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 of my recollections, and hate you for the differences I de- 
 tect in you. 1 feel myself drawn to you because of the 
 first, and repelled from you by reason of the last. I 
 can't let you go away from me, since I may be mistaken, 
 and I can't regard you quite as my husband after all that 
 has transpired. Oh! why did you ever come back; why, 
 after deserting me, did you not continue to stay away ? 
 I look upon myself as only half married to you. That 
 is the way my situation strikes me." 
 
 " Then divorce yourself from this former chain of recol- 
 lections, and let me stand before you anew — " a new 
 suitor, I was going to say, but I realized the danger of 
 using such a word in time and wisely stopped myself 
 at " anew." 
 
 " Never! never!" she exclaimed. " If it was not you 
 that married me, you could not respect me after what 
 has occurred ; besides how could I ever live with a man 
 whose affections I had captured ? O that lawsuit! 
 When I look back upon it, and consider how you must 
 regard me, I am almost tempted to throw myself down 
 into the street !" 
 
 She got up excitedly, and, opening the long French 
 window, stepped out upon a narrow balcony on which it 
 ga%'e. 
 
 I must have betrayed some involuntary sign of alarm. 
 I certainly rose to my feet, and as I did so a change 
 came over her. 
 
 ** Stand just where you are," she cried, with a sudden 
 air of determination. (I could not have reached her had 
 I tried.) " Now raise your right hand and swear — swear 
 to me that my doubts are the veriest hallucinations of a 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 69 
 
 fevered fancy; swear," she cried, and she actually placed 
 one little varnished boot in the tracery of the railing till 
 she raised herself above the street, '' swear, or it is my 
 last moment on earth." 
 
 A cold terror seized me. She was looking: at me 
 with an expression that for the moment left little doubt 
 in my mind as to her purpose. 
 
 ''Swear," she cried, ''once more and for the last 
 time." And then, just as 1 thought she was actually about 
 to throw herself over, I swore that I had really married 
 her, as I would have sworn to anything she asked. 
 
XTV 
 
 What a curious reflection it is that Hell, Harmony, 
 Happiness and Hate all begin with the same letter, possi- 
 bly because they all have their habitation and often hold 
 high carnival together in that greater H, the Human 
 Heart. 
 
 My heart was full of these mixed emotions, if I can 
 call them so, each one struggling, too, for supremacy, 
 with a tendency for the last to usurp them all — Hate 
 for the position she had placed me in, for my own 
 weakness and lack of ingenuity in nol getting out 
 of it better than 1 had. In the privacy of my own room 
 and away from her tears and fascinations, I could a[)pre- 
 ciate the fool I had been. I had no one but myself to 
 blame in allowing a momentary feeling of sympathy to 
 have got me into such a hole. But I would make instant 
 amends ; I would ring my bell and ask to be conducted 
 to Mr, Dalzelle. He should be of some use after all, for, 
 explaining to him this last development, I would on the 
 strength of it request my ticket of leave, and permit 
 iMii to break the news of my departure to his daughter. 
 
 Curse It! he was not at home. I ought to have remem- 
 bered that he had by this time been long down town. 
 
 Should I leave without making any explanation? After 
 this last episode it seemed scarcely consistent; after his 
 kindness, scarcely courteous ; and again, if I departed 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 7I 
 
 now I might encounter her a second time and have 
 the whole scene repeated. For this I found myself to- 
 tally unfit. I resolved to wait Mr. Dalzelle's return, and 
 picked up one of the novels he had brought me to pass 
 away the time, actually refusing to take my luncheon 
 when I heard the valet knocking with it at the door. All 
 that bright summer day I waited, anon trying to read, 
 and anon moving like a caged lion about my room, thouyh 
 I must confess the lion in me was very much played out. ' 
 
 It was nearly five o'clock before I heard his familiar 
 ring, and I went out into the hall to meet him. He 
 seemed much preoccupied, and he had a large bundle 
 of papers under his arm. 
 
 " You mustn't disturb me now," he said, glancing at his 
 bundle; ** I've a new combination in chess I really must 
 work out." 
 
 I insisted on his attention, however, and even followed 
 him into the library. 
 
 "Very well," he weariedly observed at last, "what 
 is it?" 
 
 And then I described to him my interview with his 
 daughter, and while expressing my regrets, stated my un- 
 alterable and final determination to break the whole thing 
 off. 
 
 Instead of being angry, as I was prepared for him to 
 be, he looked at me with a soothing, sympathizing ex- 
 pression. 
 
 " Well, I really don't know what I can say," he observed. 
 " I thought the matter was fixed up satisfactorily, and 
 nov/ it's all to be opened up again. I never interfere with 
 my daughter in any way. She's a very whimsical young 
 
72 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 woman, and, as I told you before, you must not hold me 
 responsible for anything she may do." 
 
 "But 1 hold you responsible for your share in this 
 cursed lawsuit," I answered. 
 
 " You wouldn't," he replied, " if you knew how hard 
 it is to thwart her. She twists me right around her finger, 
 just like that. She has a way of going into hysterics, 
 loo, poor child, when she is opposed; and even if I had 
 not believed that you had married her under an alias, 
 she would never have given me a moment's peace." 
 
 *' Do you really believe I did marry your daughter?'' 
 I asked. 
 
 " I swear I did, sir, when I testified. My l)rief experi- 
 ence since your illness, however, assures me that you are 
 a man of honor, and now I tell you frankly I don't know 
 what to believe. Though four years have elapsed and I 
 never saw this Fitzamble more than a dozen times in my 
 life, I remember him well enough to appr, ciate that your 
 resemblance to him is extraordinary. In fact, if you 
 come to question me on the subject, and after all that has 
 happened, I am almost inclined to believe that you really 
 did marry her, and that, having forgotten the circum- 
 stances, you are not quite responsible for your actions." 
 
 He folded his arms and looked up at me with a deliber- 
 ation that for so small a man was truly heroic. 
 
 *' I wish you to understand one thing," he added after 
 a moment's pause: ** I was not responsible for your being 
 brought here. My daughter read of your accident in the 
 papers, and in spite of my protest insist'^d on my having 
 you moved from the hospital. She has a way of going into 
 hysterics when she is opposed, and, seeing her on the 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 73 
 
 verge of this, T weakly yielded. Once that you were 
 here 1 could not very well put you into the street, and, 
 indeed, if you will permit of the observation, I resolved 
 to make the best of a bad bargain." 
 
 ** Very well, sir; I'll terminate that bargain at once. A 
 cursed fatality that I believe has never had its equal has 
 followed me at every step in this adventure, but I will see 
 my lawyer at once and learn if nothing can be done to 
 relieve a situation that I assure you is simply intolerable." 
 
 '* You're leaving without your hat, sir," he observed as 
 I went out. 
 
 *' Never mind my hat," I returned, taking his in my 
 confusion ; then 1 departed, and in due course of time I 
 arrived, scarcely knowing how I got there, in the street. 
 
XV. 
 
 Finding myself where I was, however, the first thing to 
 determine was whither to direct my steps. Should 
 1 return to my old hotel, or should I go first to my 
 lawyer's ? What my lawyer could do was a problem diffi- 
 cult of solution, and I was walking along, weighing the 
 matter in my mind, when my eye was attracted by a 
 sign on the outside of a dwelling house. It read some- 
 what in this wise : 
 
 DR. REBECCA SEAl ON, 
 
 CLAIRVOYANT AND FEMALE I'llVSICIAN. 
 
 Freely consulted in 
 all cases where human OFFICE HOURS. 
 
 agencies have failed. 
 
 Fee two dollars ; no g a. m. /<? 3 p. m. 
 compensation expected 4 p^ ^^^ fQ 5 p^ p^^ 
 unless full satisfaction 
 
 given. 
 
 *' Dr. Rebecca Seaton ! " I repeated to myself. Where 
 had 1 heard that name ? It had a familiar sound. 
 
 I looked at my watch; it was exactly twenty minutes 
 past five. I had often had a curiosity about these clair- 
 voyants; should I try the powers of one now? Certain- 
 ly, I had sufficient excuse to do so, and would not have 
 applied to her till all other human agencies had failed. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 75 
 
 Anyhow, she could scarcely prove less competent than my 
 lawyer, and her services would undoubtedly be far 
 cheaper, since her fee was only two dollars. Rebecca 
 Seaton — Rebecca Seaton! Where had I heard that name 
 before? And wrestling with my memory, I mounted the 
 stoop and rang the bell. I was admitted into the sacred 
 presence of the oracle by a youth with a dirty face, and 
 ears that stood out like wings from each side of hi? 
 head. I am strongly inclined to suspect that the same 
 oracle was engaged in some mysterious performance with 
 a whisky l:)ottle when I entered. I am certain I saw her 
 drop a pretty good-sized one into a voluminous pocket of 
 her dress, and a faint aroma of alcohol certainly pervaded 
 the atmosphere. She, however, explained matters by the 
 statement that she sometimes took an alcohol bath be- 
 tween office hours, leaving me in conjecture as to the 
 quantity it would require for such a purpose. She was of 
 elephantine proportions, with a red nose, watery eyes, and 
 a manner I can only define as professional. Indeed, this 
 manner was so pronounced as to forestall any question 
 on my part; for, without rising from the table at which she 
 was seated, she briefly requested me to put my hand 
 upon her forehead and to take a chair beside her. 
 Thereupon informing me that a state of hypnotism was 
 the forerunner of any interview, she drew over toward 
 her a large-sized slate, cast her eye upward and her 
 head back, and proceeded to go off into a very business- 
 like trance. 
 
 Not being of a particularly reverential disposition, I 
 must acknowledge that the ludicrousness of my situation 
 principally occupied my thoughts. With one hand on 
 
76 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 her forehead, the other on her knee, and my eyes directed 
 on the slate, I might well have excited the ridicule cf any 
 one who saw me, particularly if in this manner I expected 
 to have disclosed why her name was familiar to me. For 
 some five minutes her hand, with its crayon, kept 
 traversing the slate backwards and forwards, making but 
 the merest flourishes, and I was at last on the point of 
 bringing the audience to a close, when I noticed 
 her pencil hesitate. For an instant it stopi)ed, and then 
 slowly and deliberately it traced " South America," after 
 that ** War, battle, not dead." I began to smile to myself 
 when I saw her go on to write "No marriage." This 
 was getting nearer, and I became interested. She had, of 
 course, recognized me by my pictures in the papers. It 
 was fully another five minutes before the pencil became 
 again inspired, and I watched it with a greater curiosity 
 than I should have cared to admit. Nor was my interest 
 this time thrown away. First an H was traced, then an 
 R, an N, and the letters constituting the name of Henry ; 
 after that an S, an I, an M, etc., until "Henry Simons" 
 stood out plain and distinct. 
 
 I pushed back my chair in great agitation, and it drop- 
 ped on the door behind me. 
 
 The mesmerist slowly came back to life — came back to 
 the same sordid, dense vulgarity, and left mj looking at 
 her in rapt wonder. I had entered to question her 
 about her own name, and behold! she had presented me 
 with another that drove the purpose of my interview for the 
 moment clean out of my thoughts. To all my questions, 
 however, she shook her head and professed to know 
 nothing about what she had written. Indeed, only one 
 
THE ROMANCE OF A.N ALTER EGO. 77 
 
 lively emotion seemed to influence her — namely, as to 
 whether the briefness of her communications would raise 
 any hesitation in my mind as to the payment of her two- 
 dollar fee. 
 
 What a chain of thoughts her cabalistic writings had 
 started, what a sad page of my earlier life they recalled! 
 By what extraordinary coincidence had she struck upon 
 that name ? It had never been so much as mentioned in 
 the suit, nor had I reason to suppose that a single 
 soul in the whole city of New York had so much as 
 ever heard it. Indeed, the person to whom it referred 
 had now long dropped into oblivion, buried in that terrible 
 strife between the North and the South. 
 
 For one instant it suggested a solution of my present 
 predicament — I mean of the position I found myself in 
 with regard to my supposititious marriage. But I put it 
 away from me. It was too wild, too extravagant for even 
 contemplation. Her happening to hit upon that name 
 was only another coincidence more extraordinary than 
 any that had preceded it. Voila tout ! 
 
XVI. 
 
 I WALKED around to my old hotel, and was sufficiently 
 fortunate to find a suite of rooms that had just been 
 vacated. Had my reverie been less engrossing, I might 
 have noticed more particularly a mendicant who followed 
 me into the office. All I remember about him is that I 
 gave him a quarter to be rid of him; and yet, in si)ite of 
 this, that he somewhat pertinaciously hung about me dur- 
 ing my conversation with the clerk concerning the suite of 
 rooms I was to occupy. His clothes were hardly of a 
 sufficiently dilapidated character to warrant his ejection 
 in the harsh manner in which the unfortunate are occa- 
 sionally dismissed from the halls of our palatial hotels, and 
 I merely supposed i.t the time that he was dissatisfied 
 with my largess and that he delayed his departure in the 
 hope of securing more. 
 
 To avoid the noise and the publicity of the regular din- 
 ing hall, I ordered my dinner served in my sitting room, 
 and sent around for my lawyer to share with me my 
 meal ; not that I had altered, during the interval since I 
 had seen him, my opinion of his legal acumen, but, freling 
 very lonely, I invited him merely to have some one to 
 talk to. 
 
 Mr. Slocum came around promptly. Indeed, a dinner 
 at a client's expense was the only matter he never evinced 
 any hesitation about responding to. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN* ALTER EGO. 79, 
 
 The same old manner was as pronounced as ever, and 
 when I told hnn of the circumstances succeeding the law- 
 suit (circumstances of which he was only partly cognizant 
 through the public journals) he wrinkled his nose 
 more than ever. 
 
 " What is my exact legal status now ?" I asked, as I 
 
 lighted my cigar at the close of the meal. 
 
 " Well, sir, I have made a motion to appeal the case," 
 he answered. 
 
 " How long will it be before it can be settled defi- 
 nitely ?" 
 
 He thought for a moment. 
 
 "I suppose, if we hurry it, in about fifteen years." 
 
 "Fifteen years!" I ejaculated. " But what would be 
 my position during the interval ?" 
 
 Mr. Slocum wrinkled his nose again. 
 
 "Well, sir, that would have to be left to the courts to 
 decide also. Even if it should be established that you 
 had not married her at the time she claimed, I don't 
 know but that your subsequent conduct would constitute 
 a marriage now !" 
 
 *' A marriage now ?" 
 
 "Yes; you have been living in the same house with 
 her, you have been accepted by her father, and, if I 
 rightly understand, you swore that you had actually mar- 
 ried her to prevent her springing out of the window. You 
 must allow that would sound very strangely, that last? 
 An American jury would be apt to be suspicious as to the 
 cause of your renewing your vows." 
 
 " But what is the law on marriage ?" I asked, " is it not 
 definite and exact ?" 
 
8o THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 " There are not two States in the Union where the laws 
 of marriage agree," he said. "The law looks to the 
 spirit of the thing, but it is inclined to interpret this spirit 
 differently in different States." 
 
 '* But do you mean to say my merely staying under the 
 same roof with her, and the circumstances I have related, 
 would of themselves constitute a marriage anywhere?" 
 
 "I mean to say that the circumstances might be so 
 construed that the courts would consider them to mean a 
 marriage in this very State." 
 
 "Well, I'll be damned if the laws don't need to be 
 changed !" I ejaculated. 
 
 "But if they were changed, what would become of 
 us ?" he asked, with a sly laugh. 
 
 *' You mean that the laws are made for lawyers, not for 
 justice?" 
 
 "Well, a little so. But to be serious," he continued, 
 "a man is scarcely safe anywhere from a designing 
 woman, if she can show that she has lived under the same 
 roof with him. The law is a sort of glue that couples 
 people together — ' volens ' generally, but sometimes 
 * nolens.' " 
 
 "At all events, divorces are easily procured, and if I 
 am married to her now, as you say I am, I had better 
 apply for one." 
 
 ** But you can't ; it was decided by the court that she 
 alone, not you, had the right to procure a divorce." 
 
 "Then will you tell me what I can do?" I asked 
 desperately. 
 
 ''Well, if I were in your place I would wait and see 
 what the lady's next move is. By the way, sir, would 
 
THE KOMANCK OK AN ALU.K EGO. 8 1 
 
 you niiiid my ciosingthe door? It's very remarkable ! I 
 have cU^sed liiaL door tliree limes, and now it's open again." 
 
 The door was indeed ajar, and as 1 walked over towards 
 it I thought 1 deteeted the sound of footsteps. I went 
 out into the hall, antl just as I reaehed it I notieed the 
 door next to my bedroom on the further side of my suite 
 silently closing. At the moment it only struck me as odd, 
 and, on returning to my guest, the matter dropped out of 
 my recollection. 
 
 "You were saying there was no uniformity in the 
 divorce laws," I observed on resuming the conversation. 
 
 '' I did not say so, but I well might," replied Mr. Slocum. 
 *' As for that matter, a man can be a married man in one 
 State, but a divorced one in another. He can be a bigam- 
 i.st in a third State, and not be married at all in a fourth !" 
 
 ''And in fact," I interrupted, ''we've a uniform cur- 
 rency as regards money, but none regarding matri-mony." 
 
 And having made my pun — which I am bound to 
 acknowledge had a somewhat depressing effect on my 
 guest — I changed the subject to that of my visit to the 
 clairvoyant's. This I described in all its details, with the 
 solitary exception of making no reference to the name she 
 had so strangely conjured up from the obscurity of the 
 past. From Rebecca Seaton we glided into spiritualism, 
 and though I have a supreme contempt for that 
 form of delusion, the subject left me in a somewhat nerv- 
 ous frame of mind and disinclined to slumber. Owing, 
 however, to the fact that this was in reality my first 
 day out of a sick-room, I was extremely fatigued, and I 
 therefore retired soon after Mr. Slocum's departure, 
 which was at half-past eleven o'clock. 
 
XVII. 
 
 I WAS about getting into bed when I noticed that the 
 moon was shining brightly into the room through the 
 window, which, because of the heat, I had left well up. 
 How curious are the workings of the human mind ! 
 What recalled the train of thought is more than I can 
 tell; but, as I pulled the shutters together, the sinister 
 faces of those two men whom I had seen at Delmonico's 
 just before my adventure on the ferry boat recurred to 
 my memory, blended m with the clairvoyant's ugly 
 physiognomy. 
 
 Now whenever I go to bed with a disagreeable thought, 
 I adopt the invariable expedient of pulling the bedclothes 
 over my ears and resolutely determining to sleep. Even 
 over sleep, I maintain, the power of will is dominant, and 
 it generally proves so in my case. Nevertheless it failed 
 to produce slumber now. For fully two hours I lay, 
 tossing from one side of my bed to the other; and which- 
 ever way I turned, the faces of those two men were before 
 me. 1 saw them again in that lonely path of the park 
 I saw them at again at Delmonico's, and later I thought I 
 recognized them in the two men who had assaulted me 
 on the steamer. Could it have been they? Must it 
 not have been they? But what purpose could they 
 have had ? I never carried much money on my per- 
 son, seldom more than $25, and generally even 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 83 
 
 less. Robbery could scarcely have been their motive, 
 but otherwise what ? Something more sinister than theft, 
 and I shuddered as I reproached myself for not having 
 already given notice at police headquarters. But then I 
 had had so much to do with police headquarters and the 
 courts generally. I remembered now, too, the mysterious 
 opening of my sitting room door earlier in the evening, 
 and it made me feel additionally uncomfortable. There 
 seemed a net cast about me that was being drawn tighter 
 and closer each day. I had counted some three hundred 
 and fifty meshes of this imagmary net when I fell into an 
 uneasy slumber. 
 
 How long afterwards it was, I have no means of deter- 
 mining, but I awoke with a start, bathed in a profuse per- 
 spiration. 
 
 Now, there is one thing I am particularly sensitive to, 
 namely, to being looked at surreptitiously. I can always 
 tell when the human eye is fixed upon me, and I felt 
 that a human eye was fixed upon me now. I shivered as 
 I glanced about the room, knowing not in what direction 
 it was, but conscious by its magnetism that it was some- 
 where. Indeed, I can think of no more unpleasant pre- 
 dicament than to be awakened from sleep by the uncanny, 
 creeping sensation caused by somebody's stealthy gaze. 
 The uncertainty as to the purpose of the intruder, the doubt 
 as to his whereabouts, and the silent magnetism that at- 
 tracts you while it awes, all combine to make the situation 
 far from agreeable. I searched every nook and corner of 
 the room as I lay back in my bed, perfectly still, with my 
 own eyes partly closed, half hoping my gaze would not be 
 rewarded. At last, however, in the dim light of the half 
 
84 THE ROMANCE OK AN ALTER EGO, 
 
 tiiriK'!-(I(j\vn gas, I caught sight of him glancing at me 
 fiom Ijchind a wardrobe that stood with its back toward 
 a door communicating with the next room on the right. 
 I was hke the Irish maiden who, after long and patient 
 search, found what she did not want. Then as I gazed, 
 speechless, a hand white and ghostlike came stealing 
 around the edge of the same piece of furniture, as if seek- 
 ing a hold on it to push it to one side, creeping and feel- 
 ing its way along the edge until it was in full view. I 
 don't know that I am less courageous than other men, l)ut 
 possibly because of all that I had gone through, or, 
 likely, because my nerves had been unstrung by my 
 illness, my self-control gave way. If only to break 
 the thralldom of his eye, I shouted out loud, I jumped 
 from the bed, and in endeavoring to turn on the gas 
 turned it out. I started for the door and tried to open it. 
 The key was on the inside, and, though I turned it, the 
 door stuck. I got hold of the bell rope and rung it vio- 
 lently. At last, in feeling for a- match, I found my revol- 
 ver, which I now remembered to have taken out of my trunk 
 in dressing for dinner. I gave a brisk, cheery laugh, as I 
 cocked it, and, aiming behind the wardrobe, I let fly. I 
 fired three shots, one after another ; and yet I must have 
 fired wide of my aim, for I broke with a loud crash the 
 glass in the wardrobe. Then as I waited, palpitating, I 
 heard a door, as of the room adjoining mine, open 
 out in the hall ; 1 heard the sound of footsteps running 
 down the corridor, an4, applying all my strength, I pulled 
 my own door open and rushed out. A light was stream- 
 ing from the apartment next mine. It was tenantless. I 
 hurried to the stairs, and could hear the echo of descend- 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 85 
 
 iii}4 footsteps. There were some five flights in all, and 1 
 followed down on the full run. At the bottom I encountered 
 a terrified watchman, who on seeing me hastily decamped, 
 loudly calling for assistance. The cause of his alarm, as 
 I subsequently learned, was that the fugitive in passing 
 him had hinted at a desperate maniac up-stairs who had 
 endeavored to take his life. Thereupon the watchman 
 bad interposed no l)arrier to his departure, and had nat- ' 
 urally concluded on seeing me that the desperate maniac- 
 was coming down-stairs, and would very likely attempt 
 his life next. In the confusion of the moment, therefore, 
 the person who I had every right to infer had endeavored 
 to effect an entrance into my room had been allowed to es- 
 cape, and, as I was now informed that he was fully dressed, 
 I had little hopes of his apprehension because of the scant- 
 iness of his attire. 
 
 The proprietor soon after presented himself, and we in- 
 vestigated the register. We found that the adjoining 
 apartiiient had been accorded some two hours after my 
 arrival to a stranger who had been extremely anxious for 
 that particular room, and who explained that his luggage 
 would not arrive until the following day. He inscribed 
 himself as the Hon. James Ashley of London, England. 
 The best clue I received, however, was from the clerk, 
 whom the proprietor forthwith summoned. He recalled 
 what he considered now the suspicious manner in which 
 the mendicant had hung about me the previous afternoon 
 (luring my conversation with him in regard to my quar- 
 ters, and suggested that he might have been sent ahead 
 to learn exactly where I was to be put ; that he had 
 thereupon communicated with a confederate, who had 
 
86 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 come 'Atcr and secured the adjoining room under the 
 alias of the Hon. James Ashley. 
 
 For the apprehension u( this sui)posititious scion of a 
 noble house an alarm was immediately sent out, and, after 
 ordering a carriage, I remounted to my sanctuary for the 
 purpose of completing my costume. Indeed, the slim- 
 ness of my attire caused extreme embarrassment to the 
 numerous guests of the feminine gender whom I met on 
 my way back, and whom the exxitement generally, and 
 the report of my pistol in particular, had called into the 
 corridors in scarcely more conventional garments than 
 my own. 
 
 My purpose was to hnmed lately drive down to the police 
 department, and to put the matter in the hands of the 
 chief of the detective force myself. I had delayed al- 
 ready too long, since there remained no doubt but that 
 my life was seriously menaced. 
 
 AVhen I arrived at my destination, however, and stated 
 the case in all its particulars, I was annoyed to perceive 
 that, my name and reputation having preceded me, a 
 doubt was raised in the official^ breast as to the veracity 
 of my story. They promised to do all that they could, 
 but their manner spoke stronger than language their 
 opinion that my mind was a little affected. Instead of 
 accepting the version of the proprietor, whom they con- 
 sidered naturally biassed in my favor, they evidently pre- 
 ferred to accept that of the porter, who repeated what 
 the fugitive had told him in his sudden flight. 
 
XVIII. 
 
 If I had any doubts as to this unfavorable verdict on 
 my conduct, I would have had them removed the follow- 
 ing morning by the public journals, which must have got 
 their cue from the detective's office. " Aaron Again 
 Aroused" appeared in the same startling alliteration, 
 and after this : 
 
 ^i Attempts an Awful Assault on a Friendless 
 Foreigner, and Drives Him Down with His Derrin- 
 ger into the Street. No Question now as to His 
 Insanity." 
 
 1 don't know when I was ever more provoked in my 
 life than on seeing this unjustifiable version of my ad- 
 venture. 
 
 At my earnest solicitation Mr. Slocum stopped to see 
 me on his way down to his office, and I was sure that he 
 now shared the opinion that had become all but universal. 
 He was even a little afraid of me, I thought, and he had 
 developed a nervous manner of edging up toward the 
 door every now and then when, in course of conversation, 
 I approached hirti. Poor man! I am not surprised at it, 
 and though I flatter myself that I have as fair an average 
 of plain common sense as falls to the lot of most, I 
 sometimes wonder that I really did not get a little " off 
 my nut," as I believe the expression goes. To repeat: 
 Mr. Slocum was extremely timid, and, probably for 
 this reason, could give me absolutely no assistance for 
 
88 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 advice. I had got beyond his depth, as he frankly con- 
 fessed to me, and though 1 tried to put the new develop- 
 ment of my affairs before him as plainly and concisely as 
 possible, he could only wrinkle his nose and look com- 
 pletely obfuscated. I know he did not believe in my 
 construction of this last adventure any more than they 
 did at police headquarters, and was prepared to accept 
 my aberration of mind as the easiest way out of the 
 whole dilemma. And yet I had got rather to like the 
 little man, or, to be more accurate, I had grown used to 
 him, for he was the only person to whom I had been able 
 to talk freely. I recognized now, however, that his for- 
 bearance was exhausted, and, though he agreed to con- 
 tinue as my counsel, he did so in a half-hearted, spiritless 
 manner, and in a way that assured me that he would in- 
 finitely prefer to wash his hands of me completely. 
 
 I felt extremely lonely when he left, and the world 
 Feemed barren and forlorn. The bright, sunny weather 
 of the past few days had changed, too, and, though as 
 a rule I am not particularly sensitive to outside influ- 
 ences, a dull, gloomy day affects my spirits all the same. 
 Heretofore I had looked upon my predicament some- 
 what in the light of a huge monumental joke — a piece of 
 opera bouffe in real life. Now a gloomier, a more tragic 
 • phase seemed stealing over it that filled me with vague 
 foreboding and alarm. The very condition of the coun- 
 try, too, though my own affairs had pretty well drawn off 
 my thoughts from it, was sufficient to create a feeling of 
 uneasiness in the breast of any patriotic American. 
 Strikes, and rumors of fresh strikes, were on every hand, 
 and the dreaded power of the Knights of Labor was just 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 89 
 
 beginning to make itself felt. There is little doubt that 
 had 1 had less on my mind 1 might have gained a clue 
 as to my perplexities from what the clairvoyant had said. 
 Even now, as I look back, I am surprised that I did not; 
 but her very personality was so repugnant to me that it 
 made any reflections on the subject additionally painful 
 to the painful episodes that her communications recalled. 
 
 Perhaps it was the gloominpss of the weather, as 1 say, 
 or the apparent danger that was beginning to threaten the 
 country, or only the peril that my own life seemed com- 
 passed by, that made me especially despondent, but I 
 felt that 1 had reached a pass beyond which there was no 
 going. I began to wonder, lOO, whether there could be 
 any connection between these two assaults upon me and 
 my supposed marriage. They must be in some way con- 
 nected, I reasoned ; but how? Such determined, outra- 
 geous onslaughts as they were must have had some mo- 
 tive far out of the ordinary behind them, and yet, if tliese 
 assaults were connected with my marriage, could I hold 
 Edna Dalzelle responsible in any way ? 1 resolutely cast 
 the thought behind me. Indeed, the very danger I was 
 environed by, and my loneliness in the world, made the 
 recollection of that little woman especially welcome. 
 
 From her standpoint, regarding me as her husband who 
 had basely deserted her, what else could she have done ? 
 Her mistake was absurd, but, once admitting that mistake, 
 her subsequent conduct was both logical and natural. 
 Without a mother's influence to guide her, with only an 
 old fool of a father, blindly subservient to her slightest 
 whim, it was reasonable that she should have acted as 
 she had, particularly taking into consideration her 
 
90 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 emotional and impulsive character. But how extraordi- 
 nary that she should have made such a mistake, and 
 afterwards how curious was her partial appreciationof it! 
 Had I on my part, however, acted quite wisely ? Had I 
 not, on the contrary, behaved with culpable weakness ? 
 Did I not, on realizing my weakness, too, leave the house 
 with an inordinate lack of ceremony? How must my 
 departure have struck her after all her kindness and atten- 
 tion, just after swearing, too, that I had actually married 
 her ? But what would her next move be ? I wondered. 
 Certainly nothing short of sending after me "a posse 
 comitatus"; that was the only card she had left. And 
 yet 1 felt very sad and depressed. The reaction after 
 my late excitement had come. My reverie was broken 
 by footsteps out in the hall. I started from my seat, 
 for I had become very suspicious now of footsteps. It 
 was only a hall boy, however, accompanying Mr. Dalzelle's 
 colored va'ct ; he was bringing back the clothes which I 
 had used during my convalescence, and which the events 
 of the past eighteen hours had caused me to forget to 
 send for. 
 
 Something in his manner led me to infer he had not 
 come with the sole purpose of returning me my wardrobe. 
 On questioning him. closely, he became embarrassed. 
 
 ** It's madam, sir," he admitted at last — ''de young 
 madam, who got took quite sudden jest after you went 
 away. 'Deed, sir, I specs your goin' has quite done for 
 her." 
 
 '' Done for her ! What ails her ?" I asked. 
 
 " Sure I doan know, sir. First she was took with a sort 
 of fit ; after that she fell into a kmd of a sort of a trance 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. Ql 
 
 like. She's still, sir — oh! so still. She can't breathe to 
 blow a candle out," 
 
 I felt a sudden and bitter sensation of repentance. In all 
 the wide, wide world I had not a soul that cared for me 
 but her ; no eye would brighten at my approach, no lijis 
 would smile at my coming, no ear would quicken as my 
 footsleps fell, but hers. Suppose it were an affection by 
 proxy ? God ! Even that were better than none at all. I 
 had been a cold, cynical observer of the world, apart, and 
 forlorn, I hatl had my accursed reward, 
 
 *' Lead on," 1 said, " 1 will go to her." 
 
IX. 
 
 I FOUND her father in his library, liowed down with grief, 
 for he was weeping and his head was sunk in his nerveless 
 iiands. 'I'here is something terribly agitating to me in the 
 tears of a man of any age, but in those of an old man 
 something beyond what 1 can support. 
 
 I touched him on the shoulder, for my entrance had 
 failed to arouse him. He looked up, and taking my hand 
 pressed it affectionately. I was not prepared for the 
 change I noticed in him, nor for the manner of his recep- 
 tion after my unceremonious departure of the previous 
 day. His softness further drew me towards him, and I 
 took a seat and made him enter into the particulars of his 
 daughter's illness. Thereupon I learned that when my 
 departure had been communicated to her, she had 
 been seized with a fit of hysteria, loudly accusing htm, 
 her father, of having driven me out of the house; that 
 the colored servant had thereupon been sent out in hot 
 haste for the first doctor he could find, and that he had 
 apparently stumbled on Rebecca Seaton; that she had come 
 in immediate response to the summons, and, after prac- 
 ticing some mysterious rite upon his daughter, had indeed 
 quieted her, but only to throw her into a state which the 
 family physician on his arrival had pronounced to be coma. 
 This gentleman had loudly declaimed against the prei,ence 
 of Rebecca on the score of her being an irregular practi- 
 
THK KOMA-fCK OF AN ALTKR KC.O. 93 
 
 tioiicr, and it was on'y at his throat to throw up the case 
 that she could be persuaded t(^ withdraw. 
 
 " From certain expressions this woman dropped," went 
 on Mr. Dalzelle, " I am inchned to suspect the poor chiUl 
 has been in the habit of consulting her before, and that 
 my servant, knowing this, purposely called her in. I also 
 believe that this clairvoyant, as she calls herself, is 
 responsible in some way for my daughter's hallucination 
 concerning you." 
 
 '* Concerning me ?" 
 
 '* Yes; that she filled her mind with the expectation of 
 her real husband's sudden return, and that she was thus 
 ready to consider as such the first man who bore to him 
 the slightest reseniblance." 
 
 *' Hold on ! I have it !" I cried abruptly. 
 
 "Have what, sir?" exclaimed the old gentleman, 
 startled out of his sorrow. 
 
 " I mean that I remember now where 1 first heard the 
 name of Rebecca Seaton. Your daughter mentioned hei- 
 during the trial, and her doing so confirms your present 
 suspicions.'' 
 
 *' I don't lecallthe fact, but I regret extremely that any 
 testimony of mine should have been instrumental in com- 
 {)Ieting your embarrassment," he said. " Would you noc 
 like to see her ?' 
 
 I nodded my head, and he led me into her room. 
 There she lay with her sightless eyes cast upward, and 
 bearing not a few evidences of that longer sleep that knows 
 no waking. Indeed, to a careless observer every sign 
 of life was absent, for not the slightest movement could 
 be detected. At the head of the bed sat a Sister of 
 
94 TIIK ROMANCK {3F AN ALTKR KCO. 
 
 Charity, whose face was almost as white and impassive as 
 the patient's own. 
 
 Her father pulled me away. 
 
 "Even now it's all over," he muttered, and a convul- 
 sive sob choked his utterance. 
 
 "No, it is not all over," I exclaimed decisively. 
 "While there's life there's hope." 
 
 He wrung his hands. " The doctor has just left, and, 
 # though he promised to return, he said that he feared his 
 coming was useless." 
 
 " Wdl you allow me the responsibility of seeing what 
 can be done ?" I demanded. 
 
 He looked up at. me with new-found confidence. 
 
 '' You tell me," I said, ** that your family physician 
 has given her up ?" 
 
 " He has. A consultation between him and two of the 
 first physicians of New York was held this morning; they 
 decided she would never awake out of that state." 
 
 ** But if it was a condition the female physician had 
 put her mto," I objected, *' why did they not wait to see 
 whether she could not get her out of it ?" 
 
 " They did all they could," said Mr. Dalzelle weakly. 
 
 " Then in that case there is no harm in trying what 
 she can do. I shall be back here before half an hour is 
 up," 
 
 I went out, drawn as by a magnet, to Rebecca Seaion, 
 who claimed to give relief where all other agencies 
 had failed. It was still within the time of her office 
 hours, and, the same boy with the dirty face and the ears 
 like wings admitting me, I found her much the same 
 imperturbable mass of flesh as before. The same mys- 
 
THK ROMANCi: OF AN AI.l'ER EGO. 95 
 
 tcrious bottle, too, was making the same suspicious transit, 
 as I entered, from the table to her voluminous pocket. 
 
 The curious feature about my visit was, however, that 
 before I addressed her a word on the subject she seemed 
 to know exactly what had brought me. 
 
 " It ain't no use," she exclaimed. " I won't go back; I 
 tell you it ain't no use to ask me." 
 
 I opened my pocket-book and produced a crisp fifty- 
 dollar bill. 
 
 " Thiy bill," I said, " is yours if you come with me 
 immediately. If you don't, I tear it to pieces." 
 
 I had torn it in half before she moved. At my motion 
 to reduce it to quarters she snatched it from my hand 
 and rose. 
 
 *' Have you got a cab, then ?" she asked. 
 
 I answered in the affirmative, 
 
 '* Theophilus," she exclaimed, turning to the youth with 
 the dirty face, as she affixed a soiled bonnet to her head, 
 " I'll be back in just forty minutes. Have a sharp watch 
 on things while I'm away, and mind you, don't keep 
 catchin* flies on the winder panes; it don't look perfes- 
 sional." 
 
 Then we entered the cab, and all the time during the 
 drive she was muttering disjointed reflections on the 
 ''bumptiousness of reg'lars," which I construed as 
 having reference to her treatment at the hands of the 
 family doctor. Nevertheless, in spite of her vulgarity, 
 her density, and her obstreperousness, she inspired me 
 with confidence. 
 
 Though both the nurse and Mr. Dalzelle appeared sur- 
 prised to see that she had been willing to return, they 
 
g6 THE ROMANCE OF AN Al.TKR EGO. 
 
 offered no opposition to her entrance into the sick-cham- 
 ber. Inilecci, it struck me that in liis weakness and (hs- 
 tress Mr. Dalzelle was only too ready to leave all respon- 
 sibility in my hands, 
 
 '* Now," said the doctress, removing her bonnet, ♦* jest 
 stand all of yez exactly where you are. Don't yez mind 
 nothin' yez sees, but do jest what I te'* yez; and when T 
 tell yez, do it quick. If I hadn't a strong affection 
 for this yere sensitive, it ain't all the money of the 
 surplus that would have brought me back; but human 
 natur' is the same in the skin of a unregular, I'll have 
 you understand, as in that of the highest big-wig of the 
 land." 
 
 Having delivered herself of this oration, she blew her 
 nose indignantly and walked over toward the bedside. I 
 shuddered as she approached; the contrast l^etween hers 
 and the fair form before her was so great that it made any 
 contact a profanation. For a moment she stood fixedly 
 regarding the patient, then she began to make passes over 
 the latter's head with her hands. For some two minutes 
 there was not the slightest response, and my heart fairly 
 stopped beating. At last, as she continued, a faint tremor 
 of the eyelids became discernible in the girl, next the eyes 
 themselves began to move in slow sympathy with the 
 operator's hands, and finally the fair hv^ad followed suit. 
 I can liken it to nothing else than the movement of a 
 beautiful and sensiti'\- plant following the sun, far-fetched 
 as the analogy is. At last the movement of the head 
 was communicated to the patient's body, and finally, as 
 it was swaying backwards and forvards as the stem of 
 a flower, the mesmerist pressed her thumb an instant 
 
THE ivoMANcr, or \n ai.ti k ixo. 97 
 
 on Kdna's forclicad, clapped lur hiiiuls, and at the noi^'c 
 the patient opened her eyes. 
 
 For an 'instant she gazed about her dazedly,*lhen, a 
 smile of recognition illuminating her countenaiux", she 
 closed them again and dropnt>:l into the arms of Nature's 
 «vveet restorer, balmy sleep. 
 
- XX. 
 
 I v/Ai.KF.D home pondering on the strange sight I had 
 seen. Though 1 hail hoped that Rebecca could relieve 
 her, it was not until long afterwards that 1 learned the real 
 secret of Edna's trance-like illness. Rebecca had simply 
 hyonotized her, and then, being driven away, had left her 
 in a condition of suspended animation. 
 
 In ordinary cases of mesmerism, the patient would have 
 wakened out of this unassisted ; but in Edna's case her 
 hypnotization had been preceded by violent hysteria, and, 
 her vitality being therefore lowered, it had proved unequal 
 to reassert itself. Thereupon it was necessary to have re- 
 course to the same agency that h'ad paralyzed it. In other 
 words, her troubled soul, when weakened by its struggles, 
 had been locked up and the key temporarily withdrawn; 
 hence, unable to burst through, her spirit had remained 
 imprisoned till the magic key was found and the portals 
 unlocked. 
 
 Mr. Dalzelle's words about Rebecca Seaton went a 
 long way to explain my own predicament. A sensitive, 
 impulsive nature had been wrought upon by a Jesigning 
 woman who, though possessed of highly developed mes- 
 meric powers, was in respect to her other pretensions, a 
 sham. To rivet her hold upon her victim she had per- 
 suaded her into the belief that her errant husband would 
 return, and because I bore to him a resemblance more or 
 
rnv. UOMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 99 
 
 less pron(3unce(I I had been seized upon by the deserted 
 wife. But then if Rebecca's claims as a clairvoyant were fic- 
 titious, how account for that extraordinary revelation which 
 she had made to me ? The only inference was that, as 
 in many of her class, mesmeric power and trickery were 
 so closely combined that it was impossible to distinguish 
 where the one began and the other left off. 
 
 Two weeks elapsed before I was permitted to see the 
 patient again. 
 
 You ask me, perchance, how I passed the intervening 
 time. Have you ever read the *' Dame aux Camellias " ? 
 Well. I passed it much as the hero of that interesting ro- 
 mance did — namely, in constant attention on the heroine's 
 door. The cup that escapes the lips is ever more' tempt- 
 ing, and the cup that had been so nearly snatched from 
 mine seemed now especially sweet. 
 
 What cared I if my course were illogical ? I threw logic 
 to the winds. My abrupt departure had been the 
 cause of her illness, and it flattered my pride while it 
 filled me at the same time with bitter self-condemnation. 
 During that interval I haunted the florists' shops, and en- 
 deavored to express in the sweet language of flowers the 
 emotions that had begun to agitate my breast. Once 
 more, if I must confess it, I was susceptible, a weak char- 
 acter, but so was Julius Ccxsar, and even Napoleon him- 
 self, where women were concerned. 
 
 During this interval, because I could not see her I 
 wanted to see her still more, and thus my thoughts and 
 energies were drawn away from the prosecution of my 
 search after my nocturnal intruder. To be sure, I visited 
 
100 THE ROMANCi: OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 the chief of the detective force frequently, but it was 
 more from a sense of duty than any other motive, and I 
 must admit I failed to press the case as I ou^ht to have 
 done. Indeed, I am convinced that they still regarded 
 my story with grave suspicions, and my lack of en- 
 ergy in follownig up matters probably confirmed them m 
 their belief. 
 
 During those two weeks I also visited Rebecca Seaton, 
 but she either could not or would not give any further in- 
 sight into her connection with Edna than I already had, 
 namely, that she had long been in professional attendance 
 on her. At last the morning came when Edna was M'ell 
 enough to receive me, and my patient waiting was re- 
 warded. 
 
 What a spiritual expression an illness gives a beautiful 
 woman, however brief that illness be ! In her case this 
 was conspicuously so. Her very character seemed to 
 have changed ; her little caprices were toned down, her 
 whims, and, if you please, her follies. 
 
 She received me kindly, so kindly that I felt abashed. 
 If I had any doubts as to my inclinations before, they 
 were now removed. Some instinct, better, more innate 
 than judgment, warned me not to speak of what had hap- 
 pened. She extended me her hand from the lounge on 
 which she was reclining, and left it as a welcome gift dur- 
 ing my visit in my own hand. Ten minutes only had 
 been accorded to me, and, though I ought to have been 
 glad, a deep sadness seized me, blended in with the same 
 old feeling of foreboding and presentiment. 
 
 She appeared to read my thoughts, for drawing me to- 
 
THK ROMANCIi OF AN ALTKR EGO. lOI 
 
 wards her she said: "You see I wear your flower 
 next my heart; have you ever thought that flowers are 
 the souls of those we love? Sec," she continued, "how 
 easy it is to crush them; but ycni would never kill whiit 
 you could not replace." 
 
 I tried to change the subject, and with a perverse stu- 
 pidity into which, as I have mentioned before, I always 
 fall when I am at a loss for conversation, T got upon the 
 weather. I said something about the brightness of the - 
 day and the glorious sunlight streaming into the room. 
 
 " Yes," she returned, *'it is very bright, but all bright 
 things seem to fade." 
 
 "Not if they are good," I continued, with forced cheer- 
 fulness. 
 
 "Yes, the good fades too," she observed ; then, with 
 a smile that was like the ghost of her former vivacity, 
 " but, on that score, some of us ought to be perennial." 
 
 A long pause ensued. 
 
 " Do you know,'' she resumed at last, "I think I read 
 things more truly now since my illness : I mean I see 
 them in their real light." 
 
 '• What things?" I inquired densely. 
 
 She turned away her head, instead of replying to my 
 question. 
 
 "There, there," she said, after a little pause "you 
 must leave me now, but you will comeback again, will you 
 not?" and she retained my hand, though 1 had got up to 
 go. "You Vvnll forgive me for all the embarrassment I 
 have caused you, and you will not entirely forget me ?" 
 
 I don't know exactly what I said, but, if I remember 
 
102 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 aright, I swore lustily that I could never forget her. 
 There were tears in my eyes, I'm sure, and I think I used 
 strong language to divert her attention from them. 
 
 I stooped down to kiss her, and she raised her face to 
 meet my lips with the sweet simplicity of a child. 
 
 As I was leaving the house, her father beckoned me 
 into the library, 
 
 " What do you think of her ?" he asked anxiously. ** Do 
 you notice any change in her?" 
 
 I passed over his question as well as I could. His next 
 remark was equally significant. 
 
 '* If I were in your place," he said, " I should avoid any 
 allusion to the past. It might throw her back, and at all 
 events would agitate her." 
 
 I had instinctively recognized the same thing, as the 
 reader is aware. In a manner she had herself touched 
 upon the past, but that was different from my doing so. 
 
 "Now," he resumed, " allow me to ask you one more 
 question. As I have already told you, I am assured that 
 you never married my daughter, but I have sometimes 
 thought lately that, in spite of the extraordinary position 
 she has placed you in, her illness has in some slight de- 
 gree drawn you towards her. At least your devotions 
 and your attentions during her convalescence would so 
 argue. I don't ask in mere idle curiosity," he continued, 
 seeing me hesitate. 
 
 "Well, suppose your impressions are correct?'' I an- 
 swered. 
 
 *' In that case, I deem it only fitting to say that I intend 
 to move her down into the country to a little place we have 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. I03 
 
 on the Sound, and to which we usually resort much earlier 
 in the season. Then, after she has regained her usual 
 health, I will advise her to apply to the divorce courts to 
 break the ties by which she is bound, or at least to have 
 her marriage annulled. I suppose it could be easily 
 managed on the score of desertion and failure to support." 
 
 "But what becomes of me when you take her away?" 
 I asked, with an injured, hopeless air. 
 
 *' Of you? Well, you might come down and visit her 
 occasionally; or stay ! if you are really anxious to continue 
 your acquaintance with us, I might procure you a room 
 at a farm house closely adjoining my place." 
 
 I think the old gentleman had really got to look upon 
 me as a belonging, and was as aiixious in the matter as I 
 was myself. 
 
 The proposal struck me as a happy one ; it promised re- 
 lief and quiet, which I needed sorely after the terrible 
 strain I had been under. 
 
 *' How soon would you propose going?" I asked. 
 
 "To-morrow or next day; indeed, I am anxious to get her 
 away as soon as possible. There is no saying what all 
 this labor agitation may develop into, and I would not like 
 to have her in the city during any trouble. Besides the 
 doctor thinks the present hot weather retards her recovery. 
 I could put her on the boat which lands us very near our 
 place, and she would even be more comfortable than on a 
 train. By the way," he added after a pause, " I want to 
 ask you something I have long had on my mind. Have 
 you ever known of any one who bore a striking resemblance 
 to you ? Search your memory, now." 
 
104 T"l''' KOMANCK OF AN Al/IKU KCO. 
 
 **No, sir, there is no one,'' 1 answered, wilii a shade of 
 hesitation — "no cne, at least, who is now alive." 
 
 " Weil, then," he continued, hitLin;^^ on the female phy- 
 sician, when stranj^ely enough I was j ist ihinkin.cj of htr 
 myself, " I suppose the only solution is, as I have already 
 intimated, that Rebecca Sc^^ton, in her character of a clair- 
 voyant, predicted to my daughter that her husband 
 Vvould return, and the poor child, believing it, seized upon 
 the first man that looked anything like him." 
 
 " But that would hardly explain your own testimony," 
 I objected, with a tmge of maliciousness. "You swore 
 that you recognized me, and therefore the resemblance 
 must have been phenomenal," 
 
 "My dear sir, I am c^uite an old man; you know how 
 brief the courtship was, and that I never saw this man 
 more than half a dozen times in my life. On these occa- 
 sions my notice was not particularly directed to him. AVliy 
 should it have been ? I had no idea that his attentions 
 meant anything more than the ordinary civilities a y'jnn</ 
 man pays to a pretty girl." 
 
XXI. 
 
 Tt was three days before Mr. Dalzclle put his plan of 
 leaving the city with his daughter into execution. 
 
 At his suggestion I did not see her again before her 
 departure, and I further agreed to wait until I received 
 a letter from him before following him down into the 
 countr3^ 
 
 He engaged in the interval to make all the necessary 
 arrangements for me at the farm house, which he assured 
 me was barely a (juarter of a mile from his residence and 
 with the grounds also running down to the Aviater. 
 
 Ah! ladies, I have learned to appreciate that it is rather 
 your titillating absence than your presence that at- 
 tracts. 
 
 Regret, it is stated, remains with those who stay behind. 
 Until now I had hardly appreciated the hold this woman 
 had secured upon me. If she had not twined herself about 
 my heart, she had certainly filled a gap in my existence, 
 and I felt that her fate was bound up with mine. The 
 change in her of which I have spoken, while assuredly no- 
 ticeable to any one, had perhaps been more so to me. Pos- 
 sibly at first I had had a tendency to exaggerate her w^ay- 
 wardness, and now, looking at her through different eyes, 
 I was prone to idealize her the more. 
 
 That Rebecca Seaton should have persuaded her that 
 
 105 
 
lOO TIIK ROMANCE OF AN ALTF.R KOO. 
 
 her husband would one of these days return was quite 
 within the province of a clairvoyant, and this might very 
 well account for the assurance with which she had pressed 
 her claims, and also a certain lack of delicacy, if you like, 
 that had stamped her conduct. 
 
 I would try to make her change the affection she too 
 evidently yet bore for her betrayer, to me, who would ap- 
 preciate it better. But what if this man should actually 
 come back ? I had never before thought of that contin- 
 gency. Suppose he should return with some good and 
 sufficient excuse ^or his absence, a sort of Enoch Arden, 
 if not to find his wife wedded, at all events being courted 
 by another man ? 
 
 The days dragged very slowly, and still no letter came. 
 What did it mean ? Had I been forgotten ? For one whole 
 week I waited, and still no message. On the afternoon of 
 the eighth day I decided to run down to Coney Island 
 for the night. 
 
 I took the ferry at Thirty-fourth street, and shuddered 
 as I recollected my experience on probably this very same 
 boat, and my narrow escape from drowning. There were 
 five hearses with their attendant train of carriages on board, 
 and their several drivers were swearing lusLily at each other 
 because of the crowding. Indeed, the late strike of the 
 hearse drivers had been decided in favor of the bosses, 
 and left the men in consequence testy and morose. 
 
 Because of the recent termination of this trouble, a 
 large percentage of persons had been deprived of their 
 usual recreation, for, judging from the length of our fun- 
 eral corteges alone, I believe that melancholy is a domi- 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 107 
 
 nant trait with us as a people, and that it is this which 
 causes the great mass of us to regard the attendance at a 
 funeral as our only justifiable indulgence. It is a relic 
 of our Puritanism that is continually cropping out, making 
 us take our other pleasures, when we do take them, in a 
 self-reproachful spirit and as if we were doing something 
 we ought not, that finds its culmination in the belief that 
 everything agreeable to the palate is injurious, and every- 
 thing agreeable to the senses immoral. 
 
 At all events I could not help reflecting on the singular 
 fact that this ferry should be at once the great roadway 
 to the principal pleasure resort of Long Island, and at the 
 same time that of the largest cemetery we have. Perhaps 
 it is well, after all, and these numerous reminders of our 
 dissolution at the outset of our holidays play the part of 
 the proverbial death's head at the Egyptian feast. Would 
 that I could have accepted the warning! Alas, alas! 
 
 I arrived at Coney Island along with an immense throng, 
 and as comfortable as could be expected under the cir- 
 cumstances — a stout old lady persisting in sitting in 
 my lap during the journey, and in some miraculous 
 manner keeping her elbow the while fixed in my eye. Un- 
 til dinner, I amused myself among the booths, and admired 
 at a respectful distance the huge elephant that presides 
 with such solemn dignity over the scene. If I had come 
 down for rest, however, I was disappointed. Such a com- 
 bination of outrageous noises I never heard — snapping of 
 saloon rifles, of guns, and of fire-crackers, shouts of bus- 
 drivers, of fortune-tellers, and creakings of merry-go- 
 rounds, organ grinders grinding away on their organs, 
 
Io8 rilK KOMANC.K OF AN ALTKR FCO, 
 
 and bands of music each playinj; a (liUciciit luiic , u lust- 
 lings, l)angin«;s, t(Kjtings, and ciowils of people as at a 
 world's fair. Just off shore, at less than two hundred 
 yards* distance, a lar^e sloop, with " Tarrant's Seltzer 
 Aperient " painted on her sail, kept sailing backwards and 
 forwards and discharging a camion every time she tacked. 
 
 I stood it all as long as my nerves would permit, and then 
 retreated to the hotel, only to lind, alas! the change little for 
 the better. These huge summer caravansaries arc mere 
 sounding-l)()ards, and if any one so much as kts a sneeze 
 escape him in the attic, it goes vibrating and re-echoing 
 till it reaches the cellar. 
 
 In the great hall of my domicile, or so closely connect- 
 ed that it might fairly be considered a part of the hall 
 trains thundered in every ten minutes, and disgorged 
 their passengers, the tramping of whose feet made a run- 
 v.'ing rather than a walking accompaniment to the strains of 
 a string band of a thousand pieces just outside. When 
 to this pandemonium was added the tramp of the full 
 Seventh Regiment marching into supper with a /frass band, 
 I resigned my key at the office, and took the first train 
 back to town. The number of the apartment which I had 
 given up was 13 — please remember that. I noticed it par- 
 ticularly because the day of the month was the 13th and 
 the day of the week was Friday. 
 
 Now, while T had taken my departure because of other 
 considerations than these, I could not help thinking on 
 my way back that after all I had acted wisely in refusing 
 to tempt Providence under such a curious combination of 
 so-called coincidences, and as if to give point to these re- 
 
TMK ROMANCi: OK AN AI/IT.K VMO. IO9 
 
 tltJCtions, 1 iincxpcrUuIly met Rebecca Scatoii on the train, 
 who looked at me stolidly, and vouchsafed not the 
 slightest recognition. Arrived in New York, I found 
 comi^ensation for all my miseries in a brief note from 
 Mr. D'dzelle, proposing that 1 should Lake the boat on 
 the following day and join him in the country. 
 
 Punctual to the hour he named, I found myself the 
 next afternoon at the wharf, and soon afterwards em- 
 barked for Rocky Point. 
 
 Though 1 was unprepared for the beauty of the trip, 1 
 was yet surprised at the premature decay that seemed to 
 have settled on the shores of the Sound whenever we ap- 
 proached sufficiently near to permit me to observe them. 
 Rotting wharves, dilapidated hotels, and broken-down 
 summer houses loudly spoke the pride of better days. 
 
 "It is the curse of the mortgage," explained a fellow- 
 l)assenger, *' the iH'imary state to destruction, harsher 
 than the condition of landlord and tenant, because entirely 
 lacking in those personal relations that go so far to miti- 
 gate and assuage the last." 
 
 1 was met at the landing by Mr. Dalzclle. He told me, 
 much to my relief, that his daughter had been already im- 
 proved by the change of air, and instead of stopping first 
 at the quarters which he had retained for me, he took me 
 over to show me his own place. And a prettier, quainter 
 abode than I found it can't be imagined. Built consider- 
 ably before the Revolution, it was painted a rich though 
 subdued red, and was fairly embowered in creeping vines. 
 Trees of great age were on every side, and threw their 
 long shadows over the closely trimmed lawn. Such a 
 
no rHK KOMANCK OF AN AI.TKR K(;o. 
 
 bower of rt'st, siu:h a snitji; little oltl-tiine retreat from the 
 noise and bustle of the world, 1 had never met with before. 
 All spelled peace ; even the barns and out-houscs. Into 
 these last a boy was driving a hen! of lowin^f Alderneys, 
 and every now and then one of them would stop to nib- 
 ble the grass, when a brisk little terrier, loudly barking, 
 would fly out from some mysterious retreat and try to 
 nibble their hoofs. All spelled peace, quiet, and repose. 
 
 Looking between the trees towards the Sound, the sun 
 was just sinking in a blaze of glory, painting up the sails 
 of passing vessels with radiant colors and turning the 
 waters into one vast field of licpiid gold. Looking shore- 
 wards, the land gradually ascended and rolled away in 
 gently undulating fields into the soft distance, while the 
 whole face of nature was suffused with that sudden flush 
 of serene and more than earthly beauty, to which we some- 
 times find a faint counterpart in the faces of those that 
 die in harmony with God. 
 
 There always seems to me a peculiar solemnity in the 
 beauty of eventide that raises man nearer to his Creator. 
 Even as a child I used to recognize it, and attribute it to 
 the blessing He was breathing over the depaiting day. 
 
 I had left the renewal of my acquaintance with Edna 
 very largely in Mr. Dalzelle's hands, and as he deemed it 
 wiser that I should postpone seeing her till the morrow, 
 he conducted me along the beach to my lodgings, where 
 he bade me good-night. Plain as my domicile proved, 
 how much more congenial to my taste I found it (as I sat 
 down on the veranda and lighted a contemplative cigar) 
 than the hideous caravansaries whither the great hosts of 
 
THE ROMANCK OF AN ALTKR ECO. I I I 
 
 summer travel flock, where your iiulividiiality is merged 
 in a number, where majjiiitmic excuses worth, and noise 
 and confusion are the only thinjj^s you get. How great 
 was the contrast between this place and that huge shingle 
 palace at C'oney Island from which 1 had fled the pre- 
 vious ni^jht ! 
 
xxu. 
 
 1 ASKED Mr. Crummels, my host, to wake me early next 
 day, but was scarcely prepared for the interpretation he 
 put on my request. It was considerably before daylight, 
 I remember that, and I have an indistinct recollection of 
 using some pretty ''steep" language to him when he did 
 summon me. Not for three hours later did I get up, and, 
 to while away the time till I could pay my respects to 
 Edna, I proposed that he should show me about his prop- 
 erty. This he finally consented to do, and in the course 
 of conversation I learned that the farm was really a de- 
 pendency of Mr. Dalzelle, who had been compelled to buy 
 it in for the mortgage. Thus Mr. Crummels, by a slow pro- 
 cess of evolution unfortunately becoming too frequent, 
 had changed from a land owner to a mortgagor, and from 
 that into a tenant. 
 
 The special pride of Mr. Crummels was an old gray 
 horse called Thomas, which he led into the farm yard for 
 my delectation. 
 
 *' He ain't like some of your flash city critters," he ob- 
 served apologetically — "all fuss and feathers, and that 
 step as if they had the spring halt all round; but he's a 
 rare one to go." 
 
 Mr. Thomas acknowledged this compliment with a 
 whisk of his tail, and a movement that I perhaps wrongfully 
 
 XX9 
 
T;IK l'..)'i.\XCr. OF AX ALTKR Er.O. TT^ 
 
 ir.teipreted into a surreptitious effort to reach my knee 
 with his hind hoof. 
 
 ''It's only his sport," continued the owner, with the 
 a^r of a father atoning for some httle delincpaency of his 
 son. And after consigning the horse to his stall, he 
 showed me a buggy, somewhat in need of paint, which he 
 informed me would be at my service along with the 
 (pjadruped at any lime I wished to make use of them. 
 
 Towards mid-day I walked over to Mr. Dalzelle's to 
 l")ay my visit to Edna, and found her on the veranda 
 which overlooked the water. She was reclining in a ham- 
 mock, and half rose as I approached ; a slight flush 
 mantled her cheek, and she had more of her old look, her 
 l)right sparkle, and her general sunniness. 
 
 As for me, I felt the same curious shyness steal over me 
 that 1 had experienced the last time I saw her, but I took 
 her hand, and raised it to my lips. 
 
 *' You've been very kind to me," she said, *' and par- 
 ticularly to come so far to see. me. Now tell me," she 
 co.itinued: "will you forgive me for all I've made you go 
 through ?" 
 
 I tried to pass my arm about her v\-aist, but hhe gently 
 disengaged it. 
 
 "No," she said, "you must not do that. I see tliin-s 
 truer now. I recognize the absurd, nay, the cruel position 
 I have put you in. During that brief illness when I lay 
 there tossing about, I saw pictured to me in. my delirium 
 your true situation, and I recognized at last that you were 
 not my husband at all." 
 
 Though she had intimated the came before, she had 
 not yet definitely stated it. 
 
114 TIIE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 " It was a very hard position for a woman to find her- 
 self placed in, too," she went on — " to realize the ignominy 
 she had drawn upon herself, to experience the shame and 
 despair that the violation of all her womanly instincts 
 should have caused " — her emotions were gradually rising 
 and asserting themselves; ''and yet if you could know 
 how hard it was to be deserted !" 
 
 " Yes, I know that experience," I answered. 
 
 *' You do ?" 
 
 ** Yes, when you left New York and were away from 
 me." . 
 
 She dropped her eyes as she resumed: 
 
 "I deemed it right to tell you all this, hard as it is 
 for me to do so. You have acted as a high-principled, 
 honorable man alone could, and have treated me only too 
 considerately under extraordinary provocation. Indeed, 
 when I realize what you must think of me, "she continued. 
 " I am filled with shame and embarrassment." 
 
 "But think only of the happiness you cause me now — 
 the happiness to be near you. No other woman can make 
 me happy, no other woman can I ever care for. I love 
 you," I continued, carried away by my passion, ''and you 
 alone; I love you because of all your trouble, because of 
 all the bitter anguish and shame I, on the contrary, have 
 caused you to feel." 
 
 She got up excitedly. 
 
 ' ' But suppose he should come back ! Yes, yes, I 
 care for you — at least I think I do," she continued. 
 '* I cared for you from the first because of your resem- 
 blance to one I firmly believed I had the right to love. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTKR ECO. IIS 
 
 But what would your position, my position be, should 
 he suddenly return ?" She looked about her with a ter- 
 rified, furtive glance that alarmed me also. 
 
 '* But he never will !" I exclaimed. *' His long (inser- 
 tion of you can only be accounted for by his death." 
 
 *' Then we ought to wait, for until I am assured of this 
 my allegiance is to him. Yes, in spite of everything with 
 which you can justly charge me, in sp'.te of the glaring 
 lack of logic of my position; as I told you before, I would 
 feel that you would be but half my husband, as long as 
 he could also claim me; I would feel that my affections 
 had been stolen through your resemblance to him, and 
 that even now you hardly ought to be here; indeed, I 
 scarcely think I should have consented to your coming- 
 had I not wished to tell you all this once again." 
 
 *' But, after all that has occurred, you will not drive me 
 away ?" I said. 
 
 '' What good can result from your staying? Nay, only 
 harm, danger to us both !" 
 
 ** Let me stay and I will take care of the danger; the 
 greatest privilege I ask is to be near you !" 
 
 She thought for a moment, then, with one of those 
 bright, sudden changes that were habitual to her, " I will 
 let you stay on one consideration," she said. 
 
 "And what is that ?" I asked. 
 
 *' That you won't even — even — " 
 
 " Even what ?*' 
 
 " Even kiss me !" Whereupon she broke away from me 
 and left the veranda. 
 
XXIII. 
 
 What a new zest to life the affection for a beautiful 
 woMUUi gives ! As I look back now on that period, I 
 count those days as bright pearls on the string of time. 
 Ah! if 1 could only linger and describe each one in turn ! 
 lUit accursed Fate is on my track and obliges me to hurry 
 on. That she tolerated my presence, that she acquiesced 
 in my devotions, that she even herself reciprocated my 
 affections, I had no doubt; and yet as time went on and I 
 got to know her better, she only puzzled me the more. It 
 was not alone that her moods were variable; this I deemed 
 natural in the extraordinary position she found herself 
 in. It was not alone that she permitted me to remain by 
 her side without any distinct understanding as to my po- 
 sition and our mutual relations one to the other. But it 
 was that she began to evince for me a kind of dread, or, 
 if not exactly a dread of myself, of some power, as it were, 
 that I unsuspectingly possessed — a dread that she en- 
 deavored to control and to conceal from me, and yet which 
 struggled with her augmenting affection, just as if I 
 were cursed with the evil eye without knowing it. Some- 
 tiines, too, she would display in her conversation a mor- 
 bidness that would make me actually shudder, a moment, 
 after gliding on to subjects which she would discuss with 
 an eloquence and a power almost masculine. One day, 
 
 ii6 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. II7 
 
 as we were out sketching in a boat, she looked up from 
 her drawing-block. 
 
 ''They say there is a person confined in the attic of 
 that house who has never seen the light of day for forty 
 years. Some think that he is crazy, others that he really 
 owns the property and is chained up to a post in order to 
 prevent his asserting his rights. Do you believe it ?" 
 
 "I believe anything you tell me," I answered for want 
 of a better reply. 
 
 "Suppose I told you that dead people came back to 
 life — I mean in this world; would you believe that?" 
 
 " Well, I must confess I'd have to stretch my credulity." 
 
 '* I saw a corpse once washed up just there on the 
 beach, and the recollection has pursued me to this very 
 day. Have you ever thought how awful it would be to be 
 buried alive ?" 
 
 '' Upon my word, Edna, you've se-ected a cheerful 
 series of topics for a picnic," I retorted. "Couldn't you 
 try another vein ?" 
 
 She laughed quietly. 
 
 " Very well, then, have you ever thought vrhatacurious 
 reflection on human nature it is that those pursuits are 
 the most delightful that draw us most out of ourselves ?" 
 
 ''That's better; but why is it a curious reflection on 
 human nature ?'' I asked. "Why is it not natural ?" 
 
 " What I mean is, that we are not constituted happy by 
 nature; we must always be doing something to be happy, 
 and what causes us the most exquisite enjoyment is the 
 very thing which is the least connected with our own per- 
 sonality." 
 
Il8 rilK KOMANCF, OF AN AI/IKR KC.O. 
 
 "I think liupiMiicss consists in l)asking in the sunshine 
 of someone else's personaHty," 1 returned — ** that is, if the 
 some one else is the right personaHty." 
 
 She smiled as she pushed back from her forehead the 
 dark, ripj:)Iing hair. 
 
 " I'erhaps so," she said; "and yet don't you think hap- 
 piness would have robl)ed the world of all its great men? 
 If Napoleon had been hai)py, or even contented, would 
 he ever have had the sjiur to make him great ?" 
 
 "What's the use of great men ?" I answered. <*The 
 world has grown tired of setting people up on a pinnacle, 
 and then standing off at a respectful distance in open- 
 mouthed admiration. We have become too democratic 
 even to permit of men rising above the general level in 
 aught but wealth." 
 
 '' If I were a man," she exclaimed, ** I would be ambi- 
 tious to make the world happier. Take all this agitation 
 between the rich and poor; do you not think it is based 
 on this very struggle for wealth that you speak of ? The 
 other day 1 picked up the * Memoirs of Madam Le Brun,' 
 the painter. She gave a graphic picture of the opening of 
 the French Revolution, which she remembered as a little 
 girl. I sometimes think we are now on the eve of another 
 revolution, which, when it comes, will even exceed that 
 in violence. It will not be against the aristocracy, be- 
 cause we have none; but it will be against the rich of 
 whom we have too many." 
 
 "Then let us be united when it does come," I said, 
 and my arm crept round her waist, and I attempted to 
 reach her lips with mine. - 
 
THli ROMANCK OF AN \l,li;k KGO. II9 
 
 A[y touch always caused her extreme agitation. She 
 pushed me back from her and looiced furtively over the 
 waters with that same stealthy, fi.^^htened air I had 
 nodced before. I thought I read in it the conflict be- 
 tween duty and inclination, since any reference by me to 
 a closer union always caused like agitation. It would 
 have been a very simple affair, I a'-gued, for her to consent 
 that steps should be taken to have her former ties dis- 
 solved, yet, anxious as I was for her to do so, I recognized 
 that this was a subject that I must not discuss, great as 
 was my interest in doing so. 
 
 Thus the days glided on, each one drawing me nearer, 
 little by little, to that grand climacteric reserved for bitter 
 and for sweet things alike. 
 
XXIV. 
 
 In spite of the simplicity of his manner of living, Mr. 
 Diilzelle's interests were extensive and of the most di- 
 versified character, and these, in the unsettled condition 
 of all commercial and industrial pursuits, required his 
 daily attention in the city. Thus I was thrown more than 
 I otherwise might have been in Edna's society, and conse- 
 quently saw him but seldom till evening or late in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 On his return from the boat, he would frequently stop 
 at my quarters, however, to pay me a visit, often insisting 
 on my accompanying him home to diimer for a game of 
 whist. 
 
 It was the afternoon that closed the first fortnight of my 
 arrival here that he stopped at the farm-house door, bring- 
 ing the evening papers with him in the back of his 
 buggy. 
 
 ** They'll have something- else to talk about again 
 than the doctrines of Henry George," he said. 
 
 "And what's that ?'' I asked, as I rose to meet him. 
 
 **Why, the Coney Island 'murder," he answered. 
 *' They've at last got a clue." 
 
 **The Coney Island murder?" I repeated, with some 
 curiosity. 
 
 rio 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 131 
 
 •♦Yes; the one that occurred a couple of weeks ago. 
 Didn't you hear about it ?'* 
 
 "Since I have been down here," I replied, **! have 
 turned my back on the world and its doings. I haven't 
 even looked at a paper." 
 
 " Then Til leave this one with you now; it gives a 
 resume of the crime. Don't forget that the whist club 
 meets to-night at my house; so come around early, my 
 boy. Ta, ta !" 
 
 He deposited the papers in my hand and started off 
 again in his buggy. I watched him as he went up the 
 lane, the yellow wheels of his trap glistening in the sun- 
 light through the dust, and the trees making a complete 
 arch over his head. 
 
 The mention of Coney Island had caught my ear, and 
 rather because of this than any keen desire to resume 
 my acquaintance with the affairs of the universe, I open- 
 ed the sheet and spread it out upon my knees as I sat 
 down on the steps of the piazza. I had no difficulty in 
 finding the place, the letters being as large as ever and 
 the alliteration certainly as startling. 
 
 " Clue to the Coney Island Crime !" the para- 
 graph was headed. 
 
 *'The Mystery at the Morton Manifestly a 
 Murder." 
 
 " Suspicion Strongly Settles on Samuel S. Smith as 
 THE Assassin of the Occupant of Room No. 13." 
 
 Why, that was the very room that had been assigned me 
 the night of my visit at Coney Island, and which I had 
 given up. The hotel was the same also. I felt a decided 
 
122 Tlir, ROMANCE OF AM AI.TKR EOO. 
 
 increase of interest, aiul riinnin}^ my eye down the paj;e 
 to where the liistory of the crime was given in greater de- 
 tail, I learned that a certain New Jersey politician had 
 been found at the Morton Hotel, lying stiff arid cold in 
 room No. 13, with a dirk stickinj^ in his throat. His 
 watch and a c(>»nsideral)le sum of money in hills had been 
 left untouched by the side of his bed on which he was ly- 
 ing, showing conclusively that the motive had been other 
 than theft. 
 
 " The reason for suspicion centering on this man 
 Smith," the paper went on to state, ** is that subsequent 
 investigations have revealed the fact that he had been an 
 applicant for an office which had been in the gift of the 
 dead man. On the disposal of this office to another per- 
 son Smith had been openly heard to threaten the life of 
 the deceased, or at least to vow that he would * fix ' 
 him. 
 
 " This threat," continued the report, " was made on 
 July 12. It was late on the following evening that the 
 unfortunate gentleman arrived at Coney Island and se- 
 cured his room at the hotel. He was found on the 
 morning of the 14th dead." 
 
 I rose to my feet in great agitation. 
 
 "Found on the morning of the 14th !" Not only, then, 
 was the room mine, but that was the very morning that I 
 would have been there had I stayed over-night ! 
 
 As by a twist of a mirror the whole situation was re- 
 vealed to me and what I had escaped. This man had 
 been murdered in my stead ; I was sure of it. The story 
 about the office seeker was absurd, for disappointment in 
 
Tin; KOMANCI", OF AN AI.TKK Kf'.O. 133 
 
 securing a small place uiuler the govcrmncnl cDukI hardly 
 impel a man to siicii a deed. I had been tracked 
 down to the hotel ; my ai)rupt departure back to town had 
 escai)ed the notice of the assassins, and the politician had 
 walked into the pitfall prepared for me. At least the 
 j)revious attempts on my life would justify such an inter- 
 pretation of the event. 
 
 If this were so, how long would it be before the mis- 
 take was discovered ? Thank God! my name had not fig- 
 ured in any of the reports, and I remembered now, with a 
 sincere feeling of congratulation, that I had ne^^lected to 
 register on arriving- at the hotel, and that, through the care- 
 lessness of the clerk, 1 had not been reminded of my omis- 
 sion. But would they not unearth me at last, and follow 
 up their attempt with a more successful effort ? How 
 soon would they break in upon my (}uiet retreat here ? 
 
 I suppose my proper course would have been to have 
 gone immediately to the city and have explained to the au- 
 thorities the reason I had for supposing that the assassina- 
 tion had been really intended for »ne ; showing how this 
 very room had been assigned to me, and how at the last 
 moment I had changed my mind about remaining over- 
 night. I was, however, unequal to the occasion. It 
 would necessarily involve bringing up the circumstances 
 of the lawsuit again and the delicate relations I stood 
 to FAbia. My name had escaped mention, and until 
 the suspected assassin was apprehended and seemed 
 in danger of punishment, I would devote my entire 
 energies to her. My courtship was already sufficiently 
 complicated as it was, *.nd '"liis last was but one ad- 
 
124 'I'm- KOM/WCK OF AN ALTER KCO. 
 
 ilitiotuil link ill the iiicxp'icablc chain of events that was 
 gradually wiiuKiii; ahout nie. 
 
 1 rememberccl the invitation of Mr. Dalzelle, and, 
 though I anticipated m my present mood httle pleasure 
 from tlie party, I dressed myself and decided to go as 
 soon as I had finished (Hnner. 
 
 As the evening was overcast and it promised to be 
 darker later on, I requested Mr. Crummels to come for 
 me at half-past ten punctually with a lantern. You smile, 
 and you have reason; but I had become so nervous and 
 depressed that 1 dreaded the black shadows of night like 
 a very child. 
 
XXV. 
 
 WiiF.N T reached my (U'stination T found the company 
 assembled in the drawm<^ room, and the general hright- 
 iiess and cheerfuhiess of the scene removed my ihouglUs 
 from the sinister turn they had taken. 
 
 The party consisted of the minister of the neighboring 
 church, the village squire, a college professor with green 
 spectacles, and four other gentlemen, making up the 
 complement of two tables. They were already seated, 
 and Edna, in a white muslin dress open at the neck, 
 and a wide blue satin sash, was moving about from one 
 table to the other. 
 
 Several of thegenllemen were smoking, and, as they had 
 not yet settled down to business, they were all laugh- 
 ing and chatting. Altogether 1 hardly ever remember to 
 have witnessed a brighter, cheerier scene. The room, 
 with its red paper, its red shades, and its well-trimmed 
 lamps, is cut in my memory like a bright little ruby in 
 cameo. 
 
 As there were just two sets at the tables, I found my- 
 self disengaged, and took my seat on a sofa, where Edna 
 soon afterwards joined me. 
 
 "My father has these little parties every two weeks," 
 she explained; " they will draw you in later for a hand." 
 
 125 
 
126 THK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 *'I am too well off where I am," I answered, **to 
 make that prospect attractive." 
 
 "Oh! but you must play," she cried, *Mf only for 
 papa's sake. Do play when he asks you, and let him 
 abuse your game. It gives him so much pleasure." 
 
 " I have often thought," I laughed, *' that a reputation 
 for good whist playing could be acquired by simply abus- 
 ing your partner. Never mind what he does, or does not 
 do, always find fault with his play. It immediately puts 
 him in an attitude of defense, which is in itself a weak 
 one, and draws off attention from your own play." 
 
 ** I've noticed that, too," she cried, *'and I always adopt 
 the plan when papa makes me play double dummy. You 
 see I play very badly also." 
 
 '* Don't you think we both ought to learn to play well ?" 
 I asked more seriously. *' I'll come around to-morrow at 
 eleven, and we'll practice double dummy together all day. 
 It will please your father so to have us develop into ex- 
 perts," I added slyly. 
 
 Instead of smiling, her manner suddenly changed. 
 
 ** Oh ! no, not to-morrow," she cried, with a startled 
 tone. '' You must not come to-morrow under any circum- 
 stances; I quite forgot to tell you. Now promise me that 
 you won't ?' ' 
 
 *' But why not?" I demanded, with an injured air. 
 
 "Oh! but you mustn't. Now do go to New York to- 
 morrow just for the day !" 
 
 I was about to put in an earnest protest against this 
 easy disposal of my time when I was summoned, as she 
 had predicted I would be, to cut into the game. I was 
 
THF, ROMANCE OV AX AI/ITU EGO. 1:7 
 
 therefore compelled to leave liev, and like a lamb was led 
 unwillingly to the sacrifice. As regards my game, I need 
 only say that I did as much for Mr. Dalzelle (who, on the 
 score of my education, persisted in retaining me all the 
 evening for his partner) as a series of bad hands and a fit 
 of absent-mindedness caused by pAlna's words would al- 
 low. At the conclusion of the last rubber my host, who 
 had severely criticised my skill all the way through, had 
 the consideration to acknowledge that one play of mine 
 had been extremely scientific. 
 
 " I suppose," he said encouragingly, "that you led that 
 card because you thought I had the queen ?" 
 
 ** On the contrary," I unguardedly acknowledged, " I 
 led it because I thought you did nof have the queen." 
 Thereupon my monitor rai^jcd his hands with his usuav 
 gesture of exaggerated despair, and the party broke up in 
 the midst of good-humored hilarity at my expense. 
 
 I remained until the guests had departed, but could 
 get no explanation from Edna as to her strange conduct ; 
 she, however, accompanied me to the door, and then, as if 
 relenting, she whispered, " Though you must not come to- 
 morrow, the whole of the day after is yours." 
 
 Somewhat relieved by her last words, I bade her good- 
 night, and turned to Mr. Crummels, whom I found await- 
 ing me with his lantern. 
 
 I had before now detected in Mr. Crummels a keen in- 
 terest in regard to the relations I bore to his landlord's 
 daughter, and the fact that she let me out raised my 
 suspicions that he might broach the subject on the walk 
 back. 
 
128 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 Mr. Crummels never went direct to a point, but always 
 tried to work up to it by a circuitous and lengthy path. To 
 start him on a different tack at the outset, however, I re- 
 marked on the long continuation of the drought, and my 
 regrets that the prospects of rain seemed likely to be un- 
 fulfilled. 
 
 '* Wall, you're jist like all the rest of the folks here- 
 ■> abouts," he somewhat bluntly replied. " They're never 
 satisfied with nuthin'. First it's rain they wants, then 
 it's sunshine. As for me, I leaves the matter of weather in 
 the hands of the Almighty, and lets him run it to suit 
 hisself." 
 
 I nodded my head in approbation of this considerate 
 conduct, and we had arrived at the beach before he again 
 resumed. 
 
 "Yes," he continued, as we walked along the shore, 
 ''take the squire who was up there to-night, he's never 
 content neither; while as for the minister, he's always try- 
 ing to prod on the Creator to suit his own purpose. This 
 yere spring, jist because he was backward in gettin' in his 
 pertaters, he prays for wet, and right off durin' service up 
 jumps the squire and tells him he was takin' an unfair ad- 
 vantage of the rest of the congregation, for they was sat- 
 isfied to let the hot spell run on till they had sown their 
 oats. But my daughters" — here Mr. Crummels stopped 
 to light a short clay pipe — *' my daughters gives me a heap 
 more trouble, though, than the weather. Thar' they be 
 a-poundin' on that pianny that I bought 'em, from early 
 mornin' till ole Abe drives the cattle in at night. Fust 
 it's 'In the Sweet By and By' they plays, or * In the 
 
thp: romance of an alter ego. 129 
 
 Prison Cell I sit, Thinking Mother Dear of You !' Sez I, 
 If it's thinking so much of your mother, I wouldn't be settin 
 around at all, but I'd be up and taking some of the work 
 off her hands, and helpin' her to do the cookin'." 
 
 To judge from Mr. Crummels' remarks, one might well 
 infer that he was a perfect paragon of industry. In 
 point of fact the entire farm was run by " hired help," 
 and I have reason to suspect that Mr. Dalzelle had as 
 much difficulty in collecting his revenues from it as he 
 originally had to collect the interest on his mortgage. 
 My silent reflection, however, had not interrupted the 
 train of Mr. C.'s thoughts. 
 
 *T suppose, howsomever, you'll be havin' daughters your- 
 self one of these days," he observed after a pause, *' so I 
 mustn't discourage you. Seein' the minister, too, 'round at 
 Mr. Dalzelle's sot me thinkin' that you might be callin' 
 on him before long to make that daughter question pos- 
 sible ?"" 
 
 Thereupon Mr. Crummels began to inspect his lantern, 
 as if he feared that it was about to go out. 
 
 The subject had been so skillfully worked up to that I 
 was taken quite aback. I only avoided it by awkwardly 
 changing to an entirely different topic, the first one that 
 entered my head. 
 
 "Talking about Mr. Dalzelle," I said, "he happened 
 to mention once that the cellar under your house was 
 quite remarkable. Indeed, I think he told me that your 
 grandfather, having been struck three times by lightning, 
 accepted the warning as from Heaven, and built himself 
 a retreat in case of thunder storms." 
 
130 THE ROMANCE OF* AN ALTER ECO. 
 
 Mr. Crummels laughed. '' I don't take much stock in 
 these yere stories," he said, " for, if the truth was known, 
 I guess it had more to do with the distillin' of whisky 
 on the sly. It's a famous cellar, though, for storin' apples 
 in, and if you'd like to see it I'll take yer down on the 
 morrer and give yer a look at it." 
 
 I expressed my readiness to accompany him, and, as 
 we had by this time reached home, I thanked him for his 
 pains and retired for the night. 
 
XXVI. 
 
 What a curious thing is fate, and by what odd instru- 
 ments it often works out its most tragic results! 
 
 Though, as the reader is aware, I had proposed to Edna 
 an early rendezvous for to-day, she had strangel)' enough 
 excused herself, and consequently, having nothing in par- 
 ticular to do, I fell an early prey to Mr. Crummels. In- 
 deed, I am persuaded that he gave up the vvhole of his 
 morning's work under the sole pretext of showing me 
 that cellar. Instead of a cellar, however, it was rather a 
 series of subterranean passages that led away from it 
 into regions of unknown darkness beyond the area of the 
 house. They bore the marks of considerable antiquity, 
 and were stored, as well as the eye could distinguish, with 
 apples. 
 
 •'Yes, it's a heap of a cellar, ain't it?" my host re- 
 marked contemplatively. " My Guy ! I remember as a 
 boy, when I used to be obstreperous, the ole man would 
 put me in here to keep company with the spooks. A 
 cellar is very much like a woman, it's deep and it's dark. 
 But this yere one lays over 'em all; for never mind how 
 you begin, you're sure to end up different than you 
 expected.'' 
 
 The observation was not unwarranted; the twists and 
 the turns were quite bewildering, and in their ramifications 
 
 131 
 
132 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 bore a slight analogy to the uncertainties of character 
 usually attributed to the female sex. 
 
 '* Here's a passage, for instance," he continued, lighting 
 a lantern as he spoke, '* that, if it was only cleared away, 
 might lead to the water, for it strikes off in exactly the 
 oppos//^ direction." 
 
 " Let's see if it does!" I exclaimed, and I began to 
 poke with my stick at the rubbish that had collected at 
 the mouth of a sort of tunnel leading from the main one 
 we were in. 
 
 '^ It ain't no use," said Mr. C, who immediately be- 
 came listless and spiritless the moment hard work was 
 suggested; '' 'spose you do scrape out all that 'ere rub- 
 bish, what then? 'Spose it do lead to the water, what's 
 the good? You can walk thar' without silin' your pants 
 on the face of the earth, can't you? And ain't that better 
 than crawlin' on your belly ?" 
 
 ** Mr. Crummels," I observed, *' I am of an investigat- 
 ing disposition; if that passage can be cleared away and 
 we find it leads to the water, it will be worth five dollars 
 to me." 
 
 " Do say !" observed Mr. Crummels, opening his eyes 
 in wide amazement. *' Five dollars ! Well, you just hold 
 on till I call ole Abe." 
 
 Ole Abe, a hand on the place, soon presented himself 
 with a shovel, and Mr. Crummels took a seat on a barrel 
 which he brought from the cellar. 
 
 " I can always manage a difficult business better when 
 I'm sittin'," he observed, ''and this yere business, needs 
 a heap of executive ability. I've allers noticed, too, that 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 1 33 
 
 you get on quicker when one does the head work and 
 'tother the hand work; it's a proper division of labor, as 
 they calls it." The combined efforts of ole Abe and his 
 master, thus divided, resulted in clearing out the passage 
 for some twenty feet. Connecting with this we dis- 
 covered an air shaft of about a foot in diameter strikins: 
 upwards to the surface of the earth, and protected, where 
 it reached the surface, with an iron grating such as is 
 used at the opening of a drain or sewer. The metal was 
 almost eaten through with rust, while the aperture was 
 choked with leaves and clogged with dirt After these 
 obstructions were removed, a fresh current of air pene- 
 trated into the regions below, and a little sunlight filtered 
 down through the grating. 
 
 As Mrs. Crummels appeared o ; the scene shortly after, 
 and loudly remonstrated with her spouse for his waste of 
 time, 1 gave her husband the five dollars to be awarded 
 as he saw fit, only engaging his services in the near future 
 to complete the interrupted task. And yet let me say 
 that no five dollars I ever expended have brought me the 
 interest those eventually did. No hour the most advan- 
 tageously employed by Mr. Crummels, either, was worth 
 to his family one billionth part of what that hour even- 
 tually proved, though he had done nothing more than 
 lazily sit on a barrel overseeing the work. 
 
 As the day was warm and there was yet more than an 
 hour before luncheon, I walked down to the beach with 
 the object of taking a swim. The fact that Edna had re- 
 fused to permit of my visiting her still continued to puz- 
 zle me, and particularly her manner, which had been more 
 
134 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 than ordinarily embarrassed when T had proposed doing so. 
 The more I thought over it, too, the further was I from 
 finding an explanation of her conduct. There was a boat 
 some half a mile off from the shore, which I noticed when 
 I was undressing, and it was apparently rowing for the spot 
 where I was; I paid no attention to it, as the sight 
 was not an unusual one, and dipped into the cool blue 
 waves. 
 
 All the time I was swimming about I was arguing 
 with myself as to why Edna had refused to receive 
 me to-day, and when I would find that the water 
 offered no satisfactory explanation I would come out and 
 roll on the hot beach in the sun, taking up huge hand- 
 fuls of sand and letting it slowly trickle down my legs 
 and body. So preoccupied was I between the intellec- 
 tual occupation of making a sandman of myself and 
 then dipping into the water that I quite forgot all about 
 the boat, until, happening to glance up, I saw that the dis- 
 tance l)etween us had been reduced by half. Even yet, if 
 I thought of it at all, I supposed its proximity to the 
 shore was merely a matter of accident, and that, while it 
 might be heading in this direction, it would soon turn 
 about and go on its business again; I therefore re-entered 
 the water and soon forgot it for the second time. 
 
 'J'he beach was long and solitary, being owned for at 
 least a mile of its length by Mr. Dalzelle, and, without 
 suspicion of being observed, I was indulging in a species 
 of sport suggested by the amusing gambols of the por- 
 poises which infest these waters. It consisted in diving, 
 throwing one's back well out of the water, kicking ener- 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. X35 
 
 getically with one's feet, and then coming up and blowing. 
 In the act of one of these experiments, when my head 
 again reached the surface and I opened my eyes, I per- 
 ceived not alone that the boat was now less than two 
 hundred yards away, but, what was worse, that the flutter 
 of a red shawl indicated the presence of a lady. I was in 
 an extremely delicate situation, for there was no longer 
 any doubt but that the strangers intended to land. Could 
 they have failed to notice me ? 
 
 I began to splash the water about as a discreet manner 
 of explaining that I was r » the premises, but without 
 effect, for they continued on quite heedless of my pres- 
 ence. There were three people in her, as I could now 
 distinguish — a man in the bow, another rowing, and a 
 woman in the stern. They were getting so close that 
 modesty recommended my submerging myself lower — 
 which I did, till my eyes were on a level with the water- 
 line. With the top of my head alone visible I watched 
 them drawing nearer and nearer, and an unconquerable 
 curiosity held me, as it gradually dawned upon me that 
 they were not strangers. Yet I must be mistaken; no, I 
 was not. There was no mistaking the elephantine pro- 
 portions of the principal figure, and I recognized with a 
 start Rebecca Seaton as the occupant of the stern, the 
 youth with the soiled face and the ears like wings in the 
 bow, and a heavily bearded man amidships rowing the 
 precious pair. My astonishment at seeing them coming 
 upon me as it were out of the mystery of the wide, wide 
 waters, was so great that I rose to my feet, regardless of 
 the expos6 I was making. 
 
\^6 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 Without sign of recognition they passed by me, and 
 the boat grated on the beach. Thereupon the youth with 
 the wing-like ears disembarlced, pulling the boat as far up 
 as his strength would permit, then the oarsman came next 
 and drew her a little higher, and finally Rebecca Seaton, 
 moving her elephantine person from the stern to the 
 bow, was politely assisted to terra firma by her two con- 
 ductors. 
 
 "Theophilus," I distinctly heard her say to the youth 
 with the wide extending ears, "if you aint forgot the al- 
 cohol bottle, you can gimme your harm." Whereupon 
 the youth with the big ears politely presented his elbow, 
 and the ill-assorted pair proceeded in the direction of Mr. 
 Dalzelle's. As soon as they were sufficiently distant I 
 rushed out of the water to the oarsman (who had re- 
 mained behind with the boat) and began to question him 
 eagerly, asking whence he had brought them, how long 
 the)' were to remain, and whither he was to convey them. 
 To all my queries, however, he merely shook his head. 
 Finding at last that I was not so easily to be gotten rid of, 
 he squatted down and wrote with his finger in the sand 
 where the tide had left it hard: 
 
 '* Deef and dum. Strike on the railroad, had to row. 
 Yours truly, Henry Dobbs." 
 
 Though I wrote copious questions in the same vehicle 
 of communication, he refused any further particulars, and 
 would only shrug his shoulders and shake his head. 
 
 I dressed myself hastily. The fact of their havino- 
 steered to this part of the beach instead of to the 
 point opposite to Mr. Dalzelle's, whither they seemed 
 
Tlir ROMANCE OF AN AI-TF'.R F.GO. 1 37 
 
 bound, argued a thorough familiarity with the shore here- 
 about, for a sunken ledge of rocks extending a long dis- 
 tance into the Sound rendered a more direct approach ex- 
 tremely dangerous. Nor could there he a doubt but that 
 Rebecca's destination was Mr. Dalzelle's, for even now, 
 as I looked down the beach after her, she and her com- 
 panion were passing into the summer-house through which 
 the path lay to his residence. But Mr. Dalzelle was in 
 the city. Ah, I have it ! They were going to visit Edna, 
 and it was because of this that she had refused to allow 
 me to come. 
 
XXVII. 
 
 I don't know that my feelings ever experienced a 
 greater shock than when I arrived at the above conclu- 
 sion. The connection between Edna and this terrible 
 woman was so grotesque, so unnatural ! What could their 
 relations be ? Merely that of patient and physician ? 
 And yet I was in honor bound not to investigate the 
 matter by following up the visitors. I could do nothing 
 but wait and question Edna after they had gone. 
 
 To the many traits of Edna that had struck me 
 as extraordinary I thought I had now gained a clue, 
 even to the agitation she invariably evinced when I ap- 
 proached the subject of her procuring a divorce. Yet 
 this made my position more than illogical, and even ren- 
 dered my courtship questionable on the score of morality. 
 Heretofore I had allowed matters to glide along without 
 asserting my rights, for her society had grown so neces- 
 sary to me that I had hesitated doing anything that 
 might disturb my enjoyment of it. 
 
 Now albeit I must take a decided stand, if only to break 
 the influence which this woman too obviously exercised 
 over her. 
 
 I wandered back to my quarters and took up a position 
 
 138 
 
THE ROMANCK OF AN ALTER EGO. 1 39 
 
 on the piazza which commanded the beach, and from which 
 I could see the departure of the unwelcome visitors. 
 
 And as I sat there, the perils from which I had escaped 
 recurred to my mind. Could Rebecca Seaton have had 
 anything to do with them ? I had little doubt but that the 
 Coney Island assassination had been intended for me; and 
 the cold-blooded nature of the crime showed me what I 
 had escaped from at my hotel in the city. In some mys- 
 terious manner my fate seemed connected with the dis- 
 turbed condition of the country, too, and Edna, on whom 
 I had pinned my faith, appeared drifting away from me. 
 But what course had I best adopt ? 
 
 A multiplicity of perplexities, instead of sharpening the 
 wits, generally paralyzes them; and while I ought to have 
 been planning some definite line of action, there I sat 
 on the piazza listening to the murmur of the breeze, 
 looking at the *Mady tongues" as they trembled on 
 their delicate stems, and anon at the poultry that were 
 picking about for crumbs at my feet. Among them was 
 a bantam that from his extraordinary manner of walking 
 had always caused me extreme wonder. During some 
 especially cold night I believe his poor toes had been 
 frost-bitten, but at any rate he raised his feet like a 
 stepper in the shafts of a smart cabriolet. In his pridc- 
 ful progress, as he walked before me now, I read a 
 fanciful moral on ambition that o'erleaps itself, that 
 scarcely deigns to touch the earth trom which it springs, 
 that is all fuss and feathers at best, and that crows lustily 
 in the morning only to have its neck wrung before night. 
 
 Are not human hope and ambition analogous ? What 
 
I40 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 difference did it all make, anyhow, what became of even 
 Kdna or myself? In fifty years, nay, in half, the sum 
 total of human happiness is compressed. 
 
 I rose from my seat and looked seawards. There 
 was no sign of the boat, consequently she must still 
 be under cover of the shore. I walked down near the 
 beach and looked through the trees ; then I detected 
 the heavily-bearded man asleep in the bottom of the 
 boat. 
 
 Those two hours before the absentees returned from 
 Mr. Dalzelle's seemed very long, but at last I saw them 
 come walking back along the sands. They took the boat; 
 I watched them departing over the waters, and when they 
 had finally disappeared I went directly to see Edna. 
 I would tell her what I thought of her conduct, and I 
 would endeavor to persuade her to break off her connec- 
 tion with this woman at once. I found her on the piazza 
 of her home, and I immediately broached the subject, 
 perhaps a little rudely, and for once there was no shrinking 
 from me. 
 
 The pupils of her great dark eyes dilated, and she 
 looked at me with an expression I had never seen there 
 before. Her exact reply was this : 
 
 ♦* I will have you understand that I will receive what 
 guests I choose, and I consider your action as an intoler- 
 able interference." 
 
 "If it is an interference," I said, "my excuse is the 
 affection I bear you. It is terrible for me to think of the 
 influence *his woman seems to exercise over you." 
 
 **I will thank you to reserve your philippics till they 
 
THE ROMANCE OK AN ALTER EGO. I4I 
 
 are called for. What right have you to speak ? You are 
 nothing to rne, nothing at all, and I hate you !'' 
 
 " You hate me ?" I said, and I looked into her eyes. 
 
 " Yes, I hate you when you don't mind your own busi- 
 ness — " her eyes were fairly flashing with anger — *' it is so 
 indelicate of you, so rude," she continued. 
 
 "Come, let's go for a drive," I said, " and talk the 
 whole thing over." 
 
 ** I have nothing to talk over; besides, I told you yes- 
 terday I would not see you at all to-day." 
 
 "Then will you go with me to-morrow?" I asked. 
 *' You promised that all to-morrow should be mine." 
 
 " No, I will never give you the right to see mc again." 
 
 Instead of replying I turned away from her and pressed 
 my hands to my head. Tier manner pained me exces- 
 sively, and though I suppose my act showed the strength 
 of my feelings better than any words could have done, 
 Fhe never relented. 
 
 ** Very well," I observed at last, " I will leave you, and 
 I M'ill accept the interpretation you have put on my con- 
 duct. I have been guilty of Tin intolerable interference." 
 
XXVIII. 
 
 The bolt^ had fallen out of a clear sky, so abruptly, so 
 unexpectedly that I did not think of resisting it; on the 
 contrary, I had almost drawn it down on my own head. 
 
 I returned to the farm-house, and, writing Mr. Dalzelle 
 briefly to the effect that his daughter would explain my 
 departure, I thanked him for all his kindness and had 
 myself driven over to the station. " A woman is very 
 much like that cellar of mine," observed Mr. Crummels 
 sadly, as he bade me good-by on the platform of the car: 
 ** she's deep and she's dark, and never mind where you 
 begin with her, you're sure to wind up different from what 
 you expected." 
 
 I could not gainsay the aphorism. 
 
 How I got through those first few days of my return to 
 the city I hardly know. I felt quite broken up, utterly 
 regardless of the future ; and the worst of it was, when I 
 came to think over it, the more I realized that I myself 
 had been alone to blame for the rupture. Certainly I had 
 shown a miserable lack of diplomacy and had acted with 
 such precipitancy as to allow plenty of time for repentance. 
 Here I was, however, and, being here, what should I do ? 
 Should I go back West, should I go to Europe, or should 
 I stay where I was ? God help me ! My only object in 
 coming East had been to get a little amusement out of 
 
 142 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 1 43 
 
 my wealth, and what a time I had had ! Apart from the 
 blow to my affections, the extraordinary snarl I had got 
 myself into was of itself sufficient cause of perplexity. 
 Was I married or was I single ? I kept asking myself ; 
 was I the true guardian of Edna, or was I not ? Would 
 my separation be final, and would the attempts upon my 
 life that had ceased during my residence in the country be 
 now renewed in New York when I was parted from her ? 
 Then that horrible woman, Rebecca Seaton, would loom 4 
 up before me, appearing at every turn of my dilemma 
 in her redness, her hideous vulgarity, and recalling her 
 malevolent influence over the object of my affections. 
 What had been her motive in coming down to the 
 country? Was it only to interrupt my happiness? 
 
 The third day I left my apartment for the first time 
 since my arrival, with the sole purpose of quieting my 
 nerves by physical exercise. I remembered the walk I took 
 on leaving the court-house after the trial, really so short a 
 time ago, and yet which now seemed removed by ages. As 
 I walked on, however, and my blood began to circulate, 
 my mind gradually regained its usual equipoise, and to 
 prevent my thoughts from reverting to my own troubles I 
 set to work to find an explanation of a circumstance that 
 nad often puzzled me before — namely, why a city that 
 professes to be the most progressive in the world should 
 be constructed, as it were, against the grain of travel. All 
 the course of travel i<5 north and south, and yet there are 
 some twelve cross streets running east and west to one 
 going up and down. 
 
 By dint of much reflection I hit upon the following so- 
 
144 TIIH ROMANCH OK AN AI/JKK KCIO. 
 
 lutiop. — namely, that when the upper portions of the city 
 were laid out, the rivers, it was supposed, would be the 
 principal means of transportation; hence the majority of 
 the streets were cnt to reach the water. One would think 
 that diagonal st jets would have been cut to facilitate 
 your progress to points on either side, but the grim and 
 useless tyranny of right angles faces you wherever you 
 go. Now, because there are twelve streets athwart the 
 line of travel to one in the proper direction, it happens 
 that these cross streets are comparatively deserted. Ex- 
 cept in the more important ones, people are few and far 
 between ; and as for policemen, well, they are as scarce, 
 when you want them, as foxes in a Connecticut township 
 with a bounty of five dollars apiece on their heads. 
 
 Besides, there is about these same cross streets a gloom 
 of color and a monotony that an August sun, however 
 glaring, can never light up and make cheerful. I was 
 thinking on these several circumstances, the grim ugliness 
 of the houses, the scarcity of people, and the intense heat, 
 wlien my shoestring became unlaced and I stooped to 
 retie it. In doing so I turned slightly around, and on 
 raising my head I became aware of two men who had 
 been walking behind me. Save from the general scarcity 
 of people, there was nothing remarkable in the fact, but 
 their turning in the opposite direction when I looked 
 up induced me to turn also and to follow them. They 
 had been too far off for me to distinguish their features 
 before they faced about, but the additional fact of 
 their now quickening their steps excited my suspicions 
 and caused me to hasten mine. Nevertheless I failed 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 145 
 
 to gain upon them. It was extremely awkward. I was 
 hardly warranted in accelerating my pace to a run, and 
 yet without running I could not get near enough to 
 f>ee whether my suspicions were justified. We were on 
 Thirty-ninth street, approaching Park avenue, and when 
 they reached the corner and turned down that avenue I 
 took advantage of their being out of sight and did run 
 after them. Strange to say, they must have availed them- 
 selves of the like opportunity, for when I gained Park 
 avenue they were at Thirty-eighth street, and the distance 
 between us was but little decreased. Now, at the junc- 
 tion of Park avenue and Thirty-eighth street, as every 
 New-Yorker is aware, a stairway leads down into the 
 tunnel of the Fourth avenue horse-car line, which runs 
 to Thirty-fourth street under ground. Down this stair- 
 case the two men rapidly disappeared, and when I de- 
 scended and reached the tunnel myself, two cars going 
 in opposite directions left me in doubt as to which they 
 had taken. While I was hesitating both cars had gone 
 some distance down the track, and when I hailed them 
 they both redoubled their speed, as is the custom of 
 horse cars when you wish to board them. I suppose the 
 best course would have been to have selected one car and 
 pursued it, on the chance of one or both of the stran- 
 gers being on it ; but the close, stuffy odor of Ammonia 
 Hollow increased my repugnance to the exertion, so 
 I remounted to the street and continued my aimless 
 walk. 
 
 Now, whether Rebecca Seaton's magnetic qualities drew 
 me like a loadstone towards her, or whether out of pure 
 
146 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 accident I passed her liouse, I leave to the psychologist 
 to determine. Her residence lay, at all events, quite 
 near, but I scarcely recognized that I had taken the street 
 on which it was situated until I found myself opposite 
 her door, and, what was worse, myself the object of 
 the surreptitious gaze of Theophilus from the window. 
 Under the circumstances I could scarcely pass the hospit- 
 able mansion; and though I was totally unprepared with 
 any excuse for a visit, I mounted the steps and in due 
 course of time was informed by the large-eared at- 
 tendant that his mistress was not at home. A sus- 
 picious whispering that had preceded the opening of the 
 portal, however, induced me to ask Theophilus to let 
 me enter the sanctuary of the oracle, on the pretext of 
 writing a few words to her on my card. What was 
 to be the purport of this message was as much of an 
 enigma as what I would have said to her had she been 
 visible ; but an uncontrollable temptation seized me to 
 discover whether she was really absent from her office 
 or had simply made a pretext not to receive me. The- 
 ophilus, nevertheless, conducted me into her parlors, and, 
 as they were tenantless, left me in the awkward predica- 
 ment of confessing that on second thoughts I would call 
 again and deliver in person my message. To be sure, I 
 made a pretense of writing something on my card, only to 
 tear it up in pieces afterwards, and then, in order to de- 
 rive some benefit from my coming, I endeavored to draw 
 out Theophilus on the subject of his own recent visit and 
 that of his mistress to Rocky Point. To all of my ques- 
 tions, however, he was as uncommunicative as an oyster, 
 
THE Ur>iANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 147 
 
 and I left the house recognizing that I was badly worsted. 
 Now, it was not till 1 had returned to my hotel, and had 
 been home in fact some hour or so, that I discovered 
 that my card case was missing. It had no particular in- 
 trinsic value, but having been given me by Edna I prized 
 it highly. Thinking I might have left it on the table in 
 Rebecca's office, where I remembered laying it down for 
 a moment, I decided to go back on the chance of its re- 
 covery. What is more disagreeable than such a second 
 visit? But 1 starL'jd out forthwith. The house was on 
 Thirty-seventh street, and but a few doors from the corner 
 of the avenue by which I approached it. Consequently 
 it was concealed from my view until I had passed the 
 corner of Thirty-seventh street. Arrived here, I stood 
 for a moment in utter amazement. Two men were com- 
 ing out, and, this time, being nearer and their full faces 
 turned towards me, I recognized them not only as the 
 couple who had followe'd me earlier iij the day, but as 
 the same two men who had crossed my path at an earlier 
 period of my history. What should I do ? Get a police- 
 man and have them arrested ? Easier said than done. 
 Policemen, when you want them, are harder to catch, as 
 1 have intimated, than Connecticut foxes. 
 
 I looked up and down the long, dusty avenue; there 
 was not a single bluecoat in sight. I was ignorant 
 whether the pair had seen me or not, for they were slowly 
 walking away in the opposite direction, down towards 
 Third avenue. If I went in quest of a policeman they 
 would certainly escape me. There was nothing to do 
 but to follow them a second thne. I felt for my pistol 
 
148 IHE ROMAN'CE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 and carefully examined it. With it I argued, there 
 could scarcely be much danger, particularly as it was yet 
 barely four o'clock. Hastening my steps, therefore, I 
 soon made up the distance I had lost by my hesitation. 
 I was rapidly lessening what remained, for, evidently yet 
 unsuspicious, they continued to walk leisurely on. My 
 heart beat so loudly that I half feared they would hear 
 its palpitations, but I decided that they should not escape 
 me again ; on that I was resolved. Once more I looked 
 at my pistol, slipped it back into the pocket of my sack- 
 coat, and keeping my hand upon the handle, ran along 
 on tiptoe till I was directly behind them. Then stepping 
 up suddenly between them, "Now," I ejaculated, *^ who 
 are you, and tell me what you want ?" 
 
 They stopped, and I must say their self-control aston- 
 ished me. Could they have been conscious all along of 
 my presence, and had they drawn me into a trap ? Not a 
 muscle of the face of either changed. They surveyed 
 me quite calmly, then looked stealthily around, and the 
 next instant two knives flashed out. So quick was the 
 action that I barely had time to s]3ring back, and, draw- 
 ing my ri volver, pulled the trigger. Curse it ! it missed 
 fire. At sight of my weapon they started to run, and I 
 after them, down towards Third aveuue. Again and 
 ^ again I cocked if, took aim and pulled, but the mechan- 
 • ism failed to work. Several times they turned their heads 
 and seemed half inclined to resume the attack, but either 
 they were ignorant that I was trying to shoot or my deter- 
 mined appearance warned them not to take any chances. 
 At Third avenue there were plenty of people, and as we 
 
THE ROMANCl;: OF AS AI/IKU V.V.O. ll(j 
 
 approached it I loudly called upon the crowd to stop 
 them, but my only satisfaction was a general and a 
 hurried stampede. One of the fugitives, too, was fast 
 outstrii)ping the other, and this one I lost sight of after 
 he passed the corner. The other, being less fleet-footed, 
 I was gaining on, and on him I fixed my hopes. Down 
 Third avenue he went, and I could now see that he was 
 racing to catch a train on the elevated road that would 1} 
 reach its station (Thirty-fourth street) in about three- 
 quarters of a minute. I redoubled my efforts, shouting 
 as I did so. But the people, instead of trying to assist 
 me, opened like human portals before him as be went. 
 Still I was rapidly gaining on him, and when we got to 
 the steps leading up to the depot I could almost put my 
 hand on his back. One more bound and my hand did 
 actually rest on him, but he veritably seemed greased. 
 Already the train had arrived and was beginning to dis- 
 gorge its passengers ; .'own they came flocking, while a 
 great coarse woman with a basket on her arm fairly 
 blocked up the narrow passageway. Through these people 
 the fugitive slipped like an eel, and, ducking under the 
 arm of the heavy woman, left a slice of his coat tail in 
 my hands for my pains. I saw him reach out and pay 
 for his ticket as he gained the 'landing, and, forgetting 
 that the same formality would be required of me, I was 
 delayed for a moment at the turnstile. Pushing by, 
 however, I was in time to see my quarry spring on the 
 rear platform of a car just as it started off. When I 
 tried to follow him the guard shut the gate in my face. 
 I fairly cried with vexation as I ran along after the train, 
 
'SO 
 
 THK KOMANCK OK AN AI-TKR 1'(;0. 
 
 t'xposliilfitiiii; with tlic jjiiard and tryiiis;' lo make him lot 
 mc board it. liotli lie ;iiid llu; fiij;"itivc laiii;hcd in my 
 face, then rmally, iis the train rolled away, tlie latter 
 leaned far out, and, with a vindictive leer which 1 shall 
 remember to my dyin,[>; day, *MVe'll meet again," he 
 hissed, "before very long, antl don't you forget it." 
 
XXIX. 
 
 ** Can I be of any assistance to you, sir?" It was a 
 great tall man that addressed me, with a ])right, wide-awake 
 look. He had evidently arrived at the station only a 
 moment after me. 
 
 *' Remem1")Pr that person," I answered, pointing at the 
 retreating train, ** and be ready to identify him if I call 
 upon you." 
 
 ** I will certainly remember him, and will be at any 
 time at your orders. I have had some little experience in 
 these matters, as possibly you may recognize ])y this.'' 
 Thereupon he handed me his card, and I read with sur- 
 prise the name of a young criminal lawyer who had lately 
 jumped into sudden fame through his masterly defense 
 of a noted defaulter. "I see you are excited," he con- 
 tinued ; " you had better take the next train down and 
 tell me the particulars on the way. If necessary we can 
 get off and lodge a complaint at headquarters." 
 
 Another train came rumbling into the station as he 
 spoke, and without more ado I followed riiy new-made 
 friend in and took a seat beside him. There was some- 
 thing about him that invited confidence, apart from what 
 his great reputation would inspire, so I explained the 
 nature of the case as well as the opportunity would allow. 
 On arriving at the station nearest to Mulberry street we 
 
 151 
 
152 TIIK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER ECO. 
 
 got out and proceeded to police headtpiarters. Accom- 
 panied l)y so distin;4iiished a gentleman, I was at once 
 admitted to the sanctuary of the chief, and lodged my 
 comi)laint in due form, leaving a more accurate descrip- 
 tion of my assailants than I had heretofore been able to 
 give. 
 
 Owing to the briefness of our acquaintance, I had not 
 as yet given my name to my legal companion, and he 
 now heard it for the first time. The effect on him was 
 electrical. 
 
 " Do you mean to tell me that you are the very Mr. 
 Aaron Simoni whose trial made such a sensation a little 
 while ago?" 
 
 I expressed my regret that such was the fact. 
 
 "Well, sir," he exclaimed, ** I know your case almost 
 by heart. I read up all the evidence and have it at my 
 finger tips. You were wretchedly advised. Though it 
 is scarcely professional for me to say so, that Slocum is 
 an ass. No liiwyer with a spoonful of brains would have 
 let you get into such a fix. From the very first," he 
 continued, *' I was convinced that it was merely a case of 
 mistaken identity. These mistakes are really very fre- 
 quent," he went on. *' At this very moment there are as 
 many as three figuring in the papers. 'J'here is the Cart- 
 right case for instance; the Tascott case again; and 
 some eighteen months ago I remember that a man was 
 actually tried in Brooklyn under very similar conditions 
 to yours. Have you ever thought that these attempts 
 upon your life, of which you gave me a brief account 
 coming down in the train, might owe their origin to 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 153 
 
 something which this double of yours might have done ? 
 It might explain his hasty disappearance, too, for he 
 might have been in fear of his personal safety, and con- 
 seciuently have left suddenly ; or again he might even 
 have been made away with. Foliowing out this sugges- 
 tion, when you came on the scene they might have taken 
 you for him and have tried to square up some old grudge. 
 In other words, I mean that these attacks, possibly being 
 directed at Fitzamble, would naturally seem inexplicable to 
 you, because you are not familiar with the circumstances 
 of his life." 
 
 •' I never thought of that," I said, seeing the reason- 
 ableness of the inference. 
 
 " Well, such an explanation is possible, at all events," 
 he continued, ** and if you care to call upon me in a 
 week's time I may be better prepared to advise you what 
 to do, should your assailants not be run down in the 
 meanwhile." 
 
 I promised to call upon him, and, expressing my 
 sincere thanks for his interest in my affairs, I returned to 
 my hotel. 
 
 I was in such an irritable condition that only strong 
 stimulants or excitement could steady me. Not being 
 addicted to the first, I picked up the evening paper and 
 looked over the list of amusements. I ran my eye down 
 through the wearisome list of concerts, museums and 
 theatres with their hackneyed plays, until I reached a 
 notice at which I stopped abruptly. 
 
 It was as follows: 
 
 " This evening, after a sparkling prelude consisting of 
 
154 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 songs by celebrated artists, the world -renowned clairvoy- 
 ant, Rebecca Seaton, will give the first of a series of 
 mesmeric performances at Bowery Hall, at half-past seven 
 o'clock. Uon't fail to attend." 
 
 No, I would certainly not fail to attend. Rebecca Sea- 
 ton and her doings had become of special interest to me. 
 
 I was a little late in finishing my dinner and the drive 
 was long. The curtain had fallen on the " sparkling 
 prelude" when I entered the hall. I was hardly prepared 
 to find the audience seated at little tables drinking beer 
 and spirits, as at a variety show. I was just taking a 
 chair at one of these tables, and was about to give an 
 order to a somewhat forward young waitress, when the 
 curtain went up, displaying the ordinary stage of a con- 
 cert hall, and Rebecca Seaton enthroned thereon in a 
 flaming red gown, sparkling with glass diamonds. After 
 a brief address on the possibilities of mesmerism, she 
 bade any one who felt inclined to mount the platform. 
 This invitation some dozen or so young people, of dif- 
 ferent sexes, after a proper degree of hesitation, accepted, 
 and, weeding out a few from these, she seated the re- 
 mainder in a long line like negro minstrels. Then be- 
 ginning to move up and down in front of them, she waved 
 her hands before their faces until they were severally re- 
 duced to a proper degree of responsiveness. 
 
 The ordinary mesmeric exhibition is probably too fa- 
 miliar to my readers to warrant my dwelling on this por- 
 tion of the entertainment. Suffice it to say Kebecca put 
 her "class" through a variety of roles and characters 
 as widely diversified as school children and Choctaw 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 155 
 
 [lulians, Lady Macbeths and Daniel Websters. At one 
 time they would be squeahng pigs at another members 
 of the United States Senate, while at a third moment 
 they would be dancing like idiots till a word and a snap 
 of her finger would reduce them to solemn decorum. 
 My suspicion was that the majority were confederates, 
 or at least readily lent themselves to the deception. Yet 
 there were several who I had little doubt were entirely 
 unconscious of their actions. 
 
 This closed the first half of the mesmeric performance, 
 and, though I had derived little pleasure from the exhibi- 
 tion, something, I can hardly define what, induced me to 
 await the finale, which I did on the outside of the build- 
 ing, smoking a cigarette. The curtain had gene up when 
 I re-entered the hall, and the oracle was saying something 
 about having reserved the choicest and most startling 
 evidences of her power to the last, hinting at a mysterious 
 personage of unexampled beauty and purity who would 
 emerge at her bidding from behind a green baize screen 
 in the rear of the stage. ** Yes," continued Rebecca, 
 " she's a marvel; there's nothing I can't make this yere 
 young sensitive do. I could tell her she was Joan Of 
 Arc, and she'd let herself be burnt at the stake. Again, 
 I could turn her into James Wilkes Booth, and she'd 
 start off for Washington for to murder the President. 
 She's a born millionaire, too, and does it for the genu- 
 ine love of science. None of your cheap trash, but a 
 tip-topper from Topsville. What character now will you 
 have her take ? Suppose, to begin with, I make her one of 
 these yere waitresses that is serving you with drinks. For 
 
156 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 a tip-topper as lives in a marble palace and has troops of 
 servants to wait on her, this yere duty might seem the 
 most remarkable; howsomever, she'll wait on you as well 
 as any of them professionals, and throw in a kiss like the 
 rest, mayhap, to titillate the boys." 
 
 I had been seated in the back of the house during the 
 address, and a vague and undefined uneasiness stole over 
 me. I saw Rebecca approaching the screen. I saw her 
 draw it aside, and then addressing some one, whom het 
 broad back concealed, I saw her make her infernal passes 
 over the hidden figure. The next moment my worst 
 fears were realized. Edna Dalzelle was in truth advanc- 
 ing towards the audience — Edna in all her purity and 
 her beauty, but metamorphosed into the coquettish smart- 
 ness of a waitress in a Bowery variety show. 
 
 I waited until she had descended from the platform. I 
 waited until she had started to come down the aisle. Then, 
 when she got opposite me, I rose, and, seizing her about 
 the waist, I tried to drag her out of the hall. In a mo- 
 ment the room was in an uproar. ** Officer!" shouted 
 Rebecca Seaton to a policeman whom I had failed to no- 
 tice, but who had been standing by to maintain order, 
 "put that man out; he's drunk!" 
 
 *' Put him out ! put him out!" was caught up on every 
 side, and a thousand hands, as it seemed, reached at my 
 throat and tore me from the woman I loved. Before I 
 could explain I found myself on the outside of the build- 
 ing in the glow of the garish lights and the cheap bril- 
 lancy of the thoroughfare, with the thoughtless crowds 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. I57 
 
 passing in troops before me, and very likely wondering 
 what the matter was all about. 
 
 "Come! Move on there — move on,'' cried the police- 
 man; and as he refnsed to let me re-enter, even though I 
 tried to bribe him, I left her surrounded by the laughing 
 audience and waiting upon their wishes. 
 
 Not a word had she addressed me; not a sign of recog- 
 nition had she bestowed upon me, only the coc^uettish 
 smirk of a brazen girl. It was awful, grotesque, out- 
 rageous! and yet I loved her at that moment more than I 
 had ever done before — loved her for her real self, and 
 longed to protect from insult that other self which was 
 being destroyed; loved her for the risk of contamina- 
 tion that her unreasoning self vras bringing upon her 
 other self. 
 
 I sprang into a carriage and had myself driven to the 
 lawyer's in whose hands I had placed myself this very 
 afternoon. As I reached his house he was just mounting 
 the stoop on his return from his club. My agitation 
 really alarmed him, and it was some time before I could 
 give him an intelligible account of tue occurrence. 
 
 *' What can I do ?" I demanded. "Will the law give 
 me the power to have this woman arrested ?" 
 
 "If any crime could be proved, of course it would. 
 But I am really at a loss to advise you. In one sense 
 you might claim that the action of t le courts had made 
 you Edna's husband with authority over her to oblige 
 her to return to you; but inasmuch as you have appealed 
 from that verdict, I don't see how you could logically 
 adopt even that course. If you bring Rebecca into the 
 
158 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 courts, too, she will prove that this girl acts of her own 
 free will ; and as Edna is of age, even her father could 
 hardlv interfere." 
 
 " But she is not acting of her own free will. This wo- 
 man paralyzes, destroys her will." 
 
 "And yet when you condemned Edna's acquaintance 
 with Rebecca the other day, she let you leave her." 
 
 I could do nothing but wring my hands. 
 
 " Suppose we go to her father," he said. ** An ener- 
 getic protest from him might serve better than from 
 you." 
 
 We drove immediately to his residence, only to learn, to 
 my consternation, that he was not in town. 
 
 '' Then to the hall again!" I cried. " I must learn if 
 she is still there." 
 
 On our arrival at this last point my companion obliged 
 me to wait in the carriage till he first descended and 
 surveyed the premises. In a few minutes he returned 
 and assured me that the performance was all over and 
 the parties to it had gone. 
 
 Thereupon I formally retained Mr. S^ar in my service 
 and went home. 
 
 That night, I think, was the most terrible one I had 
 ever spent in my life. But it crystallized a resolution that 
 I would stay in the city and devote myself to saving this 
 woman from her fate. 
 
XXX. 
 
 Early next morning found mc at Mr. Dalzclle's place of 
 business, where I waited at least an hour before he came 
 in from the country. On his arrival 1 briefly related the 
 particulars that had so shocked me on the previous even- 
 ing. 
 
 "Well, it's very odd," he said. "Here's a letter that 
 was handed me by the elevator boy as I was just coming 
 up. Read it for yourself." And he handed me a deli- 
 cately scented envelope: 
 
 " My dear father," it ran, *' if Mr. Simoni comes to 
 you this morning with any ridiculous story, place no 
 credit in his statements. Not satisfied with treating me 
 in a most inexcusable manner, he has carried his inter- 
 ference so far as to make a scene last night at some 
 charades gotten up for charity. At all events, if I choose 
 to act I have the right to do so, as I am over age; and 
 if I find my health benefited by the course of treatment I 
 am pursuing under the advice of Mrs. Seaton, you really 
 have no cause to object. 
 
 "Your affectionate daughter, 
 
 "Edna." 
 
 I was amazed. 
 
 *' But she never wrote that letter herself !" I cried. 
 
 " It is in her own handwriting." 
 
 *' Then she wrote it under the spell this hideous wo- 
 
 159 
 
l6o THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 man has thrown over her. She feared I would come to 
 you, and she made her write it to counteract anything I 
 might say. Mr. Dalzelle," I continued,*'! can prove 
 that these charades, as she calls them, were conducted in 
 a public hall, and, so far from their purpose being charity, 
 it was the pecuniary benefit of Rebecca Seaton. You 
 ought to exercise your influence and bring your daughter 
 home at once." 
 
 " It's very easy for you to say what I ought to do," 
 he replied, with senile petulancy, "but I've repeatedly 
 told you I have no influence over my daughter at all. 
 Even if I. applied to the courts I don't know as it would 
 do any good ; as she says, she is over age, and I suppose 
 they would hold that she has the right to consult any phy. 
 sician she wants," 
 
 " But this public performance ?" 
 
 " My dear sir, I have noticed that you are of an ima- 
 ginative disposition, given slightly to exaggeration." 
 
 "Well, look at this paper. Here the performance is 
 advertised." 
 
 *' I don't wish to look at any papers. My daughter has 
 adopted a certain line of conduct without consulting me, 
 and since your departure she has moreover persisted in 
 taking up her residence at this woman's house on the plea 
 of being nearer her, and thus better obtaining the benefit 
 of her advice. I can do nothing with her, and as I un- 
 derstand that you have resigned any pretensions you 
 might have had, I don't see how you can do anything 
 either." 
 
 His weakness exasperated me. In my heart of hearts 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. l6l 
 
 I believe he feared Rebecca Seaton himself and dreaded 
 to exercise the little power he had. 
 
 "Very well, sir," I replied; "your daughter is a slave 
 to a bold and designing woman, and your refusal to inter- 
 fere is both unnatural and unfatherly. I have said all I 
 can, however, and before long you will repent of your lack 
 of decision." 
 
 I had barely returned to my hotel when a few lines 
 came from Mr. Star, giving what he deemed an explana- 
 tion of Edna's extraordinary debut the night before. It 
 was this: He had learned that Rebecca had gone to con- 
 siderable expense in preparing for the exhibition, which 
 had been delayed several days by the indisposition of her 
 principal performer. It was in all likelihood only when it 
 was apparent that these disbursements would be wasted 
 and the performance given up that she thought of 
 Edna as a substitute. Considering the place and the 
 nature of the audience, she had evidently been willing to 
 rim the risk of Edna's escaping recognition, and had 
 probably gone down to the country to secure the gitl's 
 services. 
 
 Whether Mr. Star was correct or not in his inferences 
 I had no means of determining. There was one course 
 remaining to me, however, and this I forthwith resolved to 
 adopt. I would closely watch Edna, and guard her from 
 harm as far as I could myself do so. The trend of my 
 thoughts brought me back to the attempts on my own 
 life, and again I began to wonder whether there could be 
 any connection between these and Rebecca Seaton. The 
 appearance at her house of the two men whom I had 
 
l62 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EOO. 
 
 chased would seem to give color to the suspicion, 1 
 knew it was because of her tliat Edna had thrown me 
 over, but would she carry her oi)position to me so far as 
 to have me assassinated ? 
 
 I secured quarters in a lodging- house sufficiently near 
 Rebecca's residence to command a view of it from the 
 window, and in order to be away from my watch as little 
 as possible, I had my meals served in my room. Fortu- 
 nately for my peace of mind, I learned through Mr. Star 
 that Edna did not appear the second evening at the hall, 
 nor during any day of the following week. Indeed, as I 
 never saw her leave the house, I had every reason to sup- 
 pose she was still domiciled therein. 
 
xxxr. 
 
 During this period I got hold of all the books on mes- 
 merism I could find. I devoured the contributions of 
 IJraid, of Charcot, of Obersteiner, of Beard, Hammond, 
 and Carpenter, and marveled at the audacious sugges- 
 tions of Campili, (iilert, La Tourette, and Deleuze. I 
 learned how the Indian fakirs practiced it in India, and 
 how by reducing the subject through it to a cataleptic 
 condition could be explained their principal wonder trick 
 of burying men under ground for several days and then 
 bringing them back to life again — a phenomenon that 
 had so often puzzled the English cori'ierors. These 
 and many more wonders I read about, bi t after my ex 
 perience with Edna I was forced to agree with that great 
 physician Charcot, who presides over the Salpetriere 
 hospital for the insane in Paris, that the practice of so 
 dangerous a power ought to be as carefully guarded and 
 restricted as the ufc of poisons. 
 
 Of all that I read on the subject, however, the most sug- 
 gestive treatise was a short article in the North Anio i an 
 Revieiu, by Mr. W. A. Croffut, a gentleman occupying a 
 high position in the service of his country in Washington. 
 It was entitled ** The Open Door of Dreamland," and be- 
 cause the extraordinary array of facts which it presented 
 
 so largely influenced my action, I give a few brief extracts: 
 
 163 
 
1^4 THK ROMANCE OF AN Ar/IKR KC.O. 
 
 ** For thirty years I visited every traveling nicstperist 
 tliat came along, and marveled at his experiments. 
 After observing them nnder scientific conditions, and 
 carefully elitninaling I'eard's * nine sources of error,' 
 I became (luite certain of their genuineness, and a year 
 or two ago began to practice upon such sensitive people 
 as I could induce to submit to manii)ulations. 
 
 ** 1 did as 1 had seen mesmerizers do : sequestered the 
 person as comi'jJetely as possible from conversation, 
 laughter, antl the company of others; asked him to sit at 
 perfect ease, and to close his eyes and keep them closed 
 f(jr some minutes. I touched his forehead with gentle 
 pressure, then told him firmly that he could not open his 
 eyes, necessarily accompanying that assurance with a 
 strong desire that he should keep them closed. 
 
 "The first success surprised me greatly, because it did 
 not appear that the small cause was at all adequate to 
 the tremendous result. There was before me a sturdy 
 man apjiarently helpless, apjxirently subject in all things 
 to my direction and caprice, apparently unconscious of 
 his surroundings, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, know- 
 ing nothing, not even his powerlessness in the presence of 
 a dominant mood and purpose. 'I'here was no collusion; 
 for I had never seen the man or he me till five minutes 
 before. I did not know his nativity or his name, or 
 where he lived, or anything about him. I had not even 
 been aware of 'bringing my will to bear on him ' in any 
 sense other than that in which we employ it to second 
 and enforce any desire. Yet there he sat, apparently de- 
 prived of all ability to lift his hand without my per- 
 mission; and I experimented with him till I proved that 
 the appearance was a reality, and that he was absolutely 
 subject to my suggestion. 
 
 ** Let me say that this influence over him was cumu 
 lativeand progressive. At first he was only passively re- 
 sponsive. I could keep him still but could not make him 
 
THE ROMANCK OF AN ALTKR EGO. 16$ 
 
 move. I could close his eyes, fasten his clenched hands 
 together, prohiiiit his rising, prevent his speaking, and 
 control all his muscles, but for a time could not subject 
 him to active hallucinations through his senses. 
 
 " It is sometimes a long step from the loss of power 
 over the weak and lluttering eyelid and that ludicrous 
 loss of perception in which a roll of pajier becomes a 
 dagger, a glove becomes alternately a bird and a snake, 
 ancl a broom becomes a banjo. 
 
 *' The various stages of mesmeric control seem to fol- 
 low each other somewhat in this way : first, bewilderment i 
 and doubt.; second, muscular obedience — and u[) to this 
 point the responsive is wholly or partially conscious of 
 his identity and surroundings; third, lethargy or tendency 
 to sleep; fourth, surrender of the senses ancl loss of iden- 
 tity; fifth, catalepsy; sixth, complete hallucination or wak- 
 ing dream." 
 
 Again he goes on to say 
 
 '* Many believe that mesmerism has its source in 
 spiritualism, and that the entranced person actually sees 
 the forms and hears the voices of departed human beings. 
 1 have never had the least evidence tending to justify any 
 such conclusion. There seems to be nothing in hypnotic 
 hallucinations showing whether man is an angel or a 
 clod, whether he is an indestructible soul waiting for 
 release from his cage to soar like a bird to the stars and 
 live forever, or merely the transitory crown of earth's 
 fauna, struggling with the hopeless problems of his des- 
 tiny between ice-age and ice-age. 
 
 " Mesmerism is always the result of suggestion, and is 
 never effected in any other way. If I face a responsive 
 to the wall I can have no effect upon him unless I speak 
 to him. If he is beyond my reach I cannot affect him 
 at all without communicating with him. Dr. Gilert, in 
 
1 66 TIIK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 T' ranee, has written a good deal and told many marvelous 
 storiv s about *■ sonuncil h distance^' but I have never been 
 able to obtain any such results under the most favorable 
 conditions. I have mesmerized a good many without 
 touching them, by merely waving my hand or Ri)eaking 
 to them, and 1 have several times put absent responsives 
 into a sound sleep by writing or telegraphing to them 
 that they would fall into a mesmeric sleep at a certain 
 hour, anil tliis has happened, sometimes to their incon- 
 vei.ience. Hut the sleep was the result of a conspiracy 
 between expectation and ac(juiescence. If they had not 
 known what Iwisheil, I -.night have set in my lil)rary and 
 wished till the next century without any response whatever. 
 
 " For the benefit of those who may desire to experi- 
 ment, here are certain conclusions derived from my own 
 observations : 
 
 '* About one person in ten can be easily mesmerized. 
 There are no known rules by which to pick out this 
 mesmerizable jK-ison in advance, as eligibility extenils 
 almost imparliaHy to both sexes and all ages, to blondes 
 and brunettes, and people of all temperaments, to rich 
 and poor, to learned and unlettered, and, it may be add- 
 ed, to obstinate and docile, 
 
 " 'I'he proportion of people who have the 'power' 
 to mesmerize, if it be a power, is still more problematical. 
 15ut it seems to me what might be called a biological 
 axiom that no human being possesses any quality 
 different in kind from that possessed, in various degrees, 
 by all other human beings. 
 
 ** Mesmerism is a trance, artificially produced, and it 
 appears almost identical with somnambulism, or active 
 sleep. 
 
 " This artificial sleep, if unaccompanied by exciting 
 e])!sodes, is as harmless as natural sleep. My responsives 
 o' iMsionally come to me in the daytime to be put to 
 sleep for the purpose of obtaining needed rest." 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 167 
 
 Going on, he says : 
 
 •« Hallucinations that take place under mesmerism are 
 seldom remembered in a subsecjuent wakin^^ state, but 
 they are generally recalled vividly in a subsequent mes- 
 meric state. 
 
 "The exception to this is that exciting scenes into 
 which responsives are thrown are often recalled after they 
 are awakened. Imaginary shipwrecks and conllagrations 
 are generally thus recalled; and a young lady who, while t 
 ill a mesmeric trance, was taken where she could scrape 
 up her handkerchief full of imaginary diamonds, sighed 
 deeply on coming to herself, and exclaimed : * Ah ! 
 where are the s[)leiidid diamonds ?' 
 
 "It is conceivable that mesmerism might injure an 
 invalid. If he have heart disease, for instance, an ex- 
 citing or violent episode, a rapture of joy or a convulsion 
 of great grief or fear, might prove injurious or eve'i 
 fatal, just as it might in his normal condition. 
 
 *' This possibility is abundantly offset by the value of 
 mesmerism as a therapeutic agent. The responsive can 
 he made so intoxicated on water, which he has been told 
 is whisky, as to exhibit all symptoms of extreme 
 inebriety; can be made disgustingly seasick by being 
 told that he is at sea in a storm; and can be at once 
 physically affected by any imaginary medicine. His 
 temperature can be changed, his eye dilated, and his 
 pulse quickened. Mesuierism is as perfect an anaesthetic 
 as ether, and as harmless as water. Any mesmerized 
 person can at once, by a single stroke of the hand, be 
 rendered totally insensible to pain, and can have a tooth 
 drawn, a cataract removed, a cancer cut out, or an arm 
 cut off without feeling the slightest pain. This has. been 
 so often demonstrated that amputations frequently take 
 place under its influence in the Paris hospitals, and it is 
 successfully employed in obstetrics." 
 
1 68 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 Again: 
 
 **It is quite eironeonsto suppose that the conduct of 
 the responsive is directed in detail by the operator. He 
 only suggests the general line of thought, and each re- 
 sponsive pursues it according to his own knowledge, ex- 
 perience, or prejudices. I say to my responsives, for 
 instance, that I have a wonderful educated cow with seven 
 heads. They all want to see it. I call their attention to 
 the imaginary stable door near by; they look towards it, 
 and, when I snap my fingers, they all see a seven-headed 
 cow enter. Now, by questioning them it becomes ob- 
 vious that they all see a different cow. Unless I have 
 designated her color, one sees a white cow, another a red 
 cow, and so on. 
 
 ** Then I tell them that she can dance — can waltz and 
 keep time with music. I hand one a cane, telling him it 
 is a flute and that he is an eminent performer, and he 
 goes through the motions of playing t he dancing cow. 
 They all hear different tunes, but the exhibition is satis- 
 factory." 
 
 Continuing, Mr. Croffut Si'ys : 
 
 "As a rule, responsives can be completely dominated 
 and made to do anything of which they are physically 
 capable. They could generally be induced to take poison, 
 or jump off the house, or throw themselves under a loco- 
 motive, or attack one another with deadly weapons. But 
 there are some exceptions. I was unable to overcome 
 the fear of one of my responsives, whom I sent to assault 
 an imaginary Indian in the Park. He refused to go, and 
 said it was 'difficult to kill an Indian.' 
 
 " A young lady, one of the brightest sensitives I have 
 ever seen, steadfastly refuses to play cards. I tell her she 
 is Buffalo Bill and easily induce her to assume his char- 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER ECO. 169 
 
 acter, but when cards are suggested, * No, I never play 
 cards. It is wrong !' she says, and I cannot move her. 
 1 could make her jump out through the window or put 
 her hand in the fire, but play cards she will not. I was 
 piizzled by it, till, inquiring, I ascertained that her reli- 
 gious parents had brought her up very strictly, and 
 taught her it was * wicked to play cards.' 
 
 "And this brings us to the question, much mooted of 
 late, whether crime can be committed by the aid of mes- 
 merism. If so, it is brought into relations, not only with 
 medicine, but with jurisprudence — not only with the 
 pharmacopoeia but the penitentiary. It is obvious that, 
 if cases of this kind occur, the one to whom punishment 
 must be dealt out is the mesmerist. 
 
 " I have no doubt that crimes of a certain sort can be 
 thus committed. It is obvious that sexual offenses could 
 easily take place without the acquiescence or conscious 
 concurrence of the responsive; and it is alleged that ag- 
 gressions of this kind have attracted the attention of the 
 authorities in France. Crimes against life and property 
 by the agency of the responsives, being more complicat- 
 ed, would be more difficult and proportionately less fre- 
 quent. Deep interest has been challenged by the allega- 
 tion that a young girl in Paris, whose lover had become 
 tired of her, was mesmerized by him and sent twenty-five 
 miles away on the cars, and there, influenced by his pre- 
 viously communicated suggestion, induced to commit 
 suicide with a pistol. If such a power exists it is indeed 
 not only startling, but greatly alarming. The question is, 
 Does it exist ? Did it exist and operate in this instance, 
 or did the suicide result from some other prompting — for 
 instance, the knowledge of the girl that her lover wished 
 that she was dead ? 
 
 *' One evening at a reception," continues Mr. Croftut, 
 " a curious thing happened. I transported a young man 
 and two ladies to Pari:^ in imagination, and left them en- 
 
170 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 joying and commenting on the pictures in the Louvre 
 while I turned aside to superintend a personation of the 
 President by another. When I returned to the tourists 
 they had absolutely forgotten me, and I could not in any 
 way make my presence known to them. They did not see 
 my face or hear my voice, but continued their absorbed 
 enjoyment of the great art galleries. I was compelled to 
 unmesmerize them and start again from the beginning, 
 
 " This same young man proved an expert penman. I 
 filled out a check on the Lincoln Bank of New York City 
 with the sum of ;Jpioo,ooo, and then, producing a genuine 
 sitjnature of Cornelius Vanderbilt, I induced him to imi- 
 tate it with great accuracy in a signature at the bottom of 
 the check, my arrangement with him being that he should 
 have one-half of it when collected. I suggested that I 
 would collect it and then rejoin him; but he was too 
 shrewd and suspicious for that, and insisted on accom- 
 panying me to the imaginary bank, informing me, with 
 more than the unction of Sairey Gamp, that he would 
 ' knock my head off' if I did not * divvy square.' I do 
 not see why a depredating mesmerist might not thus make 
 use of an innocent accessory to complete a felony. 
 
 " At another reception I was more successful in the 
 matter of burglary. I made private arrangements before- 
 hand with a neighbor half a block off, who concealed a 
 plethoric pocket-book in a bureau drawer up-stairs, then 
 locked the bureau, the room, and the house, and brought 
 me the three keys. When I had mesmerized my agent 1 
 told him he was the famous robber, Dick TuTpin, and 
 that I had a job for him. I called his attention to the 
 fact that he was on the earth an'l must look out where he 
 stepped. I told him where the house was, and described 
 it minutely. I made a diagram of the interior, of the 
 stairs, the room, and the bureau, gave him the keys, and 
 introduced him to a 'pal' who would keep watch. He 
 asked if there were any dogs. I reassured him on this 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 171 
 
 point, gave him an imaginary revolver, and started him 
 off. 1 requested some gentlemen to follow him, to see 
 that no harm befell him, among whom were General 
 Greely, Senator Kenna, and W. E. Curtis, the well-known 
 journalist. 
 
 " He went to the house, skirmished slyly about it, and 
 finally unlocked the door, groped his way up the front 
 stairs, unlocked the room and the bureau, and got the 
 wallet. Then he began to exceed his instructions by 
 plundering the house. His accomplice argued the matter 
 with him, and finally induced him to desist from his pur- 
 pose and start to return. But when once on the street, 
 he resolved to run away and enjoy the whole of the booty 
 himself. ' What's the use of going back to diyide ?' he 
 petulantly asked. Only after another argument and 
 some show of force was he got back to my house. He 
 came in noiselessly, but with triumphant air, and de- 
 manded three-quarters of the spoil, which I gave him on 
 the spot — at least, to his satisfaction. He left the bureau 
 open, but locked the doors on leaving. On being re- 
 stored to himself he knew nothing of his adventure. 
 
 "So it seems obvious to me that burglaries at a little 
 distance can be committed under the most favorable cir- 
 cumstances by the employment of an innocent agent, who 
 is quite unconscious of any violation u5 law or equity. 
 There are strict 'imitations to this power of vicarious 
 crime, but the possibility that it may occur should be 
 enough to excite the solicitude of neurologists on the one 
 hand, and the attention of jurists on the other. 
 
 '* * How do you know these persons are not deceiving 
 you ?' is a question often asked. 'I'hey might deceive me 
 for a few minutes or an hour, but not for months. In the 
 first place, they are not persons who would indulge in such 
 folly. In their normal condition they are quite incapable 
 of the long and elaborate speeches and earnest dramatic 
 performances which they give. They are thrown into 
 
172 THE ROMANCE OF \N ALTER EGO. 
 
 cataleptic rigidity, whose genuineness is attested by phy- 
 sicians. While insensitive they are subjected to great 
 pain which they could not bear in their normal state. 
 They can be made to laugh nnmoderately or weep at 
 will. 
 
 " I have seen a young man, while making a speech, de- 
 liberately and deej")ly seared down the hand with a white- 
 hot iron, quite unexpectedly to himself, and he showed 
 no sign of being conscious of it. I have seen a mesmer- 
 ized man, driven to despair by the suggestions of the 
 operator (Dr. George M. Beard), seize a revolver, which 
 he could not have known was unloaded, utter a frantic 
 prayer, aim the weapon at his heart, and fire, dropi)ing to 
 the floor an inert mass. He recovered after a while, but 
 it was a perilous experiment. In a hundred ways I know 
 I am not deceived, and that these phenomena are genuine 
 and all significant. 
 
 '* That they have been so long treated with supercilious 
 derision by the learned, surrendered to traveling showmen 
 and exploiting laymen, neglected even when not rejected, 
 and left to make their way, like the truths of all revela- 
 tions, by ' the mouths of babes and sucklings,' is the 
 irony of science and the reproach even of that variegated 
 empiricism which calls itself the * medical orofession.' " 
 
XXXII. 
 
 In short, the question suggested but hardly answered 
 in this article was, could a mesmerized subject be 
 unconsciously, led into sin ? It was a line of thought 
 that, because of my ignorance of mesmerism, had 
 only vaguely floated through my mind. But with such a 
 suggestion, scientifically propounded and presented as it 
 was here, imagine my position : for I still loved this 
 woman — ay, my love was intensified by the greater risks 
 that environed her ; fully conscious was I too that her 
 father was in his dotage, and that Rebecca's influence was 
 of so subtle a character as to make it more than ques- 
 tionable whether, any evil though detected, could be con- 
 strued otherwise than as committed of the girl's own free 
 will. 
 
 I watched the house, and everyone entering and leaving 
 it, with new terrors. Daintily dressed men occasionally 
 went up the stoop, and to my fevered fancy were surrep- 
 titiously admitted; women, too, in finery that might have 
 been purchased through sin. Could there be aught going 
 on behind those dark brown walls more infamous than 
 mere trickerv ? 
 
 A wild idea suggested itself to me of trying to counter- 
 act Rebecca's influence for evil by some other influence 
 for good — by engaging, if possible, some one who had the 
 
 173 
 
174 THE ROMA\CE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 gift of mesmerism to counter-mesmerize Edna. But how 
 could Edna be reached hi order to l)e practiced on ? and 
 who would have a power equal to Rebecca's ? Then I re- 
 verted to the old puzzle as to what could be Rebecca's pur- 
 pose. AVas it to obtain money alone ? Of course she had 
 brought l.^hia from the country for the i)erformance, and 
 of course she had visited the country the day I had seen 
 her there, to procure her consent to come. Edna's 
 thorough subordination probably rendered her the most 
 valuable substitute Rebecca could turn to in her dilemma. 
 Besides this, I felt instinctively that the woman disliked 
 me, and possibly it entered into her calculations to separate 
 us, and even to degrade Edna out of spite for me. If so, 
 to what lengths might she not go ? 
 
 Amongst the many names which the books I read gave 
 as authorities on the subject of mesmerism, that of a Doc- 
 tor Henry appeared the most frequently. He was repre- 
 sented to oe a physician of acknowledged position in the 
 scientific world, and was alluded to as being at the present 
 moment engaged in conducting a series of experiments 
 v/ith a view to the adoption of hypnotism as a branch of 
 study in the medical college of which he was one of the 
 professors. He was, besides, a resident of New York, 
 and it suddenly occurred to me to pay him a visit. 
 As the directory gave me, in addition to his address, the 
 hours at which he received his patients, the next morning 
 found me in his waiting room, and, in due course of time, 
 in the presence of a stumpy little man with large specta- 
 cles and closely cropped gray hair. On mentioning the nature 
 of my business, however, I noticed that his frank and easy 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 1 75 
 
 manner changed to one of sudden caution. In fact it was 
 not till I had told him that my interest was purely scien- 
 tific that he became communicative. Referring to the 
 experiments he was making, he thereupon confirmed the 
 statement that had appeared about hirn, by saying that he 
 hoped to establish the study of hypnotism as part of 
 the regular curriculum in the principal medical colleges 
 of the city. As he proceeded, I could see that he was 
 an enthusiast, and yet at the same time that he fully 
 appreciated the many difficulties to be surmounted before 
 the hoped-for result could be attained. 
 
 " The fact is," he admitted, '* there is a great deal of 
 prejudice amongst the faculty, and it is hard work to get 
 them even to investigate the subject. There is a flavor 
 of empiricism about it and they don't like to have their 
 names appear in connection with it. Hence I have to 
 manage things very quietly. There is, besides, another 
 great difficulty I labor under — that of procuring honest 
 subjects. You never can be quite certain tliat they are 
 not shamming. I have frequently gone to considerable 
 expense to obtain these, and have lately been obliged to 
 have an agent visit the places where public exhibitions of 
 mesmerism are given, to procure them for me." 
 
 " Do you think persons under the influence of mesmer- 
 ism could be made to commit some act quite foreign to 
 their natures," I asked — '' a crime, for instance ?" 
 
 '* That is a problem which is attracting much attention 
 in Europe at this very moment. I have long had it under 
 consideration, and I now congratulate myself that I am in 
 a position to investigate it. You see I have recently se- 
 
176 Tin: KOMANCK OF AN ALTFU EGO. 
 
 cured a subject that I know is genuine, and I promise 
 myself some very interestuig experiments on this very 
 line." 
 
 ** 1 see by Mr. Croffut's article in the North American 
 Review^'* I continued, ** that deep interest has been lately 
 excited in France about a young girl whose lover had tired 
 of her. It states that she was mesmerized by him, 
 sent twenty-five miles off in a train, and then, influenced 
 by his previously communicated suggestion, induced to 
 commit suicide. Do you believe such a thing is 
 possible ?" 
 
 *' I certainly do not believe it would be possible with 
 the ordinary ' responsive,' but such a thing might occur 
 with a phenomenally sensitive person. The fact is, so lit- 
 tle is really known about mesmerism, people's tempera- 
 ments differ so radically too, that each person becomes 
 a law to himself. I believe this, however, that the habit 
 of being mesmerized grows on one, until it becomes as 
 strongly developed a craving as that for opiates or alco- 
 hol, and the more it is indulged in the weaker becomes 
 the patient's power to resist." 
 
 *' Well, granted that a person we will call A," I said, 
 '' was held by designing persons represented by B, and for 
 criminal purposes, could B's influence be counteracted by 
 power for good represented by C, we will say ?" 
 
 ** Your question is a very suggestive one, but is really 
 a development of your first. " Before I could give any 
 answer, I must convince myself that A can be made to 
 commit crimes contrary to his inclination. This once 
 demonstrated, it will be most instructive to investigate 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 1 77 
 
 whether C, repres-Biiting the good nifluence, could coun- 
 teract the vicious, represented by B. I will certainly in- 
 vestigate this subject." 
 
 '* Why not let me assist in your experiments ?" I asked 
 eagerly. *' To tell the truth, sir, there is a young lady — " 
 
 I got no further. The reserve with which he had re- 
 ceived me on my coming returned, and became so pro- 
 nounced a suspicion that my mouth was closed effec- 
 tually. 
 
 *' I thought your interest was purely scientific," he ob- 
 served, "You have raised a question that I frankly 
 tell you I don't mind looking into, but it is purely 
 for the furtherance of science. If you wish to see me 
 again, however, you may do so freely, and if I can devel- 
 op anything on the lines of your suggestion I will report 
 to you. I will only do this, however, on the condition 
 that it is in a strictly impersonal way, and that you don't 
 mention the name of any woman. Mesmerism in con- 
 nection with ladies is a very delicate matter." 
 
XXXIII. 
 
 The next day my new counsel, Mr. Star, called to see 
 me. " After reading up the evidence in your trial very 
 carefully again," he said, ** I found only one fact that 
 could serve as a clue to work upon." 
 
 '* But what is the use of going back over this old 
 ground?" I asked wearily. *' I have become callous to 
 what happens to me. My only thought now is to protect 
 Edna." 
 
 "But without protecting yourself, how can you pro- 
 tect her ? Besides, who can say that we may not hit in 
 our investigations upon something that may criminate 
 Rebecca herself ?" 
 
 "Goon," I answered; ''that Is a contingency that war- 
 rants any sacrifice." 
 
 "Weil," he resumed, ** the clerk at Newport who swore 
 to your identity said in his evidence, you may remember, 
 that his attention had been particularly directed to you 
 from the circumstance of having once or twice seen you in 
 company with a detective whom he had previously known 
 in Chicago. So important did I consider this statement 
 that I have just paid a flying visit to Newport where I 
 had a long talk with this clerk. From what he said I 
 believe that your double actually did visit Newport for 
 some purpose connected with this burglary. 
 
 178 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 179 
 
 ** Now, under the head of a * Singular Desertion ' I find 
 in this paper, continued Mr. Star, reinoving from his 
 pocket an old copy of the New York World, a somewhat 
 fuller account of the circumstances attending Fitzamble's 
 sudden disappearance than was given at the trial. At 
 about nine o'clock in the evening, in fact immediately 
 after the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. l''itzaml)le from New- 
 port by the afternoon train, the paper states that a carriage 
 drove up to the hotel where they had alighted, and the oc- 
 cupant sent a message to the bridegroom begging him to 
 come outside. He gave the somewhat singular excuse that 
 he, the visitor, was lame and could not very well leave the 
 vehicle. Fitzamble himself is represented as being sur- 
 prised at this, but nevertheless went out and was seen to 
 enter the carriage, A suspicious circumstance is that 
 one of the waiters thought he detected a man loitering on 
 the opposite side of the carriage, who, after the entrance 
 of Fitzamble. sprang in by the other door. Immediately 
 afterwards the carriage drove rapidly away through the 
 darkness as if by a preconcerted arrangement. 
 
 ** Now, starting with the presumption that the lady was as 
 beautiful then as you represent her to be at present, and 
 that he had married her only a few hours before, as he 
 did, is it as likely that he left of his own free will as that 
 he was forced away? Did not the statement that the vis- 
 itor was lame look as if he hesitated showing himself, and 
 might not the man who sprang in from the other -side 
 have done so for evil intent ? It is a very simple matter 
 to kidnap a man in some such way as this when he is off 
 his guard." 
 
l8o THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 ''But the motive?" I objected. 
 
 "That's just what I'm comhig to," continued Mr. 
 Star, " carrying out the idea of the Newport clerk that 
 Fitzamble was a detective engaged in unraveling the 
 burglary, might not the guilty parties have become 
 alarmed and have kidnapped him to prevent his testifying? 
 Might it not be that on your appearance they mistook 
 you for Fitzamble turning up ajrain. and in spite of the 
 long interval that had elapsed still feared you as 
 possessed of some proof that you might yet bring up 
 against them ?" • 
 
 " But would they go to such lengths," I asked, ''to 
 prevent this testimony coming out ? T should think they 
 would be running more risk than it was worth." 
 
 " I confess they ought to have had some better excuse," 
 said Mr. Star, ''but I am convinced we are on the right 
 track. 
 
 " To return to the hotel clerk, however, he told me the 
 name of the detective in whose company he remembered 
 seeing you, and I telegraphed from Newport to the Chi- 
 cago agency. I have just received a reply stating that 
 there is such a man still in their employ, and they offer 
 to send hinionif his presence is necessary and if I will pay 
 all expenses. I thought it better to ask your consent." 
 
 " Telegraph at once," I said, *' and let him come on at 
 the earliest moment." 
 
XXXIV/ -. , V „' /-■, 
 
 In the midst of my numerous perplexities I have quite 
 forgotten to state that the reason I had for believing that 
 Edna must be still domiciled at Rebecca Seaton's \va,> 
 because she was neither at her father's city or country res- 
 idence. 'I'his information Mr. Star had procured for me 
 just before his departure for Newport, and he had learned 
 it from the porter of the apartment house where her father 
 lived when in town. I had persuaded Mr. Star to enquire 
 because of the long time that I had watched Rebecca's 
 house without result. 
 
 On the second evening after the events recorded in the 
 last chapter I was occupying my habitual seat in the 
 bow window of my sitting room, with my eye fixed on 
 Rebecca's stoop, when 1 noticed a carriage drive up and 
 deposit three men at her door. It was too dark to dis- 
 tinguish their features or even their general appearance ; 
 and besides this they were admitted without delay, as if 
 their coming had been expected. Heretofore the calls of 
 visitors had been generally confined to the daytime, and 
 while I was wondering as'to whether their coming might 
 have aught to do with Edna a second carriage drove up, 
 out of which four men got. These likewise were admit- 
 ted with the same dispatch. Asa rule, of an evening, 
 too, the windows of the lower floor showed that the gas 
 
 i8l 
 
1 82 TIIK ROMANCE OF AN AI/IER EGO. • t 
 
 was partially lighted, but now they were as dark as the 
 night itself. At last as 1 watched, however, the gas was 
 turned on, and, the i)arlors beeoming suddenly illuminated^ 
 I could see the dark shadows of people from the inside 
 crossing the drawn blinds, as if engaged in dancing. 
 What infernal orgy was taking place ? Was Edna the cen- 
 tral figure of it— not Edna in her right-mindedness and 
 purity, but in that other phase of her character that so 
 distressed nie ? And I thought how extraordinary it was 
 that while I had a double, she had a double character to 
 match. Was it possiL)le each of these characters of hers 
 — I mean her dream character and her real character — 
 could have each one an afifmity and which she had claimed 
 as her own — me for the good and Fitzamble for the bad ? 
 These very lights and shadows — were they not typical 
 of her double-sidedness ? The idea was confused and I 
 walked up and down my room with an anxiety impossible to 
 describe, stopping every now and then at the window and 
 looking across. Once I could have sworn I saw Edna's 
 graceful fi<]"ure cut in black silhouette on the blind, to 
 bf, quickly replaced by the elephantine proportions of 
 another woman whose figure I knew equally well and yet 
 so loathed. At last the heavy rep curtains were dropped 
 across the blinds, and, save for a narrow streak of light be- 
 tween them, the v/indows were as black as before the gas 
 was turned on. What did this new move portend ? Some- 
 thing of which the bare shadows should not reveal the tale ? 
 You may think me over-wrought and supersensitive, but 
 did I not have cause for uneasiness? Put yourself in my 
 place, and put the woman you love as I still did — Edna — 
 
THE ROMANCE OV AN ALTER EUO. 183 
 
 within the ugly walls of that house. Remember the evil 
 inlluences that 1 knew controlled her, and besides the 
 reason I had for thinking that criminality lurked thcrem, 
 from the fact of having observed my two assailants leav- 
 ing the mansion. Think, too, of my conversations with 
 Dr. Henry, wherein he had partially confirmed the possi- 
 bility of my worst suspicions. Add to this what I had 
 with my own eyes seen Edna do, remember her senile 
 father and my own helplessness, and then ask yourself 
 whether you would not have had the same anxiety that I 
 had. And as I walked about my room and anon looked 
 out, drawn by the horrid fascination across the way, rage, 
 jealousy, hatred, all the mixed emotions one is capable 
 of experiencing, swept in quick succession through my 
 breast. At last the suspense became actually unendur- 
 able. I picked up my hat, intending to cross the street 
 and take a nearer stand. I had barely reached the sidewalk 
 however, when I abruptly drew back on perceiving that some 
 one was coming out of the house I had been watching — 
 some one who seemed to glide down the stoop like a ghost 
 and who was coming in my direction. As it was very 
 dark, my instinct rather than my eyesight told me that it 
 was Edna. My first impulse was to run over and detain 
 her; my second and better one to see on what mission she 
 was bent. Noiselessly I followed her, and as she passed 
 under the lamp post that stood on the corner and turned 
 down Park avenue, I could see that she was in the same 
 wakeful trance I had before seen her in. It added to the 
 fascination her presence had for me, became an uncanny 
 fascination — the kind one might have for a sleep walker. 
 
184 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 It separated her from me by a chasm almost as impassable 
 as death, rendering mc callous to outside circumstances 
 and to the fact that a carriage had started up behind us 
 and was slowly following us as we went. 
 
 Our course lay westwards, and on reaching Madison 
 avenue she turned down that street. Once or twice I ap- 
 proached her side and looked up into her face. Though 
 she failed to recognize me, I thought my presence dis- 
 turbed her, so I dropped behind. Down Madison avenue 
 we went, that gloomiest of all streets, rendered addition- 
 ally gloomy now because ko many of its residents were 
 out of town and their houses closed. Once or twice I 
 thought I heard carriage wheels, as if we were yet being 
 followed, but so absorbed was I in watching every move of 
 Edna's that I scarcely turned my head. Arrived at Mad- 
 ison Square, I became disagreeably aware of the greater 
 number of persons about, and the benches in the park 
 were crowded as usual. People looked at her inquisitive- 
 ly, and men, seeing her beaut}'', often turned and followed. 
 My impatience could be restrained no longer, and barely 
 had we passed the great fountain in the middle of the 
 square, now filled with flowers, when I approached her 
 and addressed her for the first time. 
 
 She turned. "Why do you call me Edna?" she asked. 
 " My name is Aspasia. Will you come with me to the 
 dance to-night ? Come ! The wine flows merrily, and of 
 what use is it but to drown our cares?" 
 
 *' Edna ! Edna !" I cried, '* are you mad ?" 
 
 *' I know no Edna ! My name is Aspasia, I say. Give 
 me your hantl, and we will drink of life's pleasure to- 
 
 _u 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER F.C.O. l3j 
 
 gether. See, the light glistens on the liouses." And she 
 pointed to the buildings and hotels across the street on 
 Broadway, that shone white through the trees. " Did 
 Athens ever look so bright?" 
 
 " Edna! Edna! for Ch'ist's sake let me take you home ?" 
 J cried. 
 
 We had reached by this time the southeast side of the 
 jxirk, bordered by Twenty-third street, and I got my arm 
 about her waist, making for a carriagethat had just drawn 
 up to the curbstone. I took for granted that it was 
 returning to its jtand and was conse(}uently disengaged. 
 Into this 1 hastily decided to place her. Then as I drew 
 her towards it she screamed, and a woman with flaming 
 cheeks and a red shawl — a woman of elephantine propor- 
 tions and of accursed memory — unexpectedly descended 
 from the carriage together wnth three men. 
 
 ** Unhand that woman!" I heard some one cry, and then 
 I was struck at with a cane. In trying to seize it my own 
 arms were suddenly seized by one of the men, who had 
 got behind me, and with a jerk and a wrench of the back 
 I found myself flung over on to the grass plot bordering the 
 side of the street. As I lay there 1 saw Rebecca lead 
 Edna to the carriage, and the three men, re-entering it, 
 drove rapidly away towards Fourth avenue. 
 
 I was a little slow in picking myself up. My back felt 
 stiff and pained me considerably; consequently when I 
 got to the curbstone and looked down the street, the car- 
 riage was a considerable distance off. Before I could se- 
 cure a cab it had disappeared in the darkness. !\iy 
 first impulse, as usual, was to drive to the nearest 
 
l86 THK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 police station and get out a warrant against Rebecca. 
 Nevertheless, I resolved to act cautiously. My affection 
 for Edna was too sincere to sacrifice aught by a hasty ac- 
 tion, and I would not permit myself to be influenced by 
 any feeling of resentment at my own treatment. Besides, 
 it would be impossible to serve any warrant upon Rebecca 
 till her return to her own home, for the very efficient reason 
 that I was unaware whither she had driven. Consequently 
 I decided to go and consult Mr. Star, who, I remembered 
 now, had told me that he could generally be found at his 
 club at this hour. On arriving at the Manhattan I was 
 informed by the porter that he was sitting on the back ve- 
 randa, and as I waited in the hall for my card to be taken 
 to him I endeavored to conceal my agitation from the 
 assembled guests. Amongst these I perceived my old 
 lawyer, Mr. Slocum, and the hurried manner in which he 
 left the building at sight of me caused me to laugh in spite 
 of myself. Nevertheless, he had good cause — my coat was 
 torn, my manner was extremely excited, and I have no 
 doubt he heartily congratulated himself that my distressing 
 complications had been transferred to another's shoulders. 
 
 On telling Mr. Star of my adventure he expressed him- 
 self as more than pleased that I had not applied to the 
 police court. > 
 
 *< Rebecca would probably appear to-morrow," he said, 
 ** and explain that Edna had freely put herself under her 
 charge because of a flighty dispositioi] and as subject to 
 occasional fits of aberration; that in one of these fits her 
 ward had escaped from the house and that she had pursued 
 her; that in the darkness she did not recognize you, bat 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN AL'IKR EGO. li>7 
 
 seeing wluit she ;iiip|K)secl was a strange man attempt to 
 tiike Edna by the waist, that she had called upon a by- 
 s'lander to protect her from insult. Some such explana- 
 tion as this she would give, and it would be extremely diffi- 
 cult for you to disprove it. Of course, as I have said 
 i)cfore, if you were really married you would be in a 
 (]iffcrei;t position, but, having appealed from the decision 
 of the courts that would have made you out to be Edna's 
 husband, your interference would be held as absolutely 
 ridiculous. iJy your Own sworn statements you are 
 nothing to her." 
 
 " But is there r.othing thai I can do, then ?" I asked. 
 *' Yes ; you can wait. I expect the detective on from 
 Chicago to-morrow, and I hope yet to connect this woman 
 in some way with the criminal assaults you have been 
 subjected to. I have another resource, however, which I 
 have been thinking over in case all others fail. It is still 
 merely in embryo, and I would prefer not to tell you yet 
 what it is. In the meanwhile, I would make one last ap- 
 peal to her father. If you can induce him to take any 
 action against this woman, well and good; my only desire 
 is to prevent you getting more deeply involved in the 
 entanglements of the law than you are at present, which 
 might render it difficult for you to act when the proper 
 time comes." 
 
 As I had the utmost confidence in my new adviser, I re- 
 solved to follow his counsel implicitly; so promising to call 
 first on Mr. Dalzelle and later on Mr. Star himself (at the 
 hour he told me the detective from Chicago might be ex- 
 pected to arrive at his office), I left him and returned home. 
 
XXXV. . < 
 
 Now, on stoppinn; next day at Mr. Dalzelle's I was in- 
 formed that that gentleman was out and in all likelihood 
 would not be at his office during the entire day; conse- 
 quently J found myself at Mr. Star's office a little ahead 
 of the hour fixed, and as he was engaged 1 tried to while 
 away the time in the magnificent view to be had from his 
 l(jfty window. Twenty-five squares miles, I should think, 
 of river were before me, glistening in the morning sun, 
 and the toj)s of houses, lessening in height according to 
 their distance, seemed like veritable steps descending to 
 the water. From every house-top steam from pipes and 
 chimneys shot up in the air ; and the great unceasing hum 
 of the vast city was borne upwards to my ear. 
 
 I was disturbed by a loud knock at the door, followed 
 by the entrance of a tall man in a long duster. At first 
 he failed to see me, but when his eye caught mine his 
 astonishment knew no bounds. He stopped, hesitated, 
 then rushing forward with extended hand, cried : '* Well, 
 I didn't expect to find you here ; but though you've 
 treated me pretty shabbily, upon my word I'm glad to 
 see you again." 
 
 I tried to explain that Fitzamble and myself were not 
 one and the same person, 
 
 " Oh! that don't wash," he continued. *' You're a trifle 
 
 i88 
 
TllK KOMAMJIC OF AN AI.TKK K(JO. 189 
 
 Stouter and your beard is cut in a slightly different way 
 from how you used to wear it, but if you ain'i I bury 
 Jones, alias George Henry Fitzamble, I'm r.ul Stephen 
 Lyman, that's all." 
 
 His words and manner both assured me of the strength 
 of the resemblance. 
 
 " Allowing for argument's sake," said Mr. Star, wlio had 
 followed him into the room, " that this gentleman is your 
 old ac(iuaintance, tell me all you know about him, and 
 everything you can remember down to the minutest de- 
 tail, just as if he weren't present." 
 
 *♦ Well, as hell tell you himself," observed the stranger, 
 after a slight pause, "we first became accjuainted in 
 Chicago while we were serving together as Pinkerton 
 detectives. On my coming East the acquaintanceship was 
 interrupted for a short spell and was then resumed in a 
 somewhat unexpected fashion. You see I had left Chicago 
 to follow up a case that took me to Connecticut, and I ha;! 
 just finished my business there when I heard of an exten- 
 sive burglary at Newport. The reward was very large, so, 
 having nothing to detain me, I started for New York to 
 confer with the police. At the depot, however, just as I 
 arrived, I happened to meet my old acquaintance here, and 
 it suggested itself to me that if I could only secure his co- 
 operation it would save delay in the city and be better than 
 any assistance I could secure at the department. When I i 
 proposed, however, that he should immediately accom- 
 pany me off again on a new trip, he strongly objected, I 
 forget his exact excuse, but I think he told me he had 
 
190 THE KOMANCK OF AN ALTER ECJO. 
 
 ^ot leave from the agency in Chicago and had come to 
 New York to look up one of his rekitives. 
 
 " After representing to him, however, the size of the 
 reward and my extrctne anxiety for his assistance, he 
 finally consented to postpone his search, and we started 
 off for Newport by the first train. On arrivi' "• there he 
 went to the Ocean House and I to the Acquioncck, pass- 
 ing ourselves off as gentlemen of leisure to better prose- 
 , cute our investigaticjns. Now, while these resulted in 
 absolutely nothing so far as the burglary was concerned, 
 the visit to Newport proved a turning point in my friend's 
 career. Imagine my surprise when he came to me one 
 day and informed me that he was sick of the whole de- 
 tective business, and that he was going to marry a lady 
 whose acquaintance he had made in the hotel, and begin 
 life anew. A few days after he did marry her and I never 
 saw him since. The lady, I believe, was wealthy, and I 
 supposed she resented his keeping up with his old chums." 
 
 ** ])o you think he was really in love with this lady ?" 
 asked the lawyer. 
 
 '* I never saw anyone so moon-struck in. my life." 
 
 " Was he likely to have basely deserted her immediate- 
 ly after his marriage ?" 
 
 " The last man in the world to do anything base. In- 
 deed, we used to call him 'gentlemanly George,' not so 
 much because his ways were different from ours, as be- 
 cause he always had such a nice sense of honor." 
 
 ** Could any one have had a motive for abducting him 
 within eight hours of his marriage ?" 
 
 "Not that I know of." 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN AM UK i:c;0. 1 '; 1 
 
 " Was there any business he was engai^cil in at Chicaj^o 
 that would have rendered it expedient for any one or any 
 set of people to maUe away with him?" 
 
 *' Well, I can't answer that. You see, I had been sepa- 
 rated from him for the last few months that he was in 
 ('hicago, and was not likely to have heard." 
 
 "Could the perpetrators of the burglary you came to 
 investigate have feared your discoveries?" 
 
 "There was nothing for them to fear, for, as I said, we 
 discovered nothing." 
 
 " Was not the period between the time you left him in 
 Chicago and that of meeting him in the Grand Central 
 Depot, one of considerable disturbance in Chicago ?" 
 
 *' There always is disturbance in Chicago." 
 
 "But especially so then?" 
 
 ** Well, the labor troubles were just beginning, and the 
 Anarchist troubles also, but the worst of them didn't come 
 till the time of the explosions in the Haymarket, long 
 after he was gone." 
 
 '' Very well," said Mr. Star, '' inasmuch as you are not 
 aware in what branch of work your friend was engaged 
 during that interval, I desire you to return to Chicago 
 to-night and to learn exactly. Then come back here and 
 report to me. You shall be well paid for your time, and 
 I feel convinced the department will not only permit of 
 your second absence, but will facilitate your inquiries to 
 the uttnost of its power." 
 
 The detective received these instructions with a nod of 
 the head. 
 
 *' Do you know, sir," he resumed after a pause, " there 
 
1^2 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTKR EGO. 
 
 is one circumstance that makes me think my friend was 
 alxlucted after all, and that this gentleman here, in spite 
 of his resemblance to him, is not the man I at first sup- 
 posed. I had forgotten the circumstance till you came to 
 speak of money." 
 
 *< What is it?" asked Mr. Star. 
 
 "Why, three days before the wedding I lent him twen- 
 ty-five dollars, which he promised to repay in a week's 
 time. He was the most particular man in such matters I 
 ever met, and the fact that he failed to send it to me con- 
 vinces me that something must have happened to prevent 
 his doing so after all. T \n\\ start to-night, and report as 
 soon as I have learned anything." 
 
 I must confess the interview confirmed me in the opin- 
 ion of my new lawyer's^ ability. We must go back into 
 the past to pick up the threads, he had said, and lo! Fitz- 
 amble, from a myth, was becoming an actual personality. 
 
XXXVI. 
 
 Alas ! if I could only have controlled my impatience i 
 and have followed out the spirit as well as the text of my 
 lawyer's advice ! 
 
 I made it my invariable habit to absent myself from 
 my rooms for as short a time as possible, so immediately 
 on leaving Mr. Star's I returned home and took a seat in 
 my bay window. 'J'hen, as I sat there that long after- 
 noon, my thoughts for other occupation traveled back- 
 wards, and I became lost in the quiet contemplation 
 of my own pleasing situation from its first inception, 
 commencing with the extraordinary act of Edna in 
 claiming me as her husband, and the equally extra- 
 ordinary rulings of the court that had sustained her in 
 her suit; then my appeal from this decision, and, run- 
 ning counter to this appeal, the gradual change in my 
 sentiments for her. 
 
 Through this situation, sufficiently complicated, one 
 would think, already, the attempts on my life, including the 
 Coney Island assassination, ran like garish threads on a 
 variegated background, and, interlacing these again, the 
 mysterious subordination of Edna to Rebecca Seaton. 
 So complicated was it all that 1 wrote it down on a piece 
 
 193 
 
194 1'"E ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 of paper, much as it is at present before the ieader, and 
 wondered whether any one circumstance could ever ac- 
 count for the many seemingly disconnected, not to say 
 antagonistic, coincidences that made up the confused web. 
 So occupied was 1 with my own reflections that I failed 
 to notice the ringing of the front door bell, and was at last 
 only brought back to present reality by hearing some one 
 knocking at my portals. Rising at last to acknowledge 
 the summons, I opened the door, and started back in very 
 natural astonishment as I detected Theophilus with his 
 large ears darkening the passageway. 
 
 Imagining myself to be so secretly installed in m}' re- 
 treat, the visit was as unexpected as it was unwelcome. 
 
 "The missus sends her respects," said Theophilus, 
 twirling his hat, " and begs to say she'd be pleased for 
 you to call over to her home." 
 
 *' How did she discover my address ?" I inquired in my 
 surprise. The very ears of Theophilus seemed to smile. 
 
 " The missus she owns this yere house now, and her 
 tenant, which is the landlady, told her you had took these 
 rooms the day before you moved in." 
 
 *' I'll go over with you at once," I replied briefly, and 
 without more ado Theophilus pulled the dilapidated opera 
 hat, which constituted his headgear, down to his large 
 ears, and valiantly led the way across the street. 
 
 A wild hope that I might see Edna induced my ready 
 acquiescence in Rebecca's request, but it was dashed to 
 the ground by finding the oracle m solitary glory, en- 
 sconced in her usual seat behind the table. 
 
 ''Theophilus," she observed, after receiving me with a 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. I95 
 
 majestic grandeur worJiy of Isabel of Spain — " Theoph- 
 ilus, you can take the alcohol bottle around to the drug- 
 gist, and mind you, if it comes back diluted, as it did the 
 last time, with any furren compound, there'll be a shortage 
 of wages for the next three months." 
 
 However unintelligible the above might be to a casual 
 visitor like myself, it seemed quite comprehensible to 
 Theophilus, who, taking the bottle, closed the door behind 
 him as he went out. 
 
 On his withdrawal she turned upon me with quite a 
 different manner. 
 
 "Now look a-here, young man," she said, " I've sent 
 around to you with a special object; until I had this ob- 
 ject I didn't send. That's my way; until I'm ready to 
 speak, I holds my mouth shut, but when I'm ready I lets 
 it open, and I'm going to let it open now. What do you 
 mean a-spying and a-peeking up at this yere house all day, 
 as if you was a boy at a tuppenny show a-waitin' for the 
 curtain to go up?" 
 
 If ever I felt inclined to answer a woman's question 
 with a blow, I felt inclined then. In spite of her brutality 
 and coarseness, I knew her to be a wily, clever woman, 
 and I must be wary in turn. I also thought I detected in 
 her manner a desire to enrage me and thus to draw me 
 out as to my ultimate intentions in regard to Edna; con- 
 sequently I resolved not to "give myself away," but, on 
 the contrary, to try to draw her out. 
 
 " AVas it to ask this that you sent for me ?" I said. 
 
 ** That was one of my objects." 
 
196 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 '* Then, in reply, allow me to state that possibly you will 
 discover a cause for my conduct before long." 
 
 " It won't be long before I do," she answered, *' whether 
 I learns it from you or other parties; but I tell you this, 
 that it's got to stop." 
 
 "What's got to stop?" ■ ' 
 
 " This yere spyin' and nosin' into other people's busi- 
 ness. So long as Ivdna Dalzelle freely comes to uie for 
 medical advice — " 
 
 *' Medical advice!" T insinuated. 
 
 "Yes, so long as she comes here for medical advice, 
 it ain't you nor a dozen like you as can get her away." 
 And she snapped her fingers at me. 
 
 '' We will see about that," I answered. 
 
 She rose from her seat. 
 
 " Aaron Simoni, I give you fair warning not to cross my 
 path : I'm a dangerous person to cross." 
 
 ''That remains to be proved," I continued in the same 
 laconic style I had adopted, for I saw by her rising passion 
 that it was beginning to tell. 
 
 "Oh! that remains to be proved, do it? Now look 
 here. Once more, and for the last time, I ask you, 
 will you give up your quarters in this street and go 
 back to your hotel, or the devil itself, where you came 
 from ?" 
 
 ** I will use my own discretion about that." 
 
 "Then if you don't, by God, I'll degrade her to the 
 dirt beneath my feet! I'll make her worse nor the women 
 as walks the pavements for a livin'. I'll — " 
 
 <*No, you won't," I exclaimed. 
 
THE ROMANCR OF AN ALTER EGO. I97 
 
 ** I won't? Why won't I ?"— thrusting her face near 
 my own as she squared herseU" before me. 
 
 " Because if the law won't give me the right to pro- 
 tect her, by the living God ! I'll tpke it into my own 
 hands," 
 
 Carried away by my emotions, I seized her by the 
 throat. At that moment I could have murdered her, and 
 it was not till she was almost black in the face that I 
 relaxed my hold and she fell back heavily across the 4 
 table. 
 
 **Now do your worst," I said. "I'm expecting evi- 
 dence against you that will convict you, and have only 
 been induced to delay action till it arrives; but in the 
 meanwhile if you do anything more to Edna, mark my 
 words, you'll pay for it." 
 
 She lay back against the table moaning and cursing, 
 and thus I left her, sustained by the conviction that if 
 ever a man had the right to raise his hand against a 
 woman I had had it. And yet, in spite of the bravery of 
 my words and the righteous punishment I had inflicted 
 upon her, a wild terror seized me as to whether Edna 
 might not have to bear the brunt. What effect would my 
 conduct have on her? I kept asking myself, and the 
 shadows of night that soon after began to fall could not 
 compare with those that were falling over my own soul. 
 
 Though I actually felt ashamed to go and communi- J 
 cate to my lawyer what I had done, yet every step on the 
 deserted pavement outside increased my alarm ^ I re- 
 alized that if I were arrested Edna would be deprived 
 of her only protector. 
 
198 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 All strong passion? are brought out by oi)position. We 
 battle and struggle and wail and poetize for Helen carried 
 to Troy, though perhaps, rescued and reduced to the 
 snug comfort of a subA'.rban villa an.d an assured com- 
 petency, Helen herself might *' pan out very flat." 
 
 How can I describe my dreams that night ? The 
 halls of Greece as represented by the hideous buildings 
 surrounding Madison Square, and that, according to poor 
 Edna, shone so brightly, again appeared to me in my 
 sleep. 
 
 Some time ago in Chicago, over a mantel-piece in a 
 millionaire's palace I saw a marble Italian relief that 
 made a great impression on me. It represented the steps 
 of a temple on the occasion of a festival to Bacchus, and 
 the doors of this temj)le were bursting open before the 
 maddened crowd who came flooding down. In their 
 midst was delineated the most exquisite woman I ever 
 saw, mounted on a leopard. Now, in my dreams the face 
 of this woman was changed to Edna's, and she and the 
 marble throng became alive. I could see her eyes light 
 up with mad deviltry as she raised the cup with seduc- 
 tive gesture to the crowd, or anon pressed it to her wine- 
 stained lips. All the people in the foreground bore 
 familiar faces. Here was Mr. Star ; here were the two 
 men who had assailed me ; here was Mr. Dalzelle, 
 and leading the leopard were Rebecca and Dr. Henry, 
 while slinking away in one corner was my old lawyer, 
 Mr. Slocum, just as he had slunk away from me at 
 the club — all, with the last exception, carried away with 
 the mad abando'^ ':'. the moment, and the doors of the 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. I99 
 
 temple bursting open before them as like a wave they 
 svept down the steps.* 
 
 It was the most awfully realistic dream I think I ever 
 had, and seemed to typify the utter transformation of 
 character under Rebecca Seaton's lead that without my 
 protection Edna would suffer. 
 
 I rose next morning with the conviction that this pro- 
 tection, slight as it was, might be withdrawn at any mo- 
 ment because of my rash treatment of Rebecca Seaton 
 the previous afternoon; yet if it had not been for this con- 
 sideration I think, on the whole, I should have courted 
 arrest as likely to bring affairs to a head. So convinced 
 was I, however, that my summons would follow that, on 
 hearing the bell ring and my name mentioned out in the 
 hall, I actually seized my hat, but whether to fly, or to resist, 
 or to go willingly I can hardly say. It was only a mes- 
 senger boy who brought me a note. I took it up wearied- 
 ly. It was perfumed and delicate. I looked at it more 
 carefully. It was addressed in a hand that was familiar. 
 My heart gave a sudden bound. Expecting arrest, the 
 transition between that and a note from Edna — Edna Dal- 
 zelle herself — was too violent. I drank a pint of whisky 
 before my agitation would permit of my breaking the 
 seal. On opening it I read these few lines : 
 
 *• If you can find it convenient to call upon me to-day, 
 I should like to see you for a few minutes' conversation. I 
 shall be at my father's house between ten and eleven. 
 
 '* Edna Dalzelle." 
 
 * The sculptor, as I subsequently learned, was barely nineteen 
 years of age, named Beulluri, and, though a Spaniard by birth, 
 resided in Rome, 
 
200 THK ROMANCF. OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 Tliat messenger hoy had cause to mark as a red-letter 
 day in the calendar the one on which he brought me her 
 note. Ah Clod ! How we work ourselves up to a peri<Kl 
 of ecstatic expectancy, and then how sudden is the tic- 
 scent ! 
 
 As the clock in the nearest church tower struck ten, I 
 was ringing the hell of her apartment, and was admitted 
 by my old friend the colored butler. Bless his soul ! I so 
 far forgot all semblance of decorum as to shake him cor- 
 dially by the hand. Then he led me into the sitting room, 
 and the next moment I was before her. 
 
 I was prepared to see her eyes circled with dark rings, 
 to have her look worn and at least wearied ; I was conse- 
 quently agreeably disappointed in seeing her in her usual 
 appearance of health. Yet there was a certain air about 
 her that was not quite her own, that placed a barrier be- 
 tween us, and that I could only account for by the sup- 
 position that she was acting a part that had been laid 
 down for her in advance. She received me in a cold, re- 
 strained way, chilling in me the warm effusiveness that 
 was ready to gush out. Indeed, she never asked me to 
 sit down, so I remained standing. Could she still be under 
 the subtle and controlling influence of Rebecca Seaton ? 
 And yet I had no reason to suppose Rebecca was upon 
 the premises. 
 
 '' I sent for you," she said, **to ask you whether you 
 think you have lately been treating me as a gentleman 
 should ?" 
 
 *' What have I done?" I asked, wishing to make her de- 
 fine herself. 
 
THE HOMAXr'E OF AN AI/IKK FOO. 201 
 
 •' Yon have constituted yourself a spy on my con- 
 duct; you have subjected me to an espionage little short 
 of the shadowinj^ of a detective." 
 
 ** But think, Edna, how I am situated towards you. I 
 coukl not accept our last interview as final." 
 
 "I fully recogni^ie your position," she said, "and I 
 know I have much to reproach myself with, hut you 
 gave me up voluntarily; you must at least acknowledge 
 that." 
 
 " Edna, I only asked you to break off your connection 
 with a woman who changes all your better nature; who 
 makes you other than you really are; who prevents you 
 being natural even now — don't interrupt me. You have 
 never done me justice is my reason for asking you to give 
 her up. Think of the grief it causes me to see you going 
 on as you are." 
 
 ** How am I going on? Explain yourself," she con- 
 tinued, with an increasing coldness and reserve. 
 
 " Edna, though I care for you the same as I ever did, 
 the only thing I ask now is to guard you from evil. If I 
 can do this I am willing to sacrifice even my hope of re- 
 gaining your affection. For she is trying to master ycur 
 better nature, trying deliberately — " 
 
 ** What do you mean ?" 
 
 "Trying to lower you to her level, a few nights ago 
 making you publicly exhibit yourself in a common music- 
 hall, and the night before last walk the streets of this 
 city as — " 
 
 " Aj what ? " she asked. 
 - "As Aspasia !" 
 
aoa THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 " As Aspasia ? Enough, sir; you must bemad or intoxi- 
 cated. Leave the liouse this instant ! That I should suffer 
 recrimination from you is natural, but I had yet to learn 
 that I must suffer insult. Enough! Your way lies there; 
 I will take care of my own conduct." 
 
 I had not said exactly what I wanted to say; indeed, 
 the interview had been awkward and constrained all 
 through. As I reached the hall Rebecca Seaton's un- 
 cxi)ectcd appearance from a bide dour went far to explain 
 Edna's unnatural manner, 
 
 *' Now you have it from her own mouth ! " she cried. 
 "Once and for the last time, will you give up this 
 spying?" 
 
 "I will not," I answered. "I am more decided than 
 ever, for I can now fully appreciate the hold you have 
 secured over her." 
 
 ** Then you will rue the day you ever crossed my 
 path." 
 
XXXVII. 
 
 Rf.rf.cca's presence was the one thing needed to assure 
 me that Edna had been under her spell durinii: my visit, 
 and had most likely been acting semi-consciously, so to 
 si)cak, on a previously given line of instructions. So per- 
 fect w^** the woman's control that she could allow her 
 •' subject" to retain her own personality and yet warp it 
 to suit her own purpose. 1 shuddered, for it was the 
 most conclusive proof yet of her power. Had I thought 
 otherwise — I mean had I thought that Edna's words and 
 manner reflected her true sentiments — I would not have 
 hesitated about breaking off my connection with her there 
 and then. 
 
 Ai T left the house and pondered on the continuation 
 of this influence of Rebecca, doubts began to rise for 
 the first time in my mind as to whether my new lawyer 
 had rightly advised me to take no definite action against 
 her. Owing to the rapidity with which events had crowd- 
 ed themselves upon me, I had, however, neglected his 
 advice about seeing Mr. Dalzelle and making one last 
 effort to induce him to exercise his paternal authority. To 
 be sure, I had called upon him, but, as the reader may re- 
 member, I had not gained admittance, and I had not re- 
 peated my visit. As the present moment seemed to offer 
 a favorable opportunity, I proceeded directly down town 
 
 203 
 
204 THE ROMANCF OF AN AI-TF-.R FC.O. 
 
 to his ofilcc, where 1 presumed he would now l)e. My 
 visit was as fruitless as my last, if not more tliscouraj,;iii;;. 
 One of liis clerks came out and bluntly informed me that 
 his employer was unable to receive me, and further intimat- 
 ed that there was no use in my continuing my visits. 
 The rebuff excited my pity ratlier than my indignation 
 against the old gentleman and confirmed me in the belief 
 that Rebecca's malign influence iuid extended to him. 
 How I cursed his weakness and iiis besotted folly, not 
 because of his rudeness towards me, but because of his 
 callousness toward his daughter ! I had resolved to save 
 her, and save lier I would; but Mr. Dalzelle's conduct 
 threw me back upon myself, and yet the only hope that 
 remained now was the return of the detective from Chic- 
 ago, bringing with him intelligence that might criminate 
 Rebecca — a very faint hope indeed. 
 
 As my retreat was discovered and 1 could probably 
 learn little, if anything, by continuing my vigils at my win- 
 dow, I repaired, on leaving Mr. Dalzelle's, to Dr. Henry's 
 instead of to my lodgings. He lived in the upper portion 
 of the city, but though I walked all the way I arrived at 
 his residence within three hours of my last meeting with 
 Rebecca — a fact that 1 hope the reader will Lear in mind. 
 As his morning ofifice hours were just closing, he was pre- 
 paring to leave the house as I entered, so I followed him 
 out. In reply to my questions as to how his experiments 
 were progressing, his little red face fairly beamed with 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 ** Why, there's nothing like the success that I've had 
 in the whole rango of mesmerism," he cried. '' This 
 
Tin: KOMANCK OF AK AI.TKR EGO. 205 
 
 'sensitive' tliat I told you I had got hold of is a woiulor. 
 She is without (|ut'stiou reliable, and so 8usce|)tii)le to the 
 intluencx' that a wide field of experiments is still before 
 me." 
 
 •* Is it a woman?" T asked. 
 
 'MVell, I confess that it is, and, to tell you the truth, T 
 am just on my way now to make arrangements for an- 
 other experiment that you suggested some time ago in 
 your conversation. Dj you remember, it was of the 
 woman who was sent out and made to commit suicide by 
 her lover. Of comse I will arrange it so that she will do 
 herself no injury, but, in order to demonstrate it to the 
 physicians whom I shall take as witnesses, I must convince 
 them that the woman believes her act will certainly result 
 in her death. It will be a little difticultto manage, but I 
 have thought of a way by which it can be accomplished. 
 If this succeeds — as 1 have no doubt it will — I shall make 
 the whole thing public, give the names of all the witnesses, 
 the woman, and every one connected with it. I am sure, 
 too, it will have great weight in establishing the extraor- 
 dinary developments that mesmerism is capable of." 
 
 "You said that the other experiments had turned out 
 well; do you mean to say that you have already proved, 
 and beyond question, that a person could be made to act 
 in a manner repugnant to his or her nature ?" 
 
 " 1 have had the most positive proof of it with this 
 young woman of whom I spoke, and only the night before 
 last." 
 
 We had been walking down in the direction of my lodg- 
 ings, and consequently were approaching the street in 
 
2o6 THE ROMANCE OF AN AETER EGO. 
 
 which Rebecca's house was in. So interested was I, 
 however, in the conversation, that if I thought of it at all I 
 merely supposed that the professor had gone out of his 
 way to accompany me. 
 
 *' You said you had the most positive proof of this the 
 night before last ?" ^ repeated, 
 
 "Yes; the expe; Silent then was the most successful, 
 although the previous ones surpassed my expectations. 
 The night before last, however, at the College of Physi- 
 cians, I demonstrated the thing completely." 
 
 " The night before last ?" I repeated, in a brown study — 
 " the night before last ? Why, that's very odd." 
 
 ''What's very odd?" 
 
 " Why, that your experiment should have been made 
 two evenings ago." 
 
 '* Everything is odd about mesmerism. I tell you, my 
 dear sir, the more you investigate it the more extraor- 
 dinary you find it. There are so many conflicting — " 
 
 ''Where is the College of Physicians ?" I interrupted. 
 
 " Why, on the corner of Fourth avenue and Twenty- 
 third street." 
 
 " Fourth avenue and Twenty-third street ? Why, that 
 is only a block from Madison Square." 
 
 We had by this time reached the street in which I tem- 
 porarily resided, and as we turned into it a couple of men 
 unexpectedly presented themselves, as if they had been 
 lying in wait for us. 
 
 *' Is this Mr. Aaron Simoni ?" one of them asked of me. 
 
 "That's my name," I answered, in much surprise, 
 " What do you want ?" 
 
THE ROMAN'CE OF AN ALTER EGO. 207 
 
 " We have an order from the court for your arrest," he 
 replied, showing a warrant. 
 
 *' My arrest ! On what charge?" And T remembered 
 Rebecca Seaton. 
 
 " On that of the Coney Island murder," 
 
 ** 7'hc Coney Island murder !" I cried in my amaze, 
 ment, for I had almost forgotten the circumstances. ** And 
 who brings forward the charge?" 
 
 *' The people oi" the State of New York." 
 
 I turned to Dr. Henry, not so much to get him to ex- 
 postulate in my behalf, as in the fear that the line of con- 
 versation we had been on would be interrupted. 
 
 *' Let me have one word with this gentleman first," I 
 said. 
 
 But Dr. Henry turned away. His astonishment at 
 what had occurred seemed too great for words. A holy hor- 
 ror of me seized him as his first suspicions of me appeared 
 realized. 
 
 " I wish to have nothing to do with you at all," he said; 
 then turning to the officers: " My name is Dr. Henry — 
 Dr. James P. Henry. Here is my card. If you desire me 
 at any time to explain what I know about this gentleman, 
 and how I came to make his acquaintance, you have only 
 to apply at that address. I have had my suspicions about 
 him a long way back." 
 
 "We know all about you, doctor, one of the men re- 
 plied quite civilly, *'and if the court needs your testimony 
 at any time you will be subpoenaed. For the present all 
 we want is him, and we have to thank you for putting him 
 into our hands and saving us unnecessary trouble." 
 
XXXVIII. 
 
 Rebecca Seaton had fired her shot after all, for I recog- 
 nized her hand in the matter. Probably she had been 
 hokUng back until she saw whether I would be influenced 
 by Edna's protest at my espionage and her request for 
 me to desist from it. The charge against me was so ab- 
 solutely absurd — the charge that I had committed a murder 
 intended for myself — that my only consideration was as to 
 the effect on Edna of my temporary incarceration. And 
 yet as the gloomy portals of the prison closed upon me 
 and I went over in my mind the circumstances of my 
 visit to Coney Island, I began to have misgivings. 
 Certain facts might be difficult to explain — why I had 
 gone to Coney Island, and why I had so suddenly returned ; 
 whyT had not registered, and why I had left New York 
 the next day for the country. Nevertheless, it was the 
 last few words of my interrupted conversation with Dr. 
 Henry that caused me most perplexity, far more indeed 
 than my incarceration, and the terrible situation of merely 
 being held on suspicion of such a crime. 
 
 The idea of his experiments being conducted on the 
 very night I had followed Edna, and, moreover, at the 
 College of Physicians, towards which I had seen her being 
 hastily driven away— this, as I say, caused me extreme 
 
 203 
 
TII'^. ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 209 
 
 perplexity, and started a train of doubts and suspicions 
 tile reader will probably ai)preciate. 
 
 I quite forgot to say that at the preliminary examination 
 that followed my arrest I had wisely refused to say any 
 thing further than to plead entire innocence of the charge, 
 and, having learned the value of caution, I h:\d thereupon 
 sent for my lawyer, Mr. Star. 
 
 Do you remember in Carlyle's '' French Revolution," 
 where the end was drawing on, how rapid was the 
 culmination of events, and how startling circumstance 
 crowded on the heels of startling circumstance with such 
 lightning-like speed as to render the baldest enumeration 
 of them alone possible? So it was in my case; only let 
 this be remembered, that, with me, instead of the final catas- 
 trophe it was rather the beginning of the end that was cul- 
 minating.. In reply to my message Mr. Star sent down 
 towards evening a clerk from his office to say that a cer- 
 tain very extraordinary event had occurred that would 
 most likely have an immediate effect upon this new charge 
 ngainst me, and that he was consequently better engaged 
 in attending to my affairs than by coming to me at once; 
 ihat in all likelihood he would see me early on the following 
 morning, after which date my incarceration would hardly 
 be extended; in the meanwhile to answer no questions 
 diat might be put to mc. 
 
 Under this cheering intelligence I found my spirits 
 rise, and I enjoyed no little the frugal meal which my 
 jailer brought me. 
 
 Indeed, there is nothing truer than that fortune, whether 
 good or evil, never comes singly, and I felt that now, at 
 
210 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 the blackest period of my adventures, the clouds were 
 breaking. Only breaking temporarily, however; for while 
 the next four days of my life comprise the most ecstatic 
 moments of my whole existence, yet could I have looked a 
 little ahead I hardly think I should have been able to 
 resist the temptation of lying down and giving up com- 
 pletely. I was not at the end of my adventures; I was 
 merely at the beginning of the end, and the clouds were 
 only going to lift — a little. 
 
 Having established a precedent by describing my 
 dreams of the preceding night, allow me to say that the 
 similarity of my position to the prisoner of Chillon was 
 too striking not to be taken advantage of by my dreams 
 to-night. I believe the best authorities have played sad 
 havoc with that pleasing delusion, but the popular belief 
 as represented by every school-boy's primer found in me 
 a realistic counterpart. Through my sleep I kept wear- 
 ing away the stones of my cell in my ceaseless perambu- 
 lations with a clanking chain about my foot. Now, if you 
 will carry back your recollections to these school-book 
 pictures, you may remember that there was a narrow 
 window on one side of the cell, commanding a contracted 
 view of the lake; my own opinion is that this window was 
 simply inserted in the picture for artistic effect, and to 
 permit the introduction of the iron bars that crossed it. 
 Be this as it may, there it was in my dre?ms, and as I 
 stopped every now and then in my imaginary walks, and 
 looked out of this window at a rugged point of land extend- 
 ing into the lake, Dr. Henry suddenly appeared in a costume 
 of the period. Even in my dreams I could not help being 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 211 
 
 Struck by the ludicrous effect he presented, with his closely 
 cropped gray hair standing up like the bristles in a brush, 
 his green spectacles, his earnest face, and his wide velvet 
 breeches. He seemed to be looking out for a ccn- 
 venient spot for the prosecution of some fell design, the 
 exact nature of which I could not distinguish. While I 
 was gazing at him and wondering whal he was going to do 
 there, he was joined by another person, a woman, who 
 looked familiar and whose countenance only gradually, as 
 in dreams, assumed the familiar features of Rebecca Sea- 
 ton. The two of them thereupon concealed themselves 
 in some bushes along the water's edge, and kept peeping 
 out through the leaves as though they were watching for 
 the advent of a third person. 
 
 Suddenly Edna Dalzelle approached. Her eyes were 
 open, but they had that vacant, absent look which T had 
 seen in them the evening I had followed her, and which 
 showed that she was still under the influence of mesmerism. 
 Passing by Rebecca and the doctor, without paying the 
 slightest heed to them, she walked out upon the point un- 
 til she finally arrived at a high rock that terminated it, and 
 precipitated herself into the lake. Then everything be- 
 came confused. I remember trying to force myself 
 through the barred window to get to her rescue, and 
 then I awoke in a cold perspiration with the light from 
 the gas jet in the corridor shining on the whitewash of 
 the cell. 
 
 Because of his appearance in the dream, my mind re- 
 called my last interview with Dr. Henry, and I naturally at- 
 tributed my dream to it and to his having said that he was 
 
212 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 on his way to arrange an experiment that was to test the 
 possibility of the story of the young French girl's suicide. 
 I mean the story that I had previously mentioned to him 
 as having read in tlie North American Rcvieu^ If the 
 reader has forgotten it, let me briefly repeat that it was 
 to the effect that the French authorities had lately been 
 much exercised over the death of a woman whose lover, it 
 was stated, on the score of being weary of her, had first 
 put her under the influence of mesmerism and had then 
 sent her off to a distance and made her destroy herself. 
 So striking was the dream, so realistic, that to compose 
 myself I got up and began as restless a walk as that of the 
 prisoner of whom I had imagined myself the living counter- 
 part. Two nights in succession Dr. Henry had appeared 
 to me, which was odd of itself. Besides he had confessed 
 tome that one of his experiments had been made the very 
 night I had followed Edna. In addition to this the place 
 had been the College of Medicine, on Fourth avenue 
 •end Twentv-third street, down which — 
 
 Great God ! The explanation came to me like a flash. 
 Dr. Henry had been experimenting with Edna. She it was 
 whom he had discovered, and whose extraordinary sensi- 
 tiveness had so facilitated his investigations. 
 
 I too, I, had been giving him a cue as to these same 
 experiments, and had, moreover, been egging him on to 
 continue and develop them. 
 
 I fell back on my bed and tried to think it all out, but 
 the process was maddening. How could I explain my 
 dreams ? Simply that my mind at night had been clearer 
 than during the day, and had unconsciously worked out a 
 
THE ROMANCK OF AN ALTER EGO. 213 
 
 solution of facts whicli, tliough presented during my waking 
 hours, could not be unraveled then owing to the confu- 
 sion my mind was in. Dr. Henry and Rebecca leading the 
 leopard, on which Edna was seated, was but a fanciful 
 representation of her character as Aspasia, induced by 
 these two. When I last saw the professor he was making 
 arrangements for another experiment having suicide as 
 the result. I had seen in my dreams the development of $ 
 this — a suicide I had myself suggested, though in a 
 different form, and of which he would have never thought 
 but for me — the suicide of a woman I loved more than my- 
 self: of Edna Dalzelle. 
 
 There is a situation to moralize on that would make a 
 novel of itself, and to any criticism on its exaggeration I 
 can only reply that when you get on the subject of mes- 
 merism, the gates of dreamland, being open, you have free 
 scope to indulge your fancy. Indeed^ the temptation is 
 strong within me to dwell upon this particular phase of 
 my subject, but events are crowding upon each other, so 
 thick and fast that I am obliged to hurry on. Let me say 
 o!ie thing, however, if only to account for the comparative 
 peace of mind I now felt : I recognized that if my infer- 
 ences about Dr. Henry with Edna were true, the experi- 
 ments had been conducted on a scientific basis, and at 
 the direction of a man whom I believed to be a gentleman 
 both by instinct and training. 
 
XXXIX. 
 
 Mr. Star presented himself early the next morning, anj 
 his pleased smile of welcome and his cheerful manner 
 generally assured me that the good news I had received 
 the past evening from his office would not be contradicted. 
 
 *' A really mo.st extraordinary incident happened yes- 
 terday," he said. ** You remember the man you chased up 
 to the elevated railway station, and which circumstance 
 led to our acquaintance ? Well, he was captured yesterday 
 afternoon after a desperate struggle, during which he was 
 shot through the head. The reason I could not come to 
 you last evening was because I was detained in taking his 
 dying deposition and in having it properly recorded. He 
 confessed to having committed the murder at Coney 
 Island, mistaking the victim for you, but absolutely re- 
 fused to give his reasons or his accomplices, and died soon 
 after. Nevertheless, so far as your incarceration is concern- 
 ed, it is sufficient, and the charge against you falls to the 
 ground. But I Avas also prevented from coming dowii 
 to you yesterday by other business in your interest, the 
 result of which will probably be as welcome when I tell 
 you. What would be the most gratifying news that I 
 could bring you?" And he looked at me quizzically. 
 
 *' That Rebecca Seaton could change places with me 
 here." 
 
 214 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 215 
 
 " Well," he said, '' you have come pretty near it, for 
 she is already arrested, and 1 have brought an order for 
 your release." 
 
 " Arrested !" I cried. '' On what charge ?" 
 
 '* Well, it's along story, but, to put it briefly, you must 
 know that this estimable lady has had many strings to 
 her bow. Among these was a wealthy lawyer in good 
 practice whom she had got in her clutches, and whom, on 
 the strength of spiritual manifestations, she had induced 
 to settle on her about one-half of his personal estate. 
 Now, if you may remember, I intimated to you some time 
 ago that I had a scheme in embryo that, if everything else 
 failed, I might work up against her. Lately, as I had be- 
 gun to despair of finding any criminal charge against her 
 that we could prove, I have been revolving in my mind 
 several projects to induce the heirs of this gentleman 
 to invoke the law against her, and so break up her influence 
 over Edna at the same time. This was one of my mo- 
 tives in advising you to wait. 
 
 " A circumstance that only came to my ears yesterday 
 greatly assisted me — namely, the recent transfer to her of 
 a large amount of real estate, including the very house 
 your lodgings were in. Now, I know this gentleman very 
 well. His name is Mr. Falkner, and on all other subjects 
 than his sincere conviction in Rebecca's supernatural 
 powers his mind is as clear as a bell. As lar as I can 
 learn, she has exercised her sway over him by showing 
 him blank pieces of canvas which gradually assume, by 
 the use of ^ome kind of acid or other, I suppose, the 
 physiognomies of the heroes of antiquity. These invari- 
 
2l6 THK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 ably advise him, in mystic writing on her slate, to make 
 over to her a hundred shares of railroad stock, a house, 
 or a pi-ece of land somewhere, and he is so deluded as to 
 do it. On representing the case to the family of this gen- 
 tleman, and on showing them that unless they took defi- 
 nite action soon there would be nothing left of the estate, 
 they finally consented to act, and late last night she was 
 arrested on the charge of obtaining money under false 
 j)retences. So you see yesterday was a busy time for me, 
 and you have not suffered by my failure to come down 
 to you l)efore." 
 
 I grasped Mr. Star's hand warmly, and went on to speak 
 of Edna. Then his manner suddenly changed. 
 
 "Well, it's a little odd, but she was not at her father's 
 when I stopped there this morning to inquire, nor could 
 I learn that she was at Rebecca's. As regards the arrest, 
 it was also somewhat peculiar. The officers who had the 
 warrant for Rebecca could not find her at her house, but 
 they frightened Theophilus into telling them that she 
 might be found at ])r. Henry's. On following her there 
 they learned that Dr. Henry was also absent, and had left 
 word that he would not return until late in the night. 
 The manner of Theophilus had raised in the officers' 
 minds the suspicion that she might have got wind of the 
 arrest and escaped, so they returned to her house again, 
 and on cross-questioning Theophilus they drew from him 
 the unwilling admission that she had gone to a dock on 
 the East Side of the city. This confirmed their suspicions 
 as to her flight, so they immediately repaired thither, 
 only to find Rebecca and Dr. Henry waiting together on 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 217 
 
 the end of llic wharf. It was not so mucli the fact of dis- 
 covering her in snch company and at such an hour that 
 perplexed the officers, as the peculiar manner of the 
 doctor. 
 
 " He explained that one of the greatest experiments in 
 the interest of science was about to be consummated, and 
 hcgged them, with tears in his eyes, to delay the arrest but 
 thirty minutes. His manner was such that they consid- 
 ered him deranged, and though they only had a warrant fur 
 the woman, they arrested them both. I gained these 
 particulars this morning, but they seemed to point to 
 JCdna ; so, feeling anxious about her, I stopped, as 1 told 
 you, at Mr. Dalzelle's, and later at Rebecca Seaton's, but 
 she was at ne-ther place." 
 
 Even before Mr. Star had finished speaking I had hit 
 upon an explanation of the circumstances that had so 
 puzzled the officers in whose hands had been confided the 
 arrest of Rebecca. They had come upon her while she 
 and Dr. Henry were waiting for Edna. Dr. Henry's discom- 
 fiture was to l)e explained as the disappointment of a scien- 
 tific enthusiast whose experiment promised to be baffled. 
 
 But if baffled, what had l)ecome of Edna? If the ex- 
 periment had been interrupted by Dr. Henry's arrest, there 
 had been no one to stay her suicide. I saw the whole sit- 
 uation at a Prometheian flash. 
 
 " Get me out of here at once," I said. 
 
 After a few preliminaries which I was too much agitated 
 to exactly understand, the doors of my cell were opened 
 and we passed out and down together. Our course lay 
 past the ward reserved for women on a lower floor, and as 
 
2l8 TIIK ROMANCE OK AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 I went down tlic stairs by it my eye unconsciously turned 
 in that direction. The cells were ran^eil back to back in 
 a long corridor, and (opposite to each cell was a chair on 
 which some of th^^i clothes of the inmates were left hang- 
 ing. On one of these I detected a shawl that somehow 
 looked familiar. I hesitated on the landing, asking the 
 matron in charge of the ward to whom it belonged. 
 
 "To a poor girl who was picked up out of East River 
 last night," she replied. 
 
 ** Out of the East River?" I cried. "Let me see her." 
 
 No objection was made to my entrance into the ward, 
 so I was led up to the door of the cell, and there, reclining 
 on a cot, and with her long hair hanging about her, was 
 the woman 1 thought drowned. My coming disturbed 
 her. She raised her head, then, recognizing me, she burst 
 into tears. 
 
 "Take me home!" she cried, " take me home!" 
 
 And take her liome I did. 
 
XL. 
 
 I HAVE said that each event crowded on the heels 
 of each fresh event, as in Carlyie's liistory of the elosino 
 scenes of the French Revohition. Therefore I am cotu- 
 pelled somewhat hurriedly to clear away the stage and to 
 leave it free for the denouement^ which will re(|iiire all the 
 space at my disposal. 
 
 Though of course my inferences about lulnaand Dr. 
 Henry were only conlirmed later, they were nevertheless 
 correct. 
 
 Further, it seems, that the officer who had arrested the 
 doctor was so puzzled by his protests that after placing him 
 in custody he had returned to the scene of the arrest, and 
 that he had arrived there only just in time to see a woman 
 walk right out to the end of the wharf and fling herself 
 into tile water. Thus was my dream realized. To res- 
 cue her had proved a difficult matter, and, supposing that 
 she was deranged also, he had brought her to the sta- 
 tion house for examination as to her mental condition. 
 Whether Dr. Henry had been incarcerated in the same 
 buildii.g I did not stop to i-nquire. A happy suggestion 
 by Mr. Star was sufficient to liberate Edna. It was this : 
 That being engaged to be married to me (a non-compro- 
 mising situation), she had been overcome on hearing of 
 
 219 
 
2 20 THE ROMANCE OP AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 my arrest on such a shocking charge, and she had there- 
 upon endeavored to end her miseries in a watery grave. 
 
 Under these circumstances, and the promise that I 
 would he responsible for her welfare, she was allowed to 
 depart, and in two hours afterwards 1 was seated on the 
 deck of a tugboat which Mr. Star engaged for me to con- 
 vey her to Rocky Point. 
 
 In fact, I was uncertain whether Rebecca might not 
 soon l)e released on bail, and unless I got Edna away 
 from the city, Rebecca's arrest might avail little. ^Fo re- 
 move her beyond the influence of that woman was my first 
 thought, and for the time being my only one. And yet I 
 don't ihink that in the whole course of my life I ever en- 
 joyed a trip on the water as much as I did this one in the tug. 
 Though late in September, it was a still day, insufferably 
 hot in town ; but the motion of the boat caused a slight 
 breeze of its own, and seemed to dispel the noisome odors 
 of the great city we were leaving. The air became fresher 
 too, and crisper as we proceeded, and the stretch of wa- 
 ter opened out wider and wider like the creation of an ar- 
 tist's dream. Here a rich man's yacht with languid sail 
 rocked upon the tide, and now a coaster waiting for a tug; 
 crafts of all descriptions were about, all bathed in the soft 
 light; with the shores graduall}' widening, as I say, but an 
 occasional point jutting out quite close to us, and its 
 trees running down to the water' s-edge, Narcissus-like, to 
 see. their wealth of beauty reflected in the waves. 
 
 I remarked a little way back in my history that Edna's 
 health appeared to have in no wi^e suffered from the men- 
 tal strain I should have thought she must have been put to 
 
THK ROMANCK OF AN ALIIIR Ki;o. 221 
 
 under Rebecca's manipulations. This was conspicuously 
 so now, for as the soft breezes kissed her cheeks her elas- 
 ticity of spirits returned till I thought I had never seen 
 her so bright and dazzling. Except during that brief 
 moment of awakening in the cell, she refused to speak of 
 her experiences in New York, and from one or two ol)ser- 
 vations that she let drop I am inclined to believe they were 
 not very distinct in her memory, and that her mind re- 
 verted to the period of our intercourse just before I left 
 her so abruptly to return to New York. What I mean is 
 that she was leaving the recollection of the city along with 
 the city itself behind her, and that the intervening time 
 between the period of her arrival there and the present 
 was 9. blank more or less complete. It remained with me 
 to avail myself of her forgetfulness as I saw fit. The ob- 
 servation to which I particularly allude Vv'as a proposal for 
 me to take her on the following day that very drive which 
 our rupture had interfered with, speaking as if nothing- 
 had intervened, but a simple lovers' quarrel. 
 
 On arriving at her home we found that Mr. Dalzelle 
 was expected by the evening boat, and after seeing her 
 made comfortable, I took up my old quarters at the farm- 
 house, much to Mr, Crummels' delectation. He ap- 
 peared genumely glad to see me once again, though 
 deeply curious as to what my ulterior object might be. 
 Inasmuch as this was yet obscure in my own mind, 1 
 failed to enlighten him; but as I sat on the piazza that 
 afternoon and talked with him as of yore, everything 
 seemed so natural and unchanged that I could hardly ima- 
 gine I had been away. I picked up the thread of my pre- 
 
222 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 vioLis life exactly \vhere it had iM-oken, and could imagine 
 things settling down exactly in their old lines. 
 
 This impression was deepened by a visit later in the 
 evening from Mr. Dalzelle himself, who spoke about his 
 daughter's return in the most every-day manner, accept- 
 ing our reunion quite as a mattter of course. 
 
 The fact is, I don't believe Mr. Dalzelle credited one- 
 half of what I had told him. He considered me an im- 
 , petuous, hasty, imaginative personage, apt to go off at half- 
 cock. Besides, I think he had a wholesome terror of Re- 
 becca, and, like many good-natured men, a natural anti- 
 pathy to trouble. Excusing himself on the grounds that 
 his daughter was of age, and that he could do nothing to 
 control her cCiiduct, he had allowed things to take their 
 own course. That he was passionately fond of his 
 daughter, however, I have no doubt, and that he was a 
 little afraid of her also I am inclined to believe. He 
 certainly knew nothing of my arrest, but during this 
 very period, as I subsequently learned, he was en- 
 gaged in some very important business transactions which 
 monopolized most of his time and thoughts, rendering 
 him less inclined than he might otherwise have been to in- 
 vestigate closely anything else. 
 
XLI. 
 
 But I must turn to the condition of public affairs which 
 yet I have only hinted at, but with which my own fate was 
 to be most unexpectedly interwoven. 
 
 It was a time of growing luxury for the wealthy. It 
 was a time of destitution for the poor. It was a time of 
 despair for the many and of dread for the few. It was 
 a time of agitation and of heated discussion and sporadic 
 conflicts between employer and employed. Men's minds 
 were a little unstrung. The grim walls of the factory, 
 mutatis mutandis, had got to be viewed somewhat as the 
 castles of the French noblemen in the latter days of the 
 last century, and the speculator in wheat as the Fermier 
 General of the same epoch. Even that public benefactor 
 and philantropist, the railroad director, was not excepted 
 from the general criticism, and his control of the high- 
 ways of travel was said by many to be as complete and 
 despotic as when the border baron collected tolls upon 
 them at the mouth of the blunderbuss and the culverine. 
 
 In the haphazard, don't-care-a-damn manner of our 
 development, it is true that there had been opportuni- 
 ties for enormous increase of wealth by the few, and it is 
 further true that 30 much of this had been acquired by 
 piratical methods that all wealth, ay, down to the mode- 
 rate man's competency, was beginning to stink in the nos- 
 
 223 
 
2 24 THE ROMANCE OK AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 trils of the man who had nothing. Ov^er this troubled 
 horizon the prophet of a new creed had arisen, promising 
 rehef to the many from their burdens by a single tax. 
 
 In propounding his creed he asked some curious ques- 
 tions. 
 
 For instance, where were we coming to with all this vast 
 aggregation of wealth ? Whether, too, the rich, with all 
 their talk about the sacred rights of property, were as 
 thoughtful of the obligations of property, and, while ready 
 to ape the manners of an aristocracy, whether they had 
 not neglected every public duty, except where money 
 could be made out of it ? 
 
 In short, the tenor of his criticisms was that *Waissez 
 /aire," roughly speaking, meant " every man for himself 
 and the devil take the hindmost," which, closely analyzed, 
 might mean, again, that the sharp, shrewd business man 
 had been given an unfair advantage over the simple man, 
 and that while the many toiled the few had reaped. 
 
 To meet these outrageous assertions and cavilings on 
 a state of things that had never been so much as ques- 
 tioned before, there was talk on the part of the few of a 
 strong government, and the grim shadow of the Man on 
 Horseback began to steal over the landscape. Neverthe- 
 less, the world wagged on much as before, and particu- 
 larly in the rural districts, where the new doctrines had 
 taken as yet little hold, except for discussion at an oc- 
 casional political meeting or debating club. 
 
 Yet here, in the neighborhood of Mr. Dalzelle's, a phi- 
 losophical mind might have found food for contemplation. 
 Nine farms out of every ten were mortgaged, and in con- 
 
THK ROMAXCE OF AN ALTl.R EGO. 22^ 
 
 sequence the steady deterioration of a class of people I 
 can find no better word to define than yeomanry, was con- 
 spicuous; people who forty years ago were rich in the 
 unincumbered possession of farms of a hundred acres, 
 and whose homes nothing that is being built now seems 
 exactly to replace. "Western competition," the old mil- 
 ler had given me as an explanation of this retrogression 
 when I had once asked him the cause, and perhaps he was 
 right. To me, however, it rather seems due to the tempta- 
 tions for financial profit that our spider-like cities gener- 
 ally throw as a web about the countr}. that surrounds them. 
 They not only drav.' iu lo themselves the young men from 
 vocations where there is room for all, to professions 
 which are over-crowded, but they catch the hard-earned 
 gains of the farmer in speculative enterprises, giv^ing 
 that restless, nervous intensity to our lives, also, which 
 results in making a few rich at the expense of the many 
 poor. 
 
 I had stopped for Edna in the buggy at the hour agreed 
 to on the previous day, and had touched upon the above 
 subjects, political and other, as we drove along. Indeed, 
 a feeling of constraint was on both of us, and this con- 
 straint evmced itself in the abstract turn our conversation 
 took. For though I had picked up the thread of my 
 past life exactly where it had been broken off, I had yet 
 formulated no plans for th^ future. 
 
 My only immediate purpose, to repeat, had been to get 
 Edna away from the influence of Rebecca, regardless of 
 any duties and obligations that act might entail of itself. 
 I doubted, too, whether our quarrel preceding our separa- 
 
226 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 tion had been forgotten as completely as the circum- 
 stances succeeding it appeared to have been, and, though 
 she avoided any allusion to it, the uncertainty as to 
 whether it was still in her mind increased the awkward- 
 ness of my situation, and my own discomfiture probably 
 reacted on her. 
 
 As we drove along, however, this constraint gradually 
 wore off ; and as we turned to go home, and a bend in the 
 road disclosed the white steeple of the little village church, 
 she looked up with the pensive air that had previously 
 been so habitual to her. 
 
 " What peacefulness a spire seen over trees gives to a 
 view !" she said. 
 
 "Yes," I replied ; "a steeple inspires hope." 
 
 I don't know how it was ; I had been sitting next to her 
 in close contact all the afternoon, but somehow she 
 seemed to press up to me more closely as I spoke, to 
 nestle to me, as it were, in repentance for her cruelty of 
 the past. In an instant my aim went about her waist, 
 and for once she did not resist. 
 
 " Why will you not let me realize the hope that steeple 
 inspires ?" I said, on a wild chance. *' We are near the 
 church ; let us stop and have my longings set at rest !" 
 
 At first she actually appeared yielding, and the next 
 moment to be held back by her old doubts. Her hesita- 
 tion caused me to press my point more earnestly, and by 
 the time ve had got opposite the parsonage she dia yield. 
 I hurriedly descended and tied the horse. I was agitated 
 myself, her acquiescence took me so completely by sur- 
 prise, and yet I must be quick to prevent any change of 
 
tiil: romance of an alter ego. 227 
 
 humor. 1 knocked at the door of the parsonage, and was 
 told that the minister was in the garden. I hurried thither, 
 only to discover a hired man pruning some peach trees. 
 From him I learned that instead of his master being in the 
 garden, however, he had just taken his gig for a visit of 
 consolation to a sick parishioner. I got the latter's ad- 
 dress, but on my return to the buggy she had regained 
 her composure and absolutely refused to follow the min 
 ister on his travels. As for me, too, I also had weakened. 
 When it came to the point, could I marry a woman who 
 had played the part of Aspasia through the .streets of 
 New York ? But if I were not ready to marry her, what 
 was I here for ? Utterly illogical and absurd as it was for 
 me to remain, I could not yet make up my mind to re- 
 linquish her, so we drove back in t'^e soft afternoon light, 
 through the sleepy fishing village, past the brightly painted 
 oyster boats that were just returning from their day's 
 work, past the old historic mill which had ground flour for 
 General Washington, over the milldam, and along the 
 locust-fringed road — a road whose beauty not even the ad- 
 vertisements to use Mandrake Bitters or to ''Shake No 
 More " could quite defare ; nor whose tranquility the 
 rumors that were becoming frequent of labor troubles and 
 of encounters with Pinkerton detectives could quite 
 disturb. 
 
XLII. 
 
 I FOUND my position absolutely absurd and illogical, 
 and my dilemma was no little increased by my perplexity 
 as to Edna's conduct (irresponsible as she was for it) 
 while in New York. Under these circumstances you will 
 appreciate how welcome was the letter I found awaiting 
 me on my return from my drive. It was from Mr. Star. 
 He informed me that Rebecca was still under arrest and 
 had been as yet unable to find securities for her bail ; fur- 
 ther, that Lyman, the detective, had not yet returned from 
 Chicago, nor could he obtain by telegraphing him any ex- 
 planation of his long delay. What came after atoned for 
 this last discouraging piece of news, since he assured me 
 that he had just seen Dr. Henry, and in a long con- 
 versation with him had learned, on his w^ord as a gentle- 
 man, that the experiments Edna had been subjected to 
 while under the influence of mesmerism were guarded in 
 such a way as to leave not the slightest blemish on her 
 character. In conclusion the letter said : 
 
 *' They were merely tentative and made in the interest 
 of science, of which the doctor is an enthusiastic dis- 
 ciple." 
 
 " I will, however, keep you informed of what goes on 
 here, but as I have to appear in court in less than fifteea 
 
 228 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. SSQ 
 
 minutes, I must ask your permission to close somewhat 
 abruptly. 
 
 " Believe me, 
 
 " Always very trulv yours, 
 
 "Reglvald p. Star." 
 
 The letter relieved my mind of my greatest perplexity 
 — a perplexity that I could hardly formulate in language. 
 Cleared of this, my course was distinct and clean cut. I 
 would try once more to make Edna have her marriage 
 annulled, and then I would be free towed her. I walked 
 out on the piazza to think over the good tidings, and here 
 found Mr. ('rummels anxiously pacing up and down. He 
 was in a condition that for him was one of unusual mental 
 disturbance. 
 
 *' I guess there'll be lively times to-night over to the 
 village," he observed. ** You see the boys is goin' to dis- 
 cuss these yere doctrines of Henry George in the Debatin' 
 Club. What do yer say to be one of the party ? I'm 
 goin' over myself, and you've been away so long I'd like 
 your company." 
 
 '* Mr. Crummels," I returned, '' I've had enough ex- 
 citements lately of a personal character without wishing 
 to incur any of a political sort. I think, therefore, I shall 
 forego the temptation this time." 
 
 Mr. Crummels' face fell. '' It's about the only sport, 
 barrin' a church picnic or a funeral, the boys has 'round • 
 here, and they makes the most of it, you bet. Won't yer ^ 
 change that opinion of yours 'round now for one to go ?" 
 
 " Mr. Crummels, my resolution is unalterable; but go 
 yourself, and may the advocates of the pernicious doc- 
 
 i 
 
• 
 
 230 THE ROMANCK OF AN ALTER F.OO. 
 
 trines be brought through your arguments to see the un- 
 righteousness of their cause. God be with you!" 
 
 *' Say," observed Mr. Crunniiels, stopping short, "did 
 yer ever know ole Squire Hoi)k.ins ?" 
 
 I expressed my regrets for the pleasure denied me. 
 
 '' Wall, whenever I hear the Scri])tures quoted I thinks 
 of ole Squire Hopkins. He was always spoutin' it his- 
 self, and, if you'll excuse my saying so, he was yet the dog- 
 gondest screw these yere parts has ever produced. His 
 fnigers itched for every man's dollars and seemed coated 
 with glue to which they all stuck. Whenever he put out 
 a copper it was always tied with a bit of elastic that 
 snapped it back with interest, and before lettin' it go he 
 squeezed it so tight as to leave the stamp of the eagle im- 
 pressed in his palm. Every farm hereabouts gradually 
 got to have a mortgage on it, and every mortgage some- 
 how got to stand in Squire Hopkins' name. What he 
 couldn't get by fair means he got by foul, and every case 
 as was brought in court always found the jury fixed in his 
 interest. After skinning the folks out of all they had, 
 after rakin' the whole county, as it was, with a fine-tooth 
 comb for dollars, Squire Hopkins died. What do yer 
 think the openin' words of his willwas ? * I die in peace 
 wi^i God and forgive all my neighbors.' " 
 
 I expressed my deep sense of approval of this beautiful 
 sentiment. 
 
 " Now, if it hadn't been for the Squire I'd ha' been a 
 richer man. ile firs<- lent the money on this yere farm^ 
 an' then sold it to Mr. Dalzelle. 'Tain't that I'm exactly 
 apoorman, but then I ain't never got much cash handy." 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 231 
 
 I had a vague suspicion of what was coming. 
 
 "And I was thinkin'," continued Mr. Crummeis, work- 
 ing around in the usual circuitous, though skillful, way to 
 his point, "that if you'd just loan me five dollars to put 
 on top of the bill you gave me the last time you was here 
 for clearin'out the cellar, I'd kind of seem more respect- 
 able if I was called upon at the meetin' for drinks." 
 
 Mr. Crummeis had fairly earned the money, so, without 
 more ado, I presented him \vilh a five dollar bill. 
 
 "I'll just take it off the account for yer board," he 
 said; *' that's the easiest way to fix it. Good-by," he 
 contiimed, and then he stopped again. *'Bythe way," 
 he hesitated, " talking about Squire Hopkins sot me 
 thinkin'. Don't yer suppose it might be the doin's rf jist 
 such folks as him as has started all this yere talk about 
 the land question ? I don't mean only 'round here, but 
 through the county generally, for he was a grabber from 
 Grabbersville, and that's a place as ain't cleaned out of 
 inhabitants yet." 
 
 Mr. Crummeis' remarks opened up an extensive mine of 
 thought, and while I was pondering on what he said he 
 started in the direction of the village. 
 
 I have moralized on the consequences that were to ensue, 
 in due course of time, because of the first five dollar bill I 
 had given him before my departure from New York; the 
 consequences flowing from my second gift — or let me call 
 it loan — while less direct, will, at all events, be seen to be 
 momentous. 
 
 Hearing the sound of chopping in the neighborhood of 
 the stable, I walked over in that direction, to find old Abe 
 
23a TI'F. ROMANCE OF AN AI.TKR EGO. 
 
 employed in splittinji; up some kindling wood. On cas- 
 ually mentioning to him that his master had gone to the 
 village for the purpose of attending a meeting of the de- 
 bating society, [ was surprised £0 notice a broad smile 
 parting his head from ear to ear as he looked up. 
 
 '* Oh! he's gone to the dehatin* sassiety, has he ? Well, 
 I guess he won't be home early." 
 
 Then he resumed his chopping. It has fallen in the 
 
 ] line of my experience to see wood chopped before now, 
 but I must admit I never saw any one handle the axe 
 with quite the dexterity old Abe did. In his hands it 
 appeared verital?ly alive, and a trick he had of passing 
 it over his head with a double flourish when any one 
 was looking at him, raised the performance into the 
 realms of high art. At last he stopped abruptly. " He's 
 gone to the debatin' sassiety, has he ?" he repeated, 
 and then, just as I thought his oracular utterances 
 were to cease, " Well, I guess," he added, ** it won't be de 
 fust time." 
 
 Finding he would give no further particulars, I 
 wandered back to the house. Some deep mystery 
 seemed connected with these meetings other than ap- 
 peared on their face. When I alluded to the subject 
 to Mrs. Crummels, a suggestive silence fell over her 
 and she continued to set the table for my supper 
 
 . with a nervous haste equally inexplicable. Next I 
 tfied her daughters; but here again I was met with abso- 
 lute failure, for on my mentioning the topic to them one 
 began to giggle and the other burst into tears. Could Mr. 
 Crummels be a revolutionist in disguise? I wondered. 
 
TIIK KOMANCK OF AN AITIiR V.C.O. 233 
 
 Altogotlicr it was a most extraordinary state of affairs, 
 aiul, really feeling anxious about the matter, [ walked 
 down the lane towards the water, hoping to find a solution 
 mirrored in its crystal depths. Now, the lane, as I have 
 before intimated, was lined with cedars and led down to 
 the beach, which was some five hundreil yards away. On 
 each side of the lane the fields were cleared so that the 
 eye had an unobstructed view right and left. Fixcept from 
 the piazza, however, the beach was concealed by a chain 
 of low-lying sand hills fringed with alderberry and ai- 
 lantus bushes, and until one had arrived at the head of the 
 lane, and was beyond the trees and shrubbery immedi- 
 ately surrounding the house, only a partial glimpse could 
 naturally be had of either fields or water. 1 had just 
 reached the head of the lane, and was walking down it, 
 when I detected in the field to the right, and a little more 
 than half way to the beach, an object which, taking 
 everything into consideration, was the very last object any 
 one would naturally have expected to find standing here 
 in an open field some seven miles distant from the near- 
 est railroad station, and considerably off the line of travel 
 for tramps. The object I allude to was an Italian organ 
 grinder. His organ was resting on its wooden leg, so to 
 speak ; he was perfectly motionless and seemed to be 
 observing the house. Dressed in dark clothes, with his 
 swarthy face making a black spot on the landscape, he 
 appeared to have been transported hither for the special 
 purpose of casting a shadow over the fair scene. I walked 
 down towards him to learn his business, and when he de- 
 tected me he moved away rapidly, and, slipping into the 
 
«34 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 hushes that fringed the back of the beach, disappeared. 
 Not to be so easily given the slip, I climbed over the fence 
 that separated the lane from the field, and proceeded to 
 the spot where he had entered the bushes. Here I saw 
 the marks of footsteps in the sandy soil, but though I 
 searched the ground thoroughly he was not to be found. I 
 even walked out on the beach, where there was an unolj- 
 structed view up and down for considerably over a mile. 
 There was not a soul in sight. The underbrush barely 
 reached to my shoulder, and how he had managed with 
 such scant cover to get away with his instrument, much 
 less with himself, was a puzzle. After half an hour's 
 fruitless endeavor to discover him I returned to the house 
 for a supper that had grown cold by waiting. 
 
XLIII 
 
 \ Supper over, I consumed a brief half-hour with the pa- 
 pers, and then walked across to Mr. Dalzelle's, where I 
 have forgotten to state that I had promised to meet Edna. 
 I found her on the little piazza of the sumnier-house on he 
 edge of the beach, with a rustic table holding coffee and 
 liqueurs. |l 
 
 It was a beautiful night The moon, like a great ball of 
 subdued fire, was just rising from her liquid bed, strewing, 
 the waves right up to our very feet as with of ducats of 
 reddened gold. Here and there, just off the shore, the 
 lanterns of eel-spearers glided mysteriously along, the 
 oars in the rowlocks of their boats chiming in with, 
 rather than disturbing, the soft lapping of the wavelets on 
 the beach. Nevertheless, poetic as was the scene, senti- 
 mental as was the hour, I could not quite shake off a 
 slightly disagreeable impression left on my mind by the 
 organ grinder. It chilled the satisfaction Mr. Star's letter 
 had given me, and carried back my thoughts to the city 
 and my sinister experiences there. Perhaps because of 
 this, I lost my spirit for addressing Edna on the subject I 
 had most at heart, and turned the conversation on my 
 fruitless search instead of my fruitless courtship. 
 
 " I don't know that I am more heartless than the ave- 
 
 235 
 
2T^(i THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 rage of humanity," I continued, ''but I confess I bear 
 a grudge against these modern troubadours." 
 
 **And so do I," she exclaimed quiclcly. *' From my very 
 earliest childhood they have haunted me. Never did my 
 poor mother send me supperless to bed, never did I have 
 one of those hopeless attacks of depression common to all 
 children, that an organ-grinder did not come, place him- 
 self beneath my window, grinding out the 'Miserere,* 
 or some equally melancholy old Italian opera, to make my 
 cup of misery complete." She dropped her chin on her 
 hand and looked pensively over the waters. 
 
 *' It's rather odd, though, that you could not find him," 
 she resumed at last, recurring to the itinerant musician; 
 " he was here this afternoon, and they told me over at 
 the farm that he had been about there all the morn- 
 tn-." 
 
 " Well, I didn't see him," I returned, and I had 
 nerved myself up to allude to a more tender topic when 
 the debating society of Mr. Crummels inconsiderately 
 came in my head, and I went on to speak of it, asking why 
 there was so much mystery connected with his attendance, 
 and wherein these differed from other meetings of a like 
 character. 
 
 This time Edna laughed herself. 
 
 " Well, you'll probably discover before long. Poor Mr. 
 Crummels! he's a pattern of all the virtues except industry 
 for about six consecutive weeks; then he makes ample 
 amends. Remember, however, that the life of a man of 
 his kind is extremely monotonous, and we who have so ' 
 many resources should be the last to throw stones." 
 
TIIK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER P:G0. 23* 
 
 She had dropped her chin again into her fair white 
 hand, and her eyes were directed over the water with the 
 same wistful expression I had noticed before that evening. 
 The light of the moon was falling full upon her face, and 
 I, on my part, sat silently contemplating her as she sat 
 there, thinking over my adventure with her this very after- 
 noon, and wondering what would have been the result 
 had she taken me at my word. 
 
 Suddenly the light left her and she became submerged 
 in darkness. The transition was so abrupt that I started, 
 and, casting my glance seaward for an explanation, no- 
 ticed that a passing sail had intercepted the rays of the 
 queen of the night. The vessel was near in shore, and in 
 endeavoring to come alTOut had evidently missed stays. 
 The voices of the crew were born distinctly, to our ears over 
 the water, and the noises of the ropes working through 
 the blocks. Owing to the slightness of the breeze, she 
 was hardly sailing, but she managed to get about some- 
 how, and drifted slowly on her course. 
 
 *' Do you know, I have often thought a vessel Decalmed 
 was like a person in a trance," Edna observed at last 
 *' with all the powers of movement petrified for want of the 
 breath of life to waken her." 
 
 " The analogy is rather far fetched," I replied, ''though 
 I suppose it has certain points of resemblance. But why 
 do you dwell on such gloomy topics ?" 
 
 " Well, then, how selfish human nature is, if you like 
 that better !" she continued; " not naturally cruel, per- 
 haps, but so self-engrossed. Take that vessel again, for 
 instance; how little we think of her, whence she comes 
 
238 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 or whitlier she goes, wrapped up as we are in the halo that 
 surrounds the narrow personality of each of us." 
 
 Here was my chance ; sentiment engendered sentiment 
 in return, and there is .0 policy that, is so well calcu- 
 lated to put you right \vith a woman as to put her in the 
 wrong. 
 
 '* Yes," I observed, ''what you say is true. Some of 
 us are so self-engrossed that it does amount to cruelty." 
 I laid particular stress upon the last word. " Nothing 
 short of cruelty," I went on, "and I have arrived at the 
 conclusion that the cruelty of woman is more unreflecting 
 than that of man. Now see here, Edna," I continued, 
 taking her hand, "don't you think you're treating me 
 very cruelly ?" 
 
 *' How so?" she asked, with feigned surprise. 
 
 "Well, at least you're drifting out of my life just as 
 that schooner has done." 
 
 " What would you have ?" 
 
 " I would have your confidence; I would have you ap- 
 ply for a divorce and break off this marriage, so that you 
 will have no excuse to refuse me what I asked this after- 
 noon." 
 
 I had risen and was standing over her. My arms, or 
 at least one of them was raised to enforce my remarks. 
 Without any visible rhyme or reason, she suddenly shrank 
 away from me. - 
 
 *'Put your hands down!" she cried, with an accent I 
 had never heard her employ before. ** Put them down, 
 or I leave you immediately and go into the house!" 
 
 She had risen, also ; the light of the moon was shining 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 239 
 
 upon her face, and she looked at me so wildly that she 
 quite terrified me. I dropped my arms, and even sink 
 my hands into my pockets. My action seemed to have 
 a quieting effect, and she gradually regained her coiit- 
 posure. 
 
 "Sit down again," she observed at last, "and don't 
 mind what I have just said. There, there, don't ask me for 
 any explanation ; I am excitable, that is all. It terrific.'- ,• 
 me when some people raise their arms, perhaps because I 
 fear they are going to strike me. Smoke a fresh cigar; 
 see, I will light it for you." And she actually put one 
 between her lips and lighted it herself. There was too 
 plainly an effort to distract my thoughts from her ex- 
 traordinary terror — an effort that resulted in conduct 
 quite foreign to her nature. 
 
 Her terror, however, though accentuated, was on a line 
 with conduct I had noticed in her at times before. In 
 spite of her desire to appear at ease and her request for 
 me to stay, I could not help noticing that she was anxious 
 for my departure; and as, I am frank to confess, I was no 
 little disturbed myself, I brought the interview to a close. 
 It was not till I arrived home that I guessed the solution 
 of her behavior. And as I look back now, my only ex- 
 cuse for not having hit upon it while I was with her is the 
 hopeless confusion my mind was reduced to by so many 
 conflicting perplexities. Indeed, I cannot help wonder- 
 ing how it was I had any mind left ; and as if I had not 
 had enough excitement during the evening, I was aroused 
 towards morning, by the most awful din at the front 
 door it has ever been my misfortune to hear. In the 
 
240 THE l^OMANCE OF AN AI.TKR EGO. 
 
 confusion of my sudden awakening I seized my pistol 
 and rushed down-stairs. There was a hurried scampering 
 before me, as I descended into the hall, of females in 
 demi-toilet, and their presence rather reassured me on 
 the subject of marauders. The knocker was still going 
 like mad, however ; and concluding that burglars would 
 hardly announce their coming in so conventional a man- 
 ner, I made bold to open the door. Here I encountered 
 Mr. Crummels, in a state, I regret to say, of extreme in- 
 toxication, and with him Squire Smith, whom I had met 
 once at Mr. Dalzelle's. He was acting as his Fidus 
 Achates and was endeavoring to get him into the house 
 quietly. 
 
 As I was a little uncertain regarding my duties in the 
 matter, I was extremely relieved to see Mrs. Crummels 
 descending the stairs again, only this time in an India 
 shawl and a highly indignant frame of mind. Under the 
 circumstances, I concluded that my services could be dis- 
 pensed with, so I discreetly retired to my room. Arrived 
 there, I must confess a more successful piece of strategy 
 than this good woman displayed in the management of 
 her husband I never witnessed (through the crack of any 
 door). Her very appearance seemed to have a sobering 
 effect, and instead of telling him to come into the house, 
 which he had just been refusing to do for the squire, she 
 insisted upon the squire carrying him back to the village 
 in his buggy. Whereupon Mr. Crummels became deeply 
 repentant, and pleaded to be allowed to enter. On her 
 reply that if he was permitted to enter he would have to 
 sleep on a mat in the hall, Mr. Crummels insisted upon 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 24I 
 
 coming up-stairs; and finally, when his spouse, rising to a 
 climax of diplomacy, stated that if he was allowed to come 
 up-stairs he would be permitted under no circumstances 
 to enter her sanctuary, that gentleman, becoming obstinate 
 again, insisted on doing so, and was finally disposed of 
 presumably between the sheets of his wife's chaste couch. 
 Next morning Mr. Crummels failed to present himself. 
 I was late in making my own appearance, and it was con- 
 siderably past ten o'clock before my breakfast- was served. 
 
XLIV. 
 
 There are certain occasions when the mind, I believe, 
 instinctively prepares itself for some great crisis, and 
 when the very atmosphere assists in accentuating our 
 condition of expectancy. This forenoon was one of them. 
 I think that the reader will agree with me that the next 
 few days of my life equal in dramatic incident anything 
 that he has met with in the domain of light literature, and 
 that all that I had gone through was a feeble index to 
 what is coming. Something told me that this climax, 
 though much delayed, was drawing on. Something told 
 me that I had been brought back here to this peaceful re- 
 treat for some catastrophe that could not have been ac- 
 complished in the city, and that, in short, all my comings, 
 goings, and dilemmas were but predestined and pre- 
 arranged steps leading up to the grand acme of my for- 
 tunes. The very quiet that reigned over all things told me; 
 the stillness and the repose. Never shall I forget the 
 absolute deadness of that morning as I sat at my open 
 window and looked out. The very buzzing of the flies 
 intensified it, the humming of the bees too; all nature 
 seemed to hesitate, to stop, and to stand still. And yet, 
 as I sat there, I resolved that I would bring my affairs 
 with Edna to an issue this very day. I would not have it on 
 my conscience that I had not done all that I could to sim- 
 
 !42 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 243 
 
 plify my situation with her. Unless she would definitely 
 promise to take immediate steps to annul her marriage, I 
 would bid her good-by forever. Any other course now 
 than this was weakness, and I would not submit to remain- 
 ing longer in the dubious position I occupied. I had got 
 up with the intention of putting my plan into immediate 
 execution, I had even reached the door of my apartment 
 and my hand was on the handle, when the deep, impressive 
 silence was broken by the jingle of music accompanied by 
 the deep baying of the taithful old watch-dog, Tobey. I 
 started and looked about me, and there, just outside, was 
 an organ-grinder. He was ducking and bowing at me 
 smiling and grimacing, and I recognized him immediately 
 as the subject of my fruitless search the previous evening. 
 There was something sinister about his reappearance, and 
 I hastened out and demanded an explanation of his extra- 
 ordinary behavior of yesterday. To all my questions, how- 
 ever, he merely ducked and smiled, muttering disjointed 
 remarks in a language with which I was unfamiliar. Find- 
 ing that he either would not or could not understand me, . 
 I walked over to the kennel of old Tobey, whose every 
 hair was standing on end, and made a motion to unchain 
 him. My gesture was better interpreted than my words. 
 With a scowl I shall remember to my dying day, the 
 unwelcome visitor hoisted his instrument on his back and 
 started up the lane. On gaining the gate he paused and, 
 turning, called down an imprecation on my head. 
 
 I regretted my act as soon as committed. It was un- 
 wise, to say the least, and was almost cowardly. Never- 
 theless I had no inclination to call him back. 
 
244 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 Not until two o'clock could I find Edna — on the beach 
 overseeing the launching of her wherry. Despite the 
 sultriness of the day, she informed me she was going for 
 a row. As this would offer me as good an opportunity as 
 any other to resume my interrupted conversation of the 
 past evening, I assisted the gardener to get the boat into 
 the water; for, the tide being somewhat low, it was neces- 
 sary to traverse a long stretch of sand. I remembered 
 afterwards our difficulty in doing this, and I also remem- 
 bered at the time that the day was Friday, exactly six weeks 
 after the night of the murder at Coney Island. Though 
 she offered no opposition to my coming, I suspect she 
 read the thoughts that were in my mind. The tide was 
 yet running out, and I took up the oars and rowed slowly 
 with it. For some twenty minutes I pulled, and then I 
 took in the oars and laid them deliberately across my 
 knees. 
 
 '* Edna," I said very gravely, *' I want to ask you 
 something." 
 
 Her hand was softly playing in the water, and she 
 looked up in my face. 
 
 "And I want to ask yoii something," she interposed 
 quickly. " Don't you congratulate yourself that 1 did 
 not accede to your request yesterday ?" 
 
 Her question threw me off my line of attack. 
 
 "Yes," she continued, "your sober seco-.id thought 
 causes you to rejoice that you are still free." 
 
 '* But I am not free, for the affection that binds me to 
 you is in no wise weakened because it has not yet been 
 sanctionc ' by the church. I—" 
 
TIIF, KOMANCi: OF AN ALTER EGO. 245 
 
 <( 
 
 How odd it is!" she interrupted me again to exclaim. 
 ** When 1 was so anxious to consider you my husband 
 you strenuously objected, and now, while you appear 
 anxious, I hold back." 
 
 '* l]ut the circumstances have entirely altered," I ob- 
 served, " and I want to speak to you about the determina- 
 tion 1 have come to on this very subject. 1 want you to 
 promise me that you will iminediately begin proceedings 
 to have your marriage annulled." 
 
 I saw that she was becoming aiiitatcd as usual when I 
 touched upon that topic. 1 knew it, though lier face 
 was turned away from me, by a perceptible tremor pass- 
 ing over her, and by the way the bunch of flowers rose 
 and fell on her bosom. Her right hand was still playing 
 with the water, with' the sleeve well rolled up, showing her 
 ivory-white arm, while her left hand was raised to her 
 breast to calm its palpitations. In spite of my determin- 
 ation, I was afraid to continue the subject; something- 
 warned me that 1 had better not, so, clenching my teeth, 
 I began again to row slowly further out into the Sound, 
 cursing myself for my weakness and wondering when and 
 how it was all to end. She was grateful for my forbear- 
 ance, as her next remark proved. 
 
 "I want to speak to you about something quite differ- 
 ent," she said; ''and if I have not alluded to the subject 
 before, you must not think it is because it has been absent 
 from my thoughts. I wish to ask you if you have not 
 yet received any clue as to the mysterious attempts upon 
 your life ?" 
 
 I was surprised, for I had always purposely avoided 
 
^4^ 'inii KOMANCE OF AN ALTF.R EGO. 
 
 the siil)ject, and had no means of supposing tliat she hail 
 not acceptcil the version the newspapers liad given. 
 
 " Do you know," she continued, " 1 can't hel|Uhiiiking 
 that your entanglement with nie is in some way respon 
 sil)le for your danger — or should 1 say your resemblance 
 to my husband ?" 
 
 The mention of her husband caused her to wince, but 
 she continued without other sign of excitement: 
 
 " I sometimes think that he might have been guilty of 
 <<omcthing, or have done something that has drawn down 
 ui)oii your head a vengeance intended for him. Have 
 you taken any precautions for your safety ?" 
 
 " I always go armed," I answered. " I have a trusty 
 friend here that will protect me." And I motioned to my 
 hip pocket. ** Ever since my room was entered I carry 
 it wherever I go." 
 
 *' But why don't you get a detective to follow you 
 wherever you go? If I were you I would ; now promise 
 me that you will." 
 
 "Not to follow me quite wherever I go," I said mean- 
 ingly. ** There are occasions when he might be de 
 tropr 
 
 **But if you knew how anxious I am, the bare idea 
 of my being in any manner instrumental in causing you 
 injury !" 
 
 *' But I don't see how you can be; and besides, judging 
 from my experience of the ' Force,' their services are not 
 of any very great utility. They have proved themselves 
 totally incapable in my case, though I have placed every- 
 thing in their hands." 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTKR EGO. '847 
 
 The matter evidently pained her more than she cared 
 to avow, so I bent to the oars again, wliile she leant way 
 back in the stern and looked at nie with her great, dark 
 hazel eyes. 
 
 *' Do you know you are very odd ?" she said at last. 
 
 "Odd?" I ejaculated, as I stopped rowing. 
 
 *' Yes, very odd ; how did you ever become so ?" 
 
 " I suppose I was born so,'* I replied for the want of a , 
 better excuse. 
 
 *' Sometimes I am almost persuaded that you are my 
 husband after all. I mean that while I know that you are 
 not, you make use of an expression or a word that almost 
 convinces me that you and he are one." 
 
 "Consider me, then, in that light," I answered. "Why 
 do you keep me dangling like a poor fish on a hook^ let- 
 ting me go a little and then suddenly pullmg me back? 
 I never know what to expect with you, for at one moment 
 your kindness lifts me up into heaven, and then ycnir 
 cruelty casts me back to — " (Earth I was going to say, 
 but used a stronger expression beginning with an H). 
 
 I had risen from my seat in the boat and had come over 
 towards her. I knew my face looked appealing into her 
 eyes as I took her unresisting hand. " Why won't you 
 accept me either in the light of your husband or accept 
 my advice ?" , 
 
 "What is your advice ? Tell it to me again." 
 
 ''Either to get a divorce, or to have this marriage 
 annulled." 
 
 "Can't you see — can't you see ?" she cried. "Are 
 you so blind ?" 
 
248 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 '• I can't see any reason if you care for me." 
 
 " Then it is because I am uncertain whether I do caie 
 for you; whether the feeling I have for you is not the love 
 I bear for him ; whether I can give you more than a re- 
 flected affection. Sometimes I think I care for you, for 
 yourself alone, and then again that it is because of your 
 resemblance. Oh ! I don't know what to do — what I 
 ought to do !" And her long dammed-back emotions burst 
 forth in a flood of hysterical tears. So great was their 
 violence that I became uneasy. We were fully two miles 
 now from the shore. I pressed nearer her, trying to con- 
 sple her, when suddenly I recollected her behavior of last 
 evening and the construction I had placed upon it. She 
 had evidently feared I could mesmerize her, and her fear 
 that I might inspired the belief that I could. Once 
 before I knew Rebecca Seaton had put her under the influ- 
 ence to relieve a condition that could not have been much 
 more severe than her present, and did not the occasion 
 warrant my attempting to do so now ? 
 
 I looked at her fixedly in the eyes and made, as well as 
 I could, the passes before her face I had often seen Re- 
 becca make. She resisted; but gradually her opposition 
 ceased. The paroxysms of her hysteria become less vehe- 
 ment. A dazed, vacant look stole over her face. Then, as 
 I continued, the eyes began to close, and she finally fell 
 away into unconsciousness. 
 
 My first feeling was one of relief ; my next of acute 
 alarm. I had merely wished to soothe her — to tran- 
 quilize her. Here she was lifeless on my hands. I tried 
 to waken her, but could not. I splashed water in her 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 249 
 
 face, but she would not come to. I seized the oars, and 
 began to row desperately for the shore, with my eyes 
 fastened on her. There she lay, with a flush of beauty 
 such as I had never seen before on her face, with the color 
 still in her cheeks and her rich, red lips slightly parted. 
 Her hat had fallen and its satin strings were clutched in 
 her hand. At one moment I thought she had actually 
 stopped breathing, and I came and put my face close to 
 her lips. Thank God ! I detected a slight respiration. 
 But it excited me. The touch of her hair intoxicated 
 me ; the perfume of her breath maddened me. I looked 
 out guiltily, fearfully, over the waters. The fishing boats 
 anchored off so far idly rocked upon the tide, and all 
 Nature seemed to whisper that we were alone. This sense 
 of absolute power over her added to my terror; it afforded 
 me as much alarm as her actual condition. I picked up 
 the oars again and rowed with all my might; then, as I 
 rowed, the reverse passes Rebecca Seaton had made to 
 awaken her flashed back to my memory, and I came over 
 towards her and repeated , as well as I could remember, the 
 same. Slowly but surely she responded to these also, and 
 at last I brought her back to life. 
 
 But others possessed the same power over her that I 
 did. I must prevent her helplessness from being preyed 
 on any longer by establishing my right to guard her. A 
 resolution, sprung from my passion and my excitement, 
 seized me. Through my troubled mind, the phases of 
 my extraordinary sifiation thrust themselves one after 
 another. The courts of the land had pronounced us one; 
 was I not justified in confirming this verdict ? They held 
 
 -' <s 
 
250 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 me to the responsibilities of a husband; should I not 
 equally enjoy the rights? Suppose she were even willing 
 to apply for a divorce, he might return before it would be 
 granted. What then? His absence ought to bar his 
 claims without a divorce. Ninety-nine chances out, of a 
 hundred he was dead ; and even if he were not, let him 
 who could get her from me. 
 
 " Stay just where you are," I said, as I turned the bow 
 of the boat in a different direction. 
 
 She looked at me inquiringly in a dazed, half-sleepy 
 way as I headed for the village, which was really closer 
 than her father's residence. 
 
 At the end of some half an hour we reached the village 
 wharf, and, assisting my companion ashore, I made the 
 boat fast. 
 
 " Where are you taking me ?" she inquired. 
 
 "I am taking you to the minister's," I said curtly. 
 ** You are to be my bride." 
 
 "The responsibility, then, be on your own head," she 
 murmured in the same listless way. 
 
 *' I accept it," I answered. 
 
XLV. 
 
 Now, while I recognize in mesmerism a yet unmanage- 
 able force in nature, 1 consider it merely jjhysical and pos- 
 sessed by a limited number of people over a certain other 
 limited few. That it is often combined with sham and 
 deceit is no proof of its inefficacy, but whether it is des- 
 tined to become of great practical value lo the world is 
 another matter. At least Dr. Henry once told me that in 
 the French navy, where surgeons are obliged to study it as 
 one of the branches of their profession, the experience is 
 that not one man in ten can develop sufiicient power to 
 exercise it, and even a smaller percentage of patients are 
 able to be subordinated to it sufficiently to permit of 
 being operated on. 
 
 Nevertheless, in spite of the premonitins I had re- 
 ceived the foregoing evening in the summer .louse, it came 
 upon me like a revelation that I was one of the few that 
 possessed this extraordinary power — I, the most prosaic 
 of men. The discovery explained much that had been 
 incomprehensible to me in Edna's previous behavior, and 
 particularly that fear of my touch, which I had so 
 frequently observed. She had long read the power that 
 unsuspected by myself, lay dormant in me, and she had 
 evidently dreaded my discovering it as much as I dreaded 
 it after it was revealed to me. One word more on a 
 
 251 
 
252 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 su!)ject that Dr. Henry had touched npon. It is this 
 that the habit of being mesmerized grows on one Hke 
 any other habit, till it becomes as strongly developed 
 a craving as that for opium or alcohol, the patient be- 
 coming, however, instead of hardened to its use, more 
 sensitive to its influence by each repetition. In this way 
 I can alone account for the secret struggle I had fre- 
 quently noticed in Edna — a struggle by her physical 
 nature for somethinir that her moral nature both resented 
 and feared. Though she appreciated, before we reached 
 the church, what she was going to be called upon to do, 
 her will power was yet benumbed, and I have no doubt 
 now that her acquiescence was merely because in my 
 inexperience I had not completely de-mesmerized her; she 
 offered no opposition, indeed, to my will, but she trembled 
 violently when I placed upon her fmger the ring the min- 
 ister supplied me with. 
 
 "The responsibility be on your own head," she re- 
 peated again with the same listless air, after the informal 
 ceremony was over; then I kissed her, and she nestled up 
 to me like a frightened bird as we slowly walked back Lo 
 the boat. 
 
XLVI. 
 
 -HAD done what I deemed right, hut I had acted on the 
 spur of an all-bUnding passion. Scarcely had I taken 
 the step before I began to reahze the madness of my con- 
 duct and the wild responsibilities that I had assumed. 
 That the minister had not refused to perform the sacred 
 rite struck me now as extraordinary, but very likely 
 he shared in common with the village the belief that I wiis 
 verital)ly the man who had married her under the name 
 of George Fitzamble, and had called upon him merely 
 to make good any lack of formality in my previous mar- 
 riage. On arriving home my wife pleaded that no change 
 should be made for the present in her mode of life, and 1 
 left her to communicate the tidings to her father in the 
 manner she deemed wisest. 
 
 When I reached my own quarters I learned from the 
 parlor maid that Mr. Crummels had availed himself of a 
 moment when the eye of his faithful spouse was removed 
 from him to slip back to the village again, and that the 
 old colored man had just been directed to go in search of 
 the delinquent. Such was the condition of affairs at the 
 cottage, and I had hardly been home a quarter of an hour 
 when I saw the sable emissary start off. Indeed, I appre- 
 ciated now the reasons why debating societies were a pain- 
 ful subject in that household, and I inferred that atten- 
 
 253 
 
254 the; romance of an alter ego. 
 
 dance at them was an idiomatic form of expression used 
 by Mr. Crumiriels to define a carouse. Infrequent as were 
 these lapses from virtuous paths, however, they made am- 
 ple amends by their severity and long-extended duration 
 when they did occur ; yet, smile as I might, the anxiety 
 and embarrassment, not to say grief, of the household 
 added to the weight that was upon me. 
 
 'I'hat very phrase of Edna's, *' The responsibility of 
 ' your act be, then, on your own head," recurred and re- 
 curred again to my memory. 
 
 After dinner I had intended going over to her father, 
 but before I had finished my meal his servant brought a 
 note from Edna to say that he had been detained in the 
 city over-night and that she had resolved, as for herself, to 
 retire early. Ah God ! Could 1 have foreseen my next 
 meeting with her and what was to transpire during the in- 
 terval ! Her very refusal to see me threw me back on my 
 own thoughts, and my nervous irritability and anticipation 
 of coming evil which I had experienced this morning were 
 redoubled now. I got hold of a novel and tried to read. 
 Why in God's name are all our modern romances conceived 
 on such hackneyed lines ? Is it owing to the copyright 
 laws ? The heroine, the daughter of rich but vulgar pa- 
 rents, marries an English earl ; the scene, all but the first 
 chapter — very often that — laid in England, of whose society 
 the author is as ignorant as a Kalmuck. What arrant 
 snobs we are who have to go to the English peerage for 
 our characters and to foreign lands for the scenes of our 
 tales, when here within eighteen miles of New York such 
 adventures as are about to happen to me could be utilized 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 255 
 
 by the romancer ! Let us create a peerage, if only to keep 
 our beauties, both real and fictitious, at home. I picked 
 up a second book ; it contained the rhapsodies of a widow 
 over a two-year-old cigar stump belonging to a defunct hus- 
 band. This WPS a realistic novel. I threw it aside and 
 took up a third. The last was actually loathsome. I 
 don't set up to be a moralist, but when a young lady suf- 
 fers herself to be ravished by a former lover, and then, 
 because her husband kills him, allows her better half to 
 be killed in turn before her eves without changing a mus- 
 cle of her face — killed, though a word from her would save 
 his life — well then, I say, it is about time to cry halt. Yes, 
 the only approach to originality in the modern novel is 
 indecency, which takes the place of talent. Then I took 
 up a paper. There was the usual assortment of horrors. 
 "Pretty Polly Poggins Found in the School-House with 
 her Tongue Cut Out," is the first pleasing paragraph. 
 "Slays his Son with a Six-Shooter," is the next. * * Eloped 
 with a Bartender," is another. *< Fires the Hospital" 
 is the next ; winding up with " Danny Daniels to Dangle 
 To-day" — all set off with the same wealth of alliteration 
 and of startling type I had so often seen employed in my 
 own case. Are we a nation of bloodthirsty ruffians ? I 
 asked myself, or is it only that we thirst for these blood- 
 thirsty details ? I have often heard it said that crime is 
 a disease, therefore contagious; do we not encourage it 
 and disseminate it by the wide publicity we give it ? 
 
 Everything I touched, books or papers, instead of tend- 
 ing to cheerful thoughts, on the contrary increased the 
 doleful '^rame of mind I was in. Nevertheless, one 
 
256 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. ' 
 
 paper I had glanced over gave me an explanation of Mr. 
 Dalzelle's iinp,xpected departure to the city. It was the 
 i5"z'<?«/;/^ Qr/t'/zr, and I learned that the strikers in the 
 bobtail street-car road, of which he was a director, had 
 at last resorted to violence. They had thrown a car 
 across the track and were endeavoring to prevent the 
 police clearing the way. Not only so, but the strikers 
 in a large sugar refinery were held by some to be respon- 
 sible for burning that building, and the long-threatened 
 labor troubles seemed about to culminate, as they had 
 done a few years before at Pittsburgh, in blood and flame. 
 A circumstance that did not tend to relieve my anxiety oc- 
 curred about half-past ten o'clock namely, the old watch 
 dog, who was usually tied at night to one of the posts of 
 the piazza, poor old Tobey, began making an awful ado, 
 and, when we got to him, expired in our arms with evi- 
 dences of great internal agony. My thoughts thereupon 
 reverted to the organ-grin^ler at whom the poor dog had 
 barked this very morning; while its death increased the 
 anxiety of Mrs. Crummels, too, and the other females of 
 the family, for her husband had not yetreturned, nor even 
 had old Abe, who had gone in quest of him. It was 
 past eleven before I retired to my room, and, finding sleep 
 impossible, I sat down near the window and looked out 
 into the darkness. The wind was sighing through the 
 trees, and as I thought of the dog's death .1 got out my 
 pistol and carefully reloaded it. After that I lay down 
 OL the bed and waited, listening to the clock a^ it ticked 
 away time. It was just striking twelve when I heard car- 
 riage wheels grinding on the gravel. Naturally imagin- 
 
THK KOMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 257 
 
 ing it to be old Abe bringing back Mr. Crumnicls in the 
 buggy, I gave a sigh of reHcf and prepared to go to sleep. 
 Mrs. Crummels evidently was of the same opinion. I 
 heard her descend the stairs in her slippered feet; I heard 
 her unbar and unlock the door; then there was a pause, 
 succeeded by a smothered conversation which T inferred 
 to be with her spouse. Again I distinguished the wheels 
 crunching the gravel as the vehicle drove away. I was 
 turning over with an increased sense of .satisfaction that 
 Mr. Crununels had at last got back, and the horse was 
 being driven over to the stable, when [ heartl footsteps 
 approaching my door, after that a knock. I got up hur- 
 riedly, but before I could open it Mrs. Crummels pushed 
 an envelope under the sill. It was a telegram. I broke 
 it open hastily, and read these words : 
 
 " Lyman just returned from Chicago bringing informa- 
 tion that may solve mystery. Call upon me early to- 
 morrow, but in the meanwhile be on your guard, as you 
 are in inuuinent danger from those who know iio mercy. 
 
 " Reginald P. Star." 
 
 '* They've just sent it from the depot," Mrs. Crummels 
 said. " It was received at the office early in the evening, 
 but they could get no one to bring it over." 
 
 *'Then call the person back who brought it." 
 ' " It's too late, sir ; he is by this time far out of 
 reach." 
 
 I requested Mrs. Crummels to wait for a moment, until 
 I could decide whether to tell her or not the substance of 
 the telegram. If I told her it might unduly alarm her, and 
 yet she, as well as the entire household, shared any peril that 
 
258 THE ROMANCb- OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 might threaten mc. Certainly no attempt was likely to be 
 made upon me ^7ithollt superior force to back it up, and, 
 under these circumstances, it might be advisable either to 
 get the family out of the house altogether or to secure 
 assistance from Mr. Dalzelle. Mr. Dalzelle was away in 
 the city, however, and it would scarcely be right to draw 
 upon his limited resources. Besides, if I went myself for 
 such assistance, I would leave the house entirely unpro- 
 tected during my absence. On the whole, the best thing 
 to do was to ask Mrs. Crummels to send one of the ser- 
 vants, or even one of her daughters, over to a cottage at 
 the further end of the property, which was inhabited by a 
 couple of men who worked for Mr. Dalzelle. 
 
 Mrs. Crummels started off down-stairs on her mission, 
 only to return a moment later with the reply that her 
 daughters absolutely refused to go, while the servants 
 vowed they would throw uj) their situations first. Explain- 
 ing to her, therefore, as much as I deemed necessary, I 
 persuaded her to go back to her room and wait for her 
 husband, whose return, I argued, could now be not much 
 longer delayed. Then, to be ready for any emergency, 
 I slipped on my clothes and lay down on my bed again 
 with my pistol fully cocked at my side. 
 
 Now, it is a curious fact going to prove the perversity 
 of human nature, that when you desire to sleep it 
 often happens that you are unable to do so, while if you 
 wish to stay awake you never can. I instinctively re- 
 cognized that probably at no period of my life had I more 
 cause to keep my eyes open, and yet their lids never felt 
 so heavy. I felt that some event of terrible import was 
 
lUV. KOMANCK or< AN ALII'.R F.CO. 259 
 
 on the eve of occurrence, some event wliich was to briuj; 
 to a head the extraordinary circuiustances oi the past few 
 months; and yet I ahnost bcHeve that had I been sus- 
 pended by a cord about the neck I would have dropped 
 into the untimely slumber that I did. 
 
 I was disturbed by the slamming of a door. I do not 
 say I was awakened by it, but I was brought back to a 
 state of semi-consciousness. For a moment I lay there 
 drowsily reasoning on the occurrence, which I was just 
 attributing to the entrance into the house of a horrible 
 genius, who had taken possession of it, when my own 
 door was burst open and a flood of burning light struck 
 my eyes. 
 
 ** Get up ! get up !" I heard a familiar voice cry. " The 
 house is on fire, and in another moment the stairs will go." 
 
 I sprang to my feet, forgetting my pistol, and found 
 Mrs. Crummels and the household gathered in the hall. 
 They were nearly paralyzed with terror, and were wringing 
 their hands at the sight of the flames leaping all about 
 them and at the volumes of smoke. How the fire had 
 secured such a headway before it was discovered seemed 
 at the time a miracle, only to be accounted for by the 
 long drought and the consequent dryness of the aged 
 timbers. I learned afterwards that kerosene was to a 
 greater degree responsible. The wall paper was actually 
 burning when I reached the hall. 
 
 "Follow me!" I cried, and, seizing a female in each 
 arm, I pushed the rest helter-skelter down the stairs, 
 which were crackling under our feet. Though the flames ■ 
 seemed veritably to leap after us, we reached the lower 
 
26o THE romancp: of an altf.r t.c.o. 
 
 Ilooi" in safe y, and I set to work to nnl)()lt the main door. 
 1 attacked it with a desperation little sliort of fury for the 
 heat was terrible. The hinyjes turned outward, but, 
 though I had slipped all the bolts, I found I could not 
 move it. 1 applied all my weight to it, and at last it 
 swung open, and 1 was precipitated out by the very force 
 of my own exertions. Necessarily I was unprepared to 
 resist any attack; I felt myself sudilenly caught by each 
 arm ; I saw four masked faces near my own ; 1 saw the 
 women who were following me thrust back into the burn- 
 ing building, and then, as the door was closed upon them, 
 " (lod damn you!" I heard whispered in my ear, " we've 
 got you at last." 
 
 The shrieks of those women still ring in my ears. Sud- 
 denly they ceased and an ominous silence ensued, broken 
 only l)y the roaring of the flames. Yet I fought desper- 
 ately ; I would rather die than bear on my conscience the 
 death of those poor creatures because of me. I offered 
 my fortune, everything in the world that I had, if they 
 should only be saved froni that fiery furnace. As well 
 appeal to demons; the whites of my captors' eyes gleamed 
 vindictively through their masks as they bound me, and 
 but for that one sentence they said not a word. After 1 
 was firmly secured they laid me down on the grass for a 
 moment, and stopped to survey their work. They 7eiert' 
 demons, and the light and the shooting flames were those 
 of hell. 
 
 It was not till the roof had fallen in with a mighty crash 
 that I was raised to my feet and an arm was run through 
 each of mine ; I was hurried down the old familiar lane 
 
THIC ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 26 1 
 
 towards the shore. Here tliere was a boat in charj^e of a 
 filth masked iium, aiul into this 1 was forced. Then the 
 others entered, and, shoving off, they took their seats anil 
 rowed with nuiflled oars out into the still waters. Tied as 
 I was, and lyinj^ in the stern, 1 resembled the subject of 
 that famous picture l)y Gerome, called, I think, " The 
 (Jaj)tured Slave." 
 
 I must think of somethinj^ else than my present 
 plight ; to reflect (Jii that would make me cra/y. l*er- 
 hai)S I was crazy. C'ould it be? Ves, it must be. I 
 was mad! lUit this was my briilal night. "lia! ha! 
 ha !" I laughed aloud. 1 saw a knife Hash before my eyes 
 in the moonlight. I courted the thrust. " You're cow- 
 ards," I cried. " I dare you to strike !" 
 
 There was a hurried movement as the black maiks 
 drew their heads together. Then one of them, coming 
 over to me, slipped out a bottle; my head was thrust 
 back, and I felt a pungent liipiid gurgling down my throat. 
 I must swallow it, if only to prevent strangulation. 
 
 Yet, this must all be a nightmare, a continuation of my 
 dreams. It was too sudden to be real — too abrupt a tran- 
 sition from when I had lain down on my couch, wonder- 
 ing what was to come. But this was my bridal night ! 
 This fact refused to withdraw itself from my thoughts. 
 I la ! my bridal night, and I had been torn away. What 
 would she think of it ? Great God ! And this was the 
 very same fate at a similar period that had met \\q.x first 
 bridegroom. The idea was grotesque. What terrible 
 concomitance of circumstance ! What outrageous coinci- 
 dence of fate could explain that? How would she take 
 
262 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 this second repetition of the drama ? I would drown 
 myself. I would work myself over the side of the boat. 
 I knew I was being reserved for a fate worse than that 
 from which I had been seized; therefore I was only 
 selecting a lesser evil. I tried to lift myself over the 
 gunwale, but found my energies were departing. Had 
 the liquid I had swallowed been drugged ? If so, it was 
 beginning to work. The black masks themselves grew 
 indistinct, and the moon seemed swimming and ducking 
 like a buoy over my head. At last the moon and the 
 black masks disappeared, as it were, in a mad dance 
 together, and black, mipenetrable darkness settled oh 
 me. • 
 
v;-' xLvii. 
 
 To make clear the events that are to follow I will re- 
 lieve the reader of my own personality for a short time, 
 and ask him to board the next morning that huge levia- 
 than which is slowly approaching New York. She has 
 lain off the bar at Sandy Hook all night, and the deep in- 
 crustation of salt on her smoke stacks indicates a long 
 voyage. An expert in mercantile affairs could distinguish 
 by her flags that she trades between New York and South 
 America, the land of silver-mines and flov/ers. Her pas- 
 sengers are gradually emerging from their cabins to the 
 decks, and by the time she draws opposite Staten 
 Island they grew into a dense crowd, all pressing forward 
 to the bows to catch a glimpse of their future home. 
 
 And they are well repaid. Seen in all the glory of 
 an early morning, the City of Cities rises like a new- 
 born Venus from the main, with the sun touching as 
 with electric fire, the weather-vanes of her numerous 
 spires, and flooding her somewhat dirty streets with the 
 promise of a better local government. To the right 
 the huge suspension bridge springs an etherial link to 
 join New York in wedlock with the City of Churches, 
 and to the left the Statue of Liberty r.^ars her head 
 aloft, proudly emblematic of every citizen's privilege of 
 voting early, often, and late. As you get nearer the city 
 
 263 
 
264 ; THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 you can distinguish the trains on the elevated roads like 
 huge snakes twisting around the Battery, and the lofty fa- 
 cades of the Field building and the Produce Exchange 
 towering as red-clothed giants amongst the pigmies. Here 
 entering and leaving their slips, are ferryboats freighted to 
 the water's edge with black massed humanity on their daily 
 round of toil, for New York is awakening to another busy 
 day — such a busy day as even strikes can only partially in- 
 ; terfere with, and which can nowhere else be comprehended 
 save in a land where men work as much for the sake of 
 working as for the earnings of their work. 
 
 Among those most interested in the sight, is a tall, 
 handsome man, in the extreme bow. He has a bronzed 
 face, on his head is a wide-brimmed sombrero, and a 
 newspaper is in each hand. He has a quick, nervous man- 
 ner, and his whole style and get-up would argue an ex- 
 tended residence in Southern climes. At last the steamer 
 draws near her dock, but what with the delay caused by 
 getting several vessels that had anchored in her course 
 out of her track, and the parting of a hawser or two, it 
 is nearly ten before she finally disembarks her passengers. 
 Among the first to land is the stranger we have de- 
 scribed. He appears in a special hurry, and, directing 
 that his baggage should remain in the Custom House 
 till called for, he leaves a bright gold piece in the itching 
 palm of an officer. 
 
 Ten minutes afterwards he is bowling along in a coupe, 
 and if your ear were close to the window you might hear 
 his smothered curses at the pavements as he goes over 
 the ruts and into the holes. The papers are still in his 
 
TIIK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 265 
 
 hands, and every now and then he looks at the advertise- 
 ment sheet of one of them and at the followhig notice : 
 
 " If George Fitzamble will make his whereabouts known 
 to, or will call upon or address, Mr. Winkle P. Slocum, 
 Altorney-at-Law, No. 228 Broadway, he will learn some- 
 thing to his advantage." 
 
 The other paper contains a full description of a law- 
 suit that by this time has grown stale, great as was the 
 interest it had excited a short time ago. Anon he reads 
 the last, and anon he reads the advertisement — that is, 
 as well as the villanous condition of the pavements will 
 allow him, and which he every now and then compares 
 with those of Valparaiso, but very much to the latter's 
 advantage. Here and there, too, the streets are blocked 
 by the strikes along the car routes, and he looks at the 
 lines of listless peopltj standing about and at the solid 
 files of police that occasionally disperse them by causing 
 them to move on. Probably these sights recall the nor- 
 mal condition of things in that land of chronic revolution 
 from which he has just come. At all events they some- 
 what delay him. On arriving at 228 Broadway he searches 
 the names on the signboard in the hall, and, learning 
 that Mr. Slocum occupies the fourth floor, he goes up 
 the stairs three steps at a time, A moment later he 
 bursts into the office of that gentleman with an impetu- 
 osity that quite upsets the staid, old-fashioned clerks 
 whom the distinguished advocate employed to obfusti- 
 cate him. Three minutes afterwards he is confront- 
 ing Mr. Slocum himself,, who, in spite of strikes, is at his 
 post, and who, rising in evident astonishment, wrinkles his 
 
266 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 nose more than he had ever been known to wi'nkle it in 
 my behalf. 
 
 "Yes, here I am," exclaimed the stranger, dropping into 
 a chair before the confused solicitor, ** safe and sound, 
 come in answer to diis advertisement." 
 
 *' Who are you, anyhow?" 
 
 " I am Henry Simoni, known, by this lawsuit, to feme as 
 George Henry Fitzamble." ... 
 
 '•What relation to my client ?" .. . 
 
 **I am his twin brother." 
 
 *■'■ E Fluribus Umim .'" This was the strongest exple- 
 tive Mr. Slocum ever permitted himself to indulge in, 
 and was reserved for occasions of the most momentous 
 character alone. " But I don't remember his mentioning 
 that he had a twin brother," he recovered himself to add, 
 with an air 'of sudden doubt. " It seems to me that he 
 would certainly have given so natural an explanation of 
 his dilemma." 
 
 '* I don't suppose he knew that I was alive. I left my 
 father's house in a fit of boyish pride, enlisted in the army, 
 fought with Grant in the Wilderness, was captured, and 
 remained in prison till the close of hostilities. On return- 
 ing to my former home I found that my father had died 
 and my mother had moved away. I hadn't sufficient 
 means to prosecute any very exhaustive search, and was 
 obliged to shift for myself. Besides, I felt that I had 
 been badly treated, and that if my family cared for me 
 they should have taken more pains that on my return from 
 a Southern prison I could find them. But let me know 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EOO. 267 
 
 my brother's wherea])onts ; I'm in a hurry to resume my 
 acquaintance and will explain everything to him." 
 
 '* Your brother is somewhere in the country, I was told 
 only yesterday. It is absolitely impossible now to reach 
 him quicker than by taking the boat at four o'clock this 
 afternoon. Go on with your story, therefore, and if you 
 don't mind I'll have a stenographer take it down verba- 
 tim and put you under oath. One never knows what may 
 happen." 
 
 *' I have no objections," was the reply. *' I suppose it's 
 only necessary for me to touch upon those circumstances 
 of my past life that seem 10 bear upon the fix I've got my 
 brother in. To tell you the truth, ever since the papers 
 reached me in South America I have been trying to see 
 whether any actions of mine prior to my marriage may 
 not have conduced to his predicament, and I think they 
 have. It might be better for me to give you the points 
 as briefly as 1 can at first, and you can put them down on 
 paper in proper shape afterwards. I will then attach my 
 signature with all due formality." 
 
 *'I should think that would answer," replied the 
 lawyer. 
 
 *' Very well, then. Sufifice it to say that up to seven 
 years ago I led rather a haphazard, rollicking sort of a 
 life, with little profit to any one, still less t<9 myself ; now 
 a deck-hand of a steamboat, now ferrying logs down the 
 Mississippi, and once I was on the point of enlisting 
 again in the army. Five years ago, however, I drifted to 
 Chicago, and as the labor troubles — which I see are still 
 with us — were just then beginning, I secured employment 
 
268 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 as a Pinkerton detective. The service was congenial to 
 me, and having a natural aptitude, I suppose, for such 
 kind of work, I was retained on the permanent force. In 
 the course of my profession I chanced upon the name of 
 my brother connected with an extensive sale of cattle in 
 the su kyards of that city. It was some time after 
 the sale had been made that T learned of it, but I did not 
 let go of the clue, and finally learned that he had come to 
 New York. Then I ol)tained a leave of absence and fol- 
 lowed him here. This accounts for the coincidence of my 
 brother and myself being in New York at the same time. 
 Circumstances, however, induced me to turn around and 
 leave the city just as I arrived at the depot, thus prevent- 
 ing me from communicating with him, and causing me to 
 postpone my reunion to a later date. If you wish to know 
 why, an extensive burglary had occurred at the villa of 
 one of the summer residents at Newport, which had baffled 
 the experience of the local police. A friend of mine 
 whom I had known at Chicago in the detective force, 
 happened to meet me at the Grand Central Depot as I was 
 just getting out of the cars. He it was who told me 
 about the case, and, further, he informed me that he had 
 resolved to undertake its unravelment. As the reward 
 was very large and the circumstances would not admit of 
 any delay, he induced me by the dint of much persuasion 
 to accompany him to Newport at once and to lend him 
 my assistance. On arriving there I adopted an alias, as 
 the necessity of my business had often required before, 
 and registered at the Ocean House as an ordinary guest. 
 During my investigations it was necessary to keep up the 
 
THE KOMANCK OF AN ALTKR EGO. 269 
 
 character of a gentleman of leisure, which I had assumed, 
 and I thus became ac(]uainted with the plaintiff in this 
 suit. To cut the matter short, I became infatuated with 
 her. I lost my interest in the work for which I had come, 
 and at last told my friend I was going to marry and be- 
 gin the world anew. You see, though well born, I had 
 descended in the social scale, and 1 hardly thought the 
 nature of my occupations and past life would meet her 
 father's approval; I even grew ashamed of my profession, 
 for I doubted whether she would marry me if I told her 
 what I was. I resolved, therefore, like many a better 
 man, to secure her first and inform her afterwards of my 
 true condition in life. 
 
 "Now, don't interrupt me till I have finished, for here 
 comes the most interesting part of the story. Some time 
 back, in Chicago, I had devoted myself to the task of un- 
 raveling the secrets cf the Anarchists, whose doings were 
 beginning to arouse pul)lic attention. My course of ac- 
 tion naturally excited their enmity, but because of my 
 connection with the police they likely feared to try any- 
 thing on in Chicago. Nevertheless, I was a marked 
 character, and when I came East to look up my brother 
 they had me shadowed, which their afifiliations with the 
 criminal classes rendered it easy for them to have done. 
 As no occasion offered at Newport to pay me off, how- 
 ever, they waited till my return to New York, and then 
 they 'shanghaied' me almost before the very eyes of 
 my bride — " 
 
 '* 'Shanghaied' you !" 
 
 ** Yes J that's the professional jargon for kidnapping, 
 
270 THE ROMANCE OV AN ALTER ECO. 
 
 and this is the way they did it : I had brought down my 
 bride by the afternoon train that reached here at nine 
 o'clock in the evening. We drove immediately to Jjlank's 
 Hotel on liroadway, and, while my wife retired to her 
 room to brush uj) after her trip, I went into the restaurant 
 to order something to eat. After leaving my order I was 
 just going up for my wife to fetch her down when a card 
 was brought to me accompanied by the message that my 
 visitor was waiting at the door in a carriage. He desired 
 particularly to see me, if only for a moment; but as he was 
 crippled and any exertion was painful, he begged me to 
 step outside instead of requiring him to come into the 
 hotel to me. The re(piest struck me as a little unusual, 
 and it seemed additionally inexplicable that my arrival 
 should be already known; but my curiosity was piqued, so 
 1 went out. I found the vehicle drawn up a little beyond 
 the lights from the hotel entrance, and occupied by a 
 single person. On gaining the doorstep, he made a sign 
 of caution, and, beginning to speak of the Newport bur- 
 glary, requested to know the amount I would give for the 
 recovery of the stolen articles. His objection to enter- 
 ing the hotel now seemed logical. He was anxious to 
 avoid any unnecessary publicity on his mission as a go-be- 
 tween. Consequently, when he asked me to step inside 
 the carriage for greater precaution, I did so, unsuspicious 
 of treachery. No sooner had I entered, however, and 
 shut the door behind me, than he slipped his arm about 
 my neck, and, with a power amply refuting any question 
 of physical infirmity, choked my cries, while another man, 
 whom I had not noticed before, entered the carriage by 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 27 1 
 
 the opposite floor. Then one of them, I hardly know 
 which, pressed a handkerchief soaked with chloroform 
 under my nose. The attack was so sudden, and I was so 
 completely off my guard, that I was unable to offer any 
 effective resistance, and before I could i)revent it I felt 
 myself losing consciousness, for I am [)aiticularly sensi- 
 tive to narcotics m any form. 
 
 "When I next opened my eyes I found myself on 
 board a steamer bound for Valparaiso. I will give you 
 the particulars of my trip later." 
 
 ** Are such things possible?" asked Mr. Slocum in as- 
 tonishment. : f 
 
 " For fifty dollars I could kidnap any one you chose to 
 name, from the President down." 
 
 '• But why did you not communicate what had hap- 
 pened to you ?" • • 
 
 " I did As soon as I arrived at Valparaiso I wrote my 
 wife a long letter, giving the full particulars." 
 
 '* She never could have received it." 
 
 *' She never received it! Well, the only way I can ac- 
 count for that is that the country was in a state of revo- 
 lution, and the mail subject to constant depredations," 
 
 " Your story, at all events, throws light on the extraor- 
 dinary series of attempts that have been made on your 
 brother's life," said Mr. Slocum. *' They mistook him for 
 you." 
 
 Thereupon the lawyer gave a brief resume of these at- 
 tempts, omitting the last, of which he had no knowledge, 
 as he neither yet had heard even of my marriage. 
 
 ** Yes, that must account for it. I found pinned inside 
 
272 TIIK ROMANCE OF AN ALTKR KGO. 
 
 my sliirt, wlien I woke up on hoard tlie steamer, a letter 
 statiiifi; that 1 had j;<)t oil very easily, l)iit that if I ever 
 returned again my life should pay the penalty. When 
 my brother appeared on the scene they mistook him f(jr 
 me, I sui)pose, and naturally thought I had come back in 
 sj^ite of orders and to bring them to justice. He is lucky 
 to have escaped. All these labor troubles must have en- 
 couraged them." , 
 
 '* iUit it 's a most extraordinary case, in spite of his re- 
 s'emblance to you," said Mr. Slocum musingly. ** I mean 
 that the courts themselves should have been deceived." 
 
 *'Not half so extraordinary as this. I cut it out of a 
 back number of the New York JVorU which the pilot 
 l)rought out to us." And he presented a long clipping 
 from that journal dated August 16. "Here is a man 
 named Robert Leeson Porter imprisoned for months be- 
 cause of a like resemblance to one Scott Partin who had 
 committed murder. Had it not been for the prominent 
 paper that brought his case before the public he might 
 have been hanged." 
 
 '* But this shampooing, then — I mean this * shanghaing ' 
 business," exclaimed Mr. Slocum confusedly, who never- 
 theless, finding himself routed out of one intrenchment, 
 retreated to another before giving uj). "You must admit 
 that this is a slight strain on one's credulity." 
 
 ** I can meet your objection even on that point by the 
 public journals, too. In the New York Telegram of last 
 June 16, which also contained an advertisement for my 
 return, appeared this letter from a man who had met ex- 
 actly the same fate as mine. I have cut it out, and here 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTEk EGO. 273 
 
 it is for you to read. Wliat stiikes me as the most extra- 
 ordinary is the coincidence of my fnuling these two cases, 
 aclcnowledged to be accurate by every one, and in two of 
 the most prominent daily papers of this very city, almost 
 precisely similar to mine. In the face of these, no one 
 has the right to say my story is extravagant." 
 
 •' Truth is stranger than fiction." 
 
 Mr. Slocum finally gave up the citadel of his doul)ts. 
 
 ** Let me ask one thing more, however, but on a dif- 
 ferent line. Why have you been so long away ? Was it 
 your dread of these Anarchist people ?" 
 
 *' Most assuredly not. In my letter to Edna I gave my 
 reasons, and these I will only explain to her. This, how- 
 ever, I will say: that when I woke to consciousness I was 
 very ill from the effects of the chloroform. A passenger 
 on board, a South-American, extended me his sympathy, 
 and, taking a fancy to me, finally offered me a position as 
 foreman in a silver-mine he had back in the interior. It 
 was, however, not a very attractive berth. Three of his 
 former agents had been shot by the bandits that infested 
 that region, and four had died of South American shakes, 
 as they call it. His object in offering it to me was princi- 
 pally because of my nationality, and because he thought 
 that the grit of a Yankee could surmount every obstacle. 
 As it turned out, I did surmount them, and, though the 
 mine was supposed to be exhausted, I had shipi)ed out some 
 improved machinery from Chicago, and made it pay very 
 well. Then I bought a share in it, and expect to get a 
 fortune out of it before I've finished. If my brother is in 
 that way inchned, I will let him in on the 'ground floor.' 
 
2 74 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 But I must see my wife as soon as possible ; such I con- 
 sider to be my duty." 
 
 " I think if you don't see her soon you won't see her 
 as your wife," said Mr,, Slocum dryly. 
 
 •' What do you mean ?" 
 
 '* It looks very much to me as if your brother's affec- 
 tions were engaged. He's been stopping down near them 
 in the country, and he follows her about like a shadow." 
 
 ** Great God !" exclaimed the stranger, and he walked 
 over to the window and. wiped the perspiration from his 
 forehead. 
 
 "My advice is not to drop in too suddenly on her," 
 went on the lawyer; " but if you intend going down to see 
 her, allow me to suggest your stopping at her fatlier's 
 city residence, and learning exactly where his country 
 place is. I think the landing is called Rocky Point, but 
 I'm not quite sure, though I know the boat starts at four 
 o'clock." 
 
 The stranger took up his hat to leave, but was detained 
 at the door by Mr. Slocum. 
 
 *' There is one other circumstance I ought to mention, 
 and which, but for the interesting nature of your commu- 
 nication, I would have thought of mentioning to you 
 before. It is that your brother has lately secured other 
 counsel. It might be advisable for you to see him also. 
 His name is Mr. Reginald P. Star. Strictly speaking, I 
 ought to have turned you over to him at first. His ad- 
 dress is Broadway." 
 
XLVIII. 
 
 Nevertheless, despite this intelligence, Henry Simcni, 
 as he must now be called, has himself driven from Mr. Slo- 
 cum's to the apartment house of Mr. Dalzelle instead of 
 to Mr. Star's. Arrived here, he questions the porter, and 
 learns that, instead of being in the country, Mr, Dalzelle 
 had remained in the city over-night, and that his daughter 
 had unexpectedly returned but half an hour ago to town. 
 He also learns that the cause of her coming is some very 
 shocking, not to say tragic, event that had occurred at 
 Rocky Point. 
 
 The porter could give no very accurate information, 
 stating that he was new to the post he filled. He thought, 
 however, that Mr. Dalzelle had not yet seen his daughter, 
 as he had stopped in the city over-night and ha'd gone to 
 his office long before her arrival. She had just sent a 
 messenger down-town for him in hot haste. She was up- 
 stairs alone, and if the gentleman desired any further in- 
 formation he had better go up and question her himself. 
 
 "Suppose you go and ask her first if she will receive 
 me," observes the stranger, with a catch in his voice. 
 
 "What name shall I say?" 
 
 " Never mind the name ; simply state that a gentleman 
 desires to see her on very particular business." 
 
 << Very good, sir." And the porter disappears, leaving 
 
 275 
 
276 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 Henry Siniuni in the hall as casually as if he were an ordi- 
 nary visitor. 
 
 Five minutes afterwards the porter returns. 
 
 <' If you will walk up, sir. she will receive you." 
 
 For a moment he hesitates, then, gripping the banisters 
 with a nervous grasp, the visitor mounts the stairs. At the 
 fifth floor he stops again, but at last rings the bell with 
 trembling hand. After a few moments' delay the door is 
 opened by a woman — a woman so pale and ghost-like we 
 scarce recognize her. 
 
 " Who asks for Edna Dalzelle ?" she inquires. Then 
 the long-deserted wife and the errant husband are face to 
 face. 
 
 Half an hour after this meeting, or, to be precise, at ex- 
 actly three o'clock, Henry Simoni proceeds in a condition 
 of great agitation to Mr. Star's, whose address Mr. Slo- 
 cum had given him. To Mr. Star he repeats in substance 
 the story he had told Mr. Slocum, and communicates to 
 him in addition all the particulars he had learned of my 
 late abduction. This fails to surprise Mr. Star, as it 
 would seem that it ought to do, at least to any one unac- 
 quainted with the contents of the telegram he had sent 
 vae the previous evening. Henry Simoni himself express-, 
 es his surprise that Mr. Star is not surprised, whereupon 
 Mr. Star opens the door of the adjoining room and sur- 
 prises Mr. Simoni by summoning the detective who had 
 so lately arrived from Chif ago in my interest. Thus the 
 two detectives, the one from Chicago and the ex-detec- 
 tive from Valparaiso, are brought face to face, to the 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 277 
 
 mutual astonishment of each and with mntual expres- 
 sions of pleasure at seeing each other still in the flesh. 
 
 The business of Henry Simoni, however, seems of such 
 all-absorbing moment that the renewal of his acquain- 
 tance is confined to a few brief words. These over, he 
 refers to my abduction, and, the two laying their heads 
 together with that of Mr. Star as a third, it is resolved, 
 after much discussion, to proceed forthwith to Rebecca j 
 Seaton's. 
 
 Nearly two hours have been consumed at Mr. Star's, 
 conse(}uently it is now near five o'clock before this com- 
 mittee of three sally forth. Arrived at Rebecca Seaton's, 
 they are informed by Theophilus that she is invisible, 
 but whether she is at home or really out is not vouch- 
 safed. 
 
 Mere there is another hurried consultation, after which 
 Mr. Star leads the way to Dr. Henry's, only to meet with 
 a similar disappointment. A very active afternoon our 
 trio are having, since from Dr. Henry's they proceed to 
 Mr. Dalzelle's. Every one they seek, however, appears 
 to vanish at the moment of need, and they are in- 
 formed here also by the porter that Edna has gone out. 
 This intelligence seems to puzzle them extremely, and they 
 take a hasty dinner at a neighboring restaurant while talk- 
 ing it over. 
 
 The next place visited is the College of Physicians, on 
 the corner of Fourth Avenue and Twenty-third street, but 
 apparently with equal lack of success in finding w^iom or 
 what they want, as they start off again, and visit from there 
 the Police Headquarters in Mulberry street. Again they 
 
278 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 seem Ijaflled, for, doubling' on their track, they return to 
 Rebecca's, liut all this crossing and recrossing of their 
 track, this visiting and doubling and dining, have con- 
 sumed time, and the shades of night are falling as they 
 reach her familiar doorsteps. Some suspicion connected 
 with Dr. Henry and Rel)ecca they evidently have con- 
 ceived, and again they are confronted l)y Theophilus, who 
 somewhat reluctantly admits them into the hall, and, at 
 their urgent retjuest^ finally into the office. 
 
 Mr. Star assumes the role of spokesman, as he raises 
 his hand to the chandelier and turns up the gas. 
 
 '* Theophilus," he observes, " we wish to see your 
 mistress." 
 
 The manner of Theophilus, as previously intimated, 
 was never prepossessing. 
 
 *' So you want to see the missus, does you ?'* he replied 
 laconically. " Well, that's very flatterin' to her^ — very flat- 
 terin' indeed.'' 
 
 **Is she in the house?" pursued the lawyer. 
 
 "Well, I don't see her," answered the youth, looking 
 vacantly about him. 
 
 '* For we were thinking," continued Mr. Star, " that she 
 might inform us what had become of Mr. Aaron Simoni." 
 
 '* Oh ! you was thinkin' that, was you ?" went on Theo- 
 philus in the same sneering tone. ** Did it take three of 
 yousto think that out?'' 
 
 At this moment the detective from Chicago interposed. 
 • ** Theophilus," he said curtly, ** if you don't tell us 
 where your mistress is we're going to arrest you." 
 
 The young man threw up his hands in ironic delectation. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 279 
 
 '* How ecstatic!" he said. " A nice striped suit, which 
 is so fashionable now, and nuthin' to do but sit around 
 all day so as not to interfere with any rcg'lar trade. 
 Smuther cvenin', I guess, howsomever." 
 
 " No, we'll take you right off with us now," exclaimed 
 the detective, slightly nettled. 
 
 ** No, you won't,'' said Theophilus in a different tone, 
 at last giving up banter. 
 
 '* And why won't we ?" 
 
 " Because you ain't got no warrant, nor is there any law 
 to make a person answer foolish questions." 
 
 The detective threw open his coat so as to disclose his 
 badge. 
 
 ** Very pretty," said Theophilus, still unconquered ; 
 ** but, however captivatin' to the ladies, it don't captivate 
 me. Keep it for Chicago, my innocent; it don't wash in 
 New York." 
 
 "Theophilus," observed Henry Simoni, coming to the 
 rescue of his bafifled comrades, " if you'll give us the 
 information we want, this bill is yours." And, to the 
 dismay of the other two gentlemen, he held up before 
 Theophilus a note of one hundred dollars. 
 
 A sudden change came over the young man. 
 
 '* Now, gents, you're talking business," he said. *^Sit 
 down. S'pose we call it five." 
 
 "Well, if you will give me such information as I wish, 
 and this results in rescuing my brother, 1, 7^/// make it 
 five." 
 
 Henry Simoni's two companions shrugged their shoul- 
 ders in disapproval, while the sallow complexion of Theo- 
 
28o tHE ROMANCK OP AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 philus actually became livid, as the pcrs]Mration started 
 out in beads all over his face. 
 
 ** How will you fix it so that I'll be sure you won't go 
 back on your word ?" he asked cautiously. 
 
 " I'll pay you by installments." 
 
 " How do I know it ain't flash ?" 
 
 " liecause I guess you're 'cute enough to tell a good 
 note from a bad one." 
 
 "Lay her down on the table," said Theophilus, "and 
 I'll test her." Thereupon he slijiped his finger in 
 his mouth, and then pressed it firmly down on one 
 corner of the note. "I guess I'll risk it," he said, 
 closely scrutinizing his finger. '* There's only one man 
 that makes ' queer ' of that denomination, and his color 
 always comes off. She's good enough for me." 
 
 " Very well, then ; as you are satisfied, I am going to 
 trust you by making a clean in-east of our dilemma," re- 
 sumed my brother. "The situation is exactly this: 
 Aaron Simoni has been kidnapped. We have suspicions 
 by whom, but we do not know where he is held. We also 
 have a suspicion that your mistress knows, and possibly 
 you too. In consideration of his having signed her bonds 
 yesterday, we hoped that we could get Dr. Henry to ob- 
 tain this information from her. We therefore called ot 
 his house, but, though his office hours were not over, he 
 was out. Next we returned to Miss Dalzelle's, also in 
 the hope that she might persuade your mistress to tell us, 
 but she too had left her house. The fact of her going 
 out is somewhat peculiar, because when last seen, only a 
 few hours before, she was in very great distress, and more 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 281 
 
 fitted for bed than an afternoon's outing. Next we went 
 to the College of Physicians, but could learn nothing of 
 Dr. Henry there. Now, I said I was going to try and 
 purchase from you the information about my lirother, iuid 
 about one or two other facts besides ; further, I said I 
 would pay you by installments ; therefore I will give you 
 this hundred-dollar bill first if you will truthfully tell me 
 where Miss Dalzelle is at this very moment." 
 
 Theophilus got up from his chair, looked cautiously out 
 of the door, then, coming back, ''She's uj)-stairs," he said 
 curtly. 
 
 Henry Simoni presented the bill, which was fresh and 
 crisp, and Theophilus grabbed it like a hungry shark. 
 
 "Where is Dr. Henry ?" was the next terse (jucstion. 
 
 "He's up-stairs with her," answered Theophilus. 
 
 Another bill followed, and met a similar fate to the first. 
 
 *' Where is your mistress ?" 
 
 Theophilus hesitated a long time before answering this. 
 "She's up-stairs, too," he at last admitted. 
 
 A third bill was handed out and pocketed. 
 
 " Now tell me, what are they ill doing up there ? Is 
 your mistress and Dr. Henry cooking up another experi- 
 ment with Miss Dalzelle ?" 
 
 "That's a question I won't answc," said Theophilus. 
 " But if you wish to find your brother, all you've got to do 
 is to foller Dr. Henry and the young lady when they leave 
 the house." 
 
 "Very well, then," ejaculated the other detective, 
 rgain coming to the front. " If you won't answer our 
 questions, we'd better go up-stairs and nip whatever's 
 
38a THE ROMANCE OF AN AF.TF.R F.GO. 
 
 going on in the bud The law would warrant us in doing 
 that nuich. 
 
 Thcophilus looked at the speaker with an insolent air. 
 " 1 guess you're too fresh for this city," he observed. " If 
 you go up-stairs and interfere, it's Aaron Simoni's escape 
 as what you'll be nipping in the bud. You won't learn 
 even where he's detained, for Dr. Henry won't know till 
 just before setting out. The young missus, though she 
 will go with him, never 7f'/// know, because she won't be in 
 her right mind ; while as for the missus, if you try to come 
 it rough over her, the most that you will do is to put a 
 porous plaster over her mouth. Now, see here," he con- 
 tinued, turning to my brother, ''you've treated me like a 
 gentleman, and I want to help you ; so if you will only 
 promise that you won't get the missus into trouble, I'll 
 start you on the right track. She's goin' to put the young 
 woman under the influence of mesmerism, and make her 
 take some character what is similar to that of the people 
 who is holdin' your brother. Dr. Henry has persuaded 
 her to do this in the interest of science, as he calls it; for 
 after his slip-up of the other night, he wants to see with 
 his own eyes how far the young missus will really go when 
 it comes to the point." 
 
 "But this experiment — has it to do with my broth- 
 er ?" 
 
 "I think it has, but I don't know exactly how, as all 
 that I have learned is from a few remarks as escaped from 
 a key-hole opposite which I happened to be. I'm sure of 
 this, however, that the experiment will be held at the spot 
 where your brother is detained." 
 
THE UOMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 283 
 
 " Could it in i\uy nuuincr prove injurious to the lady ?" 
 
 *♦ 1 don't think so. A carriage is ordered from Brown's 
 livery stable to be here at eight o'clock. Dr. Flenry will 
 l)iit her in after she has been mesmerized, and drive her 
 over direct. It will be somewhere in the neighborhood 
 of Jersey City, antl my advice to you is to wait concealed 
 in another carriage till they leave the house, and then 
 follow them." 
 
 " JUit the professor might become aware of our pursuit 
 and give us the slip." 
 
 " For ten dollars I guess you could get his driver to 
 change places with you on the box before they start. 
 'I'hen you'd have them under your wing all the time. 
 After you have left them at their destination, you had 
 better drive around to the nearest police station and let 
 the cops know. If I was you I wouldn't return to the 
 house you drive 'em to, without a pretty good force." 
 
 **But I fail to see," said Mr. Star, picking up the con- 
 versation at this point, "why the best way would not be 
 simply to send up to Dr. Henry, tell him our dilemma, and 
 trust to him to help us out. He is treading on very delicate 
 ground, and he could hardly refuse his assistance when 
 it's a case of rescuing this gentleman's brother." 
 
 *' Then you don't know the doctor," said Theophilus. 
 " He's a perfect crank on this yere mesmerism. To help 
 you out he would have to give up the experiment, and 
 before doing that he'd sacrifice his own brother, let alone 
 any one else's. If you send up, therefore, and try to make 
 him help you, you'll only be kicking the fat into the 
 fire. 
 
284 I in; KUMANCK nK AN AMIiU V.CO. 
 
 *' Well, llu'ii," replied Mr. Star, tiiniinjjj to histwo cotn- 
 panions, " the case, as 1 uiulerstaiid, can be thus summed 
 up: Rebecca owes your brother a J4rudy;e, and won't 
 direct us to the place where he is detained. Dr. Henry 
 mi|.^^ht, but would be afraid of foregoin;:^ his experiment if 
 he did. Kdna can't, and the police, as we are already 
 aware, know nothing. If wc sfo up-stairsand forcibly try 
 to make Rebecca part with iier information, we run the 
 risk, as our young friend here ei)i[^rammatically exjiresscs 
 it, of upsetting the fat in the Hre. And last, but not least, 
 delay is risky. Under the circumstances, there only re- 
 mains to follow out the advice of 'riieophilus. lie looks 
 like a pious young man, and I have no doul)t, in due course 
 of time, will become an ornament to the church. lUit I 
 must confess things have arrived at a pretty pass when 
 the 'inited talent of Chicago, Valparaiso, and New York 
 can find no other means of discovering the whereabouts 
 of a gentleman who has been made away with in the most 
 public manner than l)y following a mesmerized girl and 
 a half-cracked professor. Theophilus, on second thought, 
 you had better adopt the law, if only to help me (nit when 
 I get beyond my depth,*' 
 
XLIX. 
 
 In the siil)urbs of a city closely adjoining New York is a 
 wide reach of waste land, pockmarked here and there with 
 the dilapidated shanties of the squatter and hovels of 
 wood. About one-half of this tract has been filled in and 
 laid out in embryo streets, while the other half merges and 
 is finally lost in an immense swamp, through which a slug- 
 gish river like a snake wends its slimy way. On the sur- 
 face of this river is always an iridescent film of oil, and 
 over the whole district an od(^r caused by the various other 
 ingredients the stream is used to carry away, breeding a 
 peculiar kind of bird that has greater claims to being re- 
 garded as national than the eagle, for it is far braver, 
 more ubiquitous, and is much more intimately associated 
 with the ideas of American life. I mean the American 
 mosquito. . ; 
 
 Another description of game that the region abounds in 
 is the festive goat, and of wild animals a peculiar raven- 
 ous kind of lean, long-legged biped, with great teeth and 
 small stomach, that, under more favorable surroundings 
 and conditions, might develop into the genus man. 
 These, finding little to theii taste in the hovels, fight and 
 wrangle with the goats for any lurking sweetness to be 
 found lingering in the disused tomato can. 
 
 285 
 
286 TEIE ROMANCi; OF AN ALTER ECO. 
 
 In addition to the natural advantages previously men- 
 tioned, the beauty of scenery is enhanced towards the west 
 by a large building bearing the cheerful sign of *' Metallic 
 Caskets Made Here," while towards the east the tall 
 chimneys of iron foundries and oil factories throw a veil 
 of smoke, when they are in blast, over the sweet beyond. 
 
 In short, these are the dumping grounds of the closely 
 
 adjoining city — the waste land of creation, I might almost 
 
 \ say. And when Isaiah, the prophet, spoke of a scene of 
 
 abomination and of desolation, he must have had in his 
 
 mind's eye a faint counterpart to this. 
 
 Yet, pin(^hedand hungry as are the children of " Misery 
 Flats," they are ofttimes the prey of a still stranger kind 
 of bird than the mosquito, and that, flocking down with 
 the night, causes the children to watch for its shadows with 
 the liveliest terror — ill-favored birds, which, if not armed, 
 like the mosquito, with venomous stings, are yet equipped 
 with long pointed hooks. They are the scavenger 
 birds of the great metropolis raking over the refuse 
 that has been so lavishly distributed here. Gaunt, 
 grizzled, unsavory, foreign-looking birds they are for 
 the most part, with carnivorous beaks, and backs bent 
 at the middle because of much stooping. Each one car- 
 rying a lantern, they stretch over the flats till they seem 
 an army of fireflies, muttering strange curses and hunt- 
 ing for rags or bones or any stray child that crosses their 
 path, "/^r hacco.'' And why not, forsooth? Brought 
 out, by contract under alluring promises of labor, they 
 naturally are not averse to square themselves with a 
 civilization that, once they have spent the little they have 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 287 
 
 landed with, turns them out to beg, to scratch, to steal, 
 to starve, to die. Nevertheless even these ragpickers 
 have a passing gleam of luxury. Along the edge of 
 *' Misery Flats" runs a great railroad line, which in part 
 owns and controls these flats, and occasionally a director, 
 in his private car no less sumptuous than the carriage of 
 a marquis of the old regime, flashes out of the night. 
 
 Through plate-glass windows ablaze with light they 
 catch a momentary glimpse, of soft hangings and velvet 
 folds, and, sunk in deeply cushioned scat, of some 
 podgy, turtle-fed man, sipping champagne perhaps. 
 Then these ragpicke/s shake their iron huoks. In some 
 such style as this their kings and emperors go by. "A 
 king or a president," they mutter, "a director or a mar- 
 tinis. Body of Christ ! What difference ! Tear of Chiist ! 
 Does not this man ' control ' everything there is to con- 
 trol, from the oil that lights our lanterns down to the iron 
 in our hooks ? Does he not control these marshes, ay, 
 and the very wheat in that elevator over there that rises 
 against the distant star-speckled horizon like a black cof- 
 fin to Hope ?" And perhaps they recall on some sunny 
 hillside of Bohemia a little vineyard which they have bar- 
 tered to the emigration agent of this very man to land 
 them here, and whom they now accuse of " the deep 
 damnation of their taking off." 
 
 So the director passes on, like the marquis (control- 
 ler of marches, if not of marshes, too), letting his light 
 shine before all men that they may see his good works and 
 glorify their Father in heaveji for allowing things to be 
 as they are on earth. So passes the director, or perhaps 
 
288 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO.. 
 
 only you; in the ordinary comfort of the dining-room car, 
 sipping, not champagne, but only lager, oblivious that 
 beer is nectar to those that drink of misery's cup alone. 
 
 But to return to these flats, instead of passing through 
 them as the rich and turtle-fed are prone to do. Misery 
 Flats has a heart ! A heart, geographically speaking, and 
 such a heart as the hub is to the wheel; a chief center of 
 revolution, so to speak — remember that — and which, in 
 order to give especial value to it, I have artistically wait- 
 ed till the last to describe. And this heart has pulsa- 
 tions, and it has light. It has oil lamps standing in its 
 windows. In short, the heart of Misery Flats is incased 
 in the flimsy walls of a high city building which stands 
 out, gaunt, ugly, rickety, solitary, in the dreary waste, 
 midway between the oil factories and the metallic casket 
 ditto, and near enough to be reached by hands from the 
 foundries, a)'-, and also mouths. At night time this house 
 with its every window is aflame, and the inhabitants, poor 
 as they are and distressful, pass it on the opposite side 
 of the street with a shudder. All the atrocities of the 
 universe are not confined to the ** Pineries of Michi- 
 gan" — no, nor to the blood- stained course of the New 
 York aqueduct; for many are the legends of hideous 
 sins and nameless infamies perpetrated here, and 
 mingled with the ribald jest and snatches of song that 
 escape its portals are often heard the stifled scream of 
 ravished mr.idenhood decoyed into the blazing hell; 
 deeds that the public journals could scarcely find sufifi- 
 ciently startling alliteration to describe, and that even cause 
 the festive goat to quake. Here is the rendezvous, in 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER ECO. 289 
 
 truth, of the carnivorous beaked birds with the iron 
 hooks. And also occasionally of a factory hand whom 
 the oil factories or the blast furnaces throw penniless on 
 the community when they have no further need of his 
 services. Also of a still moie mysterious kind of bird, 
 bird of especial ill-omen, of whom I will have more to say 
 later on. 
 
 The ground floor of this attractive residence is occu- 
 pied as a licjuor saloon, the second, third and fourth 
 floors are let out in lodgings (God help the lodgers!), 
 while to what purpose the fifth floor is sanctified will soon 
 be seen. 
 
 Over the door is the suggestive signboard, *' THE 
 HOUSE OF BLAZES." 
 
 
In a small room on the top story of this house I, Aaron 
 Simoni, found myself lying when I next opened my eyes, 
 with the only light admitted by a grated window too high up 
 to reach. Judging from the way this light struck through, 
 I inferred the hour to be near one o'clock. I felt dazed, 
 exactly as if I had been drugged, with a sickening sensation 
 in the region of the stomach, rendering me incapable of 
 any exertion, whether physical or mental. Though as 
 yet I was unaware of my brother's existence, narcotics 
 had as serious an effect upon me as on him, and a phy- 
 sician who had once applied them to me for a slight 
 ■operation afterwards warned me against their use, except 
 in cases of the most urgent necessity. They not only 
 temporarily affected my brain, but the action of my 
 heart, and after the occasion to which I refer I was not 
 myself again for a week's time. Though I forgot this 
 circumstance now as I lay there, I deem it only fair to 
 the reader to mention this in behalf of the outrageous 
 scene that follows, the recollection of which may have 
 been colored by the condition my mind was in. 
 
 I remembered the circumstances of the past only 
 vaguely, and as if they were removed from the present 
 by the lapse of years. I wondered, however, what was to 
 be my fate, and why its delay ? Then I remembered 
 
 29Q 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 29 1 
 
 Kdna, and wondered how she wr)uld take this second de- 
 sertion. The thought of Kdna made me mad, and then 
 again the cries of those women as they were thrust back 
 into that fiery hell. Ah ! God must have been a monster 
 to have endowed man with "memory!" 
 
 I lay down on the floor and tried to sleep away thought, 
 and as I lay there I found I was rolling up against some- 
 thing. It was long and black, a sort of box, and it had 
 a familiar shape of evil import. I got up and examined it. 
 It was a coffin. Was it meant forme ? My mind, as I 
 say, was still dazed, and I argued about myself as if I 
 were some one else having no part or parcel with me, 
 but only temporarily inhabiting the carnal structure I 
 was in 
 
 The cofFm puzzled me rather than alarmed me ; I 
 thought its being there peculiar, that is all. The whole 
 of that afternoon I lay there in a semi-conscious state, 
 taking no notice of the lapse of time. I watched the 
 little streak of sunlight that filtered ' ^ through the 
 window fade into dusk, dusk change to evening, evening 
 to night, and I finally heard a far-away peal of bells ring 
 out. I listened to them, trying to count the number of vi- 
 brations, till they finally died away. Deep silence followed 
 
 a dead, ominous silence that you could feel — and then 
 
 away down in the distance, I heard the tramp of n.any 
 feet ; faint at first, but rising, and gaining in distinct' ss 
 as if they were approaching; not as of a tumultuous crowd, 
 but as of one that had a fixed common purpose, a unity of 
 purpose proved by the uniformity of tread. There was 
 something solemn in this regularity. Louder and louder it 
 
 V. 
 
292 THE ROMANCE OF aN ALTER EGO. 
 
 }^re\v, till the creaking of the timbers assured me that the 
 people whoever they were had emerged at last on 
 the floor on which I lay. Then I could hear the 
 scraping of chairs, as if they were seating themselves, 
 each one- with the same oider as if taking a |)lace that had 
 lieen previously allotted to each, I was absolutely with- 
 out light, and, as I listened, my hand (for I still lay on 
 the floor) came again in contact with the coffin. Its touch 
 for the first time suggested any idea of terror. I had 
 thought of it in an impersonal way, as if it had been in- 
 tended for another. Now it made my very flesh creep, and 
 1 suddenly connected it with this solemn tramp of men. 
 1 rose to my feet, and as I did so the portals were thrown 
 open. I felt myself seized and passed out of the room. 
 The transition from darkness to light was so abrupt 
 that all I could distinguish was that I was being con- 
 ducted through a loft improvised hito a kind of concert 
 hall or place for political meetings. The walls were hung 
 with a few cheap red flags, and here and there the signs 
 of ''Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity" met the eye. 
 The further end of the room was raised in a sort of stage, 
 and on this were two men seated, both well dressed in 
 black clothes, one in the middle of the stage and the 
 other at a table on the right. Between these two was a 
 vacant chair, and in this I was strapped down. After the 
 commotion caused by my entrance had somewhat subsided, 
 the man in the middle of the stage, who had a weak but 
 intellectual cast of countenance, rose and looked over 
 the audience. This, as I was now able for the first time 
 to notice, was composed for the most part of the very dregs 
 
THK ROMANCE OF AN ALTKR E(.0. 293 
 
 of. civilization, male and female. Here and there, how- 
 ever, like sheep that had strayed amongst wolves, were a 
 few pallid, long-haired individnals of a social status equal 
 to that of the man who had risen to speak, and I think to 
 these he unconsciously addressed himself. 
 
 *' Friends and brothers," he said, "I bid you greeting. 
 Without unnecessary preliminaries, it will be sufficient for 
 me to state that I have not called you this evening together 
 without a special object. To fully appreciate this object, 
 and to explain the presence of this man [pointing to mej 
 in your midst, it will be necessary, however, to touch upon 
 the past history of our society. As chairman of the Ex- 
 ecutive Committee of the Brotherhood for the Rejuvena- 
 tion of Society, I have lately been laboring, as you are 
 aware, to bring about a closer union between the differ- 
 ent elements of the Anarchical and Socialistic parties in 
 this country, and to reorganize them under one head. 
 My efforts in this direction have been frustrated during 
 the last six months, and seemed likely to be brought to 
 naught, by an occurrence the attendant circumstances of 
 which date back to the very infancy of our Society. Five 
 years ago, when the wrongs the people suffered from caused 
 us to band together for the redress of our grievances, and 
 to purchase arms and drill, a member of the Chicago de- 
 tective force assumed the responsibility of investigating 
 too closely our affairs. On discovering his espionage two ; 
 courses were open to us : to destroy him or to remove him ' 
 from the country -under such, conditions as would make 
 his return unlikely. We adopted the latter course. Our 
 leniency was the more excusable from the fact that at the 
 
294 1'"E ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 time of his banishment we were unaware of the extent 
 of his discoveries. The increased severity of tiie police, 
 however, to which we became soon after subjected, leaves 
 little room to doubt as to the minuteness of the informa- 
 tion which he had left as a heritage in their hands. It is 
 a matter of history, too, how the unrelenting persecutions 
 that ensued led to our frenzied rising in the Haymarket ; 
 so if this man cannot be held as accessory to the mur- 
 der of the seven martyrs who gave up their lives in expia- 
 tion of the acts of that day, he must be considered as 
 responsible for the oppressions that produced them. I lad 
 he chosen to stay away, however, we would not have 
 sought him; but at the very momer.t when like a plueiiix 
 our society was rising again from its ashes, when my 
 efforts to reunite the scattered elements of our brother- 
 hoo('. in one strong, vigorous body promised to be crowned 
 with success, we learned, by a very singular lawsuit brought 
 by his wife for her sui)port, that he had returned and was 
 again amongst us. Leaving out of consideration any 
 (juestion of retribution, leaving out of consideration the 
 fact that he returned with his eyes open, knowing exactly 
 what to expect, could we countenance his return from the 
 standpoint of our ownself-preservation ? Could we ho])e, 
 in face of his intimate acquaintance and thorough famil- 
 iarity with our methods and our aims, to bring about our 
 long-dreamed-of union ? What is bred in the bone comes 
 c ♦■ in the flech, and in spite of, or perhaps because of, 
 t. . danger he realized the publicity of his lawsuit drew 
 upon him from us, he put himself in communication 
 again with his old friends, the police. At all events, 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN A1.TER EGO. 295 
 
 he became a standing menace to us, threatening not only 
 oar hoped-for reorganization, but the lives of each and 
 every individual among us. Thus it became imperative 
 to put him beyond the possibility of causing us further 
 mischief. This we endeavored to do, not instigated by 
 any desire of revenge, or even that of making an exam- 
 ple of him to others, but simply in the interest of our own 
 self-preservation, which is an instinct that actuates all 
 bodies of men, the most highly as well as the least civil- 
 ized, when their existence is at stake, 
 
 " Finding that we were on his track, however, he con- 
 tinually eluded us and moved at last into a secluded j)art 
 of the country. His choice of retreat played into our 
 hands. The isoh "ion of the neighborhood enabled us to 
 apprehend him, which I, for one, vastly preferred to do, so 
 that the matter of his disposal might be left to you all 
 at a full meeting. There he is before you." 
 
 Loud murmurs greeted this speech, and I detected here 
 and there the handle of a knife ominously steal from its 
 place of concealment. 
 
 It was at the moment when these murmurs were at the 
 loudest that a woman in the rear of the audience rose and 
 walked down the middle aisle. She wore a hood over 
 her head which concealed her features, but something in 
 her gait, her figure riveted my attention, and before 
 she had reached the foot of the stage / had recognized my 
 wife. 
 
LI. 
 
 She was under the influence of mesmerism, and a 
 curiosity wild and inordinate took possession of mc, 
 which mitigated my liorror at l)cholding her in such 
 a place. Instead of mounting the platform she turned 
 to the audience • 
 
 •*My friends," she said, "I have been sent from 
 Chicago to tell you the meaning of anarchy. It is de- 
 struction, of course, but only that reconstruction may be 
 possible. If the tree is rotten, cut it down, says the 
 Bible. Is society not rotten also ? Take America, where 
 the experiment of democracy has had the best opportuni- 
 ties of trial. Why is it that here we are especially called 
 upon to push the good work on ? Because democracy, 
 through its hypocrisy, is the greatest foe to the real 
 equality of men, by giving cover to abuses that no other 
 description of government could afford to tolerate. The 
 proof of the pudding is in the eating. Have such enor- 
 mous differences grown up between wealth and poverty in 
 any monarchical country in Europe within the same period 
 as here ? Nay ; democracy is directly responsible for 
 this, because the class of men whom a democracy raises 
 to power make common cause with the capitalist. He 
 becomes the co-partner in his ventures by which the pub- 
 lic are the losers. Why, the franchises sold by our legisla- 
 
 296 
 
TIIK KOMANCK OK AN' AI I KK !'.(;0. 297 
 
 t lies .111(1 our lioards of aldcriiRMi — francliiscs that are 
 the l'(Ji;iidation.s of these enormous fortunes— ought to 
 have paid tlie entire taxes of an cconoinieally achninis- 
 tercd state. 
 
 " John Swinton, in a little hook he wrote of his travels 
 thoiij^h Kranee, si)caks in }^do\vin}:i: terms of the eompara- 
 tive brightness of the lives of the French working people. 
 Why, let me ask, can we not have some of this lirightness 
 here — the brightness of large green spaces for our briek- 
 and-mortar-imprisoned poor, the brightness of public 
 bands of music for those in whose lives little music enters, 
 and at least the cleanness of well-paved streets for those 
 who find the streets their only home ? Why not, do I ask ? 
 Why, simply because the money is continually being 
 diverted. From New York to California, from Maine to 
 Oregon, in every paper one takes up, fraud, fraud, meets 
 the eye — fraud in high places, fraud in low; fraud in the 
 ermine as well as fraud in the cell; fraud in the names of 
 rings and of trusts that control and put up in price 
 everything that you use — rings in wheat that make your 
 bread dearer, rings in beef that makes your muscle hard, 
 rings in coal in the depth of arctic winters, rings in the oil 
 that lights you on your way, rings in the very coffins that 
 finally you are buried in. We are fairly ringboned with 
 corruption through and throughout, and no country has 
 tolerated it, nay, encouraged it, as it has been encouraged 
 here. But some say we have no noblemen above us, as 
 they have in Europe. Alas ! is the day of bosses passed ? 
 We have no ' noblemen ' above us in the ordinary sense 
 of the word, but titles have lost their political significance 
 
298 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 in most Kuropean countries, and arc little more tiian 
 names. Conse(iuently, the dilTerence between tlie people 
 who rule us here, and those who rule in Europe, is but 
 nominal, imaijinary, a fiction. 
 
 " rerhai)s some will say, at least the poor man here has 
 cipiality with his master before the law. All I will rejjly 
 is, he iiad better go to Albany, where our laws arc made, 
 and try the issue with some railrt)ail lobbyist. On the 
 contrary, there is less * ecpiality ' before the laws for the 
 poor man here than almost anywhere else, for the simple 
 reason that our legal proceedings are so long drawn out, 
 and offer, too, such advantage to the clever — that is, the 
 most expensive — lawyer, that recourse to law, for the 
 poor man, is daily becoming more impossible. Inileed, 
 barring his wages, with which the gov( •unienthas nothing 
 to do, and which is more than compensated for by greater 
 cost of living, I will venture to say that the government 
 here gives him less for his money than any other govern- 
 meiit raised above that of the Hottentots. 
 
 ♦' For the indirect tax he i)ays on everything, from his 
 shoes, his clothes, his liquor, down to the nails in his 
 coffin — yes, down to the direct tax he has to pay for his 
 burial — he scarcely gets a well-paved street in which he 
 can walk with his wife, in any city, from the Atlantic to 
 the Pacific. For the enormous tax he indirectly pays in 
 high rent, through the undue assessment of city property, 
 he scarcely gets a park for his children to play in that 
 is not a hole for malaria like the Central. Forced into 
 narrow alley-ways, his children seek their amusement 
 about the festering gorbage pile, and are sickened by the 
 
TIIK ROMANCE OF AN AITF.R F.r.O. 299 
 
 rottinjj carrion that their father has paid so dearly, by • 
 expensive lodgings, to have removed from the streets. 
 
 *' I have dwelt more particularly on cities, so as to brin^ 
 my remarks more home to you. Jiesides, we are a nation 
 of cities, in a way, that no other peoj)le can understand. 
 Turn, however, to the country districts ; what do yen 
 see ? We are no longer a body of small and independent 
 landholders, for, at a low computation, two-tiiirds of our 
 farms are mortgaged. l''urther than this, while we send 
 over money to break up the system of landlord and 
 tenant in Ireland, behold, we have 265,408 more tenants 
 paying rent to landlords in the United States of America 
 than in Englanil, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales united. 
 
 "And how do your guardians meet this situation ? They 
 prate about Washingt(jp. and Jefferson, and the glorious 
 Fourth of July. Why, Washington and Jefferson died a 
 hundred years ago. The issues that existed then have 
 changed. Not o-rations, but meat-rations, are the living, 
 burning questions of to-day ; not fire-crackers, but flour 
 crackers. 
 
 '' It is to change a condition of affairs that has become 
 intolerable that the revolutionary party was organized. 
 Now, my friends, this is the evening of the formal union 
 between the two great divisions of this party. It is nec- 
 essary that an example should be given you of the danger 
 of breaking the oaths you will be cal'ed upon to make. 
 It is also essential that we should be all bound together 
 by a danger that will be common to us all. The chair- 
 man of this society has refused to assume the responsi- 
 bility himself of ridding us of this man's interference, 
 
300 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 and has preferred to throw it on your shoulders. None 
 of you seem ready to assume that responsibility. Very 
 well, I will assume it for you. My name is Spies. Nine 
 months ago, the night before my husband mounted the 
 scaffold in Chicago, he gave me this." And she re- 
 moved a jewel-mounted dirk from the bosom of her dress. 
 " * Keep it,' he said, * till the occasion requires its use, and 
 then sink it in the breast of that man, whether innocent 
 or guilty, whose blood will most advance the interest of 
 the cause.' I have kept it until now, and now will I fol- 
 low out his dictates. Audacity, and still more audacity, 
 and yet again audacity is the watchword of our creed." 
 
LII. 
 
 So perfect was Edna's impersonation of the well known 
 young widow of the Chicago Anarchist, that I doubted 
 whether there was a single person in the audience that so 
 much as suspected her to be otherwise than she claimed. 
 All human assemblages, however, of whatever nature they 
 may be, whether legislative or other, always divide into 
 two parts, the one conservative, the other progressive. 
 The gathering may seem the most radical in its instincts 
 that is possible, but there will always arise an " opposite 
 wing" which will appear conservative by contrast. It 
 was so in the present case, for I could see that while one 
 portion of the audience sympathized with, the other 
 dreaded, if not opposed, the contemplated act. Women 
 clung to wom^n, and men rose to their feet. 
 
 When it was palpable that her threat was not made in 
 mere bravado, tiiis difference became accentuated. While 
 one side cheered her on, the other tried to retard her with 
 murmurs of disapproval. 
 
 I have always believed, too, that the most dramatic sit- 
 uations have an element of the ludicrous. Perhaps it is 
 that the mind, being highly strained, is more apt to ac- 
 cept as a relief any circumstance that offers an opportuni- 
 ty to break the tension. 
 
 301 
 
302 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER ECO. 
 
 She had advanced to the stajje, and was about to mount 
 it, when a great brawr v man, in a red flannel shirt and a 
 S'.rongly marked Hibernian face, jumped ahead of her and 
 barred her passage. 
 
 ** P'rinds, brothers, and ladies," he said, " I've listened 
 to this yere talk about socialism and arnica till it's about 
 soured on me stomach. I may be a dinimiter, but it is 
 only the honorable imployment of dinimite and sich as isj 
 in use amongst gintlemen that I favor, I don't moind a 
 shindy wid the police or any one else, if the thruth must 
 be told, and O'ill be the last to put on me coat atther a 
 foight, be it wid frinds or foes. But when it comes to 
 stabbin' a man as is toid down and can't strike back, 
 sez I, that's murther, and any one as is goin' to troy 
 it must walk over the body of Patherick McGordy first." 
 
 The exact circumstance that precipitated matters, was 
 this, at least as well as I could distinguish: A man, short 
 and stumpy, whom, in spite of his workman's clothes and 
 a long false beard, I instantly recognized as Doctor Henry, 
 hurried to the front and tried to push the Irishman aside 
 so as to permit of Edna's passing. He whispered some- 
 thing in his ear, as he did so, the import of which was 
 alone to be inferred by the expostulations of the Irish- 
 man, 
 
 '*0h! it's only in the intherest of scoience, is it ?" he ejac- 
 ulated. "An' she can't really hurt him, because you'll 
 intherfare in toime ? Begorry, it's the roight toime now 
 to intherfare, and if its scoience you're so fond of O'ill 
 give yez a touch of a koind that's in practice down in the 
 Sixth Warrud." 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO, 303 
 
 Whereupon the speaker's ponderous fist fell full upon 
 the doctor's face. 
 
 The scene that followed beggars all description. In an 
 instant the room was in an uproar. 1'hen, with a shout 
 of '* Frinds of Ould Oireland, rally to the riscue and 
 Divil take the hindmost!" the son of Erin seized the 
 bench on which he had been lately seated, leaped to the 
 stage, and, placing himself before me, with admirable im- 
 partiality swept down friends and foes alike as they tried 
 to gain a footing beside him, either to assist him or to pull 
 him down. 
 
 In the confusion I saw Dr. Henry rise and draw Edna 
 away, and only just in time, for the tide of battle was not 
 confined to immediately in front of the stage, but extend- 
 ed back into the room. Besides, as it ebbed and flowed 
 hither and thither there would seem to be three, nay, four, 
 factions all fighting — the Anarchists, the Socialists, some 
 half dozen Irishmen, and the captain of Erin fighting 
 them all. Even this distinction of parties before long 
 was lost, and at last but one grand principle reigned su- 
 preme — namely, for every one to hit every head that was 
 the nearest. Such dust and confusion, such a medley of 
 different cries and noises I — which last, however, could be 
 explained by the mixture of nationalities engaged in the 
 fight. Shrieks of women and curses of men, in every 
 known language, blending in with the sharp crack of re- 
 volvers and the thuds of the falling, while rising high over 
 all would every now and then be heard the loud vocifera- 
 tion of "To hell with Arnica and chape Oitalian labor !" 
 followed by *' Frinds of Oireland, rally to the call!" 
 
304 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 then down would come tlie bench again upon the heads of 
 those strugghng up to answer. 
 
 The stage had long been cleared by the sweep of the 
 terrible weapon of all upon it but myself and my cham- 
 pion, when, as if desirous of fresh conquest, he descended 
 into the body of the house. At the very moment that h*^ 
 did so the doois opened, and supposably those who haa 
 served as sentries down below burst in, crying out, '* The 
 cops!" , . 
 
 What followed after this passes like the troubled views 
 of a kaleidoscope before my eyes, but I will endeavor to 
 give the incidents as accurately as I can. I was just 
 looking at the struggling mass before me, which, so far 
 from desisting from the contest at the warning they had 
 received, appeared to have redoubled their fury, when I 
 detected a man separating himself from the combatants 
 and stealthily approaching the stage. The moment my 
 eyes fell upon him I recognized him as the organ-grinder 
 who had cursed me at Mr. Crummels' gate. How he had 
 escaped my observation up to now I do not know, but he 
 had a long knife in his hand, and the blood trickling from 
 it showed me that during the melee it had not been idle. 
 He climbed to the stage with the same stealthy air, and 
 when he got about ten feet from me he stopped. " Hal 
 ha!" he said, ** ze cops is coming, is they ? But zey vont 
 save you dees time, for if ze voman deedn't strike, Bap- 
 tiste Djavolo vill. Ha ! ha ! you set ze dog on Baptiste; 
 veil, Baptiste pizen ze dog. Baptiste vill now fix ze mas- 
 ter." 
 
 There was a wicked leer on his face, a hideous glitter 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 305 
 
 in his eye, that assured me that he would be held back 
 by no feeling of compunction. " Vone!" and he made a 
 significant gesture, as if to sharpen his knife on his coat 
 sleeve. "Two!" and he raised it up aloft. "Tree!" and 
 he was in the act of springing at me like a serpent when 
 a report rang out clear and distinct and he tumbled, 
 a confjiised mass, at my feet. I turned my head as 
 well as my bonds would admit, and beheld my own 
 shadow, the living reflection of myself, my Alter Ego, 
 in a cavalier hat, and with a smoking pistol in his hand, 
 advancing towards me through the crowd. He had en- 
 tered the loft from the door behind them, and alongside 
 of him was Theophilus, perfectly beside himself with ex- 
 citement. After these two came a file of bluecoats, with 
 their buttons gleaming brightly in the light. With the 
 precision that actuates a trained force, they filed right 
 and left through the loft with their pistols drawn, while 
 the people, at last realizing their danger, stood stock-still 
 for an instant, and then like frightened sheep fled before 
 them. Such a sudden stampede of ruffians could scarce- 
 ly be imagined. In their blind terror they actually 
 knocked their heads, like birds, against the wall as they 
 rushed down to the other end of the room, and then, re- 
 bounding back, rushed to the windows, entirely oblivious of 
 the height from the ground, trampling down each other 
 in their frantic efforts, till at last men and women were all 
 huddled together in a heap on the floor, a palpitating, 
 writhing mass of inhuman humanity. Only one, and she 
 a woman, retained a vestige of courage, and rising from 
 the floor, Edna, my wife, my self-ordained executioner, 
 
306 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 majestic in her fury, gazed witli glaring eyeballs on the 
 intruders. 
 
 I learned afterwards that she had escaped from Dr, 
 Henry and had returned to the scene of confusion just 
 before the arrival of the police, when my attention was 
 taken up with the organ-grinder. Be that as it may, she 
 was here again and stood pressing one fon<- rx- ^^"aliant 
 champion, the Irishman, who had fallen with a knife thrust 
 in his back. Then, as I stared at her, the stranger with 
 the cavalier-like hat advanced to my side and cut my 
 straps. 
 
 *' Well, old boy !" he exclaimed in a matter-of-fact tone, 
 " so I've found you in the nick of time — Henry Simoni, 
 very much at your service, whom you would consider as 
 dead." 
 
 A crash, followed by a loud explosion, interrupted my 
 reply. "Good God!" he cried, "she has fired the 
 place." 
 
 It was too true. As Samson pulled down the temple 
 on himself and foes, Edna, true to her assumed char- 
 acter, had seized with all her force the bench the poor 
 man at her feet had used in my defense, and, raising it 
 aloft, had struck down the oil chandelier at one blow. 
 The entire room was now aflame, the burning oil, because 
 of the unevenness of the floor, however, running down 
 principally to one side and setting fire, as the flames leap- 
 ed up, to the bunting and the cheap flags decorating the 
 walls. Then, as my deliverer put his arm around my 
 waist and tried to drag me with him, a great horror seized 
 me — a horror that nothing I had gone through could near 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 307 
 
 approach ; a horror greater than I had experienced on 
 recognizing Edna; a horror greater than that caused by 
 the smoke and the flames, and the agonized shrieks of the 
 terrified people about me. 
 
 "If you are Henry. Simoni," I cried, "leave nic here 
 otherwise Edna Dalzelle will have twin brothers for bus- 
 bands." 
 
LIII. 
 
 How the people got out of that burning building is a 
 mystery only to be solved by the presence of a force 
 of men who, when it comes to a case of action, justly 
 deserve the title of the *' Finest." As it was after- 
 wards explained to me, my brother and Dr. Henry res- 
 cued Edna, whilo th? police were obliged literally to club 
 the rest out and down the stairs before them — a feat that 
 would have b:)en attended with even greater difficulty had 
 the fire not been confined to the top story of the building, 
 leaving the stairways f jr some time intact. Thus not only 
 the women but the wound'=!d were rescued, and if there 
 were any killed I could never learn it. 
 
 Some one — exactly who I was too much confused to re- 
 member — assisted me out of the house and deposited me 
 in a carriage ; but as we started off, and my eye caught 
 sight for the first time of tho signboard over the door of my 
 late prison, I was not too dr.zed to reflect, as the flames 
 lighted it up, how suitable was the designation "The 
 House of Blazes." Though 1 neither knew nor cared 
 whither I was being taken, I shall never forget the drive. 
 The people were crowding out to the Flats to see the fire, 
 and the light fell upon their hungry, inquisitive faces. As 
 we left the suburbs and entered the labyrinth of built-up 
 streets, it was more the sufferings, however, of the people 
 
 308 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER F.UO. 309 
 
 that struck me; for the air, l)esides heinj^insiiflcrably hot, 
 was heavily charged with electricity and had tliat dense, 
 closeness that precedes a thunderstorm. It seemed 
 to weigh you down and to oppress you, and the windows 
 and doorways of the lofty tenements were fairly thronged 
 with huiiianity gasping for breath. Many had taken 
 their bxlding to the roof tops, aiid even the sheds over 
 the sidewalks were packed — men, women, and children, ^ 
 only partially dressed, and in that frightful and hetero- 
 genous crowding to which the poor in our great cities are 
 subjected, giving the lie to our boasted civilization, and 
 gradually blotting out manhood, womanhood, ay, human- 
 ity in those whom civilization ought to raise. 
 
 Had not Edna, struck off some sparks of truth ? 
 Where was the ecjuality we calk so much of here? Ay, 
 go to Albany and ask ! " Forced into narrow alleyways, 
 your children seek amusement about the festering gar- 
 bage pile, and are sickened by the rotting carrion you 
 have so dearly paid to have removed." 
 
 Every alley reeked with filth, with putrefaction, with 
 degradation, and pallid faces glared vindictively at seeing 
 a carriage passing there. Indeed, owing to the strikes 
 and the consequent number of unemployed, the highways 
 were more than ordinarily crowded, and as I thought of 
 the lateness of the hour, I recalled her statement about 
 the people who found the streets their only home. 
 
 Brought up on the plains, far away from cities, I was 
 lu^used to such sights, and they rendered logical, I thought, 
 the circumstances which I had so lately witnessed. 
 
 By the time we reached the ferry — for I now saw we 
 
310 
 
 TUK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 were journeying to Ni-w York — the closeness was actually 
 intolerable, and I asked my companion to assist me to the 
 deck, and we walked forward. At the moment we reach- 
 ed the front part of the boat and faced New York, a flash 
 of lightning, followed by a peal of thunder, shook the 
 vessel till I thought she was struck. For an instant the 
 whole city stood out in bold relief like a golden picture 
 in the sunlight — all, everything, brought out, down to 
 the minutest detail : her church steeples raising their 
 ' fingers to God, her halls of justice and her temples of 
 trade, her palace,>, her lofty buildings — ay, and her 
 prisons. Then all was black again. Looking backwards, 
 however, just beyond the Statue of Liberty, there was still 
 a red glow from the burning building, and in this lurid 
 lettering written across the sky I read a warning I will 
 not farther- emphasize. 
 
LIV. 
 
 I HAVE said that I am particularly sensitive to narcotics 
 and to this I think is due the fact that many of the cir- 
 cumstances related in the past chapter, though noticed 
 with sufficient accuracy to be remembered afterwards, 
 failed to make at the time the impression on me that 
 they otherwise might. But my sensi!)ilities and my 
 senses, except sight and hearing, were benumbed, and 
 while Edna's sudden appearance was a prominent factor 
 in my trying ordeal, the dramatic situation was only 
 recognized at its true worth later on. 
 
 That she had taken a character so foreign to her na- 
 ture failed to strike me with full force when she was before 
 me, nor did I then appreciate how strange it was that 
 she should have been able to discuss subjects I had 
 no reason to suppose she was otherwise than com- 
 pletely ignorant of. My explanation of this last phenom- 
 enon is that every item that she had ever gleaned from 
 the public journals, every fact that she had ever heard 
 in conversation touching the subject of public griev- 
 ance, though forgotten, had been unconsciously assimi- 
 lated and rushed to her lips with the character she had 
 been made to assume. 
 
 To return to myself, I had braced up, so to speak, 
 during the terrible scene of which I had been the central 
 
 3" 
 
312 THE ROMANCE OF AN AI/IKR EGO. 
 
 figure; yet when it was over I reverted to my previous 
 Ictluirj^y, I'ccoming, in fad, unconscious soon after reach- 
 ing New York. For nearly sixty hours 1 lay in this con- 
 dition, but when I opened my eyes my mind was clear as 
 crystal. Indeed, the past in all its details was before me 
 as fresh and vivid as if reflected in a mirror, or, to carry 
 out the simile, my mind was like a mirror that had just 
 l)eeu freed from a thick incrustation of dust. I found 
 myself lying in my brother's quarters, and even remem- 
 bered now having 1 leen brought here direct. He was at a 
 table writing, and he wore a look of deep, impenetrable 
 sadness. I recalled my words to him at the time of our 
 meeting, and I attributed his expression to the realization 
 of the unhallowed position we bore to each other as the 
 husbands of the same woman. At last he looked up and 
 caught my eye. He put down his pen, and, coming over 
 to the side of the bed, took a seat near me. 
 
 ** I have been writing a statement for your lawyer," he 
 said very gravely, after having congratulated me on com- 
 ing to. **When you are suf^ciently restored to health I 
 will read it to you, and it will explain everything that is 
 yet shrouded in mystery." 
 
 I appreciated his delicacy: there are some things that 
 defy expression in language. 
 
 ♦' But how was it you thought me dead ?" And he 
 looked up wistfully. 
 
 " After the battle of White Bluffs," I answered, "we 
 read in the list of killed the name of Henry Simmons. 
 We naturally inferred it to be you, as the regiment was 
 the same we heard you had joined. We supposed, in the 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER E(;(). 3IJ 
 
 hurry and confusion of takiui; down the names, the * s ' at 
 the end had been intended for an • i,' and our impression 
 was confirmed hy the fact that you never returned or 
 wrote to contrachct it." 
 
 '• I was captured and unal)lc to communicate with you. 
 Now that 1 remember, there was a young fellow in my 
 regiment named Henry Simmons whom I saw shot down 
 l)eforc my eyes. Tell me, however: I learned when I 
 returned home that my father was dead, but how was it 
 that I could get no tidings of either you or my mother ?" 
 
 *' She remarried, and I moved with her to her second 
 husband's home in Vermont." 
 
 '• I see; and through her change of name I was unable 
 to trace her. Now, there is one fact that I consider it 
 only due to myself to inform you of at the earliest 
 moment, and, if you are sufficiently strong to hear it, I 
 will tell you now. The rest can wait your complete re- 
 covery. What I wish to state affects oiir position as re- 
 gards Edna Dalzelle." 
 
 He winced as he spoke her name, and I on my part felt 
 a shiver pass over me that was impossible for me to con- 
 ceal. 
 
 " My desertion of her was not voluntary," he continued, 
 and thereupon he brielly outlined his own abduction. 
 " During the voyage to Valparaiso 'I had time to weigh 
 my conduct calmly, and I realized at last that it was 
 open to severe condemnation. On my arrival, therefore, 
 I wrote to my wife the full particulars of my abduction, 
 and told her besides that after due consideration I re- 
 proached myself for having induced her to marry me be- 
 
314 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTp:R EGO. 
 
 fore she could have had time to feel assured of her own 
 mind. I told her in addition that, although I was well 
 born, I had sunk to a social position inferior to her own, 
 and that I had here an opportunity to begin the world 
 afresh; that if her affections were really engaged, I 
 would work my way home to her and bring her back 
 with me, trusting to luck to find the place I had secured 
 still open to me. Under no circumstances, however, 
 would I be dependent on her father's charity. If this 
 proposal did not meet her approval, she might take 
 advantage of our separation as a definite parting. The 
 ceremony was clandestine ; it had not been consum- 
 mated by even one night of married life; and, further, 
 I wrote her that on applying to the American Minis- 
 ter, who happened to have been a Rhode Island law- 
 yer, he assured me that there would be a grave question 
 of doubt whether our marriage was strictly a legal one." 
 
 " Not legal!" I cried, rising from my bed. 
 
 " No, because the laws of Rhode Island expressly and 
 emphatically state that the person who performs the cere- 
 mony must be a clergyman domiciled in that particular 
 State, whereas the man that had married us was a resident 
 of New York, a guest at the Ocean House where we were 
 both stopping." 
 
 I wiped the perspiration off my brow with the cuff of 
 my pajama. 
 
 **I advised her, therefore, if she was not prepared to 
 accept the vicissitudes of a poor man's life, that she had 
 better let the matter drop, and she would never hear from 
 me again. I never felt so utterly heart-broken as when I 
 
THK ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 315 
 
 mailed that letter. But I could not bear to have her feel 
 herself tied to a man in my condition. I wished to give 
 her a loophole of escape, as 1 knew I had made her act 
 with inordinaVj haste. Never receiving any reply, I con- 
 cluded she had deemed it better to forego the sacri- 
 fice." 
 
 " Then you make no claim upon her ?" I cried in great 
 joy. " She is mine! Your marriage with her being illegal, 
 she is mine ! mine ! mine !" And I threw my arms about 
 his neck in an agony of relief. 
 
 Sadly he disengaged my arms. "And after your last 
 meeting with her, are your feelings towards her still the 
 same ?" 
 
 " They are intensified," I answered. " It shows me how 
 much she needs a protector." 
 
 " I fear she then is destined for neither of us," he an- 
 swered, as he turned away his head. 
 
 His manner terrified me. 
 
 ** What do you mean ?" I cried. 
 
 Seeing him still hesitate, a great, chill shadow fell 
 athwart me. 
 
 "Tell me what it is — tell me, man, at once!" And I 
 shook his shoulder violently. 
 
 " I can't ! I can't !" he cried, and he sank his head in 
 his hands. 
 
 •'But I insist! Is she not well? Is she — is 
 she—" ' 
 
 The pitying expression of his face, as he looked up, 
 gave the reply my lips refused to form. 
 
 I was •'.Iready pulling on my clothes with trembling 
 
3l6 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 hands, tearing a shirt from end to end as I tried to get it 
 over my head. I would go to her at once. 
 
 I rang the bell violently, and ordered a carriage. 
 
 At last I was ready. 
 
 " Now," I said, "you may as well tell me all." 
 
 "She has gone, I fear, to a land," he replied solemnly, 
 " where there's neither marrying nor giving in marriage." 
 
LV. 
 
 Have you ever walked through the lines of wounded 
 after a battle ? If so, j'ou may have remarked that the 
 cries of anguish and the writhing ot pain rather indicate the 
 less severely hurt. Where the blow is fatal, a deep calm 
 indicative of the grave takes possession of the injured. 
 
 So it is with the spiritually afflicted. 
 
 I was perfectly calm, and, though I rose from a sick- 
 bed, I walked down-stairs and entered the carriage with- 
 out any assistance, assisting rather my brother, who ap- 
 peared thoroughly prostrated. 
 
 On our drive to her residence I even persuaded him to 
 enter into fuller particulars, heroically trying to relieve 
 his distress by making him talk. 
 
 Thereupon he explained how, on the morning of his 
 arrival here after stopping at Mr, Slocum's, he had pro- 
 ceeded to Mr. Dalzelle's. 
 
 ''Being advised by the porter to go up-stairs, I did so, 
 and was confronted with your — with my wife. Tell me 
 once more, did you love this woman?" he stopped to in- 
 quire. " I mean, did you love her as you never loved 
 woman before?" 
 
 " I loved her better than my own life," I answered. " I 
 loved her in a way that the greatest boon I could ask of 
 Almighty God would be to change places with her now." 
 
 317 
 
3l8 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 "Then I ought not to tell you." 
 
 " Tell me all ; tell me what she said to you at tl'at 
 meeting." 
 
 ''Well, perhaps it is best. It will lighten your loss. 
 She fell into my arms," he continued, but with an expres- 
 sion on his face I shall never forget; "she told me she 
 loved me alone, and that all the time I had been away 
 had seemed a hideous nightmare to her. She begged me 
 to take her with me and to save her from you." 
 
 " Enough !" I cried. "We are here." 
 
 We had indeed arrived at our destination, but my 
 brother declined to accompany me. I ascended the 
 stairs alone, therefore, and as I went up each flight 
 seemed a separate stage, so to speak, of my own life — the 
 first my infancy, the next my boyhood, the third my 
 youth, my manhood, and my great despair. What was 
 life, after all ? A stairway to be climbed with infinite toil, 
 and leading whither ? To think that now, now when I 
 had the right to possess her, now when she was relieved 
 of the bonds that held her to another, the demon called 
 God came in to wrest her from my grasp ! I crouched 
 down almost on my knees, not to pray, but to bring my- 
 self so low on the stairs that I could not look over the 
 banisters ; crowding close to the wall, away from that great 
 temptation, I crept onwards, upwards, nearer the woman 
 who, though dead, was my life. 
 
 On being admitted into the sick-room I closed the door 
 behind carefully, jealous even of the breeze that might 
 come and disturb her sanctuary. There she lay as I had 
 once before seen her lying, the beautiful hands crossed 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 319 
 
 and folded upon the breast, and an expression of beati- 
 tude on her countenance. Great God ! What becomes of 
 the spirit that is in humanity ? There she la}', weighing the 
 same, occupying the same space as ever, but the anima- 
 tion, the spirit, the humor, the sparkle, the brightness, the 
 life — where were they ? Were those lips never to smile 
 again ? Were those eyes never to light up, were they never 
 to weep again, nor those lips to speak ? C ye gods ! 
 It was too hard, too\\iVLi\\ And I threw myself on my 
 knees before her and wept and wept again. 
 
 By her side was her father. He gave neither sign of 
 recognition nor sympathy, and moving about the room 
 was the same Sister of Charity I had seen there once be- 
 fore. 
 
 I hurried out of the room, quite unable to bear the 
 sight. On reaching the hall I was unexpectedly con- 
 fronted by Dr. Henry coming in. 
 
 I could have throttled him, but, resisting the temptation 
 I took him by the arm and demanded an explanation of 
 his extraordinary conduct. He was disconcerted, but 
 by dint of much persistency I gained from him the fol- 
 lowing particulars : That Edna, after her first interview 
 with my brother, had flown to Rebecca for consolation 
 and advice, as she had been in the habit of doing when 
 in any trouble. That Rebecca had elicited from her 
 the full story, and, finally soothing her distress had 
 sent her up-stairs to the room she usually occupied when 
 under her roof. That he, the professor, happened to be 
 on the premises during Edna's visit, talking with Rebecca 
 about her bail, and that after Edna's departure to her 
 
320 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 room Rebecca had admitted knowing where I was con- 
 fined. She, however, refused to raise her finger m my 
 behalf. That her information suggested to the professor 
 the idea of the Spies woman as a means of rescuing me 
 and at the same time as a final test of the power of mes- 
 merism. ** For to persuade a woman," went on the doc- 
 tor, **into the necessity of killing her husband for the 
 sake of a cause to which she only imagined she belonged 
 would be the crowning achievement of my investigations. 
 I therefore persuaded Rebecca to assist in the experiment 
 and to furnish us with the proper passwords." 
 
 *'But how was I to be rescued?" I asked, astounded 
 by the cool complacency of the man. 
 
 *' Why, simply, I intended stepping over to the Jersey 
 City police department and getting them to send around a 
 file of men to wait outside the building till I made a signal 
 from the window." 
 
 *« Then I have to thank you for my liberation, at all 
 events." 
 
 "Well, hardly. You see I found myself behind-time, 
 and I scarcely thought it right to risk the experiment for 
 a little matter of detail. I trusted to luck to get you out 
 of your fix unassisted. As your brother has subsequently 
 told me, he had got wind of my intentions and actually 
 drove Edna and myself over to Jersey City. On deposit- 
 ing us at our destination, he galloped his horses around 
 to the nearest police station and secured the men with 
 whom he broke up the meeting. Fortunately, owing to 
 the delay in procuring them, the experiment was in every 
 way satisfactory." 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 32 1 
 
 I looked at him in wonder. Was ever devotion to 
 science so perverted ? 
 
 *' But Edna !" 1 at last ejaculated. 
 
 "Ah, Edna, poor girl! Well, you see, the excitement 
 of her hurried waking, or the terror at the fire, was too 
 much for her. Your brother and myself got her out of 
 the burning building and brought her home, but she has 
 never spoken since her arrival here." 
 
 ** Has Rebecca seen her?" I asked bluntly. 
 
 "She has been here several times, but could do nothing. 
 I also thought it well to call in the family physician, with 
 the only result of a collision between them on the subject 
 of professional etiquette." 
 
 *' Would you mind going for Rebecca and getting her 
 to come around again ?" 
 
 " Certainly not, but it can be no use." 
 
 *• My brother is down-stairs. Send him up to me and 
 take his carriage to fetch her." 
 
LVI. 
 
 Dr. Henry descended, and a few moments later I was 
 joined by my new-found relative. We sat down together 
 on the landing and silently awaited Rebecca's coming. 
 At the end of half an hour I heard her heavily mounting 
 the stairs and remonstrating with the professor as to the 
 uselessness of her mission. 
 
 When she arrived where we were, we rose to meet her. 
 Though she must have been prepared to find me here, 
 she scarcely deigned to cast on me a glance. All her 
 attention seemed concentrated on my brother. And 
 the more she looked the more he seemed to attract 
 her. 
 
 *' So you've got the power, too," she cried. *• i can ten 
 it by your expression." 
 
 '* What power?" he asked. 
 
 ** Why, mesmerism. Did you ever learn it?" 
 
 He hesitated from surprise. 
 
 *' Down in South America the Indian doctors frequently 
 employ what I suppose you might call mesmerism on 
 their patients. One of them, to whom I did a trifling 
 service in the mines, taught me the trick." 
 
 ** Have you ever practiced it ?" 
 
 Again he hesitated. "Occasionally," he at last replied. 
 
 ' ' Tell me exactly what occurred after you brought 
 
 322 
 
r? 
 
 TlIF, ROMANCK OF AN AI.TF.K KC.O. 32^^ 
 
 this young woman out of ihc burning building as I heard 
 you did." 
 
 ** 1 deposited her in a carriage. She was hysterical and 
 I tried to calm her." 
 
 " ]Jy making any passes over her?" 
 
 " I may have." 
 
 '♦ Then you mesmerized her. Did you thinl> to bring 
 her back by reverse passes ?" 
 
 " I don't believe I ever thouu^ht of mesmerism. Once 
 having (piieted her, I left her at home supposing that 
 she would soon come to of herself." 
 
 " Then there is a chance to save her even yet ; not a 
 very good chance, but one in a million, for it is iisL 
 within the bounds of possibility that the condition \ ai 
 threw her into resembles catalepsy, and that no one besiues 
 yourself can bring her out of it." 
 
 ** Impossible! It is contrary to all the cases I have 
 ever heard. A person that was mesmerized, even if not 
 brought to by the mesmerizer, would simply sleep off the 
 effects, as in the case of wine or opium. I have seen such 
 cases a dozen times, when the Indian doctor of whom I 
 spoke mesmerized a patient to perform some trifling 
 operation, or to relieve pain generally." 
 
 '* It is not impossible, for there are three such cases on 
 record : one in the Paris hospitals— Henrietta Defoy — 
 another in New York, and one in Chicago. Indeed, if 
 you come to that, my own experience with' this sweet girl 
 might make a fourth; for though she had not been in it 
 so long, the reg'lars were unable to get her out of it and 
 I had to be called in again. Indeed, if the truth was ever 
 
324 THE ROMANCK OP AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 known, I believe more than one cnse of so-called 
 trance, particularly when the subject was hysterical, has 
 been caused i)y their falling under the influence of some 
 other person, even unbeknownst to 'em, and who might 
 bring them to if it was only suspected." 
 
 '* What do you want me to do, then ?" 
 
 *' I want to see you make some passes.'* 
 
 He did so. 
 i *' Try again." 
 
 He repeated them several times. Here and there she 
 would correct him, telling him to turn his hands outwards 
 a little more, or his thumbs upwards. 
 
 '•That will do," she said at last. ''And now if Pro- 
 fessor Henry will go down-stairs and wait for me m the 
 carriage, we can enter the chamber." 
 
 ** Why shouldn't I go in, too •* In the interest of science 
 I should like to see — " 
 
 '•That for your sciencel" she exclaimed, snapping her 
 fingers. '* You let this young girl be mesmerized without 
 knowing it, and you've muddled everything you've touched. 
 You're nothing but a bungler." 
 
 The crestfallen professor turned on his heel and abruptly 
 descended the stairs, while we re-entered the apartment, 
 and she led my brother up to the bedside. 
 
 " Now," she said, " make the passes for all you're 
 worth." 
 
 For some ten minutes I watched him intently, hoping 
 against hope. At last she went over to him, and was 
 saying something in his ear, when she stopped suddenly. 
 
 '•Great God! here comes the reg'lars," she cried aloud. 
 
THE KOMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 325 
 
 I looked up and perceived a j^eiUleman of grave, not to 
 say pompous, mien entering the chamber, accompanied l)y 
 a young man of intelligent but ascetic appearance. 
 
 '* I feared we would fuul her here," the elder declared, 
 with a cynical curl of the lip, and he addressed his partner. 
 "You see it was well we returned.'' 
 
 " Now, my good woman, may I ask you once more, and 
 for the last time, to retire ?" he continued. 
 
 *' Doctor," she replied, with a greater control over her- 
 self than I could have looked for, ** tell me whether you 
 are perfectly certain this is not a trance." 
 
 '* I am ready to sign the certificate of decease," he re- 
 plied in the same supercilious tone. 
 
 ** Then, in that case, there's no harm in our trying what 
 can be done." 
 
 " I returned with Mr. Smith, my assistant," he 
 answered, " to see that she suffered no desecration. My 
 reputation suffers from being in any manner mixed up 
 with one the faculty," he added with a low bow, "fails to 
 recognize." 
 
 During the above colloquy I had stood between the 
 bedside and the new-comers, shocked beyond expression 
 by the controversy, yet relying with a wild, inordinate hope 
 on the female physician. At last she turned upon them. 
 
 " You gave her up once to save your professional repu- 
 tation. We're going to try and see if you ain't mistaken ^ 
 a second time. If there is any one here who has the right 
 to refuse us permission, I will retire." 
 
 I looked over towards Mr. Dalzelle, whose stupor was 
 too deep to permit his understanding what was going on. 
 
326 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER ECO. 
 
 "1 assume the responsibility. You slr.ill stay," I ex- 
 claimed. " Do what you can. These gentlemen shall in 
 no wise disturb you." 
 
 " And who are you, sir?" the elder inquired, raising his 
 glasses. 
 
 "1 am her husband," I answered. ** I think you- will 
 scarcely question my right." 
 
 '' Then, sir, our only course is to retire." And he took 
 his assistant by the arm. 
 
 " I insist upon your remaining," I cried. " This is a 
 case that rises superior to professional etiquette, and we 
 may need your assistance." 
 
 I could see that in spite of their words they were more 
 anxious to prevent any tampering with the patient tlian to 
 depart, so I placed myself in such a way before them as 
 to argue that nothing short of physical force would stop 
 the experiment. Indeed, my opinion is that curiosity de- 
 tained them, or possibly a lingering doubt as to whether 
 thire might be any question as to the extinction of the 
 vital spark. 
 
 In the meanwhile Rebecca Seaton had drawn my bro- 
 ther over again towards the bed — for he had risen — and 
 had made him kneel down beside it. 
 
 I could see the repugnance her conduct caused him and 
 the hopelessness in his own mind of any success All the 
 same he began to make the passes anew, but at last, with a 
 shudder, arose. 
 
 " It is a desecration," he muttered. " These gentlemen 
 are right. I positively refuse to continue." 
 
 " Go on for just five minutes more !" exclaimed Re- 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 327 
 
 becca Seaton, and her voice seemed to come from a deep 
 
 chasm,so hollow it sounded. *'Just for five minutes more!" 
 Reluctantly he acquiesced, and resumetl his occupation, 
 
 making the motions deliberately and slowly, though still 
 with the same air of doubt At the end of a few minutes, 
 that seemed to me as many ages, he got up again ; while 
 Rebecca bent over the fair form, and, lifting up the lids, 
 closely examined 4he eyes. 
 
 " There's movement here. I saw them twitch. For the { 
 love of God, go on, go on, man ! In the name of the Al- 
 mighty go on with them passes!" 
 " I can't, I can't!" he cried. 
 
 At this moment the elder of the two physicians stepped 
 forward, and, stooping down, closely examined the pupils of 
 Edna's eyes. There was something there that changed 
 his former superciliousness to doubt. He called 
 over his partner and together they made a searching ex- 
 amination. Suddenly the younger rose, a'ld, grasping my 
 brother by the arm, ♦' This is a case that certainly does 
 rise superior to professional etiquette," he cried, "and I 
 insist that it be left in your hands." 
 
 His conduct inspired my brother with hope. I could 
 tell it by the way he resumed his passes and the in- 
 creasing intensity of his interest. I turned away my head, 
 however, quite unable to bear the strain of my mental 
 anguish. What happened after this I can hardly say. I 
 remember struggling with the physicians to prevent their 
 interference though now they were ready to lend their co- 
 operation, and I remember imploring the nurse to keep 
 quiet, though she was standing stock still. When I regained 
 
328 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 my senses and looked around Edna was sitting upon the 
 bed. For an instant absolute quiet reigned, then with a 
 loud cry the Sister of Charity fled the chamber, leaving the 
 physicians and myself rooted to the floor, while over all 
 towered Rebecca Seaton giving with pantomimic gestures 
 a cue to my brother as to what passes he should make. 
 
 The silence of the elder of the two physicians, however, 
 was but momentary. " In common justice to ourselves," 
 , he said, turning to me, " I must take the present occasion 
 to state that this case possessed certain features that puz- 
 zled us both. For this reason we hesitated signing the 
 cctificate of decease, and when we arrived we were just 
 consulting over the advisability of a further delay." 
 
 In the meanwhile the subject of these remarks was star- 
 ing about her with the same unconscious look. 
 
 " Draw yourself away from the bed," exclaimed Rebec- 
 ca to my brother; ♦' she will follow you." 
 
 Slowly Edna rose, and, with her long garments sweep- 
 ing behind her, advanced towards us. 
 
 ** Now bring her more out into the middle of the room, 
 if only to make her walk." 
 
 Slowly she followed him as he retreated before her. 
 
 "Now talk to her — tell her anything you like; it will 
 excite the action of the brain." 
 
 " Ask her questions, anything; best resume the conver- 
 sation you had with her when you first met her after your 
 return." 
 
 " But I can't do that." 
 
 " I insist! Bring her back to that period; she will take 
 most naturally to it." 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 329 
 
 <' Do you know who I am ?" he asked. 
 
 A vague look of uncertainty passed over her face. 
 
 *«Tell me who I am, Edna." 
 
 *' You are he — he — " she answered, as if trying to place 
 him. 
 
 " I am he to whom you plighted your faith," he answer- 
 ed. ".Your long-lost husband, who deserted you through 
 no fault of your own." 
 
 She partly opened her lips as she continued to stare at 
 him, while I stared at them both, feeling as I have no lan- 
 guage to portray. 
 
 " Tell me that you know me ?" he continued. 
 
 An expression of recognition lighted up for the first time 
 in her eyes. 
 
 " Now anything you say to her she will believe," cried 
 Rebecca. 
 
 For an instant he took deep counsel within himself, keep- 
 ing his eye, the while, fixed on the patient, then in a voice 
 that, while not loud, was clear and distinct " Edna, 
 though you think I am your husband, you are mis- 
 taken. I married you, indeed, but the form was not 
 legal; therefore I am only your mock husband and your 
 affection on me is wasted. There is your real husband," 
 pointing to me. ** He loves you in a way no other man 
 can." She looked about her vaguely till her eye caught 
 mine. **See," he continued, "his arms are stretched 
 towards you; you must love him in return. All the affec- 
 tion you have wasted on me give to him; yield him that 
 reverence he deserves." 
 
 She came towards me. Then in a louder tone : 
 
33© THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 " I transfer the affection you have for me to him; love, 
 honor, and obey him for the rest of your life." 
 
 She had thrown herself upon my neck and my arms en- 
 circled her. 
 
 " Open the door very gently, some one," whispered Re- 
 becca. "Draw back near the door," she whispered to 
 me. " Now be ready to go out," she whispered to my 
 brother, " ^nd just before you leave, touch your thumb 
 lightly on her forehead, and then loudly clap your hands." 
 
 I retreated gently as she clung to my neck. I saw my 
 brother prepare to leave the apartment ; then, touching 
 her an instant on the forehead, he moved to the exit, and, 
 clapping his hands, was gone. 
 
 As for her, she was sobbing on my shoulder, and my 
 arms clasped her waist. 
 
 It would be unjust to the reputation of an honorable 
 man did I not add that on the departure of my brother 
 the elder of the two physicians came forward and frankly 
 extended his hand to Rebecca. 
 
 '* You have taught the faculty a lesson, madam," he 
 exclaimed, " that is well for it to learn — namely, that pro- 
 fessional etiquette may be carried too far. I must con- 
 fess, however, that in all my experience — and it is some- 
 what extended — that I have never encountered a similar 
 case to-this. I have heard of such cases without believing: 
 in them, and I am now obliged to admit that the physi- 
 cian's education will hardly be complete till the study of 
 mesmerism is included in his curriculum." 
 
LVII. 
 
 The next morning I received the following communi- 
 cation from Henry Simoni : 
 
 My Dear Brother : 
 
 I inclose at the end of this a couple of documents, one 
 of which will go far to show that mistakes in identity are 
 not unusual, and the other will assist in explaining the de- 
 position I made at the request of your lawyer. On second 
 thoughts 1 have decided to take my departure without 
 waiting to bid you good-by. My object is to relieve you 
 of a personality that has caused you so much embarrass- 
 ment, but which I trust has been atoned for by one great 
 service. May you be happy, and if you are ever in want, 
 or inclined to travel, a home always awaits you in the land 
 of flowers. That you may find in Edna the happiness 
 your numerous vicissitudes warrant is the wish of your 
 devoted brother to command, Henry Simoni. 
 
 « 
 
 The first document to which he alluded was a cutting 
 from the New York World oi last August i6th. I give 
 it in full below : 
 
 "CRAZED BY HIS MISFORTUNE." 
 
 PORTER, MURDERER PARTIN'S DOUBLE, NOW A WANDERING MANIAC. 
 
 77ie Good Nexus that his Innocence ivotild be proved came Too Late, 
 and his Mind Gave Way under the Fearful Strain — His Fatal Re- 
 semblance to the Desperate North Carolina Murderer. 
 
 [special to the world.] 
 
 "Raleigh, N. C, Aug. 15. — Rarely has such a sad case 
 of mistaken identity, resulting in the unjust prosecution 
 
 331 
 
332 THE ROMANCE OF A.N ALTER EGO. 
 
 of an innocent man, been revealed as was made plain to 
 the citizens of Raleigh when the World reached here 
 yesterday and demonstrated beyond a doubt that Robert 
 Leeson Porter is the victim of a rtrange resemblance to 
 Scott Partin, a desperate miin' ;rer. It was in the 
 JVor/d's exclusive cable dispatch that the details of this 
 remarkable instance of a murderer's double were first 
 learned. Now that the identity of Porter has been thor- 
 oughly established, the startling resemblance he bears to 
 the murderer, Partin, has almost bewildered all who are 
 familiar with the case. 
 
 ** Thirteen years ago Scott Partin, living near Raleigh, 
 murdered his wife and child. The police never caught 
 him. A few days ago a letter was received from Porter 
 by his sister in Queenstown, stating that he was under 
 arrest in Raleigh, charged with being Partin, the mur- 
 derer. Photographs of Partin and Porter sent to Queens- 
 town showed a most remarkable resemblance between the 
 men. To make the case more extraordinary, the prose- 
 cuting attorney of Raleigh wrote that five distinct body 
 marks on Partin, such as the loss of a middle finger, the 
 location of moles and cuts, were found on the man under 
 arrest. 
 
 " Porter's sister lives in the family homestead a few miles 
 from Cork. The family is very well known in South 
 Ireland, with members in the British peerage, and is con- 
 nected by marriage with Dr. Tanner, M.P. In 1873 
 Robert Porter emigrated to America. Two years later 
 he wrote letters to Ireland from Fort Preble, near Port- 
 land, Me., saying that he was in the United States Artil- 
 lery. These letters are still undestroyed, and one of them 
 is dated on the day of the murder, though also marked as 
 being sent from a place several hundred miles from where 
 the murder was committed. 
 
 '* The London correspondent of the Wor/d has seen 
 United States Consul Piatt, and the latter assures him 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 333 
 
 that there is no doubt the writing is the same as that of 
 the man imprisoned in Raleigh. The consul has verified 
 every statement written l)y Porter since his arrest to the 
 British Minister at Washington. In 1887 Porter ceased 
 writing to his friends in Ireland, and his relatives believed 
 him dead. He has been advertised for in vain as heir to 
 land and money. The letter to his sister announcing his 
 arrest was accomoanied by a photograph, and his sister 
 and other people who knew Porter express no doubt of 
 his identity. The sister explains that the loss of his 
 middle finger on one hand can easily be verified by the 
 records of the War Department, Before he joined the 
 United States Army he worked in Charles Flood's piano 
 factory at Halifax. 
 
 *' Since the day of the horrible double murder in 1875 an 
 almost incessant search has been kept up for Scott Partin. 
 The details of the crime were well known in all parts of 
 the State, and the authorities have been vigilant in many 
 sections. From the moment, in June last, when two men 
 saw Porter at Selma and caused his arrest, swearing be- 
 fore a magistrate that he was Partin, until the present 
 moment, the whole affair has awakened the most intense 
 interest. It can be readily seen that when the IVorld 
 reached here this morning it was most eagerly read. 
 
 *' It brought the news that Porter was of good family, 
 was heir to property in Ireland, and had for j'^ears been 
 searched for. But, strange to say, that news, instead of 
 reaching Porter while in jail and bringing something of 
 joy into his life, does not get here until Porter is out of 
 jail and a wanderer upon the face of the earth. During 
 the time Porter was in jail in this city fully 5,000 people 
 saw him. Many hundreds were from the country, and of 
 these not a few were willing to swear he was Scott Partin. 
 Some did so who had worked beside Partin some years 
 ago, and their identification of him seemed complete. 
 Day after day the prisoner had to face this terrible public 
 accusation, for such it was. 
 
334 THE ROMANCE DF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 "One day the World correspondent went into the jail to 
 see him. Fifty persons stood near to hear what was said. 
 The interview was direct, and Porter plainly proved his 
 assertion that he was a soldier. Your correspondent said 
 to him : * You are not Scott Partin.' 
 
 "'Thank you, sir," said Porter; 'you do fhe justice.' 
 
 "At that moment one of the spectators, John Lee, 
 said : 
 
 " ' Porter, I am from your own county in Ireland, and 
 when you get out of this jail come to my house and make 
 it your home.' 
 
 "On July 26 last proof came here to the solicitor of this 
 district, T. M Argo, that Porter was all he claimed, and 
 he was released. He had stood the intense strain of im- 
 prisonment, of. (juestioning, and of suspicion remarkably 
 well up to that time. He went a free man to John Lee's 
 humble but not less hospitable home and found a 
 welcome there. He sta3'ed there day after day, waiting, he 
 said, for his solicitor to obtain some funds for him with 
 which he might pay his passage to Canada. Last week 
 his manner changed. His mind, never strong while in 
 jail, was entirely unbalanced, and he had to be watched 
 constantly. He was a victim of the delusion that a mob 
 of Raleigh people sought his life. Last Friday night 
 John Lee left home, leaving Porter, who at that time was 
 quieter than usual, in care of the woman and children. 
 Suddenly Porter sprang out of the house and ran rapidly 
 towards the suburbs. He made his way to the woods 
 north of the city. Lee was greatly distressed at his flight, 
 but Saturday afternoon Porter turned up at Rolesville, a 
 little town some ten miles north of here. He was in rags, 
 half wild with fever, and very hungry. He told people 
 who he was, and said his stay in jail had crazed him. He 
 suddenly sprang to his feet and said : 
 
 " ' Do you hear them after me? This morning early 
 three men attacked me in the woods and tried to hang me,' 
 
THF, ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 335 
 
 ** Porter said he was going North and wanted company 
 on the road. He left Roiesville with a farmer, and yes- 
 terday he turned up at Youngsville, a little station on the 
 railway twenty-five miles north of here. There he told a 
 pitiful story to a crowd of people. He said that people 
 sought to lynch him and that a large number of Raleigh 
 people who believed he was Scott Partin were on their 
 way after him and would kill him on sight. Some money 
 was given Porter with which to pay his way North. He 
 said he wanted to get to the Virginia or Pennsylvania 
 coal mines. He left there last evening. This morning 
 Solicitor Argo received the following cablegram from 
 Dublin, Ireland : 
 
 ** * Robert Leeson Porter is not Scott Partin. Proofs 
 forthcoming. Porter is wanted as heir.' 
 
 *' The solicitor at once set to work to find the lost heir. 
 Telegrams were sent to Youngsville to ascertain which 
 way he had gone, and also to points in Virginia with view 
 to heading him off. Lieut. Charles B. Wheeler, of the 
 Second Artillery, U.S.A., has sent the following de- 
 scriptive roll of Private Robert Leeson Porter : < Battery 
 M, Fifth Artillery ; enlisted for five years, Nov. 7, 1873, 
 at Fort Preble, Me., by Lieut. Weir, Fifth Artillery ; age, 
 twenty-three ; height, 5 feet 6|- inches ; complexion fair, 
 eyes brown, hair brown ; born in Queensberry, Ireland ; 
 occupation sailor ; deserted from battery, May 22, 1875 ; 
 surrendered at Fort Preble, July 24, 1875; discharged at 
 Barrancas, Fla,, Dec. 30, 1877. Personal marks, scar of 
 sabre cut under right shoulder.' 
 
 *' The local papers have republished the World's cable- 
 gram, and interest in Porter's case is very keen. To show 
 how deeply the idea that he was Partin had taken hold 
 on the public mind, it may be stated that many persons 
 thought the authorities should never have released him 
 from jail. Others, when they heard of his flight, express- 
 ed belief that he was Partin and had gone to the town- 
 
33^ I'llE ROMANCK OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 ship where the murder was t-ommitted. They said fur- 
 ther that if people in that section found him they would 
 surely lynch him. At this moment, and despite over- 
 whelming evidence that he is not Partin, there are people 
 who believe him to be that infamous criminal. 
 
 ♦' Earnest efforts are now in progress to find Porter. At 
 one o'clock this afternoon a telegram was received here by 
 Solicitor Argo stating that Porter was between Weldon 
 and Portsmouth. He was given passage on a train from 
 Youngsville to Weldon and spent last night beyond Wel- 
 don. He is still traveling northward and is probably 
 near the railway line. It is believed he will be found by 
 to-morrow morning, as warnings have been sent to all 
 places on the line of the seaboard road to be on the watch 
 for him." 
 
 The second document to which my brother referred 
 was a letter from an individual who was abducted in a 
 similar fashion to that in which he was. It was a cutting 
 from the Evening Telegram of June i6, which curiously 
 enough was one of the journals that contained an adver- 
 tisement for his own return. It proves more than my own 
 words might that my tale is not extravagant. Instead of 
 being drugged in a carriage, however, the victim was 
 chloroformed in a tavern, whither some acquaintances 
 enticed him. I pick up the story here and quote the 
 paper, word for word : 
 
 *' After drinking with these men I remember nothing 
 more," says the writer, *' till I received a violent shaking 
 up, accompanied by the words, 'Port watch on deck.' I 
 awoke, and after rubbing my eyes I discovered myself on 
 board a ship ; my clothing was a mixture between a sailor 
 outfit and that of a common laborer. I reeled around 
 the forecastle and asked what the whole thing meant. 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 337 
 
 A shove from the strong arm of a man, whom I after- <* 
 wards learned was the boatswain, told me to pick myself 
 up sharp and go aloft and assist in tricing the upper top- 
 sail. Just imagine my surprise, coming partly to my 
 senses, not knowing whether 1 was among those described 
 in Dante's works, or even some worse place. I asked for 
 an explanation as to what it all meant; this was met with 
 a loud * guffaw ' or laughter from the crew and boats- 
 wain. They all saluted me as Brown. I said my name 
 was not Brown. At this they laughed louder and longer, 
 and said the old dodge would not work. I had shipped 
 as A. B. and I could not shift my duty on to others ; the 
 best thing I could do was to go to work at once and earn 
 my 'bacca' and good rations. They would stand no 
 ' Charley Pooking' on that ship, reminding me at the 
 same time that a British sailor * may growl, but " go " he 
 must.' 
 
 " I asked to see the captain, a request which was prom- 
 ised to be granted me ; but before I could see him I was 
 taken sick, and confined to my bunk for several days, 
 where I was most tenderly nursed by one of my ship- 
 mates, who hung a tin of fresh water, with a drinking 
 cup attached, outside my bunk. This is all the nourish- 
 ment I had for two days, when at last the galley steward, 
 taking compassion on me, brought me some hot coffee, 
 which revived me very much. 
 
 •* In the course of a few days I was able to appear before 
 the ' old man,' as the captain was called^ and to him I 
 explained my surprise at my condition and surround- 
 ings, assuring him that there was some mistake, as I was 
 no sailor and had never signed any articles as such. He 
 told me I had done so, but had probably forgotten all 
 about it afterwards. He showed me the articles, where 
 my name was signed ' John Brown, A. B. [Able Bodied.]' 
 I protested, and was about to proceed with my history, 
 when he surlily told me to go for'ad and attend to my 
 
338 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 duty, informing me that no excuses would be received. 
 He said he had paid $15 as advance money on me 
 and he was going to have it out of me in good solid work 
 for the ship. 
 
 *'Then I asked him for my clothes, money, and other 
 articles. He looked at me in surprise and wanted to know 
 if I didn't want the entire ship and cargo. 
 
 " Bewildered was no name for my condition. However, 
 I saw I was in a fix, and as I had no alternative I agreed 
 to make the best I could of the situation. Later on, one 
 of the passengers, who took compassion on me, told me I 
 had been brought aboard the vessel stupidly drunk, and 
 had been delivered to the watchman on deck as * Brown,' 
 but he had an idea I was * shanghaied,' in which I agreed 
 with him, seeing that I was robbed of over $500 besides 
 my gold watch and clothing." 
 
 Now, the name of the steamer in which this Brown, 
 
 was kidnapped, was the Strathcrn, and after his letter 
 
 follows, in the same Evening Telegram of June 16, a 
 
 graphic picture by a sailor's boarding-housekeeper who 
 
 ,c was interviewed on the subject. 
 
 Again I quote the exact words : 
 
 '* In explaining the manner in which shanghaing is done 
 on the city front," this same boarding-house keeper says, 
 " it must be remembered that every member of a crew 
 of an English out-bound vessel must appear before the 
 British consul and sign articles. This done, the conrul's 
 duty is complete. Now, then, for the crooked work. 
 When sailors are scarce and ships are ladened and anxious 
 to sail, there is a great demand for a full complement of 
 hands. The shipping agents get one of their handy men 
 to go before the consul and sign the article as ' John 
 Brown ' or * James Smith.' Then they lie back, and if 
 they can shanghai a poor devil they throw him into a 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 339 
 
 noat at ni^ht and deliver him to the mate or watchman as 
 John lirown. That settles his )j^oose. He has vjjot to slay 
 on board, because the captain has already paicl his blood 
 money for iiis man, and he i:* not goinjj^ to get fooled by a 
 fellow claiming that he is not the man he is represented 
 to be. 
 
 *' I have no doubt in my mind that the man you 
 speak of was put aboard the Strathern last November, as 
 I know they were offering as much as Jij;6o advance for a 
 crew. So much for shanghaing.'* 
 
 Attached to the end of this clipping T found a few brief 
 words penciled as a postcript from my brother: 
 
 " One word as regards Rebecca Seatc^n. I am convinced 
 she had no hand in your own abduction. She was aware 
 of it, as well as of the exact place of your detention, for 
 these sort of people, J know from experience as a detec- 
 tive, have very wide connections. They have confed- 
 erates in every phase of society, who keep them informed 
 of what is going on, and with an exactness you would 
 scarcely realize. Indeed, amongst the criminal classes, 
 who are naturally superstitious, they reap their richest 
 harvests, and often through their knowledge of them 
 prove valuable auxiliaries to the police. 'I'herefore, that 
 she knew of your apprehension was natural. Mr. Star is 
 also of the opinion that she not only knew of your ar- 
 rest on suspicion of the Coney Island assassination, but 
 that she was in some manner a party to it. I have, how- 
 ever, given my word by implication that you would not 
 inquire into this matter nor press any investigations into 
 h er past or recent conduct towards Edna. When I tell 
 you that your liberation was largely based on this un- 
 derstanding, I feel assured that you will respect it. 
 
 " Once more, and for the last time, your devoted, 
 
 *'H. S." 
 
LVTII. 
 
 My brother's aliiision to Mr. Star confirmed my own 
 inii)rcssioiis. 1, too, had long l)een convinced that Rebecca 
 vas responsible for my arrest on the charge of the Coney 
 Island assassination. She had seen me on the train com- 
 ing back from there, and had probably thought to involve 
 me in a web from which my escape would have been dif- 
 ficult. All the previous circumstances of my extraordi- 
 nary history, too, would have been brought out and would 
 have told against me; and though it is too extravagant to 
 suppose that I could have been convicted of the crime, 
 my probable incarceration and efforts to prove myself in- 
 nocent would have deprived Edna of my guardi. nship in 
 the most effectual manner. 
 
 That the real assassin should have been caught within 
 a few hours of my arrest, and that he should have libe- 
 rated me by making a full confession, was a coincidence 
 which she could hardly be expected to foresee. Probably 
 spite, too, rendered her prone tc take the chances of my 
 discomfit 1 -e. I knew that she disliked me, and I attrib- 
 uted her didike first to the strenuous efforts I had made to 
 induce Edna to break off her intercourse with her, and, 
 secondly, to the rough usage she had received at my 
 hands. 
 
 To do Rebecca justice, however, I think that her con- 
 
 340 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 34 1 
 
 nection with Kdna was not entirely basetl on pocuniary 
 considerations. Her j)ovv<.'r jver her was so complete 
 that my opinion is she actually felt a pride in its contin- 
 uance, and witli this pride was probably inwoven no little 
 real affection. 'I'his her last conrhict certainly went to 
 prove, since to rescue Edna from her critical situation she 
 had been compelled to sink her resentment against me 
 and to present me with abride. In behalf of this I could 
 take no action against her, but would respect my brother's 
 agreement, and allow the courts, if the^ saw fit, to pun- 
 ish her or not on the charges for which l)r Henry had 
 secured her bail. 
 
 One word more concerning Rebecca, and then I have 
 done with her, I hope forever. My brother's explana- 
 tions about the wide connections a woman like her usually 
 possessed with the criminal classes accounted for a circum- 
 stance that had puzzled me a Unig time ago — namely, the 
 extraordinary fact of her mentioning my brother's name 
 on my first visit to her. Becau'.e of this affiliation she 
 must have been aware of his abduction, too. She proba- 
 bly was familiar also with the circumstances that led to 
 it, and told me just sufficient to excite my curiosity, and 
 so to make me continue m}! calls upon her at the rate of 
 two dollars each. 
 
 I was still pondering over my brother's letter and the 
 thoughts that it suggested when a visitor was announ- 
 ced. 
 
 I raised my head and beheld Mr. Crummels. Alas! how 
 selfish, how truly self-engrossed is human nature ! Until^ 
 this moment I had forgotten in my own happiness the ter- 
 
342 THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 rible blow that I had brought on this man's household. 
 He came to cast me back to earth. 
 
 I received him with a gentle pity and a deep commise- 
 ration thac only inadequately expressed my sorrow. I 
 held out my hand to him and he took it eagerly. Indeed, 
 he took it so eagerly and evinced such unmistakable 
 signs of cheerfulness that a mean, contemptible reflection 
 obtruded itsei. upon n.y mind — namely, that the loss of 
 his household had been less crushing than I had expected; 
 that he could dispense with the incessant watch his poor 
 wife had maintained over him, and that his philosophical 
 repose would not be lessened by the silence of the old 
 piano which would never speak again his daughters' 
 touch. 
 
 I introduced the subject as delicately as I could, and 
 told him frankly of my recognition of responsibility in the 
 matter. At first he seemed not to understand me. 
 
 "Do Sc.y!" he observed at last. "You mean the 
 women folks ? Why, they is as hale and hearty as kittens; 
 a little scorched about the shins and some'ut hoarse yet 
 for screeching, but otherwise O K. " 
 
 In my sudden revulsion I squeezed his horny palm 
 till he winced; my cup of happiness indeed was full. 
 
 *' That yere cellar came in handy after all," he contin- 
 ued, disengaging his hand; ''for when they found the 
 door slammed in their faces, they took the door that led 
 down to it and got in one of the outspreading branches. 
 A cellar is very much like a woman, as I once before re- 
 marked, and this yere time it took pity on the sex." Then, 
 with an expression I shall never forget, '•' Don't yer think, 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 343 
 
 sir, it would be a good plan to attend a debatin' society 
 together ? If you say the word I'm with yer; indeed, an 
 occasional excussion of that sort does every man good, 
 and you needs it quite as much as me." 
 
 Looking back over the past, I could not help agreeing 
 with my friend, and he further enforced his statement, 
 by suggestively drawing the Cuff of his sleeve over the" 
 corners of his mouth. 
 
LVIX. 
 
 And yet, when I came to think over it, I was not quite 
 happy. Mr. Crummels' visit recalled to my mind another 
 humble friend for whose loss I was indirectly responsible, 
 and who would probably not be resurrected like Mr. C.'s 
 estimable family had been. I mean the Knight of the 
 Bench. Poor fellow! he had in all likelihood been se- 
 verely hurt, and I reproached myself keenly for having 
 failed to inquire of the police as to his ultimate fate. I 
 was just thinking of the cruel knife sticking like- a pin in 
 the cushion of his broad back, when I heard a violent al- 
 tercation -out in the hall, and a moment afterwards the 
 door was burst open. Great heavens! how true it is 
 that all great strokes of luck and ill-luck come in waves. 
 There, to my mixed astonishment and delight, stood Pat- 
 rick McGordy himself in all the glory of a brand-new coat, 
 a green satin tie. with the Harp of Erin cunningly inter- 
 woven as a breastpin. 
 
 There was no hesitation about the McGordy. He had 
 pushed aside the officious menial who would have barred 
 his entrance, and stood there, pulling his forelock and bow- 
 ing at me in the most considerate yet patronizing fashion 
 possible. Then, entering the apartment with outstretched 
 hand, 
 
 ''Ah! yerhonor, an' wasn't it glorious!" he exclaimed. 
 
 344 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 34S 
 
 *' Faith, an* it's nuthin' loike it Oiv'e sane since me 
 muther's wake, pace to her bones!" 
 
 I expressed my congratulation at his preservation, in 
 quiring to what fortuitous circumstance it had been 
 particularly due. 
 
 " Ah ! yer honor, it's the chape Oitalian labor that's 
 ruinin' this counthry that's done it. They can't aven sind 
 a knife home in an honest fashion. I was wavin' me 
 bench about as a shillelah when me foot shlipped, an', 
 assisted by a prick in the back, Oi found meself lying on 
 the floor wid the woman on too. Sez Oi, ' It's at the feet 
 of beauty the McGordy only loies,' an' as I couldn't git 
 up, why Oi sot still. During the foire the perlice — bad luck 
 to 'em! — assisted me down thesthairs wid something rn ore 
 loike a kick than cirimony, and when Oi come to, Oi 
 found meself lyin' in the desert wid a cloud of 'skaters 
 around me to concale me retrait. But Oi'm all rhight 
 now, yer honor, and at yer service ter ciane out any more 
 arnica mateins — bad luck to 'em! — when you're inclined 
 for the shport." 
 
 I ventured the opinion that it would be exceedingiy 
 bad luck for the meetings if my friend should again put 
 in an appearance in the same lively spirit, when his mouth 
 parted in a winsome smile. 
 
 "It's right yer are, yer honor. After thinkin' itallovtr 
 Oi've come ter consult yez on a matther as might bring 'en 
 worse luck sthill. Now, me ould woman, whin I got home 
 and told her about the circumstances, sez she, ' Pathrick 
 McGordy, yer in luck ! Sthrike while the oiron's hot !' 
 Sez Oi, * Mrs. ^McGordy, it's a quc.re koind of luck that's 
 
34^ THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 
 
 let about two inches of daylight into me back, but, lavin' 
 out last noight's proceedings, Oi've been on sthrike for 
 six wakes.' * Pathrick McGordy, don't be a fool,' sez 
 she ; * I spake in mitaphor.' ' Well,' sez Oi, * if yer will 
 spake in a furren language yer musn't blame me if I 
 can't undershtand.' * Pathrick McGordy,' sez she, ' Oi 
 spake wid me own muther's tongue. When Oi said stroike 
 for the perlice, I meant to say stroike for the perl ice 
 force.' ' Begorry, Oi've been sthroikin' for them, or rather 
 agin 'em, all my loife, Mrs. McGordy.' * Sthroike for 
 a place on the force, yer ijot! is what Oi mane. Yer said 
 as how the gintleman as you assisted, the beautiful gin- 
 tleman wid the kurly beard an' the manners of a prince, 
 had been a chief detective or a captain amongst 'em. Git 
 him to use his inflooence, an' you'll have all the sthrikin' 
 you want widout the penalty of goin' to prison for it after- 
 wards.' Sez Oi, ' Barrin' the fact that that would rob the 
 sport of much of its ricriation, Oi think there's summat in 
 what yer sez, Holy Father! Oi've been foitin' the perlice so 
 long Oi've got ter look upon 'em quite loike brothers; so 
 if yer Honor will only spake the good word, it's sayin' the 
 McGordy in brass buttons and a locust by his soide as 
 you'll git for yer reward." 
 
 I expressed a doubt as to the value of my assistance in 
 the contemplated direction, venturing the opinion, more- 
 over, that with the proposed accession the authorities could 
 afford to disband the force entirely. The McGordy, with 
 a modesty that belongs to the brave, failed to appreciate 
 the delicate flavor of my flattery. 
 
 "Wall, sor, if they're that way obstinate, ther's another 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO, 347 
 
 matther as you might asshist me wid, quite on a differ- 
 ent loine." And he blushed liive a sixteen-year-old school 
 girl as he brushed his brand-new beaver against the grain. 
 
 '* How is that?" I inquired, as he still hesitated. 
 
 " Well, yer honor, sain' that it's amongst friends, 01 
 may as well tell yez. Oi thought perhaps yer might be 
 writin' up an account of the adventure the other night for 
 the Perlicc Gazette or some ither koind of hoigh-toned 
 paper, and if I could come in handy, an' didn't spile the 
 il'fect, Oid loike yer just ter put me in too. It ain't that 
 Oi'm boastful like, but yer say, sor, Oi never figured 
 much in print, barrin' the perlice reports — bad luck to 
 'em! — an' it would plaize the boys, not ter spake of the 
 ould woman, so much down in ihe Sixth Warrud." 
 
 I willingly gave my assent to this request, and as I 
 failed to persuade the authorities as to the value of his 
 services as a guardian of the peace, I have introduced 
 the McGordy to my readers with all the eclat that he de- 
 serves. 
 
LX. 
 
 And now, to finish up the history of my fantastic and 
 lurid adventures in the most approved fashion, allow me 
 to state for the benelit of a critical public that 1 did not 
 jail in that duty which every good and true American 
 seems to consider as the most holy one on every occasion 
 and at every crisis' of his life. For what, let me ask, 
 does he do equally when he inherits a fortune, for instance, 
 or when his luck turns against him ? AVhat does he do 
 when told by his physician that he is ill and requires rest, 
 or that he is depressed and needs excitement ? What 
 does he do when he is jilted, or again when he is married, 
 or is uneasy about the affection of his own wife or some 
 one else's ditto? What does he do when he has eaten 
 too many dinners and fears the coating of his stomach, or 
 has lost his appetite and is unable to eat ? What 
 does he do when he desires to regain his voice after too 
 much sermonizing, or wishes to cultivate one for a debut 
 at the opera ? What does he do when he wishes to se- 
 cure a nomination for the Presidency without appearing 
 to want it, or, by keeping out of the way, really wishes to 
 avoid it ? What, in short, does every good and true 
 Am.erican do in every contingency as widely separated as 
 official lightning is from baldness under the most antag- 
 
 348 
 
 [■ 
 
THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EGO. 349 
 
 onistic circumstances (except when he robs a bank and 
 adopts a nearer alternative)? What does he do ? Why, 
 he goes to Europe, does he not ? 'J'hat is exactly what 
 1 did, accompanied by my wife. 
 
 My object was a change of air and scene, not only on 
 my own account but on hers. So we went — and a grand 
 send-off we had; ISIr. Star, Mr. Slocum, Mr. Crummels, 
 and even Dr. Henry coming down to the wharf and wish- 
 ing us Godspeed. Arrived on the other side, we found 
 what we sought in sketching the tracery of oriel windows 
 in Gothic cathedrals, or in wandering through the long 
 galleries of European art. I had a theory that by a jDro- 
 cess of dehypnotism I could gradually render my wife 
 proof against the influence of mesmerism. So, consulting 
 Dr. Charcot, the eminent scientist who presides over the 
 Salpetriere in Paris, I induced him to make a special 
 study of her case, and, acting on his advice, I firtt got her 
 out of the morbid, hysterical condition Rebecca Seaton 
 was largely responsible for, by travel and congenial pur- 
 suits. After this I set myself to strengthening her will 
 power, the loss of which, I believe, is all that mesmerism 
 is based on. This I accomplished by training her to re- 
 sist the influence under which I put her for her benefit 
 every morning, and by obliging her to fight against it a 
 little more and a little more each day until my power be- 
 gan to wane. In spite of the danger, in a general way, 
 of a newly-married husband training his wife to resist 
 his power, particularly when she is beautiful and emo- 
 tional, I persevered, and a perfect cure crowned my efforts. 
 
 Candor, however, obliges me to acknowledge that my 
 
35° THE ROMANCE OF AN ALTER EOO, 
 
 success may have been assisted by the advent of a pair of 
 twins, whose control and management required the culti- 
 vation of no little will power on their own account 
 
 One word more and I have done — one word more 
 that will raise me to a pinnacle in the public esteem at 
 home, and atone in the average man's mind for all my past 
 adversities. Poor old Mr. Dalzelle never quite recovered 
 from the ciTect of the shock his daugl^ter's illness had 
 caused him, and soon after the birth of my children he 
 passed away. 
 
 On opening his will I discovered a clue to his otherwise 
 extraordinary neglect of his daughter during the period of 
 Dr. Henry's experiments with her. For it was now ap- 
 parent that at that very moment the shrewd old wine mer- 
 chant was engaged in the consummation of that holy con- 
 federacy known as the '* Whisky Trust," and that his every 
 thought was occupied therewith. This circumstance, 
 combined with an economical manner of living, enabled 
 him to leave us an inheritance that threw into abashed in- 
 significance the largest fortunes of the wealthiest aris- 
 tocracies of the Old World. 
 
 Consequently there remained nothing else to do on our 
 return home than to construct an additional palace in the 
 upper portion of that great city of Gotham, and to join the 
 ranks of that exalted plutocracy whose highest aim is to 
 achieve the double combination of securing seven per cent 
 on their capital and at the same time to escape paying 
 any personal tax. So runs the world away. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
IT IS 
 
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 UPRIGHTI CABINET 
 PIANOS. ORGANS. 
 
 ABE THS 
 
 LEADING CANADIAN INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 i'nsiir])a«>sed in Tone, Design or Durability. 
 
 Recommended by all the Leading Musicians and tb« 
 
 Trade generally. 
 
 CATALOGUES FREE ON APPLICATION. 
 
 W. BELL & CO., 
 
 FACTORIES A]^D OFFICES, - GCELPH, €A\AD1< 
 
 Branch Offices :— London, Eng., Sydney, N. S.W., 
 
 Toronto, Hamilton, St. Thomas and Winnipeg. 
 
 w.r. 
 
jm^ 
 
 J. B. LALIBEBTi:, 
 
 Manufacturer and Dealer in 
 
 FURS 
 
 OI^ EVERY DESCKIPTION, 
 
 145 ST. JOSEPH STREET, QUEBEC, CAN. 
 
 SEND FOH PRICE LIST. 
 
aBAND TAT71TS RAILWAY. 
 
 
 GREAT INTERNATIONAL HIGHWAY 
 
 Between erery City in Ontario and Qnebee and all prinelpil 
 points across the Ameriean ContinenL 
 
 This Great Tourist Line Reaches All The Famous 
 
 tLD ORCHARD BEACH, 
 
 PORTLAND, 
 
 WHITE MOUNTAINS, 
 
 QUEBEC, 
 lAPIDS OF THE RIVER ST. LAWRENCE, 
 THOUSAND ISLANDS, 
 
 NIAGARA FALLS, 
 
 LAKES GEORGE AND CHAMPLUii 
 
 Ain> THI rOLLOWINO BUSINESS OENTRBS: 
 
 ■ontreal, Peterboro, London, 
 
 OUaiva, Hamilton, Chatham, 
 
 BrockTille, St. Catharines, Sarnia, 
 
 Kingston, Toronto, Detroit, 
 
 Buflfblo, Chicago, Etc., Etc. 
 
 Pullman Palace Sleeping and Parlor Cart are attached to oA 
 Expreu Trains and run through on quick time. 
 
 Am extrnslTC raiiety %t Tourist Tickets oa hand at all piimelpai 
 mMees, cuinprising tbe most popular and Interesting routes am UM 
 Caatlneut. 
 
 Through tickets at lowest fores on sale at all Stations aud Agenelea. 
 
 WM. EDGAR, L. J. SEARGEANT, J. HICKSON, 
 
 Gen. Fassr. Agent Traffic Manager. Qen. Manager. 
 
 HEAD OFFICES - - IHO^TREAL. 
 
EVERY STOREKEEPER 
 
 SHOULD USE 
 
 COUNTER CHECK BOOKS. 
 
 TIiB hk^l aqd lV|o^l5 ImpifoVed 
 
 IS MANUFACTURED BY THE 
 
 ROSE PUBLISHING CO., TORONm 
 
 Write Them For Particulars. 
 
 REMEMBER THE ADDRESS. 
 
 KOSE PUBLISHmG Co., 
 
 25 Wellington Street West, 
 
 TORONTO/ 
 
Canada Shipping Co. 
 
 BEAVER LINE OF STEAMSHIPS. 
 
 •SS. "LAKE ONTARIO," 5,000 Tons Captain H. Campbell. 
 
 SS. "LAKE SUPERIOR," 5,000 Tons Captain William Stewabt. 
 
 SS. "LAKE HURON," 4,100 Tons Captain M. L. Trammab. 
 
 SS. "LAKE WINNIPEG," 3,300 Tons Captain P. D. Muruat. 
 
 SS, "LAKE NEPIGON," 2,300 Tons ..Captain J. Carey. 
 
 * Has Saloon and Staterooms amidships. 
 
 These Steamers Sail Weekly from 
 
 MONTREAL and LIVERPOOL 
 
 During Summer Season, 
 
 From MONTREAL erery TUESDAY— From LITERFOOL 
 
 every FRIDAY; 
 
 AND 
 
 NEW YORK AND LIVERPOOL 
 
 During Winter Season, 
 SALOON TICKETS, MONTREAL to LIVERPOOL, 
 
 $40.00, $60.00, and $60.00 ; 
 
 RETURN TICKETS, $8o.oo, $9000, and $110.00, 
 
 Accordi-ig to Steamer and Accommodation. 
 SECOND CABIN, • - $30.00; RETURN TICKETS,- - $60.00. 
 
 Sl3eex»Oige a^b IjO"^^ Ttsb^^Gs, 
 
 For further particulars, and to secure Berths, apply to 
 
 H. E. MURRAY, Oen'l Managev, 
 
 I Custom Houae Square, Montreal, 
 Or to the Local Agents in the different Towns and Gitiea.