OR 
 
 An Experiment in Lov6 
 
 A REALISTIC ROMANCE

 
 "MISS INCOGNITA" 
 
 AN 
 
 \jl\, 
 
 EXPERIMENT IN LOVE 
 
 By "DON JON." 
 
 A Realistic Romance Based Upon the Laws and 
 Phenomena of Psychotism. 
 
 
 |H 
 
 
 
 & 
 
 
 Illustrating the Control of the Love and 
 Emotions of Another. 
 
 Sixth Edition, Enlarged 
 
 THE PSYCHIC PUBLISHING Co., Box 935, ROME, GA.
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1904 
 
 BY 
 THE PSYCHIC PUBLISHING Co. 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
 Press of The A. J. Showalter, Co. Dalton, Ota,
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. PAGE 
 The Meeting of the Four 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Dumas, the Mystic 16 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 fij* The Scene in the Laboratory The Visit to the 
 Invalid 29 
 
 K CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A Game of Hearts Who Will Prove the Winner? 35 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Theory of Vibrations The Vibratoners The 
 S? Attempted Crime 41 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 == Ignorantia Juris Non Excusat The Operation of 
 a Strange Law In the Course of Human 
 Events . 54 
 
 g CHAPTER VII. 
 
 *: Another Mystery 71 
 
 A CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 K Forewarnings 85 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 A Desperate Experiment 94 
 
 5000239 
 1GQ4GQ
 
 xii Contents 
 
 CHAPTER X. PAGE 
 The Fatal Termination 104 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The Inquisition . . .117 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 In England 126 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Sealed with an Oath 136 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The Denouement 143 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 A Miracle in the Sea 154 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The End of an Experiment 16'i 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Miss Incognita Colonel Fortune 182 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Terms of Adoption 188 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 A Single Woman's Establishment 195 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 A Lawyer Outwitted 207 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 The Call on Mrs. John Smith. . . .212
 
 Contents xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. PAGE 
 A Revelation 210 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The Events of the Year 1889 224 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Unexpressed Sentiments -A Journey for Pur- 
 pose 234 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 The Betrothal 240 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Judge Not 249 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 The beginning of the End 258 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 A Foretaste of Retribution 265 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 After-Scenes Eros's Discovery 2(39 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 The Events of the Day After the Wedding The 
 Letter from the Demented Lady 281 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Changed Relations 291 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 The Somnambule . ..302
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 WHERE in the history of literature do you find 
 an author who has had the daring, originality and 
 audacity to allow his hero to marry his own 
 daughter, then has her elope with her own brother, 
 and yet posseses the genius to so shape his 
 story as to violate no sense of propriety? Such 
 is the case in this remarkable book, which will 
 appeal to all classes, as it embodies every emotion 
 and situation known to humanity. 
 
 It is written so skillfully, and the tale is so 
 feasible that it staggers one to think of the possi- 
 ble circumstances which might very naturally cause 
 such relations to exist. 
 
 The plot is deep-laid, and until the last page 
 is finished it is impossible to imagine how the tangle 
 of episodes will be unravelled. The scenes are 
 laid in Chicago, New York, London and the Ber- 
 muda Islands. 
 
 The book is full of the most startling pictures, 
 but the master hand that drew them treats his
 
 xvi Introduction 
 
 subject with such consummate art that, although 
 the reader holds his breath, fearing to read the 
 succeeding lines, he finds they relieve with light- 
 ning rapidity the frightful shock to the sense of 
 propriety which seems inevitable. 
 
 In the entire book there is not a word nor a 
 line but would meet and satisfy the fiery eye of 
 the critic or stand the scorching test of the 
 pedant. 
 
 It is wonderfully interesting, dr-amatic, amus- 
 ing and witty. The rarity of characters and 
 multitude of events would make food enough 
 for dozens of novels and dramas. The practi- 
 cally unknown science of hypnotism plays a veiy 
 important part in this story. The hero, Dr. Dumas, 
 afterward Lord Eroslove, who learns much of this 
 mysticism from an old Egyptian, uses his wonder- 
 ful knowledge with most dastardly effect, showing 
 what fearful use can be made of this power by an 
 evil person. 
 
 The character of Svengali, in "Trilby," is a 
 puppet compared to this remarkable man. He is 
 as fascinating as he is dangerous, as heartless as 
 he is magnetic; but his marvelous powers, strength 
 and knowledge make him almost irresistable. It 
 would be impossible to build a stronger character
 
 Introduction xvii 
 
 than his, or that of his wife, whose s-w^eet, gentle 
 nature, through his infamy toward her, is changed 
 to one of a deadly, unquenchable thirst for revenge, 
 which she heaps upon him in such volcanic force 
 that his strength weakens and his power becomes 
 shattered before her merciless fury. 
 
 At a recent meeting of the Nineteenth Cen- 
 tury Club, where some of the most renowned 
 litterateurs of America and Europe were gathered, 
 to discuss the subject of "The Disappearance of 
 Literature," a man arose whose name is a house- 
 hold word on two continents, whose originality 
 and art are as great as his fame, who has worn 
 the brilliant laurels of success, outlived with phe- 
 nominal bravery the black abyss of defeat, and 
 returned to us after ten years of study and travel 
 the same genius Mark Twain. He made the almost 
 increditable statement that although there are ten 
 thousand books published annually in this country 
 and Great Britain, in forty-eight years there has 
 not been one worthy contribution to literature that 
 is a masterpiece. 
 
 If originality is the triumph of genius this re- 
 markable book should attract world-wide atten- 
 tion. 
 
 Though the author modestly conceals his iden-
 
 xviii Introduction 
 
 tity under the nom-de-plume of "Don Jon," he 
 proves himself (or herself) a person of the deep- 
 est appreciation of the strength and weaknesses 
 of men and women. He is thoroughly familiar 
 with the world and its ways, and is a deep student 
 of the mystic art of mesmerism or hypnotism, 
 which makes this story most valuable, for it gives 
 authenticity and realism to a science which many 
 believe does not even exist. 
 
 The charming heroine, a young Southern girl, 
 is ardently wooed by a plain, honest, practical man, 
 Dr. Lindsay, whose affection shows unmistakable 
 signs of being returned, when a very dramatic, 
 remarkable scene plunges the reader into the greatest 
 excitement. Dr. Dumas, determined to possess this 
 beautiful girl and, unable to win her heart, vil- 
 lainously invites her to his wonderful laboratory 
 (where she has been taking lessons from him in 
 chemistry), under pretext of teaching her some of 
 the mysteries of psychology, but, instead, by means 
 of his occult power and the use of what he calls 
 his "vibratoners," which he puts in motion, she is 
 brought completely under his influence and un- 
 consciously yields to his licentious embraces. This 
 remarkable scene is most realistically described, 
 while the power and danger of such awful pos-
 
 Introduction xix 
 
 sibilities make one shudder at the thought <of 
 such knowledge (which is well known to the 
 initiated) being possessed by an unprincipled, evil 
 mind. 
 
 Dr. Dumas further seeks to entrap his victim 
 into a mock marriage, but through, the cunning 
 of his rival, Dr. Lindsay, it becomes a legal tie, 
 and consequently the pivot on which turn all the 
 succeeding events. 
 
 The story then becomes a deadly battle of virtue 
 and right against perfidity and dishonor, which the 
 author has pictured in a most graphic, forceful 
 manner. This is the great moral of the book, and 
 shows the triumph of a proud, virtuous woman over 
 a corrupt, immoral man. 
 
 One of the most striking features of this story 
 is the adoption while infants, of two children 
 by the heroine and a friend. In course of time, 
 through curious letterings on their breasts, they 
 prove to be Dr. Dumas' own flesh and blood, and 
 they become the chief instrument of their father's 
 downfall, although their foster-parents lavish upon 
 them the most unquenchable devotion and loyalty. 
 
 Some of the leading dramatic incidents of this 
 story are based upon the laws and phenomena of 
 hypnotism. Thus in working out this remarkable
 
 x Introduction 
 
 tale those wonders of this science which border 
 on the supernatural the laws and methods em- 
 ployed by savants in this field are laid bare to 
 the reader. 
 
 All the situations are brought to a climax with 
 terrible intensity. Tenderness and love, passion and 
 fortitude, bitterness and sorrow, treachery and 
 fidelity, strength and weakness are all expressed in 
 these pages, while the last wonderful scene of the 
 "Somnambule" is unequalled in fiction. 
 
 The reader finishes it with a sigh of the deepest 
 regret that there are not more like unto it. 
 
 JOSEPH TYLER BUTTS.
 
 INTRODUCTORY TREATISE 
 
 A DEPARTMENT OF OCCULTISM. 
 
 PSYCHOTISM. 
 
 I cannot put into this treatise what it would 
 require volumes to contain. I cannot pretend to 
 treat here of Occultism in general. The average 
 reader is not prepared for such, and I have not the 
 space in this treatise to do so. 
 
 I will treat of one department of Occult laws 
 and phenomena, viz : that which I denominate 
 "Psychotism." This term means that change of 
 the human personality from its active, positive, con- 
 scious stage into a passive or subjective stage. It is 
 a process by which the will and conscious activity 
 of one person are substituted for that of another. 
 When this is done, we call the person whose per- 
 sonality is inhabited the subject or "Psychic," and 
 his condition the subjective or Psychic state. The 
 process by which this is done I call "Psychotism." 
 
 I use this term because it is the most ex- 
 pressive and inclusive of this peculiar state of 
 any term. I can invent, or have seen used.
 
 xxii Introductory Treatise 
 
 Some Psychologists explain this state and its phe- 
 nomena by positing that man's mind is a duality, 
 one being the objective mind and the other the sub- 
 jective the former being the every-day, reasoning, 
 conscious mind, which directs in every-day affairs; 
 the latter is concerned only with our Sub- 
 jective Universe, the functions of the body and 
 certain phases of our intellectual processes, which 
 are largely involuntary. Now they explain the 
 Psychotic state by saying that it is an induced state 
 of the individual, in which the objective mind is, as 
 it were, inhibited, and the subjective mind directly 
 reached and controlled. It is a beautiful working 
 hypothesis, and explains many obscure points, but 
 whether it is true or not, no one can at this time 
 say. 
 
 To be in a condition of Psyehotism means that 
 the person has passed from a normal, conscious 
 individual state to a passive, subjective condition, 
 in which his individuality is subject to the will 
 of another. Not only are his mind and emotions 
 and will so subject, but also to a large extent his 
 entire physical system. Any man or woman, whom 
 I can place in a state of Psyehotism, can be abso- 
 lutely dominated by me. This I have proven a 
 thousand times over. I can control such a 
 person not only while under my present in- 
 fluence, but, by means of post-psychotic com- 
 mands, that is, commands to be obeyed at some 
 future time, I can cause him to perform acts at
 
 Introductory Theatise xxiii 
 
 some future time when he is absolutely unconscious 
 that he is under my influence. 
 
 The state of Psychotism remains in abeyance with- 
 in his personality, as it were, until the opportune 
 moment arrives, when it will assert itself with all 
 its former power. 
 
 Now the person who brings about this condition 
 I call the Psychologist, the person influenced, the 
 Psychic, and the state of condition, Psychotism. 
 
 I prefer these terms to define this science and 
 its states, conditions and phenomena because the 
 usual terms are incomplete and inadequate. The 
 Psychotic state, as I term it, is not necessarily one 
 of sleep or hypnosis, as it is commonly called, be- 
 cause the subject is often in a condition far from 
 sleep. He is often in a condition of consciousness 
 and even alertness, though altogether 1 abnormal. 
 He can converse with the operator or with others 
 and exhibit a higher order of intellect than when in 
 the normal condition. Yet at the same time his 
 own individuality may be completely lost or perverted. 
 He may even appear normal and be engaged in his 
 ordinary affairs and appear to be acting under his 
 own free will and yet be under the complete 
 dominance of post-psychotic commands. Hence I 
 say that the usual terms employed, such as hypnot- 
 ism, mesmerism, etc., do not properly define and 
 express this condition. They only describe one phase 
 of it. 
 
 This science, for it is now a science, is not some
 
 xxiv Introductory Treatise 
 
 new thing. It is as old as the ages of literature 
 and, I might say, as man himself. It is known all 
 over the world, and in different ages, under differ- 
 ent names. It has been, and can be, used as a 
 blessing or a curse. It can be used to reform char- 
 acter and life or to wreck and blast. It can instil 
 virtue into the criminal or vice into the pure. It 
 can rescue the fallen or seduce the virtuous. It 
 can be used to heal the body of sickness or inflict 
 it with diseases. 
 
 These things I know, I care not what is alleged 
 to the contrary. 
 
 One might not be able to seduce a virtuous 
 woman by direct command that she submit herself 
 to illicit love, but one may fasten in her mind, 
 while she is in a state of Psychotism, the sugges- 
 tion that such love is pure and right and proper; 
 that the Psychologist or operator is her lawful hus- 
 band, and she will believe it and yield. It all de- 
 pends upon the knowledge one has of this wonderful 
 science and the manner in which his commands or 
 suggestions are given. 
 
 An honest man may refuse to obey a com- 
 mand to commit a forgery, if commanded in so 
 many words to do so, but suppose he were made 
 to believe by suggestion that he is in reality the 
 person whose name he is commanded to sign. I 
 know he would unhesitatingly commit the forgery. 
 
 These things being true, the conclusion forces 
 itself irresistably upon one's mind, that in the hands
 
 Introductory Treatise xxv 
 
 of an evil person, like "Dumas, The Mystic" of the 
 story in this book, there is great danger in this 
 rcience. The author was led to this conclusion some 
 years ago by experiments intended to prove or dis- 
 prove this point. 
 
 Some scientists say that a person in the Psychic 
 state will do nothing against his innate moral prin- 
 ciples, and that he is thus protected. Yet, suppose 
 the suggestion were made under a different guise. 
 What scientist would or could doubt its success? 
 
 Take the case, for illustration, of Eidola Mande- 
 ville and Dr. Dumas, the Mystic of this story 
 when he makes the suggestion that she submit to 
 his love of her, suppose he had first suggested to 
 her that she was his wife, and fastened that sug- 
 gestion in her mind, what would then have been the 
 result? 
 
 In making these weighty statements the 
 writer is supported by abundant authority of 
 the highest character. Let him who doubts read Dr. 
 Albert Moll's Hypnotism and the chapter on the 
 "Legal Aspects of Hypnotism." Also Max Dessoir's 
 Work and Prof. Liegeois' "De La Suggestion," etc. 
 In Germany a number of cases where crimes were 
 committed under what was then termed "Animal 
 Magnetism," were brought to justice. Girls and
 
 xxvi Introductory Treatise 
 
 women were seduced under this influence. The ex- 
 perts, Coste and Broquier, with whom the well- 
 known authorities, Devergie and Tardieu, agreed, 
 gave their opinion that a magnetized subject might 
 be assaulted against her will and without her con- 
 sciousness. 
 
 The noted case of Castellan in 1865, reported by 
 Prosper Despine, was a case of assault on a girl in 
 the psychotic state, in which, according to Liegeois, 
 Castellan suggested to Josephine H. to love him, 
 trust him, submit to his embraces, etc. Castellan was 
 tried and convicted and condemned to twelve years' 
 imprisonment, upon the opinion of Roux and Anban, 
 with whom the doctors, Heriatt, Paulet and Theus 
 were associated. 
 
 The Levy case, in 1879, is also in point. He 
 was a dentist of Rouen and assaulted a girl in the 
 magnetic sleep. Bronardel gave his opinion on the 
 case and Levy was imprisoned for ten years. 
 
 Dr. Moll also holds that the abnormal state may 
 be used to get possession of property illegally. 
 Subjects can be induced to sign promissory notes, 
 deeds of gift, commit forgeries, etc. He gives many 
 interesting cases. 
 
 A succession of cases in which suggestion is said 
 to have played a part in the commission of crime, 
 has of recent years attracted the attention of the
 
 Introductory Treatise xxvii 
 
 press. To these belong the noted case of Gabrielle 
 Bompard, who was accused of murder committed 
 under the influence of a suggestion received from 
 her lover, Eyrand. Madame Weiss in Algiers 
 endeavored to poison her husband and was condemned 
 to twenty years' imprisonment, whereupon she com-* 
 mitted suicide. According to Liegeois, this woman 
 had received a post-psychotic command from her 
 lover, under which she acted. In the case of Cham- 
 bige. a married woman who had previously been a 
 model wife and mother was, under suggestion in 
 psychotism, induced to forget her own husband and 
 children, and became madly infatuated with Cham- 
 bige, who afterwards, when he was confronted by 
 his crime, attempted to kill himself. 
 
 We cannot go further into this phase of this 
 important subject. Those desiring to go deeper 
 into this and similar phases may consult Bern- 
 heim's "Suggestive Therapeutics," Moll's Works, Carl 
 Sextus', Dr. Braid's Works (Manchester, Eng.) ; Dr. 
 Wetterstrand's Works (of Sweden); Dr. Lloyd Tuc- 
 key's (of England); Prof. Ricrhet'sj (of Paris); 
 Dr. Cooke's (of Boston) ; Dr. Charcot's, (of 
 the Salpetriere Hospital, of Paris) ; Dr. Sydney 
 Flower's (of Chicago) ; Dr. Quackenbo's (of Wash- 
 ington, D. C.) Dr. Gurney's and Dr. F. W. Myer's.
 
 xxviii Introductory Treatise 
 
 (of England) ; and, best of all, let them study the 
 Reports of the Committees on Hynotism of the 
 "Society for Psychical Research" of London, Eng- 
 land whose reports have been published in the 
 Society's "Proceedings" from 1882 up to the present 
 time. 
 
 If the reader will avail himself of one hundredth 
 of the material at his hand, he must come to the 
 conclusion that the author has remained within the 
 bounds of scientific experiments and facts in all 
 the remarkable incidents set out in "Miss Incognita." 
 
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE OF 
 PSYCHOTISM. 
 
 I will now give a brief history of this science, 
 and in so doing so will use the terms under which it 
 was formerly known, for purposes of convenience. 
 
 Dr. Albert Moll says that, "In order to under- 
 stand the gradual development of modern hypnotism 
 from 'animal magnetism' we must distinguish two 
 points: Firstly, that there are human beings who 
 can exercise a personal influence over others, either 
 by direct contact or even at a distance; and secondly, 
 the fact that particular psychical states can be 
 induced in human beings by certain physical pro- 
 cesses."
 
 Introductory Treatise xxix 
 
 This second fact, especially, has long been known 
 among the Oriental peoples, and was utilized by them 
 for religious purposes. 
 
 Kiesewetter attributes the early soothsaying by 
 means of precious stones to psychotism, which was 
 induced by steadily gazing at the stones. This is 
 also true of divination by looking into vessels and 
 crystals, as the Egyptians have long been in the 
 habit of doing. This we know now as "Crystal 
 Vision" in the very interesting experiments of the 
 "Society for Psychical Research" of London. The 
 reader will see a very striking case of this in 
 "Gymp, the old Egyptian," in "Miss Incognita," 
 where he perceives distant scenes and events in his 
 "Crystal." 
 
 These same psychic phenomena are also found 
 to have existed several thousand years ago among 
 the Persian magi, as well as un to the present day 
 among the Indian Yogis and adepts. 
 
 The writer possesses a crystal brought from India, 
 and has made many remarkable experiments with 
 it inducing clairvoyant visions of distant scenes and 
 events. The crystal is also used very successfully to 
 induce the psychic state. 
 
 A bright object, as a diamond nng or polished 
 surface, or a glass of water, may be used instead of 
 a crystal, if the reader has no crystal. 
 
 If your subject is made to gaze intently for sev- 
 eral minutes in a quiet room into one of these ob-
 
 xxx Introductory Treatise 
 
 jects, he will quite often go into the psychic state. 
 I often use this method to produce this condition. 
 
 The prophets of Israel, or seers, were consulted 
 in private matters as well as for sacred things. In 
 I. Samuel (Chap, ix.) you will find Saul, son of 
 Kish, consulting Samuel the prophet (paying him a 
 fee, too) in order that he (Saul) might learn from 
 the seer the whereabouts of his father's asses. 
 
 Soothsaying, obsession, trance, visions and in- 
 spiration were all accepted facts among these people. 
 
 Healing by the laying on of the hands was com- 
 mon among the Jews, and was practiced by the Foun- 
 der of Christianity and his immediate followers with 
 marvelous results. "Many were astonished that such 
 mighty works were wrought by his hands." 
 (Mark vi. 2.) "Lay hands upon the sick, and they 
 shall recover." Mark xvi. 18) "The Lord granted 
 signs and wonders to be done by their hands." (Acts 
 xiv. 3.) 
 
 According to M. Foissac, the familiar spirit, the 
 demon of Socrates, that interior voice which ap- 
 prised him of that which was to happen, and of that 
 which he should do, was a state of self-induced psy- 
 chotism, or of natural somnambulism with which the 
 godlike genius was frequently affected. However, 
 many believe that Socrates had a demon, that is,
 
 Introductory Treatise xxxi 
 
 a familiar spirit which constantly attended him, as 
 he himself alleged. 
 
 A rigid and critical analysis of the records of 
 the Middle Ages would be here impossible, if not 
 out of place. It would require a volume merely to 
 name the facts, from the exorcisms of Saint Gregory 
 Thaumaturgus to the convulsionaries of Saint Me- 
 dard. 
 
 "Mesmerism," says Van Helmont, "is active 
 everywhere, and has nothing new but the name; it 
 is a paradox only to those who ridicule everything, 
 and who attribute to the powers of Satan whatever 
 they ai - e unable to explain." 
 
 In all times, as well as in all countries, extra- 
 ordinary things have passed for supernatural, from 
 the moment they are no longer admitted of explana- 
 tion ; and it is natural to refer and attribute super- 
 natural things to a divine power. That which is 
 esteemed supernatural and divine so become the 
 basis of religion. So we find in Pagan antiquity, 
 in the Middle Ages, and at the present time, these 
 phenomena inextricably mixed up with the history of 
 religion. 
 
 MESMERISM SUBSEQUENT TO MESMER 
 
 Dr. Anthony Mesmer was born 5th May, 1734, 
 in a small town called Stein, on the banks of the 
 Rhine. This celebrated man studied medicine and 
 obtained the degree of doctor at Vienna, under Pro- 
 fessors Van Swienten and Haen, and became acquain-
 
 xxxii Intro Juctory Treatise 
 
 ted with the virtues of animal magnetism by seeing 
 the wonderful cures performed by a Father H-ehl, 
 a Jesuit priest. About 1750 this young doctor com- 
 menced to investigate the matter for himself; and, 
 having satisfied himself of the reality of cures made, 
 he commenced a series of independent experiments. 
 Father Hehl's cures were supposed to be produced 
 by the subtle influence, or fluid of magnetism, which 
 was imparted to patients from steel plates and 
 magnets prepared and used for the purpose. One 
 day Mesmer, having bled a patient, accidentally 
 passed his hand over the cicatrix, or lance puncture, 
 and observed that his hand produced the exact results 
 which had hitherto been produced by the magnets. 
 
 Mesmer, from the nature of his inaugural thesis 
 "On the Influence of the Planets on the Human 
 Body," upon obtaining his degree, might be expected 
 to see a relationship between the subtle influence 
 exerted by the loadstone or magnet and that of the 
 human hand, and the adoption by him of animal 
 magnetism, at an adequate theory to cover all the 
 phenomena created of experienced by him, seems to 
 have been a natural and easy conclusion. 
 
 Mesmer, having learned the art of curing diseases 
 from Father Hehl, applied himself to the cure of 
 diseases with "extraordinary success." He left 
 Vienna, and traveling throughout Germany and 
 Switzerland, he continued to "work wonders," his 
 cures approximating to the miraculous. King's and 
 courtiers, as well as the people, vied with each other
 
 Introductory Treatise xxxiii 
 
 for an opportunity to attend his levees and partake 
 in his seances. In 1778 he started for Paris; here 
 his success in curing diseases was so remarkable that 
 the elite of society struggled for the privilege of 
 waiting upon him and of learning his art. A society 
 was actually formed for the purpose of acquiring 
 his seci-et, and using it for the cure of disease. 
 Somnambulism and 'clairvoyance had not yet been 
 developed by his process, 
 
 MESMER'S THEORY OP ANIMAL MAGNETISM 
 
 "There is a reciprocal action and reaction be- 
 tween the planets, the earth, and animated nature. 
 
 "The means of operating this action and reac- 
 tion is a most fine, subtle fluid, which penetrates 
 everything, and is capable of receiving and com- 
 municating all kinds of motions and impressions. 
 
 "This is brought about by mechanical, but, as yet, 
 unknown laws. 
 
 "The reciprocal effects are analogous to the 
 ebb and flow. 
 
 "The properties of matter, and of organization, 
 depend upon reciprocal action. 
 
 "This fluid exercises an immediate action on the 
 nerves, with which it embodies itself, and produces 
 in the human body phenomena similiar to those pro- 
 duced by the loadstone, that is, polarity and inclina- 
 tion. Hence the name ANIMAL MAGNETISM."
 
 xxxiv Introductory Treatise 
 
 Mesmer had many disciples and ardent followers, 
 among whom were some of the ablest men of the 
 day, such as Marquis of Puysegure, Caulet DeVau- 
 morel Petetin, Bergasse, Sehelling, Von Humboldt, 
 Ritter, Treverarnus, Walther, Hufeland, Echen- 
 Ritter, Nasse, Ness, of Essenback, Francis Bader, 
 Kieser, and Jussien, the celebrated botanist. 
 
 A Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the 
 French Government. The report in the main con- 
 firmed the reality of the phenomena. 
 
 The French Revolution, rather than any mistakes 
 or vagaries of Mesmer, or the unfavorable report 
 of the Commission of Louis XVI, eclipsed the popu- 
 larity of Mesmerism in France for a time. 
 
 When the Revolution burst forth in France, 
 subverting law, order and all good, Mesmer returned 
 to his native land, where his time was divided be- 
 tween pursuing his favorite science and cultivating 
 his estate. Here he was visited by the most eminent 
 men of the day ; and before his death he had the 
 pleasure of seeing his works edited by one of the 
 Professors of the University of Strasburg and his 
 science triumphant in Berlin, Jena, Bonn, Halle, 
 Tubingen, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen and even in 
 Vienna. In spite of laws and law-givers, Animal 
 Magnetism performed the most wonderful cures. ' Dr. 
 Malfati, one of the most talented of physicians in 
 Vienna, adopted Mesmer's system, and practiced it 
 with great effect. 
 
 Following Mesmer, the most active and intelli-
 
 Introductory Treatise xxxv 
 
 gent of his converts or followers was the Marquis 
 de Puysegure. He pursued the practice of Mesmer- 
 ism at his estate at Buzancy, both as a study and rec- 
 reation. One day, calling at the house of his steward, 
 he referred to what he had seen in Paris, where he 
 had attended Mesmer's lectures. Obtaining permis- 
 sion to mesmerize the steward's daughter, to his 
 surprise and delight she was in a very short time 
 thrown into a sleep. He also succeeded by similiar 
 passes, in mesmerizing the wife of his gamekeeper. 
 He was now confirmed in his faith and became 
 one of the most successful mesmerists of his day. 
 He was the first to discover the mesmeric-somnambu- 
 listic condition. It happened in this way: He was 
 mesmerizing a young man for the cure of consump- 
 tion. While making the requisite passes, the patient 
 fell into a peaceful sleep the true mesmeric sleep 
 is exceedingly calm and recuperating. While in this 
 sleep Victor talked with an intelligence rare to the 
 waking condition ; and while in that state prescribed 
 the remedies necessary for his recovery. Numerous 
 instance? of a like character occurring under the 
 Marquis's influence, he at lensth published a work 
 on the subject, and both on his estate and at Paris 
 devoted much time to Mesmerism for the cure of 
 disease, in which he was eminently successful. 
 
 Mesmerism at last found its way across the Chan- 
 nel. Mr. Richard fhenevix. F. R. S., published a 
 series of papers on the subject in the L^ndnn Medical 
 and Physical Journal for 1829, entitled: "On Mes-
 
 xxxvi Introductory Treatise 
 
 meris>m. Improperly called Animal Magnetism." 
 His experiments attracted the attention of the Faculty 
 Dr. Elliotson, among others. Baron Dupotet ar- 
 rived in London about 1831, and commenced a series 
 of experiments the Baron was a firm believer in 
 Animal Magnetism. The experiments were seen by 
 Dr. Elliotson, who now determined to investigate 
 the subject for himself. The result of the experi- 
 ments of Dr. Elliotson, which was published in the 
 Lancet, produced a great sensation; and phenomena 
 which had been regarded as impossible, were constant- 
 ly produced. Provision, introvision, sympathy, 
 thought-transference and all the extraordinary fea- 
 tures of clairvoyance were established. 
 
 The medical press teamed with incidents, demon- 
 strations, and experiments. Drs. Elliotson, Ash- 
 burner, Spillan, Herbert Mayo, 'and others contribut- 
 ed. The Rev. Chauncey Hare Townsend published 
 his celebrated tracts in 1S40. About 1835 Dr. 
 Esdaile's experiments in Calcutta attracted the at- 
 tention of the Indian Government. Several hundred 
 cases of severe operations, mostly Burgieal, were 
 performed on patients in the mesmeric sleep. 
 
 A Mesmeric Infirmary was erected in London, 
 and handsomely supported by public subscriptions. 
 Dr. Elliotson threw his head and soul into the con- 
 cern, and brought with him all his ability as a medical 
 man (being a short time previously Professor of the 
 London University). Dr. Elliotson had a greater 
 percentage of cures and a smaller percentage of
 
 Introductory Treatise xxxvii 
 
 mortality than any infirmary or hospital in London. 
 In France, Germany, Switzerland, India, and 
 now in Great Britain, Animal Magnetism was placed 
 on a scientific basis. In 1841 M. LaFontaine, a 
 Frenchman, visited England, and commenced giving 
 public lectures on Mesmerism and exhibitions of its 
 phenomena. While in Manchester he attracted the 
 attention of Dr. Braid, who was at first disposed to 
 treat M. LaFontaine's experiments as so much im- 
 posture. Eventually he admitted the truth of the 
 phenomena with a new theory of his own, which he 
 called "Hypnotism." Dr. Braid's experiments were re- 
 markable. Although both he and they were ignomini- 
 ously ignored by the medical section of the British 
 Association of Science in 1842, it is only right to say 
 that the individual members of the Association gave 
 Dr. Braid great credit for his researches. 
 
 Mesmerism, by its present day phenomena, will 
 help us largely to understand past mysteries, none 
 the less real because calm and thoughtful scientific 
 investigation furnished us with a hypothesis if not 
 sufficiently adequate to cover the whole ground, at 
 least will lead us to see what can be explained on 
 the natural or within the realm of law, and not be- 
 yond it. But of this each reader must judge for 
 him or herself. One thing is certain, absolute knowl- 
 edge of what is possible or not within natural law is 
 nrt possible to the understanding, unless what is 
 infinite can be apprehended by the finite. It is only 
 when man in his arrogance of ignorance declares he
 
 xxxviii Introductory Treatise 
 
 has discovered the confines of the natural, that he 
 seeks to explain by the supernatural whatever he 
 esteems not possible in the natural. The learned 
 Athenians were "too superstitious." There are learned 
 moderns of whom the same might be said. With some 
 all is matter, no matter what; with others all is spirit, 
 matter being its temporary projection on a physical 
 plane "chaotic ether atoms reduced to cosmos." 
 while with others there is the conception and per- 
 ception of the material and the spiritual of matter 
 and of spirit as distinct as death and life the in- 
 organic and the organic. The spiritual may have its 
 basis in mind, mind in organism, organism in pro- 
 toplasm. If protoplasm is the physical basis of life 
 and mind in animated nature, what is the vitalizing 
 essential spirit or what which is the basis of pro- 
 toplasm 1 ? Shall I say I don't know what matter, or 
 mind, or life, or spirit is? I know not, I know not, 
 save by their manifestations. Magnetism electrici- 
 ty can neither be defined or known, only as inter- 
 preted by the law of manifestation. If we find a 
 force in man or in animals analogous in its manifesta- 
 tion to magnetism in a stone i.'e. attractive and re- 
 pellent forces polarity we are justified in calling 
 that force Animal Magnetism for want of a better 
 name. It is in this sense the word is used by mes- 
 merists. The existence of such an influence has been 
 denied, because similiar or apparently similiar phe- 
 nomena have been induced by persons who did not 
 believe in Animal Magnetism. That, perhaps, does
 
 Introductory Treatise xxxix 
 
 not amount to much, seeing that these objectors be- 
 lieve they had and have power to induce the pheno- 
 mena by adopting other means. They thus exercise 
 their will power and exert their influence by their 
 positive assumption of another hypothesis all the 
 same. I believe in Animal Magnetism. From long 
 practice I have seen much to induce me to realize 
 and demonstrate that man can exercise such a force 
 a force which in its nature and character, is no more 
 wonderful than nerve force, magnetism, light, heat 
 or electricity. 
 
 Crucial experiments made by the "Society for 
 Phychical Research" of London, England, in recent 
 years have demonstrated beyond any doubt (hat such 
 a force or fluid or influence does exist and can be 
 exerted by certain persons over other persons. The 
 writer has also demonstrated this to his complete 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Of recent years this science has been steadily 
 developed by various investigators in all parts of the 
 world. Such men as Grimes, Dods and Stone and 
 Darling, Cooke, Hyslop, Flower, Quackenbos, Hudson 
 in America; Liebault, of the Nancy Hospital, Bern- 
 heim; Richet, Charcot, Richer, Binet, Fere and many 
 others in France: Moll Opitz, Weinhold, Hoidenhain 
 and many others in Germany: Metterstrand and 
 others in Sweden ; Gurney. Myers. Hack Tucke Lloyd 
 Tuckey, Bramwell and others in England these have 
 all done much to elucidate this science and to bring 
 order out of chaos.
 
 xl Introductory Treatise 
 
 The, most painstaking work has been done by the 
 Society for Psychical Research of England and Amer- 
 ica, and some* important conclusions reached. 
 
 THE STACKS OF PSYCIIOTISM 
 
 I will now define some of the stages of Psycho- 
 tism. All subjects do not exhibit all these stages. 
 Some pass readily from one stage to another. Some 
 enter the deeper stages at once. Some never reach 
 tli3 deeper stages at all. 
 
 Each subject will exhibit marked individuality 
 in this respect. 
 
 1st Degree. Imperfect control, most of the 
 subject's faculties retaining their normal activity. 
 The vision may be somewhat impaired and this 
 faculty withdrawn from the control of the subject. 
 
 2nd. Degree. Perfect control of the subject's 
 faculties and bodily functions obtained. The senses 
 refuse to perform their normal functions, and obey 
 the behests of the psychologist. The muscular and 
 secretory functions are under control. The subject 
 may be rendered unconscious of pain and of all en- 
 vironments. The body can be catalepsed and the 
 mind automatically influenced by whatever position 
 his body may be placed by the operator.
 
 Introductory Treatise xli 
 
 3rd Degree. The somnambulistic stage, under 
 which the subject "wakes up," as it were, within 
 himself. The faculties become responsive to tine 
 psychotic influence, direction and suggestion the 
 subject becomes largely an irresponsible agent. 
 
 4th Degree. This I designate the Lucid Somnam- 
 bulistic state, in which, in addition to the phenomena 
 indicated in the last stage, that of lucid vision, or 
 clairvoyance, including thought-transference, intro- 
 vision and prevision is manifested. 
 
 Here the Independent Psychic Intelligence and 
 Personality may manifest themselves in all their 
 wonder and beauty, or hideousuess, of character, as 
 the case may be. In this state the subjects will reveal 
 their real subjective natures. 
 
 Also in t revision becomes more marked. The sub- 
 ject is able to obtain clearer knowledge of his own 
 internal, mental and bodily state, or of that of another 
 person, when placed en rapport with him. In this 
 stage you can produce all tlio^e wonderful phenom- 
 ena by suggestion such as are depicted in the story, 
 "Miss Incognita." Your subject js as clay in your 
 hands. Your thought and emotions and will become 
 his. I say positively and emphatically that your 
 power over him or her is limited only by your knowl- 
 edge of the science, and by your ability and skill in 
 giving suggestions. 
 
 5th Stage. I call this the Independent or Spirit- 
 ual stage. The subject's vision is not limited by 
 space or sympathy. He passes wholly beyond the
 
 xlii Introductory Treatise 
 
 control of the operator. In this stage tht jighest 
 genius is often manifested. Here it seems that the 
 Psychic's soul and higher nature dominates his per- 
 sonality. 
 
 MODES OF PROCEDURE TO PRODUCE THE PSYCHOTIC 
 
 STATE 
 
 I am often asked if anyone can succeed in pro- 
 ducing the Psychotic state, or are the qualities neces- 
 sary to success the property of the few? 
 
 My answer is, not every one can be successful. 
 But few people succeed at anything. The majority 
 are failures. So it is here. 
 
 The qualities necessary to success in this science, 
 so far as we are now able to judge (leaving out the 
 possession of an inherent fluidic emanation or nerve 
 force, which no doubt some people have) are absolute 
 confidence in one's ability, the gift of positive mental 
 concentration, and the personal and intellectual power 
 to make a deep impression on the. subject. 
 
 These qualities are imperative for success. 
 
 To lose one's self-confidence, to doubt one's ability, 
 is to invite failure. One must study the science care- 
 fully and thoroughly, and know it. He must practice 
 concentration of thought and attention until he can 
 hurl his whole mind on one point and keep it there.
 
 Introductory Treatise xliii 
 
 He must practice manner, attitude, personal force, 
 until he can make a deep impression. He is then, 
 ready to begin, the application of this science. 
 
 There are many methods of procedure. Two or 
 three of the best are all one wants to know. I will 
 give what I consider the best. 
 
 Before beginning any method, you must have your 
 subject to thoroughly concentrate his mind. Concen- 
 tration of thought is the keynote to success in in- 
 ducing the psychic state. Your subject will attain 
 concentration by the use of the methods hereafter 
 indicated. Really, the object of all these methods is 
 to induce concentration. 
 
 Another important point to be remembered is 
 this: Disabuse your subject's mind of all idea that 
 any harm will or can come to him in going into the 
 psychic condition. Have him compose his mind and 
 bring about an absolute quiet condition of his ner- 
 vous system. 
 
 A very successful method I have used may be 
 described as follov.s: 
 
 I procured a black round disc about the size of 
 a silver dollar, and had it set in the center with a 
 bright rhinestone. However, any bright object will 
 do. The crystal I have described is excellent, and I 
 very often use this.
 
 xliv Introductory Treatise 
 
 You have your patient seated comfortably in a 
 chair high enough to rest the head on the back. 
 Place his feet together. Place the disc in the center 
 of the palm of the left hand and place the left hand 
 in the palm of the right, both palms upward. Tell 
 the subject to put himself in a perfectly passive con- 
 dition. He rmist relax every muscle and think of 
 nothing except what you are saying to him. Tell him 
 to concentrate his mind solely on the one idea of sleep. 
 He must rivet his eyes fixedly on the center of the 
 disc, held about six or eight inches below his face. 
 Tell him that he must not for one instant divert his 
 gaze from the disc. 
 
 Keeping everything absolutely quiet about him, 
 allow him to gaze at this disc for several minutes. 
 In the meantime, while he is doing this, seat yourself 
 just behind him, where he can't see you, and put 
 yourself in a passive condition and concentrate your 
 own mind on the one idea that your subject must, and 
 shall go into the psychic state, at the same time 
 making passes with both hands at distance of three 
 inches from his spinal column from the neck down- 
 wards. Keep this up for several minutes, intently 
 willing all the while that he shall go to sleep. Then 
 quietly lean to one side so you can observe the sub- 
 ject's eyes, and, if you see a tremulous movement of 
 the eyelids, get quietly up. making no noise, and step 
 just in front of him. Then, takinsr your position, 
 make passes with both hands at a little distance from 
 him down the entire length of his body. After you
 
 Introductory Treatise xlv 
 
 have done this a few times, quickly and deftly take his 
 right hand in your left and at the same instant press 
 the thumb of your right hand on the lower part of the 
 forehead just between his eyes, and say firmly and 
 quickly, "Now close your eyes tightly, and you cannot 
 open them you have no power to open them you 
 will sleep, sleep, sleep, and you can't wake until I 
 tell you you are fast asleep, asleep, asleep " 
 
 Let him try to open his eyes, and if they remain 
 closed he is in one of the stages of psychotism. In 
 most cases if the sleep is genuine, you will observe 
 a constant tremulous movement of the eyelids. You 
 will also observe that his hands remain rigidly fixed 
 holding the disc. 
 
 Now remove the disc, and take one of his hands 
 and lift his arm straight out. It will remain fixed 
 as you left it. The subject is now ready for your 
 experiments. Before beginning any experiments, al- 
 low your subject to i-emain for some minutes in a 
 state of perfect quiet and repose. 
 
 "When you are ready to begin operations it is 
 well for you to constantly make suggestions, such 
 as: "Nothing will wake you, nothing will hurt you. 
 You can't wake until I wake you. You can hear 
 nothing but my voice, but you can hear all I say 
 and you will do all I say. Now you can open your 
 eyes and look at me, but you can't wake. You will 
 see and hear and do nothing except what I tell you. 
 You cannot, you will not."
 
 xlvi Introductory Treatise 
 
 The subject is now ready to act upon any sug- 
 gestions you may see fit to give him. 
 
 Do not allow any one else to touch him or make 
 any suggestions to him, otherwise you may bring 
 about a state of "Cross-Mesmcrization" which may 
 cause unpleasant complications. 
 
 Should you wish him to go under the control of 
 another, say to the subject, "Now I will put you en 
 rapport with So-and-So, and you will kindly receive 
 suggestions, etc. from him." But before doing this 
 it is well first to get the subject's consent. 
 
 In this stage you may give the subject suggestions 
 for his health and well-being. A great many of the 
 diseases flesh is heir to, and many bad habits and 
 moral perversions may be cured in this stage by giv- 
 ing the right kind of suggestions. In order to be 
 successful in this treatment, you should study some 
 good work such as "Bernheim's Suggestive Therapeu- 
 tics" and others I might mention. 
 
 IMPORTANT ILLUSTRATION OF THE PROCEDURE TO IN- 
 FLUENCE OR CONTROL THE EMOTIONS OF ANOTHER 
 
 Outside of all natural attractions and influences by 
 which we may, and do, win the love and esteem and
 
 Introductory Treatise xlvii 
 
 confidence of others, there is the artificial or psycho- 
 logical methods to bring about the same results. 
 
 Here the question of ethics arises : 
 
 Is the one as legitimate as the other, and have we 
 the same right to employ the one method as the other? 
 
 There is no doubt as to the efficiency of the psycho- 
 logical method to bring about the results. It is a 
 truth and a fact that, if your subject be once placed 
 in this plastic, sympathetic mood and condition toward 
 the operator, as is induced by the production of the 
 psychological trance, he can be deeply influenced in his 
 favor in any way desired, and his emotions can be 
 largely influenced and controlled. 
 
 Taking it for granted that the reader knows how to 
 place the person he wishes to influence in the psycho- 
 logical condition, known as the "suggestible state," 
 then after that it is a mere question of giving the 
 proper suggestions in the proper way. 
 
 Your subject should be carried into the degree of 
 stage of "lucid somnambulism," or deeper, if it be a 
 ease where you wish to evoke the emotion of love, con- 
 fidence and affection, etc. 
 
 As an illustration of the method of procedure, you 
 would proceed as follows: 
 
 Without awakening the subject you would have 
 him or her recline in a comfortable chair or upon a
 
 xlviii Introductory Treatise 
 
 couch, so as to produce a perfect physical state of 
 passivity. Then you will begin making passes with 
 both hands a few inches distant over the entire length 
 of the body, saying: 
 
 "Ton will sleep more and more deeply you will 
 sleep profoundly and as you sleep you will think 
 only of me and what I say to you." Continue this 
 for a few moments, then say to the subject : 
 
 "You are very, very happy; you feel a state of ec- 
 stacy and bliss throughout your whole being you 
 are thinking only of me you do not care to think of 
 any one but me. You love me, love me with your 
 whole nature you love me deeply, passionately, with 
 an everlasting love you will always love me and think 
 of me, and desire me. You will see in me only such 
 qualities as will incite your love for me. When I 
 awaken you, you will be in love with me, and you 
 will always remain so, and nothing can ever change 
 your love. When you awake, you will remember 
 nothing in your normal, conscious mind that I have 
 said to you, but you will find yourself in love with 
 me, .and you will continue to love me. You will not 
 know that I have said this to you, but you will love 
 me. You will have full trust and confidence in me. 
 You will trust me with anything and everything I may 
 desire of you. You will favor me in every way pos- 
 sible." 
 
 Always before awakening a subject suggest that 
 they will awake feeling so well and joyful and happy,
 
 Introductory Treatise xlix 
 
 as such suggestion always leaves and produces a 
 happy state of mind and emotion. 
 
 I give the above illustration to show positively and 
 emphatically all suggestions should be given to pro- 
 duce the proper deep impression on the subjective 
 mind of your subject. 
 
 You will doubtless ask me, as you ought, if a man 
 should take such an advantage of a woman's heart. 
 I should say no, unless there be overpmvering reasons 
 for winning her love in this \vay. If a man were 
 good and noble, and loved a woman devotedly and he 
 saw she might refuse him and throw herself away 
 on some unworthy suitor, he might be justified in 
 resorting to such means as this to win her. 
 
 But each case and each man's conscience will have 
 to be judged separately. 
 
 After a subject is once placed in the psycmc or 
 subjective state, you can induce the deeper stages by 
 passes and suggestions to that effect. You can pro- 
 duce the cataleptic stage by passes over the portion 
 of the body you wish to make cataleptic, and suggest- 
 ing that the subject is becoming stiff and rigid. The 
 whole body can thus be affected and made completely 
 rigid. This state is excellent for applying therapeu- 
 tic treatment. All forms of rheumatism, neuralgia, 
 nervous pains, muscular contractures and afflictions,
 
 1 Introductory Treatise 
 
 etc., can be cured or benefited. Also deafness, chorea, 
 diseases of the organs of secretion, many eye troubles, 
 constipation, kidney troubles, indigestion, imperfect 
 circulation of the blood, stammering, defective mem- 
 ory, bad habits of every kind, moral perversions, sex- 
 ual perversions, bashfulness and many, many other 
 afflictions of the human family can be relieved or 
 greatly benefitted. 
 
 From this stage you carry your subject into 
 somnambulism and lucid somnambulism, and produce 
 all the wonderful and beautiful phenomena of those 
 stages. Your subject will be, and see, and hear, and 
 do, exactly as you suggest to him. You can give him 
 exquisite pleasure or unmitigated pain. However, I 
 condemn absolutely every experiment which causes 
 pain and unhappiness, unless for scientific purposes. 
 No psychologist has any right to make unpleasant 
 scenes and experiences for his subject, and no gentle- 
 man will do these things. 
 
 Another method of producing the psychic state 
 is that employed by Dr. Braid and many other ope- 
 rators. I quote his words: "Take any bright object 
 between the thumb and fore and middle fingers of the 
 left hand; hold if from about eight to fifteen inches 
 from the eyes, at such a position above the forehead 
 as may be necessary to produce the greatest possible
 
 Introductory Treatise li 
 
 strain upon the eyes and eyelids, and enable the 
 patient to maintain a steady, fixed stare at the object. 
 The patient must be made to understand that he must 
 keep the eyes steadily fixed on the object. It will be 
 observed that, owing to the consensual adjustment of 
 the eyes, the pupils will be at first contracted, they 
 will shortly begin to dilate, and after they have done 
 so to a considerable extent and have assumed a very 
 wary position, if the fore and middle fingers of the 
 right hand, extended and a little separated, are car- 
 ried from the object toward the eyes, most likely the 
 eyelids will close involuntarily with a vibratory mo- 
 tion. If this is not the case, or the patient allows 
 tli ; eyeballs to move, desire him to begin again, giving 
 him to understand that he is to allow the eyelids to 
 close when the finerers are again carried to the eyes, 
 but that the eyeballs must be kept fixed on the same 
 position and the mind riveted on the one idea of 
 the object held above the eyes. 
 
 Another method is to take the subject's hands in 
 yours, palm to palm, and have him fix his eyes on 
 yours, and tell him not by any means to move them, 
 and you keep yours fixed on his. "With the gaze thus 
 fixed keep suggesting to him that he is getting sleepy 
 very sleepy that his eyes are becoming heavy and 
 he will not be able to hold them open. Keep this up 
 for several minutes, and if the subject is susceptible,
 
 lii Introductory Treatise 
 
 he will go into the psychic state. Be positive, firm, 
 confident and impressive in all these operations, and 
 yon will succeed. 
 
 After your patient goes off, you can give the 
 suggestions as formerly indicated. 
 
 Another method is by mesmeric passes. Seat 
 your subject comfortably, or let him lie down on a 
 couch. Then with outstretched hands make passes 
 down the whole length of his body for several minutes 
 at a distance of about three inch.es from his body. 
 While doing this constantly suggest to him that he is 
 feeling drowsy that a delightful numbness is creep- 
 ing over him that he is becoming sleepy very sleepy. 
 After making these suggestions for a few minutes, 
 while making the passes, command him to close his 
 eyes for a moment tightly then make your passes 
 over his eyes, telling him that his eyes are stuck 
 tightly together and he can't open them. Command 
 him to try to open them, and in many cases he will 
 find that he can not. If you find that he goes under 
 control, you can proceed with your experiments as 
 before described. 
 
 POST-PSYCHOTIC SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 While your subject is in the subjective state you 
 can give suggestions to take effect at some future 
 time, and if your subject is deeply psychologized, he
 
 Introductory Treatise liii 
 
 will almost invariably carry out these suggestions. 
 These are most wonderful phenomena, and would re- 
 quire a book to discuss this phase of this subject 
 alone. The subject will unconsciously hold the sug- 
 gestion in his subjective or subliminal mind until 
 the time and occasion arrive, and then will carry it 
 out. A number of striking instances of this is given 
 in "Miss Incognita." 
 
 You can suggest to the subject that in the future 
 he will pass into the psychic state at your command, 
 or upon a given sign or word, and he will do so with- 
 out previous manipulation to produce the state. You 
 can also suggest for* his protection that no one else, 
 not even yourself, can put him in the subjective 
 state again, and the suggestion will take effect. 
 
 An important fact recently discovered is that you 
 can induce one from a natural sleep into the psychic 
 state. While in the natural sleep place your hand 
 quietly and gently on the forehead, and remain quiet 
 a moment. Then quietly suggest that the subject will 
 hear you and answer you without waking. Should 
 he answer you without waking, then suggest that he 
 cannot wake, but will pass into the psychic condition 
 and do as you bid him. 
 
 In this way you can also induce the psychic state 
 in one who is under the influence of a drug. A re- 
 markable instance of this is shown in "Miss Incog- 
 nita," where she thus gains complete control over 
 Lord Eroslove.
 
 liv Introductory Treatise 
 
 HOW TO AWAKE THE SUBJECT 
 
 This must be done gradually. Say to him, "When 
 I count three and make three upward passes over 
 your body, you will wake up feeling good and re- 
 freshed. You will feel rested, exhilarated and hap- 
 
 py." 
 
 Do not awake him suddenly, and always make 
 good, helpful suggestions before awakening. 
 
 If you wish to protect the subject against the in- 
 fluence of others, always tell him, before awakening, 
 that no one elce can influence him, and that he will 
 not be easily influenced, etc., etc. 
 
 Also always make curative and healthful sug- 
 gestions at this time, that the subject may be bene- 
 fitted by his experience. 
 
 SOME EXPERIMENTS IN WAKING STATE 
 
 You can often tell whether your subject is sus- 
 ceptible to your influence by experiments while he is 
 in the normal state. 
 
 Have him place his palms together and hold them 
 out at arm's length. Make drawing passes, and sug- 
 gest that his hands will be stuck together; or have 
 him cross his legs and make drawing passes over leg 
 and upward and the leg and foot will be drawn up- 
 ward. Or make passes down his back several times, 
 and then step back and make pulling passes toward
 
 Introductory Treatise lv 
 
 yourself and the subject will fall back into your 
 arms. If you influence him in this way he can cer- 
 tainly be put in the psychic condition by you. You 
 can invent many of these kind of experiments in 
 the waking state. 
 
 In all things be pure and noble in your thoughts 
 and feelings, for while your subject is in this con- 
 dition he is vitally and morally affected by whatever 
 affects you. 
 
 You can convey your thoughts and feeling to him 
 without a word being spoken. You can make these 
 experiments of transference of thought and feeling 
 from you to your subject for yourself, and you can 
 no longer doubt. 
 
 You can put your subject into the clairvoyant 
 state, and lie will describe distant scenes and events to 
 you. You can cause him to hear the divinest music, 
 and to see most enchanting visions. 
 
 You can benefit him every way and this is what 
 every psychologist ought to do. 
 
 We will now pass on to our story and learn many 
 things concerning this science from "Miss Incog- 
 nita."
 
 Ivi Introductory Treatise 
 
 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT 
 
 "WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD/' 
 
 IS THE NEW BOOK JUST OUT. ENTITLED "METHODS OF 
 
 SOUL CULTURE/' BY EMPLOYMENT OF THE SCIENCE 
 
 OF "EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY." 
 
 By W. T. Cheney, A.B., B.Ph. Ph.D., Ps.D., Mem- 
 ber of the Society for Physical Research," of 
 London, England, and of the "American In- 
 stitute of Scientific Research." Author 
 of the noted work, "An Apocalyp- 
 se of Life," "Woman's Legal 
 Status," Etc. 
 
 This work is divided into "Twelve Special Lessons 
 in 'Experimental Psychology," " as follows : 
 
 Lesson No. 1. "How to Test the Susceptibility 
 of a Subject to Psychological Influence." 
 
 Lesson No. 2. "The Best Scientific Methods of 
 Induction of the State of Psychotism. Definition of 
 Terms, 'Psychotism,' etc."
 
 Introductory Treatise Ivii 
 
 Lesson No. 3. "How to Produce any Particular 
 Stage of Psychotism." 
 
 Leson No. 4. "How to Treat or Cure Any Special 
 Disease or Pain. A Number of Remarkable Cases 
 Given, and the Methods of Cure Described." 
 
 Lesson No. 5. "Ho\v to Psychologize a Subject 
 Unawares. Five Special Methods Given." 
 
 Lesson No. G. "How to Gain Control of or to 
 Influence the Emotions of Another and Win Their 
 Love and Confidence." This lesson is very important 
 and thoroughly scientific. 
 
 Lesson No. 7. "How to Correct Bad Habits or 
 Moral Degeneracy." A world of good may be ac- 
 complished by the use of this lesson. 
 
 Lesson No. 8. "How to Give Therapeutic Treat- 
 men in Natural Sleep, and Induce a Subject From 
 the Natural Into 'the Psychotic Sleep." 
 
 Lesson No. 9. "How to Produce the Wonders of 
 Post Psychotic Suggestion, and Cultivate Thought 
 Transference, Clairvoyance, etc." A remarkable, 
 verified case of clairvoyance given. 
 
 Lesson No. 10. "How to Blot Out Unpleasant 
 Scenes and Memories, and How to Recall Any Scene, 
 or Event, or "Knowledge, or Memory Ever Known by 
 Subject." A very important lesson. 
 
 Lesson No. 11. "How to Teach a Subject Difficult
 
 Iviii Introductory Treatise 
 
 Music or Recitation, or Many Kinds of Knowledge, 
 Through the Methods of Psychological Suggestions." 
 This lesson alone is worth $5.00. 
 
 Lesson No. 12. "How to Remove Fear, Timidity 
 and Bashfulness, and Inspire Courage and Confi- 
 dence." Money can't measure the value of this les- 
 son to any man or woman, boy or girl. 
 
 These lessons are published separately in single 
 volumes or altogether in one volume. 
 
 The bindings are beautiful camel's hair black, gold 
 lettering. 
 
 Price of single lesson, 25c; price of twelve lessons 
 bound, one volume, $1.00. 
 
 We reiterate with all the emphasis we can com- 
 mand that this book is "WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN 
 GOLD." 
 
 The author has had fifteen years experience in the 
 study and demonstration of these great problems. The 
 treatment of the themes is so simple and plain that 
 the most untechnical reader and student can under- 
 stand and enjoy every line. 
 
 Sent, postpaid, on receipt of price as given above. 
 
 Published and for sale only by the Psychic Pub- 
 lishing Co., Rome, Ga.
 
 MISS INCOGNITA 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE MEETING OF THE POUR 
 
 On a veranda of a quiet boarding house at 1001 
 Lincoln Park Square, in Chicago, during the spring 
 of 1868, sat two young men. 
 
 "Lindsay, since you seem to be a quasi-guardian 
 of the young lady, and an unusually devoted one, 
 would you mind telling me something about her and 
 her mother, Mrs. Mandeville. I have known them for 
 some days and they have told me nothing concern- 
 ing themselves. I tell you frankly, I am deeply 
 interested in the young lady and my passion is deep- 
 ly aroused." 
 
 "Passion for her Dumas! Is it the same as 
 your passion for other things, either a farce or an 
 evil? For instance, such as your passion for your 
 experiments with your Hydro-Electro- Vibratoners? 
 Your experiments, if what you tell me be true, work 
 nothing but evil." 
 
 "Don't switch me off from the subject, Lindsay. 
 Wlhat I want is your influence to have me appointed
 
 8 Miss Incognita 
 
 the young lady's tutor, since you say she has eome 
 here to study chemistry and kindred subjects. You 
 know I am qualified to teach her, and then I have a 
 well equipped laboratory. I will make you this pro- 
 position : I will teach the young lady gratis, provided 
 you get me the pupil and will agree that she become 
 a subject to my experiments with my 'Vibratoners.' 
 Since you say my discovery is a farce, it could not 
 hurt her and you could have no objection to my 
 amusing myself. I judge that she will make me a 
 fine subject, and I feel that through her I can prove 
 to you the truths of a science now unknown to 
 you." 
 
 "Well, Dumas, I will accept your terms, with 
 this proviso : That you are not to use her as a sub- 
 ject without her mother being present. Further- 
 more, you must remember that you are to be her tutor 
 and not a possible admirer. I know of your experi- 
 ments with women, and while you attempt to justify 
 some of them as demonstrations of your theory of 
 'Vibrations/ I place them on a different ground." 
 
 "Tut, Lindsay. Having ears you hear not, and 
 eyes you see not. I cheerfully accede to your con- 
 dHons. But now tell me the history of these 
 ladies." 
 
 "Well, since you are to be her tutor, I will ac-' 
 quaint you with the facts as far as I know them. 
 I served during the late rebellion as a private in the 
 Federal Army and fought in the battle of Chicka- 
 mauga. During that engagement I came upon a Sou- 
 thern officer mortally wounded and in great agony.
 
 The Meeting of the Four 9 
 
 He appealed to me piteously, and I stopped. He 
 took from his pocket a daguerrotype, and gave it to 
 me, saying that I would find some written instruc- 
 tions within. 
 
 "After the battle was over I searched for his body 
 but could not find it. Within the case were photo- 
 graphs of a middle-aged woman, a little girl and 
 a paper, giving his name and house address. After 
 the war I sent the daguerreotype and the writing 
 to the address given, with a letter of sympathy. 
 This led to a correspondence, and, subsequently, to 
 an attachment between myself, and Mrs. Richard 
 Mandeville and Miss Eidola, who were the wife and 
 daughter of Judge Richard Mandeville. 
 
 "In May they arrived here and took rooms. They 
 formerly lived on a plantation in Georgia. As Mrs. 
 Mandeville informed me, they had owned large plan- 
 tations in the state with scores of slaves. 
 
 "At the close of the war in 1865, Mrs. Mandeville 
 found herself a widow and poor. She divided much 
 of her property among her slaves. Then she sold 
 the balance of her large plantations for rather flat- 
 tering sums of the new United States 'greenbacks,' 
 which, many of the Southerners declared, would soon 
 be as worthless as the bills of the defunct Confede- 
 racy. So numbers of those who came in possession 
 of it, bought lands or whatever else they could get 
 with it, as safe and permanent investments. Mrs. 
 Mandeville, with this money accruing from her pro- 
 perty, decided to give Eidola an education in chemis-
 
 10 Miss Incognita 
 
 try and medicine, and came here. So now you see 
 why I feel such an interest in these ladies, outside 
 of other sentiments I may entertain, which is none 
 of your business to know." 
 
 "Begad, Lindsay, your recital makes an interest- 
 ing and strange story." 
 
 "I trust, Dumas, you will remember you are her 
 tutor and not her wooer." 
 
 "I promise, with the reservation that all is fair in 
 love and war." 
 
 These two men were young physicians. Dr. 
 Lindsay, though about thirty years old) had aot 
 long practiced his profession. He was medium size 
 with a good face and a rather large nose. His ears 
 were prominent and his head was rather small, but 
 well shaped. His eyes were blue, his mouth medium 
 size, while his chin was full and square. His hair 
 was thick and reddish and he wore an auburn mus- 
 tache. 
 
 Dr. Dumas was his opposite. He was exceedingly 
 prepossessing. His eyes were large, piercing and 
 blue-black. His lips were full and red, but showed 
 his underlip, which protruded, partially concealed 
 by a long black mustache. His chin was prominent, 
 and when he was excited drew itself into a large 
 dimple in the center. His whole appearance showed 
 him to be a man of intense, animal passions. He 
 was about twenty-four years old. In their profes- 
 sional relations the two men were Very congenial. 
 
 Dr. Lindsay possessed those sturdy qualities that
 
 The Meeting of the Four 1 1 
 
 made him a true, tried friend. His nature, if stirred 
 by any deep passion, was never demonstrative. 
 
 Dr. Dumas was quite different. He was a strange 
 mixture of sensuality, emotion, theiry and mysticism. 
 Practical utilitarianism, plodding work, staid customs 
 and conventionalities of social life and plain morals 
 were all repulsive to him. 
 
 Neither the conventional standards of life, nor of 
 morals, nor of character, concerned him. He was also 
 very artistic, but his taste \\~as tainted through and 
 through with an abnoi'inal sensualism. He worship- 
 ped the beauty of woman, but from a sensual and 
 not an esthetic point of view. He could be enslaved 
 and goaded to madness by any woman's beauty, and 
 yet neve.r feel a spark of true, pure, noble love for 
 her. Ah ! fatal love this, when a man loves only 
 the beauty of a woman's body and not the higher 
 beauty of her soul and character. With such a love 
 there can be no constancy, for it will wane with the 
 beauty which excites it. There is in his nature, no 
 soul-worship of that almost divine beauty imperson- 
 ated in the fair female form and face conjoined with 
 beauty of soul and character, but. instead, a morbid 
 lust, that would debase all loveliness to its own carnal 
 gratification. Such a man becomes sooner or later, 
 if he is not so already, as much a diseased victim as 
 the drunkard or the opium fiend. The baser passions 
 become all-controlling in his nature. 
 
 Such a character was Dr. Dumas, and such charac- 
 ters every student of human nature has encountered; 
 but it may be hoped they are not legion.
 
 12 Miss Incognita 
 
 At eight o'clock on this evening in May, a tall 
 and prematurely gray woman entered the dining 
 room, accompanied by a young lady of about sixteen 
 years of age. They were both dressed in mourning. 
 The young lady was too spirit uelle to be called a 
 vigorous type of beauty. Her manners were charm- 
 ing and her eyes were violet her mouth and lips 
 were exquisite. Her dark hair rested as a crown upon 
 a forehead of marble whiteness. She was too etheral 
 looking for a flesh and blood being. Her voice was 
 soft and low, each tone like a note of music. 
 
 They had been seated but a few minutes when the 
 two physicians came into the room. 
 
 The waiter showed them to the table occupied by 
 the two ladies, and very soon they were in a very 
 animated conversation. Dr. Dumas showed himself a 
 well-educated and widely-traveled man for his years. 
 He managed to reveal nothing personal concerning 
 himself. 
 
 "I trust, Mrs. Mandeville, you will find the change 
 from the South beneficial." 
 
 "Thank you, Dr. Dumas," replied Mrs. Mande- 
 ville. "Neither my health nor dear Eidola's has been 
 vigorous since Judge Mandeville left us to go to the 
 war. After that the burden of our plantations and 
 the management of our servants devolved upon me, 
 and the responsibility was too much. His sad death 
 prostrated me, and I fain would have followed him 
 but for my solicitude for Eidola. Her education has 
 been carried forward during the war under diffieul-
 
 The Meeting of the Four 13 
 
 ties. Her father being away, I had to employ tutors, 
 as I could not spare her from me; besides our schools 
 were all disorganized and demoralized." 
 
 "Yes, and then you know, mother, I could not 
 have my favorite studies in that rural section." 
 
 "Pray tell me, Miss Mandeville, what are your 
 favorite studies'?" said Dr. Dumas. "But first ex- 
 cuse me until I order some wine; I trust you will 
 compliment me by taking some with me. Early in 
 life I formed the habit of drinking wine at my dinner. 
 The doctor never objects, so I won't consult him." 
 Then turning to Miss Eidola, he said : "Now you can 
 answer my question, if you will be so kind." 
 
 "My favorite studies are in those branches that 
 lead me most directly into the investigations of the 
 secrets of nature chemistry, applied physics and the 
 beneficent science of medicine. Another reason also 
 for my choice of these branches is that they will 
 prepare me for my life-work. You know we, like 
 many other Southern women, have lost our fortunes, 
 and are thrown largely upon our own resources. I 
 can conceive of no field more attractive or remunera- 
 tive, or better suited to a woman's genius that that 
 of medicine, especially those departments of practice 
 which concern my own sex or pertain to the treat- 
 ment of children. True, I could make a living by 
 teaching, or in some other humble avocation, but my 
 ambition is above the getting of a mere livelihood. 
 We should look forward to the making of a compe- 
 tency and to independence of fortune, as men do who
 
 14 Miss Incognita 
 
 have to depend upon themselves. Am I not right?" 
 
 "Indeed, Miss Mandeville, your views strike me 
 as very utilitarian. Who would have dreamed that 
 the brain that created such music as I heard from 
 you this morning at the same time harbored such 
 practical ideas and ambitions. I should think you 
 and every young woman would set your heart upon 
 love and marriage, the elysian poesy of life, rather 
 than upon its moody prose and plodding measures." 
 
 "But, Dr. Dumas'" interposed Mrs. Mandeville, 
 "there must often be in women the combination of 
 the esthetic and the practical, for the poesy of love 
 and marriage ofttimes proves Utopian, and every 
 woman cannot possess these blessings." 
 
 "For my part," said Dr. Lindsay, "I am of the 
 opinion that all women, married or unmarried, should 
 be, like men are, qualified for useful callings, for 
 they may not only have to support themselves, but 
 others also; husbands, sometimes, for instance." 
 
 "Well said, my dear boy," broke in Dr. Dumas, 
 reaching out and grasping the speaker's hand. 
 Then turning to the young lady: "Since you intend 
 to prosecute those branches of study, allow me, Miss 
 Mandeville, to tender you the freedom of my medical 
 laboratory, and my books and appliances. You will 
 find them in rooms Nos. 4 and 5, immediately over 
 your parlor." 
 
 "Thank you," exclaimed both ladies at once. 
 Then Miss Mandeville continued: "Perhaps you can 
 assist us in finding an instructor in these branches.
 
 The Meeting of the Four 15 
 
 You know the medical colleges are not yet open to 
 women." 
 
 "If you will allow me to make a suggestion, Miss 
 Mandeville," said Dr. Lindsay, "I don't think you 
 could find a better tutor in all the city than Dr. 
 Dumas." 
 
 "Yes, but he is to be considered in this matter; 
 we could hardly ask him to undertake such an ar- 
 duous duty," exclaimed Mrs. Mandeville. 
 
 "I assure you, madam, I am entirely at your 
 service." 
 
 After, expressing mutual compliments at the hap- 
 py and sudden turn of events, the party broke up for 
 the evening. 
 
 Alas! How often do the sudden, unexpected, 
 and even trival things of life decide the fate of our 
 future weal or woe. Things to which we hardly give 
 a passing thought become awful weights in the bal- 
 ances of destiny. We do things, we know not why, 
 we go to one place in preference to another, for some 
 trivial reason; we form a passing acquaintance in an 
 accidental way. and, behold, in after times we see that 
 one or the other has aided us or played havoc with 
 our lives!
 
 1 '"> Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 DUMAS, THE MYSTIC. 
 
 ONE month has now passed. During this time 
 events have occurred which changed the whole tenor 
 of Dr. Lindsay's feelings toward Dr. Dumas and his 
 estimate of him. We now see Dumas the mystic. 
 Dr. Lindsay saw him as he had never seen him be- 
 fore. Mystic he would have been called in 1868, now 
 he would be called a psychologist or, to use a more 
 unscientific term, a hypnotist for that power or 
 agency formerly classed as magic, witchcraft and 
 mysticism, is now in the latter part of the nineteenth 
 century being developed into a science. At that time 
 it was but little known. This may account for the 
 reason Dr. Lindsay had up to this time treated Dr. 
 Dumas' pretensions with contempt. Besides, Dumas, 
 being a regular physician, might not have cared to 
 make his experiments and his interest in this subject 
 too public. For this reason also he may have cloaked 
 the real truth of what he knew about psychology 
 under the term "Vibrations," and as a further piece 
 of -deception, he may have constructed his "Hydro- 
 Electric- Vibratoners." Now I do not say that he 
 knew he was practicing a deception, or that he had
 
 Dumas, the Mystic 17 
 
 any other idea than that his "Vibrations" and his 
 '"Yibratoners" were efficient causes in producing his 
 wonderful results'. 
 
 The truth is, his "Vibratoners," as he called 
 them, were only mechanical aids and appliances used 
 as a means to an end, as any psychologist will see 
 when they are described, as will be done hereafter. 
 
 What little Dr. Lindsay had seen of the experi- 
 ments had given him no light on the subject, and 
 had excited but little interest in his mind. 
 
 At that time, outside of Dr. Dods in America, 
 Dr. Braid in England, and Drs. Liebault and Char- 
 rot in France, but few investigators were at work 
 upon this fruitful field of research. So, I say, Dr. 
 Lindsay is not to be blamed for his ignorance on 
 this subject in 1868. nor for the awful blunder he 
 made in putting Miss Eidola under the tutelage of 
 this dangerous mystic and sensualist, as he proved 
 himself to be. The evil was not in the science, but 
 in the diabolical use of it by an evil man. 
 
 Besides, durin? the past month Dr. Lindsay's 
 interest in Miss Eidola had increased very much, 
 and. in the same proportion, his solicitude for her 
 had increased, for reasons to be hereafter stated. 
 He knew Dumas' character well, as a man of the 
 world, but he had thought he could trust the young 
 lady and her mother to take care of any danger 
 arisinsr from that source. 
 
 But when by a mere accident he was led to dis- 
 cover Dumas, the Mystic, he was quickly and truly
 
 18 Miss Incognita 
 
 alarmed. She way this discovery came about was 
 this: 
 
 One morning Dr. Dumas was sitting in Dr. Lind- 
 say's office when a young man, a patient of the 
 latter physician, came in for treatment. He had 
 rheumatism in his arm, which was quite useless, and 
 had not improved under the ordinary medical treat- 
 ment. After hearing the history of the case Dr. 
 Dumas casually remarked that with his "Vibratoners" 
 he could cure him in a few minutes. Dr. Lindsay 
 ridiculed the idea and dared Dumas to attempt it. 
 The latter accepted the challenge. 
 
 The young man agreed to the experiment, and 
 readily went with Dr. Dumas into a private room 
 adjoining his main laboratory. Dr. Lindsay for the 
 first time watched the application of a great natural 
 law, as we now know it, the results of which were 
 marvelous to him. I will not linger to describe the 
 "Vibratoners" used by Dr. Dumas, nor the process 
 by which he operated; suffice it to say that a most 
 wonderful force and law of nature was put into 
 action by him. 
 
 Dr. Lindsay saw the arm cured in a few min- 
 utes. He was astonished. "Did not the day of 
 miracles cease long ago?" he thought. He had seen 
 Dumas, the mystic, as he had never seen him be- 
 fore! The weird power which he yielded seemed to 
 change his personality. From the debonair, sensual 
 Dumas, he became, in Lindsay's eyes, "Dumas, the 
 Dangerous." H,e had seen the glint and glitter of an 
 awful power in Dumas' eyes.
 
 Dumas, the Mystic 19 
 
 Dr. Lindsay had seen enough in the first demon- 
 stration of this power to give him alarm for Eidola, 
 his quasi-ward, for whom he felt a sentiment of 
 growing affection. He saw this young man, this 
 patient of his own whom he knew to be true and 
 reliable he saw him but as plaster in the mystic's 
 hands. 
 
 Under his manipulation, in conjunction with the 
 vibratoners (for Dr. Lindsay thought these were in 
 some way the source of the power), he saw this 
 young man put into a deep and unconscious sleep or 
 trance. He noted every point and every symptom. 
 He then saw his whole body rendered paralytic, then 
 anesthetic, then rigid as a bar of steel, with his 
 head resting on one chair and his feet on the other, 
 and Dumas standing on his unbending body, in a 
 pose of triumph ! Then he saw him carried into 
 that most wonderful state, called "somnambulism," 
 when, with open, though expressionless eyes, he 
 obeyed every behest of the mystic. In this condi- 
 tion he even stretched forth the rheumatic hand and 
 arm and used them without pain! And lo! When 
 awakened he was cured, and knew nothing of the 
 many things he had said and done, or that had been 
 done or said to him! 
 
 During this same month Dr. Lindsay saw many 
 wonderful experiments performed by Dumas; all 
 forms of pain relieved under the weird influence of 
 the "Vibi*atoners," as he supposed. He saw people 
 made to see illusions of all kinds, which were real to
 
 20 Miss Incognita 
 
 them. He saw the senses inhibited from performing 
 their natural functions. He saw people caused to do 
 things even after they were awakened, while under 
 this strange influence, to perform at some future 
 time. 
 
 He began to believe his eyes and his ears were 
 deceiving him, and Dumas seemed anxious that noth- 
 ing should be said about it. 
 
 Dr. Lindsay determined to put Dumas to a test, 
 in order to feel no more uneasiness about Eidola. 
 He procured th^ Consent of a poor, lowly and very 
 pretty girl, a thoroughly chaste and pure maiden, so 
 far as he knew, to submit to an experiment of this 
 wonderful power. 
 
 She proved susceptible to this influence. He saw 
 that she did as she was ordered, even to the at- 
 tempted removal of her clothing, which was stopped 
 only by rescinding the command. In the midst of 
 this, he (Lindsay) all at once received a pretended 
 call, and left the room, the subject being still in the 
 state of somnambulism. Instead of going to make 
 the call, he entered an adjoining room to act as spy. 
 He soon detected, beyond doubt, that an unmention- 
 able crime was being attempted upon this subject, 
 and he re-entered the room just in time to prevent 
 its consummation. 
 
 Of course Dr. Lindsay pretended to have noticed 
 nothing wrong but he had proven to his satisfaction 
 that Dumas the mystic was Dumas th Devil! 
 
 Having discovered this terrible revelation of
 
 Dumas, the Mystic 21 
 
 Dumas' character, Dr. Lindsay set about with re- 
 newed zeal to protect Eidola from him. 
 
 There was a considerable amount of sentiment in 
 the prosaic nature of Dr. Lindsay. Furthermore he 
 was convinced that he had reached an age when he 
 ought to consider matrimony seriously. 
 
 The idea of falling in love had never before en- 
 tered his mind, but now the passion seemed to have 
 taken possession of him. He knew he had a dan- 
 gerous rival. Then he thought also : "If I didn't love 
 her, I would try to marry her to protect her from this 
 dangerous man, in whose power I have so innocently 
 1 laced her." 
 
 One evening some weeks after he had com- 
 menced giving his pupil her lessons in chemistry, sit- 
 ting in his laboratory, Dr. Dumas heard her below 
 rendering the grand passages of Chopin. Then she 
 sang some plaintive Southern airs for Dr. Lindsay, 
 who was by her side. 
 
 He could not resist such music and went down. 
 
 "My dear Miss Eidola, if you play and sing like 
 that for Dr. Lindsay, I shall have to give you double 
 instructions in your chemistry and leave you no time 
 for him." 
 
 Dr. Lindsay noticed the expression, "My dear 
 Miss Eidola," and winced, and said: "I would then 
 be sure and have you dismissed, or teach Miss Eidola 
 to rebel against your orders." 
 
 "But you know. Dr. Lindsay, I must mind my 
 leacher, otherwise I might be considered a bad pupil," 
 she said, laughing.
 
 22 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Then I insist that I also shall teach you, and you 
 shall mind me, too," said Dr. Lindsay. 
 
 "I insist that she does not need two instructors, 
 whose authority might conflict," objected Dr. Dumas. 
 
 "How do you like your chemistry, and how are 
 you progressing, Miss Eidola?" asked Dr. Lindsay, 
 in a tone that suggested his interest and feeling for 
 her. 
 
 "Splendidly. You see, Doctor, with such a 
 teacher and such admirable instruction, I could not 
 help making rapid progress. I must thank you over 
 and over again for suggesting Dr. Dumas as my 
 tutor." 
 
 Dr. Dumas curled his raven black mustache shyly, 
 and violently twitched his chin until he drew it into 
 a dimple in the center, and then replied : "Miss 
 Eidola compliments me, when in reality it is only 
 the apt pupil that advances rapidly." 
 
 Then the young lady with much enthusiasm broke 
 in : "Yes, Dr. Lindsay, you should just hear how 
 attractive my teacher makes even the tedious details 
 of chemistry how he illustrates the peculiar, mys- 
 terious affinities of chemical constituents for one 
 another, by the more wonderful affinity of soul for 
 soul and heart for heart, and how there is this mys- 
 terious craving for closer union and conjunction in all 
 nature." 
 
 "But, my dear Miss Mandeville, has he done his 
 whole duty, and illustrated to you how there is also 
 an equally wonderful and mysterious, repellent
 
 Dumas, the Mystic 23 
 
 quality among chemical constituents, and how this 
 same law obtains even between souls and souls, and 
 hearts and hearts, and which is just the opposite of 
 this law of affinity?" 
 
 "Yes, I am sure he spoke of this, too, and re- 
 marked how often this law was also illustrated in our 
 every-day lives, and how we are drawn near to some, 
 while others repel us, as " 
 
 "I insist, with my pupil's permission, that she is 
 not yet ready to stand her final examination, and 
 that she be not further questioned," Dr. Dumas ex- 
 claimed, fearing that his pupil might carry the illus- 
 tration of her comparison too far, .or at least, she 
 might carry it to the extent he had done in the 
 laboratory, which was farther than he cared to have 
 repeated in the presence of Dr. Lindsay. 
 
 Before parting for the evening, however, Dr. 
 Lindsay succeeded in making arrangement with the 
 young lady to take her for a drive the next after- 
 noon. 
 
 The first and all-important consideration with all 
 men of Dr. Dumas' stamp is to win the absolute 
 confidence of those whom they would influence or 
 entrap. He knew fhat to win Miss Eidola's sym- 
 pathy and confidence gave him an infinite power in 
 consummating the dark designs 'he had upon her. 
 Herein lay his masterly, consummate art, and his 
 knowledge of a great psychological law. 
 
 This species of confidence and sympathy Dr.
 
 
 24 Miss Incognita 
 
 Dumas had very soon established in the minds and 
 hearts of his pupil and her mother. 
 
 His next citadel of. attack would be the girl's 
 heart. He had easily scaled or demolished the outer 
 walls would he be as successful in taking the 
 citadel? 
 
 On the appointed afternoon Dr. Lindsay called 
 for Miss Mandeville to take her on the promised 
 drive. 
 
 This plodding, practical man, now to all appear- 
 ances in love for the first time in his life, had deter- 
 mined to throw himself as much in the company of 
 the young lady as possible. 
 
 On this afternoon, as on many others, they drove 
 through the -winding labyrinths of the park and along 
 the entrancing lake front. 
 
 The calm beauty of the quiet, restful sky, the 
 ever-enchanting beauty of the restless lake, the life- 
 giving beauty of the dallying winds, all combined to 
 give a healthful glow to the rare, though latent beauty 
 of the frail young girl. 
 
 "Miss Mandeville, how much the lake and its 
 waves remind one of humanity and human lives," 
 observed Dr. Lindsay. "Humanity, 'like the body of 
 the great lake, is really one a homogeneous whole. 
 As out of the bosom of the lake the waves dash up 
 toward the light, so out of the one humanity, indi- 
 vidual lives rise upward and are seen and known. 
 As some of the waves rise higher and become greater
 
 Dumas, the Mystic 25 
 
 and more lasting than others, so do some human lives 
 attain unto greater personality, power and fame; 
 while others, rising but a little way, are noticed only 
 for a moment, then quickly sink back and are seen 
 no more. And as even these highest waves are dashed 
 into the midst, if they rise too high, and then are 
 engulfed the deeper into the bowels of the lake, 
 so with the proud and haughty souls who seek to sever 
 themselves from the inevitable portion of a common 
 humanity; they rear their heads for a while but are 
 finally dashed beneath the feet of all. 
 
 "As the lake forever moves, its waves rising and 
 falling, advancing and retreating, forming and dis- 
 solving, so does humanity : across this lake, as across 
 that greater one of humanity, the grim god of eternal 
 change and unrest has stretched his all powerful 
 scepter, and is obeyed! 
 
 "The lake moans and groans, and mutters and 
 murmurs and wails and writhes, and battles with and 
 is buffeted by storms and winds and tides and light- 
 nings and cold and heat even so always with hu- 
 manity." 
 
 "How nicely you become at the same time both 
 philosopher and poet, dear Doctor," exclaimed Miss 
 Eidola. laying her delicate hand lightly upon his 
 arm. 
 
 This seemed to thrill him, and he repl'Cu: 
 
 "Indeed, you flatter me. my dear Miss Eidola 
 ah. excuse me Miss Mandeville 
 
 "Yes, Doctor, call me by my given name. I like
 
 26 Miss Incognita 
 
 that better; it sounds more friendly, you .mow. 
 Then one's guardian, you see, need not be too for- 
 mal." 
 
 "Certainly, Miss Eidola; and it makes me more 
 comfortable. You know it really hurt me, when he 
 and you and I were together, to hear him saying, 
 'My dear Miss Eidola' so tenderly. I am sure he 
 is not your guardian, and you should not allow it of 
 Mm." 
 
 "But, Doctor, he is my dear teacher, and you 
 would not expect teachers to be distant and formal, 
 would you?" 
 
 "No, 'but teachers should know their places." 
 
 "He does, but you know he is so agreeable. I 
 am perfectly at home in his presence and in my ex- 
 periments with him in the laboratory." 
 
 "Do you make him feel perfectly at home "with 
 you?" 
 
 "Why, of course I do. I could not help doing 
 so when he speaks of the beautiful affinity of the 
 various chemical elements, and likens them to the 
 affinity between us which makes us such good friends. 
 Then he makes so many funny comparisons, which 
 amuse me very much. We have to have some fun, 
 you know, Doctor." 
 
 "Ah, only friends!" he wondered to himself. 
 "Only teacher and pupil! Alas! I see now what a 
 fool I was!" 
 
 While Miss Eidola and Dr. Lindsay were driv- 
 ing Dr. Dumas sat in his laboratory puffing his
 
 Dumas, the Mystic 27 
 
 Havana and thinking. Being a beautiful night, the 
 couple were late returning. When finally he heard 
 the merry laugh of the young girl for whose coining 
 he longed and waited, he hastily arose, descended 
 the stairs, and met her as she tripped lightly on the 
 veranda. Dr. Lindsay had driven off to pay a pro- 
 fessional call which awaited him. 
 
 "Oh ! I am so happy you have returned," he ex- 
 claimed, reaching out his eager hand and grasping 
 hers in a hot, passionate grasp, at the same time 
 drawing her to a seat beside him on the sofa in her 
 private parlor. "I thought you would never come 
 back, and I became so lonely waiting." 
 
 "Why should you 'become lonely?" she asked, 
 laughing merrily. "You have books, your labora- 
 tory, your profession, your thinker to cogitate upon 
 all things in heaven and earth then why should you 
 nr.iss me?" 
 
 "Is it really true that you do not know why, 
 my dear Miss Eidola?" 
 
 As he thus spoke he gently stole her hand into 
 his. and she let it linger there as though uncon- 
 scious of its resting-place. She waited a moment, 
 then withdrew her hand from his and replied: "No, 
 I really do not know why you should miss me, 
 unless you just wanted to. Dr. Lindsay and I had 
 such a delightful drive. I did not know he could talk 
 so well." 
 
 Dr. Dumas winced at the young girl's frnnk com- 
 pliment, and giving a dry laugh, said: "My dear,
 
 28 Miss Incognita 
 
 'you must have been a partial listener to have heard 
 beautiful things from Lindsay. What inspired 
 him?" 
 
 "Why, I am sure I don't know. But excuse 
 uie, Doctor, won't you? I must run and see how 
 mother- is; she doesn't seem to be well of late." 
 And Miss Mandeville tripped lightly to her mother's 
 aparfment. 
 
 Dr. Dumas went out for a promenade on the 
 porch, and to think about Lindsay. Was Lindsay 
 really in love with her and did he intend to marry 
 her? Did he himself ever think of marrying the 
 girl, or imagine she was a prize to be fought over and 
 won by the more zealous lover 1 ? 
 
 Dr. Dumas knew enough of the affairs of a 
 woman's heart to know that an honest suitor, even 
 though he be an ordinary, phlegmatic man, was a 
 dangerous rival and obstacle in the way of a suc- 
 cessful flirtation. Moreover, he feared that Lindsay 
 had suspected his plans and might do something to 
 seriously interfere with him. "Then shall I give 
 her up and forego the rare and delicate pleasure 
 that is treasured up in the, as yet, latent passion of 
 this pure and fragrant lily of a girl, whose sweets 
 no man but himself has ever imagined and yearned 
 for? No! a thousand times no, and as for Lindsay, 
 I will brush him aside as a '' and Dr. Dumas 
 walked the veranda with quickened pace, and flushed, 
 determined face.
 
 The Scene in the Laboratory 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 IN THE LABORATORY THE VISIT TO THE 
 INVALID. 
 
 Miss EIDOLA hurried to the bedside of her 
 mother when she left Dr. Dumas. Though she wa 
 with her mother constantly, yet she could see day by 
 day that her health was steadily declining. 
 
 Mrs. Mandeville possessed one of those delicate 
 natures that could not long survive the violent 
 changes of her emotions, her manner of life and love, 
 her environments and her social position. 
 
 In her plantation home she had been queen of 
 all she surveyed. To numbers of human beings her 
 word had been law. Throughout the extended rural 
 section, where she and her husband were so widely 
 known, she had been a social queen. 
 
 But now the tragic catastrophes of change as 
 completely inverted her life as though a whole bright 
 world of joy and gladness and hope had been me- 
 tamorphosed into a black sphere of despair and 
 death. There was for her only one star in the whole 
 black horizon, and that was her daughter. For her 
 sake alone the tenacity of the mothei m 's strong will 
 retained hold upon this hideous mockery of life. 
 Hence, for some weeks, while rhe health, appearance 
 and spirits of the daughter had been rapidly improv- 
 ing, the mother had been rapidly declining. 
 
 Still, at no time was her condition dangerous or 
 alarming, no more than is the gradual and almost
 
 30 Miss Incognita 
 
 imperceptible burning out of the candle. We scarcely 
 notice its continually flickering flame, until all at 
 once it goes out. 
 
 "Mother, dear, I hope you are feeling so much 
 better by now. Aren't you 1 ?" 
 
 "Yes, dear Eidola, I am sure I shall be much 
 better in a few days. We all have to be sick some- 
 times, and this is just my time to be an invalid, and 
 have you do so many nice things for me." 
 
 "You know, mother, I thought of you all the after- 
 noon and wished you were with us. You must go 
 with me next time I go. I know the view of the lake 
 and the fresh, crisp air will do you worlds of good. 
 Now won't you go 1 ?" 
 
 "Of course, my daughter, if you wish. Sit down 
 and tell me all about it." 
 
 As a dutiful child and loving daughter Miss Eidola 
 recounted to her mother a full history of the drive, 
 and in conclusion told her of the interview and pas- 
 sionate utterance of Dr. Dumas, that had just taken 
 place in the parlor. 
 
 "And, Eidola dear, what think you of his con- 
 stantly increasing attentions?" 
 
 "I know not, mother, unless he loves me. I am 
 feeling myself more and more inclined to put my full 
 trust in him." 
 
 "If such be so, my daughter, I only hope he may 
 be true, loving and faithful unto you as was your 
 dear father to me." And the poor mother sobbed 
 aloud at the thought of her own true, chivalrous hus- 
 bajnd. She was thinking also of her daughter's
 
 The Scene in the Laboratory 31 
 
 future, in ease of her death, which she felt must 
 occur at any time. She realized that she could look 
 upon this final catastrophe with much more resigna- 
 tion if she knew her daughter's future was safe in the 
 keeping of some noble, true man. 
 
 "If Dr. Dumas attempts to press his suit, refer 
 him to me. I should like to talk to him." 
 
 "I will, mother. I know you will like him more 
 as you know him better." 
 
 The days flew by and linked themselves into 
 weeks, and Miss Eidola kept apace with them in the 
 rapid progress she made in her studies. 
 
 The two gentlemen seemed by this time to be full- 
 fledged rivals. 
 
 Dr. Dumas had made no further passionate ven- 
 ture since the evening in the parlor, but seemed to 
 have been trying to analyze and interpret the at- 
 tentions of Dr. Lindsay, so as to detenuine what 
 course he should adopt in his future suit. The truth 
 is, he did not believe Dr. Lindsay capable of a deep, 
 passionate attachment, and he had made up his mind 
 that Miss Eidola would only yield to that species of 
 love. But what puzzled him was to decide in what 
 way he could most surely realize the full harvest of 
 his passion. 
 
 Could he so intensify the love of the young girl 
 as to win her love for love's sake and joy alone, 
 as against the utilitarian-love-for-marriage-sake-style 
 of Dr. Lindsay? If all else failed, should he hesitate 
 to employ that all-powerful law which he had so 
 successfully used on other hearts?
 
 32 Miss Incognita 
 
 One morning, not long after this, after the reg- 
 ular chemical lesson was over, he detained his pupil 
 to show her some new experiment in chemistry. 
 Miss Eidola was sitting in a high chair very close to 
 him watching the experiment. Suddenly in passing 
 her he fixed his gaze intently upon her and his hand 
 came in contact with hers. He mechanically let it 
 pause there. Then he lifted her hands and gazed 
 into her eyes. He had made a test of a psychological 
 law and it almost assured him that his power might 
 be counted on. She did not hastily remove her hand. 
 Quietly, unrestingly, under the influence of some 
 strange, attractive force, she leaned, or was drawn 
 forward, toward him. Her breath came thick and 
 fast. Her snow-white bosom rose and fell in rapid 
 and rythmic undulations. New and untried currents 
 of feeling seemed to be coursing and rushing through 
 every fibre of her virgin flesh. A new experience 
 was at work for the first time beneath the rising and 
 falling of this maiden bosom. Was she experiencing 
 the first glad joys of love 1 ? What power was it 
 which so irresistibly called it forth? Dr. Dumas was 
 not the dullard to risk the hazard of a guess upon 
 this precious point, and thus flush his dainty game. 
 His practiced eye and heart had seen and felt one 
 fact; she experienced the drama of feeling. He had 
 called it forth ! 
 
 But he noted this; that while he held her hand 
 she did not cast down her eyes, nor looked abashed 
 as though she felt accusing guilt but she cast a bright, 
 inquiring look full in his face, which seemed to mean, 
 "/ trust you."
 
 The Scene in the Laboratory 33 
 
 He removed his hand and said, "You are look- 
 ing more charming every day. I believe I am be- 
 ginning to take more interest in my pupil herself 
 than in her lessons." To which she naively re- 
 plied : 
 
 "If you will keep up your interest in your pupil, 
 I will certainly keep up mine in the lessons." 
 
 "But who will feel an interest in the teacher 1 ?" 
 he quickly responded. 
 
 "Oh! The pupil will be certain to do that," she 
 said with a merry twinkle of her eye, accompanied 
 by a flush on her cheek. 
 
 The afternoon of the same day found Dr. Dumas 
 in Mrs. Mandeville's room on a visit to the invalid 
 mother. 
 
 "I have not seen you out for several days," said 
 the young doctor, "and desired to give myself the 
 pleasure of calling on you. I hope, madam, you have 
 no serious indisposition." 
 
 "Thank you, Dr. Dumas," the invalid said rather 
 feebly. 
 
 The invalid's face was very thin and white. As 
 the almost ethereal body of the woman shone, and 
 she talked, the strong man of hot blood, sat leaning 
 forward, almost over her, and even then and there 
 was plodding the ruin of her fair and only daughter. 
 
 "No doubt, madam, Miss Eidola has been your 
 stay and comfort during all these sad years." 
 
 "My very life, Doctor; for it was only my love 
 of her that sustained me for a day after my husband 
 was taken away,"
 
 34 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Indeed, madam, you are blessed. Her mind has 
 the strength of a man's and the quick intuitions 
 of a woman's, and where you find this combina- 
 tion you have reached the limits of intellectual poten- 
 tiality." 
 
 "True, sir; she is equally excellent in the quali- 
 ties of heart. You have dealt most with her mind, I 
 most with her heart." 
 
 "May I ask you, madam, if I too may deal some- 
 what with the qualities of her heart 1 ?" said the doctor 
 in his soft, persuasive tone. 
 
 Mrs. Mandeville did not speak for some mo- 
 ments, but she was seen to press her dainty hand- 
 kerchief to her eyes, and her throat was seen to 
 contract, as though she were pressing back a sigh or 
 sob. As soon as she could control her voice, she 
 replied with much feeling: "Does my daughter wish 
 it?" 
 
 "Concerning this I must refer you. to her. As for 
 myself I wish it." 
 
 "In so momentous a decision I cannot act rashly," 
 she replied. "If such be her desire, her lessons with 
 you may continue; if not, they would better cease. 
 Affairs of the head and heart do not mix, especially 
 where hearts are consciously at variance." 
 
 "Your answer, madam, is both wise and agree- 
 able. It shall be my honor and pleasure to speak to 
 your daughter later."
 
 A Game of Hearts 35 
 
 CHAPTER iv. 
 
 A GAME OF HEARTS WHO WELL PROVE THE WINNER? 
 
 DR. LINDSAY realized that Dumas had a great ad- 
 vantage of him on account of the daily intercourse 
 and close companionship of the class room. So he 
 monopolized all her time possible during her hours 
 of rest and recreation. But still, he knew that he 
 was making but little headway. At last he thought : 
 ''I \viFl see her mother, and frankly do my duty by in- 
 forming her that I am convinced I have made a 
 grievous blunder in placing Miss Eidola under his 
 tutelage. I will tell her as much as I can of my 
 suspicions of his character and of his purposes in his 
 relations with the young lady. Would to God 'hat I 
 could tell her all I know of his attempted crime 
 against the poor young girl whom I left him v/ith in 
 his diabolical experiment ! This very afternoon I will 
 call and have a talk with her." 
 
 True to his resolution this honest man made hjs 
 call. After exchanging the usual compliments, and 
 talking with Mrs. Mandeville concerning her health 
 a.nd advising her about it, he broached the portentous 
 topic. 
 
 "Mrs. Mandeville, I trust you will receive what 
 I shall say to you in the same spirit in which I speak 
 it. I desire to talk to you about the relations be- 
 tween Miss Eidola and Dr. Dumas. My interest is 
 the more excited in this matter if that were possible 
 outside of my own love for her because of the fact
 
 36 Miss Incognita 
 
 that I am responsible for the relations between these 
 two. This you know. I want to advise you to sever 
 these relations if possible. I think I know more of 
 the character of this man than I did when I advised 
 you to employ him as your daughter's teacher." 
 
 "I thank you Dr. Lindsay. I wanted to talk to 
 you on the subject of my daughter's intimate rela- 
 tions with Dr. Dumas, now more intimate than, per- 
 haps, you know of or imagine" at this statement 
 Dr. Lindsay turned pale and trembled -"a circum- 
 stance happened but a few days ago, which determined 
 me to inquire of you concerning Dr. Dumas's ante- 
 cedents. Do you know anything of .his past or of his 
 family?" 
 
 "But little, madam. He told me he was an orphan 
 and formerly lived in Canada. He came here about 
 three years ago. He is a strange man in many re- 
 spects. Yet he seems to be cultured, educated, and 
 widely traveled, and never lacks for money." 
 
 "Have you discovered any reasons or facts, Doctor, 
 to cause you to doubt any of these points'?" 
 
 "No. madam." 
 
 "Then what has caused you to be suspicious and 
 distrustful?" 
 
 "Certain matters, madam, concerning his moral 
 character. I am convinced in this respect he is an 
 unsafe and dangerous man especially so if your 
 daughter" at this point Dr. Lindsay stammered and 
 almost broke down "if your daughter, I was going 
 to say, madam, be in any unusual way attracted 
 toward him."
 
 A Game of Hearts 37 
 
 "This would indeed be most serious, Doctor. 
 Would that you had forewarned me sooner, for" 
 here Dr. Lindsay became very much agitated "for 
 I fear, to express it in no stronger terms, that my 
 daughter has already become unduly attracted to Dr. 
 Dumas." Then continuing, "Would you, and could 
 you, Doctor, give me some specific, some definite in- 
 formation on this important subject, by which I could 
 judge of him? Something that you did not know 
 when you recommended him to me?" 
 
 "Well, really, Mrs. Mandeville, this would be 
 hard to do. I knew at first he was inclined to be a 
 man of certain loose moral habits, and in talking to 
 him about becoming your daughter's tutor, I speci- 
 fically charged him that he must confine himself to 
 her head and not to her heart." 
 
 "But, Doctor, could this injunction to him protect 
 her, if he saw fit to disregard it?" 
 
 "Of course not, madam. Yet I did not anticipate 
 the young lady's attachment for him, for I must 
 make a confession to you I loved your daughter 
 myself, and was presumptuous enough to think I 
 could win her and protect her from the influence 
 of her instructor. I now avow to you, I love. Miss 
 Eidola with my whole soul and hope to save K/." 
 
 "For yourself, Doctor? Excuse me, I do not wish 
 to misjudge your motive. I believe you are sincere. 
 Dr. Dumas has made the same avowal." 
 
 "He has!" exclaimed Dr. Lindsay with' great 
 emotion. "But, madam, I hope you did' not give 
 your consent."
 
 38 Miss Incognita 
 
 "I did not enter my disapproval, for I believed 
 you would not have recommended to me an unworthy 
 man. However, I informed him that I would take 
 the matter to my heart and let him know my answer. 
 I also told him that my decision in the matter would 
 depend largely on my daughter's desires, provided I 
 became satisfied that she was acting with Avisdom and 
 with due regard to her future happiness." 
 
 "Has your daughter yet made her decision? Do 
 you know the trend of her desires'?" 
 
 "I know that Dr. Dumas has avowed his love to 
 her many times, though she has given him no posi- 
 tive encouragement. I am free to say to yon, Doctor, 
 that my preference as between you and him since 
 you have expressed yourself so unreservedly to me, 
 which before this I had not suspected would be" 
 here Dr. Lindsay leaned forward, grasping the arms 
 of the chair, awaiting the next word with terrible 
 anxiety) "for you." (At this point he had arisen 
 and seized her thin hand in his own.) "But Doctor, 
 as much as I might feel this preference, I should not 
 take the responsibility to dictate to my daughter or 
 to thwart her heart's desire in so sacred a matter as 
 this, provided she were not innocently and ignorantly 
 making a fearful mistake. You must be aware of 
 my feelings toward you, since you have always been 
 a true and tried friend." 
 
 "Thank yon, my dear Mrs. Mandeville. A thou- 
 sand times I assure you, yon flatter me. I could not, 
 I would not, ask your daughter to marry me, if she 
 loved another. But she shall not love this man. Ob!
 
 A Game of Hearts 39 
 
 That I could tell you of a circumstance but it might 
 cause you to think I expected to win her love by 
 the downfall of another, whose power and influence, 
 in my judgement, will sacrifice her life." 
 
 From this moment Dr. Lindsay aroused himself 
 from his sluggish wooing, and brought to bear all 
 the resources of his practical life to win the prize 
 of his heart. 
 
 At this time, Miss Eidola's reart was really in a 
 balance. She could not tell which way it would 
 turn. If Dr. Dumas was out of the way, she would 
 accept Dr. Lindsay at once. Her mother had often 
 expressed to her her high regard for him. On the 
 other hand, if Dr. Lindsay were out of the way, 
 she would accept Dr. Dumas, for he had shown every 
 kindness and attention possible to both herself and 
 her mother, and he seemed altogether acceptable to 
 both. 
 
 Thus the balance was cast between these two men. 
 
 Dr. Lindsay had this advantage; that with him 
 it was a game for a heart and a life, while with Dr. 
 Dumas it was a game for a heart which he would 
 doubtless devour, and cast the life away as a worth- 
 less husk. 
 
 As the days passed by fortune seemed to favor 
 the honest suitor. The mother favored him, but 
 frankly told her daughter that she would not dictate 
 to her in so sacred a matter. Dr. Dumas' quick eye 
 noted every move of the game for this precious 
 prize. 
 
 The umittered sympathy of the loving motherjs
 
 40 Miss Incognita 
 
 intuition, which she felt for Dr. Lindsay, soon began 
 to have its effect. Miss Eidola began to show indi- 
 cations in her demeanor toward Dr. Dumas which 
 alarmed him. 
 
 In the study room she was more indifferent than 
 formerly. He noticed, too, that she was more in the 
 company of Dr. Lindsay than ever before. When 
 he saw them together they appeared happy and con- 
 genial. While the tide had not yet turned against 
 him, he became convinced that it was not flowing his 
 way, as it formerly did. 
 
 He now determined that before the tide changed 
 to the ebb he would take decisive action. The climax 
 came in this way : Miss Eidola had missed one lesson 
 to take a drive with Dr. Lindsay. She told Dr. 
 Dumas he would have to excuse her again the next 
 day, as sjie was going to row on the lake. Then he 
 asked : 
 
 "And the next day what?" 
 
 "Oh, my lesson, I think," she replied. 
 
 "If you will promise to come, I will show you 
 an extraordinary experiment," he said with a strange 
 emphasis. 
 
 "I promise, for you know, Doctor, I always enjoy 
 things out of the ordinary." 
 
 "Agreed, my dear Miss Eidola. I will have every- 
 thing ready to make this extraordinary experi- 
 ment I assure you."
 
 The Theory of Vibrations 41 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE THEORY OF VIBRATIONS THE VIBRATONERS THE 
 ATTEMPTED CRIME 
 
 IN science Dr. Dumas was a theorist and a mystic. 
 He loved to speculate upon the hidden powers of 
 nature as much as upon the hidden powers of the 
 Ueart. He veiled the true meaning and import of 
 ttiat branch of mystical science with which he was 
 60 familiar under the term "Vibrations." He claimed 
 also, that in order to demonstrate his theory of vibra- 
 iions he had invented his apparatus mentioned above. 
 In view of what we know of the science of "Experi- 
 mental Psychology" today, we must admit that those 
 "Yibratoners," as he called them, might prove a 
 powerful agency in producing a state of hypnosis. 
 
 Both his mind and heart now told him that the 
 subject and the occasion had met to make the most 
 important experiment of his life. 
 
 The next morning when Miss Eidola was to come 
 he had arranged hi? study and laboratory with usual 
 care and taste. In addition to more tasteful arrange- 
 ment, he had his most remarkable "Hydro-Electro- 
 Vibratoners" displayed on this occasion in all their 
 glory. 
 
 She tripped into the laboratory this morning with
 
 42 Miss Incognita 
 
 a joyous eye, a beaming face and a rapidly beating 
 heart. 
 
 When he opened the door to receive her his eye 
 feasted upon the luscious embodiment of grace and 
 beauty and his heart grew jealous of his eye and 
 yearned to share in its intoxication. But as no 
 trained mariner casts his anchor until he has taken 
 his bearings, so on the sea of love no skillful lover 
 trusts to impulse unless it is formed and guided in 
 accordance with cooler judgment. 
 
 His "cooler judgment" had already planned for 
 this drama of passion, and he now proceeded to carry 
 it to a final execution. 
 
 Dr. Dumas held out his hand, as he opened the 
 door to admit his pupil, and grasping hers, said: 
 
 "Good morning, sweet one! May I say it 1 ?" He 
 looked intently into her eyes, noting the effect of his 
 words. 
 
 "How it delights me to welcome you and feast 
 my eyes upon you. You are really a vision of beauty 
 this morning." 
 
 "Oh, Dr. Dumas. You should not flatter me so, 
 or I shall have to leave you. But look, what have 
 you here? Oh! How beautiful and wonderful! What 
 have you done?" 
 
 Dr. Dumas had led her some paces into the 
 room, holding her hand tenderly. 
 
 "My dear pupil, this is the apparatus designed to 
 make the 'extraordinary experiment' I promised you." 
 
 The laboratory was an oblong room at the end of 
 a hall. There were two windows of frosted glass
 
 The Theory of Vibrations 43 
 
 that opened out over a court. Hanging from the 
 ceiling were four peculiar vessels or globes like 
 spheres of cut glass about fifteen inches in circum- 
 ference. Out of the upper side of each sphere ex- 
 tended a singular serpentine chimney of tinted glass, 
 which was connected with some retort in the center of 
 the sphere. Running into this hidden retort from 
 seven directions from above, were seven tri-colored 
 glass pipes of about an inch in diameter and extend- 
 ing about a foot above. 
 
 The ends of these pipes expanded without into 
 globes of about six inches in circumference, which 
 seemed to be filled with some substance which al- 
 ternately passed from the liquid to the gaseous state. 
 
 Moulded in the glass, and passing through each 
 of these globes, and through the central retort, were 
 a series of small wires, which were connected in the 
 laboratoi'y with an electric battery, which sent a cur- 
 rent into these globes and into the central retort. 
 No one except Dr. Dumas knew the composition of 
 the strange substance in the retorts and globes, 
 which changed its nature from liquid to gaseous with 
 almost infinite alternations. 
 
 These seven globes seemed to feed the hidden re- 
 torts inside the spheres, and out of the retorts, 
 through the many-colored serpentine glass chimney, 
 there issued a mysterious vapor which filled the 
 shaded room with a vague, fragrant, overpowering, 
 soporific odor. One instant this weird vaporous light 
 was violet, then blue, then red, then green, then yellow, 
 etc., until all the seven colors of the prism had pre-
 
 44 Miss Incognita 
 
 dominated. Then they all seemed to unite for an 
 instant, forming the pure white light as of the sun. 
 Then quickly it would dissolve, and the rapidly 
 vibrating colors would begin over again. 
 
 The strange part of it was that the beautiful 
 glow which came out of the serpentine chimney and 
 filled the room was not of the nature of pure light, 
 but some substance evolved by this mysterious mechan- 
 ism of the chemist, which caused remarkable series 
 of vibrations in the surrounding ether, and which 
 produced a soothing, monotonous hum, which seemed 
 to weary, and then to lull into sleep, the ear and the 
 brain. 
 
 Near the center of the room was a little wheel, 
 used to regulate or shut off the electric current. The 
 frosted windows of the room had been veiled in thick, 
 dark curtains, so that there was no light, color or 
 glow, except that issuing from the lightendowed vapor, 
 which the mystic was generating by his mysterious 
 process. The combined effect was indescribable. 
 
 There seemed to be an infinitely rapid vibratory 
 battle in the spacial ether of the room which some- 
 what paralyzed the objective action of the senses. 
 
 In addition to these exquisite colors and the 
 strange weird sound which chanted a perpetual lull- 
 aby, the laboratory was filled with a most delicious 
 odor which was intended to help intoxicate the su^je*"- 
 
 Dr. Dumas said: "Why, my dear, this is an 
 unknown invention of my own, which I call my 
 'Hydro-Electro- Vibratoner.' It has never been seen 
 or known outside of my laboratory. Don't you feel 
 its delightful effects'?"
 
 The Theory of Vibrations 45 
 
 "Oh, yes, Doctor; it seems like a dream of heaven. 
 Tell rue about it while I sit here and look at it and 
 drink in this fragrance." 
 
 She advanced toward a lounge which he had 
 arranged near the center of the room. He, half 
 embracing her, looked into her eyes with a determined, 
 unwavering concentration. He placed her by his side 
 on the lounge and said: Now if you desire to ex- 
 perience the delightful effects of this experiment you 
 must keep your eyes immovably fixed on this certain 
 vibratoner. Don't move them for an instant, and as 
 you look I will explain this apparatus to you. By 
 this I demonstrate the vibratory theory of not only 
 light and electricity, but of chemial affinity, human 
 emotion, passion, and even thought. "We might com- 
 pare its effect and its operations to those wonderful 
 effects produced by music. Music is nothing but vi- 
 brations of the air, which, through the ear, affect the 
 brain and the sensations. The emotions of the listen- 
 er become en rapport with the state of the vibrations 
 set up '"n the external air. The joyful dance of the 
 music in the air becomes the dance of the molecules 
 cf the brain, and we are thrilled with the enthusiasm 
 cf the dance. If the music be of passionate tone 
 and time, our passions become stirred, and we feel 
 the ecstacy or woe of the music. If the music wail, 
 our hearts wail; if it exult, our hearts exult. All the 
 gamut of our emotions and passions are touched and 
 stirred by the consonant vibrations of the music. 
 Music is but the vibration of the air set to the time 
 and tone established by nature's laws." 
 
 While he was saying these things he bent over his
 
 46 Miss Incognita 
 
 fair subject and every now and then interspersed 
 his remarks by phrases like this : "Be sure and keep 
 your eyes fixed don't move them at the same time 
 listen to the sweet hum and lullaby of the vibratoner 
 breathe deeply and draw in these exquisite odors 
 emitted from this pure ether! Look, listen, breathe, 
 think of nothing but these exquisite delights." Then 
 continuing, he said, in a slow, monotonous tone: 
 
 "What is true of the vibration of the air is also 
 true of the vibration of the subtler element known 
 rs the ether. The ether pervades not only the inter- 
 stellar space and the earth's atmosphere, but it also 
 passes through all solid, opaque objects. Everything 
 is open to its subtle influence. It vibrates through 
 your brain and mind, and can be made the direct 
 agent and medium for the excitation and expression 
 of thought, emotion and passion. I knew that nothing 
 could be more interesting to my pupil than a demon- 
 stration of her own experience of my theory." As 
 he talked to her he gradually drew her more closely 
 to his side. She did not resist. 
 
 "What strange, exquisite emotions are these I 
 experience? The delightful sensations produced by 
 this light, color and fragrance seem to be overpower- 
 ing me." 
 
 He gazes into her face with a deeper and more 
 penetrating stare. He sees that her eyes are closed 
 and her face is as placid and innocent as a sleeping 
 angel. He makes certain strange movements about 
 her, touching her brow, head and temples here and 
 there, and muttering weird words in her ear. He
 
 The Theory of Vibrations 47 
 
 partly lifted her lids so that the eyes were half closed 
 in a ireamy ecstacy but she did not move. 
 
 "The current, sweet one, which I am now passing 
 through the vibratoners creates those vibrations which 
 are in consonance with and productive of pleasurable 
 emotions and sensations. You are now so happy ! 
 You are overwhelmed with joy ! So happy ! So 
 happy!" 
 
 He waited a few minutes, and watched her face 
 wreathed in smiles. He looked into her dreaming 
 eyes, now filled with a strange light. He saw the 
 entranced, expectant smile upon her crimson lips. A 
 little movement of his hand before her face, and a 
 little turn of the wheel by his side, which regulated 
 the current and the rapidity of the vibrations, and 
 lo ! all this joy passed away. She, entranced, heard 
 him saying: 
 
 "Now see, my dear girl. _ can change the current 
 to one in consonance with the emotions of fear and 
 you are filled with fright. Fear now has taken pos- 
 session of you ! Look you, the glow from the ser- 
 pentine pipes, passing up out of the retorts, glim- 
 mers and gleams and flashes and flickers and. trembles, 
 and then darts out and back again, setting up this 
 strange vibration of the ether which accompanies 
 and produces fear! Look how you turn pale and 
 cling to me and tremble! There now you shall en- 
 dure it no longer! It is gone!" He changed the cur- 
 rent back to its former state, made a strange move- 
 ment with his hand before her face, and untwining 
 the affirightened girl's arms from about him, said:
 
 48 Miss Incognita 
 
 "I know you will pardon me, but I could not 
 resist showing you all. We are here to learn and 
 shall we not experience all the emotions, my sweet 
 love?" he asked with a strange and dangerous em- 
 phasis. Again he turned the little wheel, changing the 
 current, saying : "You will love, you will love me with 
 all the passion of your heart?" 
 
 Eidola made no audible reply, but seemed trans- 
 formed in an instant from the miserable state of fear 
 to that ecstatic one of intense emotional love. 
 
 She again closed her eyes under the weird touch 
 and movement of his hand. He laid her down upon 
 the silken lounge, and standing over her made strange 
 manipulations through the air above her person, mut- 
 tering passionate incantations into her ear all the 
 while, a mystic procedure whose awful meaning, sig- 
 nificance and power are today known only to a few 
 psychologists and taught to the uninitiated only under 
 the most solemn vows. 
 
 After a few moments of this strange procedure 
 he tenderly, though earnestly, spoke into her now 
 plastic ear and brain these words: "You will love me! 
 You will love me with all the power of your life, 
 of your mind, of your heart! You will love me only 
 of all men upon the earth, and you will love me for 
 ever and ever." Eidola quivered in every fibre of her 
 being. Her emotions were quickly possessed by an 
 all-powerful yearning and irresistable passion. Then 
 the mystic continued : "The first time you meet your 
 mother and Dr. Lindsay together you will say to 
 them and remember you cannot resist saying it
 
 The Theory of Vibrations 49 
 
 you will say, 'I love Dr. Dumas above all on earth, 
 and love only him.' You will say these words -you 
 will you will." Those words he repeated in her ea; 
 a number of times. 
 
 From the moment this injunction of love was 
 seared into her entranced brain and heart, she felt 
 that she loved the man to whom she was clinging 
 and who was so tenderly embracing her, with all the 
 pasisonate ardor of her thoroughly and suddenly- 
 aroused nature, and with all the intensity of her being, 
 life, body and soul ! 
 
 He had long planned and labored to allure her 
 confidence and even incite her normal love, so that 
 when this crucial moment should come she would be 
 wholly his, and more than that, surely and easily 
 his. 
 
 He now saw her clinging about his neck with her 
 lips upturned to his; these lips were half parted, and 
 as crimson and moist as the ripe cherry when the 
 nectar of the dawn is upon it. Her mouth was always 
 a sweet and beautiful one, whose lips, even when far 
 away from you, curled and curved, and pouted, and 
 smiled, and parted, and blushed, and wept, as she 
 willed. 
 
 But as the love-famished man looked down upon 
 these lips, now so close to his, and saw upon them 
 all the freshness and sweetness and beauty and excite- 
 ment and intoxication of love's first carnival, he was 
 overcome! He must be dreaming. He looked about 
 him and saw the infinitely rapid glow of the unchained 
 ether. The multicolored gleam of the vibratoners daz-
 
 50 Miss Incognita 
 
 zled before and into his eyes and into his brain and 
 into Ms heart, and unchained every feeling and emo- 
 tion and ecstacy and yearning and hunger and thirst 
 of his long pent-up and intensified passion, even as 
 it had unchained the wild and jubilant ether whose 
 ecstatic dance now filled this lover's hall. 
 
 By his side was the little wheel, whose slightest 
 turn, with one word from him spoken into her ear, 
 would stem this tide of blessed joy and irresistible 
 passion which filled the illimitable ocean of its en- 
 raptured being. One word and a motion of his hand 
 and it would be done! Must he do this and so change 
 the current of passion which was speeding on its 
 burning course through his being and through hers 1 ? 
 Alas! He had waited too long! He reached a point 
 where his reason was impotent to reach his heart. 
 Had he not waited and planned and thirsted for just 
 this heaven? Had he not for so long a time foregone 
 all other and coarser pleasures for this rare and 
 blessed feast, the first passion of a virgin's heart? 
 Had he not day after day watched the frail bud of 
 this lily of love as it grew and developed, until now, 
 even in his arms, it had burst into fragrance and full- 
 grown beauty? Should he not inhale its fragrance 
 and taste its sweetness? 
 
 Why was beauty, love and passion given if not 
 to worship and enjoy? Was not this his only heaven, 
 and must he refuse to enter into its joys? He quelled 
 his cavilling thoughts, and nerved his doubting heart, 
 and again fastened the full vision of his eyes upon 
 the fair reality that rested upon his bosom. Her
 
 The Theory of Vibrations 51 
 
 eyes, which, by his touch, were now opened, were 
 melting in their tenderness, and spoke worlds to him, 
 just as when you look into the placid waters of the 
 lake and it shows you all the beauties of the heavens 
 above. Her cheeks were aflame ! The snow-white 
 bosom just beneath that filmy snow-white dress rose 
 and fell as though beckoning him on. Her little 
 hand pressed against his neck, and its warm touch 
 incited him irresistably on to the full fruition of his 
 desires. He looked once more upon her lips. His 
 own fell upon them. He drew her face closer and 
 closer to his. He pressed her yielding form to him- 
 self with all the awful, though tender force of love's 
 own clasp. One moment more but at this instant 
 he saw her body becoming convulsed; the happy, 
 dreamy look passed out of her eyes. With a mighty 
 up-rushing of some protecting power within her, she 
 gave one mighty effort and sprang from his embrace 
 exclaiming: 
 
 "My love! my love! Though it be sweeter than 
 life, it must yield to reason ! Oh I My lover, com- 
 mit no sin against it! I love, I love yon, only you and 
 that forever and ever!" Then by a wave of his hand 
 she was brought back to her normal consciousness, 
 remembering nothing of her strange experience, but 
 saying continually : "I love you, my life, and you 
 only of all men !" 
 
 The same instant the door of the laboratory 
 opened and the voice of Dr. Lindsay was heard say- 
 ing: 
 
 "Say, Dr. Dumas, where is my case of instruments
 
 52 Miss Incognita 
 
 you borrowed? I must have them at once." And 
 the next minute, having now entered the room, he 
 said, while his voice quivered, and his face was pale 
 as death : "Bless me, Dumas, here you are fooling 
 with your nonsensical vibratoners, and wasting your 
 time and your pupil's. Excuse "me, Miss Eidola, you 
 look pale. Are you ill?" 
 
 "Oh, no, Doctor; your sudden entrance shocked 
 me. I r did not dream you were near." 
 
 "You may be sure," said Dr. Dumas, "that Lind- 
 say is always where he is not wanted" this he said 
 with a scowl of anger upon his face, then toning his 
 voice down somewhat, he continued : "Your case of 
 instruments is in my private office there. You inter- 
 rupted one of my most beautiful experiments by 
 coming in here." 
 
 "Oh, no, Doctor," said Eidola, softly, "the experi- 
 ment was completed. You must not be too severe 
 toward Dr. Lindsay!". 
 
 "Never mind, Miss Eidola," said the latter; "I 
 care little for what he says, and take no stock in his 
 speculative theories about 'Vibrations/ but still I 
 don't see what good you are to derive from such far- 
 fetched theories and experiments. Leave ofOnow, and 
 come, go driving with me." 
 
 "With pleasure, Doctor, if my teacher will ex- 
 cuse me." This she said with a smile and a glow of 
 the* cheeks, as she looked toward Dr. Dumas. 
 
 "Oh, of course, Miss Eidola, if you desire it; 
 anything to get rid of Lindsay." And then to himself 
 he said: "I have no fear of him now."
 
 The Theory of Vibrations 53 
 
 Dumas remained in his laboratory after they had 
 gone, absorbed in thought. 
 
 "A wonderful law in this science has forced its 
 truth upon me. She yielded not to me under the 
 pressure of the most overpowering mastery one being 
 can exercise over another the only exception in all 
 my experiments. How can I explain it? I can 
 think of only one explanation, and that is because 
 her virgin heart is absolutely pure and fixed in her 
 moral principles. And hence the power of her chaste 
 soul-nature to resist was more powerful than this, 
 the greatest personal force yea, the most overpower- 
 ing force in nature! She overcame me, even in 
 spite of that intense love which I know I have in- 
 spired in her heart for me. Now I knew she is a 
 virgin, pure and undefiled in soul as well as in body. 
 I am now the more resolved to possess the joy she 
 can give me. One thing I know: She loves me and 
 will continue to do so with an ever-growing passion."
 
 54 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 IGNORANTIA JURIS NON EXCUSAT THE OPERATION OF A 
 
 STRANGE LAW IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS. 
 
 What is true of human laws as expressed by the 
 maxim, ignorantia Juris non excusat, is also true of 
 the divine or natural law, upon which human law is 
 based. The laws of nature operate with a fixed, in- 
 exorable certainty. Though we be ignorant of them 
 and their operations, yet neither our ignorance nor 
 innocence will cause them to vary in one iota from 
 their eternal sequences. So Dr. Lindsay's ignorance 
 and Miss Eidola's innocence and ignorance did not 
 cause a shadow of turning in the execution of that 
 law of psychology, and of our being, which Dr. 
 Dumas had evoked in the subconscious nature or 
 subjective mind of the young lady. 
 
 Dumas knew positively that the first time Miss 
 Eidola, her mother and Dr. Lindsay were together, 
 she would be controlled by that fixed law of "Post- 
 Hypnotic suggestion" (as psychology now terms it), 
 which he had given her while in the impressible state 
 he had induced. He had not long to wait for that 
 inevitable and most impressive occurance. The second 
 day after the making of this experiment in the labo- 
 ratory on Miss Eidola, Dr. Lindsay called on her and 
 her mother, as he had been doing very often of late. 
 He had been pressing his suit with all the vigor of
 
 The Operation of a Strange Law 55 
 
 his heart and soul. But she appeared more distant 
 and unresponsive to him than she had ever been. He 
 could not understand this startling recent change. 
 He was discouraged and thought he would relieve the 
 situation by asking for Mrs. Mandeville, and they 
 would all have a friendly talk together before he 
 left. Upon his request Miss Eidola called her mother. 
 
 From the moment she came in, an unearthly, 
 dreamlike expression came over the countenance of 
 Miss Eidola. Her wide-open eyes became like those 
 of a beautiful doll fixed, expressionless, but withal, 
 heavenly. 
 
 They appeared to be gazing far away into some 
 other world. During the period of this Teird, un- 
 earthly metamorphosis which was observed at once 
 both by Dr. Lindsay and the mother she was 
 strangely silent for a few moments as though a con- 
 flict were raging within her soul while her body re- 
 mained placid and inactive. Then they noticed that 
 suddenly her face began to glow with joy while her 
 eyes still remained unmoved. She began to sway her 
 body slightly. Then she arose in an alert position, 
 with her hands by her side, and her face and eyes 
 turned upward. She stood thus but a moment 
 then, in a low, quiet, sweet but firm voice she said: 
 
 "I love Dr. Dumas above all on earth, and 1 love 
 only him." 
 
 There lived in the lower part of the city a man 
 named Snoots a kind of "a fellow about town" who 
 was a "chum" of Dr. Dumas when he entered into
 
 56 Miss Incognita 
 
 his carousals on the -shady side of his life, which he 
 often did, and who was also one of the subjects of 
 Dumas the mystic when he desired to interest himself 
 on the mystical side of his life. Snoots was a broad- 
 nosed, red-eyed, sandy-haired fellow with a thick 
 neck and stout, short body. 
 
 He never had any regular occupation. He was a 
 frequenter of dives and dens, and made a specialty 
 of various transactions of a shady character. 
 
 Closely associated w y ith him socially, morally and 
 intellectually, was a quack doctor named Swindle, 
 who also was one of the subjects of Dumas the 
 mystic. He was an angular-bodied, weasel-faced 
 person, with little black eyes, black, busy hair and 
 a yellow skin without beard. His nose was the most 
 prominent part of his physiognomy; everything else 
 seemed to tend toward this nose, and to have contribut- 
 ed to its formation. It was high and bony. His 
 dress was of the clerical cut and he wore a faded silk 
 beaver. 
 
 "Dr." Swindle's "office" was in an upper room 
 over a third-class barroom, where he carried on a 
 "practice" of varied and questionable character. 
 
 Dr. Swindle, in his ministerial character, was 
 quite often engaged by certain ones of the Chicago 
 swell set to perform marriage ceremonies, which, by 
 the "high contracting parties" of the male part, 
 were not expected nor intended to last "until death us 
 do part." 
 
 Upon all these occasions, whenever the valued: 
 services of Dr. Swindle were called into requisition, 
 it was the custom that Snoots was to be the particu-
 
 The Operation of a Strange Law 57 
 
 lar friend and "best man" of the would-be groom. 
 He assisted in making various arrangements for the 
 groom, and in creating the demand for the services of 
 Dr. Swindle. 
 
 Both of these men, as we have stated, were the 
 subjects* of Dr. Dumas, the mystic, and were often 
 experimented upon by him under the influence of the 
 vibratoners. They were absolutely under his power 
 without the use of the vibraroners. 
 
 He could fasten in their minds any illusions he 
 desired. Any command or suggestion he gave them 
 when they were under the hypnotic influence, to be 
 performed at any time thereafter, were always done 
 by them. 
 
 It is now September -and the coming of autumn 
 weather made itself manifest by the cool evening 
 breezes stealing across from the lake. 
 
 On this morning Dr. Lindsay went into the office 
 of Dr. Dumas to consult a medical authority. On 
 the center table were paper, ink blotter and maga- 
 zines. On one side of the office was a mirror that 
 extended almost to the floor. Dr. Lindsay happened 
 to glance in the mirror and thought he saw therein a 
 name of which he had heard. It seemed to be written 
 on a piece of paper lying on the table by which he 
 stood. He looked carefully at every piece of paper 
 on the table, but saw no writing. Then standing at 
 the other end of the table he looked again in the 
 mirror, and there, written in a bold, fresh hand, he
 
 58 Miss Incognita 
 
 read these words, composing the following brief and 
 pointed letter: 
 
 "1001 LINCOLN PARK SQUARE, Sept. 5th, '68. 
 "MR. PETER SNOOTS, 500 1-2 Bowery Place, City. 
 
 "DEAR SNOOTS : Another heart affair. The climax 
 is for tomorrow night, 8 :30 o'clock. You and Swindle 
 come in usual style; bring bogus license bright wo- 
 man beware! You will not, you cannot fail me. 
 
 "As ever yours, DUMAS." 
 
 Dr. Lindsay strained his eyes into the glass and 
 peered at all angles to locate the origin of this won- 
 derful optical illusion which he was sure he was 
 experiencing. Finally his eyes fell upon a large 
 square piece of blotting paper upon which he saw 
 the inverted words of a letter which had just been 
 blotted. He examined the blotter and then held it 
 up before the glass, and lo ! he read the identical 
 letter which he had first seen, the glass revealing the 
 characters in their erect and proper position. 
 
 He determined to kill Dumas on sight. However, 
 on second thought, he concluded that this would not 
 do. He did not know what the real relations might 
 be between the young lady and Dumas. He had not 
 paid her so much attention as formerly, since that 
 fatal day when his hopes were blasted by her words 
 of doom, so strangely uttered. Still he had continued 
 to be their true and tried friend. He took for granted 
 that in due time Dumas and Miss Eidola would be 
 married and all would be well. He thought that Dr.
 
 The Operation of a Strange Law 59 
 
 Dumas, even despite his past record, might turn out 
 a fairly good husband. He was too sensible a man 
 to grieve over spilt milk. His relations with Dr. 
 Dumas had continued pleasant and friendly, notwith- 
 standing the rivalry which had existed between them. 
 
 He had congratulated himself that all was going 
 well with the mother, daughter and her fiance. Now 
 when Dr. Lindsay was consoling himself that soon 
 he would consider his feelings of responsibility for 
 these delicate ladies ended just as soon as this mar- 
 riage took place here comes this diabolical revela- 
 tion. 
 
 He was perplexed and puzzled. And still he knew 
 and swore that something should be done at once. 
 He was satisfied that the young lady and her mother 
 tad expected this marriage to take place. Whether 
 Dumas was planning and carrying out this bogus mar- 
 riage for the purpose of temporarily smoothing over 
 and setting aright some past conduct of his, or to put 
 rito execution certain plans he had for the future. 
 T>r. Lindsay could not tell. He did not know but 
 that there had been occurrences in the continued 
 relations of this man and his pupil since he had 
 roticed his strange influence over her, which would 
 render even the bogus marriage a temporary blessing 
 to the girl and her mother. Then his mind quickly 
 concluded : "No ; even in such a case this second 
 wrong against her will not set aright nor remove the 
 first. I pledge myself to see that this marriage is 
 consummated according to law! I swear that I will 
 do it! The young lady's past relations to me and 
 mine to her make it my duty."
 
 60 Miss Incognita 
 
 Miss Eidola and her mother had requested of Dr. 
 Dumas (though he really in his adroit way had sug- 
 gested it) that the marriage be as quiet and .unpre- 
 tentious as possible. They had left the arrangement 
 of everything in his hands. Mrs. Mandeville's health 
 was in a very precarious condition, and she could 
 not undergo any excitement. 
 
 When Dr. Lindsay left the office of Dr. Dumas 
 he walked rapidly back to his own office. He closely 
 examined the charges in his revolver, and, being satis- 
 fied with it, put it in his pocket. 
 
 He then hurridly ordered his carriage and drove 
 rapidly into the city. He ascended a narrow stairway 
 to the second floor, and passing down a long hall in- 
 terspersed now and then with cross halls, he finally 
 rapped on a door upon which was the name "Dr. 
 Swindle." A rather weak, cracked, high voice invited 
 him in. Dr. Lindsay went in, introduced himself and 
 took a seat, saying: 
 
 "This is Dr. Swindle, is it?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; that's me," squeaked out the little voice 
 under the big nose. 
 
 "This is also the place where a Mr. Snoots stays, 
 too. isn't it?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; he generally stays here when he can 
 h found." 
 
 "You and he conduct a species of business to- 
 gether, do you not?" 
 
 "No, sir; I am in no way connected with him in 
 business. I am a physician." 
 
 "Does he not run this establishment here with
 
 The Operation of a Strange Law 61 
 
 which you are connected?" Dr. Lindsay asked with 
 considerable sternness. 
 
 "He keeps a boarding- house here; I simply have 
 my office here." 
 
 "Ah, you seem to be quite sure about these matters. 
 Have not you and Snoots an engagement to perform 
 some of your joint professional business tomorrow 
 night in the outskirts of the city?" asked Dr. Lindsay, 
 with his blue eyes firmly fixed upon the two little 
 openings on each side of the upper base of the nose. 
 
 "No ah what do you mean? If what you say 
 might be true, what business of yours is it to inter- 
 fere with anything connected with my business t I 
 will not tolerate " 
 
 Without waiting Dr. Lindsay reached over and 
 mightily grabbed his nose in the grip of his indignant 
 hand, saying: 
 
 "You treacherous cur! I will show you how yon 
 will carry on your nefarious doings under my eyes! 
 Come here to- this glass and see. Now look and tell 
 me whether you have yet received the letter which you 
 will read in there? Confess yourself a scoundrel and 
 a liar!" 
 
 The victim looked in the glass and read the letter. 
 Then turning to Dr. Lindsay he said, at the same time 
 rubbing and pacifying his great red and now swollen 
 nose: 
 
 "Mr. Snoots informed me of the reception of a 
 letter requesting him to engage my services to per- 
 form a marriage ceremony tomorrow evening, and I 
 presume you have there a copy of the letter."
 
 62 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Then you are a self -convicted imposter, for by 
 what right or authority can you presume to officiate 
 at a legal marriage service 1 ? and does not this letter 
 say it is to be a bogus license?" 
 
 "You, perhaps, are not aware, sir, that I can 
 perform a legal marriage service, since I am a licensed 
 minister of the gawspel ?" 
 
 Dr. Lindsay felt his hand start again toward 
 Swindle's nose, but he restrained it with an effort, 
 saying : 
 
 "You know, sir, you are falsifying anew, for what 
 church could be so debased as to send forth such 
 spawn as you are upon the world?" 
 
 "Then you force me to prove to you my assertion, 
 sir, which I can do instanter, sir, thanks to my always- 
 ready record of good standing and position in my 
 church, sir!" 
 
 Then he began unlocking a desk and searching for 
 something. He drew out of his desk a well-worn 
 paper, which he unfolded and then held up before the 
 astoished eyes of Dr. Lindsay. It substantiated the 
 man's claims fully, and bore date some years pre- 
 vious. 
 
 While Dr. Lindsay was not a man of quick, bright 
 mind he was yet endowed with much good common 
 sense. This man, he thought, is by law qualified 
 to perform this marriage, and make it binding, if a 
 legal license is procured. Dumas may have known, 
 and doubtless did know of it, hence his caution in the 
 letter to Snoots, to get "bogus license." Why could 
 not he take it upon himself to procure a real, bonafide
 
 The Operation of a Strange Law 63 
 
 license, and force this wretch to perform this cere- 
 mony, and sign and properly return the license to 
 the court? 
 
 He determined to do it, and turning to Swindle 
 and laying his hand on his arm, he said : 
 
 "So, Swindle, you supposed by this letter that 
 your services as a minister were required to perform a 
 true marriage, did you?" 
 
 "Now answer me truly and I will pay you. Money 
 is what you are after, and mine is as good as Dumas'. 
 So now answer this question truly : Does Dumas 
 know that you have this license of ordination from 
 the church?" 
 
 "I answer for truth he does not." 
 
 "And you promise not to inform him of it?" 
 
 "No sir." 
 
 "And you will be on hand promptly for the cere- 
 mony?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, if you will keep this to yourself and 
 say nothing to Dumas about it until he and I have 
 settled our part of the matter?" 
 
 "All right and here is an additional fee for you, 
 to boot, and not a word to Snoots, either, remember!" 
 
 "Of course, sir; but you must look out for the 
 marriage license. If Snoots gets them " 
 
 "Oh, I will attend to that matter, I assure you." 
 
 Then taking the well used license of ministerial 
 ordination from Swindle's hand he put it in his own 
 pocket, saying: "I may need this in the future. Not 
 a word from you, Swindle, or I will expose you. 
 Remember, your safety is in my hands."
 
 64 Miss Incognita 
 
 And with that he turned from Swindle's office and 
 drove rapidly home. 
 
 It was the hour for the noonday lunch when Dr. 
 Lindsay arrived at 1001 Lincoln Park Square. When 
 he went to his lunch he noticed Dr. Dumas and Miss 
 Eidola sitting at their usual place, and engaged in 
 an interested conversation. Dr. Lindsay caught enough 
 of it to learn that they were discussing the impending 
 marriage. As soon as Dr. Lindsay finished his lunch 
 he went at once up to Dr. Dumas' office, and, sitting 
 down, lit a cigar and proceeded to smoke, think and 
 wait for his appearance. Knowing that when Dumas 
 was aroused he was a dangerous man, Dr. Lindsay 
 had taken the precaution to keep his revolver in his 
 pocket, which he had put there in the morning before 
 visiting the establishment of Snoots and Swindle. 
 
 Dr. Dumas was a very compactly-built, agile, 
 strong man. While Dr. Lindsay would not pass for 
 as much of an athlete as Dumas, yet he was a bull- 
 dog, determined sort of man, who had been thoroughly 
 hardened and disciplined by three years' service in 
 the war between the States, which had ended three 
 years previous. When he was called upon as a mat- 
 ter of duty to fight either in a battle with muskets 
 or in a single combat with muscles, he was a hard 
 man to handle, and had endurance without end. He 
 did not know he would have to fight Dumas, and 
 hoped it could be avoided, yet he was there to see 
 him on a very delicate matter, and he feared that 
 with a man of Dumas' sensitiveness and fiery temper 
 it would result in a fight.
 
 The Operation of a Strange Law 65 
 
 He had not smoked his cigar more than half up 
 when he heard Dr. Dumas coming upstairs. He 
 quickly cast his eye over the room to take in its 
 bearings and its accoutrements, so that he might not 
 be at any disadvantage. There was nothing in the 
 room but the chairs, the tables, the book cases, the 
 mirrors, etc., composing the ordinary furniture. 
 
 Dr. Dumas soon opened the door of the labora- 
 tory and then came into the office. 
 
 "Excuse, me Doctor, for trespassing," said Dr. 
 Lindsay, "but I want to see you about a matter." 
 
 "In what way can I serve you?" Dumas answered, 
 sitting down and lighting a cigar. 
 
 "By an accident, Doctor, I learned of your im- 
 pending marriage to Miss Mandeville. I thought it 
 strange yoa had kept it a deep secret from me." 
 
 Dr. Dumas slightly flushed, and jerked his chin 
 to and fro perceptibly. He had determined, of all 
 persons, to keep this secret from Dr. Lindsay until 
 it was over. So he replied with some feeling: 
 
 "I guess there are some things about which it is 
 not necessary for a man to consult the world, the 
 flesh and the devil. What business is it of yours 1 ? 
 If I had consulted you, then it would have been some 
 of your business; but since I saw fit to ignore you, 
 why do you meddle in it?" 
 
 "Because, by the same accident by which I learned 
 of the affair at all, I found out perhaps too much 
 to allow the carefully planned infamy to be suc- 
 cessfully carried into execution against Miss Mande- 
 ville."
 
 66 Miss Incognita 
 
 "What do you mean, Lindsay? Are you insanely 
 jealous of me to the extent that you are losing your 
 mind? I don't know what you mean." 
 
 "Then allow me to ask you if you know the firm 
 of 'Snoots and Swindle,' and " 
 
 "To which insinuation I give the lie! Do you 
 accept them for your authority? If they have said 
 aught to you I deny it. Now whom do you believe f 
 
 "You, sir!" exclaimed Dr. Lindsay, at the same 
 time drawing out the self-same piece of blotting 
 paper and saying: "In proof that you are to be 
 believed, look yonder," and he pointed in the mirror, 
 holding up before it the large blotter. As he pointed, 
 Dumas' eye followed, and he saw the full copy of 
 the letter he had written to Snoots. He then turned 
 his eyes toward Dr. Lindsay, and saw the bluotter 
 he held in his hand, which he knew would forever 
 condemn him in the eyes of his fiance. He saw that 
 his salvation, the fruition of all his passionate hopes, 
 the full enjoyment of her rare beauty, which he had 
 waited for and cherished so long, all depended upon 
 liis getting possession of that paner. Mad men's 
 minds act quickly under intense excitement. With an 
 oath he made a Innere for the blotting paper, at- 
 tempting to seize it and rend it into shreds, but Dr. 
 Lindsay jumped to one side and threw the paper 
 behind him in the corner of the room, at the same 
 time seizing Dumas' wrist in his grasp, and planting 
 nimself so as to defend both himself and the paper. 
 Dumas wrenched his hands loose and came at Lindsay 
 with such force that he upset the table in the center
 
 The Operation of a Strange Law 67 
 
 of the room. Lindsay defended himself adroitly, be- 
 ing assisted by the wreck of the table, and, in addi- 
 tion, landed a telling blow upon Dr. Dumas' right 
 eye, which almost blinded him. But the latter quick- 
 ly recovered and struck Lindsay heavily upon the 
 nose. The fight by this time was not only full- 
 fledged but the noise of the combat whioh was taking 
 place directly over Miss Mandeville's parlor aroused 
 her. It flashed into her mind that it came from her 
 lover's room above. With a bound she darted up the 
 stairs, then down the hall, and in an instant burst 
 into Dumas' room. At this instant he was standing 
 at one end of the room and Dr. Lindsay at the other 
 next the paper he was defending, and both of them 
 had just drawn their revolvers as she burst in upon 
 them. She threw herself between the enraged com- 
 batants, screaming wildly, and calling upon them both 
 for her sake to desist. Both men dropped their 
 revolvers into their pockets. 
 
 "Gentlemen, I demand to know what this is all 
 about. You, Dr. Dumas, are my engaged lover, and 
 you, Dr. Lindsay, are my friend therefore, I have 
 a right to ask you both what all this may mean?" 
 
 The interposition of Miss Eidola changed the 
 fight into a game in which Dumas had all to lose 
 and Lindsay all to gain, with the latter holding the 
 trump card. 
 
 Dr. Lindsay had stooped down and picked up 
 his tell-tale pad and deposited it in his coat pocket. 
 
 Dr. Dumas was the first to speak. 
 
 "My dear, as I seem to be nearer your heart than
 
 68 Miss Incognita 
 
 Dr. Lindsay, I suppose it behooves me to speak first. 
 As we were rivals for y-.>ur hand and neither one of 
 us could make up his mind to give you up to the 
 other, seeing how much we each loved you, we decided 
 to leave, it to the fate of combat." 
 
 "But had I not already decide J it?" she asked, 
 advancing to Dr. Dumas and taking his hand. 
 
 "That may be true, Miss Mandeville," interposed 
 Dr. Lindsay, "but we men, it seems, cannot always 
 force ourselves to ^ivc up the object of cur love 
 wiihout a struggle." 
 
 Dumas' tact in opening the explanation as he had, 
 not only saved him, but complimented the young 
 lady very highly. For what higher compliment can 
 be paid a young lady than to tell her two ardent 
 lovers are ready to risk their lives for her beauty and 
 love, and were even actually in the combat? 
 
 So just at this point in the proceedings Dr. Lind- 
 say said : 
 
 "I am willing to leave the settlement of this matter 
 at once, here and now, to the young lady, upon one 
 condition. That is I am to have the consolation and 
 the honor of arranging and carrying out all the 
 terms of the wedding." As he said this he looked at 
 Dnmas in a way that meant, "This is my ultimatum." 
 
 Miss Eidola answered at once : "Why, Doctor, 
 I never dreamed of any one else acting in this ca- 
 pacity but you! Of course it is perfectly agreeable. 
 Isn't it, Dr. Dumas'?" 
 
 "Why, yes, my dear! Anything is agreeable 
 when it is according to your wishes. I am delighted
 
 The Operation of a Strange Law 69 
 
 to know that Dr. Lindsay will act for me. I really 
 had intended to put this pleasant duty on his shoulders 
 anyway, if acceptable to him." 
 
 "The combatants now shook hands at the request 
 of Miss Eidola, pledging their friendship to each 
 other, Dr. Lindsay at the same time remarking: "Ex- 
 cuse us a moment, Miss Eidola. Dr. Dumas, please 
 step this way." 
 
 They went into an adjoining room and Dr. Lind- 
 say handed Dr. Dumas a note, requesting him to 
 sign it, which read as follows: 
 
 "MESSRS. SNOOTS AND SWINDLE: This is to in- 
 form you that the matter of the arrangements for 
 my wedding is in charge of Dr. Lindsay. He will 
 procure my marriage license and do whatever else 
 may be necessary. Either of you will please do as 
 he requests you." 
 
 After signing this, Dr. Dumas asked: 
 
 "Whom will you get to perform the ceremony?" 
 
 "Oh, Dr. Swindle, I suppose, as he seems to be 
 your choice. He is qualified to officiate, is he not?" 
 
 "Oh, yes," replied Dr. Dumas eagerly, "and I 
 return you this paper I have signed with the distinct 
 understanding that Tie is to officiate." 
 
 "Certainly," answered Dr. Lindsay. 
 
 As Dr. Lindsay left the room Dr. Dumas clapped 
 his hands, laughing heartily and saying to himself: 
 
 "Aha! I have trapped the infernal old fox any- 
 how, for what would a marriage ceremony be worth-, 
 performed by Swindle?"
 
 70 Miss Incognita 
 
 For Swindle had told the truth one time, when he 
 informed Dr. Lindsay that Dumas knew nothing of 
 his ministerial office. 
 
 The next evening the wedding took .place in 
 Mrs. Mandeville's private parlor. She witnessed the 
 ceremony from her bed in her room, the large doors 
 separating the parlor from her bedroom being rolled 
 back. 
 
 It was a sad occasion in more than one respect. 
 The only comical thing connected with it all was that 
 "Dr. Swindle" seemed to be in a perpetual state of 
 fear and uneasiness, that Dr. Dumas' eye was swollen 
 to the size of an egg, and was of a deep blue-black 
 color, while Dr. Lindsay's turned-up nose was about 
 twice its usual size, and was tir>ted many shades red- 
 der than its natural red color. 
 
 The next day after the wedding Dr. Lindsay 
 moved from this suburb, and took rooms and an office 
 in a more central and populous section of the city, 
 leaving Dr. Dumas happier and more jubilant that 
 he had ever known him in his life. He took pains, 
 however, to leave his address with the beautiful and 
 happy bride.
 
 Another Mystery 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ANOTHER MYSTERY. 
 
 PREPARATORY to his marriage Dr. Dumas had fur- 
 nished a suite of rooms for his bride adjoining those 
 of Mrs. Mandeville's, so that the daughter could be 
 as near the mother as possible, to show her every 
 needed attention. They did not go on a bridal trip, 
 because the state of the mother's health rendered 
 such a pleasure impossible. It was largely at her 
 request that the marriage was so quickly consum- 
 mated. She feared her sudden taking off, and it 
 had been the prayer of her heart to see her daughter 
 happily married before her death. 
 
 Dr. Dumas and his wife gave her every attention. 
 His care and forethought convinced Mrs. Mandeville 
 more thoroughly than ever that her daughter would 
 be left in the keeping of a good man. 
 
 She had not observed closely enough to know 
 that the first taste of love in that dewy morn of 
 wedded life called the "honeymoon" makes all- men- 
 tender and, for the time being, true and loving. 
 
 If Satan himself could feast upon the first fruits 
 of love joyously and passionately given by amorous 
 beauty he would grow as tender as a young girT, 
 and, while the freshness of this joy lasted, he would 
 give hell a surcease from sorrow and endow it with 
 foretastes of the delights of heaven,
 
 72 Miss Incognita 
 
 So Dr. Dumas was very tender, and Mrs. Mande- 
 ville was content, and the young bride as happy as 
 possible. 
 
 Mrs. Dumas' rapturous passion for her husband 
 knew no bounds. 
 
 It was the young 1 wife's first love, fresh and pure, 
 and gave her untold joy. She had often dreamed 
 of love, and, when she awoke, blushed at the re- 
 membrance of her dream; but to be in love and have 
 love, and experience its very joys, and so be in heaven 
 and enjoy heaven, she could scarcely believe tkat 
 the reality was hers and that her mother's cwasting 
 away seemed to hallow her pure love, and make it 
 take deeper possession of her heart, in order to al- 
 leviate, if not drive out, her grief therefrom. 
 
 One day in the latter part of October Dr. Dumas 
 came into the invalid's room. The mother was pos- 
 sessed by a deep, exhausting, comatose sleep. The 
 daughter was sitting near her resting her tearful face 
 in her hand. 
 
 Her bosom rose and fell at regular intervals, now 
 and then releasing an impassioned sob. At intervals 
 she walked with a fairy-like tread to her mother's 
 bed, and, moistening her lips with wine, kissed her 
 thin, angelic face so longingly and caerssingly. The 
 sick mother would open her great, bright, ethereal 
 eyes, that seemed to be imprisoned spirits, and look 
 tenderly into her daughter's face, conveying to her 
 mighty, unspoken thrills of love. Then in her low, 
 fine, broken voice she would say ; "So I am still
 
 Another Mystery 73 
 
 with you my daughter? I must have been 
 dreaming but but it was all so real. I was with 
 my beloved husband in a most beautiful realm." 
 
 "Stop, mother dear. You had better not talk too 
 much. You are so weak." 
 
 At this point Dr. Dumas came to the bed, for, the 
 dying woman seeing him in the room, had feebly mo- 
 tioned him to approach. 
 
 He sat in a chair and took his bride upon his 
 knee. 
 
 "It is better that I should not cease talking now, 
 my children, for it may be my last opportunity. 
 The wine has strengthened me. It does me good to 
 witness your affection for each other, and comforts 
 me so much in taking my departure from this world. 
 I know you will be true to my baby girl, will you 
 not, my my son?" And the sufferer fixed the 
 glance of her soul-like eyes upon the face of Dr. 
 Dumas. 
 
 "As true and faithful as love could be to love, 
 mother dear," answered Dr. Dumas, as he covered 
 the tearful face of his bride with kisses. 
 
 "And you, my daughter, will be happy with 
 him?" 
 
 "My sweet mother, were you happy with papa? 
 Then you can measure my happiness by yours. 
 There is only one thing lacking with me now if 
 you if you my sweet mother, could be always with 
 me!" She wept violently upon her husband's neck, 
 as he drew her closer to him, thinking to himself: 
 "Even her grief is sweet to me, for she is so beauti-
 
 74 Miss Incognita 
 
 ful in it; and I love all forms and types of beauty." 
 Then he kissed her violently upon her weeping eyes, 
 first on the one and then on the other, and they 
 were such ravenous kisses that the dying woman 
 looked at him and said : "I trust you may love her 
 as dearly in all her griefs." Could she have read 
 his heart and properly construed the soul of his out- 
 ward love she would have gotten well! She was a 
 woman whom sacred duties to her loved one would 
 have kept alive, even in the teeth of death's com- 
 mand! She continued: 
 
 "You know, my daughter, we never found your 
 father's body. He sleeps in some unknown gave 
 upon the battlefield. So it matters not where you 
 place my poor body. If his should ever be discov- 
 ered, then place our ashes side by side. He is often 
 with me here. I feel his presence and he com- 
 munes with me, oh ! so sweetly, and whispers to me 
 of the precious days of long ago and of the sweeter 
 ones soon to be ! Often when my soul has been 
 released by the dissolving power of sleep and the 
 weird alchemy of dreams, and it goes forth seeking 
 my departed love, I find that he always meets me 
 on the very threshold of my departure and blesses 
 me with a love purer and higher than any that could 
 dwell on earth. I know these occasions have been 
 but an earnest of what awaits me, and that when my 
 real sleep comes (which is now so impatiently wooed 
 by me) and I go hence clothed not in dreams, but 
 in my immortality, he will meet me then as before even 
 on the threshold of my departure, and my love and I
 
 Another Mystery 75 
 
 will go forth together in love's beautiful realrn^ 
 never again to be sundered the one from the other!" 
 
 At this point the dying mother closed her eyes, 
 but continued talking, not to those in the room, but 
 to her love on the other shore whom she now ad- 
 dressed as if present with her: 
 
 "My own Harry! My love of long .ago with me! 
 You will never leave me again, sweet love, never 
 again, during all these sweet days ? Nay ! Nay ! 
 Then how happy; we will be young lovers again, 
 and as we were in those blessed days, when love 
 was young and all the world was gay springtime "I 
 You say our love will be sweeter than that, and 
 that realm will be brighter than this world even in 
 its gay springtime? Then take me now, even now 
 in your arms. You say that even the music 'will 
 be a lullaby of love, and that the fountains and 
 murmuring brooks and the zephyrs' soft notes will 
 all sing to us the songs of love and that our love 
 there will be without sorrow and care? Then take 
 me in your arms, Harry dear! You are not going to 
 leave me? I am ready to go with you! Lo, I have 
 been waiting these many years to go to you ! I 
 will wait no longer! Harry! I come! I come!" 
 
 And as the dying woman uttered these words 
 she raised her emaciated body up in bed, and 
 reached out her white transparent hands as if to some 
 invisible- presence. She remained thus an instant, 
 and then fell back upon her pillow dead! 
 
 For some weeks after her mother's death Mrs. 
 Dumas never left the house, but remained within
 
 76 Miss Incognita 
 
 her husband's company, or with some of the guests 
 of the house, who were, and had been, very kind 
 to her. 
 
 To occupy her mind, she applied herself with 
 renewed zeal to her studies. Her progress from 
 the beginning had been remarkable, and what she 
 had already learned enabled her to advance each day 
 much more rapidly than before. 
 
 During these sad days Dr. Dumas seemed to en- 
 joy her with all his amorous soul. Afterwards when 
 she looked back upon it, it was hard for her to 
 understand it, but he understood the cause of his 
 pleasure perfectly. His animalish nature was enjoy- 
 ing her beauty in all of its phases, and now was 
 experiencing a new sensation of it, to-wit, beauty 
 sad and pensive, beauty in the embrace of melan- 
 choly, beauty bedecked in the somber shrades of 
 mourning. He would sit almost for hours and gaze 
 upon his wife; or embrace her as she wept; and 
 the depths of his dark, mysterious nature would be 
 strangely stirred. 
 
 When her face would be all bedewed with tears, 
 and her lips hot with grief, he would look upon her, 
 and his strange chin would twitch, and then he 
 would kiss her many times, at the same time em- 
 bracing her trembling form with almost savage 
 strength and joy. 
 
 After the loss of her mother, Mrs. Dumas gave 
 her love more unstintedly than ever to her husband. 
 
 Here, he thought, was just such love as his 
 insatiable nature had always craved.
 
 Another Mystery 77 
 
 Dr. Dumas not only gave up all effort to carry 
 on his profession or advance himself in it, but he 
 did all in his power to dissuade his wife from prose- 
 cuting her studies. He seemed jealous of her books 
 and the time she gave them. 
 
 When it came to administering to her pleasures 
 and desires he was lavish in the expenditure of 
 money. He seemed always to have an abundance 
 of money, yet it was evident to his observing wife 
 that he did not make it. She was well aware that 
 since his marriage he had really abandoned profes- 
 sional work, and had given himself up to the enjoy- 
 ment of herself. She remembered that he had never 
 given her any information of any property he owned, 
 or of any source of income. In the intoxicating bliss 
 of her young love and passion, she had never taken 
 the pains to inquire concerning his family or ante- 
 cedents. She wondered about his father and 
 mother and if she would meet them and love them. 
 
 She waited for him to mention this 'subject and 
 wondered why he did not. 
 
 It never entered her mind for one instant to 
 doubt his love and fealty to her, no more than it had 
 occurred to her to doubt her devotion to him. 
 
 Oh, how sweet and divine is the trust of a loving 
 woman, who has once wholly given her heart into the 
 keeping of her lover, and how damnable is he who 
 betrays her! 
 
 During the winter months of 1868-1869, following 
 her mother's death, she kept her mind and heart 
 and time fully occupied.
 
 78 Miss Incognita 
 
 Notwithstanding she was married, she was un- 
 remitting in her studies. Her husband, when he 
 found that he could not dissuade her from it, took 
 great pains in teaching and directing her in various 
 chemical experiments. 
 
 He decided to let her study as much as she 
 pleased, just so he could be with her, and feast his 
 eyes upon her beauty. Besides, what a delightful 
 phase of passion it was for him to have the implicit 
 love of his "pupil !" to exchange* her chemistry for 
 kisses, to exchange with her the anatomy of the 
 books for the anatomy of her own delicate person, 
 with all its springtime dewy fragrance and its 
 Hogarth's curves and lines of beauty. 
 
 The wife-pupil's studies were often carried on 
 in the laboratory, and all these things kept fresh in 
 Dr. Dumas' mind the joyous scene of her first love, 
 given and enjoyed under the miraculous influence 
 of the "Vibratoner." She spent some time making 
 a series of. experiments, testing certain "Medico- 
 Chemical Compounds," as she called them, which she 
 had formulated, and which she claimed would be a 
 healing blessing to mankind and a valuable addition 
 to the stores of Materia Medica. 
 
 One morning the husband and wife were in the 
 laboratory making some experiments. Eidola said : 
 
 "My dear husband, I have often wished to ask 
 you some questions about the time when you made 
 your experiment on me with these vibratoners, 
 while we sat on this same lounge."
 
 Another Mystery 79 
 
 "All right, sweetheart, go ahead; what is it you 
 want to know?" 
 
 "Well, in the first place, I want you to explain 
 to me the composition of that fluid used in the retorts 
 of the vibratoners." 
 
 "I will analyze it for you. Come with me." 
 
 Then both went to the apparatus used for making 
 analysis of various substances, and in a few minutes 
 he made it plain to her. Then walking back to the 
 lounge, and sitting down, Eidola looked her husband 
 in the eye and said : 
 
 "But I don't see, Henry, "how this substance 
 caused that strange influence to come over me. It 
 was so funny and weird. While I was under that 
 influence I seemed to be having beautiful dreams, 
 but when I awoke I could not recall any dream I 
 had had. I only realized that I had been having 
 wonderful dreams. And after I was awake, what 
 made me love you so? Oh, how I did love you, 
 how I do love you !" 
 
 "My dearest, you ask me more questions than I 
 can answer. I tried to explain to you how the effects 
 you experienced were caused by vibrations set up 
 by the vibratoners." 
 
 "If what you say be true, why did I not remember 
 all those things that took place when I came to my- 
 self. I remembered nothing, except I felt and knew 
 I loved you, and loved only you." 
 
 "Dear Eidola, you ask me things which I do not 
 know. In that state in which I placed you are 
 many, many secrets I do not know."
 
 80 Miss Incognita 
 
 "But Henry, if vibrations were the only cause 
 of my strange condition, why did you speak those 
 strange words to me just before I lost conscious- 
 ness, and make those weird movements about me, 
 and look so fiercely into my eyes? Those things have 
 haunted me day by day. I noticed that I did not 
 lose my senses until you did those things, but I 
 could not resist." 
 
 "Why, Eidola," answered he, somewhat startled, 
 "you must have imagined those tilings. I tell you it 
 was the vibratoners. You know you were so beau- 
 tiful that morning I could not help looking into 
 your eyes, nor speaking into your ears, nor making 
 movements, as you term it, about your angelic per- 
 son, nor 
 
 "Wait, Henry, tell me one thing. Did I do any- 
 thing any wrong that morning while I was ah 
 was in those beautiful dreams. I loved you so ! 
 
 I fear . I was like a drowning man, and felt 
 
 that I must get out of that sea or be lost ! I be- 
 came convulsed! I struggled to awake! My senses 
 began to come back to me I cried out you know 
 the rest and then Dr. Lindsay came in. Oh, 
 Henry, what caused me to have such an experience 
 as this?" 
 
 "My darling, it was but your awakening from 
 the strange influence of the vibratoners." And as 
 he said this, he cast down his eyes and did not look 
 into hers. 
 
 "But, Henry, tell me, did my overwrought feel- 
 ings cause me to do any wrong?"
 
 Another Mystery 81 
 
 "No, sweet one. You, like the king, can do no 
 wrong." 
 
 "I am so glad to hear you say this. I have been 
 fearful a long time I had done some wrong, but 
 hesitated through fear to ask you. But how I do 
 love you! and how happy I am! I shall never get 
 under the influence of those vibratoners again, how- 
 ever." 
 
 "Why not, Eidola?" 
 
 "Because I love you so, I am afraid you might 
 grow, tired of my love, and so cause me not to love 
 you. For if you could thus beget such love, you 
 could also destory it, and it is too precious for me 
 to take the risk." 
 
 "Ha ! ha ! Eidola, how you do amuse and astonish 
 me! The idea of such an absurd, horrible, prepos- 
 terous thing! I destroy your love! Ha! ha! ha!" 
 and the husband continued to laugh for some min- 
 utes." 
 
 "Oh, Henry, I don't say you would do such a 
 thing, but you could do it, and I don't propose to give 
 you the chance. You might fall in love with some 
 other woman some time." 
 
 "Tut, tut, sweetheart, you are getting jealous 
 now. If you refuse to go under the influence of 
 the vibratoners you will deny us many beautiful and 
 instructive experiments." 
 
 "True, Henry dear, but I cannot. I feel that 
 way about it. You know the saying about a 
 'woman's intuitions.' But tell me, why did I utter 
 those strange words to Dr. Lindsay and my mother?
 
 82 Miss Incognita 
 
 I remember that when be and my mother and I 
 met, I began at once to feel funny, and felt ir- 
 resistably constrained to do something. Then I 
 seemed to go into a dreamlike state, and I knew 
 nothing more until I awoke and found myself stand- 
 ing in the room, and Dr. Lindsay had his head rest- 
 ing in his hand and seemed to be weeping, and my 
 dear, sweet mother was weeping, too, for she seemed 
 to sympathize with Dr. Lindsay, and then I fled 
 from the room, not knowing what I had done. Tell 
 me, why was all this? What made me do it?" 
 
 "Ah, Eidola, another of nature's secrets. The 
 real, hidden cause of your doing it, I know not. 
 I found out in the course of my experiments with 
 subjects under the influence of the vibratoners, that 
 if, while they were asleep and unconscious, I gave 
 them a command, to be performed at some future 
 time, they would do it, though when awakened they 
 remembered nothing I had said to them. However, 
 when the time and occasion came, as in your case, 
 they did what I commanded." (This is what psy- 
 chologists know now as "Post-Hypnotic Suggestion," 
 and is a common, true, though wonderful phenome- 
 non.) "So Eidola, while you were under the in- 
 fluence, I thought it best to have you settle matters 
 with your mother and Dr. Lindsay. I knew it 
 would be easier for you this way than any other, and 
 I was so anxious to possess you, I could not resist 
 doing it." 
 
 "And that is what made me do it? How won- 
 derful!"
 
 Another Mystery 83 
 
 Then turning to her hlusband she said very earn- 
 estly and solemnly : 
 
 "No, I shall never again go under the influence 
 of the vibratoners !" 
 
 "But dearest, let me tell you another wonderful 
 fact. If you should again submit yourself, you will, 
 while in that state, recall and know all that took place 
 in the former experiment, and I will tell you to re- 
 member it all when you awake, and you will do so!" 
 
 "Ah, my husband, don't so tempt me. How can 
 this be true?" 
 
 "I know not, Eidola, unless we have two memories 
 and two selves. It would help you to get an insight 
 into this most wonderful science." 
 
 "But, Henry," she asked, looking him in the eye, 
 "what a power for evil this science, as you term it, 
 would be in the hands of an evil man! It makes 
 me shudder to think of it!" 
 
 "Not so much as you might imagine, my dearest," 
 he replied, looking at her with furtive glances. "In 
 that condition you cannot cause one to do what is 
 contrary to one's moral principle. That I have re- 
 cently discovered. In your case, for instance, my 
 dear, I saw this law beautifully illustrated, and n 
 
 "Then, Henry, you tried to have me do evil, 
 did you?" she asked as quick as a flash. 
 
 He was woefully disconcerted for a moment and 
 showed it plainly in his face, but he replied with as 
 little show of excitement as possible : 
 
 "Ah, Eidola, you must remember it was simply 
 for the sake of the experiment."
 
 84 Miss Incognita 
 
 "So, I see but I shall not submit to th ex- 
 periment again. You might, for the sake of the 
 experiment, cause me to yield to wrong-doing some 
 time. I think I know what your experiment was be- 
 fore. My resistance to it was what caused me to be- 
 come so convulsed and to awaken. But, suppose? 
 Henry, you had made me believe it was not wrong 
 to do what you wished; as, for instance, suppose you 
 had made me believe I was already your wife, which 
 you could .easily have done under that influence. 
 What do you think I would have done then? Do 
 you think I would then have resisted your passion? 
 Have I resisted it since becoming your wife?" 
 
 This speech had a strange effect on him. When 
 she uttered the word "wife" he showed considerable 
 agitation. He did not reply quickly and when he 
 did all he said was: 
 
 "Ah, Eidola, you give me some excellent hints." 
 
 This closed the conversation, and it caused Eidola 
 to have strange thoughts and feelings.
 
 Forewarnings 85 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 / 
 
 FOREWARNINGS 
 
 DURING Hie spring Mrs. Dumas' health was very 
 much unpaired, caused by an injury from a severe 
 fall. All the succeeding summer she was confined to 
 her room. Worse than this the injury developed 
 into organic disease and threatened permanent dis- 
 order of her organic functions. Sad to relate, the 
 gloomy life of an invalid and sufferer threatened to 
 be her fate. A destiny had befallen her which had 
 overtaken and wrecked thousands of women before. 
 
 She knew enough of anatomy and pathology and 
 the diagnosis of disease to confirm the condition in 
 her own mind. In addition to her own forebodings 
 as to her future condition, her husband now and then 
 gave cruel and prophetic utterance to his suspicions. 
 She knew that up to this time the science of medicine 
 had been impotent to cure her trouble. She did not 
 know of the then rising star of Dr. J. Marion Sims, 
 of Alabama, but at that time of New York, and of 
 his wonderful discoveries and his almost miraculous 
 cures of the hitherto fatal troubles of women. But 
 there was one man and physician in the city of 
 Chicago who knew of these things, as the sequel 
 will show. 
 
 Mrs. Dumas had been ill but a few months when 
 she noticed the gradual loss of her frail style of 
 physical beauty. Before two months had elapsed,
 
 86 Miss Incognita 
 
 her husband began to show a marked disinclination 
 lo spend his time with her. He pretended to mani- 
 fest a renewed interest in his profession and practice. 
 He soon began to spend many of his evenings, and 
 then the nights, away from her, so that she often 
 felt an overpowering, irresistable loneliness. In ad- 
 dition to his general neglect of his wife, Dr. Dumas, 
 for some mysterious cause which she could not di- 
 vine, had gradually assumed an air of hauteur and 
 lofty dignity towards her. 
 
 Upon a day early in August a letter came ad- 
 dressed to "Dr. Henry Dumas," postmarked "London, 
 England," the contents of which were as follows: 
 
 "LONDON, Sunday, Aug. 5th. 
 
 "Eroslove Mansion. 
 
 "LORD EROSLOVE MY ONE-TIME BROTHER HENRY : 
 You will doubtless'be startled (I will not say shocked) 
 when you read this letter. You are astonished to see 
 yourself addressed addressed as 'Lord "Eroslove/ 
 True, at the time I write this letter, this title is still 
 mine, but when you receive it, it will be yours, for 
 I will then be dead and you will be the only living 
 heir of the Eroslove house. The cursed malady which 
 I inherited from my father (for we inherit other 
 things besides wealth and titles) has cut short my 
 course. I thank death for hastening my relief. I 
 know you will not appreciate the honor and responsi- 
 bilities the peerage places upon you, but will care 
 only for its position and prestige, which will enable 
 you the more to enjoy your rash and lascivious life.
 
 Forewarnings 87 
 
 It was indeed cold and cruel in you some years ago 
 to leave us as you did, in your desperation and 
 spite, because of my precedence of you on account 
 of the law of primogeniture. Your cruel course 
 has saddened my suffering years, and in this respect 
 you may have accomplished a part of your purpose. 
 
 "Now in conclusion a word of advice and warn- 
 ing to you : 
 
 "Our estates, which are large, have come to us 
 through two sources: First, from the Crown which 
 was settled upon our great-grandfather. This con- 
 sists of mansions and lands which are expensive to 
 keep, and not very productive of income. And, sec- 
 ond, the personal estate, consisting of stock in th 
 Bank of England and other institutions, and of intei- 
 est-bearing bonds, which were entailed by our grand- 
 father. Under the terms of the settlement of this 
 latter estate, the Hanover Trust Company is made 
 trustee, and it is provided that, should the Eroslove 
 line fail of issue, or should its male representative 
 be convicted of a crime amounting to a felony, the 
 corpus and income of this large estate shall go to our 
 hated cousin and enemy, the Earl of Littlefield, and 
 his heirs. As you already know, the Earl is our 
 bitterest and most malignant foe, who lets no op- 
 portunity slip him to injure us. He knows of my 
 approaching death, and would not hesitate to take 
 steps to put you out of the way, knowing that your 
 life, or your honor, are the only things between him 
 and that vast wealth which he so much needs and 
 craves. He is even now boasting that you will not
 
 88 Miss Incognita 
 
 return to England because of some of your escapades 
 here in the past. 
 
 "**ow let me advise you to come at once to Eng- 
 land and marry some woman whose position will 
 honor yours, and have a family. You should not 
 defer this important step. You want an heir at once. 
 Let another life than yours stand up to confront 
 the Earl of Littlefield. I consider this imperative 
 for the safety and perpetuation of our house. 
 
 "i5y-the-bye, are you still keeping up your amour 
 with that beautiful Southern girl you once wrote 
 me about. If so, abandon this wicked liaison at 
 once, and come home. I will not linger in saying 
 farewell to you, but will bid you a last good-bye. 
 
 "Your dying brother, RAVANEL." 
 
 The reading of this letter brought no remorse to 
 the soul of Dr. Dumas, or, if it did, he did not 
 exhibit it; but it made a wonderful impression on 
 him. He sat down by his table in his private office 
 and, taking paper, pen and ink, he wrote a number 
 of times in letters of all sizes and shapes the name, 
 "Lord Eroslove." He looked at it from all points 
 of view and then said to himself: 
 
 "By the eternal! I like the looks of it better 
 than I ever imagined." Then after a bit he muttered 
 to himself: "Well, good-bye, Brother Ravanel; it's 
 hard on you, but develish good for me. So I guess 
 we can square off even. Every dog must have its 
 day, yuu know. But I'll swear by all the gods of 
 Homer this is better and comes much sooner than I
 
 Forewarnings 89 
 
 ever expected. What meaning in that part 'Eros'! 
 Ah, what depths of pregnant meaning the ancients 
 gave to that word! It meant not only love, but the 
 very god of love and passion. So be it! And I am 
 the only living mortal who bears this name and 
 title! Ha! 
 
 "He says it is imperative that I should have an 
 heir. I would like to know where I am to get one 
 all at once ! I am sure I would not object to it. I 
 must marry and have a family! Marry whom 1 ? By 
 Jove! I wonder if Viola has forgotten me 1 ? The 
 only girl I ever really loved and I have not seen her 
 in five years ! But I hope to see her soon. I wonder 
 if she still loves me? What a veritable passion of 
 love she once had for me. 
 
 "Ravanel warns me against the hate of the Earl 
 of Littlefield, our spiteful cousin. 'Thy life and 
 honor are all that stands between him and our for- 
 tune.' Well, I have a good deal of life left, not to 
 say anything about the honor. But that Tieir! Where 
 can I get that heir? Lady Eroslove! How would 
 that sound? Thanks to Swindle a thousand times 
 over that his timely services saved the wasting of 
 this title upon her, my poor invalid. But a few 
 
 days more and I will But what can I do with 
 
 her? I can't endure a scene! That woman's tears 
 will kill me. Oh, ye gods, would that women did 
 not know how to cry! I would so much rather they 
 would fuss. But to cry and sob at me and on my 
 account, I can't endure it. I will go down and see 
 Swindle and Snoots and begin operations." He
 
 90 Miss Incognita 
 
 ordered Ms phaeton and drove rapidly to 5001-2 
 Bowery Place. 
 
 "Great God or ah my great Lord Eroslove, 
 can this letter mean you 1 ?" 
 
 "Of course, none other, Swindle." 
 
 "Such luck ! It's an ill wind that bloweth nobody 
 good," said Snoots. 
 
 "What dc you propose to do with it, my G , 
 
 oh, my lord? That is ah what are you going to 
 do?" asked Swindle, looking beseechingly toward 
 Lord Eroslove and ominiusly toward Snoots. 
 
 "I am going to leave you very soon. That's what 
 I came down to see you about. I have something 
 for you to do." And Swindle and Snoots moved 
 nearer the speaker and exchanged knowing glances. 
 
 "What is it you would have us do, my God ah 
 lord?" asked Swindle humbly, at the .same time 
 giving Snoots a look which meant: "We musn't 
 lose such a customer if we can help it. It will ruin 
 us." 
 
 "Well, you must help me get rid of an incum- 
 brance. I mean the woman. Ah, how many times 
 have I thanked you, Swindle, that you saved me from 
 a marriage contract with her. What would be my 
 
 condition today if " He stopped short when he 
 
 saw the look of fear or guilt that came over Swindle's 
 countenance. 
 
 "Well, what's the matter?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing, Sir Henry, but " 
 
 "Yes, call me Sir Henry. I like that, too. But 
 what? Go on."
 
 Forewarnings 91 
 
 "I was going to <say, but there seems to be a mis- 
 take somewhere." 
 
 "A mistake, how sir?" 
 
 "About that marriage," answered Swindle, getting 
 still nearer the door. 
 
 "How, sir," thundered out Sir Henry. 
 
 "Well, you see, my lord, my Sir Henry, you 
 wrote us a note and sent it by Dr. Lindsay about 
 the license, ou know." 
 
 "You fool, I know that. But you were not a legal 
 officer nor minister. That was what saved me." 
 
 "Alas, my g ood lord," said Swindle, still near- 
 ing the door, "that is what ruins us. It was not a 
 mock ceremony." 
 
 "You lie, sir!" yelled Sir Henry, as Swindle half 
 opened the door. "Come back, sir, and explain 
 yourself." 
 
 "Excuse me, my lord. I couldn't help it. I 
 thought you knew, sir, I thought everybody knew 
 I was a minister." 
 
 If an overpowering blow had struck Lord Eros- 
 love over the region of the heart, it would not have 
 staggered him more than this reply of Swindle's. 
 
 "You see, my lord, in all our mock ceremonies 
 we have made sure to have a bogus license. You 
 spoiled it all yourself by dispensing with my services 
 as best man, as has always been the custom in these 
 matters," said Snoots. 
 
 "And did you, as such, return this license with 
 your endorsement thereon to the court?" 
 
 "I filled it out, Sir Henry, and signed it by direc-
 
 92 Miss Incognita 
 
 tion of your friend, Dr. Lindsay, you? best man, 
 and he returned it himself." 
 
 "Then I am undone !" and Lord Eroslove sat down 
 with his head resting on his hands. 
 
 After a period he arose and said: "I will go 
 over and consult my attorney, Colonel Wrangle. 
 You both meet me here in an hour." 
 
 And the discomfited man strode away to buy the 
 brain, the cunning and the soul of a lawyer to aid him 
 in getting rid of a woman who loved him better than 
 life and trusted in him as in her God. 
 
 As soon as Lord Eroslove left the room Swindle 
 gave his great nose a pull and Snoots strode the 
 room gleefully, projecting his fat stomach farther 
 in front than common, and said: "Again has the 
 saying come to pass, that 'it's an ill wind that blows 
 nobody good,' eh, Swindle?" 
 
 "Yes, Snoots, and you will see that this will prove 
 the best job we have ever gotten out of the many 
 furnished us by his Satanic Majesty, the new great 
 Lord Eroslove." 
 
 "Yes, indeed, Swindle. Who would ever have 
 dreamed of this great change in his fortune and the 
 present brilliant prospects for a change in ours 1 ? 
 We will make hay while the sun shines." 
 
 "Yes, Snoots; as Holy Writ says: 'Today is the 
 day of our salvation.' But how is he to get rid of 
 the woman ? Where will we come in?" 
 
 "Don't you bother yourself, Swindle. The lawyer 
 will fix it, and you may be sure he will need such 
 men as me and you to help Mm, Our business and
 
 Forewarnings 93 
 
 (hat of the lawyer's dovetail together, to take ad- 
 vantage of the innocent and defeat justice." 
 
 Thus did these two villains plot and plan until 
 Lord Ei'oslove returned. 
 
 Soon they heard his footsteps and he came to the 
 door, saying: 
 
 "Well, my lawyer thinks there is no chance for a 
 divorce on my part, even here in Chicago. He blunt- 
 ly told me that I was in a bad box and he saw no 
 way to get me out. However, at my suggestion we 
 agreed to play a plan, as a measure of compromise 
 with my, ah wife, and, if she refuse to agree to 
 this, then we will adopt another as a last resort. 
 Under the first plan she will remain my wife in 
 name only, being the reputed mother of my child or 
 children. If she refuses to agree to this, then we will 
 adopt another as a last resort. Under the other plan 
 but wait, one thing at a time. Here are some writ- 
 ten instructions of the duties assigned to you both, 
 which must be faithfully performed at once. Every- 
 thing must be in readiness for tomorrow night, and 
 we meet at the fancy ball at 'The Castle.' Follow the 
 instructions implicity. Serve me and I will pay you 
 well. Mark me, follow those instructions.
 
 94 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A DESPERATE EXPERIMENT 
 
 ON .this evening in August the wind from the cool 
 expanse of the lake was driving away the hot breath 
 of the city, and giving delight to all its inhabitants. 
 It was a rare, beautiful, summer night, clothed in 
 the pale light of the half moon, and blessed with ex- 
 hilarating zephyrs like those of autumn. 
 
 The lights of "The Castle" within were rather dim 
 and of many colors, so that they gave forth attrac- 
 tive beauty, without disclosing too plainly the forms 
 of those within. 
 
 "The Castle" was a brick building, situated near 
 the lake front in the outskirts of the City. It was 
 owned by a club of wealthy young men, who met here 
 for fun and revelry. 
 
 The motto of "The Castle" had always been 
 "Vivamus dum vivimus." 
 
 Pleasure and beauty, wine and love were supreme 
 on these weekly occasions; those who came left care 
 and conscience behind. 
 
 Walking toward "The Castle" on this evening 
 were four men engaged in earnest conversation. 
 
 "I say, Dr. Dumas ah, excuse me, Sir Henry 
 since we held our conference yesterday, are you as 
 much determined on your course as ever 1 ?" 
 
 "Yes, Swindle, I broached my plans to you after
 
 A Desperate Experiment 95 
 
 full consideration with my attorney and, when I have 
 thus made up my mind, I never change." 
 
 "But suppose, Sir Henry, she objects? Have you 
 spoken to her about the plans you have in view?" 
 
 "No. Here we are at 'The Castle' now. But be- 
 fore entering let me ask you, Swindle, are they here, 
 and how many have you here to whom you have 
 breached my plans'?" 
 
 "Oh, Sir Henry, there are several, and they are 
 beautiful virgins, I assure you. True, they are not 
 high born ; you did not expect this. I told them of 
 your high birth and title, and what you wanted. I 
 gave each the invitation to the ball sent by you, as a 
 member of the club, so that their admission here 
 would not be questioned. However, I told none of 
 them your name. But I must tell you especially of 
 one beautiful young lady, Sir Henry, to whom I gave 
 an invitation, but told her nothing of your plans. She 
 said she knew you as the son of the former Lord Eros- 
 love, and brother of Sir Ravanel, and also as Dr. 
 Dumas, your professional name here." 
 
 "Ah, indeed ! How did you chance to meet with 
 her? This is passing strange!" 
 
 "By a mere accident. It seems that she has 
 recently arrived in this country, and had gone to a 
 banker to get some exchange cashed. It was neces- 
 sary for her to be identified, as she did not have 
 her letter of credit with her at the time. She told 
 the banker she knew you, if she could be successful 
 in finding you. The banker knew that I could locate 
 you, and sent to my office for me. But the young
 
 96 Miss Incognita 
 
 lady came with the messenger she seemed so anxious 
 to find out about you and when she learned that I 
 knew you intimately, Sir Henry, she seemed to forget 
 about her business with the banker, and plied me 
 with questions about you. Oh, Sir Henry, she was 
 inquisitive !" 
 
 "Well, Swindle, what else did you say and do 1 ? 
 You surely didn't tell her where* I lived, and of my 
 present incumbrances and plans?" 
 
 "No, no, Sir Henry. I told her you had apart- 
 ments at the club, and that if she were not in a 
 hurry about the business at the bank, I would wait, 
 and accompany her here tonight, that she might see 
 you. And she said, 'Never mind about the bank, 
 and that I need not accompany her, for she was 
 traveling in this country alone, and would engage a 
 phaeton and come without an escort. .She then asked 
 me directions to 'The Castle,' and I gave her one of 
 the invitations and left her." 
 
 "You did not find out her name, nor why she had 
 come to America?" 
 
 "No, Sir Henry, she told me nothing." 
 
 "Well done, Swindle. Now remember, when we 
 go into 'The Castle,' we will take our seats where we 
 can observe all, and not be observed too plainly. We 
 must surely elude the eye of this unknown lady until 
 I am ready to see her. Would you know her again?" 
 
 "Yes, indeed, Sir Henry." 
 
 The four men were met at the door of "The
 
 A Desperate Experiment 97 
 
 Castle" by a gaily dressed servant. They entered 
 the dancing hall and all retired quietly to one corner 
 of the room, where they could have full view of all 
 the occupants and not attract the marked attention of 
 any. After they had comfortably arranged them- 
 selves where they had a full view of all the party 
 Lord Eroslove said: 
 
 "Count, I shall tonight select and try to make 
 terms with the most beautiful woman here, to be my 
 de facto wife, and mother of my future child. Say, 
 Swindle, find her and show her to me! In the midst 
 of such beauty, man, I grow impatient. But keep 
 your eye open for the strange woman." 
 
 "Quickly look, Sir Henry, to the left, standing 
 alone. See that little woman in violet, toying with 
 her scented lace handkerchief? She has been looking 
 at you for some time." 
 
 "Yes, I see her. What a peirite but well-made 
 figure she has, though somewhat inclined to embon- 
 point. See, Count, she has a plump white arm, an 
 ideal hand, pretty and quite delicate foot, shoulders 
 full and round, and though a little small, still her 
 breasts, as revealed by her delicate bodice, are as fair 
 and beautiful as the white rosebud just before it 
 expands itself into the dimensions of the rose. Her 
 hair is of that blackness which you see only on the 
 jackdaw's wing, and which glistens almost like a 
 crown of glory on her head; the eyes are chestnut 
 brown, and throw out a soft, liquid light. See her 
 lender nose, with little open nostrils, which gently
 
 98 Miss Incognita 
 
 vibrate as she breathes and her humid, sensual 
 mouth, with a little furrow in her lower lip !" 
 
 Lord Eroslove was about to go over to her when 
 he turned back, saying: "Any other, Swindle 1 ? But 
 wait; do you see the strange woman yet 1 ?" 
 
 "No. But let me show you another lovely maiden, 
 Sir Henry. Do you see the beauty there with her 
 elbows resting on the mantlepiece 1 ? She is another 
 who came to meet you." 
 
 "Yes, I see; she looks like a beautiful, melan- 
 choly swan, displaying her neck so harmoniously, 
 and now and then moving her sleeves as though they 
 were wings?" 
 
 "Yes, she is the one." 
 
 "Doesn't she look like modesty itself, as though 
 she personified everything that is chastest and most 
 maidenly in the world? You know, Count, I like 
 her already! Still, she looks cold, as though she 
 had a brow of snow and a heart of ice. But that 
 means much, and indicates passion controlled by 
 purity. See ! Her dress is white, and she acts as 
 though she would have us believe that her soul is the 
 same. She has orange blossoms and the leaves of the 
 water-lily in her hair, as though these badges of vir- 
 ginity told a true tale. May we hope so. I believe 
 I will see her. Swindle, do you not yet see the 
 strange woman ?" 
 
 An hour later when he returned to the dancing 
 hall with the beautiful maiden leaning on his arm, 
 his face was aglow with intense emotion, and his 
 impulsive nature was stirred to its depths so much
 
 A Desperate Experiment 99 
 
 so, that he said to himself, "The dance, the dance 
 is the thing to quell my blood !" And leaning over 
 he whispered to his companion, and the next moment 
 he had her to his breast, and began gliding through 
 the fascinating mazes of the waltz. 
 
 He had not danced long, when, as the whirl of 
 the waltz brought him opposite an open door leading 
 into a private parlor, he came face to face with the 
 strange visitor Swindle had described. The moment 
 their eyes met, he excused himself to his companion, 
 abandoned the dance, and quickly went to the side of 
 the fair stranger, while his heart fluttered violently 
 in the cage of his breast. As he turned to her, she 
 led the way into the private parlor, to avoid the 
 publicity of their meeting, and as they rushed into 
 each other's arms, but two words escaped their 
 lips: "Viola!" "Henry!" while at the same time 
 they greeted one another \\ith passionate kisses, of- 
 times repeated. Then she exclaimed : 
 
 "Oh, Henry, my love of old, what joy to see you 
 and feel myself once more in your arms!" And he 
 held her off a little way from him, searching her 
 countenance with looks of passionate appeal, and 
 said : 
 
 "My angel of love, whom I thought dead to me, 
 have you really come back into my life ! Viola, 
 can it be true that it is you?" 
 
 "Yes, dear Henry. But why did you leave me? 
 Why did you not write to me 1 ?" 
 
 "Why, my own Viola, I wrote you often, but 
 never heard from you, and I thought, 'Well, she
 
 100 Miss Incognita 
 
 has forgotten me, and has given her heart to the Earl 
 of Littlefield; therefore I will let her pass out of my 
 life, saving the sweet treasure of her memory.' " 
 
 "Oh, my God, can it be true? Then I had divined 
 rightly after all, and you had not ceased to love 
 me." 
 
 "What is it? Tell me, Viola, what it is you had 
 divined 1 ?" for his heart had been seized with trepedi- 
 tion for fear she had heard of his marriage. 
 
 "You know, dear Henry, after my father's death, 
 the Earl of Littlefield had the management of my 
 father's estate, and also became my guardian. Oh, 
 he was a tyrant, and thought he should control me 
 in everything. He was your father's pnemy and your 
 brother's, and is yours, and he forbade me receiving 
 any letters from you or writing to you. And, I 
 know it now, he destroyed my letters to you and 
 intercepted yours, and that is why I lost you and 
 and thought I had lost you forever." And again 
 Viola wept tears of rage and then of joy. And 
 while she was weeping, Lord Eroslove said: 
 
 "Villain of villains, did he dare to thus wreck my 
 life and my love? What else, Viola, has he done?" 
 
 "Would you believe it, when I tell you that of 
 late years for two years at least he has pretended 
 to love me, and has pressed his hated suit upon me 
 day and night. I wanted to fly from him, but knew 
 not where to go. One day I went to see Ravanel, 
 your poor, suffering brother Ravanel, who may now 
 be on the very verge of death" (she did not know he 
 was dead), "a'nd I asked him about you. I had often
 
 A Desperate Experiment 101 
 
 wanted to do this, but my pride rebelled against 
 it, for I thought you had cast off the little sweetheart 
 of childhood days, as you never wrote to me as I 
 then thought. In my desperation I asked your 
 brother about you, and found out where you were. 
 I determined to come to you. So three weeks ago I 
 wrote a letter telling them not to be uneasy about 
 me; that I had gone off on a trip, and that they 
 must not try to find me. Then I sailed on the 
 Majestic, and my overland trip here was quickly 
 made." 
 
 "Well, well, my brave little darling, you are an 
 adventuress in one sense of the word, sure enough. 
 And what did you expect for me to do when you got 
 here? Go right back and kill the hated Earl?" 
 
 "I don't care whether we ever go back or not. 
 I have you now and you've me just as we wanted 
 to be years ago so what else can we want? You 
 know, my Henry boy, we couldn't ever have a better 
 chance to be married?" 
 
 "That is true, my dear girl!" replied Sir Henry, 
 with a troubled look on his brow and a still more 
 troubled sea in his heart. "But somehow, I would 
 rather have our marriage take place in England. I 
 like its marriage laws better; and then I think it 
 would be more appropriate for Lady Viola's and Sir 
 Henry's nuptials to be celebrated there." 
 
 "You say, 'Sir Henry's' Ra^ane! or rathetf 
 Lord Eroslove is not dead, is he?" 
 
 "Yes, Viola, he died but a few days ago, after
 
 102 Miss Incognita 
 
 your departure; in fact within a very few days after 
 you saw him." 
 
 "Poor Ravanel, how he suffered! And you are 
 now Lord Eroslove ?" 
 
 "Yes, Viola, and you shall be Lady Eroslove just 
 as soon as arrangements can be made in keeping 
 with such an event." 
 
 "Pshaw ! Let's not bother about arrangements ! 
 We love one another. What more do we want?" 
 
 "Just one thing, sweethear; the joy of anticipa- 
 tion. This alone we will lose by instant marriage." 
 
 Viola was the only daughter of Lord Hanover, 
 who had been a friend of the old Lord Eroslove. 
 
 Lord Eroslove had given her up as lost to him, 
 and now, since she had so suddenly and mysteriously 
 come back into his life his passion had returned 
 with a hundredfold interest. From the moment he 
 saw her he gave up all his plans with regard to the 
 maiden he had chosen to be the mother of his child, 
 so far as retaining any serious intentions of carrying 
 them out. But he determined to make use of this 
 plan as a pretext to get rid of Eidola, He believed 
 it would have a terrible effect on her, knowing her 
 ardent temperament as he did. 
 
 We are led to exclaim : Oh ! divine love, oh ! thou 
 tender passion of the human heart, sweetest and 
 divinest of all human emotions, bow terrible thou 
 canst become when thy plans are crossed or thy hot 
 desires thwarted! What an angel in peace, what a 
 devil in war!
 
 A Desperate Experiment 103 
 
 As soon as Lord Eroslove had seen Viola safely 
 to her hotel, he went at once to 500 1-2 Bowery 
 Place, and from there he and Swindle and Snoots 
 went to the residence of Colonel Wrangle, the lawyer, 
 and were closeted there until dawn, forming plans of 
 action to be carried out without delay.
 
 104 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE FATAL TERMINATION 
 
 THE day after the events detailed in the last 
 chapter Lord Eroslove lingered most of the day in 
 and about his wife's apartments. 
 
 Finally, as he drew up his chair by her bed and 
 sat down, she said : 
 
 "Well, my dear Henry, what is it you have to 
 say? I know it is something which troubles you, 
 and I can read it in your face." 
 
 "Yes, Eidola, and I sincerely hope it will not 
 trouble you half so much as it has me." 
 
 "I would willingly take it all from your shoulders 
 and bear it upon mine, as weak as they are, if by so 
 doing I could relieve you of it. Pray tell me?" 
 
 "Then since you ask it, I must. And I trust you 
 will look with cool reason upon it and make me no 
 rash refusal. Since you and I were married, changes 
 of momentous importance to me have taken place- 
 My family affairs I have never mentioned to you, 
 and now I cannot until some more opportune time 
 in the future. What I must say to you now is this: 
 These changes have operated to place me in a position 
 where I consider it necessarys, yea, imperative, to 
 have an heir." 
 
 "Why, Henry, it is strange you should mention 
 to me your desire for that which you know is impos-
 
 The Fatal Termination 105 
 
 sible. I cannot conceive why you should taunt me 
 with my infirmity." 
 
 "Eidola, you mistake my purpose. I do not speak 
 to yon on this subject to taunt you, but to suggest to 
 you a way in which you can gratify me and endow 
 yourself with the blessings and joys of motherhood 
 without undergoing its travail." 
 
 "And, Henry, pray tell me how is this?" she 
 asked in quick, startled tones. 
 
 "By your consent to an experiment out of mar- 
 riage." 
 
 She raised herself sideways on one elbow, thus 
 bringing herself nearer to her husband, and replied, 
 with a smile nestling all over her face, which he 
 interpreted into acquiescence to his plans: 
 
 "Do you mean we will adopt a sweet little one?" 
 
 "No, it must be of my blood. It must be my 
 legal heir, and if you will co-operate with me, you 
 have it in your power to have it so." 
 
 She fell back upon her pillow as though a poison- 
 ed dart had entered her heart. She closed her eyes 
 and her face took on the pallor of death. 
 
 After a little she said in a low voice: 
 
 "Then you come here to invite me to quicken my 
 infirmities and hasten to die before my time? I 
 cannot otherwise interpret what you mean." 
 
 "No, Eidola, you utterly misconstrue my mean- 
 ing. Why should I wish you to die, to accomplish 
 what can be done so easily with you alive? Can 
 you not see how you can be my wife and yet another 
 be the mother of my child?
 
 106 Miss Incognita 
 
 All the courses of life seemed to quickly return 
 to the almost lifeless woman and to warmly flood 
 the chilled channel of her veins. She raised herself 
 to a sitting posture, and fastening her eyes upon the 
 face of her husband, exclaimed : 
 
 "You mean that I, yet undivorced, alive and un- 
 buried, shall be the specter of a wife, and she, the 
 \vould-be mother of your child, the living body ! I 
 be the living ghost, inhabiting alone my sepulchral 
 chamber, and she the bride of flesh and blood, barter- 
 ing her hot virginity for the bliss of my conjugal couch 
 swooning the while in my husband's embraces ! You 
 mean that I shall sickly attend upon her passionate 
 desires and continue to live the cast-off hulk of your 
 affections!" 
 
 He saw that his plan was having the desired 
 effect on her in arousing her deeply, so he determined 
 to continue this horrible torture: 
 
 "Eidola, Eidola, wait and let me reason with you ! 
 You are " 
 
 "No, a thousand times 'No !' Rather than sub- 
 mit to such dishonor I would welcome death and 
 even overtake him, though he fled from me!" Her 
 deluge of feeling could find no further vent in words 
 and she sank into a torturous silence. 
 
 Her silence gave him time to formulate his further 
 procedure. So he said: 
 
 "Really, Eidola, if you loved me yould allow 
 me to seek that pleasure which you can neither enjoy 
 nor give. You yourself make no sacrifiece of those 
 joys, nor relinouish any of the delights of that love
 
 The Fatal Termination 107 
 
 which I obtain from another. You are powerless to 
 enjoy or give the bliss of either. You would still 
 have me, and I would' still be yours. She would 
 claim but happy periods of my time, which could 
 not be missed by you, while I myself would be always 
 yours. Your chaste bed of sickness which must 
 be to me but the couch of a sacred maiden, or of 
 descrepit age wxmld lose nothing by my truant ab- 
 sences, except the, to you, unused interval of time. 
 Above all, you can never bless me with that life of 
 my life, blood of my blood, for which I-crave. Look 
 at the devoted Sarah of ancient times, the faithful 
 consort of Abraham father of the so-called chosen 
 people of God who, when she thought 'her days of 
 motherhood had passed without fruition, prayed her 
 conjugal lord and love to woo the couch of the maid- 
 servant, Hagar, if perchance the Lord would bless 
 him with a son and multiply his seed upon the earth, 
 Sarah herself saying "It may be that I may obtain 
 children by her.' " 
 
 "Yes," cried Mrs. Dumas, and after Hagar's ac- 
 couchment, when she was blessed with a son, after 
 having been blessed with Abraham's love, she de- 
 spised her mistress, and taunted her -with insulting 
 raillery, until Sarah was fo-rced to humiliate herself 
 before her husband and beg his protection. Then 
 when Abraham delivered Hagar into the hands of her 
 mistress, to do with her as she pleased, she dealt 
 hardly with her, so that she drove her, bearing her 
 infant son, away into the wilderness. Even the son 
 of this unsanctified love was accursed. He became
 
 1 08 Miss Incognita 
 
 a wild man, his hand was against every man's hand 
 and every man's hand against his. If Sarah was 
 thus humbled 'and accursed by even her maid-servant, 
 over -whom she had authority, what would be my fate 
 at the hands of her whom you propose, with my con- 
 sent and intrigue, to make the mother of your child! 
 Think you that my love for you is but a trifle which 
 can be laid aside to suit your whims, or which can 
 be tossed by me from my heart on to the lecherous 
 couch of a hired paramour 1 ? Are not my love and 
 the sweet memories of my former passion for you 
 worthy of such esteem in your heart as would keep 
 you always content with me even though our future 
 married life be one of chastity? Is a man so bestial 
 that he fain must confound love with passion? Oh, 
 my Henry, why have you thus thrust this two-edged 
 dagger into my heart?" Her frail body shook and 
 quivered like a crushed reed when made sport of by 
 *he wind. 
 
 Dr. Dumas was silent for a time, sitting with his 
 head somewhat bowed then he said in a low voice : 
 
 "I see, Eidola, your love is a selfish one. Since it 
 is now without the body of passion why should it 
 deny me that which it has not and cannot give 1 ?" 
 
 To this she replied in a kind of moaning, pleading 
 tone: 
 
 "Ah, Henry, I see you have no comprehension of 
 a woman's, a wife's heart! Love without jealousy is 
 but as a body without soul, which will soon dissolve 
 and pass into corrupt decay! Love that is not sel- 
 fish is but as a magnet bereft of its attractive power;
 
 The Fatal Termination 109 
 
 so long as it is endowed with the current of its 
 subtle life it must and will attract, and hold that which 
 by affinity is its own, reaching out its invisible though 
 powerful arms and embracing to its heart its own 
 beloved; and not until the steel-cold body is dead, 
 and its mysterious life has passed into the infinity 
 of the unknown, will it release its own from its 
 jealous clasp and allow it to fall away from its 
 selfish bosom ! Do you not know, Henry, that passion 
 by itself is but the hereditary instinct of the brute, 
 but as the rash force of gravity, which, for awhile, 
 by the operation of its blind power, binds one cor- 
 poreal body to another, setting aside and disregarding 
 those higher laws and purer forces of affinity which 
 operate to unite soul to soul in love, as well as body 
 to body in passion? Though my body may be bereft 
 of its passion by the devitalizing, depleting course of 
 my infirmity, yet this loss has but augmented the 
 subtler power of love in my soul. And this, Henry, 
 this, my all, my soul's passion, you would take from 
 me, and poison it with the foul breath, and bury it 
 in the corrupt bosom of your venal courtesan ! My 
 love shall not thus by my consent damn itself in dis- 
 graceful suicide! Bather than thus dishonor my love, 
 my own hand shall disembowel my corporeal life and 
 so release my soul from such ignominious death." 
 
 "Ah !" he thought to himself, "a consummation 
 devoutly to be wished !" Then he continued in a 
 still more tantalizing tone: 
 
 "Care you not for my future, Eidola? Care you 
 not for what I may have to disclose to you aboul
 
 1 1 Miss Incognita 
 
 myself, my ambition, my plans, my position, my 
 family all of which I will do when what I ask of 
 you is accomplished, but which I cannot do short of 
 this?" 
 
 "No, I care not for these things. Oh, Henry, let 
 us be content in our present love, and I swear to you ! 
 yea, observe, I swear it !" (and she lifted up her pallid 
 hand toward high heaven, and the lace sleeve of her 
 lounging robe, slipping down, exposed her thin, angu- 
 lar and almost spectral arm this her husband saw 
 and he quickly turned his eyes, as though it pained 
 him, the connoisseur of beauty, even to look upon 
 this ugly, ghostly reality) "I swear that I will be 
 myself again ; yea, and more, I shall bless you with 
 more beauty than you have ever reckoned upon, even 
 in our happiest moments. Health shall find its em- 
 bodiment in me; yea, rosy-cheeked health, like a hot, 
 valiant youth, shall woo me for his consort and in 
 his fealty to me shall keep his watch about my 
 beauteous couch ! Be true to me, Henry, in this, my 
 affliction, and I will yet bless you with joys you ween 
 not of and present you as the first fruits of my reju- 
 venated passion that which you crave the life of 
 our life, the blood of our blood, even as Sarah of old 
 honored and made glad her husband Abraham when 
 they had thought such joy was never again to be 
 expected !" 
 
 He replied with but little show of feeling: 
 "You then persist in your refusal 1 ? Nothing re- 
 mains to me but to carry out my plans." 
 
 This threat of his aroused all the fierce elements
 
 The Fatal Termination 1 1 1 
 
 of the tigress that was latent in her nature that 
 had been distilled and instilled in her fiery blood 
 from the hot veins of her chivalrous cavalier ances- 
 try. Then sitting upright on. her couch with her little 
 feet drawn up beneath her, she said: 
 
 "Then sir, you treat with disdain the fruitful 
 promise of my love and the prophetic potency of my 
 oath! And now you propose to humiliate me by 
 an enforced dishonor. Stay ! You shall not leave 
 me yet until I have spoken ! Dare you to execute 
 your threats and it were better that you and she were 
 in your congenial bed in hell! Weak as I am, in 
 your power as I am, I yet defy you ! Desert me if 
 you will, fly \dth your paramour if you desire ! Yea, 
 if it must be done, pollute the earth with your ille- 
 gitimate, unsanctified progeny, and call them by your 
 name and mine a name I am forced to wear but 
 remember, you and I shall meet again, and the un- 
 forgotten fury of despoiled love shall make a reckon- 
 ing between us!" 
 
 Then, as her husband i - eached the door and strode 
 out in the hall, her tender love that love which he 
 implanted and fixed in the most secret, deepest spring 
 of her being again arose in her heart, and the sweet 
 memories of her past joys ascending like incense 
 before her eyes, and forgetting her fury of the mo- 
 ment past, she called out >as best she could in her 
 weak, plaintive voice: 
 
 "Henry, oh, Henry, come back to me, dear Hen- 
 ry ! One word with you Henry ! Just one word !" 
 She sat up on her couch, with her eyes straining at
 
 1 1 2 Miss Incognita 
 
 the door as chough expecting it to open, and her little 
 left hand \vas pressed upon her heart. Thus she 
 remained for a few moments, and when he came not 
 she lay back upon the couch and turned her face to 
 the wall. She could not cry, for her grief was beyond 
 the level of the tears, so she closed her eyes and for 
 the first time in her life realized that she was alone! 
 
 How long she lay thus she did not know, for in 
 depths of grief as in the ecstacies of joy ; we are not 
 conscious of the passing of time. 
 
 Finally, however, she reached a point where she 
 could think ; soon her mind hit upon some iuea, for 
 she pressed the button of a call bell and then awaited 
 the arrival of a servant. 
 
 Mrs. Dumas drew up her little writing desk to 
 her couch, and hastily, though carefully, wrote a letter 
 and addressed it. By the time she had finished it, 
 Sam came in, ready to do any service she required. 
 
 "Sam, do you know where Dearborn Street is?" 
 
 "Yes'm, oi know it all over." 
 
 "Do you know, or can you find the building known 
 as No. 352?" 
 
 "Yes'm, oi will sartainly do it." 
 
 "Take this note there and deliver it to the gentle- 
 man to whom it is addressed. Yoii can read, can 
 you not?" 
 
 "Yes'm, and oi will deliver your note, ma'am." 
 
 "Be careful, Sam, and allow no one m see & 
 Tell no one of your errand. SanaP 
 
 "Yes'm, oi am listenia* !* 
 
 *l'ome here,*
 
 The Fatal Termination 1 1 3 
 
 Sam came up close to her and she dropped a 
 coin in his hand, which he received with a grin, a 
 grimace, and a number of low bows. 
 
 "Do you know what that means, Sam?" 
 
 "Yes'm, hit means furr me to be ready to swear 
 that oi will do all you say, ma'am." 
 
 "And will you do it?" 
 
 "Oi will ! so help me, St. Patrick." 
 
 When Lord Eroslove abruptly left his wife's 
 room he entered his study, and there in waiting were 
 Dr. Swindle and Snoots, who had overheard the con- 
 versation. 
 
 "As soon as he came out of his wife's room he led 
 the way into the laboratory. He turned toward the 
 two men and quickly made certain mysterious move- 
 ments with his hands, uttering strange words, and 
 gazing into their eyes! After a moment or & of 
 this procedure, he said: 
 
 "So, Snoots, you and Swindle heard all, did you? 
 You heard her rave and curse! You heard the strug- 
 gles, as I attempted to restrain her! You heard her 
 awful threats to take my life! You heard all this, 
 every word !" 
 
 "Yes," replied both, and Swindle, continuing, 
 said, "And we thought several times that her ravings 
 were so terrible we would have to come in to protect 
 you." 
 
 "You will both swear to these facts which you both 
 heard with your own ears; and will swear that it 
 would be, in your opinion, unsafe to allow her to be 
 at large? You "will swear that she raves at all times
 
 1 14 Miss Incognita 
 
 and threatens my life, and that you have oeard her 
 day and night." 
 
 As he made these suggestions to them he moved 
 his hands before them until their eyes were closed, 
 and he saw they were fully under his power. Then 
 he repeated his suggestions to them over and over 
 again, as to what they must swear, they all the while 
 affirming that what he said was true. Then before he 
 awoke them he said with great emphasis: 
 
 "Now remember when the trial takes place, you 
 cannot keep from swearing to all these occurences. 
 You know they are facts and you will swear to them ! 
 You -will ! You will !" and he reiterated to them over 
 and over what they must swear. Then he awoke 
 them by passing his hands upward over them, and they 
 awoke as if in a dream, Snoots saying as if dreaming: 
 
 "We sure can " and Swindle assented thereto 
 with a downward deflection of his omnipresent nose. 
 Then he continued talking to them : 
 
 "You must be emphatic on this point 'that she is 
 dangerous. In ordinary, mild cases of insanity, the 
 law is not harsh, and generally stops at the appoint- 
 ment of a guardian for the lunatic. But where proof 
 shows it to be a bad case the law requires confinement 
 in an asylum. 
 
 "By-the-bye, where is that fellow Lindsay? He 
 left our place soon after my marriage, ahem! which 
 he was responsible for, I do not want to en- 
 counter him again, for I want no undue publicity in 
 this matter." 
 
 "Nor I either," said Swindle.
 
 The Fatal Termination 1 1 5 
 
 "Come, we must be going into the city. Much 
 is to be done this evening, for I want to have the 
 inquisition of lunacy to-morrow. She has no rela- 
 tives to be served with notice of the inquisition. I, as 
 her husband, will make the affidavit as to her lunacy, 
 so no time need be lost. Swindle, you have talked 
 with Dr. Regular, have you? I mean the dean of 
 the Chicago Medical College, whom I instructed you 
 to see!" 
 
 "Oh, yes, and he will make you a good witness." 
 
 ''My lawyer has already spoken to the judge of 
 the Court of Probate, having jurisdiction over such 
 matters, and it now remains for me to go down and 
 make the affidavit this afternoon and have the jury 
 of inquisition summoned. Snoots, I told Colonel 
 Wrangle that you would assist him and the court in 
 empaneling the jury, so you can have put on it such 
 men as you have fixed. The two doctors necessary 
 to be had in such cases we already have in Drs. 
 Swindle and Regular eh, Swindle?" 
 
 "You may depend upon them, sir, implicitly." 
 
 "Then we will have everything ready for the 
 trial at two o'clock tomorrow. Be sure and bring 
 the jury of inquisition at tha-t hour, Snoots. Get 
 them together in good time. I will have my lawyer 
 and Swindle will have Dr. Regular there. And re- 
 member, you heard everything and will swear ex- 
 actly as I told you." 
 
 By this time they had gone some distance, where 
 they took a car and continued their journey. 
 
 Late in the afternoon of the same day of the
 
 1 1 6 Miss Incognita 
 
 occurenees which I have narrated, a gentleman with 
 a handsome, dashing team, was seen to drive up to 
 1001 Lincoln Park Square. He alighted and was 
 shown into Mrs. Dumas' apartments, where he re- 
 mained for an hour or more, and then drove away. 
 
 Mrs. Dumas spent a miserable night. It was ten 
 o'clock the next morning before she attempitj *<) eat 
 any breakfast. Then she put on her wrapper and 
 lay upon the lounge, trying to think upon her future. 
 As she thus lay thinking and moaning and trying tc 
 sooth her breaking heart, she heard the sudden tramp- 
 ing of many footsteps and before she could think of 
 what it meant a dozen or more men had entered her 
 room and ranged themselves about it.
 
 The Inquisition . 117 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE INQUISITION 
 
 As a general thing Mrs. Dumas was a woman of 
 cool temperament. She was not a woman to faint 
 and go into hysterics. 
 
 But when she saw the motly crowd of men which 
 now had arranged themselves about her, staring at her 
 with looks of curiosity on their faces, as though she 
 were some strange animal, she lost her self-control. 
 
 She gazed from one to the other like an aroused 
 tigress driven to bay. In the crowd as she hastily 
 scanned it, she noticed red faces and bloated faces 
 and purple-colored faces, and unwashed, begrimed, 
 unshaven and diseased-looking faces. 
 
 There were all shapes of heads which belonged 
 to the lower order of intellectual and moral develop- 
 ment. 
 
 The clothes they wore were as varied and motley 
 and degraded-looking as their faces. 
 
 This was the "Jury of Inquisition" which Colonel 
 Wrangle and Snoots had empaneled to carry out under 
 forms of the law the outrageous plans of Lord Eros- 
 love to rid himself of the trembling little woman who 
 \vns crouched there on the couch before them. As 
 Mrs. Dumas' eyes wandered from one of these men 
 to the other she finally spied the little bean eyes 
 of Dr. Regular peering at her very searchingly from
 
 118. Miss Incognita 
 
 one corner, and she noticed that he was saying some- 
 thing about her to a man by his side. 
 
 Mrs. Dumas observed that he persisted in thus 
 staring at her and pointing at her, even when he 
 saw she was looking at him. Lord Eroslove had 
 taken pains to take a position in the rear of some 
 of the party, so as to screen himself as much as 
 possible from the eye- of his wife. 
 
 Mrs. Dumas had not seen him, and as Dr. Reg- 
 ular, whom she had once met at the Medical Col- 
 lege, was the only man in the crowd whom she recog- 
 nized, she determined to address him, and from 
 him get some account of this strange gathering and 
 insulting proceeding going on about her. 
 
 "I believe I have met you, sir. You are Dr. 
 Regular, of the Chicago Medical College. I demand 
 to .know of you what all this means. You are acting 
 as though you were crazy." 
 
 When Mrs. Dumas uttered the word "crazy," in- 
 stead of waiting to reply to her, Dr. Regular turned 
 to the man with the cataract nose and said: 
 
 "There, you hear that, Dr. Swindle? It is one 
 of the invariable signs of lunacy that they think 
 other people crazy. Observe that point." Then 
 replying to Mrs. Dumas and peering right into her 
 eyes 1 in the most interested way, he said : "Do your 
 best to calm yourself, madam. We realize it is hard 
 for you. to understand, but it is best for you, madam. 
 So don't be alarmed." 
 
 "I am not alarmed, sir. I am indignant at 
 such treatment as this, and I will have an explanar
 
 The Inquisition 1 1 9 
 
 tion of it!" As she spoke she raised herself to a 
 sitting posture and looked sternly upon the crowd. 
 
 "You see, Dr. Swindle, they always get indig- 
 nant when their condition has to be examined into. 
 That is one of the points I always make in my lec- 
 tures to my students." Then looking toward Mrs. 
 Dumas, he replied : 
 
 "You see, madam, the law requires it. We are 
 but servants of the law and are here to carry out 
 the law and to apply in your case its beneficent 
 provisions. You will please submit as quietly as 
 possible, and not show a rash and rebellious spirit." 
 
 This, to her, inexplicable and impudent language 
 aroused her indignation more and more. She raised 
 her thin hand, and in her agitation waved it up 
 and down like the wand of a spectre. Then point- 
 ing straight at Dr. Regular she said in a shrill, broken 
 voice : 
 
 "You act like a madman, sir! I command you 
 and this insulting mob to leave my apartments im- 
 mediately,- sir!" 
 
 So emphatic was her manner and so shrill and 
 mandatory was her voice that Dr. Regular receded 
 a step or two toward the door, at the same time get- 
 ting Snoots in between him and the enraged lady, 
 and saying to Swindle and to the jury: "It is one of 
 the plainest cases I was ever called upon to examine. 
 T fear she will soon become violent. You see she 
 already calls me a madman. They generally accuse 
 others of having the malady, the degree of malady 
 which afflicts them. I nearly always make this point 
 in my lectures to my classes."
 
 120 Miss Incognita 
 
 "You wrongly accuse us, madam. You imist be 
 quiet. We do not care to use force to control you. 
 The sad affliction of the demented often renders 
 them dangerous. Jnst be patient, and Colonel 
 Wrangle will conduct the proceedings and you will 
 soon understand all." 
 
 "Then you are here charging me with being de- 
 mented, are you?" she cried out with most vehement 
 indignation, at the same time getting upon her feet 
 at the side of her couch, as though preparing to ad- 
 vance upon the whole crowd. Observing this, Snoots 
 tried to get behind Dr. Regular, and Dr. Regular 
 gave a sidewise movement and ti'ied to get behind 
 Swindle and Snoots both, and they all three were 
 crowded together in one corner of the room. 
 
 Colonel Wrangle took a step or two in front of 
 the crowd and addressing her, said : 
 
 "May it please your honor ah a excuse me, 
 madam, but may it please you, madam, to be seated. 
 You are in a condition, though you may not be 
 aware of it, which renders this proceeding- necessary. 
 Your husband, madam 
 
 "My husband! I have no husband! Did 'he not 
 yesterday desert me? And now has he dared to do 
 this also? Where is he that I may see him and tell 
 him all? Show me 
 
 "Why, madam, he is here. This is his affidavit 
 made out in court upon which this proceeding is 
 based, and which this jury is empaneled here to de- 
 cide upon and pronounce true or false. Be quiet and 
 I will read it."
 
 The Inquisition 121 
 
 "Wait, sir. Where is Tie? As you read let him 
 stand forth by your side, that I may see him! I 
 want to see him, his face, his ey.es, and read in them 
 whether he made this affidavit." 
 
 Lord Eroslove up to this time had managed to 
 keep himself concealed behind the others. But upon 
 the demand made by his wife, the crowd involun- 
 tarily parted, leaving; him exposed to her gaze. 
 Seeing- he was observed, and that there was no longer 
 any chance to keep himself in the background, he 
 stalked forward and stood by the side of his attor- 
 ney. 
 
 She stood and looked at him as one in a reverie. 
 Then without moving her gaze, she remarked to the 
 lawyer, as though she were conducting the proceed- 
 ings, "You may now read the affidavit." 
 
 Lord Eroslove stood there, clasping his hands 
 first behind and then before him, looking at every- 
 thing except at her face. 
 
 Then Colonel Wrangle said: "Gentlemen of the 
 jury, I will now read you the affidavit upon which 
 these proceedings are based, and which you, under 
 your caths, are to' find true or false : 
 
 "STATE OF ILLINOIS, COUNTY OF COOK. 
 "In person before me comes Dr. Henry Dumas, 
 who being duly sworn, deposes and says, that his 
 wife, Eidola Dumas, is now and for some weeks 
 has been of unsound mind, and he makes this affi- 
 davit that a Jury of Inquisition may be summoned 
 and empaneled to inspect the condition of the said
 
 122 Miss Incognita 
 
 lady, and inquire into the facts and return their 
 verdict accordingly, recommending to the court 
 whether it is necessary to order the confinement of 
 the said accused in the Asylum for the Insane. 
 "(Signed.) HENRY DUMAS." 
 
 "Sworn to and subscribed before me this 29th 
 day of August, 1869. 
 
 H. J. HUGNER, Judge. 
 
 There was a deathly stillness in the room upon 
 the conclusion of the reading of the affidavit. Mrs. 
 Dumas had not for a second removed her gaze from 
 her husband's eyes and face. She then asked in a 
 voice full of feeling and emotion, as though even in 
 this humiliating ordeal the sweet memories of past 
 love made her tender: 
 
 "And, Henry, did you make that affidavit?" 
 
 "I did, madam." 
 
 "Did you sign it, even sign it, Henry 1 ?" 
 
 "I dil, madam." 
 
 "My ears may misinterpret his words and deceive 
 me! I want to see the signature and know whether 
 my eyes agree with, or contradict my ears. Colonel 
 Wrangle, may I see it?" 
 
 "Yes, madam, of course. Here it is." 
 
 She looked at it long and scrutinizingly. The 
 perjured paper shook in her agitated grasp as though 
 it were moved with guilty feeling, and not she with 
 overwhelming emotions. Then she slowly passed it 
 back to the lawyer, and looking again into the eyes 
 of her husband, said:
 
 The Inquisition 123 
 
 "You then were very anxious to get rid of me, 
 Henry?" 
 
 "Oh, no madam ! I was anxious to place you 
 where you could be properly treated !" 
 
 "Gentlemen, I understand it all now. You may 
 proceed to put me in an asylum or in a tomb ! It 
 matters not to me !" And she sank back upon her 
 couch. 
 
 The jury and witnesses then retired from the 
 room and went into the laboratory, where Colonel 
 Wrangle proceeded to question the witnesses, who 
 were Lord Eroslove, Snoots, Drs. Swindle and Regu- 
 lar. Lord Eroslove detailed many exaggerated oc- 
 curences to prove the demented and very dangerous 
 condition of his wife. Snoots and Swindle swore 
 exactly as Loi'd Eroslove had commanded them. 
 
 The jury returned the verdict as follows: 
 
 "We find Mrs. Eidola Dumas to be violently insane 
 and recommend that she be committed at once to an 
 asylum for the insane." 
 
 This was signed by the foreman, and then Colonel 
 Wrangle said : 
 
 "Anticipating your verdict, I had the court sign 
 the proper orders for commitment at once. You, Dr. 
 Swindle, I have had appointed as a deputized officer 
 of the court, to remain here and take charge of the 
 lady and convey her as soon as possible to the asylum, 
 where she is to remain until legally discharged. Here 
 is your commission and I trust you will execute it 
 faithfully." 
 
 The matter being now concluded, the jury and
 
 124 Miss Incognita 
 
 all the party took their departure except Swindle 
 and Lord Eroslove, who remained in the laboratory. 
 
 "So, Dr. Dumas beg your pardon, Sir Henry I 
 should have said you leave Chicago at once." 
 
 "Yes, Swindle. I have everything ready. My 
 trunks have already gone and I will leave 1 in a few 
 minutes. I sail direct to England as soon as I arrive 
 in New York. I have left a good deal of rubbish of 
 one sort and another, including the laboratory. These 
 you can have and do with them as you see fit. Re- 
 member, you are to report to me about her as soon 
 as I reach England. Let me know how she endures 
 the confinement and gruesome atmosphere of the 
 asylum. I don't think she can survive it long. An^- 
 way, you keep me posted." 
 
 "Yes, I will do so, Sir Henry. But what about 
 the balance of my and Snoots' fee in this matter?" 
 
 "Oh, well, I will send you that when I arrive in 
 England and have my first tidings from you. "Well, 
 I must be going. The demented lady's sobs coming 
 out of that room do not sound as sweetly to me as 
 the first nocturne I heard her play in the parlor 
 below, about fifteen months ago. So I guess I 
 won't tarry to listen to her. Good-by, Swindle. Re- 
 member, serve me well, and I will pay you well." 
 
 And Lord Eroslove gave Swindle's hand a flippant 
 shake, and turned away from him with a contempt- 
 uous smile upon his face. As he drove away he 
 looked up, by accident or otherwise, and saw the thin, 
 chalk-white face of his wife pressed against the 
 window-pane of her room, and her sad eyes, which
 
 The Inquisition 125 
 
 appeared unusually large, were fixed upon him. And 
 far down the street he knew that those eyes were 
 fastnd upon him still. His body shivered, and he 
 drove away as rapidly as possible, not once turning 
 his head to look back again. 
 
 Within two days thereafter Lord Eroslove sailed 
 for England and with him was Viola.
 
 1 26 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 IN ENGLAND 
 
 ONE evening in the month of June, two years 
 after, two men were walking leisurely along Prim- 
 rose Hill Road in London, going in the direction of 
 the junction of this road with Regent's Park Road. 
 On their right was uplifted the fair bosom of Prim- 
 rose Hill, rising over two hundred feet above the 
 level of the surrounding surface. 
 
 Looking north across Albert Road one's eye rested 
 upon the more extended beauties of Regent's Park, 
 which spread out like a gorgeous landscape bedecked 
 in the cool, fresh garments of the spring. 
 
 Nestling at the foot of Primrose Hill, and seem- 
 ingly occupying a part of its more level surface, 
 was a large brick mansion in Gothic style, which 
 fronted not only toward Albert Road but also towansd 
 Primrose Hill Road across the intervening expanse 
 of Primrose Hill Park. 
 
 The two men whom we had observed walking 
 along Primrose Hill Road were talking, and had 
 slackened their pace until they scarcely moved. They 
 were looking- down a long avenue in the direction of 
 the Gothic brick mansion, the taller one of the two 
 saying: 
 
 "Yes, it was here that I saw and met her the 
 second time since my return; arranging my Iryst
 
 In England 127 
 
 wiiu her, even in spite of the tyrannical interference 
 of that jealous guardian, the Earl of Littlefield. It 
 was in the evening just at the hour when beautiful 
 sunset was painting evanescent masterpieces upon the 
 immense canvas of the sky gorgeous masterpieces, 
 which would put to shame the miniature patchwork 
 of a Reubens or Michael Angelo. 
 
 "Standing in one of these windows and meshed 
 in a fairy network of curtains and drapery of rare 
 old Italian handiwork I saw the as yet uncrowned 
 queen of my heart. She was dressed in a robe of 
 black velvet daintily trimmed with silver cloth, an 
 open bodice, which she had in neglige fashion, left 
 unfastened at the neck, except that it was partially 
 held together by a stream of diamonds, which glis- 
 tened about her throat. She was leaning on the bal- 
 cony with a languid, melancholy air, as though she 
 were waiting for me to come, though not expecting 
 me." 
 
 "Describe her to mee, Zir Heenry. Ees she beau- 
 teeful 1 ?" asked Count Antignolio of Lord Eroslove 
 for these are the two men we have observed. 
 
 "She could hardly be termed a perfect beauty fn 
 the face. 
 
 "She has a sparkling smile and beautiful dimples. 
 Her figure reveals a wealth of rare curves and shapes, 
 undulating like flames, endowed with force and sup- 
 pleness, her walk undulating like the willowy grace 
 of a gazelle, her hips full and yielding, and sloping 
 downward from their outward points into the more 
 modest graces of the limbs, her shoulders broad and
 
 128 Miss Incognita 
 
 gently tapering, like the soft, glossy back of the 
 swan, her neck a rare poem of curves and roundness. 
 Hers is a rich, voluptuous beauty, Count, which only 
 Reubens has ever put upon canvas. Oh, ye gods, 
 how I love her! love her! and worship such beauty 
 as hers! 
 
 "Well, Count, as she stood thus at the window 
 she saw me near, and dropped her glove, a sign she 
 gave me that the way was clear. I picked it up, 
 and kissed it, at the same time entering the mansion 
 and presenting it to her. As I said, this was our 
 second secret meeting since our return here in her 
 house. She pressed me to take supper with her, 
 which I did. It was served in her boudoir. Between 
 the sparkle of her eyes and the sparkle of the wine, 
 I experienced a flood of joy and of passion. And 
 to think that such joy and love as she gives me should 
 } ave to filched, yea, stolen, as though I were a com- 
 mon thief and she another's property, to be kept 
 tinder lock and key. I will not endure it ! I swear 
 I will not !" 
 
 "Eend you zay, Zir Heenry, that thes is Mees 
 "Veola, Hanover, daughter ov Lord Hanover? The 
 same who come to you een Amereeea?" 
 
 "Yes, Count, and the sweetheart of my boyhood 
 days, whom I still love and adore above all others." 
 
 "I have heard she vas fast, delecously fast, Zir 
 Heenry !" 
 
 "Not so, Count, except in her love for me. Yet 
 even if she were, she but inherits the blood of her 
 family, Count. -Sir Archibald Hanover, 'her grand-
 
 In England 129 
 
 father, was one of our noble scrapegraces who loved 
 wine and women better than life and liberty. Her 
 father, Sir Launeelot Hanover, was more of a Sultan 
 than ever Sir Archibald dared to be. Hence, I say 
 *hat even if she were fast, the young lady is not re- 
 sponsible for her blood, no more than I am for mine. 
 My father, Sir Harry I hate to say it of him, for 
 he isdead now was a veritable patron saint of "The 
 Latter Day Church,' as we used to say in America. 
 He caused the jealous, loving heart of my mother 
 more grief than I hope I will ever cause any woman. 
 T would that I had inherited the cool blood and 
 chaste temperament of my mother, as my poor 
 brother Ravanel did peace to his ashes! But as 
 the fates seem to have decreed it otherwise, I can't 
 help it. 
 
 "Wherefore, I say, Count, that as my passion 
 of passions is the master passion of love, which in- 
 habits my arteries and even colors to a deeper hue 
 the red corpuscles of my blood, I shall not deny my 
 nature, nor starve into decrepitude and white hairs 
 by castigations of celibacy this mortal body of mine, 
 my rash inheritance from my father." 
 
 "You talk, Zir Heenry, like a veeretable poeet of 
 pazzion." 
 
 "Nay, Count, I myself am a veritable poem of 
 passion. Nature was the poet and she made me the 
 poem. Say, Count, have you and the Countess de- 
 cided to occupy my house on the terms I propose? 
 That is it there, three doors from the Hanover 
 Mansion, fronting on Albert Road. We will pass it 
 ii a moment."
 
 130 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Let zee ageen, vat vere ze terms eend eondee- 
 lions'?" 
 
 "Well, as I before told you, I am determined to 
 thwart the plans of that guardian of hers. It is 
 impossible as yet for me to marry Viola, because 
 the lunatic in the Chicago Asylum will not accomo- 
 date me by dying, and I will not commit bigamy 
 and by this felony forfeit my estates to this Earl. 
 He would want nothing better than that. Viola is 
 continually urging our marriage and I have to contin- 
 ually find some excuse to defer it, for I dare not tell 
 her of that crazy wife in Chicago. Yet, I love her 
 more and more and must see her. I must arrange a 
 trysting-place outside of her guardian's mansion. 
 Now my plan is this : to get you and the Countess 
 introduced into the Primrose Hill set. Hence, I 
 advanced you the money to procure your wardrobes, 
 and had you invited to several of the recent recep- 
 tions. So you are now established, you see, at least 
 for my purpose. I have already given it out that 
 you had taken my house here on Albert Road for 
 the season or longer. The mansion has been in our 
 family for a long time, and was one of my father's 
 city residences. It is handsomely furnished, so all 
 you have to do is to move in and take possession. 
 The people of this set think you and the Countess 
 possess wealth in Italy. You and your estimable 
 wife are to further my plans in my affair with Viola 
 by cultivating the young lady and having her form 
 
 warm attachment for the Countess. She can visit 
 the Countess much, and I also will become a fre- 
 quent visitor at your establishment. My being an
 
 In England 131 
 
 eld bachelor (so far as is known here) will be your 
 excuse for entertaining me often, and keeping an 
 open house to me, but Viola's guardian is not to 
 know of my intimacy there. See what a trysting- 
 place for me and my love your house will be 1 ?" 
 
 "Zat may bee true, Zir Heenry, but who pay ze 
 eexpenses eend keep up ze establishment?" 
 
 "I thought perhaps you had enough for this 
 purpose, Count," said Sir Henry dryly, though laugh- 
 ing to himself. Continuing, he said further: "Have 
 you none of the fortune you got from Miss Fancier, 
 now the Countess Santonio, in Paris?" 
 
 "Not zee leest bit, Zir Heenry." 
 
 "And did your suit fail with a ah, Miss Lucky, 
 last summer at Saratoga? You spoke to me of that 
 off air once, you remember?" 
 
 "Yes, eet deed. You zee ze Earl of Muchtitle 
 put een to vin her, eend outranking me he cuts me 
 out. Ze young lady eenformed me zat Muchti'le 
 vas ze one she was after getting, eend vas vat she 
 vanted. Much to mee conteentment zey are now 
 living in Rome, Eetely, veery unhappely, because 
 ze Earl ees veery unsateesfied vid de fortune allowed 
 leem" 
 
 "Oh, well, then, Count, I will arrange for the 
 expenses of the establishment, if you and the Coun- 
 tess will accept my terms and conditions." 
 
 "Vee eexcepts zeem now, and vill serve you at 
 once, when you are reedy." 
 
 "All right. You shall take charge of Albert Road 
 Mansion tomorrow.
 
 132 Miss Incognita 
 
 "By-the-bye, Count, seeing Vian's Restaurant 
 fhere calls to my mind the fact that it is past dinner 
 hour. Would you object to dropping in there 
 long enough to take dinner with me?" 
 
 Count Antignolio looked at him with amazement. 
 The idea of such a question being asked him, when 
 ther: was a gnawing going on in his stomach which 
 had not been fully allayed for two days. 
 
 "At your command, Zir Heem*y; I would not ob- 
 ject to eenything zat would give you pleasure. I 
 vas just theenkeng I would reech home too late to 
 dine meeself vid mee vife." 
 
 Sir Henry ordered dinner for two, and very soon 
 ihe Count was oblivious to all mundane things, ex- 
 cept the wine laughing in the crystal, the brown and 
 white pheasants smoking in the blazoned dishes, and 
 the incense arising from the smoking altars of many 
 vessels. When his stomach had been filled until there 
 was no more room to contain epicurean delights, Sir 
 Henry observed that the Count slyly filled his pockets 
 until thei'e was not a vestige left of that bountiful 
 'dinner for two." 
 
 About the time they were preparing to arise from 
 ihe table a young man just past his stage of youth, 
 but not many years into that of manhood, came in 
 and sat down at a table near them. He was medium 
 faize, slender, and feminine in many respects, with 
 a slight stoop and round shoulders, a projecting 
 face and nose and no development of the head in the 
 rear hair sandy and long and parted in the middle, 
 and combed down a little over the sma 1 ! forehead,
 
 In England 133 
 
 and over the left ear was adjusted a goggle of crystal 
 glass. 
 
 He was dressed in extreme fashion and dragged 
 aiong with him a heavy crooked-handle cane. 
 
 As he walked, he swung from side to side, as 
 though his little legs, slightly bowed, were trying 
 to play seesaw. His watch chain was massive, his 
 diamond stud ultra-conspicious on account of it.-; 
 size, and his fingers heavily jeweled. 
 
 He gazed complacently about the dining hall from 
 one table to another. Finally his eye rested upon 
 Sir Henry. His face brightened and at once assumed 
 a pleased, fawning expression. 
 
 He arose from his own table and came swinging 
 himself over to where Sir Henry and the Count sat. 
 As he came up he said in a nasal, affected tone of 
 voice : 
 
 "Glad to ah have the pleasure ah of meet- 
 ing you again, Lord Eroslove. I met you last week 
 ah remember, at the Marlborough Club, don't you 
 know?" 
 
 "Delighted to see you again, Sir," replied Sir 
 Henry, rising and at the same time trying to recall 
 the little fellow, and find a name that would fit him. 
 
 Sir Henry felt compelled to introduce the Count 
 to the stranger and without stopping to think what 
 a predicament he would get himself into, said : 
 
 "Allow me to present you, sir, to Count Antig- 
 nolio. Mr. ara ah pray excuse me, sir, but 
 what is your name 1 ?" But the last part of the 
 sentence was lost to the well-filled, happy Count, who
 
 134 Miss Incognita 
 
 had .at once seized the*.young fellow's hand, exclaim- 
 ing: 
 
 "Delighted to meet you, Meester Ara-ah; delight- 
 ed, I azzure you, zir." 
 
 "Count Antignolio, I assure you ah my dear 
 sir that I am more than delighted ah .to have the 
 honah to know you, sir. I observe, Lord Eroslove, 
 that like myself, in the ah multitude of your ac- 
 quaintances, you forget names. Allow me, sir, to 
 aw refresh your memory. I am Archie Snob, once 
 of Americah, sir, but now of London." 
 
 "Oh, yes, excuse me, Mr. Snob. Glad to have 
 you correct my slip of memory. Count, this is Mr. 
 Snob of America." 
 
 "Now of London, sir, Count," broke in Mr. Snob. 
 
 "Glad to meet you, Meester Snobz. When do you 
 return to America?" 
 
 "I cawn't say, Count. I go over now and then 
 to look into me affairs ah and then return. I no 
 longer live there, yon know. I have reawlly gotten 
 so I cawn't stand American crudities." 
 
 "We hope to see you again Mr. Snob, and am 
 sorry we are compelled to leave so soon, but other 
 engagements press us. Bid you good-evening sir." 
 
 "Good-evening, Lord Eroslove; good-evening 
 Count Antignolio ah, I am more than delighted 
 at this unexpected pleasure of meeting you and of 
 knowing you, my dear Count. I must see you both 
 again." 
 
 He had followed them to the door when the Count 
 turned and said:
 
 In England 135 
 
 "Mee London mansion, Master Snobz, eez 2000 
 Albert Road, adjoining Preemrose Heell Park. Hope, 
 to have you call." 
 
 "With the greatest of joy, Count." 
 
 As they walked off the Count said to Sir Henry: 
 
 "You see, bee may haf mooney, eend would play 
 a la baccarat." 
 
 "Good idea, Count excellent ! He will doubtless 
 be a good sucker. How gracefully he affected to 
 know me. I'll swear I never laid eyes on him be- 
 fore." 
 
 Mr. Archie Snob was well named. 
 
 He fawned and ogled most affectedly on any 
 person or any class who, in his narrow vision, were 
 superior, or endowed witb hollow greatness, or en- 
 cumbered with an empty title. For a title was really 
 his conception of the Deity.
 
 136 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SEALED WITH AN OATH 
 
 AN author who is true to his art must realize that 
 that it is not his province to portray the characters 
 and conduct of moral or social ideas only, but of peo- 
 ple as they really are, and as they think, feel and act 
 ^n the course of human events. It is the duty and 
 work of the artist in any department to be true to 
 nature, and to work and build with nature's facts 
 and materials and conditions as she has given them 
 to him. 
 
 The greatest and wisest artist is one who studies 
 nature, and imitates her realities by putting them 
 on canvas or in marble or in music or in words as 
 nature has furnished them and fashioned them. We 
 emphasize the good by making evil abhorrent as the 
 artist brings out his "high-lights" by giving them 
 prominence upon his dark background. 
 
 Viola Hanover, though now but eighteen, well 
 knew even the higher branches in the curriculum of 
 a woman's part in the tender, passionate art of love- 
 making. Her mother had died when she was young, 
 so that she had always lacked her shielding advice 
 and care. She Lad no sisters, and her father and 
 brother had done but little to check the ardor of her 
 susceptible heart prior to their death. Since she had 
 been under the guardianship of the Earl of Little'
 
 Sealed With an Oath 137 
 
 field who was himself young and unmarried 
 neither' he nor the governess provided to instruct her 
 had exercised but little influence over her; and the 
 Earl, by his constant love-making to her, had im- 
 maturely and unduly excited the susceptible "tender 
 passion" in her maiden bosom. He doubtless would 
 have won her but for the early and ardent passion 
 which she had years before conceived for Henry 
 Eroslove. 
 
 Her nature was like the tumultuous forces of a 
 cataract, into which had been massed a momentum 
 which was irresistable. 
 
 If it were controlled for a time it burst forth 
 sooner or later with tenfold impetuosity. 
 
 Then, too, this wayward and overwrought heart 
 had been moulded in the l;aat of a social environment 
 which was not synonymous with the temperature of 
 icy chastity and snowy virtue. She mingled with 
 women of that set, many of whom professed to live 
 above the moral pressure of that social atmosphere 
 which moulds the prudish conventionalities and shapes 
 the formal customs of the middle and lower strata 
 of womankind. 
 
 Many of Viola's associates, models and seniors, 
 were S'omen who would say : "We understand the 
 meaning and purpose of superstitions in love as well 
 as in religion. Laws and customs, restrictions and 
 rules were made for the governed and not for the 
 governors. We tell tales and ghost stories to children 
 and little-grown-up-folk to quiet them, get them to 
 sleep, and keep them from troubling us and interfer-
 
 1 38 Miss Incognita 
 
 ing with our pleasures. We, who control, must not 
 be controlled. We, who -bridle, must not be bridled. 
 We, who put the harness on others, are not fools 
 enough to put it on ourselves ! Love was made for 
 women, as well as for men." 
 
 An epicurean philosophy is necessarily a philoso- 
 phy of sensation. Either men or women who look 
 upon this life as the beginning and end of our exis- 
 tence are very apt to drift into lives of sensualism. 
 
 If sensation is the beginning and end of life, 
 then the gratification of the senses should be the pur- 
 pose of life, for through the domain of the senses 
 alone opens out the tempting avenues of pleasure and 
 joy. Hence, the gratification of love, or more poet- 
 ically speaking, "the tender passion" is the very 
 elysium of all sensual gratification and joy. 
 
 To induct her within the veil, and initiate her into 
 the enchantments of those hidden mysteries was the 
 undertaking Sir Henry laid out to do. He had ay- 
 ways determined to marry her, for he thought he 
 loved her beyond his power to express, and it was 
 this very* excess of love that made them both weak, 
 and .made him determine to enjoy her love at all haz- 
 ards. 
 
 During the happy months of this year's glad sum- 
 mer, autumn and winter, he wooed her to explore 
 with him the winding ways, the flowered paths, the 
 cool, scented groves and damp shades, the enchanted 
 retreats and fairy recesses of the "sacred grove of 
 Daphne," which surrounds the temple dedicated to 
 that rapturous twain, Venus and'Appollo. She was
 
 Sealed With an Oath 139 
 
 not forward in her steps, nor rash in her devotion, 
 as she shyly allowed faim to conduct her amid the 
 beauties of this enchanted ground. 
 
 To them the sacred grove of Daphne was Primrose 
 Hill Park. The temple, which 'he had planned yet 
 to enter with Viola, was the Eroslove mansion, now 
 presided over by those patron saints of his, Count 
 and Countess Antignolio. Rash lovers, who love 
 deeply, ought either to marry, or learn before it is 
 too late to temper the ardor of their affections with 
 the cool judgment of prudence and common sense. 
 
 Late one afternoon in the month of September, 
 when the heat of summer mingling with the breath of 
 approaching winter, had by their coalition formed 
 an air of cool and fresh deliciousness, Sir Henry and 
 Viola were promenading in the park, for they were 
 often together, notwithstanding the interdiction of her 
 guardian. Her arm was passed through his. and over 
 his hand she carelessly let rest the tips of her fingers, 
 which now and then played a little tattoo or ditty 
 on the surface of his skin. They walked up and down 
 the avenue of water oaks extending from the mansion 
 out to Primrose Hill Road. In a dainty box fastened 
 to one ot the trees a pair of pigeons were building a 
 nest and as the male worked, he cooed to his mate, 
 and <now and then caressed her with his beak, and 
 passed his neck over hers in an affeotionate embrace. 
 She. would return his- love by returning to him her 
 feathered breast, or by answering hi" ^lain^ive note 
 with a tender moan.
 
 140 Miss Incognita 
 
 Observing their undisturbed enjoyment of each 
 other, Sir Henry said: 
 
 "The birds of the air have nests and love, but " 
 
 "But what, Henry?" asked Viola. 
 
 "But we have none." 
 
 "I am sure you would not be contented to settle 
 down into a nest." 
 
 "That depends, dear Viola, on the one who occu- 
 pied the nest with me." 
 
 "Suppose it were If 
 
 "In that case there would be three of us, for joy 
 would take up its abode with us." 
 
 "For how long?" 
 
 "Birds, you know, Viola, mate by the season; why 
 then ask me how long?" 
 
 "Then another season, what?" 
 
 "Love must decide that for us. Would you be 
 content to nest without love?" 
 
 "No, I would not. But don't you think love 
 would always be with us and be one of us?" 
 
 "Ah, Viola, these minutes are parpdise and tihe 
 hours heaven to me. Oh, Viola, if wooing your love 
 has been so sweet all these years, who can describe the 
 joy of having it, and reveling in it? Such happiness 
 can only be felt and dreamed of, and then left un- 
 uttered !" * 
 
 The hour growing late, .they left the park and 
 walked into the house. Sir Henry lingered there 
 awhile, and as he bade his love good-night said to her : 
 
 "Tomorrow, sweet one, I will see you at the home 
 of the Countess. It will seem long till then."
 
 Sealed With an Oath 141 
 
 From the Hanover mansion Sir Henry hurried to 
 his 'own, now occupied by the Count and the Countess. 
 He went into the room of 'the Countess, exclaiming: 
 "She will come, Countess, to visit you for a week." 
 "Yis, Zir Hinry, and you are so happee." 
 "Yes, Countess, the impotent tongue shall not by 
 attempted utterance defile the sentiment of my heart ! 
 The pink chamber, you remember, Countess, shall be 
 hers. Have you tihe wealth of roses there I ordered? 
 Good! Has the artist, Pietre, I sent for, adorned the 
 bed anew with those rare furnishings'? Then let it 
 be done in the morning. Each night let the bath of 
 odoriferous -water and vapor be prepared. The 
 lights must be dim, and full of rare color in the room. 
 My room, Countess, can remain as it is. Adjoining 
 that, arrange our banquet room. I have given my 
 bu/tler instructions as to its furnishings. Remember, 
 Countess I" 
 
 "Yis, Zir Hinry." 
 
 "Oh ! How I love her, my life, my all ! But by 
 all the gods of Homer, to think how she must love 
 me to risk all!" 
 
 There are some things a logician does not attempt, 
 and one is to define a definition. There are some 
 things a geometrician does not attempt, and one is to 
 square a circle. There are some things a scientist 
 does not attempt, and one is to deny a fact. And 
 one thing there is that no poet or writer will essay 
 to do, and that is to describe and portray the wealth
 
 142 Miss Incognita 
 
 of a woman's love when first given to a lover, who 
 has won, or cheated her out of, her heart. 
 
 Viola was a woman who, when her nature was 
 stirred, gave her love to her lover with lavish expen- 
 diture. One has seen the sun when it poured upon 
 the earth magnificent floods of glory, in superabun- 
 dance, apeparing to waste its treasure of light, color 
 and heat so was Viola's love given to Sir Henry. 
 
 One has looked into the calm dome of the sky on 
 nights clear and cold and still as death, and the 
 countless stars seemed to have multiplied their infini- 
 ty of number, being and glory thus was Viola's love 
 for Sir Henry. One has seen the black clouds keep 
 rising and overspreading the dark heavens and con- 
 tinuing to pour down their deluges of water upon 
 the earth, when its surface and arteries of creeks and 
 rivers were already flooded to overflowing even so 
 was Viola's passion given to Sir Henry.
 
 The Denouement 143 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE DENOUEMENT. 
 
 IT is now the month of April, when the promise 
 of spring begins its fulfillment in beautifying the 
 earth, brightening the sun, and gladdening the skies. 
 That wonderful miracle we call life is beginning to 
 manifest itself in all the forms and forces of nature. 
 Mother Earth is receiving the amorous kisses of Father 
 Sun, and all their myriad children are astir for love, 
 work or play. 
 
 In her luxurious boudoir upstairs in the mansion 
 occupied by Count and Countess Antignolio reclines 
 happy, beautiful Viola. Hence she has spent much 
 of her time on the pressing invitation of the Countess, 
 and has been much in the company of her lover. 
 
 She is now in a state of anxious expectancy, when 
 Lord Eroslove enters the room. She quickly rises to 
 meet him, exclaiming: 
 
 "Oh, Henry, I have such good news for you! You 
 never could guess it !" 
 
 "No, my dearest sweetheart !" he replies, taking 
 her in his arms and kissing her. "Out with it." 
 
 "Well, what do you think ! Something has caused 
 a great change in my guardian. He has now given 
 his consent for me to marry you.. After receiving 
 the mail yesterday by the latest steamer from Ameri- 
 ca, he got certain news which seemed to interest him
 
 1 44 Miss Incognita 
 
 very much. He appeared to go through a hard bat- 
 tle trying to decide something. He sent certain 
 papers he had received by this mail to his city at- 
 torney and wrote him a note. I observed all this for 
 I was in the library with him. After a little while 
 he received a reply which I afterwards found care- 
 lessly lying on his desk. When he had read this note, 
 which excited him very much, he turned to me and 
 casually announced that he had decided to give his 
 consent to our marriage. Oh, Harry, I was over- 
 come with joy, and felt like falling upon his neck 
 in the ecstaey of my delight!" Her beaming eyes 
 were lifted to Lord Eroslove's face, expecting to see 
 in his countenance the same revelation of joy which 
 her own heart was experiencing. But instead of out- 
 bursts of joy, she saw his brow contract and a great 
 dimple sink its depths in the center, of his ohin, as he 
 eagerly asked: 
 
 "Viola, have you the lawyer's note 1 ?" 
 "Yes, Henry, here it is," and as she offered him 
 the paper, he grabbed it as a starving man would a 
 morsel of bread. Its contents were as follows : 
 
 "To THE EARL OF LITTLEFIELD : 
 
 . "HONORED SIR : I have examined the papers you 
 sent, giving the result of the work of our detective 
 in ferreting out the history of one Dr. Dumas, I 
 think the case is complete. Under the terms of the 
 settlement of this large personal estate by the ances- 
 tor of this party, you can accomplish your purpose 
 as well by allowing this marriage to take place as by
 
 The Denouement 145 
 
 the death of this heir. This estate will revert as well 
 by reason of conviction for felony as by death. 
 "Most respectfully yours, 
 
 "JEROME JEFFRIES, 
 
 "Counselor, etc." 
 
 The reading of this note caused a greater agita- 
 tion in the mind and face of Lord Eroslove than the 
 recital of events by Viola had done. 
 
 "So my little girl has won the Earl over to her 
 side, has she 1 ?" 
 
 "But pray tell me, Henry, the 'meaning of the 
 strange note from that lawyer? Why should that 
 have caused such a change in the Earl's feelings 
 towards us? And why did you look so excited when 
 you read it?" 
 
 "Wait; one question at a time, my darling. I 
 can hardly explain the Earl's conduct unless he has 
 decided to get him an American heiress, and thinks 
 now a good time to get rid of you that is of us." 
 
 "Yes, he has good grounds to get rid of me, for 
 he knows he can never possess me. A case of sour 
 grapes, you know, Henry. But why did you get so 
 excited over it?" 
 
 "Why, Viola, you should know anything excites 
 me which concerns our love, and to think this 
 abominable guardian had 'a " 
 
 "Yes, Henry dear, it was*hateful of him." 
 
 "Yes, of course," he replied in an absent-minded 
 way. He had put off 'this marriage week after 
 week and month after month on the pretext mainly
 
 146 Miss Incognita 
 
 of bhis guardia Vs objections. He had feared 
 consummate it, as much as he loved Viola and de- 
 sired her, and wished for legitimate offspring, be- 
 lieving that his enemy was on his track, a,nd that it 
 would result in his and Viola's ruin, for he knew that 
 the Earl would hesitate at no sacrifice to secure for 
 himself the valuable estate he so much coveted. Now 
 comes this terrible revelation which sh.ows that his 
 enemy is indeed closer upon his heels than he had 
 ever imagined. Then, on the other hand, here met 
 him face to face the demands, the sacred demands 
 of Viola. Her claims had now passed the mere 
 pleading demands of love. Here were the imperative 
 commands of life, honor, posterity, yea, everything 
 which a woman holds dear and sacred ! Yet to mar- 
 ry Viola under these circumstances meant utter ruin 
 for both, for the Earl would at once proceed to ex- 
 pose and convict him. 
 
 On the other hand, not to marry now meant to 
 crush out all her love for him. It also would result 
 in her ruin and degradation, unless he could protect 
 her by a plan he had in view. 
 
 He was in a predicament but she was in a worse 
 one. He had consulted his attorney and had been 
 informed that his marriage in America, even under 
 the professional name of Dr. Dumas, would be bind- 
 ing in England. He had written to an American at- 
 torney, whom he knew in New York City, on this 
 point, and his opinion confirmed that of the English 
 lawyer. However, the American lawyer informed him
 
 The Denouement 147 
 
 that if he could prove that the lady was a confirmed 
 lunatic, he could get a divorce from' her. 
 
 But such a proceeding as this would require at 
 least two years, and it was out of the question to 
 delay acting on the emergency at hand, even for two 
 months. "Oh," he thought, "what a fool I was for 
 not effectually disposing of her while I was at it. 
 I could hare made a corpse of her much easier and 
 in much less time than it required to make a luna- 
 tic of her." But that was too late now. 
 
 Two days before this time he had become des- 
 perate, waiting to hear from Dr. Swindle concerning 
 the condition of Mrs. Dumas, and had cabled to him 
 as follows : 
 
 "DR. SWINDLE, 500V 2 Bowery Place, Chicago, DL, 
 
 U. S. A. 
 "Caible exact condition of lady. Be specific." 
 
 To which Swindle had sent this reply: 
 
 "Lady reported improving. Send me $100. 
 
 "SWINDLE." 
 
 Whether the abandoned wife was really improv- 
 ing or was dead, he had no way of knowing except 
 by relying on his agent, whom he had put in charge 
 of this matter. However, Swindle was of such a 
 character that had s=he been dead he would have re- 
 ported her alive, in order to reap the reward of this 
 species of his "practice."
 
 148 Miss Incognita 
 
 He attempted as best he could to carry on a sweet 
 and cheerful conversation with Viola. He had led 
 her back to her seat on the divan, where she now 
 reclined radiant with beauty and happiness. Her joy 
 and her confidence in that future blissful state which 
 she believed to be just ahead of them, mocked and 
 stung him like an adder. "God!" he thought, "what 
 can I do 1 ? How can I break to her this terrible dis- 
 closure 1 ?" He was unusually tender to her. and his 
 great love seemed to have multiplied itself tenfold, 
 if that were possible. He fain would caress her most 
 tenderly, but each time he essayed to do so there 
 seemed to come in between them the pale, emaciated 
 form and face of the abandoned wife, whom he had 
 buried between the walls of an insane asylum. This 
 spectre would not down, and kept saying to him : 
 "Tell her! You must, you Sihall tell her, and break 
 her heart !" 
 
 Finally, forcing a great sigh from his breast, and 
 quietly brushing a tear from his eye, he said : 
 
 "Viola, my darling, you remember last September 
 when we staked everything on the joy of our love, 
 I told you that I had a plan outside of marriage in 
 case 
 
 "Oh, my dear Henry," she interrupted, "that was 
 mentioned then because my guardian had not given 
 his consent to our marriage. Why, there is no use 
 to even think of that now, when there is nothing to 
 separate us." 
 
 She said this so innocently, and in such a matter-
 
 The Denouement 149 
 
 of-fact way, as though of course it was true, that it 
 smote him to the heart. 
 
 "But, dear Viola, suppose there were something 
 to still keep us apart?" 
 
 "Oh, Henry, don't speak of such an impossible 
 thing." 
 
 "Yes, Viola, my darling, there are circumstances 
 beyond my control which prevent the marriage taking 
 place now or at any time soon." 
 
 "At any time soon!" she exclaimed, rising from 
 the divan and seating herself in a chair, her whole 
 body agitated, and her eyes now filling with tears. 
 
 "Yes, it is just that way, my dear. Oh, Viola, 
 Viola, do not hate me! I cannot help it!" 
 
 "It must be some time soon or never it must be!" 
 she exclaimed, vehemently, looking Sir Henry full in 
 the eye. She then added : "Were these circum- 
 stances, which you say are beyond your control, 
 in existence last September when you made the oath 
 to marry me?" 
 
 "Yes, partially so. Viola, but I had every reason 
 to believe they would be fully removed before there 
 would be any occasion for our marriage. In this" I 
 have been disappointed, and the disappointment has 
 come too late to allow me time to remove the trouble. 
 There is but one thing to do, and I have devised that 
 plan to be put into effect in case I cannot marry you 
 you in time. It will protect you, Viola, even if it 
 does not win back your love to me." 
 
 "I will consent to nothing until you first inform, 
 me fully of the circumstances."
 
 150 Miss Incognita 
 
 "But wait a minute, Viola. You said last Sep- 
 tember that if my plan which, I told you, I even then 
 had in mind, would not be acceptable to you, if I 
 could not satisfy you of its feasibility, then in that 
 case I would marry you. Now you might like my 
 plan better than our marriage." 
 
 "But I reserved the right to act and choose, ac- 
 cording to the dictates of my love, and you swore you 
 would abide by my decision and act accordingly. I 
 cannot even now decide on your plan, until I know 
 what it is that prevents you from marrying me." 
 
 "Then, if there is no other alternative, Viola, I 
 must tell you : / have a living wife." 
 
 Like as when a bird sailing in the buoyant air, 
 with outstretched wings, plumage and peth of feath- 
 ers filled with the spirit of the wind, is suddenly 
 pierced by the deadly lead of the huntsman's fowling 
 piece, and falls zigzag to the earth, limp and lifeless 
 with wings folded and plumage ruffled and stained 
 with blood, even so did the pierced and bleeding heart 
 of Viola sink to the depths within her when this 
 deadly shot of this cruel huntsman of hearts entered 
 her bosom. 
 
 As soon as Sir Henry said it, he saw that he had 
 wounded her, perhaps unto death. He knew that her 
 love was dead, beyond resurrection. 
 
 She was instantly frantic, yet helpless. She 
 wanted to cry aloud in the depths of her misery, 
 but her throat was dry and choked. Several minutes 
 elapsed before she said a word, and during this time 
 she sat with her eyes closed, her head thrown back on
 
 The Denouement 151 
 
 the top of the chair and her hands hanging down 
 by her side. 
 
 "So you were already married and deceived me, 
 and perjured yourself by swearing to do an impossible 
 thing! Pray tell me who and where my companion, 
 in misery is." 
 
 "She is in an American insane asylum." 
 
 "Would God I could exchange places with her!" 
 
 Then she was silent, sitting with her eyes still 
 
 closed, and her wonderful heart scarcely fluttering 
 
 in the cage of her breast. Sir Henry paced the 
 
 floor, for he was astonished at the terrible effect this 
 
 revelation seemed to have bd on her. Then he said : 
 
 "I would have told you all, but she was frail in 
 
 body and wrecked in health, and I had no doubt but 
 
 that ere this she would have been laid in her grave. 
 
 Ami Viola, I loved you so, I feared " 
 
 "Since I know what I now know, I would envy her 
 even there." 
 
 "You must not despair and be so cast down, Viola, 
 I think my plan will obviate all trouble, and finally 
 save us." 
 
 "It cannot undo the fact that you falsely wooed 
 me, when you had a living wife, and had me uncon- 
 sciously to wager my virtue, and the honor and 
 lineage of my unborn child on the hazard of her 
 death. Did you not know that death never comes 
 when prayed for, but selects his subjects unawares 1 ? 
 Unless your plan suits me, I shall lay this whole 
 matter open to my guardian, and he shall call you 
 to account. You may proceed."
 
 152 Miss Incognita 
 
 Lord Eroalove now sealed his heart to all emo- 
 tions, believing that it would do him no further good 
 to display his feelings, and proceeded to unfold his 
 plans. 
 
 ""Well, my plan is 'to continue this experiment out 
 of marriage until it is possible to turn it into mar- 
 riage, if such should be your desire in the future. To 
 do this without hurt or injury to you in any way, 
 I have decided upon the following arrangement : 
 Located seven hundred miles from the city of New 
 York in the Atlantic is one of the Bermuda Islands, 
 containing a tract of two thousand acres which be- 
 longs to the Eroslove estate. Its sole occupants are 
 a family of negroes and an old Egyptian. Upon it is 
 a neat cottage, built of white coral stone, which looks 
 like a miniature palace of frosted ice. Your guardian 
 and your friends know that your health has not been 
 vigorous for several months. I, as a physician for 
 they all know of my skill in that profession and as 
 a friend of the family, will advise the sea and this 
 warm, bakny climate. I will offer* to go with you 
 as your physician, and the Countess will go as your 
 chaperone. The Count and Countess have already 
 signified their willingness, and approve heartily of 
 our plan. No one has yet suspected anything, ex- 
 cept that your health is impaired. We will sail 
 within a fortnight. I will keep up my correspondence 
 with my agent in America, and should the demented 
 lady accommodate me by dying in the meantime, I 
 will marry you, should this be your desire. We will 
 remain in Bermuda for a year it will be understood
 
 The Denouement 153 
 
 that a year will be required to restore you. The 
 Count and Countess can certify to our marriage 
 having taken place in due time after our departure 
 from London, for the birth of the child." 
 
 "But suppose the poor, demented lady should 
 not see fit to accommodate you?" asked Viola, choking 
 with sobs and anger. 
 
 "Suppose I see to it that she does'? But if this 
 is impossible, then I shall continue the experiment 
 out of marriage, by relieving you of the child, put- 
 ting it where neither of us will ever hear of it again, 
 after having arranged for its fortune and mainten- 
 ance. My part in this affair -would require me to do 
 this. Then you will return home restored to health 
 and to your friends." 
 
 "To be frank with you, Henry Eroslove, I will 
 say, had this been the child of -unperjured love, I, as 
 its consenting mother, would never accede to your 
 plan, but would press this token of our rash, im- 
 petuous love to my bosom, a-nd face the world. But 
 since you got it -by perjured love, and, no doubt, gave 
 it your blood of rank deception and dishonor, I will 
 not own it, even were it possible to save its outward 
 honor by marriage with you. Wherefore, I am in 
 your hands until delivered of it."
 
 1 54 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A MIRACLE IN THE SEA. 
 
 IT was known in all the high circles of London 
 that Sir Henry had a thorough knowledge cf medi- 
 cine, and had practiced this profession for some 
 years before the death of his elder brother. This 
 fact, connected with th-at of the long intimacy and 
 friendship of his father and Lord Hanover, removed 
 all suspicion as to the real cause of Sir Henry's go- 
 ing with Miss Viola as her medical adviser. The Earl 
 of Littlefield encouraged them to be together as much 
 as possible, hoping to bring about the marriage which 
 he so much desired to take place, so he made no ob- 
 jection whatever to the proposed journey, bu,t really 
 advised it. 
 
 When the "Ulia" touched at the Bermudas some 
 days thereafter, landing there in the night, four per- 
 sons stepped from the ship in-to a small yacht, and 
 soon landed '.at the island known as the ''Eroslove 
 Plantation." 
 
 A more delightful retreat could not have been 
 found anywhere than the "Eroslove Island" for the 
 quiet and secret cure of the sick lady's malady. The 
 cottage nestled in the heart of an unbroken cedar 
 forest of one hundred acres. 
 
 An old Egyptian inhabited a little house in the 
 rear of the cottage grounds, where he* had lived for
 
 A Miracle in the Sea 1 55 
 
 years, to take care of the pla,ce. He was known as 
 "Gymip the Conjurer." 
 
 He had a little bateau with which he rowed him- 
 self to the other islands where he made his living by 
 using his arts on the ignorant black population. His 
 arts were to cure diseases by some strange power 
 he had, to drive away spells by the use of charms 
 w'hich he sold, to tell -fortunes, and to tattoo the 
 bodies of all who desired it with quaint animals or 
 figures or sacred words of the Egyptian tongue, 
 which always kept away bad luck and evil spirits. 
 He was thin and wiry, and so much bent that he 
 walked with a long stick, which he grasped in the 
 middle, the upper part extending a foot above his 
 head, and whittled to represent the head of the sacred 
 Egyptian crocodile. He used this stick when making 
 his incantations by waving it weirdly up and down, 
 at the same time uttering a low monotonous chant. 
 His copper-colored skin was parched and wrinkled. 
 His small eves were yellow as saffron and almost 
 hidden by his white, overhanging, busy eyebrows. His 
 head was covered by long, unkempt, white hair, which 
 always waved with the wind like a iattered flag in 
 the air. He wore no hat or other covering on his 
 head. He had associated with the negroes on the 
 islands so much that, in attempting to speak English 
 he used their broken brogue. 
 
 We get some idea who he is by a conversation 
 which took place between him and Lord Eroslove a 
 few days after the arrival of the party. Lord Eros- 
 love called one night to see him in his cabin.
 
 156 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Well, Gymp, I see you have not forgotten me." 
 
 "No, master; I would er knowed yer anywhar by 
 de eye and de chin. I recollects well de night when 
 you and your father brought me heah, and I taught 
 you how to bring on de 'sleep of Isis.' " 
 
 "Yes, Gymip, yes; birt don't you call me master 
 you are uny master. You are wise Gymp, wise above 
 many men, who are called great. What you taught 
 me in secret and under oath will one day become one 
 of the wonders, and then one of the sciences of the 
 world." 
 
 "Let me ask you, Master Henry, if you have kep' 
 de oaith you tuk, ter keep de secrets I taught you, 
 and ter use dem only fur goad and not fur evil. 
 From some things I hab seen since you come heah I 
 feah " 
 
 "Now, Gymp, don't get suspicious, an'd lose con- 
 fidence in me. You know our eyes often deceive us. 
 The lady here with me is a patient of mine with 
 whom I am traveling 
 
 "Yes but, Sir Henry, who gave dis lady de 
 malady V 
 
 "In the order of nature, Gymp, people get sick, 
 and 
 
 "Be sure, Sir Henry, if you haf broken de oath, 
 you will die by the power, the awful power, ob dis 
 art." 
 
 "Tut, tut, Gymp, I am not afraid. Have you 
 learned anything new about it, which I ought to 
 know ?" 
 
 "No nothing dat you ought ter know 'but
 
 A Miracle in the Sea 157 
 
 I say beware, beware, I see de future beware!" 
 replied the old Egyptian, shaking his shaggy head, 
 muttering to himself, and walking abruptly and slow- 
 ly away, leaving Lord Eroslove alone in his cabin. 
 
 Some years before the death of Lord Eroslove, the 
 father of Sir Henry, he was traveling in Egypt, 
 and Sir Henry was with him. There they met Gymp, 
 and persuaded him to travel with them as a guide. 
 They liked him so much that they persuaded him to 
 come with them to live on this island, and take care 
 of it. While together at that time. Sir Henry had 
 learned from Gymp those secrets which he had used 
 under the name of "Vibrations," and which he had 
 employed as we have seen in this narrative. No 
 doubt Gymp had learned these truths in Egypt, 
 where they had been known and practiced for cen- 
 turies, long before the time when Mesmer first in- 
 troduced them in Europe and Dr. Braid in England. 
 
 On another part of the island was a cleared field 
 in cultivation, and here in a two-room stone hurt lived 
 a colored family who tilled the soil about the house. 
 
 The little island was almost at all times made the 
 toy of the breezes from the sea, and bet/ween the whis- 
 pered murmurings of the cedars rocking to and fro, 
 and the low moaning of the ocean, it seemed to serve 
 the purpose of a basso key of some gigantic organ. 
 
 This whispering of the cedars and this moaning 
 of the sea was incessant. And when the tide came 
 in and the tumultuous water flayed its great serpen- 
 tine body against the sprigs and turrets and sharp 
 knives of the coral reef (which guarded the island
 
 158 Miss Incognita 
 
 like an embattled wall rising out of the hostile waves) 
 the low moan of the once placid sea would be changed 
 inlto the fierce fury and resounding din of a mighty 
 battle, as though the angry giant of the ocean was 
 ben-t on reclaiming its lost estate, and was seeking to 
 destroy the little white intruder who had so rashly 
 trespassed on its domain. 
 
 Now and then storms came, alnd mad wfinde 
 wreaked their vengeful wrath upon the little island, 
 and dark clouds arose, which, sinking their black 
 base into the sea, sucked up the lower waters into 
 the misty air, and then poured their liquid fury upon 
 the little coral trespasser, meanwhile piercing it with 
 the lightning's keen cimeter and bomlbarding it with 
 the artillery of the thunders. The war of the ele- 
 ments would be followed by the tranquility of peace, 
 when the benign sun would bless the island with its 
 glow of glory, and fill the soil with a wealth of energy 
 and heat, and the white sand and the coral rocks 
 would sparkle with joy. Then the seeds would come 
 out of their hiding place, and the flowers would lift 
 up their heads and smile at the sky. 
 
 Thus, between sunshine and shadow, between 
 storm and calm, between tide and ebb, without as 
 well as within themselves, the four visitors to the 
 island spen't their time for the next year. Sir Henry 
 had little eanoes and a small fishing smack made, 
 and during a part of each fair and quiet day they 
 rowed aJbout and fished in the winding channels 
 meandering among the reefy forests. Sometimes the 
 party would all go together, and at such times the
 
 A Miracle in the Sea 159 
 
 vivacious nature and chatter of the Count and Coun- 
 tess evoked merriment and laughter. On other days 
 Sir Henry would beg Viola until she would go alone 
 with him. He had for her a soft cushioned seat 
 with a back to it in a light canoe. She would sit and 
 gaze into the water or away off into the dim, hazy 
 distance aibove the waves, as though she was attempt- 
 ing to find out the veiled secrets of the future, while 
 he would row the canoe, gazing meanwhile into her 
 face as if he were trying to fathom the secrets of 
 her mind and heart. 
 
 When Sir Henry and Viola were together they 
 talked but little. Before he had deceived her, or 
 rather, before she discovered how he had perjured 
 himself in order .to enjoy, and then ruin, her they 
 were like two birds making each other merry ir the 
 springtime. Now all this was changed. . An air of 
 solitude surrounded her and he saw her as from afar 
 off. He often tried to get close to her and somewhat 
 renew old loves and ties, but as he approached, she, 
 like a mirage, sank further and further away. She 
 bore the weight of her impending catastrophe with 
 such fortitude that his admiration of her strength 
 and courage of mind and heart- was more and more 
 excited. 
 
 She would punish him by showing him how she 
 could bear the reverses of love, even when it had been 
 rendered accursed by his perjured ignominy. Oh, 
 how he suffered, when he thought of her former deep, 
 tender love for him, which he had destroyed, and
 
 160 Miss Incognita 
 
 which he feared and believed she had buried forever 
 out of his sight. 
 
 Day by day the gloomy depths of her quiet eyes 
 haunted him and reproved him. Her silent tongue, 
 which seldom spoke to him, lashed him with worse 
 castigations than the scolding tongue of a mad, slan- 
 derous shrew. 
 
 Thus the weeks sped by she in quiet dignity 
 awaiting the day of her deliverance; he, goaded by 
 remorse, reflecting on his past abuse of love, and 
 racking his brain to find ways to make future amends- 
 
 Hence he grew kinder and more tender to her, 
 but she changed not. As a bird learns to pit or flit 
 quietly in its cage, without beating its head against 
 the wire, so she seemed to have learned to 'endure 
 him. He would open the door and attempt to coax 
 her out, to flit with him again in the realm of their 
 old affections, but she noticed him not. He worked 
 on her feelings, in quiet way, and had the Countess 
 intercede for him, but all to no avail. 
 
 Finally he felt that he could endure it no longer. 
 So one day in the month of July he begged her to 
 walk with him under the cool cedars to a lovely re- 
 treat near the beach a short distance from the cot- 
 tage. The location where they stopped would have 
 made a delightful trysting place for the most ardent 
 of lovers. 
 
 Here he pleaded his love and attempted to draw 
 her into a conversation, but she remained listless, 
 gazing out over the distant expanse of the sea. 
 
 He took her soft hand in his. She drew it from
 
 A Miracle in the Sea 161 
 
 him. He seized it again and kissed it several times 
 in quick succession, and then let it fall; when he had 
 done this lie said in a low, earnest tone: 
 
 "Viola, I beg you to forgive the wrong I have 
 done you. I have been \vicked and selfish. Oh, 
 Viola, forgive and love me!" 
 
 "Sir Henry, forgiveness does not remove such 
 wrong. I never forgive until the wrong has been 
 undone and removed. Forgiveness otherwise were 
 but a hollow mockery of justice. Nature does not 
 forgive, but carries out in all cases her inexorable 
 sentence. My case is one instructive illustration." 
 
 "Viola, you must forgive and love me. I have 
 loved you more for the past two months than even 
 in the honeymoon of our passion." 
 
 "Sir Henry, I can neither love nor forgive you ! 
 When I am delivered of you and yours, you shall 
 be to me but a stranger. I could forgive many 
 wrongs, perhaps, 'but when my trusted lover once 
 assassinates my love, taking advantage of his own 
 dark night of falsehood to do it, I can never do other- 
 wise than abhor him as he deserves." 
 
 He continued to press his unavailing suit until 
 
 one day, in August, the Countess called 
 him and the Count aside, and in a low, excited man- 
 ner said something to' them. Sir Henry sent the 
 Count hurridly away on an errand, and he went 
 within the cottage, the Countess following him. Very 
 soon a physician from an adjoining island came and 
 was shown into the cottage. 
 
 The next -day at noou when the Count returned
 
 162 Miss Incognita 
 
 from the main island where he had spent the night, 
 Sir Henry met him down in the cedar grove. The 
 Count noticed that his face looked pale and exhausted 
 but his eyes were beaming. The Count spoke first, 
 saying: 
 
 "Viat ees eet, Zir Heenryf 
 
 "We arel-ix on the island now, Count. There 
 are two of them ! The finest boy and girl you ever 
 saw in your life." 
 
 "Mine Got ! you speak a joke!" 
 
 "As true, Count, as one and one are two." 
 
 "You look zat proud, Zir Heenry, az eef you 
 been dere fader!" 
 
 "I feel so, Count; and in the face of these two 
 magnificent facts, I don't deny my responsibility." 
 
 "How ees ze muther?" 
 
 Physically, doing 1 well, otherwise in the depths 
 of melancholy. You are a good errand boy, Count; 
 the doctor and the nurses arrived in good tin?", and 
 are very satisfactory." 
 
 "Zat ees good. I rejoice over eet." 
 
 It is 'one of the great facts in nature that, when 
 a man for the first time realizes that he occupies the 
 proud (position and wears the exalted title, of father, 
 he feels a thrill of grandeur swelling up within him 
 that almost lifts him off his feet; and if it does not 
 cause actual leviation, it at least increases the hap- 
 py man's statue several inches. Sir Henry's was in- 
 creased by two inches at a minimum. The fact of 
 fatherhood does more. It makes a true man feel 
 more important in the order of nature than ever be-
 
 A Miracle in the Sea 163 
 
 fore. He realizes the sublime sentiment that he is 
 a creator, a co-worker with the great Creative Cause 
 in nature. For the act of love is the only one in 
 the domain of man's power which the Creator en- 
 dows with His own creative force. 
 
 The father for the first time feels a tenderness in 
 his heart for all creatures, which he never experienced 
 before. He fondles a little tot, wihich previously he 
 would have almost kicked out of his way. He almost 
 worships little wondering eyes and chubby cheeks 
 and condescends to kiss and caress a little child. 
 
 He experiences an adoration and respect for wom- 
 an which he never thought possible before. To con- 
 jugal love he links much of the holy sentiment he 
 used to feel for his own mother. Woman, who must 
 enact the sad, though wonderful, drama and tragedy 
 of birth to perform which she must go down alone 
 into "the valley of the shadow of death" ought to 
 be almost deified by every man who has a heart within 
 him as big as the rim of a thimble. 
 
 So from the day Sir Henry realized he had become 
 a father, he was a changed man. For the time, life 
 took on a different perspective to him. One of the 
 results was he began to love Viola more deeply and 
 sacredly than ever, if that were possible. He had 
 seen her look death in the face for twenty-four hours, 
 with a calm, uncomplaining fortitude that would have 
 put to shame the courage of the bravest of the Spar- 
 tans; and he realized she had been compelled to do 
 this as the result of her wealth of love for him 
 and of his deception!
 
 164 Miss Incognita 
 
 How indulgent and true she had been to him, and 
 how false he had been to her! He would make all 
 amends, he would win back her love, he 'would make 
 her happy with him and their children ! Then he 
 would think of that awful impossibility that stood 
 everlastingly in his way ! That pale, spectral, invalid 
 woman holding onto her life between the walls of an 
 insane asylum ! "Oh, Heaven ! My children ! My 
 children ! Would God their mother were my wife ! 
 Why doth the accursed law of man decree against 
 love !" he would cry out in his agony of heart. Then 
 must he lose her and the beautiful children with 
 which she had blessed him ! Must he give up his chil- 
 dren, this sure perpetuation of his father's house and 
 of his title? Why doesn't Swindle give him some 
 later news? He could arrange all even now, if 
 Swindle would only write him three words: "She is 
 dead." 
 
 In his desperation he wrote to him, asking, "Is 
 she dead?" and Swindle answered back: "She is not 
 dead tout no better." For weeks he endured the 
 misery of his suspense. 
 
 Finally, one day, an overpowering spirit of rash 
 and cruel determination seemed to seize him. He 
 wrote Swindle a letter which no one saw but himself, 
 and mailed it by the first steamer. Three weeks from 
 that time he came, excited and trembling with ap- 
 parent joy, to the side of Viola, who was sitting in a 
 reclining chair on the veranda. As he came he called 
 the Count and Countess to him with a joyful voice. 
 He had a letter in his hand which he read to them
 
 A Miracle in the Sea 165 
 
 with all the feeling of his strange nature. It was as 
 follows : 
 
 "CHICAGO, ILL., U. S. A. 
 
 "November 12, 1872. 
 
 "SiR HENRY: I am happy to announce to you 
 the fact that the demented lady died yesterday. I 
 enclose you a clipping concerning her death from the 
 Tribune. I saw her remains and it was she. Send 
 me $500. 
 
 "DR. SWIHDLE." 
 
 He looked at Viola as though he expected to re- 
 ceive her in his arms. To his astonishment she 
 turned her face from him saying: 
 
 "Poor woman! I would I could exchange places 
 with her!"
 
 166 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE END OF AN EXPERIMENT. 
 
 THE manner of reception by Viola of the news 
 of the demented lady's death was a blow to the plans 
 and hopes of Sir Henry. He had conceived the idea 
 that it would open the -way for her complete recon- 
 ciliation to him. In his great yearning for her love 
 he did not look further as to the consequences of 
 such a marriage. Since the children came, she had 
 shown no affection for them, much less the father. 
 She looked upon them as the living evidence of the 
 wrong that had been done her as so much of her 
 life that had been filched from her by the perjured 
 knavery and dishonor of their father. The fuel of 
 love for him had been exhausted. If any flame ever- 
 more burns for him in that heart, it becomes an un- 
 quenchable fire of hate. An amiable or weak woman, 
 who has a slovenly temperament and sluggish nature, 
 whose iblood is inclined to clot instead of sparkle, 
 whose veins are like muddy streams instead of leap- 
 ing, crystal cataracts, such a woman may resacrifice 
 her bruised heart when it has once been dishonored 
 rbut all women are not capable of .making such a 
 sacrifice. Love in the heart is like conviction in the 
 raind; it cannot be arbitrarily forced, but comes as 
 tha result of established la"ws in our natures. A so- 
 called fact disproven cannot be relied upon any more.
 
 The End of an Experiment 167 
 
 So a woman's love, one dishonored and cast away, 
 can seldom be again awakened for its ruthless de- 
 stroyer. Some sort of sentiment must occupy tihe 
 heart for every one we know; and when the delicate 
 sentiment of love for one has been destroyed, the 
 sentiment of hate is more than apt to >take its place 
 for the heart, like nature, abhors a vacuum. 
 
 So Viola could not, if she would, have loved Sir 
 Henry any more, because it would have been con- 
 trary to her nature. 
 
 This feeling of repugnance passed from the father 
 to the children. She realized she could not take 
 the children without him. She associated them -with 
 him and looked upon them as the result of bis false- 
 hood and dishonor. To have loved them would have 
 been to have loved him. To em'brace either was to 
 embrace both. To take the children without him 
 meant that she must be forever the scapegoat of 
 his sin, as well as of her own. In addition to having 
 been the victim of her perjured passion, must she 
 now everlastingly sacrifice herself as his accursed 
 scapegoat ? 
 
 His constant daily attention to her convinced her 
 that though she had repulsed him, she had not van- 
 quished him. Notwithstanding the crushing repulse 
 she had given him when he 'had announced the insane 
 wife's death, he yet continued to renew his attacks. 
 
 The Countess did all she could for him as an in- 
 tercessor; she drew beautiful pictures for Viola of 
 their happy life in the Eroslove Mansion, and how 
 she would learn to love and enjoy the children, and
 
 168 Miss Incognita 
 
 how Sir Henry would grow more and more tender to 
 her. She depicited how the house of Eroslove, con- 
 joined with the house of Hanover, would make a 
 powerful line, and she would share in its increased 
 glory and her children would be the recipients of it. 
 But Viola's heart was as immovable and irresponsive 
 as a magnet which had lost its etheric life. 
 
 For some time she has ceased to see the children, 
 and they had been sent away and were in charge of 
 the old negress, Aunt Jane, down at the negro house 
 in the clearing. 
 
 Viola's health was now restored, and she began 
 to get impatient to leave the uncongenial prison 
 where she had been so long, and to return to London. 
 Her old strength and vivacity of feeling had re- 
 turned, and she wanted to be where she could enjoy 
 life again. Sir Henry saw also that her fonner lus- 
 cious beauty had returned, but with a renewed color- 
 ing and texture that rendered her more luxurious 
 in her appearance than she had ever been. She was 
 now endowed with that rare style of beauty which 
 accompanies and is the result of some experience in 
 love's suffering as well as in its joys. 
 
 When Sir Henry first knew Viola she was as 
 the rosebud, whose gentle, blushing life had never 
 been opened to another's sun. 
 
 She had opened alone to the wooing warmth of 
 his love; she had unfolded the white robe of her 
 beauty for him alone. Having found her the imma- 
 ture bud, he 'had developed her into the more fra- 
 grant form of physical loveliness, yet, in so doing,
 
 The End of an Experiment 1 69 
 
 he had so bruised her heart that she turned against 
 him. He would win her again ! The wooing of 
 Juliet hy Romeo was tame in comparison with hia 
 wooing of Viola. 
 
 But she remained cold and repulsive its her de- 
 meanor toward him. One day he threatened fci> put 
 an end to his life if she did not relent toward Mm 
 To which she replied : 
 
 "Then there will be more room in the world lor 
 me." 
 
 One day he said to her: "Viola, my love, my 
 angel, what is there to separate us 1 ? She who was 
 the cause of my perjury has been removed. Let us 
 forgive, forget and love again." 
 
 "If you would forswear yourself in one instance 
 to deceive me, you would do it again. I will not 
 trust your oath again. The lady may not be dead." 
 
 "Yes, but, Viola, here is the Tribune's account of 
 her death." 
 
 "Ah, sir, they come cheap." 
 
 Here is the statement of my agent, Dr. Swindle." 
 
 "That may be, sir, but you know knaves general- 
 ly employ knaves as agents to carry out their pur- 
 poses." 
 
 Finally in a fit of desperation he went to the cabin 
 of the old Egyptian. Finding him alone, he sat 
 down on a wooden bench, and fixing his eyes on 
 Gymp's saffron orbs, said to him : 
 
 "Gymp, I am in trouble, and I have come to get 
 you to help me out." 
 
 "How is dat, Marster Henry, dat you kin be er-
 
 170 Miss Incognita 
 
 habing trouble when you nab two such fine children 1 ?" 
 
 "Well, it's a'bout them and their mother; she is 
 angry with me and will not do as I wish her. I 
 must get you to help me bend her to my will. You 
 can do it if you will." 
 
 "Yah, what could I do, Marster Henry, to ben' 
 sweet Missus ter yer will 1 ? I don't know that she 
 ought ter ben' ter your will." 
 
 "Then, Gymp, I will tell you why I think she 
 ought." And he proceeded to tell Gymip about what 
 he wanted Viola to do, and of her course of action 
 toward him, and of what an awful predicament she 
 left' him and the children in, and closed by paying: 
 
 "I have wooed her; I have pleaded with her; I 
 have prayed to her; but all to no purpose. Now, 
 Gymp, you know what to do to put her into that 
 sleep, when she can be led to do as I wish. Oh, if I 
 had my vibratoners! But those I left behind me, 
 and I am helpless to assert my influence the first 
 time without them ; but I know that you, the master, 
 who taught me all I know, can, if you will, place her 
 in my power, and that without the vibratoners." 
 
 "What cause you, Marster Henry, ter think I can 
 for one minute ben' de young Missus ter your will?" 
 
 "Why, Gymp, have I not seen you in Egypt, 
 without the use of any vibratoners, cause people at 
 any time and anywhere to go into the 'sleep of Isis"? 
 Have I not seen you thus cause men to do as you 
 wished? Have I not seen you cause men to pass inlo 
 the very jaws and similitude of death itself, when life 
 seemed gone from them, and then quickly come to life
 
 The End of an Experiment 171 
 
 again at your call? Have I not seen these things and 
 a thousand more, and yet you say you can't bend a 
 weak woman to my will! If you will not do it teach 
 me more of your art, so that I can do as I wish in 
 this matter. Oh, if I had my vibratoners, and could 
 have her fix her eyes on their brilliance for a moment 
 I would not have to beg you. But you need them not. 
 You are the master. Pray help me, and do as I say !" 
 
 "Marster Henry, you seem like you want ter flat- 
 ter old Gymp evbout what he has done, and make 
 'im proud and want to do as yon wish 'im ter do 
 and all dat. But in all dese things old Gymp ain't 
 never done no evil wid his power, but always good.- 
 And I want ter tell you, I would do most anything 
 for you 'but dis what you want. And bad as hit 
 hurts me, I will haf ter tell you again you has broke 
 your oath, an' I would not fer my old life tell you 
 any .mo' 'bout dis power. You know de young Mis- 
 sus ain't done no wrong, and how is old Gymp gwine 
 ter 'pose on her his power 1 ?" 
 
 "But, Gymp, I say you must and shall," answer- 
 ed Sir Henry in a desperate tone. "I cannot and will 
 not submit to your refusal. You must remember, old 
 man, that you are in my power, and must do as I 
 command. I tell you I have not violated the oath 
 I gave you when you first taught me about your art, 
 and you have no way of knowing or proving that I 
 have." 
 
 As soon as this speech of Sir Henry's was fin- 
 ished, he saw Gymp, without making any reply to 
 him, take a crystal ball * about the size of an apple
 
 172 Miss Incognita 
 
 from his pocket, gaze into it, then commence mut- 
 tering as though talking to himself : 
 
 "Yeah, I will see ! I will see !" As he gazed in 
 the crystal ball he seemed to be lost as in a reverie 
 or trance, and completely unmindful of everything 
 a'bout him. His fa,ce had a strange set, far-aiway 
 look on it his eyes were fixed as in a state of cata- 
 lepsy. He continued talking to himself : "Yeah. 
 Dere is de big city: Dere is de street and de house. 
 De very house where he lived. I see de name Dr. 
 Dumas now I see him bress my soul, Dr. Dumas is 
 Marster Henry ! I see him. Den here is his room 
 aha, I see his vibratoners now I see a young lady 
 in de room wid de vibratoners I see her wat her 
 name 1 ? Wait hit will come. Here, here 'tis Eidola 
 Hand Mande v-i-1-l-e. Yeah, dat's her name. Now 
 I see Marster Henry Dr. Dumas, he's de same set 
 her down on de lounge and her eyes look up at de 
 vibratoners now he take her in his arms. Yeh, I 
 see hit all now. Oh, Marster Henry, Marster Hen- 
 ry! And yit you say you ain't broke your oath 'bout 
 de use ob dis power fer evil ! Wait, I see de mar- 
 riage I see hit all. Master Henry she's your wife. 
 Yeah, yeah, and I see her, and she still living, yeah, 
 living in a big house wid lots of folks erbout her 
 still living!" 
 
 *Any reader desiring to know something of the wonders 
 accomplished by certain people in "crystal gazing" will 
 please see accounts of the making of the remarkable ex- 
 periments recorded in "The Proceedings of the Society for 
 Psychical Research," of London, England.
 
 The End of an Experiment 1 73 
 
 At this point Lord Eroslove cried out: "What! 
 Gymp, still living! Is she still living? Where is 
 she? Tell me all about her? Does she look like 
 she will die soon?" 
 
 Gym,p went on talking to himself, as though he did 
 not hear these exclamations : "Yeah, she is living, 
 and yet Marster -Henry want me ter ben' de udder 
 young Missus ter marry him too, and he say he ain't 
 never broke his oath. La, la, la, Marster Henry, you 
 is ruined, and yo has ruined bof de young Missuses, 
 and one on 'em gwine ter ruin you ter de death! 
 Yeah, I see hit all Marster Henry. Why did you 
 do hit? Why do all dis, and den say you gwine ter 
 
 force old Gymp ter ben' dis young liissus " and 
 
 for the first time Gymp raised his eyes to look into 
 the face of Lord Eroslove tout he was gone. He had 
 left in consternation and dismay, and we next see 
 him standing by Viola, as she says to him: 
 
 "The 'Ulia' touches here next week on her way 
 to England. Make your plans to accompany me 
 home on her, or I shall go alone." 
 
 "But what shall we do with the children ?" 
 
 T leave their disposition to the one who laid 
 himself out in perjury and dishonor to get them. 
 You said you had a plan, and that in case of de- 
 fault in our marriage, you would carry on 'your 
 experiment out of marriage,' did you not?" 
 
 <{ Yes, those were my words, and if I must, then 
 I can." 
 
 That same afternoon Sir Henry sent the follow-
 
 1 74 iVliss Incognita 
 
 ing message by a passenger steamer bound for New 
 York: 
 
 "STEELE A. FORTUNE, Attorney, 
 
 "220V2 Wall Street, New York, U. S. A., 
 "Come at once to Eroslove Island, Bermuda 
 
 group, on first steamer, 'Ulia.' 
 
 "LORD EROSLOVE." 
 
 The next day he called the count and they wem 
 out again to Gymp's cabin. As they walked out 
 Lord Eroslove said : 
 
 "Well, Count, the jig is up with me. I have lost 
 her." 
 
 "Who? De leetle baby geerlf 
 
 "No; that beautiful mother of the baby girl." 
 
 "Don't she niarry you seence de other lady's 
 death?" 
 
 "No. She accuses me of deceiving her on this 
 point." 
 
 "Eend sheh won't haf you none ett all, deen?" 
 
 "That's it and it's no use prolonging my suit. 
 She informed me yesterday that she intended to sail 
 for London on the HJlia' next week, and that I 
 must dispose of those children if, I desire to fol- 
 low her. Oh, Count, I ha.ve lost her forever." 
 
 "But vat are you going to do vid deem ehel- 
 dreen f 
 
 "You will see. I shall continue my experiment 
 out of marriage with them. I shall send them forth 
 in the world, and see what their blood will make of 
 them."
 
 The tLnd of an Experiment 1 75 
 
 T Vith the loss of his hope of love Sir Henry 
 seemed to have lost his heart and become cruel. 
 This is often the case with men of strong impulses 
 and passions. Any one could see from the dark- 
 ness of the cloud upon his brow and the size of the 
 dimple in his chin, that he had made up his mind- 
 to carry out some plan which to a tender nature 
 would be cruel and shocking in the extreme. 
 
 For the same reason that Viola had turned against 
 him and the children he had now turned against her 
 and the children. 
 
 She would not have them and he would not 
 have them, and between the two the children were 
 now forced to be the innocent objects of a cruel 
 experiment. Without the mother they could not be 
 his legal heirs, and so would fail to accomplishh 
 the purpose he so much desired. Hence he would 
 get rid of them, and as soon as he reached Lon- 
 don he would also be rid of the mother. 
 
 He and the Count had now reached the cabin 
 f "Gymp the Conjurer." The room was festooned 
 with skins and stuffed reptiles of all sorts and de- 
 scriptions. The walls Avere decorated with bones 
 and skulls. In the sockets of the skulls he kept 
 various kinds of charms and amulets. 
 
 "Gymp," said Sir Henry, "are you in?" at the 
 same time opening the door. 
 
 "Yes, sir, and as you come in may de charm 
 above your head protec' you," said the old Egyp- 
 tian, in a weird, broken, hollow voice.
 
 176 r/fiss Incognita 
 
 "Thank you. Gymp, I want you to go with me. 
 Can you go at once 1 ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, ef de evil sperit do not curse me." 
 "Have you your fluid and needles for tattooing 1 ?" 
 "Yes, sir, 'but I must hold it over de flame ob 
 .de burnin' serpen's tail." 
 "Well, get ready, Gym-p." 
 
 He went to the body of a small rmimmy croco- 
 dile filled with some kind of liquid, and out of that 
 he took an object that looked like the tail of a 
 green snake. This he put in the socket of a skull, 
 so that it projected from the socket and stood partly 
 upright. He then went to the wall and took down 
 a green-looking hollow bone filled with some fluid. 
 He got a light from the fire, which glimmered low 
 in the center of the room, and ignited the tail of 
 the snake, which emitted a green flame having a 
 strong odor. Over this he held the hollow bone 
 containing the fluid until the fluid was so hot that 
 it sent up a vapor. Then nodding his white bushy 
 head up and down, he said: "So! so! you are hot 
 and green from de flame of de green snake's tail." 
 He then got a small, keen bone, as sharp as a steel 
 needle. He held this over the green flame of the 
 green snake's tail until it became as green as a 
 blade of grass. One end of this bone was notched, or 
 hooked over, and this he hung in a hole in the lobe 
 of his ear. Then taking up his long crocodile-head 
 siick in one hand, grasping it by the middle, and 
 taking the hollow bone containing the fluid in the 
 other, he said :
 
 The End of an Experiment 1 77 
 
 "To go wid you I am now ready." 
 
 He followed Lord Eroslove and the Count down 
 to the negro cabin in the clearing. As he walked 
 half bent over, his white shaggy hair waving up and 
 down in motion with the rising and falling of his 
 stooped-over body, and the crocodile head of his 
 long stick with its beaded eyes glared above the 
 old man's head, as though it were his guardian 
 angel. 
 
 As they entered the cabin the negroes and the 
 nurses fled in terror of "Gymp the Conjurer." 
 leaving the children lying upon the bed. The black 
 population were always in awe of the old Egyp- 
 tian, for they feared his conjuring arts and only 
 when they sent for him to work or break a spell, or 
 to cure them,- or to tell their fortunes, or to supply 
 them 'with an amulet or a charm, would they endure 
 his presence. His power over them was almost 
 omnipotent. Whatever he wanted they gave, what- 
 ever he ordered was done. 
 
 Old Gymp .gazed at the bright, chubby, beauti- 
 ful children lying on the bed, bundled in a wealth 
 of white stuffs aiul laces, and then he looked at Sir 
 Henry. Finally he said : 
 
 "Not on dem." 
 
 "Yes, Gymp, on them." 
 
 "Den may de sacred head ob de crocodile pro- 
 tec' dem !" and he waved the crocodile end of h:s 
 staff up and down over them. 
 
 "Gib me de charmed words and -bare de skin." 
 
 At this point the Count, who had be<^ "^ely
 
 1 78 Miss Incognita 
 
 observing all the proceedings and saying nothing, 
 exclaimed : 
 
 "Meene Got, Zir Heenry, you are not goeeng to 
 haf dem keeled." 
 
 "No, Count, not killed that would thwart my 
 purpose. I am going to put a brand, a mark upon 
 them, and turn them loose where it pleases me, so 
 that perchance in the future I may locate them and 
 ascertain what their blood has made of them. 
 
 "Now, Gymp, this is the boy. Yes, this is the 
 little fellow. Here, Count, give me your knife, that 
 I may cut this dress out of the way. Here upon 
 this breast of his tattoo these two words, one above 
 the other, just as you see them on this paper. Be- 
 ware, Gymp ! If you fail, if you make one slip 
 in oozing these words into this flesh as they are 
 written, I will! So do it well!" 
 
 That his long white beard might not be in the 
 way Gymip parted it, bringing it half and half 
 on each side of his neck and tying it together be- 
 hind. He turned the child square upon its oack 
 and made the Count and Sir Henry hold its little 
 hands and feet. Then he took the sharp, green 
 bone out of the hole in the lobe of his ear, and held 
 it in his right hand, holding it near the sharp point. 
 In his left hand he held the green bone containing 
 the green liquid. He placed the paper containing the 
 characters written by Sir Henry upon the child's 
 breast exactly where they were to be made to grow 
 into the living flesh. Over this he lightly poured 
 some green liquid. After a moment or two he re
 
 The End of an Experiment 1 79 
 
 moved the paper and the characters were shown in 
 their exact form upon the skin of the child. Now he 
 began the work of tattooing. The old man's whole 
 form was in an ague of palsy. His hand trembled, 
 and holding the sharp-pointed bone near the end, 
 which he often dipped in the green liquid, he began 
 his task. With each downward palsied movement 
 of the old man's han'd the sharp point entered the 
 child's tender skin. 
 
 The little fellow screamed with pain and writhed 
 his little body, as the strong men held him and the 
 sharp point sank with rapid vibrations into his ten- 
 der skin. 
 
 So agonizing became his screams that the Count 
 cried out: 
 
 "Meene Got, stop! You will keel de chile eend 
 me too!" 
 
 Then the old Egyptian bent low over the child, 
 chanting some weird words and stroking his little 
 head and eyes, and in a moment a deep slumber fell 
 upon him, from which he did not awake during, the 
 rest of the operation. 
 
 Gymp now did his work with great rapidity, 
 moaning a low, weird chant, his palsied hand vi- 
 brating like the needle-bar of a sewing machine, and 
 with each movement the sharp point of the bone en- 
 tered the child's flesh. .Soon the entire surface of the 
 skin on which the letters had been imprinted had 
 been pricked over. Exactly "where the characters 
 , the surface presented a red and greenish ap-
 
 180 Miss Incognita 
 
 pearance, the blood of the child mixing with the 
 green fluid tattooed into the skin. 
 
 This surface was now swollen and conjested, but 
 the child slept and felt no pain. Then old Gymp 
 looked up through his white, shaggy brows into the 
 eyes of Sir Henry, and said: "If dis p'int ob my 
 bone missed one stroke upon de letter on de chile 
 may de holy crocodile torture me, eben as you have 
 tortured dis chile!" 
 
 "Tut, you lie, Gymp. You were the torturer, sir. 
 Now for the other one there. Look, these charac- 
 ters opon and across her breast also." 
 
 "Meene Got ! Zir Henry, she ees de geerle. Not 
 on her 'breasts eend defile her beauty for some fu- 
 ture lover !" 
 
 "Yes, Gymp, across Tier breasts. If you miss one 
 of them I will blow your old head to where there 
 are worse things than holy crocodiles. Remember, 
 put these exact letters. They are the counterpart of 
 those upon the boy. So be careful, even to each 
 dot and dash." 
 
 "Geemp, meene Got, eef you don't put her to 
 sleep first, I vill keel you reeght here I vill, begad." 
 
 Old Gemp bent his yellow face down close to that 
 of the child, peering into her great baby eyes with 
 his sunken, saffron orbs, and stroking with his bony, 
 palsied hand the delicate, pink skin of her head. 
 Soon the little eyes were closed in deep sleep. Be- 
 fore she awoke a mark had been put upon her beau- 
 ty which was destined to remain 'with her until 
 death.
 
 The End of an Experiment 131 
 
 Sir Henry called back the nurses when all was 
 done, and left them in charge of the twins, saying: 
 
 "I will call tomorrow and see them." 
 
 The next day he called and dressed their wounds 
 and saw that each letter was fastening its grip deep 
 down into the flesh. He left an ointment with the 
 old nurse to dress their wounds. 
 
 When the "Ulia" touched off the Bermudas early 
 the next week, the four people got aboard who nine 
 months before that time had disembarked from her at 
 that point. As they went on board Lord Eroslove 
 met a pale, intellectual man, who was arranging to 
 get off. He spoke to the stranger in subdued tones 
 for a few minutes, and then gave him a bundle of 
 papers. The stranger embarked in the same little 
 skiff in which Sir Henry and his party bad come 
 and went back in the direction of Eroslove Island.
 
 182 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MISS INCOGNITA COLONEL FORTUNE. 
 
 ONE day in the latter part of the year 1873 the 
 careful reader of the "want" columns of the New 
 York World could have read, and some did read, 
 the following advertisement : 
 
 "WANTED Some reliable party of good character 
 and standing and respectable position, to adopt a 
 male child of high birth and ample fortune. The 
 terms of the adoption to be agreed upon when the 
 proper party is selected. Apply to STEELE A. FOR- 
 TUNE, Attorney at Law, No. 220V 2 Wall Street, City." 
 
 In the same and subsequent issues of the World 
 appeared another advertisement of the same style 
 as the above, except that the child to be adopted was 
 a girl. This advertisement was signed by "A. Fee, 
 Attorney, No. 400y 2 Broadway, City." 
 
 A few days after the appearance of the above 
 advertisements a lady alighted from a carriage in 
 front of the building containing the law offices of 
 Steele A. Fortune, Esq., and hurrying up the stairs, 
 announced herself by a tap upon the door. She 
 informed the clerk who met, that she desired to see 
 Mr. Fortune on a private matter, at the same time 
 handing him her card, upon which was engraved the 
 unusual name, "Miss Incognita."
 
 Colonel Fortune 183 
 
 She took her seat in the reception room wait- 
 ing to be ushered into the presence of the attor- 
 ney. The appearance of the young lady was as un- 
 usual as her name. Her age seemed to be about 
 four-and-twenty. Her figure was a perfect model 
 of feminine perfection. 
 
 Her eyes were a dark violet tint. 
 
 Her mouth reminded one of a bow-knot that 
 could tie and untie itself just as it wished which 
 was always in keeping with the emotion that pos- 
 sessed the owner. 
 
 Becoming tired of sitting she began to walk 
 about the room. Her eyes fell upon an open book 
 upon the center table. Walking up to it she looked 
 upon the open page of the book and she road these 
 words: "It has been decided that under existing 
 treaties a legal marriage contracted in the United 
 States is binding in England until the marriage tie 
 is legally dissolved. The offence of bigamy is ex- 
 traditaJble." 
 
 When she read these words her eyes flashed, and 
 she seemed to test the strength in the intensity of her 
 emotion and the effort to control it ; gradually she 
 calmed herself, and then extended her right hand 
 heavenward, as though taking an oath in the pres- 
 ence of her God. 
 
 Just at this instant she was summoned into the 
 lawyer's private office. 
 
 "Miss Incognita, I believe." 
 
 "Yes, sir, and you are Mr. Fortune, the attor- 
 neyt"
 
 184 Miss Incognita 
 
 "True, madam, and I am delighted to have the 
 pleasure of meeting you; pray be seated." This was 
 said with much emphasis. Such a thing as sentiment 
 or emotion was nearly foreign to his nature, yet such 
 was the impression made upon him by the beauty 
 and striking personality of Miss Incognita that he 
 became almost gallant and youthful. 
 
 "Pray tell me how I can serve you 1 ?" 
 
 "I came to see you about this," and she handed 
 him the advertisement she had clipped from the 
 World concerning the adoption of the baby boy. 
 
 When she spoke to him her soft cadences floated 
 through the air like the murmurings of an aeolian 
 harp and seemed to linger in his ear after her voice 
 had ceased. 
 
 He said with a smile upon his face where 
 frowns and wrinkles generally held high carnival 
 "Your birthplace, if not your home, is in Italy, is 
 it not?" 
 
 "I am sorry to say that to yon, as to all others 
 here, my home as well as my name and personality 
 are incognito. I am now living in this city. That 
 suffices for you to know, does it not?" 
 
 The lawyer leaned forward under the spell of 
 her soft voice. 
 
 "Perhaps so. Are you alone in the world?" 
 
 "Yes, except that I have a few friends who know 
 me." 
 
 "You seem to be so young to be alone " this 
 
 he said as though musing to himself "but tell me,
 
 Colonel Fortune 185 
 
 please, if you are thus alone, why should this ad- 
 vertisment of mine interest you?" 
 
 She inclined her head gently toward him, and said 
 in a sadder, lower, softer tone than ever: "Be- 
 cause I am so lonely. I do not wish to remain so. 
 and then, it seems, here is a little one who has been 
 cast upon this lonely world not of its own volition, 
 who seems to be stretching out its little lonely hands 
 in mute appeal for some one to be its mother and 
 bestow upon it love and succor. I cannot resist its 
 helpless, speechless appeal, and I have come here to 
 see upon what terms the little fellow can be taken 
 and become mine own! How happy I shall be to have 
 someone for mine own and in return some day re- 
 ceive its grateful love. How infinitely sweet it 
 would be to me to be called mother, and to have a dear 
 little one call me mother " here she paused a mo- 
 ment, and then added, looking intently at the lawyer) 
 "to be a mother and that without sin." 
 
 "So this is your motive in wanting to adopt this 
 child?" 
 
 "Solely. I yearn to love, and to know that I am 
 unselfishly loved. Life is nothing to me without this. 
 I thought once I had attained this blessed state, 
 when all at once my heart was made miserable, and 
 instead of love I received the curse of Here she 
 quickly checked herself, regained her self-control, and 
 added : "Pray sir, excuse my weakness." 
 
 By the time she finished speaking the lawyer 
 had leaned toward her until has head rested in his 
 hand, with his elbow propped upon his knee, and
 
 186 Miss Incognita 
 
 thus he remained for full two minutes after she 
 had ceased speaking. He acted as though he was 
 listening to some far-away melody and he was afraid 
 some of its enchanted notes would escape him. Fin- 
 ally he aroused himself, and without even lifting his 
 eyes, said : 
 
 "You will find the terms of this adoption hard." 
 "Oh, no, I will not despair. Let me know the 
 terms. But first let .me ask you, is it a comely 
 child r 
 
 "Yes, finely molded, both in form and feature." 
 "Whose child is it, and where is it from 1 ?" 
 "Dear madam, I can never say, and you can never 
 know. You will be informed as to this secrecy 
 when you see the conditions of this trust put upon 
 me, and the terms of the adoption." 
 
 "Then show me the terms of this trust." 
 He pulled out from his drawer of papers a 
 lengthy document, to which was attached a seal, and 
 slowly unfolded it. The evening was cloudy and 
 the gloomy office of the lawyer, which even on bright 
 days was of a dusky hue, had now grown quite dark, 
 so he laid the document on the table which stood 
 between them and got up to light the gas. As he 
 did so, the folios of the paper automatically opened, 
 leaving the seal, signature and handwriting exposed 
 to the eye of the lady. As he lit the gas burner 
 the light flashed upon the paper and her eye quickly 
 rested upon the handwriting and signature. The 
 la'wyer did not see her, but she trembled, and her 
 face and mouth became as fixed as the features of
 
 Colonel Fortune 187 
 
 a marble Venus. She sighed, clutched her chair, and 
 turned her sad, and now white face away. She had 
 imagined she had recognized the handwriting. 
 
 The lawyer sat down after lighting the gas, and, 
 as he did so, she turned to him and said with calm- 
 ness in her voice, but unwonted emphasis in her 
 words : 
 
 "Now tell me what are the conditions." 
 The name signed to the paper '"was a strange one, 
 unknown to her, but from the instant she saw the 
 signature and chirograiphy and imagined she recog- 
 nized the handwriting. he was a changed woman. 
 From being actuated solely by a species of maternal 
 sentiment to adopt the child, her mind, as by an in- 
 tuition, had instantly formed a detecmination as 
 fixed as dea-th itself, to have this child and to find 
 out the secret of its parentage. By some mysterious 
 insight of the soul, which sometimes manifests itself 
 in all of us, she had on the instant upon seeing the 
 handwriting and that peculiar name, divined that 
 connected with this paper and this child, was the 
 clue to the secret she would give her life to dis- 
 cover! Strange indeed it is how that memory con- 
 nected with our sub-conscious mind, as psychologists 
 term it, "will treasure up the smallest events, to 
 which our conscious mind will scarce give a passing 
 notice, and then when the occasion comes, bring 
 them forth to comfort us or to aid us in our srtug- 
 gles.
 
 188 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 TERMS OF ADOPTION. 
 
 THE lawyer gathered up the folios of the docu- 
 ment, and nervously glanced at Miss Incognita 
 when he saw the writing and the signature lying 
 there exposed in the glare of the gaslight. She gave 
 him no hint by any sign of emotion or otherwise, 
 outside of the first burst of exclamation, which luck- 
 ily had escaped him, that she had noticed anything. 
 
 "You will observe, Miss Incognita, that the first 
 condition imposed on the one adopting this child is 
 that they must be possessed of wealth, and must be 
 of good character and social standing. The instru- 
 ment requires that these essentials must be proven to 
 the satisfaction of the trustee of this child's estate 
 or his attorney." 
 
 "These are wise requirements, and I can meet 
 them to your satisfastion. As to my wealth, here 
 are my tax receipts for the past year, here are 
 memoranda showing my yearly income, here is my 
 bank book showing my deposits of money now sat- 
 isfy yourself of the genuineness of these papers be- 
 fore we proceed further." 
 
 The lawyer scanned one after another closely. 
 "This is perfectly satisfactory." 
 
 "Will this suffice 1 ?" she asked, as she handed
 
 Terms of Adoption 1 89 
 
 him two large scrolls with a number of red seals 
 attached. 
 
 He studied them for a moment and replied: 
 
 "These documents prove you to be one of pro- 
 fessional and literary attainments, but you see they 
 do not touch on your private life." He then hesi- 
 tated a moment and asked: 
 
 "Are you married?" 
 
 She replied: "As I have told you before, this is 
 my own secret and shall remain so." 
 
 "You live with your father, or mother or bro- 
 thers, then?" 
 
 She replied: "I do not, and it does not concern 
 any one but myself whether I have or haven't any." 
 
 "Then you must board with some private fami- 
 ly." 
 
 "No, I keep my own establishment." 
 
 The lawyer looked uneasy and had a hesitating 
 manner. 
 
 Then she said : "You show too plainly your 
 thoughts and feelings. Let me ask you a question 
 or two : You have never been married, and are not 
 now?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "You do not live with your father nor mother, 
 nor brother nor sister?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "You do not board and endure a victim's life in 
 some public or private boarding house?" 
 
 "No, I have rooms at my club." 
 
 "Do these matters affect your character, or ren-
 
 190 Miss Incognita 
 
 der your social standing uncertain or undesirable 1 ?" 
 
 "Oh, no, madam; but you see I am a man, and 
 you are a woman, and you know social customs 
 
 She looked at the lawyer in such a searching, half- 
 amused, forbidding manner that he stopped short. 
 Folding her arms and assriming a firm, though lady- 
 like posture that conveyed much meaning, she con- 
 tinued : 
 
 "Many women are alone in the world, and not of 
 their own choosing always; and being alone, they 
 prefer to remain so, rather than cast themselves on 
 some strangers' household. Justice is sexless. Right 
 should recognize neither man nor woman, but only 
 human 'beings. If social customs run contrary to 
 justice and right, they should not be respected, and 
 he who does so has a narrow mind. Am I correct?" 
 
 She waited for his reply without moving her 
 gaze from his eyes. He answered : 
 
 "Your logic is irrefutable." 
 
 Then she said : "But if you are not satisfied on 
 this point, come to my residence this afternoon and 
 I think I can satisfy you as to this. What are the 
 other conditions of this adoption? 
 
 "The next is that the child must foe called by 
 the name you will find tattooed on his breast 
 'Eros.' " 
 
 "Eros? Tattooed on his breast?" she asked with 
 earnestness "and the name ineffaceably pricked into 
 his skin?" 
 
 "True, madam."
 
 Terms of Adoption 191 
 
 "I agree to this. I suppose it's to be his given 
 ttftnef 
 
 "Yes, madam. Such I judge from the instru- 
 ment. The next condition reads thusly: 'Whoso 
 adopts this child sh'all bind himself or herself noti 
 to attempt to discover the child's sister, who has 
 been adopted by another party." 
 
 "I will have to agree to this, 'but what can be 
 the meaning of such conditions and requirements as 
 these?" 
 
 "I have now lived long enough, Miss Incognita, 
 to learn to accept all facts and believe but few 
 statements, and to waste no time in seeking the 
 reasons for either. There are so many things that 
 no reason can be given for, that I have come to 
 learn this lesson and obey it. But I suppose the 
 object of this clause is to prevent any further 
 knowledge of the family history of the child." Hav- 
 ing said this he began with the paper again. 
 
 "Well, I know you will not object to the other 
 clauses, which are to the effect that 30,000 pounds are 
 invested in trust for the boy, and that until he is ten 
 years of age you shall be paid $50 per month for 
 his maintenance, and after that age, $100 per month. 
 The New York Life Insurance Company is the trus- 
 tee, and it is empowered to pay over the principal 
 and all accumulations when the boy is of age, if 
 the conditions of the contract as to the adoption have 
 been complied with." 
 
 The paper concluded with the statement that a 
 sealed document disclosing such facts concerning
 
 192 Miss Incognita 
 
 the child as the father saw fit to give had been de 
 posited with said trustees mentioned above, with 
 instructions to turn it over to the boy when he 
 arrived at eighteen years of age. 
 
 "What guarantee have I that this income ard 
 the corpus of this estate will be forthcoming to the 
 child as set forth V 
 
 "This," said the lawyer, handing her a paper. 
 She took it quickly, hoping to find some unnoticed 
 clue that would confirm her in her surmise as to 
 the author of the other paper and as to the identi- 
 ty of the father of this boy. 
 
 She scanned the paper nervously though critical- 
 ly. In vain did she search for her clue. She could 
 find none. 
 
 The document was executed by the "New York 
 Life Insurance Company, trustee for a male child 
 to be hereafter named, which child was then in the 
 custody of Steele A. Fortune, attorney for the father 
 of the child, a party unknown to said trustee," etc. 
 
 Miss Incognita returned the paper to the lawyer, 
 remarking that she was "perfectly satisfied." 
 
 "I believe now only one thing remains to be done, 
 and that is for you to drive with me to my resi- 
 dence, to pass upon the question of my respectabili- 
 ty as a single woman living alone," she said with a 
 little laugh but her manner nevertheless showed a 
 little piquancy, and also a shy bit of sarcasm thrust 
 at the lawyer. Without waiting for a reply from 
 him she continued: "You men are funny. If a 
 woman marry you, you often look upon her and
 
 Terms of Adoption 193 
 
 treat her as a dependent, who is therefore subject 
 to your will and pocketbook. If she does not mar- 
 ry, and lives with her relatives, you pity them that 
 they are so heavily burdened with a spinster. If she 
 should do neither one of these things, and sup- 
 ports herself and maintains a dignified establish- 
 ment of her own, you hesitate about her, and must 
 look into the question of her respectability ! Ha ! ha ! 
 ha! Now isn't this true, Mr. Fortune?" 
 
 All this she said with such gentleness and af- 
 fability, her sweet, tender voice almost trilling the 
 words as its musical intonation floated through the 
 room, that the lawyer said : "I fain would argue 
 with you to coax out the music of your voice! But 
 I must confess that I agree with you at once, to prove 
 to you the conclusive force of your argument. Too 
 often is what you say true. If social custom will 
 force a woman in all her spheres of life to a rela- 
 tion of dependence, then that same custom should 
 force men in all the relations of life to treat her 
 with such a degree of respect and honor as to make 
 her feel that she occupies the superior position." 
 
 "Most beautifully spoken, Mr. Fortune. Now I 
 must dull the edge of my former remarks to you by 
 saying that since I heard your words I am sure you 
 do not doubt my character and respectability because 
 I live alone and maintain my unique establishment; 
 but that still it is necessary for you to reassure 
 yourself on this point by going with me to my resi- 
 dence as a matter of conscience, arising from this 
 legal duty imposed upon you by your client."
 
 194 Miss Incognita 
 
 "My dear Miss Incognita, you relieve ray em- 
 barrassment by giving utterance in advance to my 
 thoughts and feelings with much more force and 
 beauty than my dull and prosy tongue could ever 
 aspire to do." 
 
 "Indeed, let me thank you sir. My carriage is 
 waiting below. You will drive with me now, and 
 will you not take with you the .papers I am to exe- 
 cute, so as to save any further delay? And \\ill 
 you not order the child brought to its future home 
 at once? There is my address. Where is this 
 child?" 
 
 "I will order it brought as you suggest. You 
 shall see him without unnecessary delaty." The 
 lawyer at once issued the necessary orders to his 
 clerk, and then informed- Miss Incognita af his 
 readiness to accompany her.
 
 A Single Woman's Establishment 195 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 A SINGLE WOMAN'S ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 IN a few minutes the carriage halted in front of 
 Miss Incognita's residence, which the lawyer observed 
 was a substantial and artistic brownstone front a lit- 
 tle removed from the ultrafashionable portion of 
 Fifth Avenue. The house was one of quiet dignity 
 and taste, and was set back from the street, just far 
 enough to allow a little plat of ground for a patch 
 of sod varigated with select flowers. 
 
 The interior of the house and its furnishings were 
 neat and artistic. 
 
 The entire first floor was arranged so as to be 
 thrown together, when desired, into one large bro- 
 ken-angled room. The entrance to the house was 
 into a reception hall, from the rear of which 
 ascended a large staircase. On the right were large 
 double parlors. 
 
 On the left facing the little patch of green- 
 sward were the sitting-room and lounging room. 
 From this, by a large door, one was admitted into the 
 well-arranged library. In the rear of this room, 
 separated from a conservatory by a glass partition, 
 was the dining room. In the rear of the double 
 parlors was an artistic studio, and connected with 
 this a well-aranged chemical laboratory. 
 
 These were the vi?lenees of taste and refinement 
 which greeted the lawyer's eye as he entered the
 
 196 Miss Incognita 
 
 house, accompanying the owner she appearing to 
 busy herself all the while entertaining him, and 
 trying to make him feel that no danger could hap- 
 pen to him by entering the unique establishment of 
 a single lady who lived with neither cousins nor 
 sisters nor aunts, but was actually an independent, 
 free, self-sustaining woman ! They sat down in the 
 reception hall, and Miss Incognita touched a but- 
 ton, which summoned to her a young girl of refined 
 and gentle manners. Miss Incognita drew her to her 
 side, remarking, "Mr. Fortune, this is one .of my 
 household companions Mary Dundee, Mr. Fortune." 
 The lawyer bowed kindly and Mary made a grace- 
 ful courtesy, and then Miss Incognita said: "You 
 see, sir, I make household companions of those who 
 live with me and carry on the functions of my 
 household. I employ a half dozen girls and young 
 ladies in and about my household. Not that I need 
 so many myself, but it gives them a home and an 
 opportunity to earn some money. Five hours a day 
 they give to their studies, and during this time I 
 furnish them with a teacher. I employ some of these 
 young ladies in my chemical laboratory, another 
 keeps house, another superintends the culinary de- 
 partment, so that there is a division of labor all 
 around." 
 
 Here Miss Incognita spoke a few words to Mary 
 and she hastily left the room and soon returned with 
 a dainty tea service, from which she served tea to 
 her mistress and the lawyer in delicate, hand-painted
 
 A Single Woman's Establishment 197 
 
 cups, handling a plate of crisp, beaten biscuits as 
 an accompaniment of the tea. 
 
 When they had finished with the tea Miss In- 
 cognita said : 
 
 "Now if you will come with me I will show you 
 further into my establishment." She led him through 
 the reception .hall and out of a door which opened 
 behind the large staircase, and then dawn a long hall 
 until they came to a comfortable building in the rear, 
 which was entirely separate from the residence ex- 
 cept by this hall. They entered this, and within were 
 at least a dozen women of various ages and styles, 
 but all respectable looking, who were - engaged in 
 sewing and making garments of various kinds. 
 
 "This," said Miss Incognita, "is my permanent 
 contribution to the charity fund. These ladies are 
 not objects of charity; oh, no, they are employed 
 and paid by me to do this work. You see, it gives 
 them much-needed employment and remunerative 
 labor. The garments they make I distribute each 
 week among the need}'. You know such work as 
 this is my religion." 
 
 "I assure you," he answered, "that what you say 
 and everything I have seen of this your model es- 
 tablishment, have interested me more than I can 
 express to you." 
 
 "You haven't yet told me whether the child shall 
 be mine." 
 
 "The child shall ,be yours." The latter part of 
 this conversation had been carried on in the sewing- 
 room and connecting hall while they vi-erc slowly
 
 198 Miss Incognita 
 
 walking -back toward the main body of the residence. 
 
 His last sentence had no sooner been said than 
 they heard Mary calling them in an excited manner. 
 They hurried back into the house, and the first thing 
 they saw on reaching the reception hall was a large 
 yellow-lblack, motherly-looking negress, old enough 
 for her wool to be whitish and her figure corpulent, 
 sitting upon the hall sofa with a bundle of rich 
 shawls in her lap, out of which bundle was pro- 
 truding a little head on "which there was a knitted 
 silk cap. Mary Dundee was looking down into the 
 face of the little object, exclaiming in broken sen- 
 tences: 
 
 "Oh, how beautiful ! Why did you bring it here ? 
 Where did it come from? What blue-black eyes it 
 has? You say it is going to stay here 1 ?" 
 
 By this time the lawyer and Miss Incognita had 
 arrived, and they proceeded to examine the little tot 
 with much interest, Miss Incognita making various 
 unconscious exclamations, and among them saying: 
 "Oh, how nice it is to have a sweet little baby this 
 way!" She was engrossed in unbundling the little 
 fellow, crying out all the time: "What glossy black 
 hair! What large blue-black eyes! What rosy, 
 dimpled cheeks! What chubby hands! Why, let 
 me have him! She took him in her hands and tossed 
 him up, and fondled him. "And just to think he 
 is my own, and I shall give him my name !" 
 
 By this time the baby was surrounded by a half- 
 dozen handsome, intellectual young ladies, who 
 seemed to pour in from different parts of the house.
 
 A Single Woman's Establishment 199 
 
 all of them taking on over the little tot, altogether 
 oblivious of the presence of Mr. Fortune. He arose 
 and prepared to take his departure. 
 
 Miss Incognita quickly walked to him, and begged 
 him to remain longer, but he replied: 
 
 "Really, Miss Incognita, I find myself envying 
 the baby so much that I thought I had better be go- 
 ing." 
 
 "Ah, what a pretty compliment. You must call 
 again to see how the little fellow is getting along." 
 
 "With much pleasure. What name will you 
 give the child? You know we must insert the adop- 
 ted name in the order of court." 
 
 "Of course. His name shall be 'Eros Incognita' 
 'Eros' as required in the articles of the adoption, 
 and 'Incognita' for two reasons: First, it is my 
 name, and second, it fits the child's case." 
 
 These matters being arranged and the article of 
 the adoption having been signed, the lawyer very 
 cordially bade her adieu. 
 
 After he had gone she made the old nurse re- 
 move the clothing from the plump little body of the 
 baby, and she inspected every part of the flesh of 
 this little piece of humanity. She seemed to be un- 
 conscious of the presence of the old negress, for as 
 she inspected the child's body she uttered such words 
 as these: 
 
 "Yes, I'm sure that mole on his hip was on his 
 hip. I am quite sure of it. I would know the 
 shape of ihis foot anywhere and it was very like 
 this one. Even this protruding heel is Ms; and the
 
 200 Miss Incognita 
 
 way the big toe curved out from the second toe, this 
 is it! He had the same shapely limlb that tapered 
 all the way, and this small ankle. He was so hand- 
 some, and how I loved him!" Here she sighed and 
 sobbed and her beautiful bosom rose and fell in 
 quick undulations, and her whole form was con- 
 vulsed. 
 
 The old negress by this time was listening and 
 looking, awestruck, her eyes and her mouth wide 
 open, as though lost in wonder. "Why did I not 
 die when it all happened and thus have ended all 
 my troubles ! What can be bitterer than to have had 
 love and enjoyed it long enough to become wedded 
 to it, and then to see it turn away from you. Oh, 
 it is more than I can bear! Why was he so unut- 
 terably cruel to me? Some day I will have my re- 
 venge! I will not strike nor kill nor poison for. if 
 I plunge with the dagger I might not reach the heart! 
 Oh! I must torture that heart as he tortured mine!" 
 Her face was over the breast of the little child and 
 her tears rained down upon it, and she sobbed, as 
 only a woman can who has suffered deeply. Just 
 at this instant her eyes for the first time rested upon 
 the letters in green which had 'been tattooed into the 
 skin on the child's breast ! Above was the word 
 "Eros," followed 'by a dash, and beneath this word 
 the letters "DU" also followed by a dash. Sho 
 riveted her eyes upon these mysterious bright-given 
 characters, and sat motionless for some time, bringing 
 to bear all the ingenuity of her analytical, penetrat- 
 ing mind, to find some meaning in these words;
 
 A Single Woman's Establishment 201 
 
 "Eros 
 Du" 
 
 "Why should these words have been pricked 
 there? There must be meaning in them, or some 
 others would have been used instead? What do 
 those dashes after the words 'Eros ' and 'Du ' mtean 
 unless they. show that they are connected with and 
 their meaning completed by some other letters or 
 words recorded somewhere else? Where are they re- 
 corded? The conclusion is irresistable, that the bal- 
 ance of each of 'these words or names, or whatever 
 they were intended to represent, are recorded upon 
 the hody of the other child, the little girl. That dash 
 shows that the words are not complete as tattooed 
 upon the breast of this boy. May this not be the 
 reason why I am forbidden in the articles of adop- 
 tion from seeking this child's sister?" All this was 
 spoken aloud as though to herself, but the old negress 
 thought her new mistress was questioning her, so 
 at this point she gruffly replied : 
 
 "Lor', Miss, I doan' know." 
 
 This remark caused Miss Incognita to realize her 
 surroundings, and called -her attention to the old 
 nurse. So she asked her "Auntie, what is your 
 name?" 
 
 "Jane, Miss; Jane Huibbard dey calls me." 
 
 "Well, then, I will call you Aunt Jane and you 
 can call me Miss Innie." 
 
 "Yes'um." 
 
 "Where have you been living, Aunt Jane?" 
 
 "I did use to live down Souf wid my white folkses
 
 202 Miss Incognita 
 
 but arter de wa' Massa tuk his fam'ly and went off, 
 I don't know whar, an' I went wid 'urn." 
 
 "Did you go to another country?" 
 
 "Yes'um, Miss Inmie, we went somewha' ober 
 de sea long -way off, I don't know what. I jus' went 
 on wid Massa's folkses. I wusn't keein' whar de 
 went." 
 
 "But how came you here with this child? Who 
 gave him to you and where 1 ?" 
 
 "Well, wheresumever I was at, a man cum to me 
 one day late in de ebenin', 'bout night, wid two 
 misses holdin' sumthin' in their arms bundled up, 
 and dey cum right in my cabin and laid de bundles 
 down on de 'bed. He said de nusses would stay an' 
 help me and he would pay me money. Dat's how I 
 cum by dis chile." 
 
 "But how came you here in this great city of New 
 York with these fine clothes for the baby?" 
 
 "Dis chile altogedder stay at my bouse 'bout a 
 mont'. You see I had a repitation as a nuss in' all 
 dem parts, so I guess dat's de reason why dey brung 
 it ter me. Soon arter de chile was brung dar, a 
 white man cum, bringin' a 'Gyptian wid 'im one ob 
 dese conjurin' 'Gyptians and he brung a long bony 
 bottle ob some sort of stuff and a funny kind of a 
 big bony needle. And de white man he say ter me, 
 'Auntie, you go outdoo's behind de house tell I calls 
 you/ So I goed out; but de little winder at de 
 back wus up, and now and den I could hear dere 
 words. At faist de chile cried mightily, tell it made 
 me cry to hear it, an' I knowed dat 'Gyptian was
 
 A Single Woman's Establishment 203 
 
 doin' somet'hin' awful to de chile. Den it stopped 
 arter 'while, and fer long time it didn't cry none 
 at all. I hyard de white man say: "Now tatter so 
 and so on de chile's bress. Dis is de first part ob 
 de name on dis chile and de udder on de gal chile!' 
 When dey lef , de chillun stayed 'sleep all de day long, 
 and arter da.t dey bress was all swelled up pow'r- 
 ful, an' dey cried an' cried, and had de highest 
 fever, tell dey got oneasy 'bout 'um, an' brung a 
 man what dey tol' me wuz er doctor, and give de 
 chillun medicine and put sumthin' like 'intment on 
 'em. De doctor seemed pow'rful oneasy for sum 
 days and watched de chilun mighty close. Bimeby 
 dey got better, an' he stop cumin'. Dey sends me 
 de bottled milk to feed 'em, and so on, an' dey soon 
 got strong ag'in. One day a man eums dar and axed 
 me ef'I wouldn't like to come to Errmericer and be dis 
 chile's nuss. Now, yer know, Miss Innie, I done been 
 dyin' ter cum eber since Massa died, so I told de man 
 what axed me dat I would cum. So dey got ever' 
 thing ready, an' one day a sad-faced, dried-up kinder 
 er man cum an' tuk us wid 'im ter de ship an he 
 cum on wid us. Now de God's truf dat's all I know 
 erbout it." 
 
 "Aunt Jane, would you know that doctor if you 
 were ever to see him again?" 
 
 "Yes 'um, dat I would, and hit 'pears to me 
 more an' more ever' day dat dis chile is er-growin' 
 mortal like 'im. He had the peculiarist kind of a 
 black eye, and big long side-whiskers and clean 
 chin, and his hair was cut short 'but I could see
 
 204 Miss Incognita 
 
 hit was black too -an' his hans wus sof and prim 
 like, and 'im all over was built jes' like er gurl, 
 'ceptin' he was heap bigger dan a gurl." 
 
 "Did you notice anything pecuiar about his left 
 hand, or did you notice a large dimple in his chin?" 
 
 "No 'urn, Miss Innie, I didn't nebber look close 
 enuf ter see dem little things." 
 
 "And you don't know where that was, nor the 
 name of the country?" 
 
 "No 'urn, Miss Innie, I dus'n't. All I knows is 
 dat hit wus warm and dar wusn't no winter dar all 
 de time I wus dar. And de people all had white 
 houses built outen de soft rock, what dey sawed and 
 worked up outen de erth." 
 
 "Just one more question, Aunt Jane, and I won't 
 keep you any longer. That dried-up man who eame 
 with you on that ship, have you seen him in this city 
 since you came here?" 
 
 "Lor*, yes'um, Miss Innie. Dat wus 'im what was 
 here wid you w'en I cum." 
 
 At this information Miss Incognita was happily 
 surprised, for it gave her at least one clue to work 
 upon. She would cultivate the lawyer. She knew 
 she could get much information out of him without 
 causing him to commit any breach of the profes- 
 sional confidence existing between a lawyer and his 
 client. She knew he would delight to talk, for in- 
 stance, of his travels and the different countries he 
 had seen. Now she was determined to find the little 
 girl notwithstanding she had aigreed to the articles 
 of adoption which forbade her doing so. Though 
 it* was now late in the afternoon, she determined to
 
 A Single Woman's Establishment 205 
 
 drive at once to the office of A. Fee, attorney, whose 
 advertisement she had seen in the World concerning 
 the little girl. She would rather surrender her life 
 than give up her determination to find this child and 
 see if she were correct as to her conclusions. 
 
 In a few minutes she was in the law office of A. 
 Fee, attorney. 
 
 As she entered, she saw a large-framed, corpu- 
 lent, big-headed, clean-faced man of about fifty 
 years of age, with steel-cold gray eyes. His hair 
 was thick and closely cropped, and his neck short 
 and beefy. He was altogether just the opposite in 
 appearance from Steele A. Fortune, Esq. 
 
 Miss Incognita, upon entering the private office, 
 handed him her card, saying: 
 
 "This is Mr. Fee, I suppose?" 
 
 "That is my name, madam," he replied, piercing 
 her with a cold look out of his cold, steel-gray eyes. 
 "Pray be seated and announce your business." 
 
 She handed him the advertisement she had clipped 
 from the World concerning the little girl. 
 
 "This, sir, brought me here." 
 
 "Sorry, Miss Incognita, but I must tell you, you 
 are too late." 
 
 "The child then has been taken ? Will you please 
 give me the name and address of the person who 
 has her?" 
 
 The phlegmatic lawyer winched in his chair, as 
 though contending with himself, and after a mo- 
 ment's hesitation replied : 
 
 "It has been, and is my unbroken rule never to 
 divulge anything that occurs in my office."
 
 206 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Could you give me the person's name without the 
 address?" 
 
 "I must again beg you to excuse." 
 
 "Have you filed the petition in court to procure the 
 order of adpotionf she asked with an assumed air of 
 innocent shyness. 
 
 "Ahem-ah Miss, what do you know about such 
 proceedings. You seen to ah " 
 
 "To know something about such things, do If 
 she exclaimed with the merriest chirp and laugh 
 imaginable. 
 
 The lawyer looked at her in a quizzical kind of a 
 way while she continued : 
 
 "You see, Mr. Fee, that petition is a public paper, 
 and is by now, doubtless, filed in court. If you will 
 not give me the name of the party I can at least get 
 it there." 
 
 "Oh, well, my dear Miss, to save you that trouble 
 I will vary my rule just this once, if it will do you 
 any good, which I very much doubt. The name is 
 Mrs. John Smith." 
 
 "Well, really, Mr. Fee, I must thank you for such 
 specific information you are very kind, sir." 
 
 Miss Incognita, finding she could get no further 
 information, and having judged rightly of the 
 imperviousness of this ponderous lawyer's cranium, 
 bade him a confident adieu, to which he responded 
 with more gallantry than would have been possible 
 with him an hour ago. As she left the office, her 
 resourceful 'brain said to itself and through itself to 
 A. Fee, Esq., "We will meet again, Mr. Fee, under 
 different circumstances."
 
 A Lawyer Outwitted 207 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 A LAWYER OUTWITTED. 
 
 SOME time after the events related in the last 
 chapter, a bonny, cheery-looking girl with a dainty 
 cap on her head and eye-glasses on her nose called 
 at Colonel Fee's office seeking employment as a 
 stenographer and copyist. When she went in she 
 was met by a red-eyed young fellow, who informed 
 her that the lawyer was out but would be in soon. 
 "Then I will|wait for him," she said. 
 Finally the office door opened and banged to, and 
 Colonel Fee was in his office. 
 
 He lookedat the young lady quizzically and said : 
 "Can I serve you in any way, miss?" 
 "No, sir. Colonel Fee, I have called to see if you 
 would let me serve you." 
 
 "Indeed, miss, I don't see how tkat's possible." 
 "I am seeking employment as a private steno- 
 rapher and copyist and felt sure I could find it with 
 you." 
 
 "Have you had any experience, Miss May?" 
 "I am a graduate from the New York Business 
 School, sir, and have had enough experience to give 
 you satisfaction, if you will try me." 
 
 "Call again in the morning, then, and I will let 
 you know." 
 
 The next morning the colonel engaged her at ten
 
 208 Miss Incognita 
 
 dollars per week, and put her at the work of copying 
 interminable law briefs and dry court pleadings. 
 
 The second day thereafter, after she had' written 
 fifty or more folios, the colonel came in to see how she 
 was progressing, and she said to him : 
 
 "Colonel, I like stenographic work better than 
 this." 
 
 "Yes, but you know, Miss May, Sam has served me 
 in that capacity so long I would hate to make a 
 change. Besides, that work includes all my private 
 correspondence, and I have learned to trust Sam. A 
 lawyer has much private business that should be held 
 in strict confidence." 
 
 "True, sir. I could hold it that way." 
 
 "I don't say you couldn't, Miss May, but before I 
 would even trust Sam I made him swear to kep it." 
 
 "I can swear, too, colonel." 
 
 "You know girls and ladies talk more than men 
 anyhow." 
 
 "Well, colonel, that's because they have more to 
 talk about, you know." The colonel laughed and 
 turned to his private office. 
 
 At the end of the first week, the colonel and Mr. 
 Flipper being both out of the office, she went into 
 the sacred private department, and searched every- 
 where for the letter copying-book and letter files, 
 but they could not be found. She examined in detail 
 the arrangement of this office, saying to herself, "I 
 want to see how I sould improve on it and run it." 
 
 Soon Sam came in and she said to him: "Mr.
 
 A Lawyer Outwitted 209 
 
 Flapper, yon look as if you need rest. Don't you 
 want to rest a while? I will do all the work." 
 
 "Yes, but must I starve in the meanwhile?" 
 
 "I will get Colonel Fee to let your salary go right 
 on, on the condition that I do the work to his entire 
 satisfaction. The way for you is to be ill Monday, 
 and not come. If I don't get the colonel to agree 
 to let your salary continue, I will write you a note, 
 so you can come back* in a day or two. If you don't 
 hear from me you may know it is all right. See?" 
 
 "I will do it, Miss May, but how can I allow you 
 to do so much for me? Why should you?" 
 
 "Because I feel for you. This one week's work on 
 those abominable, dry documents suggests to me how 
 tired you must be when you have been at it for 
 years. Now there is one thing I shall expect of you : 
 If I get behind on that copying in there, I will send 
 it home to you and you must help me; vou under- 
 stand?" 
 
 "Why, yes, Miss May, I will do that ; but remem- 
 ber all of that copying isn't so pressing, so don't 
 worry about that too much." 
 
 "We understand each other. I won't crowd that, 
 I assure you." 
 
 During -the next month Colonel Fee enjoyed the 
 beautiful work and improved services of Miss May 
 at the same -time deriving no little pleasure from the 
 beauty, brightness and wit of the piquant little miss. 
 
 The satisfaction she gave had been so perfect that 
 the lawyer forgot he had ever employed Sam. As 
 the second month's work began, she wrote to Sam
 
 210 Miss Incognita 
 
 enclosing the letter in the same envelope in which was 
 Colonel Fee's check for the month's salary. 
 
 "DEAR MR. FLIPPERS : Everything is all arranged 
 for you to rest another month. So don't be in a 
 hurry to return until you hear further from me. 
 
 "Very truly, MAY CONWAY." 
 
 Sam read the letter, saying: "Well, I'll be blessed!" 
 Before the end of the first week of the second 
 month a letter was received by Colonel Fee, and an 
 answer dictated to Miss May, which caused her to 
 feel such inward excitement that her hand could 
 never have taken down the words had it not been so 
 thoroughly trained that it did it automatically. 
 
 After the lawyer left, she took copies of both 
 letters and stuffed them in the bosom of her dress. 
 She then folded the one written by her arid signed 
 by the lawyer, and putting it in an envelope wrote 
 the following name and address upon it: 
 
 "Mrs. John Smith, 
 
 2019 Fifth Avenue, City." 
 
 At the same time she mailed this letter, she mailed 
 one to Mr. Flipper as follows: 
 
 "DEAR MR. FLIPPER: Circumstances over which 
 I have no control prevent me from continuing in the 
 colonel's employment any longer. You will please 
 resume your duties in the morning. Say to the
 
 A Lawyer Outwitted 2 1 1 
 
 colonel I thank him for his many kindnesses and 
 especially for his last great favor shown me this 
 afternoon. I thank you also, and wish you much 
 prosperity after your delightful rest. Good-bye. 
 
 "Yours truly, MAY CONWAY." 
 
 The next morning the lawyer was surprised and 
 disappointed at the turn affairs had taken, and 
 when Sam showed him the letter he was more sur- 
 prised and disappointed than ever. 
 
 "Why, Sam, she hasn't even drawn a dollar of 
 her salary. There's something funny about that 
 girl." 
 
 Sam found his employer irritable and hard to 
 please for a week or so.
 
 2 1 2 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE CALL ON MRS. JOHN SMITH. 
 
 "WELL, really, Miss Innie, you's been erway from 
 dis chile so much heah lately dat hit looks like you's 
 gwine ter disert 'im too. I declar' he done inos 
 ferget you." 
 
 "Yes, Aunt Jane, I am overjoyed at the termina- 
 tion of the work I hlave been engaged in, and to know 
 of its success. I couldn't have accomplished every- 
 thing more to my purpose than I have done. But 
 rest assured I will not have to leave you that way 
 any more." 
 
 "Ef you don't, Miss Innie, I sho' will be glad. 
 Ter tell you de truf, dat whatsomever you been 
 er-doin' de last three months been tellin' on you' 
 looks, an' I's ben oneasy 'bout you." 
 
 The day after Miss Incognita left the lawyer's 
 office she called on Mrs. John Smith at 2019 Fifth 
 Avenue, whom she found to be a woman of refine- 
 ment and wealth. Her handsome home had all the 
 appointment of taste, luxury and convenience. 
 
 She had wealth sufficient for all purposes, and 
 did not display it in ministering to a false and ex- 
 travagant social ambition. She was open-hearted 
 and cordial in her manner. Wherefore, Miss Incog- 
 nita found no trouble in making her acquaintance 
 nor in winning her warm and confidential friendship 
 in a short time.
 
 The Call on Mrs. John Smith 213 
 
 "Have you a husband and family, Mrs. Smith?" 
 
 "A husband, but no children of my own. I 
 adopted a little girl some months ago." 
 
 "Why. indeed?" 
 
 "Yes, and there are some funny things about the 
 child. The way we oame to adopt her was from 
 seeing an advertisement in the New York World 
 put in by a lawyer named Fee. It stated that the 
 child was of excellent lineage, and the father, who- 
 ever he was the Lord only knows, settled a good 
 fortune upon her and required a lot of foolish and 
 unreasonable things of me as the adopted mother." 
 
 "Why, isn't that strange?" 
 
 "But there is something stranger than that." 
 
 "Pray, what is this?" 
 
 "I will just let you see for yourself. Miss Incog- 
 nita. Maybe you can make something out of it. I 
 hope you can, for I can't." Here Mrs. Smith touched 
 a bell and in a moment or two the nurse came in, 
 bringing the child. 
 
 As the nurse entered the room, Miss Incognita 
 arose from her ehair, . saying: "May I hold her? 
 Won't the baiby come to me? Oh, what exquisite 
 violet eyes, and long dark lashes over them. My! 
 what a large, round, full chin she has!" 
 
 "Yes, and you know, Miss Incognita, when she 
 cries or laughs with much feeling, a beautiful dimple 
 orrms itself in the center of her chin." 
 
 "Ah, that dimple is so suggestive !" said Miss 
 "ncognita, with a peculiar, tremulous voice full of 
 Jeeling, as her eyes scanned every feature of the
 
 214 Miss Incognita 
 
 child's head and face. "But where is your riddle 
 and puzzle, Mrs. Smith? I see nothing but a beauti- 
 ful child." 
 
 "Look here and I will show you." And she undid 
 the little dress. Then turning the child flat on its 
 back, she said : "Look, Miss Incognita, and pray tell 
 me, if you can, what this means." 
 
 She bent over the child and there she saw extended 
 across both the tiny breasts these characters 
 tattooed in green : 
 
 "Love. 
 Mas." 
 
 the one beneath the other and a dash in front of 
 each. In a moment all of Miss Incognita's imagin- 
 ings and suspicions merged themselves into a stu- 
 pendous fact. To these characters on this little girl 
 she added those upon the breast of the little boy and 
 in her mind she saw this combination : 
 
 "Eros love. 
 Du mas." 
 
 All was at once clear to her. These were his hvo 
 names. Having passed from the world as "Dumas," 
 he was now doubtless known by his real name, 
 "Eroslove." There were many strange things that 
 had happened in this world, but this was the most 
 wonderful to her that she should have been directed 
 first to her own adopted son, and then to this child, 
 and that her eyes should have thus demonstrated the 
 one fact for which her mind and heart had yearned 
 and yearned.
 
 The Call on Mrs. John Smith 215 
 
 "Well, realty, Mrs. Smith, this is one of the 
 strangest things I ever saw." 
 
 'You must call to see me. I have followed your 
 example without knowing it, by also adopting- a child. 
 Mine is a little boy. I cannot give you the same 
 romantic account of him and his origin as you have 
 given of the girl, but I assure you he is, notwith- 
 standing, a fine little fellow." 
 
 "Isn't it a funnj coincidence that we both should 
 have adopted xue same easy plan to have ourselves 
 called mother f 
 
 "But I am sure we will love and enjoy them as 
 much as if they were our own children." 
 
 At this point Miss Incognita bade her newly-made 
 and most valued friend adieu, ^and was soon at her 
 own home. 
 
 From this day began a close and intimate friend- 
 ship between these two ladies which was destined to 
 last for years.
 
 216 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XXH. 
 
 A REVELATION. 
 
 A DEEP and steadfast determination is rarely harsh 
 and tumultuous in encompassing the end it has in 
 view, but is often slow and deliberate, as it moves on 
 to the accomplishment of its purpose. 
 
 So Miss Incognita did not 'become unduly im- 
 patient, nor despair, as the years flew by with out any 
 further information being vouchsafed unto her. 
 
 While Mr. Fortune, the attorney was as kind to her 
 as he could be, he always pleaded professional honor 
 and secrecy as the reason why he could not disclose 
 to her the fact she so much desired to know. So one 
 day when he called on her as he did rather oftener 
 than she desired, she introduced the subject of travel- 
 ing, and asked him : 
 
 "Mr. Fortune, when did you last take a trip at 
 sea?" 
 
 Unthoughtedly he replied : "Some years ago when 
 I was called on business to the Bermuda Islands." 
 He had no sooner said it than his face changed color, 
 which she detected at once. 
 
 "Did you spend much time there?" 
 
 "No, madam, I was there but a week or two," he 
 jiswered rather curtly, as though desiring to drop 
 the subject. Then she said laughing: 
 
 "Now I am going to ask vou if that isn't ti
 
 A Revelation 217 
 
 from which you brought my boy and his old negro 
 nurse, for she says you came with her." 
 
 "Really, Miss Incognita, I must ask you to excuse 
 me on this point." He looked out of the window 
 and seemed to be in a deep study for a moment or 
 two, and then added: "But after thinking the matter 
 over, I don't think I will commit a breach of pro- 
 fessional confidence now by answering you. Yes, 
 that was the place." 
 
 A week later Miss Incognita took passage to the 
 Islands of Bermuda. There she spent a week, during 
 which time she was actively engaged making inquiries 
 everywhere to asceiiain if any one by the name 
 of Eroslove or Dumas had ever lived in the island. 
 She could hear nothing of such a person on the main 
 island, but did learn fact number three which was 
 that an island of considerable size there was known 
 as the "Eroslove Plantation." This tended to con- 
 firm her in former surmises she had that he was of a 
 family of wealth and influence, whose possessions 
 were of an extensive character. 
 
 She went to this island but found no r>ne on it 
 except an ignorant black family, who knew nothing 
 more about their landlord than the fact that they 
 "bad hyeard he lived summers 'cross de sea" 
 whether in America or England they did not know. 
 
 She was about taking her departure, when she 
 observed a peculiar figure moving about among the 
 cedars near a small rabin. It was the old Egyptian. 
 He was now very old, and it seemed a miracle that he 
 was a)'**"
 
 218 Miss Incognita 
 
 As Miss Incognita came close to him he raised his 
 bowed form and head to observe her. She was awe- 
 struck at the sight of this ghostly appearance. He 
 spoke in time to prevent her flying from him, and 
 said: 
 
 "Yeah, yeah, by de holy waters ob de Nile, ef hit 
 ain't de sweet Missus done come heah ! Ybung 
 Missus, did Marse Henry come wid you?" he asked, 
 peering into her eyes out of his sunken Saffron orbs. 
 
 "Why, poor old man, I don't know what you mean. 
 Who are yon 1 ?" she asked with her voice full of pity 
 and compassion. 
 
 "Dat's so, young Missus, you don't know nothing 
 erbout me. I is old Gymp. Some on 'em call? me de 
 ole Egyptian, and some ole Gymp xle Conjurer. I 
 ain't gwine to do you no harm, Missus. You see I 
 knows Marster Henry and T knows you and 
 
 "Why, old man," she interrupted, "I aim sure you 
 don't know me and I don't know 
 
 "Yeah, yeah, Missus, I knowed and seed you de 
 time when Marster Henry wus here wid de ehiluns 
 oh, I wud er knowed you ergain .anywhar. Don't 
 say I didn't see you and know you, cat time when 
 Marster Henry come er-talkin' ter me erbaut dem 
 vibratoners, and what he wanted to do wid Missus 
 and de ehiluns." 
 
 At this point Miss Incognita asked excitedly : 
 
 "Why, dear old man, you mistake i^e for some one 
 else. What do you know about vibratoners and such 
 things?" 
 
 "Yeah, Missus, I knows heaps mo' dan I can tell
 
 A Revelation 219 
 
 you. Long time ergo Marster Henry wus in Egypt 
 whar I lived, and I taught 'im all he eber knowed 
 'bout vibratoners and sich things and I found out 
 flat he broke his oath I made him take erbout not 
 using what I bold 'im for evil, and when he wants 
 me ter tell 'im more, so he can ben' de young Missus 
 ter his will, and I won' do it, he gits mad, and 
 den " 
 
 "And, poor Gymp, ah, good old man" she began 
 with much feeling and sad music in her voice, "did 
 you really teach him all those things, and could you 
 teach me as much as much yes, more than you 
 taught him?" 
 
 "Yeah, young Missus, I will show you eberything, 
 all I know mo', mo', yes, mo' dan Marster Henry 
 eber knowed erbout. You needn't ask me, Missus, 
 why you want ter know hit all, fer I know already- 
 I done seed how you suffer, and how Marster 
 Henry 
 
 "But my dear old Gymp, who is Marster Henry? 
 You haven't told me yet?" 
 
 "No'm, I ain't tole you, 'cause you know 'im too 
 well now more'n you wanted ter know when he 
 made you suffer so. I done seed hit all, and you er 
 huntin' 'im now, and you er gwine ter find 'im I see 
 hit all and you gwine ter punish 'im too and he 
 ought ter suffer and I'm gwine ter show you some 
 things you ought ter know." 
 
 "Gymp, Gymp!" she cried out excitedly, "how did 
 you know all this? You say I aim going to find him 
 and have my revenge my s^-eet revenge?"
 
 220 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Yes, Missus, I say so. And you will. But he is 
 stronger dan you, and you will need ter know what 
 I gwine ter tell you. When de time comes I see hit ! 
 You will hab 'im wid you, and you will be 'bliged ter 
 ben' 'im ter yer will yeah, ha ! ha ! ha ! I say ter 
 ben' 'im ter yer will den you will want to know what 
 I'm gwine ter tell you. You do jes' as I tell you 
 will hab 'im when de time comes. I ain't got no hate 
 fer Marster Henry, but he's done wrong and cruel 
 ter de young Missus, and done broke his oath, and 
 he got ter suffer. And den think how he done dem 
 chilun and ef I kin help out de young Missus I's 
 gwine ter do hit." Here Gymp proceeded to teach 
 Miss Incognita the secrets of his art, which he 
 wanted her to know. There must have been much of 
 it ; for he talked to her a long time, and she ques- 
 tioned him on many points. In conclusion, he gave 
 her a bottle containing some lotion and said : "If you 
 is bledged ter do it in his case, you kin use dis ter 
 bring on de quiet, natural sleep. Yeah, he will sleep 
 under dis den, from dis natural sleep you kin carry 
 'im, as I done showed you, into de 'sleep of Isis.' 
 Yeah, young Missus, you kin ben' 'im ter you will 
 and he will do what you say ter 'im. Remember, do 
 as I say ter you !" 
 
 "Yes, yes, Gymp, every word. And you say he 
 does not know what you have taught me, and that, 
 therefore, he can't resist me?" 
 
 "No, young Missus, he don't know but a small part 
 ob it. He knows erbout dem vibratoners, and what 
 dey used fer, but de uther he don't and .you will
 
 A Revelation 221 
 
 want to use dem vibratoners too they will do 
 dey part." 
 
 Here Gymp made a low bow and started away, 
 but Miss Incognita stopped him, saying: "Wait a 
 moment, Gymp. Take this purse you will need it, 
 and before you leave me, tell me where is your 
 Marster Henry now?" 
 
 "Young; Missuss, all I know is he live way' cross 
 de sea in de white man's land, but I ain't nebar bin 
 dar. I ain't neber worried to know erbout de name 
 ob de place, 'cause I neber 'spected ter go dar. But 
 you needn't worry, you'se giwine ter find 'ira in good 
 time. Jes' keep on and don't give up. I done seed 
 hit all!" 
 
 "Oh, Gymp, let me thank you a thousand times 
 for what you have done for me today. Good-bye. 
 May the remainder of your days be peaceful and 
 happy. She took his wrinkled, bony hand :>d shools 
 it, and, as she did so, the old man bent down and 
 touched his lips to her hand, then gave her his bene- 
 diction and went away. 
 
 In the ordinary course and trend of human event?, 
 when one after another the routine duties of life 
 press upon us, the passage of time, while imper- 
 ceptible, is still very rapid. We do not realize the 
 velocity of this intermediate, connecting stream of 
 flowing between the two great oceans of eternity, the 
 past and the future, until we chance to look back 
 over the way we have been coming, and lo! the 
 distance behind us has become great. 
 
 x Miss Incognita knew how to work and to vrait, and
 
 222 Miss Incognita 
 
 the stream of time bore her along on its 'bosom with 
 the rest of mankind; but she did not grow any older! 
 
 There is not much to chronicle in the years of child- 
 hood. The leading features in the lives of most 
 children are about the same. 
 
 Eros was growing up to be a good, docile boy. His 
 mother would sometimes say, "He has a jolly, light 
 heart just like " and then turn her face away 
 from the one to which she was talking, as if she were 
 trying to conceal an expression of pain. "By the time 
 he was ten years of age he was so well advanced in 
 his studies that his mother entered him in a select 
 private school. In this same school as a pupil was 
 Gamaliel Smith, the little adopted daughter of Mrs. 
 John Smith. 
 
 Miss Incognita had taken pains for some reason 
 or other to keep them apart before this time. While 
 she and Mrs. John Smith often visited each other, 
 and were the closest of friends, yet the children were 
 kept apart. What her reason was the reader must 
 divine for himself. $ut there was one fact that 
 happened, be the cause what it may as soon as Eros 
 met Gamaliel he claimed her for his sweetheart, and 
 she did not object. There is more romance among 
 children from ten years old and up than grown 
 people ever dream of, unless they happen to remem- 
 ber their own little sentimental lives when they were 
 children. 
 
 The sequel alone can show what she had in view. 
 
 Year by year the children grew in mind and 'body, 
 and Miss Incognita waited and watched!
 
 A Revelation 223 
 
 She was busy all the time, for her business interests 
 seemed to have grown, and her increasing evidences 
 of wealth was the talk of many. 
 
 But her attention to business produced no frowns 
 on her brow, nor invited wrinkled care to a siesta on 
 her cheeks. 
 
 She never doubted the time would come, but lived 
 in anticipation of it, and thus in keen enjoyment of 
 it, as does the youth who builds castles for the future 
 and expects soon to realize them and possess them.
 
 224 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1889. 
 
 IT is not necessary to delay the inevitable culmina- 
 tion of events in order to give the details of the 
 school life of Eros and Gamaliel. 
 
 They were in the same class, and there was a 
 rivalry between them in the curriculum of books, 
 and also in the curriculum of love. 
 
 When she was thirteen, Gamaliel was the sweetest, 
 prettiest little nymph of a girl imaginable. Her 
 deep, violet eyes seemed to have grown greater in 
 their wealth of loveliness. Her eye-brows were dark 
 and arched like the dome of a minature sky. 
 
 When she and Eros were sixteen they were in- 
 separable. 
 
 Miss Incognita encouraged them in their nftection. 
 Yet she never hinted to them of the relationship 
 existing between them. 
 
 Was she conducting an experiment, and testing 
 the unaided instincts of nature? Is the passion of 
 sex for sex even eliminated except when there is the 
 conscious relation of brother and sister, which has 
 existed, and been known, since infancy? Is it not 
 this knowledge and this association in the family, 
 beginning with infancy, which eliminates the potent 
 power and attraction of sex? 
 
 Could she then attempt to conduct this experiment,
 
 The Events of the Year 1889 225 
 
 j 
 
 trusting only to the subliminal instinct, as it were, of 
 the blood itself? 
 
 Time alone will show. 
 
 
 
 The next year Eros and Gamaliel would be seven- 
 teen. One day their teacher sent the following note 
 to Miss Incognita: 
 
 FORTY-FOURTH STREET ACADEMY, 
 
 "June 16, 1889. 
 
 "DEAR Miss INCOGNITA: I think it my duty to 
 advise you thiat it would be prudent for your son 
 Eros and Miss Gamaliel Smith to be sent to different 
 schools. Not that their conduct has as yet been 
 rash, not that but their constant attachment and 
 association with each other are too pronounced and 
 demonstrative to be productive of good to them. 
 Besides, I fear it will have an untoward influence 
 upon the other boys and girls in the school, who must 
 observe them. 
 
 a l have written a similar note to Mrs. Smith. 
 "Very respectfully, 
 
 "T. J. IRVINE, Teacher. 
 
 The next d'ay he received the following reply from 
 Miss Incognita : 
 
 "DEAR MR. IRVINE: Your note received. I have 
 conferred with Mrs. Smith, and we both prefer for 
 Eros and Gamaliel to continue together in your 
 school for this term. 
 
 "Respectfully, 
 "City, June 17, 1889." "Miss INCOGNITA.
 
 226 Miss Incognita 
 
 In the early fall of 1889 the following advertise- 
 ment appeared in one of the New York dailies: 
 
 "Stock for sale in a paying enterprise, for the pur- 
 pose of increasing the business. Address Lock Box 
 100, Chicago, 111." 
 
 In a few days a letter was received by Miss Incog- 
 nita from Chicago, and then she quickly dispatched 
 this note: 
 
 "FIFTH AVENUE, CITY. 
 
 "DEAR SIR : Your letter of two weeks ago to my 
 Chicago agent has been referred to me. Will you 
 have the kindness to call and see me at my residence. 
 By doing so you will greatly oblige, 
 
 "Respectfully yours, 
 
 "Miss INCOGNITA. 
 "To ARCHIE SNOB, E^ JIty. 
 "Sept. 12, 1889." * 
 
 The next morning Mr. Archie Snob called. She 
 met him in her library, which she used for her busi- 
 ness office. After they had exchanged the usual 
 formal compliments, he said : 
 
 "I presume your agent has ah informed you of 
 the contents of me letter. I saw the advertisement 
 in one of the city appers which I answered." 
 
 "Yes, Mr. Snob, he sent me your letter, and as 
 soone as I received it, I wrote you. Matter? of im- 
 portance like this, connected with business, I like to 
 give my personal attention."
 
 The Events of the Year 1889 227 
 
 "All of which demonstrates your ah prudence 
 and good judgment, madam. Now, I live in England 
 that is aw in London, you know, and me ordin- 
 ary affairs I entrust to me American agents. But 
 ah in important matters, I come over once 
 ah or twice a year, don't you know, from London, 
 to attend to them ah myself." 
 
 "So you spend much of your time in England 1 ?" 
 
 "Aw yes, madam, I aw really live in London. 
 Me residence is ah at the Marlborough Club 
 rooms. Me investments are mostly ah in America. 
 Having now ah a considerable accumulation of 
 money from me estates, I am looking out for a 
 good investment." 
 
 Without waiting to sound him on the question of 
 investment, she continued on another line : 
 
 "Are you well acquainted in London ?" 
 
 "Yes, madaan, me acquaintance is not as extensive 
 as it is select. I do not ah seek an ordinary line 
 of acquaintance. The Marlborough Club, you know 
 ah is composed altogether of the upper set of the 
 nobility. Count Antignolio, the distinguished Italian 
 nobleman, was a member ah there, until he gave 
 up his London residence aw and returned to Italy. 
 He was one of me bosom friends, ah and was always 
 delighted to play baccarat with me. I regretted very 
 much ah when he left London some years ago, 
 soon after his return from a voyage with *Lord 
 Eroslove to the Bermudas." 
 
 Notwithstanding Miss Incognita had extraordinary
 
 228 Miss Incognita 
 
 self-control, she became visibly excited. She did 
 her best to control her voice and to keep from appear- 
 ing- in too much haste to question him further. 
 
 "You mentioned the name Lord Eroslove, I 
 believe? I think I've often heard of him, (though 
 she had never heard the name called before in all 
 her life). "Did you ever make the acquaintance of 
 this Lord Eroslove?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, madam, I am quite -aw as intimate 
 with him as I was with the Count. You know aw 
 he it was who presented me to the Prince of Wales 
 at aw one of his royal levees." 
 
 "Then he still lives in London ?" 
 
 "Yes, madam. He is a bachelor and has rooms 
 aw you know, at the Marlborough Club Mansion, 
 where I am thrown with him aw very much." 
 
 Miss Incognita was too shrewd to excite Mr. Archie 
 Snob's suspicions by exhibiting an unwonted interest 
 in the personality of .Lord Eroslove. But she 
 determined to make Mr. Snob her friend, in order 
 to learn all from him. 
 
 "With reference to this business matter on which 
 I asked you to call my agent has ah*9dy sufficiently 
 acquainted you with the nature of it, I believe?" 
 
 "Yes, madam, quite fully. Upon me special ah 
 request, he was kind enough to let me agent see the 
 books, and he informed me ah the earnings have 
 been large ah very flattering." 
 
 "All this, of course, Mr. Snob, you will keep in 
 strict confidence, even if you should make no invest- 
 ment in the stock. You will understand, I do not
 
 The Events of the Year 1889 229 
 
 care to have the secrets of my business made known 
 to the public." 
 
 "Of course, madam, you can depend upon me in 
 this matter." 
 
 "I started this business through the aid of a dear 
 friend in 1870. My beginning was small, but the 
 article of my discovery and manufacture and sale 
 became at once so popular that the business grew 
 wonderfully. My friend and I soon formed a stock 
 company, I owning two-thirds of the stock and he 
 one-third. It was but two years thereafter until we 
 had to double the size of our plant. Since then the 
 growth has been proportionately rapid. We have 
 increased the capital stock $100,000. This makes 
 our capital stock one million dollars. The business 
 now pays ten per cent, on this capital, besides laying 
 aside a surplus." 
 
 "A wonderful record, madam wonderful. But 
 no more so than your discovery. It is strange you 
 have kept the fact that iaw you are the discoverer 
 of this ah wonderful preparation a secret from 
 the public. I am informed it is a ah great blessing 
 to mankind, this a-w discovery of yours. On wfrat 
 basis can this stock be bought?" 
 
 "I will instruct my agent to issue you the shares 
 for a premium of 25 per cent. Should it not prove 
 for you a ten per cent, investment, I will take the 
 stock from you at any time on the same terms on 
 which you bought it." 
 
 "A very fair proposition. Miss Incognita, and one 
 which meets me >aw hearty .approval. I will take
 
 230 Miss Incognita 
 
 the stock on your terras at once. Where and when 
 shall I call to exchange me check for -the aw cer- 
 tificate of stock?" 
 
 "Let me see? Today is Tuesday could "you call 
 here Saturday a. m., say at ten o'clock 1 ? If so, we can 
 close up the entire transaction?" 
 
 She usual'y entrusted such details as this to her 
 agent, but this afforded her too excellent an oppor- 
 tunity for a second call from Mr. Snob.. He replied : 
 
 "I will tab call at that time with pleasure." 
 
 After a cordial "Good morning ah glad to have 
 met you, madam," Mr. Snob took his departure. 
 
 As he walked away he thought to himself: "A 
 magnificent woman. She has all the grace and bear- 
 ing of royal or noble blood. I am delighted. I shall 
 see her again !" 
 
 "And to think of her talking about starting this 
 business in 1870? By gosh, she doesn't look a day 
 over twenty-six at most, the age when the majority of 
 women are at their best." 
 
 As Mr. Snob was walking away thinking these 
 thoughts, Miss Incognita was making the halls and 
 apartments of her home ring with her merry 
 laughter and rich, sweet voice. She caught Eros in 
 her arms and whirled him around in a merry waltz. 
 She called Mary Dundee and her other "household 
 companions" and made them take a holiday, and go 
 to the park for an outing and all the time they were 
 getting ready to start she was running on with them 
 in the manner and style of a. frolicksome school 
 girl.
 
 The Events of the Year 1889 231 
 
 When they were gone, she ordered the carriage, 
 and she and Eros went for a call on Mrs. John Smith 
 and Gamaliel. 
 
 Mrs. Smith complimented her on her radiant 
 appearance that morning. The truth is, no compli- 
 ments could have done justice to her fresh and 
 queenly beauty ! Since she had talked with Mr. Snob 
 she was very happy. She could scarcely realize that 
 she actually knew upon what part of the great 
 rotund earth he could be found. She knew a man 
 who knew him, who had even slept under the same 
 roof with him, and from whom she could and would 
 learn all about him ! Then he could not always 
 escape her! His heart would yet be her prey, and 
 it should yet learn whf c it is to bleed and burn 
 and break ! 
 
 As the tigress, \rhen getting ready to bound upon 
 her prey, exhibits more of her wonderful grace, 
 agility and beauty, than at any other time, so the 
 fresh, graceful, imperial beauty of Miss Incognita 
 even now was beginning to show itself. 
 
 "By-the-bye, with reference to our plans for Eros 
 and Gamaliel something has happened which I want 
 to tell you Mrs. Smith. I have met somebody don't 
 ask me whom who lives in London, and has the 
 entree to the best set. You know we have been talk- 
 ing of taking the children over next year. Now I 
 have decided on this plan for Eros. He cannot go, 
 but instead will go off to college to begin his studies 
 in good earnest. But we must go and take Gamaliel, 
 and through him whom I shall make my friend she
 
 232 Miss Incognita 
 
 shall enjoy the henors of the first social circles of 
 London. Now how does that strike you? 
 
 "Oh, admirably, except that I can't afford to lose 
 you on that trip. Of course you will go !" 
 
 "I will certainly do so. We must not miss this 
 opportunity. It will be one in a lifetime for 
 Gamaliel. She will be eighteen then, and her beauty 
 will do her full justice. Since Eros goes off to col- 
 lege, she will have to be entertained in some way to 
 keep her from .missing him so much." 
 
 "But suppose Gamaliel should be entrapped by 
 some noble fellow, what of Eros? You know he 
 loves her, yea, adores her." 
 
 "Oh, never mind, we can manage all that. I will 
 make Eros look out for himself. If Gamaliel can 
 marry a nobleman let her do it. You know she looks 
 to me like the daughter of some royal scion. Just 
 think of the wonderful circumstances of her birth, all 
 of which was and is mysterious." 
 
 "Yes, that is true of her. Of late she has acted 
 like a caged bird. You can't conceive how she frets 
 over that terrible .inscription on her bosom! "We 
 went to a ball recently at Mrs. Allen's. Gamaliel 
 cried and raved for an hoar, because she could not 
 wear an evening dress like the other girls. O'f course 
 that is out of the question on account of that terrible 
 disfigurement. She asks and asks me how it came 
 there, who put it there, and why I let them do it, 
 all of which nearly kills me, for I can't give her any 
 satisfaction about it." 
 
 "Why don't you tell her she was once stolen by
 
 The Events of the Year 1889 233 
 
 the gypsies when she was a baby, and when you 
 found her this' was on her." 
 
 "What a splendid tale that would be to tell her. 
 It's just the thing, and I will do it. I h-ave thought 
 several times of consulting some of the best phy- 
 sicians, to see if it could be removed, and think I 
 shall do it yet." 
 
 "I assure you I would not," replied Miss Incognita 
 with considerable emphasis. "Some of them might 
 advise and attempt it. and imperil her life. I would 
 not risk it for anything." And her advice settled 
 that point to Mrs. Smith's satisfaction, and eminently 
 so to hers! 
 
 Not for the world would she have had those mys- 
 terious characters removed, or even blurred one iota!
 
 234 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 UNEXPRESSED SENTIMENTS A JOURNEY FOR A 
 PURPOSE. 
 
 IT \vould be difficult to portray, or to imagine, Miss 
 Incognita's feelings and thoughts with reference to 
 Eros, during those years after she had satisfied her- 
 self as to his father's identity. He had blue-black 
 eyes, black hair, a full, broad face and a handsome, 
 athletic figure, all very much like his father. If he 
 had inherited that dimple as Gamaliel did he would 
 have been a fac-simile of him. 
 
 He was always very affectionate towards his 
 adopted mother and his affection strangely stirred 
 her. 
 
 She would look into the boy's eyes and face and 
 through them dnto another's of days long gone by. 
 His lips kissed and clung exactly like another's, and 
 his fondlings and caresses manifested that same wild, 
 reckless depth of emotion ! He often gazed upon her 
 person and into her face, and would rave to her over 
 her beauty. How strange to her seemed these 
 wonderful results of heredity ! His passion for 
 beauty, how like another's! 
 
 Sometimes she could hardly interpret her feelings 
 towards Eros, after he had become a large boy. 
 During these times even his presence aroused her 
 strangely and deeply. For days her eyes -would be 
 red from weeping and her heart sore from aching. 
 She would hurry Eros off to school, or send him away 
 to read in the library, and she would go upstairs
 
 Unexpressed Sentiments 235 
 
 into a certain strangely fitted up room, an exact 
 duplicate of a certain room of long ago, and, throw- 
 ing herself up on an old, out-of-date, peculiar sofa, 
 would .go off into a kind of heart-consuming reverie. 
 At other times, she would think how strange that 
 his son should call her mother; that he should hav? 
 been fondled in his infancy on her breast; should 
 have been reared under her wing; should know no 
 parent but her, and no home but hers. Why should 
 he have abandoned Eros and Gamaliel, this double 
 blessing of heirship the apparent desire for which 
 had once been the insatiable passion of his life? Or 
 had this desire been only a 'Cruel pretense of his, 
 \\ith which to gibe and insult her, and then ?o cruelly 
 cast her off? And here was a scion of this lecherous 
 fiend (no doubt got by him in a liaison with some 
 mercenary courtesan) calling her "mother," nur- 
 tured in her bosom, fondled in her arms, caressed by 
 her hands, kissed by her lips, called "son" by her 
 tongue, and deeply loved by her heart! What would 
 she, what could she do? How could she endure the 
 titanic struggle of emotions which this boy and these 
 thoughts incited upon the arena of her heart? Must 
 rlie drive him away? Was it her province to visit 
 the sin of the father upon the child? 
 
 No, she would endure him ! She would let his 
 blue-black eyes continue to mock her for they did 
 it innocently! She would not repulse those wild, 
 reckless, amorous caresses, for the son knew not 
 they were like his! She would not cruelly mid rash- 
 Iv rid herself of these always too bitter reminders of
 
 236 Miss Incognita 
 
 the past, which, like a tantalizing friction, kept 
 chafed and open and festering the heart-sores of 
 those cruel days ! 
 
 No, rather she would love this boy who had been 
 so mysteriously sent to her. There must have been a 
 purpose in it, and to her that purpose was paramount 
 and was held on to with the unflinching fealty of a 
 desperate resolve. 
 
 For with Eros had not Gamaliel been sent also 1 ? 
 And without Tier could she ever expect to torture that 
 heart, to do which was the goal of her outraged 
 love's ambition? Could she have known of Gamaliel 
 except through Eros? Should she not then cherish 
 him as the apple of her eye, as the innocent detective, 
 through whom her outraged love had thus far found 
 and worked its clue, and would yet bring to justice 
 the despoiler of her heart? 
 
 After such reflections as these she would be more 
 tender than usual to Eros, and would find a species 
 of strange, keen enjoyment in him. 
 
 During .all these years the children had been 
 growing up she had shown as great an interest in 
 Gamaliel as she had in Eros. Miss Incognita real- 
 ly directed Gamaliel's education and influenced Mrs. 
 Smith to give her every accomplishment and grace 
 which culture and money could attain. "Ha !" she 
 thought, "I shall prepare her as a gift to Mm, but 
 not as a daughter. No ! But to break his heart !" 
 
 Gamaliel at eighteen had passed from the awk- 
 ward, adolescent, chaotic beauty of girlhood into the 
 rich, voluptuous embodiment and grace of woman- 
 hood.
 
 Unexpressed Sentiments 37 
 
 She had a rare simplicity of manner and a modest 
 demeanor. She was known as "that beautiful girl 
 who is too modest to wear her dresses cut low." She 
 was a young woman of much depth of feeling, sen- 
 timent and passion; one of that style of beauty whose 
 eyes look at you modestly and languidly, as if they 
 were dreaming dreams, and you saw them reflected 
 out of the mysterious depths of a lake; and they 
 are often cast down as if trying to hicie them- 
 selves behind the long dark lashes; and when they 
 give themselves now and then full to your gaze, you 
 feel thrilled by them and pray that you may look 
 into them for a long time ! But they quickly dis- 
 appoint you and are cast down again. Ah I such a 
 one knows what depths love has! She can make 
 you dream of Elysium, and forget you had ever 
 been on earth, where such things as pain and suf- 
 fering and ennui are known ! You will not know 
 that there had ever been any other woman but her! 
 She will fill your life and your heart with love and 
 joy, for she will desire no one else but you ! All 
 this will be yours if you win such a woman's love; 
 but beware; you must be sure you have won her 
 love, otherwise she may give it to another. Such is 
 her nature. 
 
 Such a woman was Gamaliel at eighteen. 
 
 It is needless to tarry at this point, to detail to 
 the reader the numerous visit of Mr. Archie Snob 
 to Miss Incognita after that first meeting when he 
 went away so deeply impressed by her. He had 
 cafled the next Saturday morning at the appointed
 
 238 Miss Incognita 
 
 hour, and they closed up the business matter which 
 they had under consideration. He tarried long 
 (hereafter, and upon her pressing invitation re- 
 mained to lunch with her. 
 
 He told her everything he had ever known of 
 Lord Eroslove and his family, and how his elder 
 and only brother had died in 1869 without heirs, 
 leaving Sir Henry the sole heir to the family title 
 rnd estates. How he had once lived .in America and 
 was a physician under some assumed name, and he 
 had hurried back to England upon the death of his 
 elder brother. But Archie Snob could tell nothing 
 about Lord Eroslove having any children. The 
 gossip of London had never gotten that piece of 
 news. After that second visit, Mr. Snob called 
 often, and Miss Incognita went with him many times 
 to visit Mrs. Smith and Gamaliel. He took the 
 greatest fancy to Gamaliel. He showed her every 
 possible attention outside of an absolute courtship. 
 One day it came about that he broached the sub- 
 ject of a trip to England for Gamaliel, and when 
 he saw that her mother somewhat favored it he prom- 
 ised to give her a magnificent ball and reception at 
 the Marlborough Club, at which Lord Eroslove and 
 his set would be favored attendants, and, in fact, 
 nothing should be lacking to make the trip a com- 
 plete social success. 
 
 Miss Incognita has purposely arranged it so that 
 Mr. Archie Snob should first suggest the trip, know- 
 ing that if he could be led to do this of his own 
 accord be would take a greater interest in the suc- 
 cess of it.
 
 Unexpressed Sentiments 239 
 
 A conference was held between him, Mis? Incog- 
 nita, Mrs. John Smith and Gamaliel, at which it was 
 determined to make the trip just as soon as Gama- 
 liel's wardrobe could be made ready. This was pre- 
 pared without reference to cost, Miss Incognita de- 
 signing the special dresses and paying most of the 
 bills herself. No one had ever known her heart to 
 be so much in anything as it was in planning for 
 this trip and getting Gamaliel ready for it. She 
 determined for some reason to make her a creation 
 of surpassing loveliness, and she was doing it to 
 perfection. 
 
 Miss Incognita decided to go as Gamaliel's wid- 
 owed aunt and to be dressed in the style widows 
 wear in second mourning. 
 
 She was to be known only as Mrs. Claudia Jones. 
 No one was to ask her, or attempt to discover why 
 she went under this disguise. 
 
 Finally everything was ready. The day for their 
 departure was at hand. Miss Incognita had arranged 
 her household and business matters to her satisfac- 
 tion. Eros had been sent off to college, and the ten- 
 der, affectionate, long-drawn-out farewell .between 
 him and Gamaliel, with their vows and tears and 
 kisses, had ended. 
 
 On a beautiful morning in May, 1890, they 
 sailed. From the day they went aboard the "Teu- 
 tonic" Miss Incognita became Mrs. Claudia Jones, 
 and she required they should call her nothing else 
 on fhe journey, in order that they might become ac- 
 customed to it before reaching London.
 
 240 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE BETROTHAL. 
 
 IT was one of those magnificent nights in early 
 June, filled with fragrance of flowers and early 
 fruits. We find ouselves in the city of London, 
 approaching the Marlborough Club mansion. It 
 is eleven o'clock in the evening, and the splendor 
 of the lights streams from the great open windows 
 of the house. We enter, and on the third floor are 
 ushered into a magnificent dancing pavilion or hall. 
 
 The pavilion is filled with music, which steals 
 into your ears from some hidden recess. The glid- 
 ing rhythm of the waltz moves in graceful undula- 
 tions to the soft measures of the music. About the 
 sides of the great pavilion, and hidden back in re- 
 cesses behind miniature arches are chairs and divans, 
 upon which the tired dancers, or those who do not 
 dance, may sit or recline and rest. 
 
 A little to the right as we enter the great arched 
 doors an one of these recesses we observe two ladies 
 sitting. They are not dancing but interested specta- 
 tors of the festive scene. One is dressed in widow's 
 mourning, and her fae can scarcely be seen be- 
 hind the thin black veil. We walk up near to them 
 and take a comfortable seat. The lady behind the 
 black veil seems to be interested in only one per- 
 sonage jusit at present. She 'hears nothing, she 
 sees nothing, she feels nothing, but him. She does
 
 The Betrothal 241 
 
 not even observe that beautiful girl, who. accom- 
 panied by a handsome man, has just taken a seat 
 near her. She is looking at that one personage as 
 if her life depended upon it. We will leave her 
 thus engaged and take notice of this angelic figure 
 of a girl who has just taken her seat. She is dressed 
 differently from any lady taking part in the ball. 
 
 She wears her exquisite white satin gown fastened 
 a little below the base of her throat and clasped 
 there by a double stream of diamonds and pearls, 
 which encircle her neck. All the other dancers are. 
 dressed in the extreme decollete fashion of the mod- 
 ern evening costume. 
 
 Soon after this dream of modest beauty had 
 been seated, a slender, delicate man is seen ap- 
 proaching with his arm in that of the man whom the 
 lady in black has been so ravishingly observing. 
 This gentleman appeared to be about forty years 
 of age. He had a large black, wavy mustache and 
 very graceful side-whiskers, neatly trimmed, and 
 clean-shaven chin. He was somewhat portly and 
 stood about six feet high. His complexion was 
 florid, his eyes black and his chin rather fat and 
 prominent. As he came nearer the lady in black 
 leaned farther forward and was seen to peep at him 
 from beneath the hem of her dark veil, which she 
 slipped up. She was pressing one hand upon her 
 heart, and she shook like an aspen leaf when it is 
 made the toy of the wind. 
 
 By this time the two men had reached tf.e young 
 lady, who was a few yards removed from the lady
 
 242 Miss Incognita 
 
 in black. Then the latter heard the small gentle- 
 man, who was none other than Mr. Archie Snob, 
 say: 
 
 "Allow me to present to you my friend, Lord 
 Eroslove, Miss Smith." 
 
 As these two were exchanging the usual pleas- 
 antries incident upon a first meeting the agitated 
 lady in black nervously beckoned Mr. Snob to her 
 and said: 
 
 "Pray do not bring him here ! I have changed 
 rny mind. I really do not care for an introduction 
 to him now." 
 
 "Of course, if you prefer not, Mrs. Jones. I 
 have not yet mentioned your name to him, so he 
 will not notice this omission." 
 
 At this point Mr. Snob turned to walk away, 
 but she detained him, saying: 
 
 "Suggest to Gamaliel that she sit there with him 
 and rest a-while; she must not dainee too much." 
 
 Then she continued in a low murmur, as if talking 
 to herself, after Mr. Snob had walked away : 
 
 "Yes, they must sit there, that I may see him 
 well." 
 
 Gam'aliel sat with her hands resting in her lap. 
 
 Just enough of her arms and breast were visible 
 to give a hint of that choice wealth of beauty which 
 was held in modest reserve. Lord Eroslove observ- 
 ed this delicate art in her dress, and contrasted it 
 with the style of dress of other ladies, which reck- 
 le?.ly exposed to the gaze of all those rare beauties 
 of their person wfao sacred secrets should be
 
 The Betrothal 243 
 
 known only to the eye and touch of consecrated 
 love. He contrasted Gamaliel with these, and 
 thought : "How familiar have they grown to me, 
 as to every other man who sees them on all occa- 
 sions such as this. Beauty that is stale is like wine 
 that is flat; it has lost its sparkle, and the spirit 
 has departed from it it is but as dead. There are 
 flowers and tints of color so rare and delicate that 
 they fade away and become but as dry leaves when 
 exposed to the too open light of the sun. So with 
 a woman's beauty. It loses the subtle spirit of its 
 charm when the flood light of the public gaze has 
 but once been focused upon it." As these thoughts 
 flitted through the mind of Lord Eroslove, his 
 amorous eye feasted itself upon Gamaliel's downcast 
 eyes and upon her exquisitely rounded, tapering 
 forearm, and upon her rich, red, parted lips, and 
 upon that charming dimple in her chin, which seemed 
 a fit trysting-place for some fairy love. Soon the 
 lady behind the black veil gave a little start! She 
 looked more intently at Lord Eroslove! What had 
 she seen? These were her thoughts: 
 
 "Lord Eroslove was smitten, deeply smitten, at 
 first sighit of Gamaliel. She knew it, for only when 
 he was moved to the very depths of his being did 
 his chin become agitated as she now saw it, and form 
 itself into such a deep, cavernous dimple as was 
 MOW there before her eyes. 'She knew him too well 
 to be mistaken on this point." 
 
 The longer he looked upon and talked to Ga- 
 maliel the more aroused his feelings became. He
 
 244 Miss Incognita 
 
 was oblivious of the dance and all things else save 
 Gamaliel. She talked in her low, soft way to him, 
 and as she talked she now and then lifted her 
 large, dreamy, violet eyes to his, and then would 
 let them fall again, or shield them by the dark 
 mist of her drooping lashes. Doubtless he would 
 never have asked her for a dance had not Mr. Snob 
 flitted by and given him a knowing wink. Then 
 they glided away to the soft, sweet breath of the 
 music, and Lord Eroslove danced as he had never 
 danced before. For Gamaliel was skilled in all the 
 graces of this passionate art. 
 
 The mazes' of the waltz, the passionate strains 
 of the music, the charms of the exhilarating girl in 
 his arms, all seemed to intoxicate in a strange way 
 the senses of Lord Eroslove; so that soon in a 
 paroxysm of emotion he drew 'her too closely and 
 tightly in his embrace, and lo ! before he knew it 
 she had skimmed away from him, with a blush on 
 her face and lips and a shy glitter in her dreaming 
 eye. He quickly caught up with her, and with a 
 little smile playing about her half-parted lips she 
 said: 
 
 "Must I ask you to excuse me for being too fast 
 for you or should you ask me to excuse you for " 
 
 "Yes, I must, for my too passionate ardor in 
 the dance; but you waltz so heavenly I could not 
 help it." 
 
 "Thank you, Lord Eroslove. Then perhaps I 
 had better .dance more earthly 1 ?" 
 
 "No, no; do not; but rather let me pray your
 
 The Betrothal 245 
 
 forgiveness in advance for any seeming emotion I 
 may express in my too arderut demeanor." 
 
 During the remainder of the evening he did not 
 leave her side and the woman be.iind the black 
 veil saw this and was supremely happy. 
 
 During the next month of their stay in London 
 Lord Eroslove was all attention to Gamaliel, and 
 courted her with all the ardor of his passionate 
 nature. 
 
 To those who observed him there was no doubt 
 of tdie fact that he \vas deeply in love. It was in 
 truth no passing passion with him. He sincerely 
 believed that in Gamaliel he had met his destiny. 
 There was an indefinable something, he now dis- 
 covered, about Gamaliel's downcast eyes, her deep 
 carmine lips, her modest demeanor, 'her entire per- 
 sonality, which he could not resist. No other woman 
 had ever moved him so strangely and irresistably 
 as she had. Could this be partly caused by the affini- 
 ty of blood between them, unknown to him; was 
 there such a subtle influence as that? 
 
 He was seconded and aided in his suit by Mrs. 
 Smith and Miss Incognita. The latter would never 
 make his acquaintance, and hente he knew nothing 
 of her, but she constantly used her potent influence 
 upon Gamaliel in his behalf. She would tell Gama- 
 liel that Eros was too young and could not marry 
 for years; that his college curriculum must be gone 
 through and then his professional course. She showed 
 her what an exalted position she would attain at 
 once upon her marriage with Lord Eroslove, and how
 
 246 Miss Incognita 
 
 all this would be lacking in a union with Eros. While 
 she was thus manipulating Gamaliel, Mrs. S,nith and 
 Archie Snob were encouraging Lord Eroslove. Mrs. 
 Smith also talked to Gamaliel of the futility of her 
 schoolgirl love for Eros, and of how foolish it was 
 for a girl to sacrifice herself to a mere youthful sen- 
 timent. 
 
 Gamaliel's position in the matter was one of a 
 forced acquiescent passivity. She did not love Lord 
 Eroslove', and she did love Eros. Yet those whom 
 she knew had her interest most at heart exerted all 
 their influence to have her marry tlhe former. She 
 felt a kind of awe of him. However, as he pressed 
 his suit and the others pressed his claims and ad- 
 vantages, she became apparently more and more sub- 
 missive. 
 
 Gamaliel felt the force of Miss Incognita's de- 
 termination for her to marry Lord Eroslove. Yet she 
 noticed that she never told her not to love Eros and 
 never attempted to break off their growing and a/mor- 
 ous correspondence. 
 
 The longer she and Eros were away from each 
 ot'her tlhe more frequent and amatory became their 
 letters. 
 
 The trutih is 1 , Miss Incognita had a motive in 
 separating Gamaliel and Eros when she did. She 
 knew that the inevitable effect of this separation 
 would be to increase the longing of Gamaliel and 
 Eros for each other and to produce that impetuosi- 
 ty and madness in their love which at the proper time 
 would carry out the purpose she had in view.
 
 The Betrothal 247 
 
 Mr. Arahie Snob arranged all sorts of tete-a- 
 tetes and drives and excursions, designed to favor 
 Lord Eroslove in his suit and throw him and Gama- 
 liel in closer contact. 
 
 In the hotel where the American party were stop- 
 ping their rooms were on each side of a private par- 
 lor. Mrs. Smith's and Gamaliel's suite of rooms were 
 on one side and Miss Incognita's on the other. Gama- 
 liel received Lord Eroslove in their private parlor. 
 The room occupied by Miss Incognita was connect- 
 ed with the parlor by a large sliding door. Above 
 this door was a large double mirror, which was swung 
 on pivots like a transom, and could be turned and 
 secured at any angle desired. 
 
 This mirror had been . designed to break the 'mon- 
 otony of the high bare wall above the door and also 
 to ventilate the adjoining suite of rooms. Miss In- 
 cognita now arranged it to serve a different purpose. 
 She adjusted it at such an angle that she could sit 
 in her room in a dark and obscure corner and observe 
 all that was going on in the parlor, while s'.ie herself 
 could not foe seen. 
 
 As she sat in her room observing Lord Eroslove 
 and Gamaliel, but unobserved by them, it gave her 
 a wonderfully accurate opportunity to note the sin- 
 cerity of his suit and to judge of ifhe depths of his 
 passion for Gamaliel. 
 
 As the time pa?sed and his heart became more and 
 more involved, she watched him with an interest that 
 was boundless. She also watched Gamaliel as close- 
 ly as she did him. She saw very plainly that the
 
 248 Miss Incognita 
 
 young girl's heart was never moved by his ardent 
 wooing, though she also observed enough about her 
 manner to conclude that she would marry him. How 
 ill this suited Miss Incognita's purpose ! Each day 
 as she observed these tihings she seemed to grow 
 younger and more buoyant and beautiful. She would 
 compliment Gamaliel and go into ecstasies over her 
 and her noble suitor, and altogether would seem to 
 be beside herself with a species of girlish glee. On 
 )ne of these occasions Gamaliel said to her: 
 
 "Then why don't you come in and me&t him? 
 You don't know him even !" 
 
 And she would reply to Gamaliel : 
 
 "I will by and by not now; it is not my time 
 yet." 
 
 Thus Lord Eroslove's wooing continued, until one 
 day about six weeks after he had met Gamaliel, she 
 consented to become his wife. 
 
 When this consummation was readied it was 
 neither his heart nor Gamaliel's that was the happiest, 
 but it was the heart of a woman in black, who, from 
 a dark corner of the adjoining room, observed their 
 betrothal. 
 
 That very night Gamaliel received a letter from 
 Eros, and wihen Miss Incognita came in she found 
 ^er in tears. She put her arms about her and kissed 
 3r warm lips, saying: 
 
 "Don't cry, my little girl! Trust to me. You 
 Know I will do for you what is for the best." 
 
 Gamaliel did not know the meaning of these 
 words as the speaker knew it.
 
 Judge Not 249 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 JUDGE NOT. 
 
 No one who has not suffered as Miss Incognita 
 had suffered is competent to criticise the form of re- 
 venge a woman's outraged love sees fit to inflict upon 
 its despoiler. 
 
 There are women whose crushed love, like a 
 wounded dove, will hide its head under its wing and 
 pass its sad life away in sobe oblivious retreat, hid- 
 ing its wound from all and telling its woes to none. 
 
 There are others of flippant, superficial natures 
 who prattle their tell-tale wrongs to all mankind, 
 even as the vociferous auctioneer cries out his wares 
 to the motley crowd. 
 
 Then there is a type of the deep-feeling, true, 
 high-bred woman, whose love is given, if at all, with 
 all the lavish wealth of a queen of passion ; she is as 
 a mighty empress, who, when her lord and king is 
 admitted to her eouch, 'endows him with all the mag- 
 nificence of her empire. If he, instead of adoring 
 her, tramples upon her heart, she will sooner or later 
 overwhelm and torture him by the awful potency of 
 that same power of passion with which she had 
 sought to bless him ! Such was Miss Incognita's 
 heart, and of this quality her lov:. While her ven- 
 geance possessed the frenzy of an avenging fury, yet 
 she kept it in subjection and guided it on to its con- 
 summation, as she had planned, with the calm wis- 
 dom of a "Daniel come to judgment."
 
 250 Miss Incognita 
 
 No woman can love deeply who cannot as deeply 
 hate. The depths of contending emotions lie upon 
 the same sub-cardiac level. There is as quick a route 
 from love to hate as from laughter to tears, if some 
 cruel invader once 'breaks down the dividing Alps. 
 
 There is but one test of character and that is the 
 crucible of trial. Let all who would cruelly and 
 harshly judge Miss Incognita's heart and the fearful 
 methods of its vengeance first put their heart in that 
 crucible in which hers had been so long and so cruel- 
 ly tortured. 
 
 When the party left London in the summer of 
 1890 they made a tour of the Continent. They spent 
 some weeks in Paris, where Mrs. Smith and Miss In- 
 cognita planned Gamaliel's elaborate trousseau and ar- 
 ranged for it to be ready for her wedding in the 
 early fall. 
 
 From this point they went to Switzerland, where 
 they remained until the heat of summer had ended. 
 
 By the middle of September they were in New 
 York, and began vigorous preparations for the wed- 
 ding, to take place on the evening of October twelfth. 
 
 Gamaliel had not seen Eros since the preceding 
 "winter. During his summer vacation they were in 
 Switzerland, and he did not join them. So she grew 
 more anxious to see him as one association after 
 another at home called him to her remembrance. 
 Their letters were frequent and full of love for one 
 another. 
 
 It had been decided that he should not leave col-
 
 Judge Not 251 
 
 legs to attend the wedding. Miss Incognita had set- 
 tled this point. Everything was working too well to 
 her purpose to risk the advent of Eros until her 
 plans demanded him. She gave strict orders that no 
 one was to inform Eros of Gamaliel's engagement or 
 \vedddng. 
 
 Every one noted that Miss Incognita was looking 
 as young and beautiful as Gamaliel. She was now 
 in her thirty-eighth year, and so perfect was the 
 preservation of her health and beauty that no one 
 would have thought of placing her age at over twenty- 
 eight that age when a woman is generally most at- 
 tractive and possesses to the highest degree all the 
 charms, graces and embodiments of perfect woman- 
 hood. 
 
 Miss Incognita seemed to have employed some 
 magic art in the preservation of her youth, beauty 
 and health. 
 
 Gamaliel noticed that as the wedding day ap- 
 proached Miss Incognita becaane more gentle and at- 
 tentive toward her, and made it a point to be near 
 or about her day and niglit. She quite often had her 
 to spend the night with her at her residence, and even 
 days and nights together there. 
 
 Mr. Archie Snob, had managed to have nimself 
 selected as Lord Eroslove's "best man." It was ar 
 honor he coveted, and which he worthily wore. 
 
 Lord Eroslove desired to remain a week or so 
 after the wedding in the city at some quiet hotel 
 or villa, tihns giving Gamaliel time to receive the com- 
 pliments and adieus of her friends before sailing
 
 252 Miss Incognita 
 
 for England. It was decided that the wedding should 
 be celebrated at the Smith mansion, and after that a 
 reception given to the couple at Miss Incognita's. 
 It was further arranged, in accordance with Miss In- 
 cognita's plan and desire, that instead of their stop- 
 ping at a hotel during their short stay in the city 
 they were to occupy her mansion and be her guests. 
 
 When these plans were submitted to Lord Eros- 
 love he replied that nothing could please him better. 
 Gamaliel was delighted to spend this time near Miss 
 Incognita, whom she bad grown to love as a mother. 
 And as for Miss Incognita, she was joyous, buoyant, 
 exuberant, over this arrangement ! Her spirits knew 
 no bounds. She began the decoration and arrange- 
 ment of her house a full week before the lime of 
 the wedding. No pains or expense were spared. 
 
 The bridal apartments on the second floor were 
 decorated and furnished in white and gold, and they 
 contained every appointment to add to their luxury, 
 charm and beauty. 
 
 Before the day of the wedding the halls and 
 rooms on the first and second floors were gardens of 
 palms and 'rare ferns and exotics. 
 
 All the exquisite, luxurious effects which can be 
 produced 'by the blending of the beauty of flowers 
 and the wealth of tints falling from the rare colors 
 or shaded burners and chandeliers -Id be seen 
 here. The riches of nature's adornment vied "with 
 the art of wan in producing this arrangement and 
 combination of beauty. 
 
 There was a strange, long room, on the third floor
 
 Judge Not 253 
 
 which no one was allowed to enter except Miss Incog- 
 nita. This room was at the rear end of the hall, 
 and one of its duors opened into the haH and another 
 into a small roo.m adjoining it. When the}' were ar- 
 ranging the other parts of the mansion she had the 
 workmen run an electric wire capable of carrying 
 five hundred volts to this room. She herself adjusted 
 it within this room, but what purpose she had in view 
 or what she did icith it no one knew. 
 
 At the same time the preparations a-t the Smith 
 mansion were going forward in just as elaborate 
 fashion. 
 
 The entire first floor was thrown together, and 
 the large parlors were arranged to rep'-^pnt a chapel 
 with its altars, etc. Here the ceremony was to be 
 performed, and Gamaliel would become Lady Eros- 
 love. 
 
 Two days before the wedding two important 
 events took place. One was the arrival of Lord 
 Eroslove, who was taken in charge by Mr. Archie 
 Snob and assigned quarters in one of those fashion- 
 able hotels for which New York is so famous. The 
 other event was that Miss Incognita drove in her 
 carriage to the office of Mr. Steele A. Fortune, and 
 these two together drove from his office to the offices 
 of the New York Life Insurance Company. After 
 a short consultation with the officers of this company 
 they were given two sealed documents, which they 
 took away with them. On the twelfth day of August 
 previous to this time Eros and Gamaliel were eigh- 
 teen years of age, and the articles of their adoption
 
 254 Miss Incognita 
 
 specified that when they reached this age the sealed 
 documents giving an account of their birth, parentage 
 and such facts only as the father wished them to know 
 could be had from the trustee. It should be noted 
 at this point that after Lord Eroslove had been in- 
 formed by his attorneys, Steele A. Fortune and A. 
 Fee, tha-1* the children whom he had committed to 
 them had been legally adopted by good parties and 
 the funds .properly invested in trust, as directed by 
 him, he never gave himself any more concern about 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Fortune never heard anything more of the little 
 baby girl whom he turned over to Attorney Fee upon 
 his arrival with the children in New York, and hence 
 never knew that Gamaliel was this little girl. Colonel 
 Fee dismissed* the whole thing from his mind just 
 as quickly as he concluded arrangements with Mrs. 
 John Smith for the child's adoption. One or two 
 letters passed between them soon thereafter, and that 
 was an end of the matter so far as he was concerned. 
 
 The engagement of Gamaliel! and Lord Eroslove 
 had been announced in all the papers, and much had 
 been said about it in some of them. Mr. Fortune 
 noticed this and knew at once that Lord Eroslove was 
 hi? old client in the matter with Miss Incognita. He 
 never dreamed that she had discovered the identity 
 of the father of Eros, her adopted son. He now 
 knew that 'the do.cum.ents she had received from the 
 trustees would disclose him to her, and the point in 
 his mind was, whether he should not acquaint Lord 
 Eroslove with Miss Incognita while he was over on
 
 Judge Not 255 
 
 his bridal trip. She had suspected and feared this 
 very disclosure of her identity and that of Eros, and 
 determined to prevent it at all hazards. 
 
 So as they were driving 1 back to the attorney's 
 office, after having procured the documents from the 
 trustee, she said : 
 
 "Mr. Fortune, I never asked but one favor of 
 you, and that you said you would have readily 
 granted me if it had not involved a breach of pro- 
 fessional confidence. You remember what that was. 
 Now as you could not then give me any information 
 about Lord-Eroslove, I want you to promise me now 
 you will not reveal to him anything concerning my- 
 self and Eros. I am sure you can promise me this, 
 and do it, without any breach of professional confi- 
 dence. We have had many pleasant evenings togeth- 
 er, and you have done much for my pleasure, and this 
 one favor I ask of you." 
 He replied : 
 
 "As much as I would like to 'let him know how 
 faithfully and successfully I had discharged my dn.it y, 
 which I could do by simply revealing you to him, yet, 
 since you request -this silence on my part, it gives me 
 great pleasure to observe it." 
 
 "Thank you, Mr. Fortune, but I'll tell you what 
 you may do; Just the day before Lord and Lady 
 Eroslove sail you may tell him all. You may do 
 that; I AviM consent to that, just because you are al- 
 ways so kind and good." 
 
 Mr. Fortune felt pleased and flattered and could 
 have desired nothing more than this, So Miss In-
 
 256 . Miss Incognita 
 
 cognita, having now relieved her mind- of this point, 
 felt more confident and buoyant than even. 
 
 Upon her return home she found a note from Mr. 
 Archie Snob saying that be and Lord Ei'oslove would 
 call that afternoon, as the latter was desirous to 
 meet the dearest friend of his betrothed, whose 
 guests he and Lady Eroslove expected to be for some 
 dlays after the marriage. 
 
 The reception of this note elevated the spirits of 
 this now radiant woman many degrees. The expec- 
 tation of this meeting seemed to give a glow to her 
 blood, which tinctured her skin to the richest tones. 
 She dressed herself in a house gown of ivory satin 
 trimmed ie point lace. At her throat was pinned 
 a single white rosebud, in the center of a cluster of 
 pale pink violets. Her hair was gathered and held 
 upon her head with a diamond brooch in the shape 
 of a crown, which shown with unusual brilliancy 
 a'gainst her cloud of dark hair. 
 
 As Lord Eroslove was presented to her she said: 
 
 "I am delighted to meet you, Lord Eroslove. I 
 have heard Gamaliel speak so often of you, and 
 of course I am deeply interested an the one who is 
 so soon to become her husband. You have won a 
 treasure in winning her." 
 
 "On this last proposition I agree with you hearti- 
 ly, Miss Incognita. And it would be but a waste of 
 words to assure you of the pleasure it gives me to 
 know the dearest friend Gamaliel has. You really 
 seem but a few years her senior, so I can under- 
 stand her congenial feeling toward you."
 
 Judge Not 257 
 
 At this she and Mr. Snob laughed, and she said: 
 
 "You doubtless base your kind compliment upon 
 the fact of my youthful appearance, .which is so 
 aptly expressed in the old adage that a woman is as 
 old as she looks and a man as ol'd as he feels. If 
 this be true, then I combine both similitudes in my- 
 stlf, for I am sure I feel younger than I look." 
 
 "Then I am sure you are but Gamaliel's equal in 
 years," he replied, smiling at her. 
 
 He appeared so real, so like himself, that Miss 
 Incognita would certainly have lost control of her- 
 self if she had not previously accustomed her emo- 
 tions to him and disciplined her mobile features, as 
 she observed him from the dark room in the London 
 hotel. 
 
 They had intended their call to be quite a short 
 one, but Mr. Snob noticed that Lord Eroslove lost 
 all idea of time, as this beautiful, brilliant woman 
 held him spellbound with her wit, vivacity and learn- 
 ing, all expressed with a melodious voice of inimi- 
 table intonation and softness of accent. He listen- 
 ed to her and looked into her eyes as though the 
 ecstacy of a dream possessed him or some strange 
 fascination held him spellbound. Her soul seemed to 
 be in her eyes and voice, and Mr. Snob thought to 
 himself as they bade her adieu and left the mansion 
 that he had never before seen her half so beautiful. 
 He also thought he understood ttie true reason why 
 she would never consent to meet Lord Eroslove when 
 he was pressing his suit for Gamaliel! It were well 
 for Gamaliel's chances that it bad been as it was!
 
 258 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 
 
 The clay of the wedding had now come, and all 
 things were ready. During the day Gamaliel felt the 
 depression of a nervous anxiety, which made her sad 
 and restless. 
 
 She wandered about the house trying to shake off 
 her heavy feelings toy prying into this and that and 
 busying herself about everything. She received a 
 letter from Eros w'hich made her weep until her 
 tears settled upon the letter like the morning dew 
 upon the grass. She went into the library, and, 
 opening first one book and then another, read snatches 
 from them. In one volume her eyes rested upon this 
 passage, which she read and re-read: 
 
 "If thou comest too late, my ideal ! I shall not 
 have the power to love thee. My soul is like a 
 dovecote full of doves. At every 'hour of the day 
 there flies forth some desire. The doves return to 
 the cote, hut desires return not to the heart. The 
 azure of the sky becomes white with tiheir countless 
 swarms. 
 
 "They pass away through space from world to 
 world, from clime to clime, in quest of my Love, 
 where they may perch and pass the night. Hasten 
 thy steps, my Dream ! my Love ! or thou wilt 
 find in the empty nest .but the shells of the birds that 
 have flown away."
 
 The Beginning of the End 259 
 
 When she had finished reading these beautiful 
 lines she hastened to her escretoire and quickly 
 penned them to Eros, and signed her name, "Your 
 own sad Gamaliel." This letter she bad a servant t 
 secretly post. She was under a promise not to in- 
 form Eros of the marriage, and this letter was the 
 nearest she could come toward expressing to him 
 the deep, sorrowful yearnings of her heart. The 
 nearer the time approached the less attractive be- 
 came to her the boasted honors of her alliance with 
 Lord Eroslove, and the more desperate became the 
 yearnings of her love for Eros. "Oh !" she thought, 
 "if he would only come! Even now I would fly with 
 him to the ends of the earth ! Why did I ever let 
 them cause me to be faithless to my love 1 ? O 1 God, 
 what a heart I have, that can thus love and yet be 
 untrue!" But soon, even now, the shadows of even- 
 ing were settling upon the earth, and the shadows of 
 despair about her heart ! With the advent of the 
 night came the advent of her doom. 
 
 The wedding and the ceremony were not dif- 
 ferent from other select affairs of this kind. A 
 hundred or so acqaintances and friends were in at- 
 tendance. At the last moment Mr?. John Smith was 
 overcome with severe nervous headache, and it de- 
 volved upon Miss Incognita to give Gamaliel to Lord 
 Eroslove. As these two women approached the al- 
 tar they were the center of all attraction. Every 
 eye that could get within range was focused upon 
 them. 
 
 face was pale and sad, and her dreamy
 
 260 Miss Incognita 
 
 violet eyes were cast down, and the long, dark lashes 
 seem as if trying to hide their tearful depths from 
 the gaze of all. She looked as though her heart was 
 keeping time with the music, and with each throb 
 was saying to her: 
 
 "Traitress to love ! Traitress to love !" 
 
 Miss Incognita was a personification of queenly 
 loveliness and radiance. No empress ever ap- 
 proached her throne with more stately magnificence 
 than she manifested as she led Gamaliel to the altar 
 and then stood there with her facing Lord Eroslove ! 
 Her rich bodice of snow-white satin was cut modest- 
 ly decollete, displaying all of her graceful throat. 
 She wore no ornaments, for nothing could adorn the 
 beauty of that throat and 'bosom. 
 
 Gamaliel's toilet of white silk and point lace 
 was fastened close up to the neck with a pin of dia- 
 monds. The stones were clustered to represent a 
 heart, and the center stone was a large, rich ruby 
 This cluster might be aptly said to represent her 
 heart, and that ruby her love for Eros. 
 
 The position as they stood before the altar put 
 Miss Incognita and Lord Eroslove face to face. Her 
 eyes were fastened upon his face and were nevef 
 once removed therefrom. The freshness, beauty and 
 buoyancy of her face and person seemed to fascinate 
 him and caused him to rivet his gaze upon her in- 
 stead of the bride. There are women who, when they 
 choose, can contract their souls and make themselves 
 appear dull and lifeless, and then, when the proper 
 person and occasion arouse them, they can let their
 
 The Beginning of the End 261 
 
 souls loose until their being becomes a halo of beau- 
 ty and inspiration ! Such had Miss Incognita done 
 upon this night, which marked the beginning of her 
 victorious revenge over the man who stood before 
 her. She possessed the spirit of an eagle and the 
 wings of her outraged love had plumed themselves 
 for a wonderful flight ! 
 
 Those who observed her face and eyes at that mo- 
 ment when she placed Gamaliel's cold and trembling 
 hand in the grasp of Lord Eroslove saw that her 
 eyes glittered and her lips a.nd cheeks were aflame! 
 
 The brief service was soon concluded, and the 
 party were driven to Miss Incognita's mansion, 
 where a reception was tendered Lord and Lady Eros- 
 love,|and they received the congratulations of friends. 
 
 A circumstance occurred as the newly-married 
 couple were passing from the door of the Smith man- 
 sion to their carriage, which should be here noted. 
 They were slowly making their way through the 
 crowd of people assembled on or thronging tbe street, 
 when a woman disguised in a black hood made her 
 way to the side of Lord Eroslove and thrust a sealed 
 note into his hand, at the same time hissing between 
 her teeth these words : 
 
 "Tonight, first look upon her breasts. Beware, 
 and fail not to do it!" 
 
 Then before he could detect whom she was she 
 was lost in the crowd. From the moment these 
 words pierced his ears a feeling of awe and dismay 
 seized upon his spirits, which he found it impossible 
 to shake off by either the gay levity of conversation
 
 262 Miss Incognita 
 
 or the exhilarating effects of wine. He noticed that 
 the only calm, sweet moments he had during the 
 evening were when Miss Incognita blessed him with 
 her radiant presence. She impressed him more and 
 more as a gifted creation, who was designed to 
 charm and captivate those about her and minister 
 to their pleasure. Not that these emotions toward 
 her detracted from or interfered with his love for 
 Gamaliel ! Not at all ! He realized that he loved her 
 as he had never loved any one. He had no shadow 
 of a doubt on this point. He knew the distinction 
 between a passing or even a deep passion and the 
 sacred ecstacy of love too well to be deceived as to 
 the quality of his emotions for her. But one love in 
 his life had ever approached this, and that passion 
 was dead long, long, ago. 
 
 Miss Incognita inspired within him a feeling of 
 high esteem and admiration which caused him to 
 quickly recognize that strength of her nature which 
 could be relied upon and leaned upon in trouble and 
 sore distress. Hence, from the moment he heard 
 those mysterious woi'ds (which had not reached Ga- 
 maliel's ear), and had had thrust into his hand that 
 yet unopened note which so oppressed his spirits, he 
 had felt himself drawn toward Miss Incognita for 
 relief and succor. Yet he knew he could not, would 
 not, dare not mention to her this mysterious and 
 menacing message which had been so stealthily de- 
 livered to hJhi. 
 
 "Doubtless," he would say to himself, "there is 
 no meaning to it. It was but the crazy act of some
 
 The Beginning of the End 263 
 
 lunatic's mind! Or perhaps it was a coarse joke of 
 some plefbian in the crowd that had gathered there on 
 the street." 
 
 Then he would grow impatient of the prolonged 
 festivities. It seemed to him the reception would 
 never end. Gamaliel's arm appeared to rest lifeless- 
 ly in his, and he could detect no spark of gayety in 
 her modest, beautiful face. Now and then he touch- 
 ed her hand and it was cold. He constantly felt his 
 left hand clutching that mysterious note in his pocket, 
 and it seemed hot to him, as though there was a glow- 
 ing coal inside. He longed to open it, and yet he 
 feared to do it. He felt toward it much as a cul- 
 prit does toward the reception of his sentence. He 
 must know what it is, and yet the th'ought of it makes 
 his heart quake and his knees smite together! 
 
 All during the evening Miss Incognita watched 
 his face. She glanced at him from every conceivable 
 point and angle. She observed his restless eye and 
 the deep dimple in his pertruded chin. Now and then 
 she noticed his tender glances at Gamaliel, accom- 
 panying tender words, and she saw that Gamaliel re- 
 ceived them without animation or display of any 
 emotion. 
 
 The reception had now come to a close and the 
 last of the guests were departing. The hostess then 
 turned her attention to the bride and groom. She 
 observed that Lord Broslove was restless and ner- 
 vous and Gamaliel was demure and shy. 
 
 She came up to them in her charming way, say- 
 ing:
 
 264 Miss Incognita 
 
 "I am sure Lord and Lady Eroslove must be 
 wearied and wish to retire. I will have the sei'vants 
 attend you to your rooms at once." 
 
 "Thank you, Miss Incognita. I fear Gamaliel is 
 wearied." 
 
 Gamaliel acquiesced by the silence of a slight 
 smile, and they were shown to their apartments on 
 the second floor.
 
 A Foretaste of Retribution 265 
 
 9 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 A FORETASTE OF RETRIBUTION. 
 
 WHEN Lord and Lady Eroslove reached their 
 bridal apartments he kissed her, and, leaving her 
 with her maid, he quickly retired to the ndjoining 
 room. Here, being alone, he opened the sealed note 
 and read it. It contained the same words w'lich had 
 been whispered to him by his unknown informant 
 on the crowded street. There was but one way to 
 decide its meaning and import, and that was by obey- 
 ing it. He would see for himself whether it really 
 pointed him to some terrible secret or was but a joke 
 perpetrated on him by a meddling fool. He waited 
 until late in the night, when he knew Gamaliel was 
 in a deep sleep. It was at the still hour half way 
 between midnight and day, when he silently made his 
 way to her bedside. He turned a gentle though 
 ample light into the room sufficient to reveal to his 
 eye whatever he desired to see. One of her arms was 
 thrown back on her downy pillow, with the pink 
 palm of the dimpled hand turned upward in close 
 proximity to her face. The other was lying careless- 
 ly across her bosom. Her flushed lips were half 
 parted, showing the points of her white, even rows 
 of teeth. Her head was turned slightly to one side 
 revealing an artistic curvature of her slender throat. 
 
 It was necessary for him to remove her hand 
 from over her bosom before he could pry into that
 
 266 Miss Incognita 
 
 secret for which his heart was yearning. When he 
 bent over her to take her hand his hand trembled as 
 though it had ibeen stricken with palsy. He stood 
 upright again and rubbed his hands together, and 
 then noiselessly strode the room, trying to calm him- 
 self. The room was warm, and the gentle sleeper 
 had but a slight, filmy covering over her, and this 
 clung in caressing grace about her reclining figure, re- 
 vealing each rare curve, each rich fullness and the 
 splendor of each rounded segment. Lord Eroslove 
 again bent over her, and with one gentle touch re- 
 moved her hand and left her bosom unguarded save 
 by the slender hold of a pearly clasp which held her 
 nightrobe. This, also, he deftly removed, and then 
 the fluffy folds of her silk gown were rolled back. 
 As he did this his eyes focused their vision upon a 
 strange band of green. He first thought it was a 
 green ribbon connected in some way with her toilet, 
 but when he bent lower and looked more closely 
 his eyes became riveted upon the following charac- 
 ters extending and coiling themselves across both 
 of her beautiful breasts: 
 "Love." 
 "Mas." 
 
 He pressed his trembling hand upon hi? brow, 
 closed his eyes as if to dispel an illusion which he 
 thought was taking possession of him, or to recall 
 some dim memory of long ago. He again looked at 
 these mysterious characters with the most intense 
 concentration of vision and thought. All at once 
 remorseless 01601017 did its duty. This strong man's
 
 A Foretaste of Retribution 267 
 
 eyes swam in their sockets. His heart almost ceased 
 its beating under the crushing weight of a flood of 
 inrushing memories and emotions. The currents of 
 his blood reversed their courses, even as the water 
 is driven up its channel by some mighty i*evulsive 
 force. Then he sank upon .the floor by her bed in a 
 swooning torture of agony, while deep, muffled 
 groans issued from beneath his set teeth. His frame 
 trembled until the very floor quivered and vibrated 
 beneath him. He remained thus for an hour or more, 
 during which time all the angels and ghosts and de- 
 mons and devils of his selfish life passed in review 
 before him. He saw the poor, suffering, trusting 
 woman of his youth, and heard her wails and moans, 
 as they followed him from the Chicago apartment 
 house that day when he last heard her voice. He 
 saw her sad, white, emaciated face pressed against 
 the window-pane and beheld her pleading eyes as 
 they followed him far down the street. In his ima- 
 gination he saw her spending the remainder of her 
 days in the walls of a madhouse where he had sent 
 her, and he heard the shrieks, wails and jabberings 
 of raving lunatics by whom she was surrounded. 
 
 Then the imagination carried him to Primrose Hill 
 Park, and the eyes of a trusting woman there stared 
 at him from out the flowers, and the curse of his 
 perjured passion took hideous shape by her side, and 
 held in its hand a sword of flame. 
 
 Next he was upon an isle of the sea, and the waves 
 were wailing and splashing around him, and he saw 
 a beautiful woman go down into the valley of the
 
 268 Miss Incognita 
 
 shadow oi death on his account. He beheld her pains 
 and her pangs, which she endured with the fortitude 
 and the heroism of a martyr. He .saw her come 
 up out of the valley of her travail bearing two young- 
 lives freshly transplanted here from the realm of 
 the unknown. Then with remorseless haste his mem- 
 ory hurried him to a little cabin, where there enacted 
 before his eyes the vision of his torture and abandon- 
 ment of these little lives. He again saw their 
 innocent faces, their wondering eyes, and again heard 
 their shrieks of pain, as "Old Gymp the conjurer" 
 bent over and tortured them at his command. His 
 thoughts then hurried him to the present and he 
 found himself lying on his back in this his bridal 
 chamber, and in his imagination he saw old Gymp the 
 conjurer bending his saffron, wrinkled face and 
 white bushy head over him, and in his bony hand he 
 held a long sharp-pointed instrument of torture and 
 in the other hand a grinning skull, out of which 
 issued a flame of green, and he was torturing his 
 heart and filling its fibres and its chambers "with this 
 lurid flame. The fumes arose to the frescoed ceiling 
 of the room and gathered themselves inio weird 
 shapes, and then writhed themselves into serpent 
 forms like letters. He looked again and behold! he 
 read there this sentence in letters of fire: "An ex- 
 periment out of marriage."
 
 After-Scenes 269 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 AFTER-SCENES EROS'S DISCOVERY. 
 
 LORD EROSLOVE crawled upon the floor to the ad- 
 joining room. He went to one of his portmanteaus 
 and took from it a flask of -brandy which he drained 
 to the last drop. 
 
 From that time until day he walked his room with 
 a quick, unsteady tread. As he walked, he tried to 
 think what he must do. The fearful explosion 
 within him had scattered his faculties, even as a 
 blast of nitro-glycerine scatters the masses of rocks 
 which confine it. 
 
 At one moment he thought he would reveal all to 
 Gamaliel's adopted parents. Then he would recoili 
 from the dark revelation of his past life which this 
 would render necessary. He decided at one time 
 he would rush in and take Gamaliel in his arms, and 
 acknowledge all to her, and strive to win her love 
 as a father instead of as a husband. But he feared 
 the terrible revulsion in her nature which this course 
 would inevitably produce. Then he came to the 
 conclusion that he would abandon her and secretly 
 fly to England. But his sober, selfish, second thought 
 warned him of the ruin this would surely bring upon 
 him. 
 
 There was one sure course left to him, which would 
 solve all so far as he was concerned. It was easy to 
 die! Yes, this was a quick, sure plan, and he would
 
 270 Miss Incogni,. 
 
 adopt it. What more could life be to him now? 
 Had he not drained the cup of all its ordinary 
 sweets? Had not his life been cou_ *o<-od to the 
 pleasurable gratification of all of his senses, and to 
 the constant enjoyment of all sensual delights'? Had 
 not his desire sipped the sweetness from all the 
 flowers of love's beauty, even as busy bees sip the 
 dewy honey from the flowers of earth's seasons'? 
 Why should he care to live until that leaden day 
 when passion relapses into dull, withered calm, and 
 voluptuous desire turns palsied torpor; when love's 
 langourous dreamy tranquility degenerates to 
 weariness; and the sensuous gratification, which once 
 gave eestacy, becomes degraded into the conscience- 
 less calm of death preferable to this state? Then, 
 should he live on, and suffer this new torture, which 
 like a fury had hurled itself upon him? Had not his 
 amorous heart loved Gamaliel with all its fathom- 
 less intensity, and had not his lecherous blood been 
 stirred to the very subterranean depths of its passion 
 to possess and enjoy her beauty, and mingle its 
 tainted currents with the virgin courses of her veins, 
 which, God help him! was already filled with blood 
 of his blood? And he to have felt thus toward his 
 own ! "My God," he cried aloud, "I will not, I 
 cannot endure it!" 
 
 Trembling as with palsy be took his revolver from 
 its case and quickly loaded it. He shut tight the 
 door between his room and Gamaliel's, and then sat 
 down at a desk an,d wrote a note. When he had 
 finished is, he addressed it to Gamaliel. He took up
 
 After-Scenes 271 
 
 the revolve and cocked it. Then he laid it down, and 
 looked excitedly about the room, as if trying to 
 think of something else, or to collect his thoughts. 
 He again seized the weapon ! His eyes were blood- 
 shot, his face pale as death, and the great dimple 
 in his chin was purple to its depth. His hand 
 trembled like a dead leaf in a whirlwind. All at 
 once his blue lips parted, and he muttered: "Oh, 
 coward, coward that I am, why does the fear of 
 death reverse the law of my being, and make me 
 rather endure a living death than submit myself to 
 unconscious repose ! Then Courage ! Courage ! I will 
 look upon her face once more. I will again see my 
 Gamaliel as she was to me, and then as she is, and 
 courage will come to me and steady this cowardly 
 hand." 
 
 Trembling he stole back into (the room where 
 Gamaliel slept. He crept to her bedside nnd was 
 gazing intently upon her when all at once she 
 revealed the dawn of her violet eyes, and looked at 
 him a moment, and then quickly extending her arms 
 toward him, said with a smile rising to her lips : 
 "My husband." 
 
 The now bewildered man waved his hand like a 
 sceptre up and down over the fresh, beautiful girl, 
 saying in a weird kind of way, "Gamaliel, sleep 
 on ! sleep on ! sleep on !" at the same time backing 
 out of her room into his own, and closing the door. 
 He raised the white shades, and rolled back the 
 curtains from the windows in his room, anr 1 in 
 rushed a cheerful flood of bright light, for now it was
 
 272 Miss Incognita 
 
 day, and the genial October sun was flooding the 
 earth with a wealth of autumnal glory. The splendor 
 of the dawn and the gorgeous aspect of the city, 
 bathed in this flood-tide of light, seemed to check 
 Lord Eroslove's desperate purpose, and to infuse 
 some hope into his heart for he put away the 
 revolver, saying: 
 
 "Yes, I will tell Miss Incognita all. That rare, 
 beautiful woman is full of strength and resources, 
 and in her I may find rescue and consolation. I will 
 hasten down, and take a morning walk; this may 
 revive me. Then I will see her." 
 
 All during the night the sound of his agitated 
 footsteps had been heard both by Gamaliel and Miss 
 Incognita. 
 
 But these two listened to them with emotions of 
 very different kinds. To Miss Incognita they were 
 as the drumbeat announcing a victorious battle! In 
 the expectant heart of the bride they aroused an 
 uncertain, morbid curiosity, bordering on conster- 
 nation and dismay! Had his heart, after getting hers 
 in its power, turned against her 1 ? Had all his pleas- 
 ure been in winning her and was there none in the 
 possession of her? Why was he staring at 
 her so strangely and ghastly when she awoke, and 
 why his strange words and conduct 1 ? Had he seen 
 that fateful mark upon her ibosom and had this 
 appalled and repelled him? She felt for the clasp 
 of her gown and it was not there, aud she discovered 
 11 "* the folds of her nightrobe had been rolled back
 
 After-Scenes 273 
 
 exposing all to his eye. Then she called, him, but he 
 did not answer. She went into the other room and 
 he was not there. Had he indeed deserted her? 
 (She did not know that he had gone out for a walk.) 
 Then she knew he did not love her as Eros did, for, if 
 so, this mark . upon her would not. have caused him 
 to be so cruel! He would have overlooked much for 
 the sake of her love. 
 
 From the time Lord Eroslove had so weirdly left 
 her bed she had been in tears. Her breakfast was 
 sent to her room, but she could eat nothing. She 
 waited, expecting he would come up to her room, but 
 he came not. Miss Incognita came and comforted 
 her by informing her that Lord Eroslove had been 
 quite ill during the night, and had gone out early to 
 get the benefit of the morning air. 
 
 "Then, as he is out, if you will excuse me, I will 
 drive over to my mother's." 
 
 "Of course, Gamaliel. The drive will be so re- 
 freshing to you. I will have Lord Eroslove call for 
 you." 
 
 The departure of Gamaliel just suited, for the 
 present, Miss Incognita's purpose. She heard Lord 
 Eroslove leave the house and she was expecting him 
 back momentarily. She had heard enough during 
 the night to know that the arrow of revenge had 
 pierced the very center of his heart. She rmist 
 prepare herself to receive him. She must above all 
 attract him to her on this first meeting. So she 
 adorned herself in a striking, picturesque style. Her 
 morning gown was of black moire, with slashings of
 
 274 Miss Incognita 
 
 rose-colored satin. It was cut low enough at the 
 throat to reveal the first gentle swelling of the bosom. 
 The low collar was bordered with a frill of stiff 
 Spanish ruff, interlaced with a narrow rose-colored 
 ribbon. The sleeves ended just below the elbows in a 
 frill of the same stiff Spanish ruff. All the fasten- 
 ings of the gown were of brilliant jet. The rich 
 moire stuff clung tenaciously to her figure and 
 revealed a model over which Rubens would have 
 gone into ecstacy. It is impossible to describe how 
 exquisitely the combination of her rich black gown 
 with its trimmings and fastenings of rose-color and 
 brilliant jet, harmonized with the soft, shining- 
 whiteness of her skin, and the dark flood of her 
 bea.utiful hair. She wore dark slippers gathered with 
 bright jet buckles. She ordered their breakfast 
 served in her own private dining room. This dainty 
 little room was an octagon, and in each angle was 
 a vase of Italian marble filled elternately with ferns 
 and red camelias. The furniture of the room was 
 of embossed leather. 
 
 Between -two angles of the room was a leather 
 couch, over which was thrown a covering of green 
 silk. Upon this Miss Incognita was reclining await- 
 ing the coming of Lord Eroslove. She had given 
 orders that as soon as he returned and completed his 
 morning toilet, he was to be shown into this room. 
 A faint, sweet perfume filled the room, like a deli- 
 cate mixture of violets and sweet pansies, which 
 exuded from cut flowers interlaced among the ferns 
 in the marble vases. Soon Lord Eroslove was an-
 
 After-Scenes 275 
 
 nonnced and shown into the room. She affected 
 ennui and did not rise to meet him, but greeted him 
 with a languorous smile, saying : 
 
 "Will you pray excuse me, my lord, from rising 1 ? 
 The lateness of the evening's pleasures, which I 
 partook of with too much zest, makes me languid and 
 somewhat faint. Pray take this chair by me. I hope 
 you feel refreshed this morning." 
 
 While she wawws speaking these words, her eyes 
 were enjoying a rare feast, for they were gloating 
 over a face that had grown old in a night. His 
 blue-black eyes were bloodshot, and the heaviness 
 and fullness of the underlids caused them to hang a 
 little out, showing a portion of the red inner sur- 
 face. His chin was a mesh of furrows. His lips and 
 skin had a purplish hue, and the large underlip 
 seemed somewhat congested, as though it had been 
 struck by a blow of some sort. He was so nervous 
 that the muscles of his face involuntarily twitched 
 and wriggled now and then, and his hands were very 
 tremulous. When he spoke she noticed that his voice 
 also had changed, for it was first thick and then 
 hollow. On her invitation he came over to the seat 
 by her conch. She extended her hand to him, which 
 he grasped in his. She pressed his hand warmly and 
 his gave her a response. 
 
 "Miss Incognita, let me thank you for your morn- 
 ing welcome. I can assure yon I sympathize with 
 you in your feelings of ennui, for I myself have been 
 exceedingly unwell all the past night." 
 
 "Why, my lord, this is too bad ! My dear Gamaliel
 
 276 Miss Incognita 
 
 excuse me, I love to call her by that name is not 
 quite well, and upon my advice has taken a morning 
 drive over to her mother's. I felt sure you would 
 spare her a little while." 
 
 "It was indeed so thoughtful in you to suggest 
 the drive to her. It might even be well for her to 
 spend the day with her mother." 
 
 "It would be very kind and indulgent in you to 
 spare her so long, I am sure." 
 
 "You see, I would conform myself to her pleasure. 
 Should I not do that? 
 
 "Of course, if you could content yourself here 
 with me." 
 
 "To unselfishly spare her, and content myself with 
 you, gives me double pleasure." 
 
 "Then, my lord, you may prolong it as much as 
 you like, for what gratifies you, more than delights 
 me. I hope your indisposition of the past night will 
 soon, very soon, have passed away." 
 
 "Thank you, but I have cause to believe that it will 
 not. I fear the consequences." 
 
 "Then there is cause for alarm, my lord. Ah, I 
 will have to take you under my charge, and rid you of 
 your malady." 
 
 "If you can do that, I gladly give myself over 
 to you." 
 
 "Then my first prescription is this*," and she 
 touched a bell and had a delicious breakfast served. 
 
 The savory breakfast, her charming manner, fresh 
 beauty and coaxing, musical voice, all combined to 
 heighten his spirits and revive his energies.
 
 Aher-Scenes 277 
 
 "How quickly has she made me fall in love with 
 life!" he thought to himself, as she took his arm and 
 went from the dining room into the parlor. Here 
 she played and sang for him. One of the gems she 
 executed was a Nocturne, so sweet and zad and 
 plaintive, that it led him out of the sorrows of the 
 world, and coaxed him into some dreamland, where 
 love and beauty were always young and gay, and 
 nothing ever came to blight or destroy. As he 
 listened, enraptured with this rare creature of mel- 
 ody, his memory awoke, and he thought, "Ah, how 
 strange! I have heard that divine melody before, and 
 how much it is like hers !" 
 
 And his mind recalled that May morning of long 
 ago when in the apartment house in Chicago he first 
 heard the wonderful execution and improvisation of 
 Eidola Mandeville. Then his thought followed this 
 poor lady into the madhouse, and his face became 
 sad, and he did not enjoy the music. 
 
 Miss Incognita had just arisen from the piano, 
 when one of her household, companions brought her 
 a telegram. She tore is open and read it. The 
 contents were as follows : 
 
 "MOTHER: I have just received a strange, sad 
 letter from Gamaliel. Have seen news of her mar- 
 riage. I shall leave for home this evening. Pray 
 don't forbid. EROS." 
 
 She sent this hasty reply: 
 
 "EROS: Await my letter of yesterday's date. For
 
 278 Miss Incognita 
 
 God's sake, note well its contents. Governed by it. 
 you can take such steps as you desire. MOTHER." 
 
 As she read this telegram, and answered it, she 
 thought : 
 
 "Just as I expected. Ah, how well it all suits my 
 purposes and works into my plans. How well I know 
 him, and how accurately I had divined his course 
 of action !" 
 
 Rage, desperation and despair all in turn pos- 
 sessed Eros. By turns he raved and wept. He swore 
 Gamaliel should not be lost to him. He knew she 
 loved him alone, and that she had been influenced to 
 give her hand to this nobleman, while her heart was 
 his, as it had always been ! Was not her sad letter, 
 which alas, reached him too late, a bitter heart- 
 broken wail calling him to her? "Was there ever such 
 a time as too late for love. Why had he not sus- 
 pected this mercenary match-making? Why had not 
 Gamaliel in some of her adorable letters given him a 
 hint of this cruel tragedy that was being enacted 
 upon her heart and at the expense of their love? 
 No doubt, she was under surveillance. He, though 
 yet a boy, would challenge this nobleman, and fight 
 him even to death ! He would make his way to 
 Gamaliel even if it lay over his dead body ! 
 
 The awful passion that had been stirred in Eros' 
 heart for Gamaliel was his by heredity. His hot 
 blood was but a hotter ferment generated from the 
 lecherous admixture of the venereal stock of Hano- 
 over and Eroslove.
 
 After-Scenes 279 
 
 Now this passion became a thousand-fold more 
 desperate, when he realized that the precious object 
 of its desire had been taken away; yea, not only 
 away, but had become the unlawful prey of another's 
 passion. 
 
 From the hour the fateful news of Gamaliel's 
 marriage reached Eros, he was changed from a 
 quiet, docile student to a wild and reckless mutineer. 
 He made up his mind to defy the authority of his 
 adopted mother. He would say nothing to her about 
 it, but would take the first train that would bear 
 him to Gamaliel. Finally he noticed he would have 
 time to communicate with his mother before the 
 train would leave for New York. He then sent the 
 message which we saw delivered to her in her 
 parlor. 
 
 In a short while he received her puzzling answer. 
 He paced the college campus reading it, and trying 
 to unravel its contents. 
 
 "Await my letter of yesterday's date." Then he 
 would not get that letter until the evening train came 
 in, and that would delay him until tomorrow after- 
 noon in reaching Gamaliel. By that time she might 
 be gone. The newspaper account stated, "The dis- 
 tinguished couple would sail for England in a few 
 days." This letter might be a ruse to defer his 
 coming. Ought he to be ensnared by it? Yet, could 
 it be possible that his mother, who had always 
 thrown him and Gamaliel together, and had en- 
 couraged and nourished their young love for each 
 other, had taken part in this infamous match-making
 
 280 Miss Incognita 
 
 between his sweetheart and this English nc/bleman. 
 
 Ought he to be so cruel as to charge her with such 
 a thing? Besides the letter seemed to be one of great 
 importance. 
 
 He decided to wait for it. 
 
 With the telegram clinched in his hand, and his 
 hand thrust into his pocket, Eros paced back and 
 forth, and here and there, until the postman came in 
 sight delivering the afternoon mail. Eros ran to 
 meet him. The expected letter was handed him and 
 seizing it he tore off the seal and read, what? 
 
 There was not a line of a letter, but another 
 sealed envelope inside, on the front face of which 
 were written these words in bright red ink: 
 
 "In case you flee with Gamaliel, when you have 
 gone, open and read this letter the first time you and 
 she are alone. Beware ! fail not. The first time you 
 and she are alone." 
 
 That was all. Then she expected him to flee with 
 Gamaliel, and this was the only condition imposs'l 
 upon him. How lenient, how liberal she was! 
 
 "I swear I will be governed by it!" And as he 
 uttered these words he raised his right hand.
 
 The Events After the Wedding 281 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE EVENTS OF THE DAY AFTER THE WEDDING THE 
 
 LETTER FROM THE DEMENTED LADY. 
 
 IT was now three o'clock of the day after the 
 wedding. Miss Incognita's carriage had just re- 
 turned from the Smith mansion, andin it were she 
 and Lord Eroslove. 
 
 They had driven over to Gamaliel. He had con- 
 sented to go with the greatest hesitation. Miss 
 Incognita noticed that whenever the name "Lady 
 Eroslove" was mentioned, Lord Froslove took on the 
 appearance of a lunatic stricken with palsy. The 
 most intense pain seemed to shoot like electric sparks 
 through every fibre of his being. His suffering was 
 tenfold greater than her vengeance, even in its most 
 frenzied moments, had ever imagined it would be. 
 His face had all the lines of pain, all the perturba- 
 tions of torture, of a condemned criminal awaiting 
 his sentence. Gamaliel was in her bed suffering frf m 
 hysterics, and begged him to excuse her. He seemed 
 elated at being thus relieved from going to her room, 
 md when Miss Incognita said : 
 
 '"Why, of course, my lord, you shall see her. I 
 ,/ill go and prepare her for your reception. She 
 does not understand." 
 
 He exclaimed, at the same time seizing her franti- 
 cally by the wrist:
 
 282 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Pray, Miss Incognita, do not trouble yourself! 
 I was once a physician, and know she needs perfect 
 quiet and rest. I will see her some other time not 
 today." 
 
 "But, my lord, what will her parents think? She 
 must prepare herself and go home with you. Would 
 she think of being separated from you the day, 
 evening and night following her marriage 1 ?" 
 
 "But, I pray you, Miss Incognita, do not trouble 
 yourself about my sacrifice in being denied her. It 
 is .better she should remain here until she is fully 
 restored. Besides, my indisposition might interfere 
 very much with her rest and quiet." 
 
 Miss Incognita noticed one point gained already : 
 He did not want to leave her side. He seemed to be 
 leaning upon her. He was careful that she did not 
 leave him. So when she drove home nothing would 
 do but he must go with her. 
 
 This night she was to spend alone in her mansion 
 with Lord Eroslove. 
 
 I would have the reader, in judging of, or criti- 
 cising Miss Incognita's course of action in relation 
 to Lord Eroslove, if he should see fit to indulge in 
 such, 'bear in mind the legal relation existing be- 
 tween her and him, so that, conduct unbecoming in 
 other cases and toward other men, was not so with 
 him. 
 
 After their drive from the Smith mansion, Miss 
 Incognita and Lord Eroslove came into her parlor
 
 The Events After the Wedding 283 
 
 and were seated together upon a divan. The effect 
 of the visit to the Smiths told mightily on his spirits, 
 and she said to him by way of comforting him, so far 
 as he could judge of her motives. 
 
 "You should not allow a temporary indisposition 
 such as you have, my lord, to cause you to become 
 so sorrowful. Often, when I am sad from some 
 trivial cause, such as afflicts you, I contrast my con- 
 dition with that of some poor unfortunate one, who 
 exists and suffers deep down in the depths of despair. 
 So to cheer up your spirits, my lord, if you do not 
 object to the recital, I will tell you of an incident 
 which has come under my own observation." 
 
 "Why, I would be delighted. No one's voice 
 sounds half so sweet to me now as yours, and no one 
 comforts me so much as you since ah, that is, 
 since lady ah, Gamaliel has been ill." 
 
 "Then I will tell you. Sit nearer, if you do not 
 object, my lord." 
 
 And Lord Eroslove moved close to her side, and in 
 his despair felt that she was a great comfort to him. 
 Then she proceeded : 
 
 "About one year ago I was visiting some friends 
 in the city of Chicago. Their residence was situated 
 not far from the asylum for the insane, and on 
 several occasions we visited it, and became acquainted 
 with a number of the patients. One of these in- 
 mates, whose acquaintance I made, was a lady who 
 looked to be about forty-five years of age, but she 
 may not have been, for she seemed to be prema- 
 turely aged. Her hair, which bad been black, was
 
 284 Miss Incognita 
 
 almost white. Her emaciated face was thin and 
 classic in its outline, and its expression was inex- 
 pressibly sad and pitiful. She had large, deep violet 
 eyes, which had a far-away, dreamy expression, but 
 they did not look as old as her face and her hair. 
 
 "Her mind seemed to be perfectly lucid, and it was 
 a special form of her insanity, so they said, that she 
 always claimed to be perfectly sane. She had fear- 
 ful spells of melancholia, and would almost weep her 
 heart away. 
 
 "I did much to comfort her and cheer her spirits 
 on my visits to the institution, and, on account of the 
 friendship and interest I manifested for her, she 
 became very much attached to me. Soon after my 
 last visit to her I received this letter from her, 
 which I will read to you : 
 
 "'Mr DEAR FRIEND Miss INCOGNITA: I regretted, 
 more than I can express to you, my inability to have 
 a long talk with you when you were here the last 
 time. I had much to say to you, for I wanted to 
 enlist your interest on my behalf to procure my 
 deliverance from this gloomy place. I will now 
 write you what I had intended to say to you. My 
 maiden name was Eidola Mandeville, and in 1868 I 
 married a Dr. Dumas, of Chicago.' " 
 
 Here Lord Eroslove became so agitated that Miss 
 Incognita said to him: 
 
 "I fear, my lord, you are not comfortable; pray 
 arrange yourself in an easy position."
 
 The Events After the Wedding 285 
 
 "In a moment, or very soon, I will feel better, 
 thank you, dear Miss Incognita. I felt a recurrence 
 of another phase of my malady of last night. I will 
 try to quiet myself. Pray read on." 
 
 " 'I had been reared in affluence and luxury, and 
 had always been very happy. I loved my husband 
 with all the passion of life itself, and thought he 
 loved me. Oh, how happy were those early days of 
 my love when I had him and my dear mother. But 
 soon after our marriage my mother died, leaving me 
 with no one in the wide world to cling to but my 
 husband. When my mother was gone I gave him all 
 that additional wealth of affection which had been 
 lavished upon her. When she was upon her death- 
 bed, he swore to her that he loved me dearly, and 
 would always shield me and protect me. I seemed 
 to be the only tie to bind her to earth, and when she 
 felt that my life was safely in the keeping of. another, 
 she quickly laid aside the weight of her burdens and 
 passed away. We laid her body to rest far away 
 from all who knew, or loved her except myself. It 
 w-as my joy day by day to visit her lonely grave, 
 and to love my husband' Indeed, my lord, are 
 you quite ill? I fear you are worse. Let me " 
 
 "No, no, Miss Incognita, my heart is tender, you 
 know, and the lady's sad tale touches me deeply. 
 Pray you read on. It may do me good to let my 
 
 heart dissolve in tears." 
 
 A 
 
 " 'My husband loved me, or I thought so, and was 
 the idol of my heart, until, from some mysterious
 
 286 Miss Incognita 
 
 cause, he began to grow distant toward me and to 
 neglect me. A great change came over him, and he 
 began to reproach me, because I could bear him 
 no children. I should have said to you that, in the 
 meantime, my health seemed to have become wrecked 
 on account of an organic disorder, and this condition, 
 coupled with his most cruel reproaches, caused me 
 to suffer untold agonies and indescrible heartaches. 
 Oh, how I did long and pray to pass away and be 
 with my beloved mother! He next used my condition 
 as a pretext to inflict upon my love baser cruelty and 
 indignity than he had visited upon my heart. He 
 would try an experiment out of marriage and inflict 
 the first fruits of it upon me, by having me com- 
 pound the lecherous villany of his scheme, and falsely 
 call myself the mother of this venal offspring. When 
 my poor, outraged love cried out against it, he per- 
 jured his own heart, suborned base witnesses, and, 
 taking me altogether unawares, committed me to the 
 keeping of these dismal walls. Here I have been for 
 twenty long, weary years, waiting and waiting for 
 my deliverance, either through the compassion of 
 death, or by the influence of some friend like your- 
 self. I was so young when I came here, and now I 
 dare not look at myself, for I am haggard and gray. 
 Yet, it seems, neither death nor liberty will ever 
 come to me. 
 
 "'I have never heard of my husband since he left 
 me. I have never seen him since that evening in 
 August, when he drove away from me, and my eye 
 followed him far down the street, and I was left the
 
 The Events After the Wedding 287 
 
 first time in my life alone. Oh, my dear friend, 
 come to me and help me. Try if you can find him, 
 and appeal to him to get my release from this awful 
 place. He put me here, he surely could have me set 
 free. Say to him, I will never trouble him. I will 
 not try to find him, nor have him love me any more 
 for I am now old, gray and haggard and he could 
 not love me if he would. For so long I have heard 
 the moans and the groans and the wails and the 
 shrieks of poor demented mortals all about me, that 
 I have become almost as they. Oh, come to me, my 
 friend, for I am so weary, weary. 
 
 "Your sad friend, MRS. DUMAS." 
 
 By the time Miss Incognita had finished reading 
 the letter, Lord Eroslove's hands were tightly 
 clinched ! He had drawn himself up to a rigid, sit- 
 ting posture, and his whole body was convulsed as 
 with congestive rigors. She heard him hiss low 
 between his teeth : 
 
 "Then she lives! Ah, Swindle, thou perjured 
 liar!" 
 
 Next he uttered aloud, as if to himself : 
 
 "Ah, the wretch, who did this, let his heart burst 
 as it is bursting, and break as it is breaking! I 
 will go at once ! She shall be free ! What could 
 have possessed the wretch all these years that h 
 should have lived unmoved, and she enduring a living 
 death ! What could have so deadened his conscience 
 and dulled his memory 1 ?" 
 
 Then rising from his seat he exclaimed:
 
 288 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Miss Incognita, I may be able to assist in the 
 deliverance of this poor lady. I will go at once to 
 Chicago. I will have immediate steps taken to pro- 
 cure her release." Then he said aside in sotto voice: 
 "She will not know me now. I can fear no harm 
 from her. I will go." 
 
 "Pray, Lord Eroslove, do not allow yourself to 
 be- so wrought up. We must act with deliberation. 
 In the condition in which your malady now affects 
 you, it would not do for you to act with precipita- 
 tion in anything. Besides, I am daily expecting 
 another communication from this unfortunate 
 lady. Let us wait for that, and then we can act in 
 concert in this matter. I assure you, my lord, had I 
 known that the sad affair would affect you so deeply, 
 I would have refrained from mentioning it. Yet it 
 should cheer your spirits to know you are so much 
 better off than such an unfortunate as she. I did 
 not know your heart was so tender, and so easily 
 affected, my lord. Pray now, forget it for the 
 present, and let us be gay. Since you will not have 
 Gamaliel with you this evening, I must take her 
 place and make you happy. Come, let us have some 
 music !" 
 
 And she took his arm and made him walk with her 
 to the piano. He took a seat by her and she played 
 and sang as only a woman can, who is a genius, who 
 has suffered much, and whose heart is aroused to 
 its depths. All the passion and love which can be 
 compressed into the mighty and subtle charms of 
 sound, were released and sent forth by her voice and
 
 The Events After the Wedding 289 
 
 fingers. There was a carnal feast of passionate 
 notes and amorous melody, and his heart was their 
 prey. He had always been easily and deeply moved 
 by music. Under the influence of such music as this 
 was, rendered by this inspired woman, whose radiant 
 person and tender eyes moved him in conjunction 
 with the wonderful melody, Lord Eroslove became 
 at once transformed, as if by magic, to his once gay 
 and lascivious self! It is a fact, which no student of 
 the human emotions can deny, that when the feelings 
 are deeply stirred, they move quickly and easily, like 
 a pendulum, from one extreme of the dial to the 
 other. This is especially true of one endowed "with 
 passionate depths of feeling, like Lord Eroslove. 
 An hour had not* passed since the time when he was 
 undergoing the tortures of the damned during the 
 sad recital by Miss Incognita, and yet now we find 
 him reveling in the amatory delights showered upon 
 him by this beautiful woman, who has taken such a 
 tender interest in him. 
 
 Miss Incognita realized that the opportune time 
 had now come to carry out one of the main parts of 
 her program, and she set herself to do it. She knew 
 the heart of this man too well to fail. She had not 
 nursed her revenge this long, to let it now fail and 
 lag from the lack of tact, and power in her to carry 
 it to its consumation. All the forces of the soul and 
 beauty of this rare woman were pressed into service 
 by her, to arouse and charm the nature of this 
 lascivious man, and bring him to her feet. She 
 knew the power of music over him, and it served
 
 290 Miss Incognita 
 
 her well. For an hour she ravished his heart, and 
 stirred his soul with the wide range of passionate 
 strains which were included in her varied repertoire 
 and made possible by her wonderful powers of im- 
 provisation. When she had finished, and turned 
 toward him, she saw that his face looked as it did 
 when he first wooed her maiden love in the long ago. 
 He gave her smile for smile and yielded his heart 
 to her subtle manipulations. Strange man ! But 
 a true type of that class of epicurean sensualists, 
 who, day by day, live only in the gratification of the 
 senses and care for naught save the pleasures of the 
 hour which minister unto them.
 
 "hanged Relations 291 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 CHANGED RELATIONS. 
 
 DINNER being announced, Lord Eroslove and Miss 
 Incognita went in to partake of it. 
 
 She well knew just what suited his epicurean taste. 
 He ate and drank heartily. His spirits had reached 
 high level by the time dinner was over. He was 
 like a gay young cavalier, when in the act of courting 
 his first sweetheart. He was a strange man, whose 
 master passion had the power over him of making 
 him, at least temporarily, forget the sorrows of all 
 other emotions. In an hour such a man can rise 
 from the depths of despair to the elysian heights of 
 passionate joys provided some sweet angel of love 
 but be present to beckon him upward. Such an 
 angel, and a radian t, beautiful one, was now hover- 
 ing over him, and he was so happy that he was 
 oblivious of all things else! 
 
 They strolled from the dining room to the parlor, 
 her arm in his, and thence to the library. Here she 
 read to him varses from Moore and Byron, some of 
 those rare sonnets of Shakespeare. She allowed him 
 to toy with her jeweled hand. He noticed that, 
 instead of reproving him, she smiled. An hour or 
 so before, his emotions had been at the low ebb, now 
 the great, joyous tide was rushing in ! He was 
 "thinking: "Why should I lose such love as this, 
 and- forego such joys as these, because just behind
 
 292 Miss Incognita 
 
 me, and maybe just in front of me, are shadows and 
 dark, cheerless valleys of despair where broods of 
 sorrows and dismal death love to lurk? Shall I sac- 
 rifice today for yesterday, or treat lightly its joys 
 on account of what tomorrow may bring 1 ? Shall I 
 sacrifice this beautiful woman, because, in the won- 
 derful and circuitous mesh and course of human 
 events, I found in Gamaliel a daughter instead of a 
 wife? No, I will rather make her love me, and then 
 she will help me get rid of Gamaliel. Here is indeed 
 one ray of hope for me! A woman knows far 
 better than a man how to get rid of a woman. Ah ! 
 Such a happy deliverance she will make it for me!" 
 Miss Incognita was thinking: "Is he not still my 
 lawful husband, though he knows nothing of.it? 
 Does not my knowledge of this relation, justify me 
 in allowing, and encouraging, his amorous atten- 
 tions? Can there be- sin in my dissimulation of love 
 for him, when, by so doing, I accomplish my long- 
 deferred purposes? My conscience justifies me in 
 my course, and I shall pursue it with vigor to the 
 bitter end !" 
 
 This moment a note was brought to him from 
 Gamaliel. He opened it, and he became greatly 
 agitated. 
 
 "My DEAR HUSBAND: Doubtless the shock you 
 experienced from the discovery yon made last night 
 of the unfortunate mark upon my person has by 
 now somewhat passed away.
 
 Changed Relations 293 
 
 "I hope the intervening time has ere this recon- 
 ciled you to me. I feel it my duty to inform you that 
 when I was a child, my mother says, I was stolen 
 away by some wandering gypsies, and when I was 
 recovered that horrid mark was found upon me. 
 You will see, there is no disgrace connected with it, 
 and your love for me will doubtless cause you to 
 overlook it. You must not imagine I carr.e to my 
 mother's this morning to be away from you. I 
 feared you were horrified at the discovery you made, 
 and it makes me so miserable! We understand one 
 another better now, and I trust you will feel at 
 liberty to come and spend the night at my mother's. 
 My mother will take no excuses, and I shall expect 
 you at once. 
 
 "Pardon me for not seeing you when you called 
 today. 
 
 "Most affectionately your wife, GAMALIEL." 
 
 A sentence of death would not Have affected 
 Lord Eroslove more visibly and deeply than did this 
 note. 
 
 He sat several minutes with the note crumpled 
 in his hand. He was trying to think. Finally in his 
 despair he laid the note in Miss Incognita's lap, 
 and gasped to her, as his head fell ripon his hands, 
 "Read it!" 
 
 Miss Incognita read the note and then asked in an 
 interested tone : 
 
 "What in the world does she mean by 'horrid 
 mark,' 'your discovery,' and 'shock'?"
 
 294 Miss Incognita 
 
 He answered in a hollow voice : 
 
 "Pray do not ask me; ask her. See the mark for 
 yourself." 
 
 "Well, that certainly is strange! Is she really 
 deformed in some way?" 
 
 "To me horribly so !" 
 
 "Still your marriage vow was, for better or for 
 worse, and you took her with all her imperfections. 
 I will order the carriage at once." 
 
 "Pray do not, for God's sake, do not," he cried, and 
 he threw his arms violently about her waist, and 
 buried his face upon her bosom. She did not repulse 
 him, but replied gently : 
 
 "Why not, my lord? She is your wife. How can 
 you refuse her 1 ?" 
 
 "Because I have discovered I do not love her. I 
 love you and only you." Then he fell before her 
 upon his knees, saying: 
 
 "I cannot love her, I can never love another, 
 since I have known you ! My heart, my life is yours, 
 and only yours, and I must be free from her that I 
 may be yours !" 
 
 "Suppose I do not want you," she replied coolly 
 and curtly, entirely changing her former gentle, 
 attractive manner toward him. "Do you imagine, 
 my lord, that I could be so base as to accept your 
 love, when your young bride, who is also my dear 
 friend, begs for you, and awaits your coming 1 ?" 
 
 "But I cannot, I will not be hers!" 
 
 "Yea, my lord, you are already hers." 
 
 "Only in name, I swear to you. I can never, never,
 
 Changed Relations 295 
 
 know her bed!" he replied, still groveling at her 
 feet. 
 
 "True, you might so deny her, yet that \vould not 
 alter your legal relation to her. Think -of your honor, 
 and of hers, of her mother and family, and the dis- 
 grace you would inflict upon all!" 
 
 "I swear to you, she it not, she cannot be my wife 
 because, she is my daughter!" he uttered with a 
 groan that seemed to rend his breast and burst his 
 heart. 
 
 "Why, my lord, your mind wanders you are 
 besides yourself you know not what you say. I 
 must send for a physician for you at once." 
 
 "No, do not. I am not mad. I call down the 
 vengeance of heaven upon my head, if what I say to 
 you it not true!" 
 
 "Can it be possible, my lord, that you are so base 
 as to formulate such a cursed design as this to win 
 my love?" 
 
 "I again swear that what I say to you is true." 
 
 "Past believing, my lord. Did you not know her, 
 and court her, for months before you married her? 
 Why did you not know then that she was your 
 daughter, if such she be? 
 
 "Oh, Miss Incognita, this I cannot explain to you, 
 though I swear to you, I know she is my daughter." 
 
 "Passing strange, that you should have courted 
 your own daughter for months, and then married 
 her, and yet did not know her until your wedding 
 night, when the conjugal bed for the first time un- 
 folds its revelations!"
 
 296 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Strange it is, I confess, Miss Incognita, but it is 
 as true as it is strange !" 
 
 "Then you have been married before this time, my 
 lord?" 
 
 "I can only answer you thus far, I have been, but 
 ah am not so far as I know." 
 
 "Then the first is dead, my lord?" 
 
 "Yes, you can have it so." 
 
 "Granting that what you say is true, how can you 
 ever convince Gamaliel and her mother of it? Does 
 not the mother know her own child?" 
 
 "For the present, my dear Miss Incognita, let us 
 leave that problem to the future. Suffice to say, I 
 shall not see Gamaliel tonight. I love only you, I 
 throw myself at your feet! I will not leave you! 
 Oh help me! For God's sake help me!" 
 
 "Then write your answer to her note, and I will 
 have the servant deliver it." 
 
 He wrote Gamaliel, that he feared she had written 
 him out of an over-sensitive regard for his feelings. 
 That he thought it best for her to have a quiet night's 
 rest and sleep, and he would see her on the morrow. 
 He addressed her as "My dear Gamaliel," and 
 signed his name "Affectionately yours, Lord Eros- 
 love." 
 
 Having disposed of this matter he again turned 
 his attention to Miss Incognita. In her love was his 
 hope of deliverance from Gamaliel. Though it tad 
 been less than a week since he met her, he had con- 
 ceived an uncontrollable passion for her. No time was 
 to be lost. He had saved himself from Gamaliel to-
 
 Changed Relations 297 
 
 night what would he do tomorrow night, unless this 
 beautiful woman extricated him? Suppose he acknowl- 
 edged his real relation to Gamaliel, and could prove 
 it to her, how could he dare to face her, and acquaint 
 her with his past life, and tell her of her illegitimacy, 
 and of his cruelty to her when she was an infant? 
 He would not even think of such a thing! 
 
 Until late in the night he pleaded his desperate 
 cause with Miss Incognita. She naively repelled 
 him, or coquettishly attracted him, as suited her 
 purpose. She humiliated and trampled upon his 
 heart, and then, when she liked, she coaxed him on. 
 She exercised all the fascinations of her passionate 
 beauty upon him. At times she would let him 
 fondle her, and then she would coldly put him away. 
 
 She plied him with cruel questions about Gamaliel 
 and his former married life, and tortured his heart 
 until it bled, and until 'the great drops clustered 
 upon his brow ! 
 
 Then she would give encouragement to his forlorn 
 hope, and the volume of his love would flow back 
 to her in great inrushing tides. 
 
 That night when he left her to retire, he covered 
 her hand over and over with kisses. 
 
 When she reached her room she washed off these 
 kisses, which see had endured when in his presence! 
 "Ah, but I must endure them in order to crush his 
 heart!" she muttered to herself, as she purified her- 
 self from all his contaminating touches. 
 
 The next morning she had her coachman take him 
 for a drive, and after luncheon she reminded him of 
 the promised visit to Gamaliel,
 
 298 ivliss Incognita 
 
 It was two o'clock in the afternoon when Eros' 
 train arrived in the city. He went at once to the 
 Fifth Avenue Hotel, where he made a hasty toilet, 
 and then drove rapidly to the Smith mansion. 
 
 Lord Eroslove had preceded him by fifteen or 
 twenty minutes, and was sitting in Gamaliel's room 
 nervously fingering' his watch chain and trying to 
 carry on a conversation with her, which dragged 
 along in a desultory, morbid fashion. 
 
 Mortal man could not have felt, nor looked more 
 miserable than he. 
 
 Gamaliel had on a pink silk robe and was lying 
 upon a lounge. She was very sad. Lord Eroslove 
 was just reaching the point in his conversation where 
 he would be compelled to mention the matter about 
 which Gamaliel had written in her note, when all at 
 once Eros rushed precipitately and excitedly up to 
 Gamaliel's room, for he knew where it was, and, 
 almost running over Lord Eroslove, whom he scarely 
 noticed, he gathered the beautiful young girl in his 
 arms, she rising joyously from the lounge to meet 
 him ! Her whole demeanor and aspect were trans- 
 formed in a moment. 
 
 The most gorgeous spring morning could not 
 have been more radiant than had suddenly become 
 her eyes and face ! Such kisses as she gave Eros, and 
 such embraces as he gave her, almost taught new 
 lessons to the sensuous old veteran, who sat observing 
 them. When Eros had kissed her and embraced her 
 many, times, he then deigned to notice Lord Eroslove, 
 saying :
 
 Changed Relations 299 
 
 "I do not ask your pardon, sir, but rather demand 
 to know by what right or authority I find you sitting 
 in her room?" 
 
 Up to this moment, Lord Eroslove had neve? 
 known, or even imagined, he had a rival, and a 
 handsome young fellow at that, for Gamaliel's hand. 
 The revelation burst upon him like a thunderbolt. 
 He did not know this young man's name was Eros, 
 and that he was an adopted son of Miss Incognita's. 
 She had made it a point that his name should never 
 be mentioned to Lord Eroslove. The appearance of 
 any young lover of Gamaliel's just at this juncture 
 in his affairs was better luck than he ever imagined 
 possible to him. So instead of becoming angry he 
 became intensely interested. He gathered his wits 
 together as quickly as he could and replied: 
 
 "To be sure, my boy. I am here as her husband!" 
 
 "And I," exclaimed Eros, advancing a step or two 
 toward him, "am here as her lover, determined to 
 have her or die in the attempt. I will kill the man 
 who dares to stand between me and her." 
 
 A spark seemed to scintillate from Lord Eros- 
 love's eye. He quickly conceived a way of escape 
 for himself from his cursed entanglement. So he 
 said : 
 
 "My young fellow, I am willing to act fairly in 
 this matter, and let it be settled by her. I will 
 stand here and you there. Let her choose the one 
 she loves, and let us both agree to abide by her 
 choice." 
 
 "Good!" exclaimed Eros, who had planned duels
 
 300 Miss Incognita 
 
 and murderous deeds, and plotted all sorts of dire 
 calamities against this haughty nobleman. Now, to 
 have it all settled thus easily, he was overjoyed. 
 
 No sooner had he exclaimed "Good!" in answer 
 to Lord Eroslove's proposition, than Gamaliel rushed 
 to his arms, squarely turning her back upon her 
 husband. 
 
 "Now, my young man," said Lord Eroslove quick- 
 ly and earnestly, "I want to give you and Gamaliel 
 a piece of information, which I might never have 
 given to her alone. But you must both first prom- 
 ise to do two things." 
 
 "We promise," they both replied. 
 
 "First, you are to flee together at once from the 
 city. Now, when I tell you what I am going to 
 disclose, you are not to ask me another question." 
 "Agreed !" they both exclaimed. 
 
 "Then my disclosure is this: My marriage with 
 Gamaliel is null and void, and you and she are free 
 to act as you please in the matter of your love. 
 Remember now, ask me no questions." 
 
 He left them at once and drove rapidly back to 
 Miss Incognita's residence. Within an hour Eros 
 and Gamaliel were whirling away on the train to- 
 ward Philadelphia, experiencing more of pure joy 
 than they had ever felt in all their lives put to- 
 gether. 
 
 They reached Philadelphia for early supper, and 
 registered at the Chestnut Street Hotel as "Eros 
 Incognita and wife, New York." They went to 
 supper, and chatted and laughed over old times, and
 
 Changed Relations 301 
 
 were as gay and happy as ever young love could be 
 in the springtime. When they went to their room 
 after supper, Eros all at once thought of these 
 words : 
 
 "The first time you and she are alone!" 
 He felt in his inside pocket for Miss Incognita's 
 letter and quickly drew it out. He read Gamaliel 
 the inscription on the envelope and then tore it open. 
 Within was a note to him, and another sealed en- 
 velope addressed to Gamaliel. Without waiting to 
 tear open the envelope addressed to her, he held 
 up the note to him, and they 'both simultaneously 
 read these lines: 
 
 "MY DEAR EROS: As I have often hinted to you, 
 you are not my own son. Neither is Gamaliel a 
 daughter of Mrs. John Smith. The enclosed docu- 
 ment will disclose everything to her, which it is neces- 
 sary for her to know. I have a similar one for you, 
 which confirms what I now reveal to you both: 
 
 "You are brother and sister." 
 
 At once the floodtide of their love was turned into 
 another channel. They swore they would never love 
 anyone else, but would devote their lives to each 
 other. We leave them indulging in their new-found 
 ecstacy, remarking as we leave them, that it woald 
 not be difficult to decide whether their new-found 
 love were not sweeter than the other which they had 
 lost.
 
 302 Miss Incognita 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE SOMNAMBULE. 
 
 BEFORE Lord Eroslove returned from the Smith 
 mansion, Miss Incognita had learned of Eros' pres- 
 ence in the city and of his elopement with Gamaliel. 
 
 While Lord Eroslove was on his visit to Gamaliel, 
 Miss Incognita had spent her time alone in that 
 peculiar long room on the third floor of her man- 
 sion. We now enter this room with her. We find 
 that it is a chemical laboratory, and is a facsimile 
 of the one in which Eidola Mandeville bad studied 
 chemistry under the tutelage of Dr. Duma* in Chi- 
 cago years before. There were the same fixtures, 
 the same sofa in the center of the room, and lo ! 
 the same wonderful "Hydro-Electric-Vibratoners." 
 But these were carefully protected by being wrapped 
 and concealed in a kind of gauze cloth. 
 
 Adjoining the main laboratory room, and con- 
 nected with it by a door, was a little study or recep- 
 tion room, also similar to the one which adjoined 
 the laboratory in the apartment house at Chicago. 
 
 An electric current of five hundred volts brought 
 from the wires in the street was rushing through the 
 vibratoners, and, when in the laboratory, one could 
 hear its dull roar and smothered hum. The shut-off, 
 or wheel which was used to regulate the current, had 
 been placed by Miss Incognita in a small opening
 
 The Somnambule 303 
 
 in the wall, so that it was not visible to any one's 
 eye except her own. 
 
 Miss Incognita, expecting Lord Eroslove's return, 
 had made her afternoon toilet, and repaired to this 
 room next to the laboratory, giving explicit instruc- 
 tions that as soon as he returned he was to be shown 
 to this room. 
 
 Her toilet was a long, flowing crimson robe of silk, 
 embroidered with ivy leaves of the same color, which 
 was fitted close to her waist by a crimson girdle. 
 Her neck was uncovered, as were also her shoulders 
 and arms. Her hair was gathered in a psyche knot 
 on top of her head, and in its folds was thrust a 
 keen dagger, whose ivory handle was a decoration 
 for her dark hair. 
 
 Thus attired she reclined upon the lounge await- 
 ing Lord Eroslove's appearance. 
 
 She had not long to wait. He came into the room 
 with a -bounding step, and a merrier heart than he 
 had had since the day of his marriage. Miss Incog- 
 nita knew the cause, for she had already received a 
 note from Mrs. John Smith informing her of the 
 flight of Eros and Gamaliel. Lord Eroslove came 
 right up to her, and, without rising from the lounge, 
 she asked him to take a seat by her side. She ob- 
 served how curiously and interestedly he noticed the 
 furniture of this room. He scanned it, and looked 
 about the room generally, a? '' ~Mgh he was trying to 
 recall some old scene. The .ath is, the furnishings 
 of this room connecting w/h the laboratory \vere the 
 same as that of the bedroom of Dr. and Mrs. Dumas
 
 304 Miss Incognita 
 
 in the apartment house in Chicago. She had ar- 
 ranged everything in the same order, so as to sug- 
 gest that. Therefore, from his first entrance into it, 
 he eyed it curiously. 
 
 There was only one addition, and that was the 
 vibratoner which was suspended from the ceiling like 
 a gorgeous chandelier. 
 
 "What causes you such merriment, my jord, and 
 gives you such a bright face? You must have found 
 much joy with Gamaliel, and so belied your Arabian 
 nights' tale you told me!" 
 
 "It is still better than that, Miss Incognita," he 
 said* drawing his chair closer to her. 
 
 "I can't conceive what would be better than to 
 have the love of such a being as Lady Eroslove all 
 to one's self," she replied feelingly. 
 
 "Please spare me the appellation, 'Lady Eroslove/ 
 and I will tell you all," he gasped with a pained ex- 
 pression. 
 
 "Then since you persist in denying and disowning 
 her, I will spare you this, except when she is pres- 
 ent." 
 
 "That is the good part of it. She will no longer 
 be present, and you can no more deny me your love 
 on her account. She has eloped with a handsome 
 young man." 
 
 "Lady ah Gamaliel eloped ?" 
 
 "Yes, madam, that is the straight of it. I was 
 in the room, in her bedroom, almost in the throes of 
 death, and not knowing what to do, when in rushed 
 a handsome young fellow about her age. Each one
 
 The Somnambule 305 
 
 embraced the other, and I saw they were too happy 
 to be separated. So I gave them my blessing, and 
 informed them that my marriage, for a reason I 
 could not communicate to them, was null and void. 
 Then upon my advice and approbation, they fled 
 to some trysting-place, where undisturbed, they can 
 enjoy one another's love. Now they are happy and 
 they have made me happy." 
 
 "That sounds almost past belief, my lord ! There 
 is only one young man in my knowledge whom 
 Gamaliel cared for, or associated with, and he is my 
 adopted son." 
 
 "Have you an adopted son?" he asked earnestly. 
 
 "Yest, he is away at college. You have never 
 seen him. I did not think it right to sacrifice 
 Gamaliel to him, when she could marry you, so I 
 forbade his suit. But Eros had such a passion for 
 her " 
 
 "Eros?" 
 
 "Yes, my lord; what excites you? He was my 
 adopted son." 
 
 "Pray describe him !" 
 
 "He is of a fine, compact, athletic figure, blue- 
 black eyes, full broad face and dark hair." 
 
 "Upon my soul this description fits him. 
 
 "Have you no record nor document to identify 
 him, or locate his origin?" 
 
 ("Could there be more than one Eros?" he mut- 
 tered aside.") 
 
 "You sec, ny lord, it was in the year 1873. I saw 
 an advertisement in the New York World, signed
 
 306 Miss Incognita 
 
 by Steele A. Fortune, Esq., desiring some proper 
 person to adopt a male child. The attorney and my- 
 self agreed upon terms and but what affects you so, 
 my lord?" 
 
 "Pray tell me more ! Was there anything else 
 about the boy that attracted your attention 1 ?" 
 
 "He was a fine, comely boy in every way. There 
 was one unusual thing about him, and that was a 
 peculiar mark tattooed across his breast." 
 
 "Were there any letters or words'?" 
 
 "Yes, these words, one below the other, 'Eros ' 
 <Du .' " 
 
 "My God! Then it was he, and my son has 
 eloped with nry daughter!" 
 
 "Oh, no, perhaps not, my lord. You surely are 
 delirious, and know not how you rave, and utter 
 foolish things! See this document I got it from 
 the boy's trustee it may explain all and relieve your 
 mind." 
 
 "Then quickly let me see it !" 
 
 "Here it is." 
 
 "So ! So ! So ! I see it confirms all it is Eros, 
 my own son, the lover of Gamaliel, my own daugh- 
 ter!" And the guilty man swooned and fell upon the 
 floor. 
 
 Miss Incognita quickly administered brandy, into 
 which she had dropped some of the lotion given 
 her by Gymp, as directed by him. She realized that 
 now her time had come to bring her revenge to its 
 climax. She called no one to assist her. She needed 
 DO one. The knowledge she had from old Gymp she
 
 The Somnambule 307 
 
 believed was all-sufficient for her. He was her prey, 
 and she would have him all to herself. For a mo- 
 ment he lay upon the floor at her feet in an un- 
 conscious state. 
 
 She quickly went into the laboratory, where she 
 made certain that she had properly adjusted the 
 regulator of the vibratoner in the recess of the wall, 
 so that it gave the proper current. She observed 
 that the vibratoners were sending their strange com- 
 motion or thrill throughout the room. Having noted 
 this, she removed the gauze veils from about all the 
 globes and retorts, so that they gave forth all their 
 marvellous combinations of blending and dissolving 
 colors. The old Egyptian had told her to use the 
 vibratoners in getting and keeping her control over 
 him in her crucial experiment, for her victim be- 
 lieved in the human emotions, and hence he would be 
 deeply influenced by them as by a strong suggestion. 
 
 Leaving the laboratory she went to Lord Eroslove's 
 side. He was sleeping deeply. The lotion has done 
 its work now she must act. She lifted his prostrate 
 head upon her lap, and calmly gazed upon every 
 feature of his face and every part of his body. She 
 was already satiated with victory and revenge, but 
 her purpose was not yet fulfilled! She carefully 
 recalled all of old Gymp's instructions, and especially 
 these words: "Young Missus, when he sleeps, you 
 place your hand on his brow and keep sayin' dese 
 words ter him" and she repeated the words over 
 and over to herself "den he will pass from de nat- 
 ural sleep ter de sleep of Isis. When he gets inter
 
 308 Miss Incognit 
 
 de sleep of Isis, den talk ter 'im, and, widout wakin', 
 he will talk ter you den you know you got 'im, 
 and can ben' 'im ter your will. Say ter 'im dat he 
 can't wake, dat he can't get out ob dat sleep, till 
 you tell 'im. He can open his eyes, he can see you, 
 and know all you say ter 'im and all you do, but 
 he can't git outer de spell till you let him out. Dis is 
 so, young missus, and don't you doubt hit, and don't 
 you be skeered ter do it." Now she began her ma- 
 nipulations as the old Egyptian had told her. No, 
 she did not doubt, she had full confidence. But a 
 few minutes elapsed before the sleeping man began 
 to answer her and talk to her, though he did not wake. 
 He had passed into a state of somnambulism, and 
 was wholly in her power. He opened his eyes, then 
 raised his head a little, and seeing Miss Incognita 
 bending over him, he reached out and drew her hand 
 to his lips and attempted to kiss it. She diverted 
 his purpose by putting her hand under his head, 
 saying : 
 
 "I will help you. You feel better, and must get 
 up now and go with me." 
 
 And with her assistance he staggered to his feet, 
 and leaning heavily upon her, was led into the lab- 
 oratory. Having reached the lounge in the center 
 of this long room, she had him lie down upon it. 
 The same lounge! 
 
 As the consciousness of somnambulism took pos- 
 session of him, his mind did not seem to revert to 
 Eros and Gamaliel, or at least he did not mention 
 them any more. All the trend of his thoughts and
 
 The Somnambule 309 
 
 emotions were directed entirely by the will of Miss 
 Incognita. He was in a conscious state, but it was 
 not his normal consciousness. Any one who has 
 seen, or experimented with a somnambule will know 
 what I mean. Such an one has plenty of mind and 
 emotion, but these are not subject fully to his con- 
 trol and will, but are dominated by the suggestions of 
 the operator, who for the time being has control over 
 him. Whatever the operator suggests to the som- 
 nambule by word, motion or action takes full pos- 
 session of him and becomes all-controilrig. 
 
 A strange circumstance or fact now became known 
 to Miss Incognita. It was this: That the mind of 
 Lord Eroslove, the somnambule, was acted upon by, 
 and he interpreted the effects of, the vibra toners,* 
 just as she suggested. Upon her suggestion to him, 
 that a certain rapidity of the current sent through 
 the vibratoners would cause such and such feelings 
 and "thoughts and emotions to control him, the re- 
 sults were sure to be accomplished. This was just 
 as Gymp had told her. 
 
 As Lord Eroslove lay upon the lounge in the cen- 
 ter of the room she stepped to the wall and gave 
 the wheel a slight turn, which so regulated the cur- 
 rent that it set in motion those gentle vibrations 
 which stimulate, and at the same time soothe the emo- 
 tional nature. 
 
 *If the reader will revert to the description of this 
 apparatus formerly fjiven, and to the explanation of the 
 theory upon which its action and construction are based, 
 as explained in detail to Miss Eidola Mandeville by Dr. 
 Dumas, he will the better understand the occurences 
 about to take place.
 
 3 1 Miss Incognita 
 
 Then she came back and sat down by Lord Eros- 
 love's side, at the same time making suggestions to 
 him intended to control and direct his thoughts and 
 emotions in accordance with her will. 
 
 She said : "Come, my lord, you must listen, and 
 let me tell you some good news. I have received a 
 second letter from the poor, demented lady, con- 
 cerning whom you felt so interested yesterday. I 
 think if you will let me acquaint you with some 
 later and more cheerful news concerning her, your 
 mind and heart will be diverted and will be very 
 differently impressed from what it was and is." 
 
 He answered in a faltering voice: "You mean the 
 poor Chicago lady whose sad letter you read me?" 
 
 "Yes, the same, my lord." 
 
 "I had forgotten her. Some delicious influence, 
 which seems to pervade this beautiful room, made 
 me forget all else but this. It would be bad to 
 again intrude the sorrows of this demented lady. 
 Suppose we leave her alone for the present 1 ?" And 
 he reached out his hand and laid it upon the folds of 
 her crimson robe. 
 
 After a moment, she removed his hand, and walk- 
 ing across the room adjusted the current through 
 the vibratoners so as to produce the state of the 
 emotions known as fear. Then she came back and 
 resumed her seat, and again made certain suggestions 
 to him. In a moment or two an uneasy, troubled ex- 
 pression came upon his face. Soon he looked at 
 Miss Incognita somewhat wildly, saying: 
 
 "Did you say just now, the demented lady was 
 growing worse?"
 
 Fhe Somnambule 3 1 1 
 
 "No, my lord, I said I had received a later and 
 more cheerful letter from her, and I desired to read 
 it to you." 
 
 "Then, pray read it, for somehow I am beginning 
 to feel that she is raving at me for my neglect of 
 her. I am full of fear! I know not what it is, but 
 I should know ! Pray read on !" 
 
 "Then you must promise me, my lord, that you 
 will be calm and quiet, and not allow another phase 
 of your recent strange malady to excite you." 
 
 "You have my promise, if you will but proceed, 
 and, as I read, you will remember all! yes, all your 
 memory, my lord, will be perfect! This is the letter: 
 
 "'Mr DEAR Miss INCOGNITA: Doubtless, my kind 
 friend, you will conclude at once when you have 
 read this letter, that I am really demented, and not 
 perfectly sane, as I before declared to you. This 
 letter will seem to you so contradictory, to the other, 
 that I fear you can construe them upon no other 
 hypothesis than that they are emanations from the 
 disordered brain of a lunatic. Yet I swear to you 
 before high heaven, my kind friend, that what I now 
 write you is true, and is a true history of my life. 
 What I wrote you in my former letter about my- 
 self, my mother, my marriage, my husband and his 
 treatment of me up to the time when he had me 
 adjudged a lunatic and deserted me, is every word 
 the truth. If you could ever find him for me and read 
 that letter to him he could not deny it." 
 
 At this point Lord Eroslove clutched the back of
 
 3 1 2 Miss Incognita 
 
 the sofa, and raised himself upon his elbow, and 
 looked as if about to spring forward. Miss In- 
 cognita laid her hand gently upon his shoulder, say- 
 ing: 
 
 "Be calm, my lord, as you promised me. There 
 is no cause for your excitement on account of this 
 unfortunate lady. What fault of yours was it that 
 she is so unfortunate 1 ?" 
 
 Upon these persuasions, aided by the gentle though 
 firm pressure of her hand on his shoulder and sug- 
 gestive words spoken by her, he fell back, and she 
 proceeded with the reading of the letter: 
 
 " 'I will now give you my true history, dating 
 from the moment when my eyes followed my husband 
 down the street, when he disappeared from me for- 
 ever. He had no sooner passed out of my sight, than 
 one by the name of Dr. Swindle came into my room 
 from the adjoining chemical laboratory, and show- 
 ing me an order of court, informed me that he had 
 been appointed and deputized to convey me to the 
 asylum for the insane. I was in great distress over 
 the crushing cruelty of my husband, and the base 
 ruse he had employed to get rid of me, and at the 
 same time to torture my loving, innocent heart ! For 
 well he knew with what a desperate passion I had 
 loved him.' " 
 
 Here Lord Eroslove groaned and tossed upon the 
 lounge, as though he were bound with cords and was 
 trying to rend them. 
 
 "My lord, you must control yourself! What is 
 this poor lady to you?"
 
 The Somnambule 313 
 
 "Somehow, I feel that her sorro-ws are haunting 
 me. Ah, how can I help her now?" 
 
 "Be quiet, while I read further, and you may find 
 she does not need your help, my lord." 
 
 "Then pray read on!" 
 
 " 'When this perjured Dr. Swindle came into my 
 room to take charge of me, I argued the point of 
 my insanity with him, and so enticed him into the 
 little room between my boudoir and the laboratory, 
 which had been used by my husband for his study. 
 This room had two doors, one opening into my apart- 
 ments and one into the laboratory. As we entered it, 
 I, unseen by him, quickly locked the door to my 
 room and removed the key. At that time, I was nor- 
 mally very weak and emaciated from my long sick- 
 ness, but the excitement of that awful day and the 
 desperation of my outraged heart seemed to render 
 me abnormally strong. I managed to plant myself 
 between this Dr. Swindle and the door leading into 
 the laboratory. I saw he was neither a handsome, 
 nor a strong, robust man. I noticed that the great- 
 est development about him was not his muscle but 
 his nose.' " 
 
 (Here Lord Eroslove nodded his head, mutter- 
 ing to himself.) "'When I saw the advantage of 
 my position, I rushed upon him and seizing him 
 by the nose hurled him backward over a lounge, and 
 before he could rise to his feet had I had gone into 
 the laboratory and locked the door, making D<r. 
 Swindle my prisoner. Soon after a visitor was an-
 
 31 4 Miss Incognita 
 
 nounced. It was my dear and tried friend, Dr. 
 Lindsay - ' " 
 
 "Dr. Lindsay," shrieked Lord Eroslove, at the 
 same time throwing himself to a sitting posture on 
 the lounge, and glaring in an excited manner about 
 the room as though expecting an attack upon him. 
 
 "Why, yes, my lord, that is the name given in 
 the letter. What is he to you? Do you know him?" 
 
 "No; but you see, I ah you may read on. 
 You seem to have so stirred the depths of my mem- 
 ory," he muttered to himself. 
 
 "But the letter seems to excite you so, my lord, 
 I fear." 
 
 "Still you must read on ! Read all ! all 1" 
 
 Then Miss Incognita proceeded : 
 
 soon as I glanced at his card, I remembered 
 that he had visited me the afternoon before upon 
 my request. I ordered the servant to show him up 
 to the laboratory at once. I told him all that had 
 been done. His heart was deeply moved with in- 
 dignation, so that he wept like a child. He and my 
 husband had at one time been friends, and it grieved 
 him beyond expression to contemplate the depth of 
 infamy to which Dr. Dumas had descended in his 
 conduct toward me.'" (At this moment Lord Eros- 
 love buried his face in his hands, and the tears trick- 
 led through the cracks between his fingers.) "'To 
 be as brief as possible and not weary you with tedious 
 recital, I will say that my renewed relations with 
 Dr. Lindsay resulted in three important transactions.
 
 The Somnambule 315 
 
 He first gave vent to his indignation by taking charge 
 of Dr. Swindle. He gagged and bound him. He 
 took from him the papers prepared for my com- 
 nrital to the asylum for the insane, and substituted 
 in them the name of Dr. Swindle, and had him duly 
 committed in my stead.' " 
 
 "By all the gods of earth and heaven and hell !" 
 yelled out Lord Eroslove, raving like a madman, and 
 seemingly unconscious of his surroundings or the 
 presence of Miss Incognita. "Then the wretch lied 
 to me." 
 
 Miss Incognita arose with a haughty air, saying 
 indignantly : 
 
 "You are beside yourself sir. You even forget 
 the presence of a lady. What can you mean by such 
 conduct? I will read no more of the letter." And 
 she walked to the side of the room, crampling the 
 letter in her hand. As she passed the recess in the 
 wall she turned the wheel, changing the current from 
 that producing fear, and threw on the full current 
 productive of that "master passion" of HIS heart ! 
 At this time Lord Eroslove's face was the picture of 
 despair and desperation. But he said: 
 
 "I pray you, Miss Incognita, forgive me and ob- 
 serve not my pain, but read on, read on !" 
 
 But before beginning to read she made sugges- 
 tions to him corresponding to the current in the 
 vibratoners, which had a powerful effect on him. 
 Then she resumed the reading: 
 
 " 'I never heard of Dr. Swindle but once there-
 
 316 Miss Incognita 
 
 after/ continued tho writer of this strange letter. ; I 
 was in the vicinity of the asylum a few years there- 
 after and called there to inquire about him. Among 
 other things the keeper informed me of letters he 
 wrote to one whom he addressed as "Sir Henry," and 
 of his receiving considerable sums of money from 
 time to time from this personage, the letters and re- 
 mittances being sent to the asylum from his former 
 address in the city. This man Swindle never at- 
 tempted to procure his liberty, for two reasons: 
 First, he said he was well fed, and housed, and 
 clothed, and had plenty of money from "Sir Henry" 
 and second, Dr. Lindsay had positive proof of 
 some crime or crimes he had committed, and warned 
 him that if he were released from the asylum, he 
 would have him sent to the penitentiary ! The next 
 important result growing out of my relation with 
 Dr. Lindsay was as follows : I had been a devoted 
 student of chemistry and Materia Medica. I was 
 refused admittance to medical colleges because of my 
 sex. I had made an important medical discovery, 
 which I had intended to use in my profession, and 
 also to make known to the profession in general. 
 Failing in this, I talked the matter over with Dr. 
 Lindsay, and it was decided' that I should patent my 
 discovery and he would act as my partner and agent 
 in the manufacture of it. I gave my discovery the 
 name of "Chemico-Medical Compound." He took a 
 third interest, and I two-thirds, and he relieved me of 
 all the work of its manufacture and sale. Before 
 leaving this point I will say that our profits have
 
 The Somnambule 3 1 7 
 
 been exceedingly large and our capital is now 
 $1,000,000.' " 
 
 At this juncture Lord Eroslove arose from the 
 sofa, and began to pace the floor, looking curiously 
 about him and at Miss Incognita, and muttering, 
 "Strange, strange, 'tis passing strange!" She con- 
 tinued reading the letter, after noting well that he 
 was still somnambulistic: 
 
 " 'When Dr. Lindsay and I had completed our 
 business transactions he then informed me of an- 
 other discovery, one he had in store for me and 
 that was that I could be cured of my disease in the 
 hospital of the great Dr. J. Marion Sims, of New 
 York 
 
 " 'I determined to put myself under his treatment 
 at once. I remained in his hospital a year. He not 
 only removed my old trouble, but he built up my 
 whole system to a marvelous degree. 
 " 'Life became a new revelation ! I went into this 
 hospital a suffering wreck of a girl, 'by the name of 
 Eidola Mandeville, the one-time wife of a Dr. Dumas, 
 noic known as Lord Eroslove, and I came out a re- 
 neiced, transformed woman, known as Miss Incognita, 
 u-ho now stands before you!'" 
 
 As Miss Incognita finished reading the letter, she 
 stood upright before him, displaying all the wonder- 
 ful energy and beauty of her face and person. 
 
 Then looking him full in the eyes she exclaimed : 
 
 "Do you remember the time, sir, when you spurned 
 my love and my prayer, and so cruelly trod upon 
 my heart? When I warned you, and swore to you,
 
 3 1 8 Miss Incognita 
 
 that we should meet again, and that the unforgetting 
 fury of despoiled love should make a reckoning be- 
 tween us? I am that woman! sir, and you remem- 
 ber! you remember!" 
 
 He crossed his hands in front of him, and his 
 head was bowed upon his breast. He remained thus, 
 confounded and bewildered, uttering not a word. 
 
 The multiple tints of the vibratoners, changing and 
 blending with infinite rapidity and gorgeousness, 
 filled the room. Lord Eroslove now knew all. His 
 eye, which a moment before was blind, now could see. 
 He never would have recognized in Miss Incognita, 
 with all her magnificent impersonation of health, 
 strength and womanly beauty, the frail, emaciated, 
 neglected girl-wife whom he had deserted, and whom 
 he considered either dead or an inmate of the asylum. 
 He could never have imagined this was she! 
 
 When he beheld her, minor disclosures came back 
 to him rapidly and readily. He now recognized at 
 once his laboratory, and its appointments, which he 
 had so generously given to Dr. Swindle. He beheld 
 again the marvellous glowing of the vibratoners. 
 
 He felt its overpowering influence, and knew that 
 those vibratoners appealed to, and called forth his 
 master-passion. He was but a few feet from where 
 she had risen. She knew from his face, from the 
 peculiar fixed expression of his eyes, and the out- 
 ward display of his emotions, that he was conquered 
 and was her prey. He stretched out both his arms 
 toward her in a pleading, piteous, affectionate way,
 
 The Somnambule 319 
 
 saying: "My wife! My wife! again my wife! my 
 beautiful wife!" 
 
 "Ah ! You seem to grow still more beside your- 
 self ! I was once your wife, but will never again be 
 so ! Else, why should I have labored and planned 
 and' waited these twenty years for this day!" 
 
 "You have planned and waited for my coming this 
 day, my sweet wife! Though I did not seek you, 
 I am here to give myself again to you, and to press 
 .you to my heart in return !" Having said this he 
 advanced toward her. He was stirred to the foun- 
 dations of his being, and his overpowering emotion 
 shook his frame. 
 
 "You should know, my lord, that love once crushed 
 to earth, unlike truth, can never rise again. You 
 once possessed my love and came to consider it a 
 worthless thing, and threw it away. I have never 
 taken the trouble to find it for you." 
 
 He drew still nearer to her and said : "Then I will 
 take you even without your love ! Upon my knees 
 I pray you forgive and love me !" 
 
 "Lord, Eroslove, I say to you again, never, never!" 
 
 "But let me plead with you. Let me confess all 
 to you, and beg your forgiveness !" 
 
 "No, never, sir!" 
 
 "No, never, Eidola, never! How sweet to call your 
 sweet name again! Eidola! Oh, to know that it 
 again is mine! It must be mine. I can never let 
 you go! Can I lose such beauty as yours?"
 
 320 Miss Incognita 
 
 "Yea, my lord, you lost my beauty once of a 
 frail order, 'tis true but when that departed from 
 me, you cast me off! Oh, you know how cruel and 
 infamous it was!" 
 
 "I swear I will make amends for all!" He fell 
 upon his face before her, and seived the hem of her 
 dress, to -put it to his lips, but she drew it from him. 
 
 Then all at once, under the influence of suggestions 
 she had made to him, he became desperate in his 
 passion for her. He arose and tried to seize her in 
 his arms, saying: "You are my wife de jure, and you 
 shall be so de facto. What is lawfully mine, I will 
 possess and enjoy!" 
 
 But as he rushed at her she evaded him. Having 
 once given way to his passion, and the overpowering 
 influence of the vibratoners set upon him in accord- 
 ance with her potent suggestions, he quickly became 
 desperate. He chased her, and bounded at her, until 
 she was driven into a corner of the room. There she 
 stood at bay like a tigress driven to her lair! Her 
 beauty had become more radiant by the excitement 
 she was undergoing. Lord Eroslove thought of that 
 first love she gave him years ago under the influence 
 of these vibratoners, in these same surroundings, and 
 the memory of that urged him fiercely on. lie cried 
 out : "Eidola, my wife, I will have you!" As he 
 rushed upon ber, she drew from her hair the 'bright 
 blade concealed there, and flashing it before his face, 
 cried
 
 The Somnambule 321 
 
 "Stand back, sir, or you die!" 
 
 He stopped short, aghast at her courageous audac- 
 ity. She held her blade ready to strike, and he 
 saw she meant to do it. In the intensity of his pas- 
 sion for her, which she had evoked, he cried out: 
 
 "Then if you will not love me, this overpowering 
 influence must stop. If it continues I will have your 
 love or die!" 
 
 In a moment he rushed to the center of the room 
 where the wires were formerly connected in Ms 
 laboratory with the wheel or regulator which con- 
 trolled and shut off the current. He could not find it. 
 He rushed about the room seeking for it. It was 
 hidden in the recess in the wall. He then rushed 
 back to where the electric wires were connected with 
 the apparatus in the center of the room. Miss In- 
 cognita watched him and his movements with eyes, 
 that glared like an eagle's ! His whole frame was in 
 a quiver of passionate excitement. Doubtless, think- 
 ing that the wires carried simply the small galvanic 
 current he formerly used, he seized one in each hand 
 to snatch them from their connection, and lo ! The 
 deadly current of five hundred volts passed through 
 his body! He could not turn loose the wires! In an 
 instant his whole body was writhing in contortions, 
 and the blue flames enveloped him! His body was 
 drawn together! His arms and legs were doubled 
 into loops ! His head was thrown back upon his 
 spine ! His mouth gasped open and his protruding 
 tongue was a consuming fire ! Before assistance came
 
 322 The Somnambule 
 
 he was a charred corpse horrible to behold! Miss 
 Incognita walked from the room with a calmness 
 spread over her beautiful face, which had never been 
 seen there before! The thorn had been drawn from 
 her heart! 
 
 Had she or not planned this terrible electrocution 
 as a part of her revenge? 
 
 THE END
 
 103
 
 THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
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 THE LIBRARY 
 
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 1904